Article dispensing units removable from an enclosing casing

Claim 1

A MACHINE FOR INDIVIDUALLY DISPENSING THIN ELEMENTS SUCH AS SUTURES AND THE LIKE, COMPRISING IN COMBINATION: A HOUSING HAVING A SLOT FORMED THEREIN THROUGH WHICH THE ELEMENTS MAY PASS; A MAGAZINE UNIT CONTAINING A MEANS FOR HOLDING A PLURALITY OF THE ELEMENTS RETRACTABLY INSERTED INTO SAID HOUSING AND SUPPORTED THEREBY ADJACENT SAID SLOT; SAID HOLDING MEANS INCLUDING A PAIR OF SUPERIMPOSED, FLEXIBLE, SEPARATELY CONNECTED STRIPS BETWEEN WHICH A PLURALITY OF THE ELEMENTS ARE INSERTED IN LONGITUDINALLY SPACED RELATION; SAID UNIT INCLUDING GUIDE MEANS PROTRUDED OUTWARDLY THROUGH SAID SLOT FOR GUIDING SAID STRIPS AS A UNIT OUTWARDLY OF SAID HOUSING; SAID UNIT INCLUDING FURTHER UPPER AND LOWER PAIRS OF ROLLERS FOR GRIPPING SAID STRIPS SUCH, UPON ROTATION, TO SEPARATE SAID STRIPS AND FEED THE ELEMENTS SUCCESSIVELY THROUGH SAID GUIDE MEANS AND OUTWARDLY OF SAID SLOT; FIRST ACTUATING MEANS INCLUDING AT LEAST A GEAR MOUNTED ON SAID UNIT FOR ROTATING SAID ROLLERS; SECOND ACTUATING MEANS MOUNTED ON SAID HOUSING, AND INCLUDING A RECIPROCAL RACK ENGAGEABLE BY SAID GEAR UPON INSERTION OF SAID UNIT INTO SAID HOUSING; AND MEANS FOR RECIPROCATING SAID RACK IN A PREDETERMINED MANNER WHEREBY ONE ELEMENT IS FED THROUGH SAID SLOT AT A TIME.