U.S. patent number 3,574,431 [Application Number 04/785,890] was granted by the patent office on 1971-04-13 for continuous roll towel dispenser.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Kimberly-Clark Corporation. Invention is credited to Charles A. Henderson.
United States Patent |
3,574,431 |
Henderson |
April 13, 1971 |
CONTINUOUS ROLL TOWEL DISPENSER
Abstract
A continuous roll towel dispenser including an upper cabinet for
housing a clean towel roll and a lower cabinet for housing a used
towel roll. The two cabinets are vertically spaced from each other
so that a length of towel extending from the clean towel roll in
the upper cabinet to the used towel roll in the lower cabinet is
exposed between the cabinets. The exposed length of towel between
the cabinets is spaced a substantial distance away from the rear
walls of the cabinets so that both sides of the exposed length of
towel are readily accessible to the user. A first driving roll in
the upper cabinet is driven in response to withdrawal of towel from
the clean towel roll, and is connected through a chain and sprocket
mechanism to a second drive roll in the lower cabinet for
automatically driving the used towel roll each time a new length of
clean towel is withdrawn. Each of the upper and lower cabinets
includes a hinged wall portion for providing access to the towel
rolls contained therein. A takeup rod is included in the lower
cabinet for automatically drawing any slack towel into the lower
cabinet after each driven movement of the used towel roll. A
modified embodiment is disclosed in which an actuator must be
operated by the user to permit the withdrawal of clean towel, and
the length of towel that can be withdrawn following each operation
of the actuator is limited to a predetermined length.
Inventors: |
Henderson; Charles A.
(Appleton, WI) |
Assignee: |
Kimberly-Clark Corporation
(Neenah, WI)
|
Family
ID: |
25136945 |
Appl.
No.: |
04/785,890 |
Filed: |
December 23, 1968 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
312/34.13 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47K
10/28 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A47K
10/24 (20060101); A47K 10/28 (20060101); B65h
019/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;312/38,39
;226/(Inquired) |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Lawson; Patrick D.
Claims
I claim:
1. A continuous roll towel dispenser comprising the combination of
an upper enclosed cabinet containing means for rotatably mounting a
clean towel roll within said upper enclosed cabinet, a lower
enclosed cabinet containing means for rotatably mounting a used
towel roll within said lower enclosed cabinet, said upper having a
bottom wall vertically spaced from the top wall of said lower
cabinet so that a length of towel extending from said clean towel
roll is exposed between said cabinets, and driving means responsive
to withdrawal of towel from said clean towel roll in said upper
enclosed cabinet for driving said used towel roll in said lower
cabinet to take up the previously exposed length of towel from
between the cabinets each time a length of clean towel is withdrawn
from said clean towel roll.
2. A continuous roll towel dispenser as set forth in claim 1
wherein said upper and lower cabinets are adapted to space the
exposed length of towel a substantial distance away from the rear
walls of said cabinets so that both sides of the exposed length of
towel are readily accessible to the user.
3. A continuous roll towel dispenser as set forth in claim 1
wherein each of said upper and lower cabinets includes a hinged
wall portion for providing access to the towel rolls contained
therein when said hinged wall portion is in its open position, and
for completely enclosing said towel rolls in said cabinets when
said hinged wall portion is in its closed position.
4. A continuous roll towel dispenser as set forth in claim 1
wherein said upper and lower cabinets are mounted on a common rear
panel.
5. A continuous roll towel dispenser as set forth in claim 1
wherein said upper cabinet forms an elongated towel egress slot at
the lower front corner thereof and said lower cabinet forms an
elongated towel ingress slot at the upper front corner thereof so
that the exposed length of towel between said egress and ingress
slots is substantially free of the cabinet surfaces.
6. A continuous roll towel dispenser as set forth in claim 1
wherein said driving means includes a first roller in said upper
cabinet and frictionally engaging said towel for movement in
response to the withdrawal of towel from said clean towel roll, a
second roller in said lower cabinet and frictionally engaging the
towel on the used towel roll therein for driving said used towel
roll, and means interconnecting said first and second rollers for
automatically driving said second roller to drive said used towel
roll in response to movement of said first roller upon withdrawal
of towel from said clean towel roll.
7. A continuous roll towel dispenser as set forth in claim 6 which
includes control means operatively associated with said first
roller for terminating movement of said first roller at a selected
position, actuating means operated by the user to move said control
means to an advanced position to clear said first roller for
movement to permit withdrawal of the towel from said clean towel
roll, said control means including means responsive to movement of
said first roller for automatically returning the control means to
its original position to terminate the movement of said first
roller at said selected position and thereby limit the length of
towel withdrawn from said clean towel roll.
8. A continuous roll towel dispenser as set forth in claim 1 which
includes means in said lower cabinet for automatically taking up
any slack in the exposed length of towel after each driven movement
of said used towel roll.
9. A continuous roll towel dispenser as set forth in claim 1 in
which a transverse guide rod is mounted above the space for the
used towel rod in said lower cabinet so that the towel entering the
lower cabinet passes over said guide rod before being wound on the
used towel roll, and a movable slack takeup member is included in
said lower cabinet for resting on the towel span between said guide
rod and the entrance to the lower cabinet so that the takeup member
automatically draws any slack towel downwardly inside the lower
cabinet whenever said towel is in an untensioned condition.
Description
The present invention relates generally to continuous roll towel
dispensers and, more particularly, to continuous roll towel
dispensers adapted to have the towel user withdraw successive
increments of clean towel from a supply roll contained in a locked
cabinet.
It is a primary object of the present invention to provide an
improved continuous roll towel dispenser which completely separates
the clean towel roll from the used towel roll so that the clean
towel cannot be contaminated by the used towel. A related object of
the invention is to provide such an improved continuous roll towel
dispenser which separates the clean towel roll and the used towel
roll and yet is relatively compact.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an
improved continuous roll towel dispenser of the foregoing type
which requires only a relatively short length of towel for
"threading" a new towel from the clean towel roll to the used towel
roll. In this connection, still another object of the invention is
to provide such a continuous roll towel dispenser which facilitates
"threading" of the towel from the clean towel roll to the used
towel roll during replacement of the towel rolls.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved
continuous roll towel dispenser of the type described above which
facilitates use of both sides of the exposed length of clean
towel.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide such an improved
continuous roll towel dispenser which feeds a sufficient length of
towel to the user on each "pull" that only one pull is necessary to
provide the user with adequate toweling for each use, thereby
improving the efficiency of the dispenser.
A still further object of the invention is to provide such an
improved continuous roll towel dispenser which avoids unsightly
exposure of used or soiled toweling to the user after each
pull.
It is still another object of the invention to provide such an
improved continuous roll towel dispenser which can be efficiently
manufactured at a relatively low cost, and from relatively few
parts.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent
from the following detailed description and the accompanying
drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a continuous roll towel dispenser
embodying the present invention and mounted on the surface of a
supporting wall;
FIG. 2 is an enlarged vertical section taken along line 2-2 in FIG.
1 with the takeup mechanism in the lower cabinet in its retracted
position;
FIG. 3 is a fragmentary vertical section corresponding to the lower
portion of FIG. 2 with the takeup mechanism in an advanced
position;
FIG. 4 is a horizontal section taken along line 4-4 in FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is an enlarged end elevation of a "limited pull" mechanism
which may be embodied in the continuous roll towel dispenser shown
in FIGS. 1 through 4;
FIG. 6 is an enlarged end elevation of the same mechanism shown in
FIG. 5 but in a different operative state; and
FIG. 7 is a fragmentary side elevation of the mechanism shown in
FIG. 5.
While the invention is susceptible of various modifications and
alternative forms, certain specific embodiments thereof have been
shown by way of example in the drawings which will be described in
detail herein. It should be understood, however, that it is not
intended to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed
but, on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications,
equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope
of the invention.
Turning now to the drawings, and referring first to FIG. 1, a
continuous roll towel dispenser indicated generally at 10 is firmly
mounted by suitable fasteners on a supporting wall 11. A clean
towel roll 12 (FIG. 2) is placed inside the dispenser and the towel
T is threaded through the dispenser and on to a used towel roll 13,
with an appropriate length of the towel remaining exposed for use.
After one exposed length of the towel has been used, the next user
simply pulls down on the towel to bring a clean length of towel
into the exposed position, and the used or soiled length of towel
is automatically removed from the exposed position toward the used
towel roll 13.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, the clean
towel roll 12 is mounted within an upper cabinet, the used towel
roll 13 is mounted within a lower cabinet, and the upper and lower
cabinets are vertically spaced so that a length of towel extending
from the clean towel roll 12 to the used towel roll 13 is exposed
between the two cabinets. Thus, in the illustrative embodiment, the
clean towel roll 12 is supported on a ramp 20 within an upper
cabinet 21, and the toweling T is withdrawn from the clean towel
roll 12 through an egress slot 22 formed by a bottom member 23 and
a front wall member 24 at the lower front corner of the cabinet 21.
As can be seen in FIG. 2, the opposed edges of the bottom member 23
and the front wall member 24 are curled so that the towel T passes
smoothly thereover.
From the egress slot 22 in the upper cabinet 21, the towel T
extends downwardly to an ingress slot 30 formed by a lower cabinet
31. More particularly, the ingress slot 30 is formed at the upper
front corner of the cabinet 31 by a top member 32 and a front wall
member 33, with the opposed edges of the two members 32 and 33
being curled so that the toweling T passes smoothly thereover.
Inside the lower cabinet 31, the towel T passes over a fixed
transverse guide rod 34 and is then wound around the used towel
roll 13. Since the two cabinets 21 and 31 are vertically spaced
from each other, as shown most clearly in FIGS. 1 and 2, a
substantial length of towel is exposed for use between the two
cabinets. This exposed length of towel may be varied by simply
adjusting the vertical spacing of the two cabinets 21 and 22, but
it is generally preferred to have about 10 to 12 inches of toweling
exposed between the two cabinets. To permit access to the clean and
used towel rolls 12 and 13 in the cabinets 21 and 31, respectively,
the front sections of the cabinets are hinged at 35 and 36,
respectively, and locking means (not shown) are preferably provided
to secure the hinged sections to adjacent stationary sections of
the respective cabinets.
In accordance with another feature of this invention, the upper and
lower cabinets 21 and 31 are adapted to space the exposed length of
towel T a substantial distance away from the rear walls of the
cabinets so that both sides of the exposed length of toweling are
readily accessible to the user. Thus, as shown most clearly in FIG.
2, the towel egress slot 22 in the upper cabinet 21 and the towel
ingress slot 30 in the lower cabinet 31 are positioned so that the
exposed length of towel T is substantially coplanar with the front
surfaces of the two cabinets 21 and 31. Consequently, substantially
the entire space between the bottom member 23 of the upper cabinet
21 and the top member 32 of the lower cabinet 31 is available to
the user, so that both sides of the exposed length of towel are
readily accessible to permit maximum utilization thereof.
Furthermore, the towel egress slot 22 and towel ingress slot 30 are
positioned so that the exposed length of towel extends
substantially from the lower front corner of the upper cabinet 21
to the upper front corner of the lower cabinet 31, so that there is
no portion of the exposed length of toweling lying against a
cabinet surface. This is not only desirable for sanitary reasons,
but also makes substantially the entire surface area of the exposed
length of towel T available to the user. Moreover, as will be
apparent from the ensuing discussion, the user may pull the exposed
length of towel T outwardly away from the cabinets 21 and 31,
thereby further increasing the accessibility of the exposed
toweling. Accordingly, it can be seen that the dispenser permits
each successive exposed length of towel to be used with maximum
efficiency, thereby prolonging the life of each clean towel roll 12
placed in the upper cabinet 21, with attendant cost reductions to
the owner.
For the purpose of taking up the previously exposed length of towel
T from between the cabinets 21 and 31 each time a new length of
clean towel is withdrawn from the clean towel roll 12 in the upper
cabinet 21, the dispenser 10 includes a driving means for driving
the used towel roll 13 in the lower cabinet 31 in response to each
successive withdrawal of towel from the clean towel roll 12 in the
upper cabinet 21. More particularly, the driving system includes a
first drive roller 40 rotatably mounted in the upper cabinet 21 so
as to frictionally engage the clean towel T as it is withdrawn from
the roll 12. The drive roller 40 is positioned near the forward
edge of the ramp 20 so that the clean towel roll 12 supported on
the ramp 20 rests against the roller 40. As clean toweling is
unwound from the roll 12, the roll 12 gradually slides downwardly
over the ramp 20 toward the drive roller 40 so that the periphery
of the towel roll 12 remains in continuous engagement with the
roller 40.
To provide reliable frictional engagement between the surface of
the drive roller 40 and the towel T, the roller 40 is provided with
a roughened surface, such as shot blasted metal, emery cloth, or
the like, and the towel T is biased firmly against the roughened
surface of the roller 40 by means of a spring-loaded roller 41
mounted on the front wall member 24. Thus, each time a fresh length
of clean towel is withdrawn from the supply roll 12, the roller 40
is rotated, thereby rotating a sprocket 42 meshing with a drive
chain 43. The drive chain 43 extends over a pair of idler sprockets
44 and 45 journaled on the end wall of the cabinet 21, and then
downwardly along the back panel 46 of the dispenser into meshing
engagement with a sprocket 47 on a second drive roller 48 rotatably
mounted in the lower cabinet 31. The drive roller 48, in turn,
engages the periphery of the used towel roll 13, so that each time
a length of clean towel is withdrawn from the roll 12, the used
towel roll 13 is automatically driven to take up the previously
exposed length of toweling. As in the case of the first drive
roller 40, the second drive roller 48 is provided with a roughened
surface to maintain frictional engagement with the toweling wound
on the roll 13.
It will be understood that the towel user may pull the exposed
length of towel away from the front walls of the cabinets 21 and
31, so that a certain amount of slack towel will remain when the
towel is released by the user. In order to take up this slack
toweling when the next user pulls a fresh length of clean towel out
of the cabinet 21, it is preferred to drive the roller 48 in the
lower cabinet 31 at a rate faster than that of the roller 40 in the
upper cabinet 21. This faster drive rate may be achieved by
designing the sprockets 42 and 47 to drive the lower roller 48
through several revolutions, e.g., four to five, in response to
each revolution of the upper roller 40. For example, if the two
rollers 40 and 48, and the corresponding sprockets 42 and 47, have
equal diameters, the upper sprocket may be provided with 10 teeth
and the lower sprocket 40 teeth to provide a 1:4 drive ratio.
Consequently, the entire length of previously exposed used
toweling, including any slack toweling, is quickly taken up by the
roll 13 each time a fresh length of clean toweling is withdrawn
from the roll 12. It will be appreciated that the exact length of
toweling to be taken up by the roll 13 will continually vary,
depending on the length of towel withdrawn by successive users
and/or the orientation of each fresh length of towel relative to
the cabinets 21 and 31; however, the roll 13 quickly takes up the
available toweling until a predetermined tension is attained in the
toweling leading onto the roll 13, at which time the drive roller
48 simply slips over the surface of the towel roll 13 for the
balance of the driving movement of roller 48. That is, the roll 13
automatically takes up whatever length of towel is released to it
by the user during the initial portion of each driving movement of
the roll 48, and the roller 48 then merely idles for the balance of
the driving movement.
As successive increments of used or soiled toweling are wound on
the used towel roll 13, the axis thereof moves upwardly and
forwardly along a pair of inclined guide members 50 mounted on the
opposite end walls of the lower cabinet 31. More particularly, the
ends of the shaft 51 of the used towel roll 13 are fitted within
the guide members 50 so that as the diameter of the roll 13
increases, the shaft 51 gradually advances up the ramps formed by
the guide members 50. The weight of the used towel roll 13,
including its central shaft 51, is sufficient to maintain the roll
in frictional engagement with the stationary drive roller 48.
However, the nip between the roller 48 and the roll 13 is not as
tight as that maintained between the rollers 40 and 41 in the upper
cabinet 21, so that the roller 48 may slip on the surface of the
roll 13 during the idle movement described above.
In order to facilitate achieving and maintaining accurate alignment
between the operative elements in the two separate cabinets 21 and
31, the rear panel 46 of the dispenser is preferably common to both
cabinets. That is, both cabinets 21 and 31 are mounted on the same
rear panel so that the two cabinets, and the elements therein, are
always in proper alignment with each other, as long as the two
cabinets are mounted on the proper predetermined locations on the
common panel 46. To accommodate the chain 43 in the space between
the upper and lower cabinets 21 and 31, respectively, a chain
housing 52 is fitted around the vertical runs of the chain 43 and
secured to the rear panel 46 of the dispenser. As can be seen in
FIG. 1, the chain housing 52 preferably does not extend across the
entire width of the rear panel 46 of the dispenser, so that the
maximum space between the upper and lower cabinets 21 and 31 is
made available to the towel user.
In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, an
automatic slack takeup mechanism is included in the lower cabinet
31 for taking up any slack developed in the exposed length of towel
after each driven movement of the used towel roll 13. As explained
previously, such a slack can be produced by the user drawing the
exposed toweling away from the front surfaces of the cabinets 21
and 31 so that the length of exposed towel during use is greater
than the vertical distance between the egress and ingress slots 22
and 30. In the particular embodiment illustrated, the automatic
slack takeup mechanism includes a generally U-shaped rod 60 (see
FIG. 4), the transverse section 60a of which rests on the upper
surface of the towel span between the ingress slot 30 and the guide
rod 34, in the lower cabinet 31. The rod 60 is pivotally mounted on
the end walls of the cabinet 31 by means of the side arms 61 and 62
fitting into complemental mounting elements 63 and 64 on the
cabinet end walls. As long as the used towel T is tensioned between
the guide rod 34 and the ingress slot 30, either by the pulling
force applied by the use or by the driven movement of the towel
roll 13, the takeup rod 60 is maintained in its retracted or
elevated position, shown in FIG. 2, by the tensioned towel T.
However, when the tension on the towel is released, the weight of
the takeup rod 60 tends to draw the towel T downwardly between the
two support points formed by the guide rod 34 and the lower edge of
the ingress slot 30, thereby taking up any slack in the exposed
length of the towel T outside the cabinet 31. Thus, the slack is,
in effect, transferred from the outside to the inside of the
cabinet 31. The advanced or lowered position of the takeup rod 60
for one slack condition is shown in FIG. 3, but it will be
understood that the amount of slack to be taken up by the rod 60
will continually vary, depending upon the length of towel withdrawn
by the user and the degree to which the user pulls the towel away
from the front walls of the two cabinets 21 and 31, so that the rod
60 will assume different attitudes. Since the takeup rod 60 acts on
the span of towel between the ingress slot 30 and the fixed guide
rod 34, it will be appreciated that the operation of the takeup rod
60 is independent of the diameter of the used towel roll 13.
In accordance with an important aspect of a modified embodiment of
the invention, control means are operatively associated with the
drive roll in the upper cabinet for automatically terminating
movement of the first roller at a selected position to limit the
length of towel that can be withdrawn by the user in a single
"pull." Thus, in the modified embodiment shown in FIGS. 5 through
7, an actuator 70 extends forwardly through a slot in the front
wall of the upper cabinet 21, and instructions on the front surface
of the dispenser direct the user to push the actuator 70 inwardly
when it is desired to pull a fresh length of clean towel from the
upper cabinet. The exposed end of the actuator 70 is bent upwardly
as at 70a to facilitate pushing movement thereof by the user. When
the actuator 70 is in the retracted position shown in FIG. 5, a
generally U-shaped control member 71 connected to the inner end of
the actuator 70 is positioned so that a lug 71a on one end thereof
blocks a pin 72 projecting laterally from a control disc 73 fixed
to the shaft of the roller 40. As long as the control member 71
remains in this position, the roller 40 cannot be rotated, and thus
towel T cannot be withdrawn through the nip of the rollers 40 and
41.
When the user pushes the actuator 70 inwardly, the control member
71 slides rearwardly along a guide member 74 until the lug 71a
clears the pin 72 to permit rotational movement of the control disc
73 and, therefore, the drive roller 40. The user then withdraws a
fresh length of clean towel from the upper cabinet 21, thereby
rotating the drive roller 40 as described previously. As the drive
roller 40 is rotated, the pin 72 on the control disc 73 is moved
into camming engagement with a leg 74 of the control member 71, as
shown in FIG. 6, thereby returning the control member 71 to its
original position, shown in FIG. 5. This return movement of the
control member 71 also returns the actuator 70 to its retracted
position so that it is in position to be depressed by the next
user. Thus, when the pin 72 completes one revolution, it again
abuts the lug 71a on the control member 71 to limit the length of
towel withdrawn from the clean towel roll. It will be appreciated
that the length of towel that can be withdrawn in any given
dispenser embodying the illustrative "limited pull" mechanism will
depend on the diameter of the drive roller 40. For example, in one
exemplary embodiment of the invention, a drive roller having a
diameter of 3 inches is employed, thereby permitting a length of
slightly over 9 inches of clean towel to be withdrawn each time the
user depresses the actuator 70, i.e., for each revolution of the
drive roller 40.
As can be seen from the foregoing detailed description, the present
invention provides a continuous roll towel dispenser which
completely separates the clean towel roll and the used towel roll
so that the clean toweling cannot be contaminated by the used
toweling. Although the clean towel roll and the used towel roll are
contained in completely separate cabinets, the overall assembly is
still relatively compact so that it requires a relatively small
wall area and room volume. Moreover, the "threading" of a new towel
from the clean towel roll to the used towel roll is considerably
more simple than in many continuous roll towel dispensers proposed
heretofore, and only a relatively short length of towel is required
for such threading. A further advantage of the dispenser provided
by this invention is that the exposed length of clean towel is
spaced away from the dispenser so as to facilitate use of both
sides of the exposed towel. Furthermore, a sufficient length of
towel is fed to the user on each "pull" so that only one pull is
necessary to provide the user with adequate toweling for each use,
thereby improving the efficiency of the dispenser. Finally, the
improved dispenser automatically takes up the previously exposed
toweling in response to each pull by the user, so that the
unsightly exposure of used or soiled toweling is avoided. The
dispenser provided by this invention can also be manufactured at a
relatively low cost; for example, the two separate cabinets are of
symmetrical design, so that the same parts can be used to form both
cabinets.
* * * * *