Cup Sleeve Dispenser

Abstract

A dispenser for sequentially dispensing a plurality of collapsed cup insulator sleeves in manner that facilitates separation between adjacent collapsed cup insulator sleeves during each extraction or dispensing event. The dispenser includes a housing that defines a discharge opening that is constructed to accommodate dispensing of the collapsed cup sleeves from the dispenser in a singular and sequential manner and a manner that facilitates presentation of a subsequent single cup sleeve associated with a respective end of a stack of cup sleeves for subsequent removal of the respective cup sleeve from the dispenser.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A cup sleeve dispenser comprising:
 a housing that is constructed to receive a plurality of cup sleeves to be dispensed incrementally at a point of use, the housing defined by a base and a cover that movably cooperates with the base;   a biasing mechanism disposed in the housing, the biasing mechanism including a pressure plate configured to bias the plurality of cup sleeves toward a discharge opening defined by the housing; and   the discharge opening being defined by cooperation of an end portion of the base and an end portion of the cover and configured to sequentially physically interact with each of the plurality of cup sleeves such that the cover does not interfere with lateral removal of a terminal one of the plurality of cup sleeves and prevents removal of the other of the plurality of cup sleeves from the housing during removal of the terminal one of the plurality of cup sleeves.   
     
     
         2 . The cup sleeve dispenser of  claim 1  wherein the end portion of the cover proximate the discharge opening extends in an outward longitudinal direction beyond an imaginary plane that contains the end portion of the base which is aligned with a sleeve removal direction. 
     
     
         3 . The cup sleeve dispenser of  claim 2  wherein the end portion of the cover further comprises a retainer that is further defined as at least one of a finger and a first finger and a second finger associated with a front facing surface of a cover and wherein each of the first finger and the second finger includes a barb formed at a distal end thereof that faces the plurality of cup sleeves. 
     
     
         4 . The cup sleeve dispenser of  claim 3  further comprising a gap formed between at least one of respective portions of the finger or between the first finger and the second finger. 
     
     
         5 . The cup sleeve dispenser of  claim 1  wherein a terminal edge of the cover proximate the discharge opening extends beyond a terminal edge of the base proximate the discharge opening such that the terminal edge of the cover is offset from the terminal edge of the base a distance that is between slightly larger than a thickness of a single collapsed cup sleeve and less than a thickness of two collapsed cup sleeves. 
     
     
         6 . The cup sleeve dispenser of  claim 1  wherein the cover is adjustably secured to the housing and adjustable to manipulate a size of the discharge opening. 
     
     
         7 . A method of forming a cup insulator sleeve dispenser, the method comprising:
 providing a housing that includes a base and cover that is connected to the base to define a cavity shaped to receive a stack of cup insulator sleeves;   defining a discharge opening at one end of the housing, the discharge opening being shaped to accommodate removal of cup insulator sleeves from the housing in a sequential manner; and   forming a separator proximate the discharge opening that is supported by the housing and which extends beyond a plane defined by a bottom of the cavity a distance that is at least as great as a thickness of a collapsed cup sleeve and offset from a rear surface of the cavity a distance sufficient to prevent translation of a second to a last cup sleeve during manual extraction of a last sleeve from the housing.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7  further comprising providing a bias mechanism disposed in the cavity and configured to bias the stack of cup sleeves toward the discharge opening. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 7  further comprising pivotably connecting the cover to the base proximate a longitudinal end of the housing such that a longitudinal cross section of the cavity can be exposed when the cover is disposed in an open position relative to the base. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 7  further comprising connecting the separator to the housing such that the separator is adjustable relative to the cavity in a direction aligned with a longitudinal axis of the cavity. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 7  further comprising forming the separator as at least one of a pair of fingers that are cantilevered from the cover and define a thumb hole between the pair of fingers and a terminal end of the cover which extends along a side portion and at least a portion of a forward facing portion of the cover. 
     
     
         12 . A cup sleeve dispenser comprising:
 a housing defined by a cover and a base and a discharge opening formed proximate a longitudinal end of the housing such that the housing defines a cavity shaped to receive a stack of collapsed cup sleeves;   a biasing mechanism disposed in the cavity and configured to bias the stack of collapsed cup sleeves toward the discharge opening; and   a retainer that is defined by a portion of the cover proximate the discharge opening and extends in a longitudinal direction a distance beyond a floor of the base sufficient to allow deflection of a pair of sides of a collapsed single cup sleeve in the longitudinal direction such that a subsequent collapsed cup sleeve cooperates with an interior facing surface of the retainer to restrict lateral translation of the subsequent collapsed cup sleeve during extraction of the collapsed single cup sleeve from the cavity.   
     
     
         13 . The cup sleeve dispenser of  claim 12  wherein the cup sleeves are further defined as being disposable. 
     
     
         14 . The cup sleeve dispenser of  claim 12  wherein the biasing mechanism is further defined as a pressure plate that slideably cooperates with a rail. 
     
     
         15 . The cup sleeve dispenser of  claim 14  wherein the housing and the rail are curved in a direction that is transverse to the longitudinal direction. 
     
     
         16 . The cup sleeve dispenser of  claim 15  further comprising a spring having a first end secured to the rail proximate the discharge opening and a second end secured to the pressure plate. 
     
     
         17 . The cup sleeve dispenser of  claim 14  further comprising a plurality of rollers attached to the pressure plate and oriented to cooperate with respective portions of the rail to maintain a slidable cooperation of the pressure plate with the rail. 
     
     
         18 . The cup sleeve dispenser of  claim 14  wherein the base further comprises a channel constructed to receive the rail such that a portion of the rail supports a center portion of the stack of collapsed cup sleeves and a portion of the base supports opposite end portions of the stack of collapsed cup sleeves. 
     
     
         19 . The cup sleeve dispenser of  claim 12  further comprising a finger slot centrally disposed on the cover proximate the retainer. 
     
     
         20 . The cup sleeve dispenser of  claim 12  wherein the dispenser is operable to dispense the single collapsed cup sleeve per extraction activity when positioned in either of a horizontal position and a vertical position as defined by the longitudinal axis.