Abstract: The golf ball positioning dispenser for putting practice comprises a hollow tube for holding golf balls. A stop mechanism attached to a body block near the bottom end of the tube dispenses balls one at a time. The stop mechanism includes a pivotally attached biased lever that controls movement of a ball release pin and a ball retention pin into the tube in alternating cycles. The body block is attached to a travel wheel for circumferential travel around a practice hole. A telescoping radial arm is provided to keep travel of the travel wheel a predetermined user selected radial distance from the hole. Cams attached to the wheel engage the biased lever to dispense the golf balls from the tube at predetermined intervals of arc along a circumference of travel. A stand is included to stabilize the tube in an upright position.

Abstract: A stack of baskets carrying frozen chickens or the like are mounted on a dolly which is wheeled into a denester having spaced apart vertical side walls. Each of the side walls carries a vertically moving conveyor having spaced hooks adapted to be moved inwardly to engage the baskets. As the conveyors move upwardly, the top basket is lifted from the top of the stack. As the conveyors continue to move, the next basket is lifted and this continues until all of the baskets are lifted off of the dolly and are spaced apart from each other. A horizontal conveyor is then interposed beneath the lowermost basket. The vertical conveyors are moved downwardly until the lowermost basket rests on the horizontal conveyor and the conveyor hooks are removed therefrom. This basket is then conveyed horizontally to make room for the next lowermost basket and the process continues until all of the baskets have been denested.

Abstract: Apparatus and method for individually dispensing an item such as a newspaper from among a set of items. The dispensing machine includes a mechanism for individually dispensing an item from among a vertically stacked set of items; a money collection device for activating the dispensing mechanism upon payment of particular sum of money, and a housing containing the dispensing mechanism and the money collection device. Each article is urged against the front of the machine, and upon activation, is lifted slightly to clear a barrier, then discharged to the exterior of the machine.

Abstract: First and second separately actuatable triggers are mounted to a housing which carries a hollow needle through which a fastener is dispensed. The needle is mounted to the housing for movement between original and extended positions. The article to be tagged is situated adjacent the front of the housing. When the first trigger is depressed, a tag is moved from a stack on the housing into alignment with the needle as the needle is moved forward to pierce the tag and article. Also, a fastener is fed into the needle. When the second trigger is depressed, the fastener is moved through the needle such that the T-bar end is situated behind the article and the needle retracts to its original position. The apparatus is pulled away from the article, leaving the tag affixed by the fastener. The apparatus is light-weight, easily manipulatable, and can be operated by a single hand.

Abstract: First and second separately actuatable triggers are mounted to a housing which carries a hollow needle through which a fastener is dispensed. The needle is mounted to the housing for movement between original and extended positions. The article to be tagged is situated adjacent the front of the housing. When the first trigger is depressed, a tag is moved from a stack on the housing into alignment with the needle as the needle is moved forward to pierce the tag and article. Also, a fastener is fed into the needle. When the second trigger is depressed, the fastener is moved through the needle such that the T-bar end is situated behind the article and the needle retracts to its original position. The apparatus is pulled away from the article, leaving the tag affixed by the fastener. The apparatus is light-weight, easily manipulatable, and can be operated by a single hand.

Abstract: The tag-dispensing device is designed for use with a hand-held plastic fastener attacher of the type having a needle for penetrating an article to be tagged and through which a fastener is dispensed. The device includes a support to which the attacher is movably mounted and upon which is situated a stack of tags. A slide is utilized to move a tag along the plane between the stack and a position in alignment with the needle of the attacher. The attacher is mounted to the support by a plate which is movable relative to the support between a position wherein the needle is remote from the plane of slide movement and a position wherein the needle intersects the plane. Slide movement may be accomplished manually or automatically in conjunction with the movement of the attacher by using a mechanical linkage, an electrically driven motor, a solenoid, or a pneumatic cylinder.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method for applying objects such as antibiotic disc to a surface (2), e.g. the surface of a culture medium, by impaling them on an axially movable needle (3), which applies the object to the surface, after which a member (4) presses the object against the surface. The needle and the member are thereafter returned to the relative starting position. Moreover, the invention concerns a device for applying objects (1), such as an antibiotic disc to a surface (2), such as the surface of a culture medium, which device comprises at least one axially movable needle (3), a feeding surface (5), at least one hole (6) located in the feeding direction and at least one member (4) arranged so that it can press the object against the surface (2).

Abstract: A machine for vending newspapers, magazines and the like including a housing having a dispensing opening and a dispensing gate in the opening, a tray for supporting a stack of papers and tray elevating mechanism for urging the tray upwardly until the top paper in the stack is adjacent the level of the dispensing opening, a feed mechanism operative through a dispensing stroke to feed the end paper at least part way off the stack into the dispensing opening, and gate control mechanism operative to prevent opening of the gate between dispensing cycles and operative when the feed mechanism is moved in its dispensing stroke to enable opening of the gate, the gate control mechanism also including mechanism operative whenever the dispensing gate is held open after the feed mechanism has completed its dispensing stroke, for preventing elevation of the support tray toward the dispensing opening to thereby impede the access to the papers in the stack through the dispensing opening.

Abstract: Folded documents are singly fed from the bottom of a stack by an ejector having a pin, hook or catch along one edge which moves below the bottom of the stack and is selectably slidable so as to engage the lowermost document. The lowermost document is slidingly delivered through an aperture by the ejector which, in one embodiment, grips the rear edge of the document while, in other embodiments, the bottom surface of the lowermost document is embedded with a pin or otherwise frictionally engaged. An adjustable slide restrictor plate can be positioned so as to prevent more than one document from exiting from a slot while permitting sufficient vertical motion of the plate so as to accommodate variable document thicknesses such as from folding irregularities associated with the document being ejected. An additional plate follows the top of the document stack and includes an engaging stub to prevent machine actuation when the stack has been depleted.

Abstract: A vending machine for newspapers or the like is provided having a single piece, clear cover which allows the merchandise to be viewed from various angles, which is easy to fill, and which protects the papers from exposure to the elements. The vending machine preferably incorporates an improved slide mechanism, making it substantially impossible to cheat the machine by obtaining more than one paper on a single operation of the slide release mechanism.

Abstract: A newspaper vending machine is provided which is coin operated and which discharges a single paper on each operation of the coin mechanism, preventing theft of papers.