Article denesting and dispensing apparatus

Claim 1

DISPENSING APPARATUS FOR A VERTICAL STACK OF NESTED ARTICLES TO BE DISPENSED ONE-BY-ONE COMPRISING A SUPPORT FRAME, VERTICALLY EXTENDING CHUTE MEANS DEFINING A VERTICAL PATH OF TRAVEL FOR A VERTICALLY DISPOSED STACK OF NESTED ARTICLES, SAID CHUTE MEANS TERMINATING INTERMEDIATELY OF SAID SUPPORT FRAME, A PAIR OF OPPOSED ARTICLE SUPPORT MEANS ADJACENT THE LOWER END OF SAID CHUTE MEANS AND INCLUDING MECHANICALLY-OPERATED, LATERALLY-DISPLACEABLE LIP PORTIONS MOVABLE RELATIVE TO SAID VERTICAL PATH OF TRAVEL OF SAID CHUTE MEANS, A VERTICALLY OSCILLATABLE ARTICLE TRANSPORT ASSEMBLY PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ON SAID SUPPORT FRAME REARWARDLY AND BENEATH THE LOWER END OF SAID CHUTE MEANS, SAID ARTICLE TRANSPORT ASSEMBLY INCLUDING A PAIR OF ELONGATED, PARALLEL ARTICLE-GRIPPING JAWS EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY BENEATH THE LOWER END OF SAID CHUTE MEANS, AT LEAST ONE OF SAID GRIPPING JAWS BEING DISPLACEABLE WITH RESPECT TO THE OTHER FOR GRIPPINGLY AND RELEASABLY ENGAGING THE LOWERMOST ARTICLE IN SAID CHUTE MEANS, ARTICLE STRIPPING MEANS ON SAID SUPPORT FRAME BENEATH THE LOWER END OF SAID CHUTE MEANS AND INTERMEDIATELY OF THE PATH OF TRAVEL OF SAID GRIPPING JAWS FOR RECEIVING SAID GRIPPING JAWS THEREBENEATH, MECHANICALLY OPERATED CONVEYING MEANS FORWARDLY OF SAID STRIPPING MEANS FOR FRICTIONALLY ENGAGING AND EXPRESSING AN ARTICLE STRIPPED AWAY FROM SAID STRIPPING MEANS, AND POWER MEANS ON SAID SUPPORT FRAME OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO SAID MECHANICALLY-OPERATED LIP PORTIONS, SAID ARTICLE TRANSPORT ASSEMBLY AND SAID CONVEYING MEANS FOR OPERATING THE SAME.