EP1941821A1 - Dispenser with rollers arranged side by side and equipped with a bottom sliding trapdoor - Google Patents

Abstract

The distributor has a case (10) surrounding rollers, and a cap with a shape complementary to the case, an opening (2), and a sliding trap (3) to permit access to one of service rollers and to prohibit simultaneous access to a bulkhead roller contained in the distributor, where the trap partially closes the opening. A mechanism blocks the trap indifferent toward one or other place of the rollers. The mechanism has pins (4) connected to the trap.

Description

The invention relates to the field of disposable paper roll dispensers such as toilet paper, wiping paper, paper towels, paper towels, etc.

More specifically, the distributors covered by the invention may contain two (or more than two) rollers arranged side by side and they are hung on a wall; one of the said service rolls takes place in the lower part of the dispenser via an opening provided for this purpose while the other (or the other) so-called spare rollers are protected by the distributor housing and by a lower element for example a sliding hatch.

With this type of distributor especially in use in communities, in public places, it is necessary to provide a simple equipment for use, operation and maintenance, hygienic that is to say that protects the rollers vis- the outside environment, which can sometimes be hostile.

In addition, roll-in and maintenance must be simplified to the maximum in order to reduce maintenance times.

In addition, this type of distributor must make available to the user paper even in case of many prior distributions and / or infrequent recharges.

Necessarily, the distributor must preserve the maximum (or) so-called reserve rollers.

There are already horizontal double-roll dispensers achieving more or less satisfactorily the objectives stated above.

The patent application EP 0 837 645 illustrates a double roll dispenser in which a protective element in the form of a circular arc can close a portion of the dispenser opening, in line with one of the rollers, especially when the other roll is empty. However, the protection element disclosed in this prior art protects only one of the two so-called reserve rollers and no permutation or symmetry of operation between the locations of the rollers is provided.

According to other known distributors, a movable shutter is provided at the opening in the lower part of the dispenser. The documents US5,265,816 or GB 2,400,362 disclose distributors of this type, in which a hatch (or flap) can slide in the lower part to partially close the opening.

These traps are manually movable by the user as soon as the use roller is empty, thanks to the fact that a vertical element connected to the flap is then free to move. This vertical element, which can also serve as a protective flap of a portion of said reserve roll, is indeed blocked by the roll in use as the latter is not empty.

In all cases, it is the user to trigger the movement of the hatch, and incidents can occur if it exerts too much force on the hatch, because no real security is provided for this purpose. There is no secure locking of the shutter or especially secure unlocking that is to say authorized only when the service roll is really and completely empty.

There is therefore a need for a distributor that is simple, reliable and improves the characteristics of the distributors known from the prior art.

Thus, the subject of the present invention is a distributor of rollers arranged side by side, each maintained in rotation about a horizontal axis, comprising a housing surrounding the rollers, a cover of shape complementary to that of the housing, at least one opening in part bottom of the rollers, and a sliding door for partially closing said opening to allow access to one of said service rolls and simultaneously prohibit access to the other so-called reserve roll contained in the dispenser.

According to the invention, the dispenser further comprises a mechanism for locking the hatch directly above the reserve roll and for releasing it automatically and only when the service roll is empty.

Advantageously, the locking mechanism makes it possible to unblock the hatch indifferently towards one or other of the locations of the rollers.

More specifically, the mechanism comprises pins connected to the sliding door, each lug cooperating with at least one stop of a member pivotally mounted about a vertical axis under the effect of a return element disposed in the bottom of the housing .

This is a mechanical means both simple and reliable, so very interesting especially for distributors in public places, with a use both frequent and sometimes hostile.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the dispenser is designed to simultaneously contain two rollers.

Furthermore, the dispenser according to the invention may comprise two pivoting elements, each associated with a roller.

According to one of the embodiments of the invention, the axial retention elements of the rollers are of harpoon type and the rollers do not have a mandrel.

More specifically, each pivoting element comprises a stop placed at a first end; the return element cooperates directly with the second end of the pivoting element.

Furthermore, each support shaft is fixed on the bottom of the housing and passes through the pivoting element at its second end.

Advantageously, the dispenser comprises a cover comprising at least one convex shape directed towards the inside of the dispenser, complementary to a concave shape of the sidewall of at least one of the rollers.

Without departing from the scope of the invention, the dispenser further comprises at least one protective flap of a reserve roll.

• La figure 1 est un schéma de l'intérieur d'un distributeur selon l'invention ;
• La figure 2 est une vue agrandie d'une partie du système de blocage de la trappe dans une première position ;
• La figure 3 est une vue agrandie d'une partie du système de blocage de la trappe dans une deuxième position ;
• La figure 4 est une coupe verticale selon l'un des axes de rotation d'un rouleau, d'un mode particulier de réalisation de l'invention; et
• La figure 5 est un schéma de l'intérieur d' un distributeur selon un autre mode de réalisation de l'invention.

The invention, its features, its advantages will be better understood with the aid of the description which follows, which is given by way of illustration and is in no way limitative, with reference to the appended drawings in which:

• The figure 1 is a diagram of the interior of a dispenser according to the invention;
• The figure 2 is an enlarged view of a part of the locking system of the hatch in a first position;
• The figure 3 is an enlarged view of a part of the locking system of the hatch in a second position;
• The figure 4 is a vertical section along one of the axes of rotation of a roller, a particular embodiment of the invention; and
• The figure 5 is a diagram of the interior of a dispenser according to another embodiment of the invention.

The distributor represented in part on the figure 1 is likely to contain two rollers (not shown) arranged side by side, each held around a horizontal axis 1 free in rotation and perpendicular to the vertical wall (not shown) on which is fixed the distributor.

Preferably the axis 1 is in the form of a harpoon, that is to say for example formed of inclined fins for easily inserting a roll but then preventing its removal from the support shaft 1. According to this embodiment, the rollers do not have a mandrel and the support pins 1 are therefore directly pressed along the axis of the roll.

The housing 10 may have any suitable shape to contain and preserve the environment surrounding the rollers concerned: according to the figure 1 it has a bottom wall 11 intended to be brought into contact with the wall on which the distributor is attached.

A wall 12 of generally rectangular shape and folded in an elliptical contour, defines an outer contour whose width is close to the width of the rolls to contain. The wall 12 has in the lower part as many recesses 2 as the dispenser is likely to contain rollers. Each recess 2, placed vertically above each roll, therefore represents a potential output for the paper to be unwound.

In addition, a sliding door 3 is provided in order to seal at least one opening 2. Without departing from the scope of the invention, the hatch 3 can close part of the single lower opening 2 if it is disposed below the set of rollers.

Advantageously, the hatch 3 covers the lower surface corresponding to a roller and simultaneously allows access to a so-called service roll, that is to say directly accessible and unwinding by the user.

The hatch 3 slides by the force exerted by the user.

According to the invention, the hatch 3 is in the form of two planes 31, 32 arranged at right angles, one horizontal 31 and the other vertical 32; the horizontal plane 31 covers the recess 2 and the vertical plane 32 carries pins 4 belonging to the locking mechanism of the hatch 3.

The hatch 3 is here guided in translation by rails 5 arranged in the lower part of the housing 10 and cooperating for example with a stop; a second guide rail 6 may be provided to cooperate with retaining elements (not shown) of the vertical plane 32 in the upper part.

Any other means of guiding and maintaining the hatch 3 vis-à-vis the housing 10 can be envisaged without departing from the scope of the invention.

The hatch 3 comprises two lugs 4 arranged in the upper part of the vertical plane 32, and generally vertical. The lugs 4 cooperate with at least one stop 7 forming part of an element 8 pivotally mounted about a vertical axis (AA; BB). The pivoting element 8 has the general shape of a rectangular plate with a vertical axis (AA, BB) of rotation at its center. The stop 7 is disposed at a first end 81 of the plate 8 while the horizontal holding axis of the roller, fixed in the bottom 11 of the housing 10, through the second end 82 of the pivoting element 8 via an orifice. At the second end 82, the pivoting element cooperates with a return element 9 bearing against the bottom 11 of the housing 10 and which tends to push the second end 82 towards the inside of the housing 10.

The return element 9 may be constituted by a flexible blade or by a compression spring, or be part of the second end 82 of the pivoting element. According to the latter solution, the return element is directly molded with the pivoting element 8.

The figure 2 shows in more detail the automatic locking and unlocking mechanism, according to the invention.

A lug 4 carried by the hatch 3 is here shown in unlocked position vis-à-vis the abutment 7 placed on the right in the figure. The lug 4 is not in contact with this stop.

When a roller (R) is placed and pressed on a support shaft 1, one of its flanks pushes the end 82 of the pivoting element 8 towards the bottom wall 11 of the housing 10, against the force exerted by the return element 9.

Thus, the pivoting element 8 cooperating with a "full" roller engaged on the support shaft 1, has its second end 82 "sunken" and its first end 81 protruding inside the housing. The stop 7 placed on the first end 81 thus serves as a stop for the lug 4.

When two full rollers are each disposed on a support shaft 1, the two stops 7 are arranged prominently, thus blocking a lug 4 in the central portion of the distributor.

When one of the rollers (R) is not (or more) depressed on its support shaft 1, the element 8 pivots about its vertical axis (AA, BB) under the effect of the return element 9 so that the first end 81 and the associated stop 7 sink towards the bottom wall 11, no longer constituting a stop for the pin 4.

There is here an automatic release of this lug and therefore the hatch 3 which can then slide towards the empty roller, regardless of the location (right or left in the distributor) thereof.

Accordingly, the hatch 3 can be brought to the location of the empty roll, thus releasing the outlet 2 in line with a solid roll which becomes the so-called service roll.

This mechanical arrangement thus makes it possible to block the hatch 3 below a reserve roll until the other so-called service roll is empty, then to release the hatch 3 automatically and only when the service roll is empty. .

Particularly advantageously the release function of the hatch 3 is carried out symmetrically, that is to say regardless of the location of the empty roll; in other words the hatch 3 slides indifferently to the right or to the left, always towards the location of an empty roll. This makes it possible to increase the autonomy of the dispenser because one always finds a full roller, waiting when the maintenance personnel performs the filling of the dispenser.

The figure 3 shows schematically the respective positions of the lug 4 and the stop 7 in the locking position.

A handle 13 may be provided on a face of the horizontal plane 31, outside the housing 10.

As we can easily see on the figure 1 , the hatch 3 comprises two lugs 4 disposed at each of the upper ends of the vertical plane 32 thus allowing reversibility of the system which functions in the same way, that the empty roller is placed at one or another location of the dispenser.

The figure 4 is a "transverse" section of the distributor, in a vertical plane passing through the support axis 1 of one of the rollers.

In particular, the base 11 of the distributor is recognized, a support shaft 1 for a roll R, and at the front the cover 14 whose shape complementary to that of the housing 10 provides protection for the rollers with respect to the environment. outside.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the cover 14 has a protruding element 15 (or protuberance) towards the inside of the dispenser.

This element may for example be conical, the top of the cone being oriented towards the inside of the dispenser and cooperating with a depression 16 of the sidewall of the roll.

The respective external shapes of the element 15 and the deformation 16 may be arbitrary, but they must be complementary in order to allow the closure of the cover 14 on the roller R.

This particular arrangement makes the system captive because a standard roll, that is to say without particular depression 16 prevents the complete closure of the cover 14 on the housing 10.

It is possible to provide a prominent member for each roll location, or for only one of the rolls R.

Moreover, in order to reinforce the protection of the so-called reserve roll R below which the hatch 3 is blocked, protective flaps 17 may be provided as illustrated on the drawing. figure 5 . The flaps 17 may be of curved shape, each linked by a hinge-type element to the horizontal plane 31 of the flap 3. The flaps 17, in the form of a cylinder portion, are positioned around the so-called reserve roll in order to guarantee, in particular, the hygiene and good conservation of the reserve roll, preventing the user from accessing and therefore touching said roll while it is in reserve position. The hinge-type element may consist of a torsion spring.

The torsion springs can automatically recall the flaps 17 around the reserve roll, regardless of the location of the latter.

Claims (9)

Roller distributor (R) arranged side by side, each held in rotation about a horizontal axis (1), comprising a housing (10) surrounding the rollers, a cover (14) of complementary shape to that of the housing (10) at least one opening (2) in the lower part of the dispenser, and a sliding door (3) intended to partially seal said opening (2) in order to allow access to one of said service rollers and to simultaneously prohibit access to the other so-called reserve roller contained in the dispenser, characterized in that it further comprises a mechanism for blocking the hatch (3) in line with the reserve roller and to release it automatically and only when the service roll is empty, in that said mechanism comprises lugs (4) connected to the sliding door (3), each lug (4) cooperating with at least one stop (7) of a pivoting element (8) around a vertical axis (AA, BB) under the effect of an element of return (9) disposed in the bottom (11) of the housing (10). Dispenser according to Claim 1, characterized in that the locking mechanism makes it possible to unblock the hatch indifferently towards one or other of the locations of the rollers (R). Dispenser according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is intended to simultaneously enclose two rollers (R). Dispenser according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the elements (1) for axial retention of the rollers are of the harpoon type and the rollers do not have a mandrel. Dispenser according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises two pivoting elements (8), each associated with a roller. Dispenser according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that each pivoting element (8) comprises a stop (7) placed at a first end (81). Device according to any one of the preceding claims characterized in that each support shaft (1) is fixed on the bottom (11) of the housing and passes through the pivoting element (8) at its second end (82). Dispenser according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cover (14) comprises at least one convex shape (15) directed towards the inside of the dispenser, complementary to a concave shape (16) formed in a sidewall at least one of the rollers. Dispenser according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it further comprises at least one flap (17) for protecting a spare roll (R).

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