BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for dispensing flexible objects one at a time. Specifically, the apparatus and method dispenses newspapers, magazines and other periodicals one at a time in order to conserve paper and operate more efficiently. 
   2. Prior Art 
   Newspaper dispensing machines have been in existence for many years. Many persons rely upon these rather than daily delivery to their doors in order to obtain a newspaper. Although there are a variety of designs for these newspaper dispensing machines, they all operate on the same basic principle. 
   A person desiring a newspaper places the required amount of change into a slot in the newspaper machine. A door is then automatically unlocked. The operator then opens the door and grabs the newspaper on top of a stack within the device. This design allows an operator to grab as many newspapers as he or she desires while only paying for a single one. Newspaper companies have always relied on the honor system to deter persons from taking more than one newspaper. Unfortunately, the honor system is not always effective. Often a person will take two or more newspapers to share with others. In addition, teenage children often pay for a single newspaper and take the entire stack of newspapers for use in scurrilous activities, such as spreading them across a person&#39;s lawn. This same problem exists with similar devices designed to distribute magazines, pamphlets and other flexible objects such as various periodicals. 
   It is therefore desirable to provide an apparatus and method for dispensing a single newspaper or other periodical one at a time and not allowing the operator access to all the newspapers or periodicals within the dispensing device. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention provides an apparatus and method for dispensing a single newspaper or other periodical one at a time so as to prevent an operator from removing the entire stock of newspapers or periodicals within the dispensing device. After the operator dispenses the appropriate amount of money into the device, the dispensing mechanism is released and may be operated. The operator pulls on a lever causing a single newspaper to fall out of a chute. 
   The device holds the newspapers stacked horizontally. They are held together firmly between a blocking plate at the front of the stack and a spring or weight loaded push plate at the back of the stack. As newspapers are dispensed, the push plate applies pressure to the back of the newspaper stack to insure that the stack remains firmly held against the block plate. 
   The dispensing mechanism is better understood by explaining the mechanism from the point at which an operator releases the handle after having just pulled it outward. The handle is also weight loaded and retracts automatically. The handle is attached to a blade assembly. The blade assembly consists of a trap plate which is a flat, planar object. A padded blade is pivotally attached to the trap plate by means of the blade assembly. The blade is a long, thin planar body positioned vertically and has rollers or cams on either side of it. These cams or rollers fit within polygonal cam tracks located on either side of the blade. When the handle retracts causing the blade plate to retract into the device the rollers or cams follow the cam track and cause the blade to move in an upward motion as it goes further into the interior of the apparatus. The padded blade frictionally engages the foremost newspaper within the newspaper holding bin. As it moves upward, it pulls the newspaper slightly upward and over a toe that otherwise holds the newspapers in place. 
   The next time the handle is pulled outward by a subsequent operator, the blade is pulled away from the foremost newspaper, thereby disengaging it. In the absence of the frictional force applied to it by the blade, a newspaper freely falls downward. In between the toe and the trap plate is a relatively narrow opening leading into a chute. The newspaper falls through the chute and is thereby dispensed to the operator. Once the second operator disengages the handle, the handle and trap plate retract. This causes the blade to once again frictionally engage the next foremost newspaper and lift it above the restraining toe. The newspaper is then ready to be dropped through the chute the next time the handle is pulled outward. 
   As is explained in more detail below, the stack of newspapers is held snugly between the push plate and the block plate and restraining toe. The blade preferably has a rubber or other coating that increases the friction between it and the foremost newspaper. The blade moves upward as it pushes against the foremost newspaper, thereby pulling it over the restraining toe and holding it just above the dispensing chute. When the handle is pulled outward, the blade disengages the newspaper which then falls through the chute. 
   The motion of the blade is directed by the movement of the cam through the cam track. When the handle retracts, the cam track moves the cam in a backward and upward angled direction. When the handle is pulled outward the cam track guides the cam and blade forward and then downward. The interaction of the cam, cam track and blade is one of the unique features of the invention that allows a single newspaper or other item to be separated from the remaining articles within the device. 


   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a cut-away perspective view of the present invention. 
       FIG. 2  is a cut-away perspective view of the invention from a different angle. 
       FIG. 3  is a phantom view of a portion of the invention. 
       FIG. 4  is a side phantom view of the present invention. 
       FIG. 5  is a cut-away perspective view of a portion of the present invention. 
       FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the blade assembly and cam track of the present invention. 
       FIG. 7  is a side view of the cam track. 
       FIG. 8  is a perspective view of the blade assembly and cam track of the present invention. 
   


   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   The embodiments discussed herein are merely illustrative of specific manners in which to make and use the invention and are not to be interpreted as limiting the scope of the instant invention. 
   While the invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity, it is to be noted that many modifications may be made in the details of the invention&#39;s construction and the arrangement of its components without departing from the spirit and scope of this disclosure. It is understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiments set forth herein for purposes of exemplification. 
   In the present invention, a stack of newspapers or other periodicals is placed in a tray and stacked horizontally. A plate pushes against the back of the stack to hold it firmly. Another plate at the front and top of the stack along with a toe at the bottom of the front of the stack help to hold the stack in place. At the front of the stack is a blade. When a handle at the front of the device is released, the blade pushes against the newspaper at the top of the stack and pushes it slightly upward so that the bottom of the newspaper rises above the toe. When the handle is pulled, the blade moves away from the stack and the topmost newspaper is released. Because the toe is no longer holding the bottom of the newspaper in place, the newspaper falls into a dispensing chute from which it may be retrieved. The operation of the device may be more clearly understood by referring to the figures. 
     FIG. 1  shows a perspective cut-away image of the present invention. Dispensing apparatus  10  has a front  12 , a side  14  and a back  16 . In this image, approximately half of the device is shown. A second half that is a mirror image of what is shown is included in the entire device. Paper tray  26  has a bottom plate  28 , a top tray guide  18  and a lower tray guide  20 . A stack of newspapers is pushed against block plate  30  and toe  32  by push plate  22 . The front of the newspaper stack is held in place by push plate  22 , block plate  30  and toe  32 . Handle  38  is attached to trap plate  36 . As will be shown in more detail in the later figures, the trap plate  36  is moveably attached to blade  34 . 
     FIG. 2  shows a perspective view from another angle of the paper tray and dispensing mechanism. Top paper guide  18  and bottom paper guide  20  help hold the stack in place. Push plate  22  is attached to push plate guide  40  by support bar  24 . Push plate guide  40  consists of a cylinder  41  that wraps around guide rod  44 . To ensure smooth motion, push plate guide rod  44  is preferably lubricated. Weight cable  42  is attached to a weight (not shown) and rolls around a pulley inside pulley bracket  48 . Weight cable  42  pulls push plate guide  40  in a forward direction thereby pulling push plate  42  forward in order to apply pressure to the back of the paper stack. In this particular embodiment, push plate guide  40  moves along guide rod  44  by means of a cylinder  41  that surrounds the guide rod. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the push plate guide may also run along the guide rod by means of a roller or any of a variety of other methods known in the art. Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that a weight and a weight cable may also be replaced with the variety of other methods of applying forward pressure to back plate  22 . Springs may also be used as well as a motor. A weight and weight cable are typically preferred because strings will wear out and motors require energy and may break down. 
   In  FIG. 2  blade assembly  52  may be seen. Blade assembly  52  moveably attaches blade  34  to trap plate  36  and will be shown in more detail in  FIG. 6 . Cam track  50  may also be seen. Cam track  50  guides the movement of blade  34  as will also be seen in  FIG. 6 . Another weight cable and weight is typically applied to trap plate  36  to apply sufficient pressure to pull trap plate in the direction of directional arrow  37 . When handle  38  is pulled, trap plate  36  moves in the opposite direction of directional arrow  37 . When the handle  38  is released, the trap plate moves back into the device. This back and forth motion of trap plate  36  is transferred to blade  34  by means of blade assembly  52 . When the motion is transferred the movement of blade  34  is guided by cam track  50 . 
     FIG. 3  shows a phantom image of the invention. Here it can be seen how weight cable  42  engages pulley  46  inside pulley bracket  48 . Push plate support stanchion  54  may also be seen. In this embodiment, only one support stanchion is shown. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that it may be desirable to utilize multiple support stanchions to support push plate  22 . In this image, cam track  50  may also be seen. Cam  60  is inside cam track  50 . It can be seen that when trap plate  36  moves in the direction of directional arrow  37 , bracket assembly  52  will transfer the motion to blade  34 . Blade  34  is attached to cam  60 . As cam  60  moves backward in cam track  50 , it is pushed upward. This upward motion is transferred to blade  34  such that blade  34  begins to move in an upward direction approximately the time it contacts a newspaper at the front of a stack in paper tray  26 . This upward motion is transferred to the newspaper because blade  34  frictionally engages the paper at the front of the stack. This upward motion pulls the front newspaper over toe  32 . When handle  38  is used to move trap plate  36  forward in a direction opposite to that of directional arrow  37 , the movement is transferred by blade assembly  52  and is guided by cam  60  in cam track  50  which causes blade  34  to move away from the newspaper which has been lifted over toe  32 . Without the frictional engagement of blade  34  to hold the top newspaper in place, it falls into the space between blade  34  and toe  32  and drops into a dispensing chute. 
     FIG. 4  shows a left side view of the invention. In this figure push plate weight  43  can be seen attached to the end of weight cable  42 . The shape of cam track  50  can also be seen. Back portion  76  of cam track  50  is angled such that when cam  60  follows directional arrow  72  through cam track  50  the blade is caused to move forward and upward. This motion causes front newspaper  80  to become frictionally engaged to blade  34  and causes the paper to move up and over toe  32 . When cam  60  moves through cam track  50  by the route shown by directional arrow  74 , the blade disengages front paper  80  and allows it to drop into chute  56 . The next paper in stack  82  is then ready to be dispensed. Weights, springs or other devices known in the art are used to apply force to trap plate  36  in the direction of directional arrow  37  such that first paper  80  is held in place above the chute until handle  38  is pulled in the direction opposite of directional arrow  37 . A mechanism not shown prevents handle  38  from being pulled until an appropriate amount of money is deposited into the machine. Such devices are well known in the art. 
     FIG. 5  shows a perspective view of the invention that shows brackets  66  connecting blade  34  to cam  60 . Pivot pin  84  connects base  62  to blade rod  64  in such a way that it may pivot about pivot pin  84 . This allows the back and forth motion of trap plate  36  to be converted into a more circular-type motion of blade  34  as it is guided by the motion of cam  60  through cam track  50 . 
     FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the blade assembly and cam track  50 . As cam  60  moves through cam track  50  following directional arrow  72 , blade rod  64  tilts upward as it pivots about pivot pin  84  while blade  34  moves in an upward direction. Cam track  50  is formed by track outer wall  68  and inside wall  70 . Between these two walls is sufficient room for cam  60  to move. The two walls  68  and  70  form a track that is mostly rectangular except for back wall  76  which is angled. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the upward and backward motion of the blade caused by cam  60  moving in the direction of directional arrow  72  is what allows the blade to engage a newspaper and lift it over the toe. Cam track  50  does not need to be angular about its front portion  71 . However, it is preferable that corner  73  is angled such that the force causing the assembly to move in the direction of directional arrow  37  will hold the cam and thus the blade in place when the device is not in use. This prevents a newspaper from being released without money being deposited and the handle pulled. 
     FIG. 7  shows the motion of cam  60  as it moves about the cam track. The cam is normally at rest in position  90  in corner  73 . As explained previously, while in this position it holds the blade in a position such that a newspaper is ready to be dispensed. When the handle is pulled, the cam moves to position  92  thereby releasing a newspaper suspended above a chute by the blade. The force of gravity causes the cam to then fall into position  94 . When the handle is released, the pressure applied to the track plate causes the cam to move to position  96 , then to position  98 . The angle of back wall  76  causes the cam to return to position  90 . As shown in the other figures, this causes the blade to move in the same fashion, thereby frictionally engaging the next newspaper in the stack and lifting it above the toe. The paper is then suspended and ready to be released as the prior one was. 
     FIG. 8  shows the change in position of blade  34  and movement of cam  60  into position  98  as shown in  FIG. 7 . As can be seen in  FIG. 8 , movement of cam  60  to position  98  and toward corner  73  causes blade  34  to move above and to the rear of toe  32 . Those skilled in the art will appreciate that this will cause blade  34  to frictionally engage a newspaper or other flexible article and will result in it being lifted above toe  32 . 
   Whereas, the present invention has been described in relation to the drawings attached hereto, it should be understood that other and further modifications, apart from those shown or suggested herein, may be made within the spirit and scope of this invention.
A periodical dispensing device combines a camming mechanism and an article engaging blade to separate a single article from a horizontal stack. When actuated, the separated article is released through a dispensing chute. The stacked articles are dispensed through a chute one at a time. Newspapers, periodicals and other flexible articles may be used with the device.