CA2229703A1 - Towel dispenser adapter - Google Patents
Towel dispenser adapter Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- CA2229703A1 CA2229703A1 CA 2229703 CA2229703A CA2229703A1 CA 2229703 A1 CA2229703 A1 CA 2229703A1 CA 2229703 CA2229703 CA 2229703 CA 2229703 A CA2229703 A CA 2229703A CA 2229703 A1 CA2229703 A1 CA 2229703A1
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- housing
- adapter
- section
- flange section
- towels
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
Links
Classifications
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
- A47K—SANITARY EQUIPMENT NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; TOILET ACCESSORIES
- A47K10/00—Body-drying implements; Toilet paper; Holders therefor
- A47K10/24—Towel dispensers, e.g. for piled-up or folded textile towels; Toilet-paper dispensers; Dispensers for piled-up or folded textile towels provided or not with devices for taking-up soiled towels as far as not mechanically driven
- A47K10/32—Dispensers for paper towels or toilet-paper
- A47K10/42—Dispensers for paper towels or toilet-paper dispensing from a store of single sheets, e.g. stacked
- A47K10/424—Dispensers for paper towels or toilet-paper dispensing from a store of single sheets, e.g. stacked dispensing from the bottom part of the dispenser
Landscapes
- Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
- Public Health (AREA)
- Containers And Packaging Bodies Having A Special Means To Remove Contents (AREA)
Abstract
A paper towel dispenser having a housing for supporting a stack of towels and an outlet slot at the bottom of the housing for manual removal of towels one at a time, an adapter positioned within the housing and comprising a single sheet of material having a spacer section and a flange section joined by a hinge section, with the spacer section being positionable adjacent an inner wall of the housing and the flange section being positionable on the bottom of the housing adjacent the outlet slot, with the housing and adapter flange section having interengaging guide means for locating the adapter at at least two positions on the housing bottom for selectively spacing the lower end of the adapter spacer section at at least two distances from the housing inner wall.
Description
TOWEL DISPENSER ADAPTER
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to paper towel dispensers of the type having a housing for receiving a stack of towels, and an outlet slot at the bottom of thehousing for manually removing towels one at a time. Typically, the towels are C folded or ~ folded in a stack of a standard width and standard height, and of 5 a depth, that is the distance from front to back of the stack, also of a predetermined size. Typically, the housing is mounted on a wall of a washroom or the like, and has a hinge at the bottom which permits opening the housing forinserting a new stack of towels.
In the past, the practice has been to produce the housing for handling a 10 single size of towel. If the customer is going to use the larger size, a larger size housing will be provided and if the customer is going to use the smaller size, asmaller size housing will be provided. Hence, if a customer wishes to change thesize of towel, the housing itself must be changed. At the present time, there isa trend to using the smaller size towel in order to reduce costs, but a customer15 currently using the larger size towel is reluctant to incur the additional cost of ch~nging housings.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved paper towel dispenser construction which can easily adapt a housing to either of two desired sizes, or actually to any size within a range of large to small.
It is a particular object of the invention to provide a new adapter for inserting into a conventional paper towel dispenser which adapter is readily installed in existing dispensers and which is readily adjusted over a range of towel sizes by simply loosening and tightening one or more screws.
Other objects, advantages, features and results will more fully appear in the course of the following description.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
s A paper towel dispenser for handling stacks of paper towels of two different sizes.
An adapter for a paper towel dispenser having a housing for supporting a stack of towels and an outlet slot at the bottom of the housing for manual 10 removal of towels one at a time, the adapter being positionable in the housing and comprising a single sheet of material having a spacer section and a flange section joined by a hinge section, with the spacer section being positionable adjacent to an inner wall of the housing and the flange section being positionable on the bottom of the housing adjacent the outlet slot, with the adapter flange 15 section having guide means for locating the adapter at at least two positions on the housing bottom for selectively spacing the lower end of the adapter section at at least two distances from the housing inner wall.
A paper towel dispenser having a housing for supporting a stack of towels and an outlet slot at the bottom of said housing for manual removal of towels 20 one at a time, an adapter positioned within the housing and comprising a single sheet of material having a spacer section and a flange section joined by a hingesection, the spacer section being positionable adjacent to an inner wall of the housing and the flange section being positionable on the bottom of the housing adjacent the outlet slot, the housing and adapter flange section having 25 interengaging guide means for locating the adapter at at least two positions on the housing bottom for selectively spacing the lower end of the adapter spacer section at at least two distances from the housing inner wall, and including interengaging connection means for maintaining the adapter at the selected distance from the housing inner wall.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a paper towel dispenser incorporating the 5 adapter of the invention;
Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 showing the dispenser with the adapter installed in the forward or out position for handling a stack of towels of the smaller depth;
Fig. 2A is a view similar to that of Fig. 2 showing the adapter in the 10 rearward or in position for handling a stack of towels of the larger depth;
Fig. 3 is an enlarged bottom view of the dispenser of Fig. 2A;
Fig. 4 is a plan view of the adapter used in Figs. 1-3; and Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of Fig. 4.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
A paper towel dispenser 11 is shown in Fig. 1, with a housing 12 and a cover 13. The cover is joined to the housing at a hinge 14 permitting the cover to move forward, providing access to the interior of the housing for inserting astack of paper towels. A catch or lock 15 is positioned in the cover at the upper 20 edge for l~tching the cover to the housing in the closed position as seen in Fig.
1. A viewing slot 16 is provided in at least one end of the housing for indicating the amount of towels rem~ining in the housing.
An outlet slot 19 is provided in the bottom 20 of the housing, for 25 withdrawing the paper towels one at a time. Typically the stack of towels are C-folded or Z-folded, and the edge of the bottom towel of the stack is fed out through the outlet slot when a new stack is placed in the housing. Then the usergrasps the exposed edge of the towel and pulls downward to obtain one towel for use.
An adapter 22 having a spacer section 23 and a flange section 24 joined by hinge section 25 is shown in Figs. 4 and 5. Preferably the outer edge 26 of the 5 flange section 24 is turned downward for projecting outward through the outletslot 19. Also preferably, a thicker section 27 is provided on the slant section 24, as best seen in Figs. 5 and 6, to provide material for the holding screw thread.
The adapter 22 is mounted within the housing 12, as best seen in Figs. 2 and 2A. The adapter is attached to the housing bottom 20 by screws 28 which pass through guide slots 29 in the bottom 20 and are threaded into correspondingopenings 30 in the flange section 24 of the adapter. With this construction, theadapter may be positioned in the housing with various spacings between the back 30 of the housing. The openings 31 are provided in two different positions to fit 15 in dispensers with different towel widths. With this arrangement, the dispenser can be adjusted to handle towels of a lesser depth from front to back, as shown in Fig. 2, and towels of a greater depth from front to back as shown in Fig. 2A.
With this construction, a single paper towel dispenser can be 20 manufactured, stocked and installed, and be readily adaptable for use with different sizes of towels. This unique construction permits the operator to choose different towel configurations depending upon needs of the users and upon availability of towels. It also permits the operator to change all the units in a building from one size to another by merely adjusting the position of the 25 adapter.
Another advantage of this new construction is that the adaptor moves the entire stack of lesser depth towels forward in the dispenser. This position allows for better dispensing because the towels are positioned in the opening better than 5 in prior designs which do not center the towels over the outlet opening.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to paper towel dispensers of the type having a housing for receiving a stack of towels, and an outlet slot at the bottom of thehousing for manually removing towels one at a time. Typically, the towels are C folded or ~ folded in a stack of a standard width and standard height, and of 5 a depth, that is the distance from front to back of the stack, also of a predetermined size. Typically, the housing is mounted on a wall of a washroom or the like, and has a hinge at the bottom which permits opening the housing forinserting a new stack of towels.
In the past, the practice has been to produce the housing for handling a 10 single size of towel. If the customer is going to use the larger size, a larger size housing will be provided and if the customer is going to use the smaller size, asmaller size housing will be provided. Hence, if a customer wishes to change thesize of towel, the housing itself must be changed. At the present time, there isa trend to using the smaller size towel in order to reduce costs, but a customer15 currently using the larger size towel is reluctant to incur the additional cost of ch~nging housings.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved paper towel dispenser construction which can easily adapt a housing to either of two desired sizes, or actually to any size within a range of large to small.
It is a particular object of the invention to provide a new adapter for inserting into a conventional paper towel dispenser which adapter is readily installed in existing dispensers and which is readily adjusted over a range of towel sizes by simply loosening and tightening one or more screws.
Other objects, advantages, features and results will more fully appear in the course of the following description.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
s A paper towel dispenser for handling stacks of paper towels of two different sizes.
An adapter for a paper towel dispenser having a housing for supporting a stack of towels and an outlet slot at the bottom of the housing for manual 10 removal of towels one at a time, the adapter being positionable in the housing and comprising a single sheet of material having a spacer section and a flange section joined by a hinge section, with the spacer section being positionable adjacent to an inner wall of the housing and the flange section being positionable on the bottom of the housing adjacent the outlet slot, with the adapter flange 15 section having guide means for locating the adapter at at least two positions on the housing bottom for selectively spacing the lower end of the adapter section at at least two distances from the housing inner wall.
A paper towel dispenser having a housing for supporting a stack of towels and an outlet slot at the bottom of said housing for manual removal of towels 20 one at a time, an adapter positioned within the housing and comprising a single sheet of material having a spacer section and a flange section joined by a hingesection, the spacer section being positionable adjacent to an inner wall of the housing and the flange section being positionable on the bottom of the housing adjacent the outlet slot, the housing and adapter flange section having 25 interengaging guide means for locating the adapter at at least two positions on the housing bottom for selectively spacing the lower end of the adapter spacer section at at least two distances from the housing inner wall, and including interengaging connection means for maintaining the adapter at the selected distance from the housing inner wall.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a paper towel dispenser incorporating the 5 adapter of the invention;
Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 showing the dispenser with the adapter installed in the forward or out position for handling a stack of towels of the smaller depth;
Fig. 2A is a view similar to that of Fig. 2 showing the adapter in the 10 rearward or in position for handling a stack of towels of the larger depth;
Fig. 3 is an enlarged bottom view of the dispenser of Fig. 2A;
Fig. 4 is a plan view of the adapter used in Figs. 1-3; and Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of Fig. 4.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
A paper towel dispenser 11 is shown in Fig. 1, with a housing 12 and a cover 13. The cover is joined to the housing at a hinge 14 permitting the cover to move forward, providing access to the interior of the housing for inserting astack of paper towels. A catch or lock 15 is positioned in the cover at the upper 20 edge for l~tching the cover to the housing in the closed position as seen in Fig.
1. A viewing slot 16 is provided in at least one end of the housing for indicating the amount of towels rem~ining in the housing.
An outlet slot 19 is provided in the bottom 20 of the housing, for 25 withdrawing the paper towels one at a time. Typically the stack of towels are C-folded or Z-folded, and the edge of the bottom towel of the stack is fed out through the outlet slot when a new stack is placed in the housing. Then the usergrasps the exposed edge of the towel and pulls downward to obtain one towel for use.
An adapter 22 having a spacer section 23 and a flange section 24 joined by hinge section 25 is shown in Figs. 4 and 5. Preferably the outer edge 26 of the 5 flange section 24 is turned downward for projecting outward through the outletslot 19. Also preferably, a thicker section 27 is provided on the slant section 24, as best seen in Figs. 5 and 6, to provide material for the holding screw thread.
The adapter 22 is mounted within the housing 12, as best seen in Figs. 2 and 2A. The adapter is attached to the housing bottom 20 by screws 28 which pass through guide slots 29 in the bottom 20 and are threaded into correspondingopenings 30 in the flange section 24 of the adapter. With this construction, theadapter may be positioned in the housing with various spacings between the back 30 of the housing. The openings 31 are provided in two different positions to fit 15 in dispensers with different towel widths. With this arrangement, the dispenser can be adjusted to handle towels of a lesser depth from front to back, as shown in Fig. 2, and towels of a greater depth from front to back as shown in Fig. 2A.
With this construction, a single paper towel dispenser can be 20 manufactured, stocked and installed, and be readily adaptable for use with different sizes of towels. This unique construction permits the operator to choose different towel configurations depending upon needs of the users and upon availability of towels. It also permits the operator to change all the units in a building from one size to another by merely adjusting the position of the 25 adapter.
Another advantage of this new construction is that the adaptor moves the entire stack of lesser depth towels forward in the dispenser. This position allows for better dispensing because the towels are positioned in the opening better than 5 in prior designs which do not center the towels over the outlet opening.
Claims (6)
1. An adapter for a paper towel dispenser having a housing for supporting a stack of towels and an outlet slot at the bottom of the housing formanual removal of towels one at a time, said adapter being positionable in said housing and comprising a single sheet of material having a spacer section and a flange section joined by a hingesection, said spacer section being positionable adjacent an inner wall of the housing and said flange section being positionable on the bottom of the housing adjacentthe outlet slot, said adapter flange section having guide means for locating said adapter at at least two positions on the housing bottom for selectively spacing the lower end of said adapter section at at least two distances from the housing inner wall.
2. An adapter as defined in claim 1 wherein said flange section guide means includes means defining a screw opening for receiving a screw positioned in a slot in the housing bottom.
3. An adapter as defined in claim 2 including a lip at said flange section projecting downward into the bottom outlet slot.
4. A paper towel dispenser having a housing for supporting a stack of towels and an outlet slot at the bottom of said housing for manual removal of towels one at a time, an adapter positioned within said housing and comprising a single sheet of material having a spacer section and a flange section joined by a hinge section, said spacer section being positionable adjacent an inner wall of said housing and said flange section being positionable on the bottom of said housing adjacent said outlet slot, said housing and adapter flange section having interengaging guide means for locating said adapter at at least two positions on said housing bottom for selectively spacing the lower end of said adapter spacer section at at least twodistances from said housing inner wall, and including interengaging connection means for maintaining said adapter at the selected distance from said housing inner wall.
5. A paper towel dispenser as defined in claim 4 wherein said guide means includes means defining a screw opening in said adapter flange section, a guide slot in the housing bottom, and a screw positioned in said slot and said screw opening for clamping said adapter to said housing.
6. A paper towel dispenser as defined in claim 5 including a down turned lip at said flange section and projecting downward into the bottom outletslot.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2229703 CA2229703A1 (en) | 1997-09-10 | 1998-02-18 | Towel dispenser adapter |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US927,056 | 1997-09-10 | ||
| CA 2229703 CA2229703A1 (en) | 1997-09-10 | 1998-02-18 | Towel dispenser adapter |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2229703A1 true CA2229703A1 (en) | 1999-03-10 |
Family
ID=4162110
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2229703 Abandoned CA2229703A1 (en) | 1997-09-10 | 1998-02-18 | Towel dispenser adapter |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA2229703A1 (en) |
-
1998
- 1998-02-18 CA CA 2229703 patent/CA2229703A1/en not_active Abandoned
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| FZDE | Dead |