US3228556A

US3228556A - Token dispensing device

Info

Publication number: US3228556A
Application number: US366384A
Authority: US
Inventors: Martin S Nonestied
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1964-05-11
Filing date: 1964-05-11
Publication date: 1966-01-11
Anticipated expiration: 1983-01-11

Description

1966 M. s. NONESTIED TOKEN DISPENSING DEVICE Filed y 11, 1964 FIG. 1

FIG. 5

FIG. 2

INVENTOR MART/Iv SNONESTIED ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,228,556 TOKEN DISPENSING DEVICE Martin S. Nonestied, 1464 MeCrea Place, Plainfield, NJ. Filed May 11, 1964, Ser. No. 366,384 4 Claims. (Cl. 221279) The present invention relates to dispensing devices and more particularly to a device for dispensing tokens or markers used in games of amusement such as Lotto, Bingo, or the like.

One of the objects of the present in vention is to provide a token dispensing device which is easily operable by one hand to dispense tokens one at a time in rapid succession at desired locations on a game board or card.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a token dispensing device that is operable to dispense a single token at a chosen location on a game board or card by merely pressing the delivery end of the dispenser down upon the card or board at the desired location.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a dispensing device having the above features which is easily loaded with a plurality of tokens and one wherein the number of tokens in the dispenser after a period of use is easily determined or estimated.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a dispensing device that is relatively cheap and easy to manufacture and one wherein the several parts thereof are not likely to become separated during the use thereof in dispensing tokens.

The above and further objects and features of the present invention will be more apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment thereof wherein reference is made to the accompanying drawings in the latter of which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the dispensing device of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially on line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken on line 3- 3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a bottom end view of the dispenser; and

FIG. 5 is a view partly in section taken on line 5-5 of FIG. 2.

Referring now to the drawings, reference numeral 11 indicates in general the dispensing tube of the device which may be of any suitable material, preferably plastic, which is closed at one end, as at 12, and open at the other end. Where the tokens 13 are of the usual circular or disc shape, the dispensing tube 11 will be of cylindrical cross-section with an inside diameter slightly greater than the diameter of the tokens 13 so that the tokens are free to move and stack therein.

The botom or discharge end of the dispensing tube 11 is open and attached thereto is the so-called token retaining ring 14. The retaining ring 14 fits over the reduced diameter section 16 at the end of the tube 11 and has formed therein inwardly projecting pins 17 adapted to engage lips or surfaces 18 or slots 19 in the section 16 of the tube 11 to hold the two units together. A slight turning of the retaining ring 14 with respect to the tube 11 to move the pins 17 into alignment with the axial part of the slots 19 permits the retaining ring to be separated from the tube 11. With the retaining ring 14 removed, the tube can easily be loaded with a supply of tokens 13 which assume a slacked position therein.

Positioned within the retaining ring 14, at the end of the tube 11 and at shoulder 21 on the inside of the ring 14 is a circular element 22 having a series of teeth 23 along the lower edge thereof. The teeth 23 extend inwardly at a slight angle to the axis of the tube and are flexible. The element 22 may be made of suitable ma- 3,228,556 Patented Jan. 11, 1966 terial such as spring brass, for example, and the teeth 23 thereof are adapted to prevent the tokens 13 from freely falling out of the tube 11.

The tube 11 has a pair of diametrically opposed axial slots 24 therein extending a substantial part of its length and extending through these slots are pins 26. The outer ends of the pins 26 have knurled thumb and finger gripping heads 27 and the inner ends of the pins are suitably anchored or fixed in appropriate openings in a relatively short cylindrical member 28 hereinafter called a token pusher. The pusher 28 is slightly less in diameter than the inner diameter of the tube 11 and has a circular groove 29 in the periphery thereof in which is mounted a ring of suitable friction material 31 such as felt or the like. The felt 31 prevents the token pusher 28 from freely moving in the tube and as will be hereinafter apparent provides sufiicient friction between the pusher and the tube to enable the dispenser to be picked up by grasping the thumb and finger heads 27 without movement of the pusher 28 relative to the tube 11 even with the tube 11 substantially full of tokens.

In using the dispenser of the present invention, the heads 27 are grasped by the thumb and forefinger and the lower end placed over or on the location where it is desired to deposit a token. A downward pressure is then exerted on the heads 27 which forces the lowermost token engaged by the teeth 23 of the ring 22 to be forced out of engagement therewith and permits the teeth to engage and retain the next above token. The dispenser can then be raised and the lowermost token will be left on the board. The location of the teeth 23 above the extreme end of the dispenser are such with respect to the thickness of the tokens that only one token at a time will be deposited.

From the above description of the preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be apparent that I have provided a token dispenser of novel construction with a number of advantages over those heretofore available. The advantages include a dispenesr having a uniform length whether loaded, partly loaded or empty of token, positive feed of the tokens in depositing, one where the supply of tokens in the dispenser is readily apparent at all times and one from which the tokens can easily be dispensed at desired locations in very rapid succession.

While the invention has been described in but its preferred embodiment, it will be obvious that various modifications can be made therein without departing from spirit or essential attributes thereof and it is desired therefore that only such limitations be placed thereon as are imposed by the appended claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A token dispenser comprising a hollow cylindrical casing for containing a stack of tokens, said casing being closed at one end and having the other end open, a token retaining ring, means for releasably attaching said ring to the open end of said casing, said means including axially extending pins on said ring engageable with slots adjacent the open end of said casing, said retaining ring being resiliently held on the inner surface thereof, a resiliently expandable toothed member adapted to resiliently engage the inner surface of said ring with the teeth thereof extending inwardly and adapted to yieldingly engage the lowermost one of a stack of tokens in said casing to normally retain the stack of tokens therein, a token pusher in said casing above said tokens, a pair of diametrically opposed axial slots in said casing, a pair of pins extending through said slots with the inner ends thereof anchored in said pusher and the outer ends having enlarged finger gripping heads on the exterior of said casing, means including said finger gripping heads to manually apply pressure to said token pusher and the stack of: tokens insaid; casing to discharge the lowermost one of the stack from engagement with said toothed resilient member with said resilient member being spaced a predetermined distance above the'lowermost end of said retaining ring. to permit only a predetermined number of tokens-to be discharged past said'mernber when the lower end of said retaining ring is in engagement with a token receiving surface.

2. The token dispenser as set forth in claim 1 and including resilient frictional means on said token pusher andengaging the inner walls of said casing whereby there is no relative axial movement between the pusher and the casing when the dispenser is lifted by the finger gripping heads from the token receiving. surface.

3'. A token dispenser comprising a hollow cylindrical casing, for containing a plurality of tokens in a stacked condition, said casing being open atone end and closed at the other, a ringat the open end of said casing, means including axially extending pins on said ring engageable with slots on said casing for removably securing said ring to said casing, said ring having on the inner circumference thereof means for resiliently engaging the periphery of the lowermostltoken of the stack contained in said ber of tokens to move past said token engaging means.

when the lower end of said ring is placed on a token receiving surface and'pressure applied to said token pusher.

4. The token dispenser as set forth in claim 3 and including means on said token pusher adapted tofrictionally engage the inner walls of said casing to premit said, dispenser to be lifted by said finger gripping means Without v movement ofsaid pusher in said casing.

ReferenceslCited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 20 2,294,001 8/ 1942, Ritter 221-279 2,431,121 11/1947 Hunter 221279 2,623,803 12/1952 Gamble 221227 FOREIGN PATENTS 568,241 10/ 1957 Italy.

LOUIS J; DEMBO, Primary Examiner.

WALTER SOBIN, Examiner.

Claims

1. A TOKEN DISPENSER COMPRISING A HOLLOW CYLINDRICAL CASING FOR CONTAINING A STACK OF TOKENS, SAID CASING BEING CLOSED AT ONE END AND HAVING THE OTHER END OPEN, A TOKEN RETAINING RING, MEANS FOR RELEASABLY ATTACHING SAID RING TO THE OPEN END OF SAID CASING, SAID MEANS INCLUDING AXIALLY EXTENDING PINS ON SAID RING ENGAGEABLE WITH SLOTS ADJACENT THE OPEN END OF SAID CASING, SAID RETAINING RING BEING RESILIENTLY HELD ON THE INNER SURFACE THEREOF, A RESILIENTLY EXPANDABLE TOOTHED MEMBER ADAPTED TO RESILIENTLY ENAGAGE THE INNER SURFACE OF SAID RING WITH THE TEETH THEREOF EXTENDING INWARDLY AND ADAPTED TO YIELDINGLY ENGAGE THE LOWERMOST ONE OF A STACK OF TOKENS IN SAID CASING TO NORMALLY RETAIN THE STACK OF TOKENS THEREIN, A TOKEN PUSHER IN SAID CASING ABOVE SAID TOKENS, A PAIR OF DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSED AXIAL SLOTS IN SAID CASING, A PAIR OF PINS EXTENDING THROUGH SAID SLOTS WITH THE INNER ENDS THEREOF ANCHORED IN SAID PUSHER AND THE OUTER ENDS HAVING ENLARGED FINGER GRIPPING HEADS ON THE EXTERIOR OF SAID CASING, MEANS INCLUDING SAID FINGER GRIPPING HEADS TO MANUALLY APPLY PRESSURE TO SAID TOKEN PUSHER AND THE STACK OF TOKENS IN SAID CASING TO DISCHARGE THE LOWERMOST ONE OF THE STACK FROM ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID TOOTHED RESILIENT MEMBER WITH SAID RESILIENT MEMBER BEING SPACED IN PREDETERMINED DISTANCE ABOVE THE LOWERMOST END OF SAID RETAINING RING TO PERMIT ONLY A PREDETERMINED NUMBER OF TOKENS TO BE DISCHARGED PAST SAID MEMBER WHEN THE LOWER END OF SAID RETAINING RING IS IN ENGAGEMENT WITH A TOKEN RECEIVING SURFACE.