Display board for tablet dispensers
A display board displays a tablet dispenser by utilizing a clip which grips the exterior housing of the dispenser, the clip including a press fit portion extending rearwardly of its base such that it fits tightly in an aperture in the board, the clip farther including a spring placed between the press fit portion and the base to urge the dispenser housing away from the board, thereby stabilizing its attachment thereto.
This invention relates to apparatus for displaying tablet dispensers and, more particularly, to a display board for displaying fanciful containers for storing candies in tablet form.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to means for displaying fanciful tablet dispensers such as the well-known tablet dispensers used to dispense PEZ® candies.
PEZ® candy dispensers typically comprise an exterior housing and a tablet storage receptacle coaxially displaceably mounted in the housing. The storage receptacle includes a spring biased to press a stack of tablets stored in the receptacle upwardly towards a dispensing end of the receptacle. The housing itself can take various shapes. When the receptacle is filled with a stack of tablets, the uppermost tablet is disposed in a dispensing position above the housing and between two upwardly extending side wall portions of the receptacle. A cover for the receptacle carries a fancifully designed handle portion. The handle portion is designed to operate using one finger of a hand, for instance, the thumb if desired, to pivot the cover about a transverse axis to bring the cover into an open position exposing the uppermost tablet, which then rests in a dispensing position. Tablet dispensers contemplated by the present invention have been disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,295,579, 4,966,305 and 5,984,285, all of whose disclosures are herein incorporated by reference.
The housing, tablet storage receptacle and associated mechanism are all standard. The housings and handle portions are what differ as between different dispensers. The handle portions are often designed to replicate well known figures, such as Santa Claus, and literally hundreds of such designs have been provided.
Inasmuch as children constitute the major consumers of PEZ® candy tablets, it is natural that they would want to collect containers comprising different housing and handle portion designs. A further natural outgrowth is that the children would want to display their collections, particularly on display boards capable of being mounted on a wall.
There have been previous attempts to fill this need. A wall-mount display board suitable for displaying BARBIE®-type dolls is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,398,820. The dolls are held by M-shaped doll grips provided with snap- or press fit members suitable for being snap-fitted in apertures in the display board itself. The press fit members on the doll grips, however, often permit the dolls being displayed to rotate or otherwise move with respect to the display board.
It is thus the primary object of the present invention to provide a convenient and improved apparatus for securely displaying PEZ® candy tablet dispensers and other items of similar shape and design.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such display apparatus wherein the apparatus facilitates attaching and removing the dispensers or other items in a convenient manner.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide such display apparatus with gripping clips wherein the clip itself stabilizes the attachment of the dispenser housing or other item with respect to the display board.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Referring to the drawings, my invention comprises a display board 10 of any desired shape suitable for displaying one type of fanciful PEZ® tablet dispenser 12 used to dispense PEZ® candies. The board 10 itself is preferably made of 6 mm Sintra® expanded or foam polyvinyl chloride, a composite obtainable from Alcan Composites, 208 West Fifth Street, Benton, Ky. Holes or apertures 14 preferably 5 mm in diameter are punched or drilled in the board 10 at spacings chosen to display the dispenser 12 most effectively.
The PEZ® dispenser 122 is fully disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,295,579 and 4,966,305, and the texts and drawings thereof are, as previously mentioned, incorporated herein by reference. As such, each dispenser 12 comprises an exterior housing 16 (see
As shown in
The cover 38 has a skirt 46 at the rear thereof and, on pivoting the cover 38, the skirt 46 passes between the two upwardly extending side walls of the receptacle 32 to engage the uppermost tablet 36a to push it forwardly between the upper edge 18 of the housing 16 and the lower edge of the bridge 37, thus enabling the tablet 36a readily to be removed from the dispenser 12. Upon releasing the finger from the handle 40, the cover 38 will return automatically to its closed position under the bias of the spring 39 (the aforementioned extension of the bridge 37). The coil spring 34 will then press the false bottom 48 upwardly to bring the succeeding tablet 36b to rest at the bridge 37.
As previously mentioned, the housing 16, tablet storage receptacle 32 and associated mechanism are all standard. It is the handle portion 40 that differs as between different dispensers. It is modeled to replicate cartoon and other fanciful figures (see
Each tablet dispenser 12 is removably attached to the board by a clip 50 which is releasably adapted to grip the exterior housing 16 of the dispenser. See
A first embodiment of a clip 50a suitable for use in this aspect of my invention is illustrated in
The clip 50a further comprises a press fit portion 60 extending rearwardly of the base portion 52:. See
A spring 66, comprising an arcuate member 68, is disposed between the press fit portion 60 of the clip 50a and the base portion 52 thereof. Again see
As shown in
The clip 50a shown in
A second embodiment of a suitable clip 50 is illustrated as clip 50b in
As shown in
The clip 50b also comprises a press fit portion 60b extending rearwardly of the base portion or first curved member 76. As in the case of the clip 50a, the press fit portion 60b comprises a central cylindrical stem 62b mounting four groups of six longitudinally oriented, integrally molded, generally rectangular, bendable planar fins 64b. See
As shown in
As shown in
The clip 50b, illustrated in
The fins 64 and 64b of clips 50a and 50b are described as rectangular, but of course, they could be fabricated in other shapes as long as they create an interference fit with the aperture 14.
As in the case of the dispenser 12a, the curved members 76 and 82 of the clip 50b enclose the dispenser 12b. See
Claims
1. In combination,
- a display board for displaying a tablet dispenser, the board comprising at least one aperture for attaching the tablet dispenser to the board for display purposes;
- a tablet dispenser, the tablet dispenser comprising an exterior housing, the housing comprising a base and a dispensing end; and
- a clip adapted to grip the tablet dispenser, the clip comprising a base portion and means adapted releasably to grip the exterior housing of the tablet dispenser,
- the clip further comprising a press fit portion extending rearwardly of the base portion, the press fit portion being of a diameter larger than the diameter of the aperture in the display board, whereby the press fit portion fits tightly in the aperture in the display board with an interference fit to attach the tablet dispenser to the display board, and
- a spring disposed between the press fit portion of the clip and the base portion thereof, the spring being biased to urge the dispenser housing away from the display board and stabilize its attachment to the display board.
2. The combination of claim 1, wherein the tablet dispenser comprises a tablet storage receptacle coaxially displaceably mounted in the housing, the tablet storage receptacle comprising a dispensing end, the tablet storage receptacle further comprising a spring biased to press a stack of tablets stored in the receptacle upwardly toward the dispensing end, the tablet storage receptacle further comprising a cover pivotally supported at the dispensing end, the cover comprising a handle operable to pivot the cover about a transverse axis to expose the uppermost tablet resting in a dispensing position.
3. The combination of claim 1, wherein the press fit portion of the clip comprises a central cylindrical stem and a plurality of integrally molded, planar bendable fins mounted thereon.
4. The combination of claim 3, wherein the fins comprise four groups of longitudinally oriented, generally rectangular planar fins mounted on the cylindrical stem.
5. The combination of claim 1, wherein the spring of the clip comprises an arcuate member, the arcuate member comprising a pair of ends, the ends being adapted to contact the display board.
6. The combination of claim 5, wherein the arcuate member comprises a pair of reliefs disposed one on each side of the press fit portion of the clip adjacent the base portion thereof to facilitate bending of the spring.
7. The combination of claim 1, wherein the exterior housing of the tablet dispenser comprises a pair of side walls and front and rear walls joining the side walls, the front wall comprising a forwardly protruding portion extending the vertical length of the housing from the base of the housing to the dispensing end thereof.
8. The combination of claim 7, wherein the releasable gripping means of the clip comprise a pair of arms extending forwardly of the base portion of the clip, each of the arms of the clip extending the width of the side walls of the housing, each of the arms comprising a gripping end, each gripping end being adapted releasably to grip the front wall of the housing on each side of the forwardly protruding portion thereof.
9. The combination of claim 1, wherein the base portion of the clip comprises a first curved member, and the releasable gripping means of the clip comprise a catch attached to one end of the first curved member and a second curved member hingedly attached at one end to the other end of the first curved member, the second curved member comprising a hook disposed at the other end thereof, the hook being adapted to engage and be retained by the catch on the first end of the first curved member, the first and second curved members being adapted to enclose the housing of the tablet dispenser.
10. In combination,
- a display board for displaying a tablet dispenser, the board comprising at least one aperture for attaching the tablet dispenser to the board for display purposes;
- a tablet dispenser, the tablet dispenser comprising an exterior housing, the housing comprising a base and a dispensing end, the housing further comprising a pair of side walls and front and rear walls joining the side walls, the front wall of the housing comprising a forwardly protruding portion extending the vertical length of the housing from its base to its dispensing end,
- the tablet dispenser further comprising a tablet storage receptacle coaxially displaceably mounted in the housing, the tablet storage receptacle comprising a dispensing end, the tablet storage receptacle further comprising a spring biased to press a stack of tablets stored in the receptacle upwardly toward the dispensing end, the tablet storage receptacle further comprising a cover pivotally supported at the dispensing end, the cover comprising a handle operable to pivot the cover about a transverse axis to expose the uppermost tablet resting in a dispensing position; and
- a clip adapted to grip the tablet dispenser, the clip comprising a base portion and means adapted releasably to grip the exterior housing of the tablet dispenser, the releasable gripping means of the clip comprising a pair of arms extending forwardly of the base portion, each of the arms extending the width of the side walls of the housing, each of the arms comprising a gripping end, each gripping end being adapted releasably to grip the front wall of the housing on each side of the forwardly protruding portion thereof,
- the clip further comprising a press fit portion extending rearwardly of the base portion, the press fit portion being of a diameter larger than the diameter of the aperture in the display board, whereby the press fit portion fits tightly in the aperture in the display board with an interference fit securely to attach the clip and the tablet dispenser to the display board, the press fit portion of the clip comprising a central cylindrical stem and four groups of longitudinally oriented, integrally molded, planar bendable fins mounted thereon, and
- a spring disposed between the press fit portion of the clip and the base portion thereof, the spring being biased to urge the dispenser housing away from the display board and stabilize its attachment to the display board, the spring comprising an arcuate member, the arcuate member comprising a pair of ends, the ends being adapted to contact the display board,
- the arcuate member comprising a pair of reliefs disposed one on each side of the press fit portion of the clip adjacent the base portion thereof to facilitate bending of the spring.
11. In combination,
- a display board for displaying a tablet dispenser, the board comprising at least one aperture for attaching the tablet dispenser to the board for display purposes;
- a tablet dispenser, the tablet dispenser comprising an exterior housing, the exterior housing comprising a base and a dispensing end,
- the tablet dispenser further comprising a tablet storage receptacle coaxially displaceably mounted in the housing, the tablet storage receptacle comprising a dispensing end, the tablet storage receptacle further comprising a spring biased to press a stack of tablets stored in the receptacle upwardly toward the dispensing end, the tablet storage receptacle further comprising a cover pivotally supported at the dispensing end, the cover comprising a handle operable to pivot the cover about a transverse axis to expose the uppermost tablet resting in a dispensing position; and
- a clip adapted to grip the tablet dispenser, the clip comprising a base portion and means adapted releasably to grip the exterior housing of the tablet dispenser, the base portion of the clip comprising a first curved member, and the releasable gripping means of the clip comprising a catch attached to one end of the first curved member and a second curved member hingedly attached at one end to the other end of the first curved member, the second curved member comprising a hook disposed at the other end thereof, the hook being adapted to engage and be retained by the catch on the first end of the first curved member, the first and second curved members being adapted to enclose the tablet dispenser,
- the clip further comprising a press fit portion extending rearwardly of the base portion, the press fit portion being of a diameter larger than the diameter of the aperture in the display board, whereby the press fit portion fits tightly in the aperture in the display board with an interference fit securely to attach the clip and the tablet dispenser to the display board, the press fit portion of the clip comprising a central cylindrical stem and a plurality of integrally molded, planar bendable fins mounted thereon, the fins comprising groups of four longitudinally oriented, generally rectangular planar fins mounted on the cylindrical stem, and
- a spring disposed between the press fit portion of the clip and the base portion thereof, the spring being biased to urge the dispenser housing away from the display board and stabilize its attachment to the display board, the spring comprising an arcuate member, the arcuate member comprising a pair of ends, the ends being adapted to contact the display board,
- the arcuate member comprising a pair of reliefs disposed one on each side of the press fit portion of the clip adjacent the base portion thereof to facilitate bending of the spring.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 19, 2003
Publication Date: Jan 6, 2005
Inventor: Sue Loshkajian (Portland, OR)
Application Number: 10/600,234