Paper towel holder

Abstract

A holder is disclosed herein for mounting a paper towel roller thereon which includes a mounting bracket having a portion normal to the bracket that cantilevers outwardly from the bracket and mounts a spindle thereon. One end of the spindle is fixed to the cantilevered portion of the bracket or mount and is disposed within or secured to an outwardly projecting portion which includes a hole for venting purposes. The spindle is hollow and is adapted for insertably receiving a rod therein. The end of the rod from its end inserted within the spindle is provided with a handle portion comprising a disc and a projection that may be readily grasped by the hand of the user. Indexing indicia is provided for aligning the rod with the spindle so that the spindle will receive the rod without interference. However, the rod is slightly eccentric in cross-sections so that when rotated, the rod is locked to the spindle.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to paper towel holders and dispensing devices that are typically wall mounted and more particularly to a novel towel holder adapted to accommodate a variety of towel widths so that the user may conserve paper usuage by using shorter paper rolls than can be achieved by conventional means.

2. Description of the Prior Art

In the past, it has been the conventional practice to employ paper roll holders that have a rod or spindle mounted between two supporting brackets and wherein the towel carrying rolls is adapted to be positioned for rotation on the spindle. The roll generally consists of a tubular core or sleeve upon which the paper or the like is rolled up and dispensed therefrom. In order to position the roll on the holder, it is customary to release one end of the spindle from its support and then slid the core of the roll thereover. The loose end of the spindle is then reattached to the support. When the roll is used up, it is again necessary to release the one end of the spindle, remove the core and reposition another roll on the spindle, which is then again fixed in place.

Other methods have been employed such as the one disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,593,936 which discloses a cantilevered spindle and mount for supporting the roll of towels. However, no means is provided for locking the roller into place that is automatic and does not require the use of tools. Also, the aforementioned holder require extensive parts and mechanical mechanisms which add to the complexity of construction and installation. Furthermore, neither of the aforementioned paper holders will accommodate rollers having a variety of paper widths whereby the prior holders are suited for accommodating only one particular width of paper.

Therefore, it can be seen that a long standing need is present to provide a paper towel holder that will readily accommodate a variety of paper towel widths and that may include a locking means for holding the paper in place without adversely affecting the dispensing ability of the holder.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the above problems and difficulties are obviated by the present invention which provides a mounting means for cantilevering a roll of paper outwardly from a supporting surface which includes a fixed hollow spindle and an elongated rod insertably received within the spindle. The length of the rod is longer than the length of the spindle and the holder includes a projection on one side thereof coaxially disposed with respect to the spindle so as to accommodate the extra length of the rod. Means are provided on the projection for venting the storage area when the rod is inserted fully into the spindle. Indexing means are provided for selectively registering the rod with the spindle so that insertion may readily take place without interference. However, locking means are provided so that when the spindle and rod are out of registry, locking engagement between these latter components takes place and a tight frictional engagement is produced.

Therefore, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a novel paper towel holder having the ability to accommodate a variety of paper towel rolls wherein the variety is different only in the width of the paper.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel paper towel holder having a supporting tube or spindle for the paper roller which is fixed to a stationary mount and which includes a rod means insertably engageable with the spindle for accommodating the width of the paper on the roller.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a novel paper towel holder having a locking means for holding the paper roller mounting in fixed position until ready for release.

Still a further object of the present invention is to provide a novel paper towel holder having added strength by placing a large diameter spindle on the fixed mount adapted to be used in conjunction with an elongated rod insertably received within the spindle and wherein the length of the rod is longer than the length of the spindle so as to accommodate a variety of paper towel widths.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The features of the present invention which are believed to be novel are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The present invention, both as to its organization and manner of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a paper towel holder of the present invention showing the holder in its expanded position for mounting a long roll of paper towels;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view, partly in sections, of the paper towel holder shown in FIG. 1 as taken in the direction of arrows 2--2 thereof;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are transverse cross-sectional views of the spindle and rod as taken in the general direction of arrows 3--3 of FIG. 2 and illustrating the locking means therebetween; and

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the towel holder illustrated in a typical application for mounting a narrow roll of towels.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIG. 1, the novel paper towel holder of the present invention is shown in the general direction of arrow 10 which includes a wall mount for supporting a roll of paper towels from the surface of a wall which includes a bracket 11 supported on the surface of the wall by a plurality of screws such as screw 12. The bracket 11 includes an outwardly projecting disc portion 13 which is cantilevered outwardly from the surface of the wall. This portion 13 is employed for latterly supporting a hollow spindle 14 having a plurality of ridges such as ridge or groove 15 adapted to readily accommodate mounting of a paper roller thereon. As the paper roller is slipped over the periphery of the spindle 14, when its end opposite to its end secured to disc portion 13 is exposed, air normally trapped between the inside diameter of the paper roller of the roll and the outer surface of the spindle 14 will be conducted through the groove 15 so that the roller will slip thereoff.

It is to be noted that the free end of the spindle 14 has inserted therein a rod 16 which includes a disc portion 17 fixedly secured on one end thereof. A handle 18 is carried on the disc portion 17 that may be readily grasped by the hands of the user. The roll of paper towels is indicated in broken lines by the numeral 20 and the opposite ends of the roll butt against or in close proximity to the opposing surfaces of the disc portion 13 and 17 respectively.

As seen in FIG. 2, it is understood that the rod 16 may be slid into the hollow center of the spindle 14 until the distance between the opposing surfaces of the disc portions 13 and 17 will accommodate the width of the roll of towels. In this fashion, a variety of different towel rollers of varying widths may be accommodated. In order to effect such accommodation, it is noted that the length of rod 16 is longer than the length of the spindle 14 or at least longer than the distance from the face of disc portion 13 to the free end of the spindle 14. In order to accommodate the shortest possible roller, an extended portion 21 taking the form of a handle is provided on the exterior surface of the disc portion 13. The projection 21 is hollow and is coaxially disposed with respect to the spindle 14 so that the hollow interior of the spindle communicates with the hollow interior of projection 21. Therefore, as seen in dotted lines in FIG. 5, the end of rod 16 may be stored within the interior chamber of projection 21 to accommodate a short roll of paper towels. Preferably, the extreme end 22 of the rod is tapered so as to readily permit insertion of its end into the hollow bore of the spindle 14. Also, it is preferably closed off so that a vent 23 is employed for permitting the passage of air to exit from the bore of the spindle and the chamber of projection 21 as the rod is inserted.

Referring now in detail to FIGS. 3 and 4, a locking means is shown for releasably securing rod 16 to spindle 14. One releasable means includes forming the rod 16 with a slight eccentric outer diameter indicated by the numeral 30 while the inside diameter, indicated by numeral 31, is also oval or eccentric. As shown in FIG. 3, the rod may readily be slid into the out-of-round or oval bore of spindle 14. However, when the rod is slightly rotated as shown in FIG. 4 by the arrow 32, the lobes of the eccentric cross section of the rod 16 engages with irregular out-of-round inside diameter of the spindle 14. Such engagement is frictional and may be finger tightened to constitute a releasable securement.

To permit rectilinear movement between the rod and spindle, an indexing means is provided that may take the form of a pair of arrows 33 and 34 disposed on the ends of spindle 14 and rod 16 respectively. When these arrows are in alignment as shown in FIG. 2, the relationship between the cross sections is shown as in FIG. 3 and the rod may slipped or axially moved into the spindle. Arrows 33' and 34' are shown in FIG. 5 as these arrows are always exposed for visual observation. However, once the roll of paper has been placed on the spindle 15 and the opposing surfaces of disc portions 13 and 17 are adjacent the ends of the roll, a slight twist to the rod will cause engagement with the spindle as shown in FIG. 4.

As shown in FIG. 5, the device 10 is holding a roll of towel or papers that is substantially shorter than the roll 20 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The shorter is indicated by numeral 35 and is mounted on the spindle 14. However, it is noted that the rod 16 is of longer length than the width of the roll of paper and that the excess length of the rod is stored within the cavity of projection 21.

In view of the foregoing, it can be seen that the device of the present invention provide a novel holder for accommodating paper towels or rolls of different lengths. The ability of the device to so accommodate the variety is largely due to the projection 21 and its ability to store the excess length of the rod 16 when a short roll is mounted on the spindle 14. The locking means is easy to effect and does not require the use of tools or does not include separate component parts which need to be turned or rotated such as a set screw as shown in the prior art. Also, since the larger diameter spindle is carried on the fixed mount, added strength is provided to the device which is not contemplated by the prior art. Once installed, projections 21 and 18 provide hand holds and provide a decorative or ornamental appearance to the entire assembly.

While particular embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from this invention in its broader aspects and, therefore, the aim in the appended claims is to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of this invention.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A holder for rolls of paper material comprising:

a mount having a disc portion cantilevered outwardly from and normal to a support plate;

an elongated, hollow spindle having one end thereof secured to said disc portion and cantilevered therefrom normal to the inner surface of said disc portion;

a closure assembly for retaining the roll on said spindle including an elongated rod slidably engageable within the hollow of said spindle;

a second disc portion carried on the end of said rod, the opposing surfaces of said disc portions defining a retaining means for holding said roll of paper therebetween;

said spindle hollow and said rod being of out-of-round so as to bind for releasably locking said roll of paper onto said spindle;

said rod having a length of greater dimension than the dimensional length of said spindle so that rolls of varying length may be accommodated between said discs;

means for storing the extended portion of said rod beyond the length of said spindle when a roll having a length shorter than said spindle is used;

including indexing means for registering said rod with spindle so as to permit axial movement therebetween; and

handle means carried on said support member and on said mounting means.