EP1311182A1

EP1311182A1 - Dispenser for cleaning tissues

Info

Publication number: EP1311182A1
Application number: EP01960032A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Patrick Besserer; Hans-Jörg Studer
Original assignee: HTS International Trading AG
Current assignee: HTS International Trading AG
Priority date: 2000-08-25
Filing date: 2001-08-22
Publication date: 2003-05-21
Also published as: CY1107153T1; EP1181884B1; EP1181884A1; ATE377997T1; AU2001281646A1; WO2002015763A1; DE50014784D1; JP2004505743A

Abstract

The device has upper and lower housing parts (1,4) and a detector that initiates a roller drive mechanism for cloths (T) with perforated separating lines (P) in a cassette (21). The lower housing part has at least one cassette holder and transport roller (11). The upper housing part has a drive mechanism with an electric motor (M) and gearbox. Portions are dispensed so the dividing line is in front of the rollers (11,30) but inside the dispenser. Independent claims are also included for the following: a method of operating at least one dispenser of cleaning cloths.

Description

Dispenser for cleaning wipes

The present invention relates to a dispenser according to the preamble of claim 1 and to a method according to the preamble of claim 13.

Such dispensers have already appeared on the market in small quantities, but they have not proven themselves because the exchange of the paper rolls requires threading into the drive mechanism and, given the low load capacity of the paper web, requires too great care from the operating personnel.

In the case of wet wipes, the mechanism also creates uncontrollable soiling, which can lead to unhygienic or even harmful fertilizers.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a dispenser which protects the cleaning wipe from the influence of germs occurring in the atmosphere, particularly in the toilet area, and ensures its hygienic operation.

This object is solved by the features of claim 1.

The cleaning cloth mentioned there, made of known, usually paper or synthetic material, which is soaked with a skin-friendly, also known cleaning liquid, remains hygienically stored in the dispenser until the detector reports a need. The The drive mechanism activated by the detector then transports the cloth in the direction of unwinding until a separation line and / or perforation, ie the unrolling of a portion, is detected by the built-in sensor, so that after further transport, with the drive stopped, it is torn off by manual pulling in front of the dispenser - and can be used without being touched in any way.

The solution according to the invention enables a very hygienic structure of the dispenser and ensures simple operation and economical maintenance.

This procedure has the advantage that in the "standby position", for example, towels soaked with volatile substances do not dry out even after several hours. If the dispenser is not used during the day, only a narrow strip dries out, so that the tissue can also be used perfectly the next time it is removed.

The separating line or perforation, which serves as a tear-off edge, is located just before the fictitious contact lines of the two rollers when viewed in the development direction. As a result, the fabric web is held securely in a force-fitting manner; Even in the case of a non-axial removal, this only tears at the dividing line or perforation, which ensures reliable portionwise delivery.

The detector mentioned in the patent claim can be a proximity switch, an infrared detector, a light barrier, but also a simple microswitch, which detects or actuates another process, for example. The control can also be implemented with the help of commercially available microprocessors, with corresponding control, monitoring and reporting functions; in the simplest case, a notoriously known relay circuit is sufficient for control.

According to the method, the continuous web of cleaning wipes emerging from the cassette is monitored as soon as the detector switches on the drive mechanism. If no paper or cloth web can be found, the sensor switches off the drive motor. However, if a cloth is present, the radiation path in the sensor is interrupted until the partially radiation-permeable dividing line and / or perforation appears. Depending on the arrangement of the sensor or the associated light guide, the drive is switched off immediately or only after a certain delay. In any case, the dividing line and / or perforation, viewed in the direction of development, must be in front of the two rollers so that they clamp the part of the next section (= cloth) remaining in the device and ensure a defined tear-off.

Advantageous further developments of the subject matter of the invention are described in the dependent claims.

The embodiment according to claim 2 allows placement of the electro-optical sensor in front of or behind the axes of the rollers; If direct control of the sensor is selected, then this or its associated light guide is on the user side, after the rollers, but if a follow-up time is provided, the sensor is in front of the rollers. As such, a single roller connected to the drive mechanism is sufficient. The embodiment specified in claim 3 is particularly recommended for smooth and / or very damp cleaning wipes, since it is slip-free.

The embodiment according to claim 4 is very reliable and almost maintenance-free.

The contact pressure on the web of connected cleaning wipes can be increased in a simple manner by the measures according to claim 5.

The storage of O-rings according to claim 6 is particularly favorable since they protect the cloth and cause a centering alignment of the web.

By aligning the sensor according to claim 7, the latter can be positioned closer to the axes of the rollers, as a result of which the strip of material not stored in the cassette can be minimized.

Due to the design of the lower roller with a circumferential raised surface according to claim 8, the dividing line and / or perforation can be partially opened, which simplifies their monitoring and simplifies tearing off the section again.

As an alternative to claim 8, the variant according to claim 9 is advantageous if the cloth is not or only slightly moist. With a finger-like support surface, the sensor can be assigned even closer to the axes of the rollers: a fixed surface increases the friction on the cloth. lein, which can lead to dripping of liquids.

The combination of the aforementioned measures with a reflecting surface serves for improved detection of the dividing line and / or perforation by the sensor.

If the reflective layer is drawn laterally in strip form beyond the transport roller, the speed of the drive can be checked with the same sensor.

The dispenser according to claims 1 to 11 is very energy efficient, so that it can be configured autonomously according to claim 12.

The monitoring of the transport roller with the measures according to claim 14 results in a simple function check and, in the event of a drop in speed, indicates a low battery charge; a sudden increase in signal amplitude indicates an empty cassette or a torn ribbon.

The method according to claim 15 is particularly advantageous if more than one donor is to be used in a predetermined order. This can be, for example, a first dispenser equipped with toilet paper, which controls a second dispenser provided with wet wipes by simple monitoring of the removal or a rotary movement, by means of the detector mentioned in claim 1, and makes it available in the manner described. The methods shown enable technical solutions which can be combined with known means of remote monitoring and which allow a maximum of operational security with minimal personnel expenditure.

A preferred embodiment of the subject matter of the invention is shown below with the aid of drawings.

Show it:

Fig. 1 a wall-mounted dispenser for

Wet wipes in a perspective view, before the first start-up,

2 the dispenser of FIG. 1 with the upper housing part open,

Fig. 3 shows the dispenser Fig. 1 with removed

Upper housing part and attached drive support,

4 ^"" the lower housing part with its transport roller,

5 shows the lower housing part of FIG. 4 in a plan view,

6 is a sectional view through a functional dispenser, before removing and separating a wet tissue;

7 shows the drive support from FIG. 3 from the inside,

8 shows a first variant of an embodiment of the electro-optical sensor for detecting a perforation in the wet wipe, Fig. 9 shows a second variant of an electro-optical

Sensor with a partially acting mechanical opening of the perforation,

FIG. 10 shows an embodiment analogous to FIG. 9 with a pronounced reflector surface for improved

Detection and

11 shows the storage cassette for wet wipes from FIG. 2 in a single illustration, before it is used in the dispenser.

A dispenser for wet wipes is labeled 100 in FIG. The dispenser 100 is arranged on a wall W in the usual manner - like a toilet paper dispenser.

The dispenser 100 has an upper housing part 1, with a central window 2, behind which a proximity detector for dispensing wet wipes T is arranged. The presence of a wet tissue T ready for dispensing can be seen through an opaque viewing window 3; the output direction is marked with an arrow.

The upper housing part 1 projects above a lower housing part 4, in that a closure 5 can be seen on the right side thereof.

Further details can be seen in the opened dispenser 100 according to FIG. 2:

There are locking cams 7 on the side walls 6 of the upper housing part 1, which can engage in a locking bolt 20 and lock the upper part 1 with the closure 5. have it locked. In the lower housing part 4 there is a cassette 21 with a supply of wound or folded wet wipes, the portion length of which is predetermined by a perforation known per se. The cassette 21 consists of a thin-walled hard plastic and has peripheral and lateral stiffeners 22 and 23; a circumferential support surface 24 projecting laterally from the cassette 21 fits positively into the lower part 4. In the front part of the cassette 21, a coding cam 10 protrudes, which characterizes or indicates the content of the cassette.

On the back of the upper housing part 1, buttons 8 and 9 protrude, which, when the dispenser 100 is closed, rest on the coding cam 10 and signal its shape.

A transport roller 11 can be seen in the lower part 4 of the housing. This has on the left a large bearing pin 16 with a gear 17 and on the right, a small bearing pin 19, which pins are fixed in corresponding spring-shaped, split bearings 16 'and 18, respectively. Friction rings 12 protrude from the base body 14 of the transport roller 11 and serve to transport the wet wipe - not shown here. In addition, punctures 13 can be seen in the base body 14, which are used to carry out sensors described later.

Further parts can be seen in the illustration in FIG. 3; this shows the dispenser FIGS. 1 and 2 with the upper housing part 1 removed, but with an attached drive support 47. This lies with its drive roller, indicated by a bearing 48, directly on the transport roller 11. A circuit board E is inserted in the upper part of the support 47 and fixed with brackets 46. - ^f i ¬

xed. The circuit board E carries on its front the proximity detector, which is behind the window 2, cf. Fig. 1, is arranged; All electronic components for the motor control and the monitoring of the wet wipe are arranged on the back.

The drive support 47 also has two openings 8 'and 9' for a 1st and a 2nd button, which are designed in the form of microswitches and are arranged in the upper part of the housing. In addition, openings 45 can be seen, which serve for mechanical connection to the upper housing part 1 from joints. On a rear rear wall 43, hinges 44 are arranged which protrude above them and serve as bearing points for the upper housing part. Notches 42 ′ are present on mutually opposite side walls 42, so that when the dispenser is closed they engage resiliently in the upper housing part 1 and engage there. There are a total of three openings 52 in the rear wall 43, which are used to fasten the dispenser to a wall.

A cylindrical roller guide 53 protrudes laterally from the cassette 21 and rotatably supports an axial core and the wet wipes wound in the form of a coil. Contact surfaces 24 of the cassette 21 are parallel to the rollers 11 and 30 by means of centering surfaces 41 in the lower housing part 4, cf. Fig. 6, positioned.

4, all of the three openings 52 serving for fastening can be seen in the rear wall 43. The side walls 42 have stiffeners 54 in the rear, lower corners, which are designed as indentations. A battery compartment with four inserted batteries B is located between the stiffeners 54.

5 shows the battery compartment 50 with its four mono cells B in full. A connecting shaft 25 is guided over a recess 49 in the lower housing part 4 and carries the two locking bolts 20 and is provided with a rotatable locking mechanism 5 on its right side.

6 shows the dispenser 100 in a sectional view, in the interaction of the functional parts.

It can be seen how the locking bolt 20 attached to the connecting shaft 25 engages in the locking cam 7 and connects the two parts, the lower housing part 4 and the upper housing part 1. A spring, which is between the two parts 4 and 5, is not shown is tensioned and the rollers 30 and 11 press against each other or press them onto the wet wipe T in between. A light guide L is passed through the periphery and behind the drive shaft 32 and the transport shaft 33, which detects perforations delimiting the individual sections of the wet tissue T and controls an electric motor M located thereon - a direct current motor - via the electronics E.

It can also be seen that the cassette 21 is divided into two and that the wet wipe is dispensed via two sealing dispensing lips 26. In addition, the coding cam 10 protrudes from the outer surface of the cassette 21 and presses a 1st button 8, which in turn is connected to a microswitch on the circuit board E. The On the one hand, button 8 determines the presence of a cassette 21 and, on the other hand, in conjunction with a second button, it can also "read" the quality and / or the filling quantity of the cassette.

The electric motor M is recessed in an indentation 29 of the drive support 47, the motor bearing on the drive side being indicated and designated by 28. In front of the motor mount 28 there is a gear 27, represented symbolically, which serves as a drive pinion for the two rollers 30 and 11.

6 each shows a cutout 1 'in the upper housing part 1 and a further cutout 4' in the lower housing part 4, which serve for the convenient removal of the cloth T.

The drive support 47 is shown in its interior in FIG. 7.

The electric motor M with its drive-side bearing 28 and its gearwheel 27 is clamped in a motor mounting 31 and engages with the gearwheel 27 in a further spur gear 15 on the drive roller 30. The pair of friction rings 34 and the light guides L and L 'passed through two recesses 13. At the upper end of the light guide L there is a transmission diode 35 which sends a light beam S through the light guide L and which, in the case of a tissue T not present or if there is perforation in the tissue T as a light beam S 'via the light guide L' to a receiving diode 36 is directed. All electronic components are located in a manner known per se on the circuit board E, which is fixed in the drive support 47 by brackets with clamping points 46. Joining points 45 'match those on the counterpart of the drive support 47, which are denoted by 45 in FIG. 3.

The interaction of the drive roller 30 with the transport roller 11 and a dampening cloth T guided between them can be seen in FIG. 8. Here you can see that the light guide L is guided in an arc under the wet wipe T and that if a perforation known per se in the wipe T, occurs in the light guide L ', a light beam can pass through, which generates an electrical signal in the receiving diode 3.6.

Also visible are the friction rings 34 in pairs in the drive roller 30, between which similar friction rings 12 engage and which, in connection with one another, transport the wet wipe and automatically lead in parallel. The power transmission between the gear wheels 27 and 15 can also be seen. The engagement of the two spur gears 27 and 15 is spring-loaded in a manner known per se.

An alternative embodiment of the detection of a perforation in the tissue T is shown in FIG. 9. Here, a toroidally shaped surface 37 is located between two friction rings 12 and projects over their largest diameter. It is obvious that this measure also opens a perforation which is only weakly formed and forms the slit P 'shown, through which a beam reflected on the toric surface 37 is reliably detected. For better use of the existing radiation power, the light guide L is dimensioned larger, while the light guide L 'is a conically tapered fiber optic line.

An analog solution can be seen in the example according to FIG. 10. Instead of the toric surface described above, a finger 38 with a cambered support surface is provided here. The support surface is provided with a metallic reflective layer 39 and therefore requires an even smaller radiation output; the open perforation P ', i.e. the slit can be shorter here.

The individual illustration in FIG. 11 shows the cassette 21 in a lateral perspective illustration before it is inserted into a dispenser. A handle part 40 ′ can be seen at the front, which is separated by manual bending at the break edge 40, as a result of which a strip of wet tissue is visible which is placed on the rollers 30. See Fig. 6, which shows the situation after the housing upper part _1 has been closed. The type of insertion takes place in a manner similar to that of the so-called instant cameras.

The dispenser 100 is largely constructed from notoriously known materials, in particular plastics; the electronic components are also commercially available.

The control of the electric motor E takes place in such a way that a determined perforation allows the rollers 30 and 11 to continue rotating until the two perforations P come into the positions shown in FIG. 6 and that cloth T is easily tearable. By means of further reflecting points on one of the rollers 11 or 30 or one of the gears 15 or 27, speed information can be faded into the light guide L ', so that this is determined by a simple frequency filter and / or a 5th crossover known per se The perforations are signaled separately, allowing speed measurement and monitoring.

The cassettes 21 are known per se in a similar way for devices to be unrolled by hand and have proven to be very hygienic and can be stored well.

While in the exemplary embodiment a proximity detector is provided for initiating the dispenser, in other cases this can be the result of the previous use of another device, such as, for example, a water rinse, a water outflow (faucet) or also the priority one

Dependent on using a conventional toilet paper roll.

The subject of the invention has all the prerequisites for being able to be monitored and controlled from a central station in connection with remote data transmission.

Claims

Patent claims

1. Dispenser for cleaning wipes, in particular moistened toilet paper, consisting of a lower housing part and a hinged upper housing part, a detector being provided in the dispenser which initiates an electrically driven drive mechanism with two rollers for the timely portion-wise dispensing of cleaning wipes and the cleaning wipes in one interchangeable cassette are unwound and have a dividing line and / or perforation which determines the dispensing portion, characterized in that the lower housing part (4) has at least one support for the cassette (21) and that this has a rotatably mounted transport roller in the direction of unwinding of the cleaning tissues ( 11) is upstream that the drive mechanism, consisting of an electric motor (E), a gear (15, 27) and a drive roller (30), is provided in the upper housing part (1) and that the cleaning wipes (T) are dispensed in portions It occurs that the dividing line and / or perforation (P), viewed in the direction of development, is in front of the two opposing rollers (15, 30), but is still inside the dispenser (1Ö0).

2. Dispenser according to claim 1, characterized in that an electro-optical sensor (35, 36; L, L '), upstream or downstream of the axes of the two rollers, detects the dividing line and / or perforation (P) and the Power to the drive mechanism electric motor is cut off.

3. Dispenser according to claim 1, characterized in that the drive roller (30) via a gear (15, 17) is synchronously coupled to the transport roller (11).

4. Dispenser according to claim 2, characterized in that the transmitter and the receiver part (35,36) of the electro-optical sensor (35,36; L, L ') are arranged in the upper housing part (1) and in their radiation direction or Radiation detection direction are aligned with the surface of the cleaning tissue (T), and that a radiation-reflecting layer (39) and / or a radiation conductor (L) are arranged in the lower housing part (4).

5. Dispenser according to claim 1, characterized in that at least the transport roller (11) has a plurality of disc-shaped elevations (14).

6. Dispenser according to claim 5, characterized in that frictional friction rings (12) are incorporated in the elevation, which protrude above them, rest on the cloth (T) and transport it.

7. Dispenser according to claim 5, characterized in that the electro-optical sensor (35, 36; L, L ') is aligned with an intermediate space (13) between two adjacent elevations (14).

8. Dispenser according to one of claims 5 to 7, characterized in that the transport roller (30) at least - In ¬

is formed between two elevations (14) as a toric surface (37), the largest diameter of which protrudes from the disk-shaped elevations (14).

9. Dispenser according to one of claims 5 to 7, characterized in that a cambered support surface (38) projecting beyond the transport roller (11) is arranged in the lower housing part

10. Dispenser according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that the toric surface (37) or the cambered

Support surface (38) has a radiation-reflecting layer (39) to which at least one receiver part (26. L ') of the sensor is aligned.

11. Dispenser according to claim 9, characterized in that the transport roller (11) has a further, lateral

Has radiation-reflecting layer (38) which is interrupted in the axial direction and / or is strip-shaped.

12. Dispenser according to claim 1, characterized in that the power supply (50) for the drive mechanism

(E; 27, 15) is arranged in the lower housing part (4) and consists of a low-voltage source, preferably dry batteries (B).

13. Method for operating at least one dispenser for cleaning wipes, in particular toilet paper and / or moistened paper wipes, consisting of a lower housing part and a hinged upper housing part, a detector being provided in the dispenser is that controls an electrically driven drive mechanism for the timely portion-wise dispensing of cleaning wipes and wherein the cleaning wipes are stored in an exchangeable cassette and have a dividing line and / or perforation that determines the dispensing portion, characterized in that by an electro-optical sensor, in a first method step, the presence of a towel protruding from the cassette is checked, that if the sensor is present, the sensor controls the drive mechanism in a second step until it detects the first dividing line and / or perforation and in a next step the power supply interrupts the drive mechanism.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein a transport roller is provided for the cloth, which at least partially has a peripherally interrupted radiation-reflecting layer, characterized in that de _; .Detector the rotational movement of the roller and its

Angular velocity is monitored and that the power supply is interrupted when a high signal amplitude occurs.

15. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that mutually assigned dispensers are controlled by the detector such that a predetermined sequential provision of the wipes is carried out.