Sprung Display Case for Dispensing Products

Abstract

A sprung display case for dispensing products, particularly heavy products such as beverage multipacks. The case comprises a vertical chamber that is open at an upper end (and is sized and shaped such that a plurality of the products can be vertically stacked within the chamber; a horizontal platform that is mounted to be vertically slidable within the chamber, the platform having at least one air hole formed therethrough; a single resiliently compressible member mounted in the chamber between a lower side of the platform and an upper side of a base of the chamber to bias the platform towards the upper end of the chamber; and a tether fixed at a first end to the platform and at a second end to the base of the chamber to prevent the platform moving out of the upper end of the chamber.

Claims

1. A sprung display case for dispensing individual stacked products, the case comprising: a vertical chamber sized and shaped such that a plurality of the products can be vertically stacked within the chamber, wherein the vertical chamber is open at an upper end to define an upper opening through which the products exit the vertical chamber, wherein the upper opening is congruent with the size and shape of a horizontal cross-section of the vertical chamber, and wherein the upper opening is unobstructed; a lower base sized and shaped to support the plurality of the individual products vertically stacked within the vertical chamber; a horizontal platform mounted to be vertically slidable within the chamber; and a resiliently compressible member mounted in the chamber between a lower side of the platform and an upper side of the base of the chamber to bias the platform towards the upper end of the chamber, wherein the strength of the resiliently compressible member is selected such that the uppermost product stacked on an upper side of the platform is positioned at or about the upper end of the chamber based on the weight of the product.

2. The case according to claim 1, wherein the chamber is substantially cuboid.

3. The case according to claim 1, wherein the platform is formed of a sheet material.

4. The case according to claim 3, wherein the platform is formed of sheet metal.

5. The case according to claim 1, wherein the platform has a plurality of air holes formed therethrough.

6. The case according to claim 1, wherein the resiliently compressible member is a coil spring.

7. The case according to claim 6, wherein the spring is formed of steel wire having a diameter of at least 8 mm.

8. The case according to claim 1, wherein the chamber is sized and shaped to house beverage multipacks.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a first embodiment of a display case according to the prior art;

[0026] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a second embodiment of a display case according to the prior art; and

[0027] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a display case according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0028] A sprung display case 21 according to the present invention is shown in FIG. 3. The case 21 comprises a vertical chamber 22 open at an upper end 23, a horizontal platform 24 slidably mounted within the chamber 22, a coil spring 25 mounted within the chamber 22 beneath the platform 24, and a tether 26 attached at a first end to a lower side of the platform 24 and at a second end to a base of the chamber 22. The tether 26 is located centrally within the coil spring 25. The case 21 is designed to display multipack beverages.

[0029] The platform 24 is formed of sheet metal and has a plurality of air holes 27 formed therethrough to air to pass the platform 24 as it slides vertically within the chamber 22. The spring 25 is formed of steel wire having a diameter of approximately 9 mm. The tether 26 is a steel chain. The display case 21 has a height such that the upper end of the vertical chamber 22 is at a safe lifting height for the average person. When the case 21 is empty the tether 26 acts to hold the spring 25 in a compressed state and the platform 24 substantially at the upper end of the chamber 22. In particular, the tether 26 prevents the platform 24 from extending out of the upper end of the chamber 22.

[0030] The display case 21 is operated in the following manner. A plurality of identical beverage multipacks are stacked in the vertical chamber 22. When doing this the platform 24 will move vertically down the chamber 22 and the spring 25 will be compressed. The strength of the spring is such that the uppermost of the beverage multipacks will be positioned substantially at the upper end of the vertical chamber 22. If a customer wishes to purchase a multipack they can then remove the uppermost multipack from the case. When the uppermost multipack is removed the weight acting on the platform 24 and the spring 25 will be reduced and the spring will then act to move the platform 24 upwards. This will move the multipacks positioned on the platform 24 upwards until the next multipack is positioned substantially at the upper end of the chamber 22.

[0031] The airholes 27 formed through the platform 24 allow the platform to move easily along the chamber 22 under the action of the spring. The size and positioning of the airholes 27 is such that air can still flow when multipacks are positioned on the platform 24. Further, the airholes 27 are sized such that air flow through and around the platform 24 is limited to damp the movement of the platform 24. This prevents the movement of the platform 24 being too rapid.