U.S. patent application number 10/165207 was filed with the patent office on 2003-02-13 for disposable towel holder with suction cup.
This patent application is currently assigned to E&B Giftware LLC.. Invention is credited to Hollinger, Fred.
Application Number | 20030029961 10/165207 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 27079670 |
Filed Date | 2003-02-13 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030029961 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Hollinger, Fred |
February 13, 2003 |
Disposable towel holder with suction cup
Abstract
A holder for a roll of disposable towels has a base and an
upstanding member extending upwardly from the base to be inserted
into the hollow core of a roll of disposable towels. A suction cup
is held to the underside of the base for holding the base securely
to a surface such as a counter top upon removal of the towels from
the roll. The suction cup is secured within a recess of the base by
a washer held within the recess, and has upstanding portions
engaging the underside of the base to enable the suction cup to be
depressed by movement of the holder downwardly. In preferred form,
the base and upstanding member are made from wood.
Inventors: |
Hollinger, Fred; (Kings
Park, NY) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Gerard F. Dunne
Suite 1223
156 Fifth Avenue
New York
NY
10010
US
|
Assignee: |
E&B Giftware LLC.
Yonkers
NY
|
Family ID: |
27079670 |
Appl. No.: |
10/165207 |
Filed: |
June 6, 2002 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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10165207 |
Jun 6, 2002 |
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09840645 |
Apr 23, 2001 |
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6443388 |
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09840645 |
Apr 23, 2001 |
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09586296 |
Jun 2, 2000 |
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6405973 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
242/597.7 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47K 10/3836 20130101;
A47K 10/38 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
242/597.7 |
International
Class: |
B65H 016/04 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. In a holder for a roll of disposable towels having a hollow
central core, said holder having a base having an inner recess
formed with a generally domed shape upper surface, an upstanding
member extending upwardly from a central portion of said base and
adapted to be inserted into said core, a suction cup held within
said recess and adapted to be depressed by downward movement of the
holder for holding the base securely to a surface for removal of
towels from the roll, and a holding member secured to said upper
surface of said recess and adapted to hold an upstanding knob
member projecting upwardly from a central portion of said suction
cup.
2. A holder for a roll of disposable towels as set forth in claim
1, said base having an opening, and a tab upstanding from said
suction cup and through said opening enabling the suction cup to be
released from the surface.
3. A holder for a roll of disposable towels as set forth in claim
1, said base extending laterally to the expected extent of the
outer periphery of said roll.
4. A holder for a roll of disposable towels as set forth in claim
1, including an upstanding sidebar positioned laterally of said
upstanding member and adapted to engage the expected lateral extent
of the roll, said base extending laterally to the expected extent
of the outer periphery of said roll.
5. A holder for a roll of disposable towels as set forth in claim
1, said suction cup having projections extending upwardly from said
suction cup and adapted to be engaged by said upper surface of said
inner recess upon downward movement of the holder.
6. A holder for a roll of disposable towels as set forth in claim
5, said base having an opening, and a tab upstanding from said
suction cup and through said opening for releasing the suction cup
from the surface.
7. A holder for a roll of disposable towels as set forth in claim
5, said projections being formed by a pair of semi-circular ridges
arranged concentrically about said upstanding knob member.
8. A holder for a roll of disposable towels as set forth in claim
5, said base extending laterally to end at the extent of the outer
periphery of said roll.
9. A holder for a roll of disposable towels as set forth in claim
1, said holding member being a circular washer adapted to have said
upstanding knob member press-fitted therein.
10. A holder for a roll of disposable towels as set forth in claim
9, said base having an opening, and a tab upstanding from said
suction cup and through said opening enabling the suction cup to be
released from the surface.
11. A holder for a roll of disposable towels as set forth in claim
9, said base extending laterally to the expected extent of the
outer periphery of said roll.
12. A holder for a roll of disposable towels as set forth in claim
9, including an upstanding sidebar positioned laterally of said
upstanding member and adapted to engage the expected lateral extent
of the roll, said base extending laterally to the expected extent
of the outer periphery of said roll.
13. A holder for a roll of disposable towels as set forth in claim
9, said suction cup having projections extending upwardly from said
suction cup and adapted to be engaged by said upper surface of said
inner recess upon downward movement of the holder.
14. A holder for a roll of disposable towels as set forth in claim
13, said base having an opening, and a tab upstanding from said
suction cup and through said opening for releasing the suction cup
from the surface.
15. A holder for a roll of disposable towels as set forth in claim
13, said projections being formed by a pair of semi-circular ridges
arranged concentrically about said upstanding knob member.
16. A holder for a roll of disposable towels as set forth in claim
13, said base extending laterally to end at the extent of the outer
periphery of said roll.
Description
PRIOR APPLICATION
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of co-pending
application Ser. No. 09/840,645 filed Apr. 23, 2001 which is a
continuation-in-part of co-pending application Ser. No. 09/586,296
filed Jun. 2, 2000.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to a holder for disposable
towels such as paper towels, and the holder has a suction cup
attached to its base to secure the holder to a counter top upon
removal of the disposable towels.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Holders for disposable towels such as paper towels are
well-known; and often the holders are secured to the underside of a
kitchen cabinet or the like to enable the towels to be removed from
the roll by pulling on the last towel to separate perforations.
Holders for disposable towels have also been provided which may be
placed upon a counter top; and often the roll of disposable towels
are held vertically to save counter space. Unfortunately, such
vertical holders for disposable towels are often unstable when a
paper towel is attempted to be torn from the roll. In one proposed
vertical holder for paper towels described in U.S. Pat. No.
4,012,007, a large base is provided for stability. The use of a
larger base, however, requires additional counter space beyond the
lateral extent of the roll of paper towels and an advantage of a
vertical paper towel holder is diminished.
[0004] Holders for a roll of disposable towels which may be placed
vertically on a surface such as a counter top with minimal use of
counter space and yet may be held to the counter top upon
attempting to tear a disposable towel from the roll have been
proposed by the inventor in the co-pending applications noted
above. In the holders disclosed in such co-pending applications, a
suction cup is held to the underside of the base of the holder and
can be pressed downwardly by movement of the holder for securing
the base to a surface such as a counter top in order to facilitate
removal of the towels from the roll.
[0005] In such devices disclosed in the noted co-pending
applications, the suction cup is held directly to the base, and
such construction often requires the base be formed of a sturdy
material such as metal.
[0006] Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to
provide a construction for a paper towel holder with a suction cup
that can be fabricated from less sturdy materials, such as
wood.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] According to the present invention, a holder for a roll of
disposable towels has a base and an upstanding member extending
upwardly from the base to be inserted into the hollow core of the
roll of towels. The base has an inner recess formed with a
generally domed-shape upper surface and a suction cup is held
within the recess and adapted to be depressed downwardly by
movement of the holder for holding the base securely to a surface
such as a counter top in order to facilitate removal of the towels
from the roll. A holding member is secured to the upper surface of
the recess and holds an upstanding knob member projecting upwardly
from a central portion of the suction cup.
[0008] In a preferred form of the present invention, the base has
an opening, and a tab upstanding from the suction cup extends
through the opening for enabling the suction cup to be released
from the surface. Further, the upper surface of the suction cup may
have upstanding portions to engage the undersurface of the base to
depress the suction cup assuredly upon downward movement of the
holder.
[0009] These and other objects, advantages and features of the
present invention will become apparent from the description given
below of a preferred embodiment, which description is made in
conjunction with the following drawing figures.
[0010] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a disposable towel holder of
the present invention;
[0011] FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of a disposable towel
holder of FIG. 1;
[0012] FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the disposable towel
holder of FIG. 1;
[0013] FIG. 4 is a rear elevational view of the disposable towel
holder of FIG. 1;
[0014] FIG. 5 is a top elevational view of the disposable towel
holder of FIG. 1;
[0015] FIG. 6 is a bottom elevational view thereof;
[0016] FIG. 7, illustrates the disposable towel holder of the
present invention in exploded form; and
[0017] FIG. 8 is a sectional view through the lower portion of
disposable towel holder of the present invention.
[0018] As illustrated in FIG. 1, a disposable towel holder 10 of
the present invention includes a domed base 12 formed of wood and
having a wooden upstanding member 14 adapted to be inserted into
the hollow core of a roll of disposable towels; such as paper
towels.
[0019] The wooden upstanding member 14 has an enlarged wooden knob
16 to fit within the hollow core of a roll of paper towels; and as
illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8, the lower end of the upstanding
member 14 is secured by a bolt 17 threaded into bushing 18 held
within a lower recess 19 of the upstanding member. The knob 16 is
secured to the upper portion of the upstanding member 14 by a
threaded bolt 20 held within a threaded bushing fitted within the
knob 16.
[0020] Additionally, a wooden sidebar 22 is provided to engage the
expected periphery formed by the outer surface of the roll of paper
towels; and may similarly be secured by a bolt threaded within a
bushing.
[0021] As would be well understood in the art, the hollow core of a
roll of disposable towels may be inserted over the upstanding
member 14 with the sidebar 22 engaging the outer surface of the
roll to hold the roll of disposable towels reliably to the paper
towel holder 10, and the wooded elements can, if desired, be
disassembled for cleaning.
[0022] In use, a disposable towel which is connected to the roll
through perforations would be grasped by the user and pulled to
separate the disposable towel at the perforations; and this may
cause the paper towel holder 10 to move along the counter top or
even tilt rapidly toward the user who may be tugging on a
disposable towel on the roll.
[0023] In order to secure the paper towel holder 10 to a counter
top or the like, fitted beneath the base 12 is a dome-shaped
suction cup 24 formed of an elastomeric material. The suction cup
24 is held within an inner recess 26 of the base 12 and the upper
surface 27 of the inner recess 26 has a generally domed shape
conforming to the contour of the suction cup 24.
[0024] As can be seen in FIGS. 7 and 8, a washer 30 serving as a
holding member is held by wood screws 31 and 32 over a central
recess 34 receiving the head of bolt 17. The washer 30 has a
central opening 36; and an upstanding elastomeric knob 38 extends
upwardly from the central portion of the suction cup 30 and has an
enlarged end portion which may be compressed and inserted through
the opening 36 to secure the suction cup 24 in position within the
recess 26 of the base 12.
[0025] The suction cup 24 additionally has upstanding projections
40 and 42 preferably formed as ridges adapted to engage the upper
surface 27 of the inner recess 26 of the base 12. In this way,
downward movement of the holder 10 will cause the upper surface 27
of the inner recess 26 of the base 12 to press firmly against the
projections 40 and 42 and assuredly depress the suction cup to a
counter top or the like. The projections 40 and 42 may, as
illustrated, be a pair of semi-circular ridges arranged
concentrically around the knob 38.
[0026] A tab 44 is connected integrally to the suction cup 24; and
extends upwardly through a slotted opening 46 in the base 12. In
use, the disposable towel holder 10 may be secured and placed on a
surface such as a counter top by being pressed forcibly downward to
provide a suction gripping the counter top; and the suction can be
released by the user simply grasping the tab 44 and lifting to
separate a lip portion 48 of the suction cup from the counter
surface to release the suction and enable the disposable towel
holder to be removed. As shown in FIG. 8, the lip portion 48 is of
greater thickness than the remainder of the rim of the suction
cup.
[0027] These and other objects, advantages and features of the
present invention will be understood from the detailed description
of a preferred embodiment made above; however, the present
invention is not limited by any details of the above but is set
forth by the appended claims.
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