Dispenser And Holder Bracket

Abstract

A dispenser for coiled material stored in a roll and in which the dispenser is adapted for support by a holder bracket. The dispenser comprises a dispenser yoke including a pair of spaced and resiliently movable elongated sides integral with and joined by a relatively narrow back. A boss projects from each side toward the other side with both bosses being in alignment with one another to carry the material roll by resilient clamping between the elongated sides. The dispenser includes two different embodiments of attachment means for support on an elongated holder bracket or conventional pegboard.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to dispensers which are particularly adapted for use in groups on a common holder to store different types of coiled ribbon or tape rolls.

2. Description of the Prior Art

The prior art is prolific in its showing of dispensers in reel, spool and drum form; many of these dispensers employ split or separable hubs which enable facile placement of a material roll in the dispensers. However, none of these dispensers employs a simple dispenser yoke which may be economically fabricated and at the same time offer the advantages of easy removal of the dispenser from a holder bracket, easy removal of a material roll from the dispenser yoke, and the easy realignment or substitution of any or all dispensers on a holder bracket.

Examples of prior art structures are shown in U. S. Pats. No. 864,063; No. 1,176,137; No. 1,183,131; No. 1,548,661; No. 2,144,600; No. 2,767,931; No. 2,949,994; No. 3,021,093; No. 3,110,454; No. 3,393,790; and No. 3,432,113. The present invention is also an improvement upon the structure shown in applicant's copending application Ser. No. 077,613, filed Oct. 2, 1970 for Coiled Material Dispenser.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The dispenser of this invention is described in the Abstract. This structure offers several commercial advantages. For example, in many florist shops many types and colors of ribbons are used in floral displays and wrappings. In many instances these ribbons are stored on individual rolls on a common shaft. In the event a centrally disposed roll is to be refilled or replaced, the shaft must be removed from a holder, and several rolls must be removed to obtain access to the central roll. In the process, the ribbon on the removed rolls may unwind and become tangled; thus, making the working on a simple central roll a relatively burdensome task.

The dispenser herein described eliminates the foregoing problems. While a group of these dispensers containing ribbon, for example, may be associated on a simple holder, each dispenser is separately removable without disturbing the other dispenser. Accordingly, any single dispenser, without regard to its location on the holder, may be removed for a ribbon roll refill or a substitution of dispensers without the necessity of disturbing the other dispensers.

As an additional feature, the dispenser is fabricated with a resilient metallic yoke which automatically provides a frictional restraint on the stored material roll so that unsightly and undesired unwinding is eliminated.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order that all of the structural features for attaining the objects of this invention may be readily understood, reference is herein made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a first embodiment of the dispenser of this invention, showing the two principal components, namely, the yoke and the support clip;

FIG. 2 is a section view taken along line 2--2 of FIG. 4 showing the coupling of the dispenser to a holder bracket;

FIG. 3 is a section view taken along line 3--3 of FIG. 1 showing one of the bosses which supports a material roll;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a holder bracket supporting three dispensers each fabricated to support a material roll of a different width;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a second dispenser embodiment modified for support by a conventional pegboard; and

FIG. 6 is a section view showing the coupling of the second dispenser embodiment to the pegboard holder by means of pins and hooks.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the first embodiment of the dispenser of this invention shown in FIGS. 1-5, the dispenser 1 comprises two principal components, namely, dispenser yoke 2 and attachment support clip 3. Dispenser yoke 2 is generally U-shaped in configuration, having elongated sides 4 and 5 integrally joined by back 6.

The ends of sides 4 and 5 farthest removed from back 6 are formed with a pair of bosses 7 and 8 which generally face one another within the confines of yoke 2.

Yoke 2 is integrally formed from a single piece of spring sheet metal, such as steel, so that the ends of sides 4 and 5 supporting bosses 7 and 8 resiliently close toward one another (FIGS. 1 and 4).

Cantilevered ends 9 and 10 of sides 4 and 5 are rounded so that sharp corners are eliminated which might otherwise have a tendency to cut an individual inserting a material roll within yoke 2.

Attachment support clip 3 is fixed to back 6 by rivet 11 which passes through holes 12 and 13 (FIG. 1). Clip 3 is preferably fabricated of the same metal as yoke 2 inasmuch as the clip must be resilient in order to support dispenser 1 upon bracket holder 14 (FIGS. 2 and 4).

Support clip 3 comprises two major sections, namely, lifting flange 15 and jaw 16 (FIGS. 1 and 2). These principal sections are interconnected by rivet segment 17.

Jaw 16 is spaced from back 6, forming opening 28 which will receive holder bracket 14 (FIG. 2).

Holder bracket 14 comprises mounting segment 18, which may be fixed to a flat surface such as a wall or a mounting board by a plurality of screws 19.

Bracket 14 also includes a horizontally disposed spacer segment 20 which interconnects mounting segment 18 to vertically disposed bracket key segment 21. When key segment 21 is inserted within opening 28 formed between back 6 and jaw 16, elongated key boss 22 is locked by the mating contour of resilient jaw 16.

Accordingly, one or more dispensers may be manually coupled by the clipping attachment components just described to elongated holder bracket 14, as is shown in FIG. 4. In FIG. 4 three dispensers, namely, 1a, 1b and 1c, are shown attached to bracket 14. It should be noted that each of these dispensers has a different separation distance between respective sides. This typical disposition of dispenser yokes enables the holding and display of material rolls containing ribbon, tape, etc., of different widths.

Throughout this specification, the term "material roll" is used generally to refer to any coil stock, including ribbon, tape, which may be contained upon a storage mechanism which can be supported between bosses 7 and 8.

A principal advantage of the dispenser of this invention over prior art structures is the ease with which a material roll 23 (FIG. 5) may be inserted or removed from the dispenser to replace an exhausted roll.

In the event a material roll (23 of FIG. 5) is exhausted or is to be removed from a dispenser 1a, 1b, or 1c of FIG. 4, a manual lifting force is applied to flange 15a, 15b or 15c of the support clip. This force will release key boss 22. Thereafter, a new roll may be appropriately inserted between the bosses of the dispenser or, alternatively, if a roll of a different width is to be stored and displayed on the holder, an appropriately sized dispenser can again be clipped to holder bracket 14 as is desired.

When a material roll is properly stored for usage on a dispenser, the appropriate bosses 7 and 8 enable the material to be unrolled relatively easily; however, the inherent resiliency of sides 4 and 5 of the stored dispenser apply a restraining frictional force to the sides of the roll which prevents unrolling of the stored material.

Another advantage of the dispenser and holder combination described in FIGS. 1-5 is the fact that the dispensers, such as 1a, 1b and 1c, may be slidably moved along the longitudinal axis of holder bracket 14 as may be required.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show an alternative second embodiment of the dispenser of this invention. In this second embodiment, attachment support clip 3 is removed and a pair of pins 24 and a pair of hooks 25 are fixed directly to back 6 of a dispenser (FIG. 6).

Pins 24 and hooks 25 are so spaced that they will engage a plurality of spaced holes 26 formed in a conventional pegboard 27. This alternate construction enables the dispenser of this invention to be applied to pegboard surfaces which are commonplace in florist shops and other businesses which require the storage of material rolls.

It should be understood that the above described structural features are merely illustrative of the application of the principles of this invention. Changes may be made in the foregoing structures without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. In a dispenser for material stored in a roll and in which the dispenser is adapted for support by a holder, the improvement comprising a generally U-shaped, metallic dispenser yoke including a pair of parallel, spaced and resiliently movable elongated sides integral with and joined by a relatively narrow back with both sides and the back being generally of the same width and a boss integral with and projecting from each side toward the other side with both bosses being in alignment with one another and located adjacent the end of the integral side remote from the yoke back to carry the material roll by resilient clamping between the elongated sides, and yoke attachment means including a support clip fixed to the back to be carried by the holder and with the clip being resilient relative the adjacent surface of the back to form a jaw for engagement to the holder and in which the clip includes a manual lifting flange projecting beyond the yoke back to the space between the sides.

2. The combination of claim 1 in which the jaw of the clip includes a key portion having an irregular contour to provide a tight contour lock upon the holder.

3. In a dispenser for material stored in a roll and in which the dispenser is adapted for support by a holder, the improvement comprising a dispenser yoke including a pair of spaced and resiliently movable elongated sides integral with and joined by a relatively narrow back and a boss projecting from each side toward the other side with both bosses being in alignment with one another to carry the material roll by resilient clamping between the elongated sides, yoke attachment means including a support clip fixed to the back to be carried by the holder and with the clip being resilient relative the adjacent surface of the back to form a jaw for engagement to the holder and in which the jaw of the clip includes a key portion having an irregular contour to provide a tight contour lock upon the holder, and an elongated holder which has a body formed with a segment having an irregular surface which is sandwiched between the clip jaw and the back for tight holding engagement.