Abstract: A bulk goods dispenser having a bin for holding the bulk goods which can be removed by a manipulator mounted in a dispensing unit communicating with the interior of the bin, the removed bulk goods being temporarily collected in a chute prior to being dispensed by a trap door into a bag which is attachable to walls of the chute, the walls being provided with holding horns. The trap door is held in a closed position by a spring member until released by a handle. The manipulator has a scoop for moving the bulk goods over a slanting wall in the bin. The bin has a slidable cover which can be locked. The dispenser unit can also be locked to the bin. A false bottom can vary the holding capacity of the bin.

Abstract: A hanger support for small articles of merchandise, which support is adapted for detachable mounting at any point along the length of a slat forming a component of a slotted wall merchandise display panel having horizontal grooves between adjacent slats. The support assembly is formed by a main plate, to the front face of which is affixed a cantilever bar from which the merchandise items are suspended. An integral offset retaining flange is bent from the upper end of the plate for entry within the desired portion of the groove above the selected slat. A secondary offset retaining flange is provided on an auxiliary plate which is vertically slideable on the main plate and which encompasses the rear face of the latter and is bent over the lateral edges of the main plate to provide reliable guide tracks for the relative movements between the plates, between their nested and extended positions.

Abstract: A magnetic door opener device adapted to be positioned below a countertop made of non-magnetic materials, the device having a pair of magnets which attractively interact with a pair of magnets attached to the bottoms of a pair of windows which are suspended on a trolley for movement to or fro to determine closed and opened positions of the window. The device underneath the countertop comprises a pair of spaced toothed sprockets supporting an endless belt having inner and outer runs, the outer run supporting a magnet adapted to magnetically cooperate with a magnet in the bottom of one of the windows, and the other run of the belt supporting a different magnet adapted to attractively cooperate with a magnet in the bottom of the other window. A motor control and limit switches are provided for controlling the opening and closing positions of the windows when a control switch is operated by an operator.

Abstract: A sheet handling machine or stacker, designed to stack sheets in such manner as to avoid tumbling or other movement resulting in possible scratching or other surface marring. Our invention is especially applicable to sheets having a relatively soft surface such as plastic-coated sheet metal, highly polished stainless steel or the like, synthetic plastic such as "vinyl," paper-covered stainless steel, etc. Our invention contemplates a machine comprising a receiver having a lateral opening designed to receive a portion of a sheet. In operation, the receiver is moved through a predetermined trajectory. In its first position the receiver seats a portion of a sheet as from a conveyor, aligns it with a stack of similar sheets and then discharges it from a position above a stack of such sheets, allowing it to drop by gravity onto the stack through a free air cushion between sheet and stack, whereby the sheet is prevented from tumbling or otherwise falling haphazardly.

Abstract: Support Panel for cantilever hangers or the like for use especially in a retail store for display of small items of merchandise. Display equipment of this general character has been known and used in self-service stores, where a customer selects an item from an open display on cantilever arms detachably mounted on a vertically disposed "pegboard." In the past such panels have usually been formed of wood, plywood or the like, possibly secured to a baseboard of stiff material such as sheet steel to provide necessary strength and rigidity. The present invention contemplates a composite panel comprising a plurality of narrow slatlike plates of sheet metal, plastic or other suitable material mounted in parallel horizontal relation.

Abstract: A cornice designed especially for illuminating a wall of a retail store or the like, of knockdown construction for quick and easy erection and demounting. This invention is an improvement over that disclosed and claimed in my U.S. Pat. No. 4,251,855 issued Feb. 17, 1981. Like my patented invention, units in the instant case are tailored to fit a specific installation with a minimum of on site labor and little or no material waste. A major improvement in this case comprises means facilitating multiplying the vertical dimension of a cornice embodying my invention. This is accomplished by nesting together, in upper/lower relation, a pair of similar cornice units, as by interengaging marginal flanges at the upper and lower edges of the respective units. Accidental displacement may be insured against by such means as resilient tangs or prongs on one unit bearing yieldingly against an adjacent face of the mating unit.

Abstract: A Door Control designed especially for a service passage in a cubicle disposed, say, at or near the entrance of a quick food establishment or the like, i.e., for serving customers on one side of the passage by an employee on the other side. This application is in part a continuation of my copending applications Ser. Nos. 78,095 filed Sept. 24, 1979, now abandoned, and 179,961 filed Aug. 20, 1980, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,411,102, which disclose and claim mechanism for simultaneously opening a pair of doors mounted on vertical parallel axes. In both of said inventions the door opening mechanism is characterized by a horizontally translatable device, such as a pushrod, by an operator's muscular force applied below the service table, leaving the hands free. Upon release of such muscular force, the doors are automatically returned to their original closed positions by means of energy stored, as in a spring, in the opening action.

Abstract: A Door Control designed especially for a service passage in a quick food establishment or the like, i.e., for serving customers on one side of a passage, say, in a cubicle, by an employee on the other side thereof. Essentially, such control mechanism comprises a device operable by an employee for opening a door or pair of doors normally closing a passage while business may be transacted through the passage such as placing or delivering an order, after which the door or pair of doors is automatically closed. My invention represents an improvement over that disclosed and claimed in my copending application Ser. No. 06/078,095, filed Sept. 24, 1979, now abandoned. In the instant case the doors are so controlled and actuated that, after opening, they are disposed on opposite sides and rearwardly of said passage, not extending substantially forwardly thereof.

Abstract: A napkin dispenser designed primarily for disposition on a restaurant table or counter and normally housing a stack of paper napkins. The dispenser is in the form of a parallelopiped with a top access opening for loading and removing napkins. The opening is generally rectangular or may taper slightly from one end ot the other. An important feature is that the edges of the opening extend outwardly, providing a relatively narrow peripheral arcuate flange or lip around the opening, the effect of which is lead a napkin gently outwardly without likelihood of damage to the exiting napkin. My improved construction more or less insures extraction of a single napkin at a time, inhibiting vandalism and results in substantial economy of construction and operation. Another improved feature is a novel follower arrangement including a coil spring for urging the napkins toward the egress opening and designed to insure that the coil spring is maintained in proper axial alignment for maximum efficiency.

Abstract: A dispenser for disposable cups for food or beverages, designed especially for use in "fast food" establishments where wastage is a problem. Cups formed of inexpensive material, such as cardboard, are disposed, collapsed to flat generally planar condition, in a stack, within a tray or drawer slidably arranged in a housing. The structure is constructed so that digital access is restricted to one or two cups at a time, a follower functioning to maintain the cups in accessible position until the supply is exhausted. Also, provision is made for facilitating the opening of a collapsed cup upon its withdrawal.

Abstract: A light cornice designed for illuminating a wall of a retail store or the like, of knockdown construction for quick and easy erection. Tailored to fit a specific installation, there is a minimum of onsite labor, with little or no waste, and mountable with common hand tools. Consequently, there is great saving in cost. The improved cornice panels have detachable light fixtures adjustably mounted thereon, the panels being adjustably secured to posts adjacent the wall.

Abstract: Storage devices designed primarily, though not exclusively, for mounting in a storage van for tools, supplies and other materials required by the service man in the course of his calls, consisting of baskets or like containers of knockdown construction, preferably formed essentially of wire for quick and easy access and visibility, supported largely by ceiling and floor and capable of quick and easy mounting and detachment. Such containers are stacked vertically, so as to make the most efficient utilization of space and may be bodily removed if desired.

Abstract: Document storage equipment to be housed in the forward driver compartment of a service van, separated by a bulkhead from a rear compartment carrying parts, supplies and tools required for service calls. Said document storage equipment comprises a shelf or table for supporting documentary materials such as orders, service manuals, records and the like to facilitate the operations of a service man. Said shelf is disposed for ready access adjacent the driver's position, having a free outer end and an inner end adjacent to and supported by the bulkhead. Said shelf is provided with a diagonal strut supporting the shelf from the floor and engaging the shelf at a point remote from the bulkhead, allowing space under the shelf for mounting additional document support means. The means securing the shelf to the bulkhead, and strut to floor, are preferably quick-detachable devices.

Abstract: A wall structure for merchandise display in a retail store or the like that stands free of attachment to any fixed element of the building such as floor, ceiling or wall. The wall of the invention may be set up in a variety of forms such as rectangular, zigzag, linear, polygonal, etc., and comprises in all arrangements uprights providing corner units and spacer struts for supporting display panels. To said uprights are secured by quick-detachable means upper and lower stringers, the interconnecting elements being preferably in the form of simple channel members. The corner units comprise structural shapes with detachable corner covers to enhance appearance. Means for detachably mounting panel members is provided in the form of grooved channel members in opposed, spaced relation on the uprights.

Abstract: A dispensing container for beverage straws and the like, intended for disposition on a restaurant table or counter, comprises a base portion on which rests a cylindrical housing having a concave, preferably frustoconical, floor and a vertically elongated side aperture for egress of straws. A dome-like closure rests over the housing with a hinged door for feeding straws into the housing. An axial rod extends from the dome through the housing and carries one or more radial, resilient vanes or pushers for feeding straws toward the egress aperture. The rod is keyed at its lower extremity to a rotary element having radial lugs extending through the base portion and exposed for digital engagement, whereby rotation of the rotary element turns the pushers, the latter acting on the straws to feed them toward the aperture. Consequently, a single straw at a time is tipped outwardly from the container for convenient grasping by the user.

Abstract: A napkin dispenser for disposition on a restaurant table or counter and normally housing a stack of paper napkins. The dispenser is in the form of a parallelepiped with a top access opening for loading and removing napkins. Said opening is generally rectangular except for a concavely arcuate edge on one side from which napkins are normally extracted. Two opposed sides of said opening normal to the arcuate edge are provided with a pair of relatively narrow spring biased leaves resiliently extendable into the container to facilitate loading, the free edges of said leaves being longitudinally gently oblique and widening toward the aforesaid arcuate edge. Each of said leaves has a longitudinal outwardly turned lip and the exposed corners of the leaves are rounded. All of said features contribute toward convenient extraction of a napkin without damage.

Abstract: Equipment for housing and displaying, in a retail establishment, merchandise disposed on tables, drawers, cabinets, shelving, etc. The present invention represents an improvement over that disclosed and claimed in my U.S. Pat. No. 3,297,374, dated Jan. 10, 1967, and is particularly concerned with a skeletal tandem frame, i.e., a construction characterized in display units extending in opposed relation to a central support. I have solved certain problems previously encountered in this type of equipment by making certain basic changes in the structural elements of the frame structure. In general, my invention contemplates the use of channel members in lieu of tubing, along with other changes. My invention is also applicable to wall disposed equipment as well as tandem.

Abstract: A container especially adapted to hold a plurality of loose articles, comprising bottom, side, back and front walls, at least certain of said walls being reticular to permit visibility of contents from outside the container. Support means for the container extend rearwardly and laterally, providing generally three-point support, and the front wall is hinged to permit quick access to the interior of the container. In preferred embodiments the container is essentially of wire construction and is generally wedge-shaped in horizontal configuration, the support means extending from the periphery of the container at the back and sides thereof, and the front wall being hinged at the bottom thereof to permit dropping of the front wall, with means latching said front wall in closed position.

Abstract: A bicycle rack comprising one or more standard wheel-retaining modules arranged in multiples of any desired number and configuration on a suitable support, e.g., radial or horizontal, so as to provide maximum bicycle parking facility for a given outdoor or indoor area. The module is of simple, inexpensive mass-produced construction capable of supporting any standard wheel and cooperating with any standard bicycle lock. A preferred form of module comprises a pair of parallel bent rods or the like, vertically disposed.