EP1079721B1 - Wiping material dispensing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

Apparatus for dispensing a wiping material of the type comprising a housing, a cover, a drum, a cutter device built into the drum, and drum cocking and returning means incorporating, arranged on a lateral side of the drum, a crank and a cocking spring, the side plates being constructed to support the reel holder, is noteworthy in that it comprises an anti-looping device for preventing looping of the material coming from the reel (B) of material including at least on mechanism acting on the reel holder to lock it in position, this mechanism being arranged ton one of the side plates of the housing, and being actuated by a flyweight device built into the movement of the rotating drum and either causing or not causing the reel holder lock to be operated in the case of application of a large force and traction on the strip of material.

Description

The invention relates to the technical sector of paper dispensing apparatus wiping cloth of cellulose wadding, creped paper or similar material, intended for especially when wiping users' hands, distributing paper toilet, to the distribution of paper towels. These papers may be under folded or unfolded shape.

The Applicant has developed numerous patents on devices of the aforementioned type in automatic and semi-automatic versions, and distribution of paper from a loading reel.

The main components of such a device are briefly described. A Apparatus dispensing wiper material referenced as a whole by (1) comprises a housing (2), a cover (3), a drum (4), a cutting device (5) - 6) integrated in the drum, as well as means for launching and recalling the drum including an eccentric (7) and a spring (8). In its upper part, the casing is arranged with side flanges (2a) capable of receiving the spool holder (9) a wiping spool (B). These flanges can be fixed position and in this case, the coil of wiping material is suspended in compared to the drum. In a variant, the flanges or arms of a reel holder are hinged relative to the housing so that the coil of material the wiper comes into contact with the drum itself.

Such provisions are very common on this type of device. The traction of the paper tape by the user is likely to be exercised very variable with a greater or lesser force, without counting the meaning directional traction which may be an additional parameter in the operation of the dispensing apparatus. It can then occur a phenomenon of occurrence of loops between the coil of wiping material and the drum on a tape length of up to four centimeters.

To remedy this drawback, the Applicant has developed anti-loop devices especially in the patent FR No. 2643808. These anti-loop devices make intervene sets of tilting levers mounted relative to the spool holder and which are likely to have a pivoting effect to reduce or compensate the phenomenon of the loop and put in tension the strip of material. Such sets are working very satisfying but are likely to hinder loading the device, being facing and in the front plane of the coil of material.

Another disadvantage is also the cost of the molds required for implementation of the anti-loop device. Despite all the precautions taken, it can be also produce the distribution of several strips of material.

The object of the invention was therefore to remedy these drawbacks by proposing a better adapted solution that is not an inconvenience for the user when mounting and charging the device.

According to another desired object of the invention, the Applicant has turned to a technical concept that can, in principle, be used for where the loading coil is suspended on the carrier flanges, or the coil is supported on the drum by pivoting a reel holder with articulated arms or flanges.

According to a first characteristic, the apparatus for dispensing wiping material, of the type comprising a housing, a cover, a drum, a cutting device integrated in the drum, means for launching and returning the drum including an eccentric and a launch spring, arranged from one side side of the drum, the side flanges being arranged to support the reel holder, is notable in that it includes an anti-material loop device from the reel of material including at least one acting mechanism on the reel holder by locking in position the latter, this mechanism being arranged on one of the lateral flanges of the casing, and being actuated by a device counterweight integrated into the rotating drum movement and ensuring the in operation or not the locking of the reel holder in case of solicitation and strong traction of the strip of material.

These and other characteristics will emerge from the rest of the description.

• La figure 1 est une vue de côté d'un appareil distributeur de matériau d'essuyage illustrant une première mise en oeuvre du dispositif anti-boucle pour une bobine de matériau d'essuyage en suspension sur des flasques fixes du porte-bobine.
• La figure 2 est une vue partielle et en coupe illustrant un mécanisme anti-boucle inséré sur le flasque latéral gauche de l'appareil.
• La figure 3 est une vue partielle et en coupe illustrant le mécanisme anti-boucle inséré sur le flasque latéral droit de l'appareil.
• La figure 4 est une vue de face selon la ligne A-A de la figure 2 illustrant la limitation de rotation du dispositif anti-boucle sur le flasque latéral gauche.
• Les figures 5 et 6 sont des vues à caractère schématique illustrant le verrouillage en position du porte-bobine à partir du flasque latéral droit.
• La figure 7 est une vue de côté de l'appareil distributeur selon l'invention dans une seconde mise en oeuvre où le flasque support de porte-bobine est articulé permettant l'appui de la bobine sur le tambour.
• La figure 8 est une vue en perspective éclatée du dispositif anti-boucle s'adaptant sur le flasque latéral droit de l'appareil.

For fixing the object of the invention illustrated in a nonlimiting manner to the figures of the drawings where:

• Figure 1 is a side view of a wipe material dispensing apparatus illustrating a first implementation of the anti-loop device for a coil of wiper material suspended on fixed flanges of the spool holder.
• Figure 2 is a partial view in section illustrating an anti-loop mechanism inserted on the left side flange of the device.
• Figure 3 is a partial view in section illustrating the anti-loop mechanism inserted on the right side flange of the device.
• Figure 4 is a front view along the line AA of Figure 2 illustrating the limitation of rotation of the anti-loop device on the left side flange.
• Figures 5 and 6 are schematic views illustrating the locking in position of the reel holder from the right side flange.
• Figure 7 is a side view of the dispensing apparatus according to the invention in a second implementation in which the flange supporting the coil carrier is articulated allowing the support of the coil on the drum.
• Figure 8 is an exploded perspective view of the anti-loop device fitting on the right side flange of the device.

In order to make the object of the invention more concrete, it is now described non-limiting manner illustrated in the figures of the drawings.

The distributor device referenced as a whole by (1) is arranged with a anti-loop device of material from the material coil, this device including at least a first mechanism acting on the coil carrier in blocking this position, said first mechanism being arranged to be disposed on a first flange of the dispensing apparatus, and this as well for apparatus with the coil of material suspended on a fixed flange, that the reel resting on the drum, the arms of an articulated support spool holder.

According to the invention, the integral ends of the fixed flanges or arms of a articulated coil carriers are thus arranged with specific shapes constituting anchoring zones of complementary means arranged on the mechanisms in question likely to be solicited.

In practice, it is necessary to identify certain complementary components to the dispensing apparatus in each of its fixed-flange or spool-holder versions articulated from which the mechanisms of the device of the invention are artwork.

The drum (4) is of the type comprising a means whose lateral ends form flange holder of the cutting blade holder. One of the flanges is in practice arranged with an ovoid plate (10) provided with a profiled opening (10a) while a second inner plate (10b) also formed integral with the sleeve (11) supporting the flange (10), has an opening (10c) for the introduction of a support shaft (12a) of a hinged mass (12). said feeder thus has a finger (12b) forming a hinge pin, and an offset (12c) projecting outwardly through the opening (10a) formed on the ovoid plate (10). The protruding end (12c) of the weight (12) thus comes substantially facing the inner face of the flange of the housing. This weight is free to pivot and is articulated by gravity during rotation drum (4) and therefore its end flanges.

According to the invention, the anti-loop device capable of acting on the reel holder mounted on the side flange is designed by the following arrangement:

The spool flange (2a) is arranged to receive a fitting (13) mounted rotating and engageable in the mandrel (14) of the reel of material. This tip (13) has a cylindrical surface (13a) engaging in said mandrel and is extended by a disc (15) arranged on its periphery with a multitude of projections or teeth (15a) spaced regularly between them. Between the side flange (2a) of the housing and the disk (15) of the end piece, is mounted a lever (16) of great length whose upper end (16a) forming a head is mounted pivoting on a connecting pin (17) integral with the side flange (2a) of the housing, and whose position allows the approximation to ensure the blocking function. The upper end (16a) of said lever secures an end (18a) a return spring (18) whose other end (18b) is integral with the flange side of the housing. Said return spring (18) is de-energized in case of no biasing the lever (16) The latter is also arranged with a finger (16b) protruding located opposite the notched disc. The lower part (16c) of the lever (16) is arranged with an end opposite the side flange of the drum supporting the weight (12) above. In addition, said lever (16) has, near its lower part, an inner hook shape (16d) which is likely to be guided and held by a fixed lug (19) secured to the inner face (2a) of the side flange of the housing, limiting the lateral movement of the lever. In addition and in opposed to this tab, a protruding abutment (20) is capable of retaining the lever (16) in the other direction, thus acting as a stroke limiter.

In addition, the tip (13) receiving the mandrel of the coil wiper may be arranged with a peripheral recess (13b) forming housing capable of receiving rolling means (21) of the needle type held by semi-circular half-flanges (22) A band or belt (23) covers the assembly and serves as a support plane to the coil.

In this implementation, the operation of the device is as follows. When the operator pulls the strip of material too much force, it can happen that the weight (12) does not have the material time to switch in its housing in to pass under the end of the lever (16). In this situation, that weight (12) carried by the rotational speed of the drum then comes into abutment against the lower end of the lever (16) above. It provokes by its support, the tilting of said lever and against its spring (18) associated with the part superior head. In addition, the protruding finger (16b) is also tilted and comes into the space opposite between two consecutive teeth (15a) of notched disc. This penetration then causes the locking in position of the reel holder. In addition, the belt (23) mounted on the end piece (13) ensures an effect of complementary braking of the reel mandrel.

As a variant, the disc (15) can be made in the form of a polygonal section against which successively bears the aforementioned finger (16b). other configurations of the disk (15) can be engaged to ensure the support effect, stop and lock lever.

The leveling is automatic by the return of the drum thanks to the spring of recall of the eccentric and the effect of returning the material back onto the reel holder.

Reference is now made to the second embodiment illustrated in FIGS. in known manner, the bobbin holder (25) is made in a U-shape with the lateral arms (25a) are arranged with a tip (13) capable of penetrating in the mandrel of the spool. One of the arms (25a) of this reel holder can be itself pivoted to facilitate the loading of the device. of the resilient return and tensioning means of this reel holder allows to put in contact and support the coil and the drum.

The anti-loop device is thus arranged as follows.

The tip (13) penetrating the mandrel is made in the manner described previously, so that the references used are the same.

The drum is arranged similarly with, near one of its flanges, a flyweight (12) providing the anti-return function of the drum.

In this implementation, the anti-loop mechanism is as follows.

A first lever (26) is disposed from the bottom wall of the housing while being articulated on an axis (27) penetrating into the lateral flange of the housing opposite and on an inner lug (28) receiving the reel holder with articulation using a span (29) and a connecting pin (30) The reel arm is advantageously U-shaped so that it can receive internally a block (31) parallelepiped capable of sliding inside said arm. The face of bottom of said arm has a slot (32) oriented oblique and oblong susceptible to allow the movement and sliding of a projecting finger (33) established on the. block (31) above, according to high and low positions. This block (31) is integral with a second L-shaped lever (34) whose upper branch (34a) is coupled to the block (31) and the lower branch (34b) is mounted on the pivot axis of the bobbin holder. The end (34b) of said second lever has a oblong notch (34c) in which said axis (30) slides, thus allowing vary the position of the second lever (34) and therefore of the block (31) which is associated. The lug (28) molded in the housing is established between the lower part of said second lever (34) and the zone (26a) for pivoting and anchoring said first lever (26). The lug (28) thus has an opening (28a) for passage of the connecting pin with the first lever (26) and a second opening (28b) for the passage of the connection with the second lever (34) and the articulation base of the reel arm. A return spring (36) is arranged between the first lever (26) with a point of fixing and the second lever (34) at its bent portion (34d).

The positioning is therefore the following.

In non-solicitation phase, that is to say that the drum of the apparatus turns Normally and the flyweight returns to its normal position, there is no intervention on the first lever. The spool holder can rotate normally.

In the case of an abrupt solicitation by excessive traction by the user, the weight (12) associated with the drum may not return to its original position. She then comes into abutment against the free end (26c) of the first lever (26) in causing it to pivot and tilt. This pivoting will put in contact the free end of the first lever with the underside of the second lever (34) causing it to move upwardly along the arm spool. This movement will cause the movement of the associated finger (33) block (31) and allowing its positioning inside between two teeth (15a) consecutive circular plate (15) toothed tip. There will also be blockage in position of the tip preventing the rotation of the coil. The The lever (26) is released by the flyweight automatically in the same conditions as previously indicated.

It is now necessary to refer to Figure 2 of the drawings in which the second flange coil holder is arranged in turn with a complementary means allowing the return of the coil.

In this complementary implementation, which aims to enable the return to back of the reel to rewind the reel in case of occurrence of a loop, the mechanism includes the following arrangements.

The flange, in the fixed version, is arranged with a central hub (37), fixed by screw or otherwise. This hub (37) is shouldered and receives at the end a tip (38) hat-shaped profile with an outer reach (38a) receiving the mandrel of the spool and a lid shape (38b) surrounding the aforementioned hub.

A spiral spring (39) is disposed in the housing thus formed with a end (39a) fixed to the flange and the other end (39b) fixed on the lid. The rotation of the reel under the pulling effect of the paper by the user will cause the reel means to rotate in a direction in causing the bandage of the spring and storing energy. This tension is maintained during the holding time of the free end of the tape paper. The suppression of this maintenance provokes by elastic relaxation, the return in back of the material strip by removing its loop effect that could have been realized. A stop (40) ensures the limitation of stroke and rotation of the endpiece (38).

A wipe material strip dispensing apparatus can thus be arranged with the different mechanisms to avoid the effects of loops mentioned above.

Claims (10)

1. Apparatus for dispensing a wiping material, of the type comprising a housing (2), a cover (3), a drum (4), a cutter device (5-6) built into the drum, and drum cocking and returning means incorporating, arranged on a lateral side of the drum, a crank (7) and a cocking spring (8), a reel holder, for a reel of material, and side plates of the housing being constructed to support the reel holder, the apparatus being characterized in that it comprises an anti-looping device for preventing looping of the material coming from the reel (B) of material including at least one mechanism acting on the reel holder to lock it in position, this mechanism being arranged on one of the side plates of the housing, and being actuated by a flyweight device (12) built into the movement of the rotating drum and causing the reel holder (13) lock to be operated in the case of application of a large tensile force on the strip of material.
2. Apparatus for dispensing a wiping material, according to Claim 1, characterized in that the drum (4) possesses laterally a side plate constructed with an ovoid lamina (10) provided with a profiled opening (10a) and with an inner lamina (10b) integral with the sleeve (11) supporting the side plate, the said lamina having an opening (10c) for the insertion of a pin (12a) to support a hinged flyweight (12), the said flyweight comprising a dowel (12b) forming a hinge pin and an outwardly projecting protrusion (12c) passing through the opening (10a) to act on the reel holder locking mechanism.
3. Apparatus for dispensing a wiping material, according to Claim 1, characterized in that the reel holder side plate (2a) possesses an end piece (13) comprising a cylindrical part engaging in the core (14) of the reel, the said end piece having an extension in the form of a disc (15) provided with a multitude of projections or teeth (15a) around its periphery, and in that, between the side plate (2a) of the housing and the disc (15) of the end piece, is a lever (16) of great length, the upper end of which is constructed with a means (16b) able to act on the notched parts of the disc, while the lower end is constructed so as to be acted upon by the said flyweight (12), the said lever pivoting on a connecting pin (17) integral with the side plate (2a).
4. Apparatus for dispensing a wiping material, according to Claim 3, characterized in that the said lever (16) forms a head at its upper end, and pivots on a connecting pin (17) integral with the side plate of the housing, to which upper end is fixed a return spring (18) whose other end is integral with the side plate of the housing, and in that the said lever comprises a projecting dowel (16b) situated on the notched disc.
5. Apparatus for dispensing a wiping material, according to either of Claims 3 and 4, characterized in that the lever (16) comprises, near its bottom end, an inward hooked shape (16d) able to be guided and held in position by a fixed lug (19) integral with the inside face of the side plate of the housing in order to limit the lateral pivoting of the lever, and in that a projecting stop (20) is arranged in opposition to the said lug in order to restrain the lever in the other direction.
6. Apparatus for dispensing a wiping material, according to Claim 3, characterized in that the end piece (13) that takes the core of the reel of wiping material is constructed with a peripheral central recess (13b) forming a housing that takes rolling-contact means (21) held in place by two semicircular half-shells (22), while a belt (23) encloses the whole and serves as a support for the reel, the said belt acting as a brake.
7. Apparatus for dispensing a wiping material, according to Claim 1, characterized in that a reel holder arm is jointed with a U configuration, the side arms being fitted with an end piece (13) that fits into the reel core, and in that one of the side arms of the reel holder side plate is fitted with means that are able to move in order to be acted upon by the flyweight (12) of the drum and lock the reel holder end piece in position.
8. Apparatus for dispensing a wiping material, according to Claim 7, characterized in that the reel holder arm is able to accommodate a parallelepipedal sliding block (31) in its interior, the said block taking a projecting dowel (33) that is able to act or not act on the end piece (13) constructed with a notched circular plate, the said block being integral with a second lever (34) whose upper leg (34a) is attached to the block and whose lower leg (34b) is mounted on the pivot pin of the reel holder support, the end of the said lever (34) being provided with an elongate indentation (34c) allowing sliding of the pin (30) in order to vary the position of the lever (34) and hence of the block, this being under the action of the flyweight (12) in pressure contact with the lever (26), causing the latter to turn.
9. Apparatus for dispensing a wiping material, according to Claim 8, characterized in that it comprises a lamina (28) connecting the bottom end of the second lever (34) to the region of attachment (26a) of the first lever (26), and the lamina has a through opening (28a) for the pin connected to the first lever and a second through opening (28b) for the pin connected to the second lever (34) and the hinge base of the reel holder arm, and in that a return spring (36) connects the levers (26) and (34).
10. Apparatus for dispensing a wiping material, according to Claim 1, characterized in that one of the side plates is fitted with a shouldered central hub (37) that takes on its end a hat-like end piece (38) with an outward supporting surface (38a) that takes the core of the reel and a cover shape (38b) surrounding the said hub, and in that a spiral spring (39) is arranged in the resulting housing with one end (39a) fixed to the side plate and the other end (39b) fixed to the cover (38b), and in that the rotation of the reel when the paper is pulled by the user will cause the reel holder means to turn in one direction, tightening the spring and storing energy, this tension being maintained for as long as the free end of the strip of paper is held, and in that the release of the paper produces elastic relaxation causing the strip of material to retreat, thereby eliminating any looping thereof that may have occurred, and in that a stop (40) limits the travel and rotation of the end piece (38).

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