U.S. patent number 3,858,951 [Application Number 05/346,360] was granted by the patent office on 1975-01-07 for towel dispenser.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Georgia-Pacific Corporation. Invention is credited to Holger Rasmussen.
United States Patent |
3,858,951 |
Rasmussen |
January 7, 1975 |
TOWEL DISPENSER
Abstract
A towel dispensing apparatus comprising a dispensing roller
linked by a chain coupling to a soiled towel drive roller which in
turn drives a soiled towel take-up roller. A pinch roller is
associated with the dispensing roller to facilitate dispensing a
length of toweling from a clean supply within the apparatus. A
spring motor is also coupled to the dispensing roller, as well as
to an auxiliary take-up roller. The spring motor is wound and
energy stored therein during the dispensing of clean toweling
incident rotation of the drive roller. A sensing release device
senses exhaustion of clean toweling and thereupon releases the
spring motor for operation, which in turn causes the auxiliary
take-up roller to rotate and draw the trailing end of the toweling
into the dispenser cabinet independently of the primary soiled
towel take-up roller.
Inventors: |
Rasmussen; Holger (Kilchberg,
CH) |
Assignee: |
Georgia-Pacific Corporation
(Portland, OR)
|
Family
ID: |
26932294 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/346,360 |
Filed: |
March 30, 1973 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
|
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239126 |
Mar 29, 1972 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
312/34.12 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47K
10/28 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A47K
10/24 (20060101); A47K 10/28 (20060101); B65h
019/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;312/37-39 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Nunberg; Casmir A.
Parent Case Text
RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a continuation-in-part of copending application
Ser. No. 239,126 filed Mar. 29, 1972 now abandoned.
Claims
I claim:
1. A towel dispensing apparatus comprising:
a dispensing roller around at least a portion of which a length of
toweling from a toweling supply passes, said dispensing roller
being rotatable by said toweling as said toweling is dispensed from
said apparatus,
a primary soiled toweling take-up roll upon which the soiled
toweling is wound,
a soiled toweling drive roller for rotating said primary soiled
toweling take-up roll, said soiled toweling drive roller being
drivingly coupled to said dispensing roller and rotatable
therewith, whereby rotation of said dispensing roller during
dispensing of toweling causes rotation of said soiled toweling
drive roller and thereby said primary soiled toweling take-up
roll,
an auxiliary soiled toweling take-up roller engageable with said
soiled toweling in advance of said primary soiled toweling take-up
roll,
motor means driving coupled to said auxiliary soiled toweling
take-up roller for selectively rotating said auxiliary soiled
toweling take-up roller, said motor means comprising a shaft
passing through and rotatably mounted within one of said rollers,
said shaft being drivingly connected to said auxiliary soiled
toweling take-up roller, a spring motor having a spring input end
driving coupled to said dispensing roller and adapted to store
energy as said dispensing roller is rotated during dispensing of
toweling and a spring output end attached to said shaft,
sensing means responsive to the passing of the trailing end of the
toweling from the supply of toweling for operating said motor means
to rotate said auxiliary soiled toweling take-up roller to take up
the trailing end of the length of toweling into said apparatus,
and
locking means operated by said snesing means for locking said
spring output end, said locking means being engageable with said
shaft to lock said shaft against rotation.
2. A towel dispensing apparatus comprising:
a dispensing roller around at least a portion of wich a length of
toweling from a toweling supply passes, said dispensing roller
being rotatable by said toweling as said toweling is dispensed from
said apparatus,
a primary soiled toweling take-up roll upon which the soiled
toweling is wound,
a soiled toweling drive roller for rotating said primary soiled
toweling take-up roll, said soiled toweling drive roller being
drivingly coupled to said dispensing roller and rotatable
therewith, whereby rotation of said dispensing roller during
dispensing of toweling causes rotation of said soiled toweling
drive rollers and thereby said primary soiled toweling take-up
roll,
an auxiliary soiled toweling take-up roller engageable with said
soiled toweling in advance of said primary soiled toweling take-up
roll,
motor means drivingly coupled to said auxiliary soiled toweling
take-up roller for selectively rotating said auxiliary soiled
toweling take-up roller, said motor means comprising a coil spring
having an input end and an output end, a shaft element, and a
housing element, said input end being connected to one of said
elements and said output end being connected to the other of said
elements, said one element being drivingly connected to said
dispenser roller and said other element being drivingly connected
to said auxiliary soiled toweling take-up roller,
sensing means responsive to the passing of the trailing end of the
toweling from the supply of toweling for operating said motor means
to rotate said auxiliary soiled toweling take-up roller to take up
the trailing end of the length of toweling into said apparatus,
and
locking means operated by said sensing means for locking said
spring output end, said locking means comprising a lug mounted on
said other member and a rod engageable with said lug and movable
out of engagement with said lug in response to said sensing
means.
3. A towel dispensing apparatus comprising:
a dispensing roller around at least a portion of which a length of
toweling from a toweling supply passes, said dispensing roller
being rotatable by said toweling as said toweling is dispensed from
said apparatus,
a primary soiled toweling take-up roll upon which the soiled
toweling is wound,
a soiled toweling drive roller for rotating said primary soiled
toweling take-up roll, said soiled toweling drive roller being
drivingly coupled to said dispensing roller and rotatable
therewith, whereby rotation of said dispensing roller during
dispensing of toweling causes rotation of said soiled toweling
drive roller and thereby said primary soiled toweling take-up
roll,
an auxiliary soiled toweling take-up roller engageable by said
soiled toweling in advance of said primary soiled toweling take-up
roll,
motor means drivingly coupled to said auxiliary soiled toweling
take-up roller for selectively rotating said auxiliary soiled
toweling take-up roller, said motor means comprising a shaft
element, a housing element loosely rotatably mounted on said shaft
element, and a coil spring having an input end attached to said
shaft element and an output end attached to said housing
element,
an input gear attached to said shaft element and coupled to said
soiled toweling drive roller,
an output gear attached to said housing and coupled to said
auxiliary soiled toweling take-up roller,
sensing means responsive to the passing of the trailing end of the
toweling from the supply of toweling for operating said motor means
to rotate said auxiliary soiled toweling take-up roller to take up
the trailing end of the length of toweling into said apparatus,
and
locking means operated by said sensing means for locking said
spring output end, said locking means being engageable with said
housing element.
4. A towel dispensing apparatus comprising:
a dispensing roller around at least a portion of which a length of
toweling from a toweling supply passes, said dispensing roller
being rotatable by said toweling as said toweling is dispensed from
said apparatus,
a primary soiled toweling take-up roll upon which the soiled
toweling is wound,
a soiled toweling drive roller for rotating said primary soiled
toweling take-up roll, said soiled toweling drive roller being
driving coupled to said dispensing roller and rotatable therewith,
whereby rotation of said dispensing roller during dispensing of
toweling causes rotation of said soiled toweling drive roller and
thereby said primary soiled toweling take-up roll,
an auxiliary soiled toweling take-up roller engageable with said
soiled toweling in advance of said primary soiled toweling take-up
roll,
motor means drivingly coupled to said auxiliary soiled toweling
take-up roller for selectively rotating said auxiliary soiled
toweling take-up roller,
a pinch roller adjacent to and in opposed relationship with said
dispensing roller, said length of toweling passing between said
dispensing roller and said pinch roller and around at lest a
portion of said pinch roller,
sensing means responsive to the passing of the trailing end of the
toweling from the supply of toweling for operating said motor means
to rotate said auxiliary soiled toweling take-up roller to take up
the trailing end of the length of toweling into said apparatus,
said sensing means comprising an annular groove in said pinch
roller and a finger overlying said annular groove and urged
theretoward, said finger normally being separated from said annular
groove by the presence of said length of toweling around said pinch
roller but being movable into said annular groove upon the passing
of the trailing end of said toweling around said pinch roller,
and
locking means operated by said sensing means for locking said motor
means, said locking means comprising stop means carried by said
motor means and means operated by said finger engageable with said
stop means.
5. A towel dispensing apparatus according to claim 4 wherein said
motor means comprises a spring motor having a spring input end
drivingly coupled to said dispensing roller and adapted to store
energy as said dispensing roller is rotated during dispensing of
toweling and a spring output end drivingly coupled to said
auxiliary soiled toweling take-up roller, and locking means
operated by said sensing means for locking spring output end.
6. A towel dispensing apparatus according to claim 5 wherein said
motor means further comprises a shaft passing through and rotatably
mounted within one of said rollers, said shaft being drivingly
connected to said auxiliary soiled toweling take-up roller, wherein
said spring input end is attached to said one roller and said
spring output end is attached to said shaft, and wherein said
locking means engages said shaft to lock said shaft against
rotation.
7. A towel dispensing apparatus according to claim 6 wherein said
spring motor comprises a torsion spring wrapped around said
shaft.
8. A towel dispensing apparatus according to claim 4 wherein said
motor means comprises a coil spring having an input end and an
output end, a shaft element, and a housing element, said input end
being connected to one of said elements and said output end being
connected to the other of said elements, wherein said one element
is drivingly connected to said dispenser roller and said other
element is drivingly connected to said auxiliary soiled toweling
take-up roller, and wherein said locking means is engagable with
said other element.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to continuous cloth towel
dispensers and more particularly to such a dispenser having an
automatic take-up mechanism for winding up the trailing end of a
length of toweling into the cabinet of the dispenser.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various prior art devices have heretofore been known for dispensing
continuous lengths of toweling. Many of such prior art devices have
been constructed so that the withdrawal of a length of clean
toweling simultaneously winds up an equivalent amount of soiled
toweling from the rear leg of a depending loop of the toweling
extending down from the dispenser. With such devices when the final
trailing end of the clean toweling is pulled out of the front of
the dispenser, it hangs down along the wall from the back of the
dispenser cabinet and generally remains hanging down until an
attendant removes the soiled roll and installs a clean roll of
toweling. In the meantime, this exposed trailing end of the
toweling is accessable for use and becomes an unsanitary common
towel, thus presenting a possible health hazard.
Other such continuous cloth towel dispensers have attempted to
provide means for winding up the trailing end of the toweling have
been complicated in construction requiring the use of various
switches and electrical or other motor devices all of which are
complicated in construction and therefore expensive to build and
maintain.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Among the objects of the present invention is to avoid the
disadvantages of prior art continuous towel dispensing devices
enumerated above. Another object of the present invention is to
provide a continuous towel dispensing apparatus having means for
automatically taking up the trailing end of a length of toweling
into the cabinet of the dispensing apparatus. A further object is
to provide a towel dispensing apparatus employing a sensing means
responsive to the passage of the trailing end of a length of
toweling past a dispensing roller for releasing a spring motor to
in turn drive an auxiliary take-up roller to automatically take up
the trailing end of the length of toweling into the dispensing
apparatus which is simple in construction.
According to the present invention there is provided a towel
dispensing apparatus comprised of a dispensing roller over which a
length of toweling from a clean supply passes and which in turn
drives a soiled towel take-up roller. A spring motor is also
operatively connected to the dispensing roller. Means are provided
for normally locking the spring motor against rotation so that as
the dispensing roller is rotated during the dispensing of a length
of toweling, the spring is wound up and stores energy. A normally
stationary auxiliary take-up roller is coupled to the spring motor
coupling means. Sensing means responsive to the passing of the
trailing end of the length of toweling past the dispensing roller
operates to release the spring motor locking means to permit the
spring motor to operate, thus rotating the auxiliary take-up roller
to wind up the trailing end of the length of the toweling into the
cabinet of the apparatus independently of the action of the primary
soiled towel take-up roller. A pinch roller is provided adjacent
the dispensing roller having a portion of its surface of reduced
diameter. The sensing means includes a finger overlying the reduced
diameter portion in contact with the length of toweling and
operatively connected to the spring motor locking means whereby
removal of the trailing end of the length of the toweling from the
pinch roller causing the finger to drop into the reduced diameter
portion and thereby release the spring motor locking means to allow
the spring motor to operate, thus driving the auxiliary soiled
towel take-up roll and pulling the dangling end portion of the
soiled towel into the cabinet. By this arrangement, the entire
heavy roll of soiled toweling is not rotated to retract the end of
the soiled towel.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent
by reference to the more detailed description of the invention and
the accompanying drawings which follow wherein:
FIG. 1 is a cross sectional side elevational view of a prior art
continuous towel dispensing apparatus showing a clean length of
toweling in the form of a loop depending from the bottom of the
apparatus;
FIG. 2 is another cross sectional side elevational view of a prior
art continuous towel dispensing apparatus showing the trailing end
of a length of soiled toweling hanging down below the dispensing
apparatus;
FIG. 3 is a cross sectional side elevational view of a continuous
towel dispensing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the
invention showing the apparatus filled with a supply of clean
toweling;
FIG. 4 is a partial cross sectional side elevational view of a
towel dispensing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the
invention showing the manner in which the auxiliary take-up roller
operates to take up the trailing end of a length of toweling into
the cabinet of the apparatus;
FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5--5 of FIG. 3;
FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line 6--6 of FIG. 3;
FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the dispensing
roller and shaft of the dispensing apparatus of the first
embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line 8--8 of FIG. 7;
FIG. 9 is a vertical, cross sectional view of a continuous towel
dispensing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the
invention showing the apparatus with a partially depleted roll of
clean toweling;
FIG. 10 is a fragmentary plan view partially in section, of the
take-up roller drive, taken along line 10--10 of FIG. 9.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring to the drawings, there is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 an
example of a conventional prior art continuous towel dispensing
mechanism or apparatus comprised of a cabinet 10 having in the
bottom thereof a clean towel supply or roll 11. The clean towel
supply is threaded over a drive roller 12 and under and over a
pinch roller 13 out through an opening 14 in the front wall of the
cabinet 10. Then the clean towel extends downwardly to form a
bottom loop 15, from where it extends upwardly past a breaking
strip 16 and onto a soiled towel roller 17 which is carried in a
slot 18. Soiled towel roller 17 is driven by a soiled towel drive
roller 19 connected to the dispensing drive roller 12 by means of a
suitable chain 20. A shield 21 prevents the soiled towel collected
on roller 17 from touching the clean towel 11 passing over
dispensing drive roller 12 and pinch roller 13.
As shown in FIG. 1, the clean toweling being dispensed forms a
bottom loop which is normally grasped by a user. As the user pulls
on the clean toweling, a length of toweling is dispensed and, in
the process, drive roller 12 is caused to rotate which in turn
causes soiled towel drive roller 19 to rotate to take up a
corresponding length of soiled towel on soiled towel roller 17.
As shown in FIG. 2 in such a prior art device, as the trailing end
22 of the toweling passes out of the cabinet 10 it no longer passes
over dispensing roller 12. Therefore the soiled towel drive roller
19 and consequently the soiled towel roller 17 no longer are
rotated to take up any further length of soiled toweling. The
trailing end 22 therefore is left hanging from the back side of the
cabinet 10. This is very undesirable in that such a trailing end
continues to be used and becomes unsightly and extremely soiled and
could possibly constitute a health hazard. The present invention
includes a mechanism to automatically take up the trailing end of
the soiled toweling 22 as will be described more fully
hereinafter.
Referring now to FIGS. 3 through 8 of the drawings, a first
embodiment of the invention is shown. A towel dispensing apparatus
comprises of a cabinet 30 having an upper portion 31 and a lower
portion 32. Cabinet 30 is adapted to be mounted on any suitable
support structure such as wall 33. The lower portion 32 of the
cabinet is provided with a compartment 34 for receiving a clean
towel supply or roll 35.
The clean towel supply 35 is threaded upwardly over a dispensing or
drive roller 36, under and over an adjacent pinch roller 37 and out
through a suitable opening 38 in the front of the cabinet. From
opening 38 the clean toweling extends downwardly over outwardly
protruding lip or flange 39 to form a bottom loop 40 from where it
extends upwardly at the back of the cabinet through opening 41,
past an inwardly extending flange 42, over a braking bar or strip
43 and around an auxiliary take-up roller 44. From this point the
toweling 40, which is now soiled, is wound around a primary soiled
towel take-up roll 45 which is movably mounted within a slot 46 in
the cabinet 30 to accommodate various lengths of soiled toweling.
The take-up roll 45 is driven by a soiled towel drive roller 47
connected to dispensing roller 36. Dispensing roller 36 and soiled
towel drive roller 47 are each provided at one end with a sprocket
50 and 51, respectively, which are connected by a suitable roller
chain 52 so that rotation of dispensing roll 36 during dispensing
of a length of clean toweling causes a simultaneous equivalent
rotation of soiled towel drive roller 47 to drive primary soiled
towel take-up roll 45 to take up a length of soiled toweling
equivalent to the length of clean toweling dispensed.
Referring now to the roller mechanisms of this embodiment in
greater detail, as best shown in FIGS. 5 through 8, dispensing or
drive roller 36 is constructed in the form of a hollow cylinder
rotatively mounted by suitable bearing means 53 on each end on a
shaft 54. Shaft 54, as shown in FIG. 6, extends completely through
roller 36 and is journalled at its outer ends in suitable bearings
57 in the walls of the cabinet 30. A torsion spring 55 is mounted
inside of roller 36 wound around the shaft 54. The spring is
fastened at one end to the shaft 54 and at its other end to the
inside of the cylinder of the dispensing roller 36 by suitable
means such as screws 56. Spring 55 is a torsion spring which is
capable of storing energy as roller 36 is rotated independently of
shaft 54. Shaft 54 normally is locked against rotation by suitable
locking means to be described more fully hereinafter.
During dispensing of a length of clean toweling, dispensing roller
36 normally is prevented from turning backwards under the influence
of torsion spring 55 by a suitable anti-reverse pawl 61 which
engages suitable teeth 68 on a hub mounted at one end of the roller
36 as shown in FIG. 5.
Soiled towel drive roller 47 is provided with stub shafts 58 at
each end which are journalled in suitable bearings 60 mounted in
the sides of the cabinet 30. As shown in FIG. 5, the ends of
auxiliary take-up roller 44 are also mounted in suitable bearings
67 in the sides of the cabinet 30 for rotation. Auxiliary roller 44
further is provided with a suitable gripping covering such as a
rubber roll 59.
A suitable shield 62 is positioned between pinch roller 37 and
primary soiled towel take-up roller 45 as best shown in FIG. 3 to
prevent the soiled toweling collected on the roll 45 from
contacting or touching the clean toweling 35 passing over
dispensing roller 36 and pinch roller 37. Shield 62 is supported by
a suitable bracket 63 connected to a rod 64 pivotally mounted at
each end in the sides of the cabinet 30 as shown in FIG. 5. Shield
62 is provided intermediate its width at the front thereof with a
finger 65 extending down from the shield. Finger 65 is normally
supported by a length of clean toweling over a portion of pinch
roller 37 having a reduced diameter as shown at 66 in FIG. 6.
A hook or latch means 70 is mounted on one end of rod 64, and
normally engages a lug 71 mounted on the end of shaft 54. Shaft 54
is thus locked against rotation as long as hook means 70 engages
the lug 71. As shown in FIG. 5, shaft 54 and auxiliary take-up
roller 44 are each provided with a sprocket 72 and 73,
respectively, at one end which are connected by a suitable roller
chain 74 so that auxiliary take-up roller 44 is rotated upon
rotation of shaft 54.
Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4, it will be seen that breaking strip
or bar 43 is provided with suitable pressure means such as a
plurality of fingers 75 which bear against auxiliary take-up roller
44. The soiled toweling thus passes between auxiliary take-up
roller 44 and the fingers 75.
The operation of this embodiment of the invention will now be
described. The cabinet with the various mechanisms as just
described is loaded by passing a length of toweling from a clean
towel supply 35 over dispensing roller 36, around pinch roller 37
and under shield 62, thereby raising finger 65 from reduced
diameter portion 66 of the pinch roller and causing the finger to
rest on the length of clean towelling passing over the pinch
roller. The raising of finger 65 causes rod 64 to pivot which in
turn raises hook or latch means 70 to engage lug 71 on shaft 54 and
thereby prevent shaft 54 from rotating with dispensing roller 36.
As a length of clean toweling is dispensed from the cabinet by a
user grasping the clean towelling 40 just below the flange 39, the
dispensing or drive roller 36 is caused to rotate, which in turn
rotates soiled towel drive roller 47 to rotate primary soiled towel
take-up roll 45. Thus an equivalent amount of soiled towel is taken
up on take-up roll 45 as is dispensed over dispensing roller 36 to
normally maintain a constant loop of toweling below the cabinet.
Normally the soiled toweling slides between the pressure means or
fingers 75 and the normally stationary auxiliary take-up roller
44.
When the supply of clean toweling is exhausted, as shown in FIG. 4,
there is not longer any toweling to keep finger 65 in raised so
that the weight of the finger causes it to drop into the reduced
diameter portion 66 of pinch roller 37 to correspondingly pivot
hook or latch means 70 downwardly and release it from engagement
with lug 71. The releasing of lug 71 thereby releases shaft 54 for
rotation under the influence of the energy stored in spring 55.
Rotation of shaft 54 causes auxiliary roller 44 to rotate through
chain 74 to thereby draw up the trailing end of a length of soiled
toweling into the bottom compartment 34 of the cabinet 30 as shown
in FIG. 4.
It is apparent that auxiliary take-up roller 44 is free to rotate
independently of primary soiled towel take-up roll 45 to thereby
facilitate drawing up the trailing end of the soiled length of
toweling into the cabinet. Thus it is not necessary to provide an
excessive amount of spring power to rotate the entire soiled towel
roll 45 simply to take up the trailing end of the soiled toweling.
This permits use of a much smaller spring such as torsion spring 55
to furnish enough energy only to rotate the small roller 44 to take
up the soiled trailing end of the length of toweling into the
cabinet. The friction between the rubber covered auxiliary take-up
roller 44 and the pressure means or fingers 75 is sufficient to
draw up the trailing end of the toweling into the cabinet. The
spring will then continue to unwind until it is in its normal
relaxed position and ready for the next supply of clean toweling to
be loaded into the cabinet.
A second embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIGS. 9 and
10. A cabinet 90 has an upper portion 92 and a lower portion 94,
each of which are openable, respectively, on hinges 96 and 98. A
towel 100 is threaded through the apparatus from a clean towel roll
102 to a soiled towel roll 104. Clean towel roll 102 rests in the
bottom of cabinet portion 94, while soiled towel roll 104 is
mounted on a spindle 112 which has a shaft 114 slidably received in
a pair of elongated slots 116 fixed in cabinet 90. Towel 100 goes
from clean towel roll 102 upwardly over a dispensing roller 120 and
around an adjacent pinch roller 122 and thereafter out of cabinet
90 through a suitable towel opening 126. The towel 100 then extends
downwardly over a cabinet lip 128 to form a free hanging loop 130.
Towel 100 re-enters cabinet 90 through an opening 132 in the rear
of the cabinet formed between two opposed shoulders 134 and 136. At
this point, towel 100 is engaged between an auxiliary take-up
roller 138 and an opposed pressure roller 140. A spring 142 acts on
pressure roller mounting bracket 144 to urge pressure roller 140
toward auxiliary take-up roller 138. Bracket 144 is pivotally
mounted upon a shaft 146 attached to the inside of cabinet 90.
Towel 100 then is wound onto soiled towel roll 104.
Attached to dispensing roll 120, or mounted on a common shaft with
it, is a drive sprocket 150. A soiled towel take-up roller 152 is
also mounted in cabinet 90 beneath soiled towel roll 104 and in
frictional contact therewith to drive soiled towel roll 104 in
rotation to wind the soiled towels thereupon. Take-up roll 152 is
mounted on a shaft 154, together with a driven sprocket 156 and a
gear 158, the purpose of which will be explained. A chain 160
engages drive sprocket 150 and driven sprockets 156.
The action of the user pulling clean toweling out of the cabinet
causes dispensing roller 120 and attached drive sprocket 150 to
rotate. This, through chain 160, causes driven sprocket 156 and its
associated primary soiled towel take-up roller 152 also to rotate.
This action also stores energy in a spring motor, as described
below.
A spring motor 170 comprises a housing 172, a spiral spring 174,
and an output gear 176. Spring 174 is anchored at one end 178 to
housing 172 and at the other end 180 to a shaft 182 which is
journaled in shaft mounting bearings 184 and 186. Housing 172 and
its attached output gear 176 are rotatable with respect to shaft
182. Attached to shaft 182 is a drive gear 190. An idler gear 192
operatively interconnects drive gear 190 and gear 158. Another
chain 196 connects output sprocket 176 with sprocket 198, which is
attached to mounting shaft 200 by auxiliary take-up roller 138,
which is supported in the cabinet on brackets 202, one at each end
of roller 138.
Attached to housing 172 is a locking tab 210. A lock rod 212 is
slidably mounted in bracket 214, and is engageable with locking tab
210. A collar 216 limits the axial movement of rod 212. A clevis
220 is attached to rod 212, and a cam follower wheel 222 is mounted
therein. A spring 224 interposed between bracket 214 and clevis 220
urges rod 212 away from engagement with locking tab 210. A locking
lever 226, pivotally mounted on a fixed shaft 228, has a sensing
finger 229 attached to one end while the other end 230 engages
wheel 222. Pinch roller 122 is divided at its longitudinal center,
(as seen at 66 in FIG. 6) providing an annular groove 232 aligned
with finger 229 into which finger 229 can drop when the end of the
clean towel passes from under it.
The operation of the second embodiment of the invention is as
follows: Each time that a user pulls down upon towel 100,
dispensing roller 120 is caused to rotate, and take-up drive roller
152 rotates also because it is connected to dispenser roller 120 by
chain 160. The periphery of take-up roller 152 engages soiled towel
roll 104, thus winding up an amount of soiled towel equal to the
clean towel pulled from the machine.
As take-up drive roller 152 rotates, so do drive gear 158, idler
gear 192, and spring motor housing drive gear 190. At this
juncture, locking rod 212 is engaged with locking tab 210, by
virtue of the fact that finger 228 bears against towel 100 passing
over pinch roller 122, and thus arm 226 pushes against spring 224
to hold rod 212 in the position shown in solid lines. Housing 172
is thus held against rotation. Gear 190 rotates, causing shaft 180
to rotate, and spring 174 is thereby wound, storing energy.
When the end of clean towel 100 passes over pinch roller 122,
groove 232 is exposed, and finger 228 drops into groove 232,
causing arm 226 to pivot to the position shown in the dotted lines
in FIG. 10. This action allows rod 212 to move out of the path of
tab 210. Once unlocked, housing 172 is driven in rotation loosely
upon shaft 180 by the stored energy of spring 174. Sprocket 176
rotates with housing 172, driving chain 196 and thus rotating
auxiliary take-up roller 138. This pulls the loose end of towel 100
into cabinet 90 without further action on soiled towel roll 104.
Rotation of shaft 180 in the opposite direction under the influence
of the energy of spring 174 is resisted by the gear train and by
soiled towel roll 104, which bears against primary soiled towel
take-up roller 152.
Although the present invention has been illustrated and described
with reference to two specific embodiments, it will be understood
that various modifications may be made by persons skilled in the
art without departing from the spirit of the invention which is
defined solely by the appended claims.
* * * * *