GB2043592A - Continuous towel cabinets - Google Patents

Abstract

A continuous towel cabinet has a device for metering the length of clean towel which may be withdrawn at any one time. The device comprises a plate 25 mounted for vertical movement between a raised stop position Figure 3 and a lowered release position Figure 2, a pin 28 driven by movement of the towel to raise the plate 25, and a pair of suckers 31, 32 to hold the plate 25 raised, whereby further movement of the pin 28 beyond a stop 30 on the plate 25 and hence further withdrawal of clean towel is prevented. When the suckers 31,32 disengage the plate 25 falls into its release position Figure 2 and the cycle may be repeated. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Continuous Towel Cabinets This invention relates to continuous towel cabinets.

It is usual to provide a continuous towel cabinet with a device for metering the length of clean towel which may be withdrawn at any one time. The action of withdrawing a length of towel, sets the device into a condition which prevents the withdrawal of a further length of towel until a short period of time has elapsed. The device then releases itself whereupon a further length of towel may be withdrawn to repeat the cycle.

According to the invention a continuous towel cabinet comprises a holder for a roll of clean towel, an arrangement of rollers for allowing clean towel to be withdrawn and for soiled towel to be rerolled, and a device for metering the length of clean towel which may be withdrawn at any one time, the device comprising a plate mounted for vertical movement between a raised stop position and a lowered release position, means driven by the arrangement of rollers for raising the plate into its stop position, means on the plate which, when the plate is in its stop position, prevent further rotation of the rollers after a desired length of towel has been withdrawn, and a pair of suckers, one sucker being fixed and the other being mounted on the plate for engagement with said one sucker when the plate is in its stop position to hold the plate in its stop position for a period of time after which the suckers disengage allowing the plate to fall into its release position.

Preferably the means for raising the plate is a pin eccentically mounted on a gearwheel driven by the arrangement of rollers, which pin engages the underside of a flange on the plate during rotation of the gear wheel in the direction it rotates when towel is being withdrawn, thereby raising the plate.

It is also preferred that the plate carries a projection which, when the plate has been raised into its stop position, engages the pin and prevents further rotation of the gear wheel in said direction whilst the plate remains raised.

The flange may be adapted to engage the pin, when the plate is in its release position if the gear wheel is rotated in the reverse direction, the flange thereby comprising a back stop.

Preferably the gear wheel comprises a reduction gear having a gear ratio with the adjacent gear wheel which is not a whole number reduction whereby the teeth of said gear wheels which are in mesh when the plate is raised is varied constantly.

One of the suckers may have an adjustable air release valve comprising a hole in the base of the sucker backed by a porous member and a screw for compressing the porous member, the amount of compression of the porous member determining the rate of discharge of air from between the suckers and thereby the period of time during which the plate remains in its raised stop position.

By way of example, a specific embodiment in accordance with the invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of a continuous towel cabinet, the outer casing and one end support member being removed; Figure 2 is a detailed view of part of the cabinet of Figure 1 showing the stop device with the plate of the device in its lowered release position; and Figure 3 is a similar view of Figure 2 showing the plate of the stop device in its raised stop position.

Referring to the drawings, a continuous towel cabinet has a back plate 10 to which an outer casing (not shown) is attached. Projecting forwardly from the back plate are two end support plates 11 from which a clean towel bin 12 is hung. Between the support plates 11 extend an arrangement of rollers which allow clean towel to be withdrawn into a loop 13 below the bin 12 and for soiled towel to be taken up into the cabinet and rewound. At the upstream end of the towel path, the towel passes upwardly over a roughened metering roller 24, around a guide roller 15 and then downwardly into the loop 13.At the downstream end of the towel path, the towel is rewound on a rewind roller 16 which is mounted in generally upwardly extending grooves 17 in end supports 18 and which is driven by another roughened metering roller 19 through the outermost turn of the towel which has been rewound. At each end of each metering roller 14, 19 is a respective gear wheel 20, 21 which mesh with an intermediate gear wheel 22 mounted on a shaft 23. The shaft 23 has a threaded end and is attahced by a nut to a housing 24 welded to the adjacent end support plate 11. The gear wheels 20,21 have the same number of teeth so that the length of soiled towel taken up onto the rewind roller 16 is the same as the length of towel withdrawn at the front of the cabinet, whereby the size of the loop remains constant. As the roll of soiled towel increases the rewind roller slides up the grooves 17.

To limit the length of clean towel which may be withdrawn at any one time, there is provided a deviceforstopping rotation ofthe metering roller 14 in the direction it rotates when the towel is being withdrawn, after a given length of towel has been withdrawn. This stop device is disposed adjacent one of the end support plates 11 and comprises a plate 25 mounted for vertical sliding movement between guide bars 26 formed by inwardly bent portions of the housing 24 which is attached to the respective end support plate 11. The lowered release position of the plate 25 (Figure 2) is determined by a slot 27 in the plate which is engaged by the shaft 23 of the adjacent intermediate gearwheel 22.A pin 28 is mounted eccentrically on the gear wheel 22 and the top edge of the plate 25 is bent inwardly to form a flange 29 positioned so that on each complete turn of the gear wheel 22 the pin engages the underside of the flange and lifts the plate into its stop position.

The plate 25 also has an inwardly bent projection 30 which lies in the path of the pin 28, in this embodiment at the lowermost position of the pin 28, when the plate is raised. Engagement of the pin 28 and the projection 30 will thereby stop further rotation of the intermediate gear wheel 22 and hence the metering roller 14 in the direction it rotates when clean towel is being withdrawn.

In order to retain the plate 25 in its raised position for a desired period of time after the pin 28 has passed beneath the flange 29, there is provided a pair of suckers 31,32. The upper sucker 31 has a stem 33 which is held in a slot in flange 34 attached to the respective end support plate 11 and thus comprises a fixed sucker. The lower sucker 32 also has a stem 35 which is held in a slot in the inwardly bent bottom edge 32 of the plate 25. The lower sucker 32 thereby moves up and down with the plate and in the raised stop position of the plate engages the upper sucker. Whilst the suckers remain in contact the plate will effectively prevent further withdrawal of clean towel.

An adjustable air release valve is provided in one of the suckers. In this embodiment, the lower sucker 32 has an air release hole 37 in its base and its stem 35 is hollow to provide a chamber housing a flexible porous member 38, e.g. a pad of foam rubber, which is partially comp'ressed by a screw 39. The screw 39 has a longitudinal flat 41 to allow air to escape from the chamber. The degree of compression of the porous member 38 determines the rate of discharge of air from between the suckers 31, 32 and thus the period of time during which the plate 25 remains in its raised stop position. When the suckers disengage, the plate 25 falls under gravity into its release position, and a further length of clean towel may be withdrawn into the loop 13. The cycle of operation will then be repeated.

The forward end 40 of the flange 29 of the plate 25 is cut back, so that it acts as a back stop for engagement by the pin 28, as shown by the dash-dot position of the pin in Figure 2, when the plate 25 is in its lowered release position, if an attempt is made to withdraw soiled towel from the cabinet, i.e. to reverse the normal direction of movement of the towel.

The intermediate gearwheel 22 is preferably a reduction gear and the gear ratio between the intermediate gearwheel 22 and the gear wheels 20, 21 is preferably a gear ratio which is not a whole number reduction, e.g. 25:12, so that the teeth which are in mesh each time the plate is raised is varied constantly.

Claims (7)

1. Acontinuoustowel cabinet comprising a holder for a roll of clean towel, an arrangement of rollers for allowing clean towel to be withdrawn and for soiled towel to be rerolled, and a device for metering the length of clean towel which may be withdrawn at any one time, the device comprising a plate mounted for vertical movement between a raised stop position and a lowered release position, means driven by the arrangement of rollers for raising the plate into its stop position, means on the plate which, when the plate is in its stop position, prevent further rotation of the rollers after a desired length of towel has been withdrawn, and a pair of suckers, one sucker being fixed and the other being mounted on the plate for engagement with said one sucker when the plate is in its stop position to hold the plate in its stop position for a period of time after which the suckers disengage allowing the plate to fall into its release position.

2. A cabinet according to Claim 1, wherein the means for raising the plate is a pin eccentrically mounted on a gear wheel driven by the arrangement of rollers, which pin engages the underside of a flange on the plate during rotation of the gear wheel in the direction it rotates when towel is being withdrawn, thereby raising the plate.

3. A cabinet according to Claim 2, wherein the plate carries a projection which, when the plate has been raised into its stop position, engages the pin and prevents further rotation of the gear wheel in said direction whilst the plate remains raised.

4. A cabinet according to Claim 2 or Claim 3, wherein the flange may be adapted to engage the pin, when the plate is in its release position if the gear wheel is rotated in the reverse direction, the flange thereby comprising a back stop.

5. A cabinet according to any one of Claims 2 to 4, wherein the gear wheel comprises a reduction gear having a gear ratio with the adjacent gear wheel which is not a whole number reduction, whereby the teeth of said gear wheels which are in mesh when the plate is raised is varied constantly.

6. A cabinet ccording to any one of the preceding claims, wherein one of the suckers has an adjustable air release valve comprising a hole in the base of the sucker backed by a porous member and a screw for compressing the porous member, the amount of compression of the porous member determining the rate of discharge of air from between the suckers and thereby the period of time during which the plate remains in its raised stop position.

7. A continuous towel cabinet substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.