Literature dispensing apparatus

Claim 1

A stand for display of advertising messages and dispensing of pieces of literature from a stack comprising the combination of: an elongated upright cabinet having an internal storage compartment; a movable carriage positionable within said storage compartment, in a vertical reciprocal and rectilinear direction so as to move a platform fixed on said carriage within said storage compartment in said vertical direction; roller means carried on said carriage rollably engaging with an opposing wall surface of said cabinet while permitting stabilized carriage travel through said cabinet storage compartment in said vertical direction; a stack of literature pieces disposed on said platform having the topmost piece of literature partially exposed in a preparatory position for removal from said cabinet; a lid movably attached to said cabinet for opening and closing said storage compartment; resilient means operably coupled between said carriage and said cabinet exteriorly of said cabinet normally biasing and urging said stack of literature pieces in a vertical rectilinear direction towards said lid; advancement mechanism carried on the underside of said lid in frictional engagement with the uppermost piece of literature whereby manual advancement of said topmost piece of literature from said cabinet moves a secondmost piece of literature underlying said topmost piece into said preparatory position; means movably mounting said advancement mechanism on said lid to accommodate for misalignment of said literature in a horizontal plane immediately beneath said advancement mechanism; said cabinet having a dispensing slot immediately ahead of said advancement mechanism through which a portion of said topmost piece of literature is exposed when in said preparatory position; and said resilient means comprising at least one coil spring having opposite ends connected to said cabinet and said carriage respectively.