Article dispenser

Abstract

A display and dispenser device for facilitating loading, display and dispensing of individual merchandise units. The dispenser includes a housing defining a chamber adapted for holding individual units therein. A wall is slidably attached to a track inside the chamber via a biasing mechanism which assures that each merchandise unit loaded therein is pushed to the front of the device for display and easy retrieval. At least two side gripper tabs and a top gripper tab are flexibly attached to the housing to partially and flexibly block the front entrance to the chamber, thus preventing accidental and unintentional removal of units from the device while facilitating dispensing of single units at a time. Stacking tabs and respective recesses are provided on the housing to facilitate stacking and/or connection of the dispenser devices with each other.

1 . A dispenser comprising: 
 a housing defining a chamber adapted to receive a plurality of individual units; and    at least two side gripper tabs flexibly attached to the housing at a front end for gripping a displayed unit, said gripper tabs having a first state and a second state, wherein in the first state, the gripper tabs partially block a front entrance to the chamber.    
   
   
       2 . The dispenser of  claim 1 , wherein in the second state, the gripper tabs are flexed in opposing directions to permit extraction of a single unit.  
   
   
       3 . The dispenser of  claim 1 , further comprising at least two flex attachments for flexibly attaching each of said gripper tabs to opposing sides of the front entrance.  
   
   
       4 . The dispenser of  claim 3 , wherein said flex attachments comprise spring steel.  
   
   
       5 . The dispenser of  claim 1 , further comprising at least two side arms protruding from the housing at opposing sides of the front entrance.  
   
   
       6 . The dispenser of  claim 5 , further comprising at least two flex attachments for flexibly attaching each of said gripper tabs to each of the side arms.  
   
   
       7 . The dispenser of  claim 1 , further comprising a top gripper tab flexibly attached to a top of the front end of the housing for gripping a top part of an individual unit.  
   
   
       8 . The dispenser of  claim 1 , wherein said partial blocking of the front entrance of the chamber by the gripper tabs comprises protrusion of a portion of each gripper tab into the chamber from a left and right side.  
   
   
       9 . The dispenser of  claim 1 , wherein said partial blocking of the front entrance of the chamber results in a front face of a loaded unit being fully visible except for a portion of the unit gripped by each of the gripper tabs.  
   
   
       10 . The dispenser of  claim 1 , wherein each gripper tab includes a sloped edge angled inwards towards the chamber to effectuate said partial blocking of the front entrance of the chamber.  
   
   
       11 . The dispenser of  claim 1 , wherein the housing includes a track disposed at a bottom of the chamber and a wall slidably mounted on the track via a biasing mechanism.  
   
   
       12 . A unit dispenser comprising: 
 a housing defining a chamber adapted to have a plurality of units loaded therein; and    at least two side tabs flexibly attached to the housing at a front end, each of said side tabs having a first state and a second state, wherein in the first state, the side tabs partially block a front entrance to the chamber, each side tab including a sloped edge angled inwards towards the chamber to effectuate said partial blocking of the front entrance of the chamber.    
   
   
       13 . The dispenser of  claim 12 , wherein in the second state, the side tabs are flexed in opposing directions to permit extraction of a single loaded unit.  
   
   
       14 . The dispenser of  claim 12 , further comprising at least two flex attachments for flexibly attaching each of said side tabs to opposing sides of the front entrance.  
   
   
       15 . The dispenser of  claim 14 , wherein said flex attachments comprise spring steel.  
   
   
       16 . The dispenser of  claim 12 , further comprising at least two side arms protruding from the housing at opposing sides of the front entrance.  
   
   
       17 . The dispenser of  claim 16 , further comprising at least two flex attachments for flexibly attaching each of said side tabs to each of the side arms.  
   
   
       18 . The dispenser of  claim 12 , further comprising a top gripper tab flexibly attached to a top of the front end of the housing for gripping a top part of a loaded unit.  
   
   
       19 . The dispenser of  claim 12 , wherein said partial blocking of the front entrance of the chamber results in a front face of a loaded unit being fully visible except for a portion of the unit gripped by each of the side tabs.  
   
   
       20 . A unit dispenser comprising: 
 a housing defining a chamber adapted to have a plurality of units loaded therein;    at least two side arms protruding from the housing at opposing sides of the front entrance;    at least two flex attachments for flexibly attaching a side tab to each of the side arms, each of said side tabs having a first state and a second state, wherein in the first state, the side tabs partially block a front entrance to the chamber, each side tab including a sloped edge angled inwards towards the chamber to effectuate said partial blocking of the front entrance of the chamber, wherein said partial blocking of the front entrance of the chamber results in a front face of a loaded displayed unit being fully visible except for a portion of the unit gripped by each of the side tabs; and    a top gripper tab flexibly attached to a top of the front end of the housing for gripping a top part of a loaded unit.