EP0339798A1 - Rolled web dispensers - Google Patents

Rolled web dispensers Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0339798A1
EP0339798A1 EP89303082A EP89303082A EP0339798A1 EP 0339798 A1 EP0339798 A1 EP 0339798A1 EP 89303082 A EP89303082 A EP 89303082A EP 89303082 A EP89303082 A EP 89303082A EP 0339798 A1 EP0339798 A1 EP 0339798A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
feed roller
dispenser
web
dispenser according
vacuum
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.)
Pending
Application number
EP89303082A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
French (fr)
Inventor
Raymond F. Deluca
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Georgia Pacific LLC
Original Assignee
Georgia Pacific LLC
Priority date (The priority date 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 date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Georgia Pacific LLC filed Critical Georgia Pacific LLC
Publication of EP0339798A1 publication Critical patent/EP0339798A1/en
Pending legal-status Critical Current

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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
    • A47K10/34—Dispensers for paper towels or toilet-paper dispensing from a web, e.g. with mechanical dispensing means
    • A47K10/36—Dispensers for paper towels or toilet-paper dispensing from a web, e.g. with mechanical dispensing means with mechanical dispensing, roll switching or cutting devices
    • A47K10/3631—The cutting devices being driven manually
    • A47K10/3643—The cutting devices being driven manually by pulling the paper

Definitions

  • This invention relates to a one-revolution stop mechanism for a dispenser and a dispensing method for rolled web material of the flex­ible sheet type such as paper toweling.
  • the stop mechanism has a low operating force and is associated with the feed roller in the dispenser to allow the feed roller to undergo one revolution and then be stopped in dispensing an individual sheet of the rolled web material.
  • Dispensers for rolled flexible sheet material such as paper toweling
  • dispensers include mechanisms for perforating or severing a web of material to divide the web into individual sheets.
  • Towel dispensers have also been developed with various mechanisms or techniques to provide a waste-­restricting system, namely, the dispenser permits only a single indi­vidual sheet to be dispensed to the intending user at one time with a delay being provided before the user can gain access to a second indi­vidual sheet.
  • towel dispensers in public washrooms should preferably be operable by merely pulling down on an exposed portion of the towel web with no need to touch parts of the dispenser such as cranks, buttons or levers commonly present in many prior art types of towel dispensers, these actuators serving to activate the towel dispenser in supplying the length of towel web or individual toweling sheets.
  • the dispenser should eliminate unnecessary waste of paper toweling while still not unduly restricting use of the toweling to the intending user.
  • Certain dispensers now on the market accomplish these objectives by such devices as spring-operated one-revolution stop feeding mechanisms and vacuum cup timers.
  • Spring-operated devices have the disadvan­tage that in being cocked while the towel is being withdrawn from the dispenser, a substantial drag is placed on the web of paper toweling, often resulting in it being prematurely torn where it is held by the wet fingers of the intending user.
  • Prior art vacuum cup timers pro­vide the needed time delay between withdrawal of individual towel sheets to thus reduce waste but have the disadvantage that the desired preset time intervals cannot be reliably maintained especially at very short time interval settings.
  • FIG. 1 represents one example of a towel dispenser known in the prior art.
  • the dispenser 30 has a cabinet 31 adapted to be mounted at a convenient location for intending users of the paper toweling supplied from the rolled web material carried within the cabinet 31.
  • a portion of the cabinet 31 is broken away to display a portion of the one-revolution stop mechanism and other components mounted within the cabinet 31.
  • a roll 1 of flexible web material is mounted on a yoke 33, the yoke being pivoted at 34 to the backplate of the dispenser cabinet 31.
  • Yoke 33 has a pair of yoke arms with cups 32 rotatably mounted at the outer ends of the yoke arms, these cups being inserted at each core end into the central tubular core of the towel roll 1.
  • the web W withdrawn from roll 1 is threaded counterclockwise around a pinchroller 3.
  • the web then passes clockwise around the rearside of a feed roller 4 to pass counterclockwise over an exit pinchroller 24.
  • Pinchrollers 3 and 24 are pressed against the feed roller 4 by springs (not shown) with all rollers being supported by appropriate bearings (not shown) in the sideplates of the dispenser cabinet 31.
  • the web W then exits through opening 26 in cabinet 31 to be accessible to intending users of the paper toweling material com­ing from roll 1.
  • a tab length T of the toweling web W of about 3 inches (7.6 cm) will extend outside the dispenser beyond opening 26 to be available for grasping by the intending users of the web material.
  • This preferred length T of web material is automatically fed from the dispenser 30 in conjunction with the operation of a one-revolution stop mechanism.
  • the feed roller 4 has an internal knife 40 which is mounted laterally offset from the rotational axis of feed roller 4. Knife 40 is supported within the feed roller to project through an opening (not shown) in the feed roller periphery to essentially sever the web mate­rial when it passes over the feed roller surface as the feed roller 4 makes a single revolution.
  • the web material is thus perforated to leave only, for example, three uncut1 ⁇ 4 inch (0.6 cm) long tabs connecting suc­cessive sheets in the web.
  • This transverse perforating of the web material in cabinet 31 defines individual sheets which are of a length equal to the feed roller circumference so that the web W is formed with a row of perforations between one sheet and the next succeeding sheet.
  • Feed roller 4 is rotatably mounted on shaft 32 which extends through an appropriate bearing which is carried by the sidewall of cabinet 31. Shaft 32 extends outwardly beyond the bearing and has a feed wheel 36 fixedly secured to it outer end. The feed wheel 36 has a control tab 38 which cooperates with a stop lever 41 to constitute the active components of the stop mechanism as described in allowed and commonly assigned Application Serial No. 838,799 (now U.S. Patent No. ).
  • U.S. Patent No. Re 28,911 discloses the use of a conventional vacuum cup timer to provide a time delay between withdrawal of individual towel sheets. The operation of this type of timer will be explained with reference to Figures 2 and 3 which are taken from Figure 10 of the Re. 28,911 patent.
  • Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the one-revolution stop mechanism in an unlatched position as used in the dispenser disclosed in the Re. 28,911 patent.
  • the mechanism includes a feed wheel 240 which is drivenby the towel web being pulled from the dispenser.
  • the mechanism also includes a stop lever 230 which pivots about pivot pin 232. Stop lever 230 has a cam follower 234 and a stop lug 236 which engage camming pin 238 formed on feed wheel 240.
  • cam follower 234 is positioned in the rotational path of camming pin 238.
  • the rotation of feed wheel 240 causes camming pin 238 to engage the underside of cam follower 234, raising cam follower 234 upwardly.
  • Stop lever 230 thus, pivots in a clockwise direction about pivot pin 232.
  • vacuum cup 242 is draw into vacuum-gripping relationship with vac­uum cup 244.
  • camming pin 238 passes under and out of engagement with cam follower 234 to arrive at the position shown in Figure 3. In this position, vacuum cups 242 and 244 are in full vacuum-gripping relationship and stop lug 236 is in engagement with camming pin 238.
  • Vacuum cups 242 and 244 remain in vacuum-gripping relation­ship for a predetermined period of time which is regulated by needle valve 254.
  • Needle valve 254 allows a controlled flow of ambient air into the vacuum environment between vacuum cups 242 and 244 in order to regulate the period of time during which the cups remain in vacuum-gripping relationship.
  • stop lever 230 is returned to its unlatched position as shown in Figure 2 by spring 256 for the start of another cycle.
  • vacuum cup timers perform their intended function, they suffer from a number of disadvantages.
  • the desired preset time delay interval cannot be reliably maintained, especially at very short time interval settings.
  • Another such disad­vantage is that a relatively large amount of compression force is required in order to engage the vacuum cups in a vacuum-gripping relationship. Creation of such a large force also creates a corre­sponding drag on the towel web, often resulting in premature tearing of the towel.
  • This particular disadvantage is addressed in the Re. 28,911 patent by making one cup of a relatively hard resilient material and the other of a relatively soft resilient material. The use of a soft resilient material also provides a better cushion for absorp­tion of forces generated by the abrupt arresting of feed wheel move­ment, thus minimizing wear of the stop mechanism components.
  • the rolled web dispenser of this invention basically overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages of prior art dispensers by elimi­nating the use of feed-out springs altogether and provides a great improvement over the conventional use of vacuum cup timers.
  • the present invention provides a fully reliable momentary stop and time delay which makes possible the use of very soft and weak paper tow­eling, with the dispenser being operated solely by pulling on the paper web of toweling while still providing the desired waste restricting system.
  • the dispenser for rolled web flexible material of this invention overcomes the disadvantages discussed above with reference to prior art proposals by providing a stop mechanism for the feed roller which has a substantial advantage over conventional stop lever designs.
  • a relatively small force by the user in pulling a towel from the dispenser is translated in a correspondingly larger force for setting the vacuum cups into vacuum-gripping engagement.
  • operation of the dispenser is made much easier.
  • the stop lever in accordance with Applicant's invention has a long actuating arm which pivots about a pivot point. The long actuating arm creates a substan­tial mechanical advantage for setting the vacuum cups in vacuum-­gripping engagement.
  • the mechanism advantage afforded by the stop lever of Applicant's invention greatly enhances the low pull force requirement and smooth operation of the dispenser.
  • the pneumatic and elastic characteristics of the stop mechanism which incorporates Applicant's stop lever serves as an efficient way of absorbing the energy generated when the dispensing mechanism is cycled and abruptly stopped.
  • the exit pinch roller is allowed to float in a slot.
  • the slot is in angular relationship with the feed roller such that the web is drawn into biting relationship with the pinch roller when the web is pulled. This arrangement assures that the towel will separate outside the dispenser when pulled.
  • FIG. 4 illustrates one embodiment of the one-revolution stop mechanism of Applicant's invention.
  • Web W withdrawn from roll 1 is threaded counterclockwise around a pinchroller 3 through a nip 2.
  • the web then passes clockwise around the rearside of feed roller 4 to pass counterclockwise over exit pinchroller 6 through a nip 5.
  • the web then exits through opening 27 in cabinet 31 to be accessible to intending users of the paper toweling material coming from roll 1.
  • a tab length 7 of the toweling web W of about 3 inches (7,6 cm) will extend outside the dispenser beyond opening 27 to be available for grasping by the intending users of the web material.
  • This preferred length 7 of web material is automatically fed from the dispenser 30 in conjunction with the operation of the stop mechanism in accordance with Applicant's invention.
  • the feed roller 4 has an internal knife as known in the art which is mounted laterally offset from the rotational axis of feed roller 4.
  • the knife is supported within the feed roller to project through an opening (not shown) in the feed roller periphery to essen­tially sever the web material when it passes over the feed roller sur­face as the feed roller makes a single revolution.
  • the web material is thus perforated to leave only three uncut 1 ⁇ 4 inch (0.6 cm) long tabs connecting successive sheets in the web.
  • This transverse perforating of the web material in cabinet 31 defines individual sheets which are of a length equal to the feed roller circumference so that the web W is formed with a row of perforations between one sheet and the next succeeding sheet.
  • Feed roller 4 is rotatably mounted by a shaft which extends through a bearing which is carried by the sidewall of cabinet 31 at pivot point 19.
  • the shaft extends outwardly beyond the bearing and has a feed wheel 8 fixedly secured to its outer end.
  • the shaft and feed wheel 8 are driven by the towel web being pulled from the dis­penser.
  • the feed wheel 8 has a camming lug 9 which cooperates with a stop lever 15.
  • Stop lever 15 is pivotally mounted at point 11 on one of the side plates of dispenser cabinet 31 and is provided with a recipient arm 12, a long actuating arm 18 and a short actuating arm 17.
  • Vac­uum cup 13 is attached to the end of arm 12 which cooperates with vacuum cup 14 as shall be discussed below.
  • feed roller 4 is caused to rotate which in turn causes feed wheel 8 to rotate in a corresponding manner.
  • lug 9 engages and slides across surface 10 of arm 18, thereby causing arm 18 to pivot upwardly about pivot point 11.
  • arm 12 causes vacuum cup 13 to engage vac­uum cup 14.
  • the relatively high mechanical advantage of long arm 18 pivoting stop lever 15 about point 11 causes cup 13 to firmly engage fixed cup 14, thus expelling air trapped in cavity 20 (See Figure 6) formed by the vacuum cups.
  • a seal 21 is formed by the lips of the mating vacuum cups, thus holding arm 12 down by the pneumatic pressure created by the vacuum. Arm 17 is therefore held in a latched upward position so that lug 9 engages surface 16 to interrupt the rotation of feed wheel 8.
  • stop lever 15 for setting vacuum cups 13 and 14 The low force required to create the relatively high mechani­cal advantage provided by stop lever 15 for setting vacuum cups 13 and 14 is abruptly reversed by the high pneumatic force holding arm 12 in position 21 as shown in Figure 6 and the relatively low mechanical leverage force exerted by arm 17 to resist the rotational force of lug 9 as lug 9 engages surface 16 of arm 17.
  • stop lever 15 When vacuum cups 13 and 14 are compressed, they perform a most critical function.
  • dimension A should be at least one-half that of dimension B. Such a length permits a relatively small amount of camming force from lug 9 to be translated into a relatively large force at the end of arm 15 for setting vacuum cups 13 and 14 in vac­uum gripping relationship.
  • radius C is chosen such that surface 10 is in line with pivot point 11 while lug 9 is in engagement with surface 10 as illustrated in Figure 5.
  • This orientation of surface 10 with pivot point 11 creates an easy progression of force between surface 10 and lug 9 as lug 9 passes through its toggle point between surface 10, lug 9 and pivot point 19.
  • venting device can be on either the moving cup 13 or the fixed cup 14. Needle valve 25 shown in Figure 6 serves this purpose.
  • An orifice 22 is provided in vacuum cup 14 which cooperates with stem 23. Air can be metered into chamber 20 by moving stem 23 rel­ative to orifice 22 and allowing the air to bleed past threads 24.
  • FIG. 9 illustrates another embodiment of the vacuum cup timer of Applicants invention.
  • flat plate 29 replaces vacuum cup 14.
  • FIGS 10-14 illustrate another embodiment of lug 9.
  • Lug 9a extends from the center portion of feed wheel 8 and has a shank portion 9b.
  • Shank portion 9b provides additional shock absorption characteristics and has been found by Applicant to lend considerable reliability to the stop mechanism.
  • Applicant's dispenser overcomes this problem by the use of a lower pinch roller 6 which is mounted in a slot 26 as shown in Figure 8.
  • Slot 26 is in angular relationship E, as illustrated in Figure 8, with the feed roller so as to move away from nip 5 when the mechanism is cycled and into a biting relationship when the web is pulled. This assures that the towel will separate outside the dispenser past point 5.
  • shaft 27 is allowed to float so that the portion of web 7 exerting the most pressure on roller 6 will be held the firmest at point 5.

Landscapes

  • Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Public Health (AREA)
  • Unwinding Webs (AREA)
  • Replacement Of Web Rolls (AREA)
EP89303082A 1988-03-30 1989-03-29 Rolled web dispensers Pending EP0339798A1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US17525588A 1988-03-30 1988-03-30
US175255 1988-03-30

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0339798A1 true EP0339798A1 (en) 1989-11-02

Family

ID=22639577

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP89303082A Pending EP0339798A1 (en) 1988-03-30 1989-03-29 Rolled web dispensers

Country Status (7)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0339798A1 (fi)
JP (1) JPH02504119A (fi)
BR (1) BR8906481A (fi)
CA (1) CA1335982C (fi)
FI (1) FI895729A0 (fi)
PT (1) PT90156A (fi)
WO (1) WO1989009013A1 (fi)

Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2369851A (en) * 1939-02-18 1945-02-20 Philip A Wooster Towel dispenser
GB1114891A (en) * 1965-03-11 1968-05-22 Dudley Hill Engineering Compan Towel dispensing cabinets
USRE28911E (en) * 1971-01-06 1976-07-20 Georgia-Pacific Corporation Dispenser for flexible sheet material and a perforating mechanism adapted to be used therein
US4712461A (en) * 1985-10-18 1987-12-15 Georgia-Pacific Corporation Rolled material dispenser with feed roller containing a sliding cutter

Family Cites Families (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3739965A (en) * 1969-01-24 1973-06-19 Georgia Pacific Corp Dispenser for flexible sheet material and a perforating mechanism adapted to be used therein
US3575328A (en) * 1969-01-24 1971-04-20 Georgia Pacific Corp Dispenser for flexible sheet material and a perforating mechanism adapted to be used therein

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2369851A (en) * 1939-02-18 1945-02-20 Philip A Wooster Towel dispenser
GB1114891A (en) * 1965-03-11 1968-05-22 Dudley Hill Engineering Compan Towel dispensing cabinets
USRE28911E (en) * 1971-01-06 1976-07-20 Georgia-Pacific Corporation Dispenser for flexible sheet material and a perforating mechanism adapted to be used therein
US4712461A (en) * 1985-10-18 1987-12-15 Georgia-Pacific Corporation Rolled material dispenser with feed roller containing a sliding cutter

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
FI895729A0 (fi) 1989-11-29
JPH02504119A (ja) 1990-11-29
WO1989009013A1 (en) 1989-10-05
BR8906481A (pt) 1990-11-27
PT90156A (pt) 1989-11-10
CA1335982C (en) 1995-06-20

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