NO310552B1 - Dispenser system with guide slots for rollers - Google Patents

Abstract

A dispenser (100), a flexible sheet material roll (12), and a dispensing system for dispensing flexible meterial from the sheet material rolls. The system includes a rolled products dispenser and sheet material rolls. The dispenser includes opposing lateral side wall surfaces (104, 114), and a guide track (110, 111) located in each of the lateral side wall surfaces. At least one of the two guide tracks includes an elongated guide projection (124). Each sheet material roll includes flexible sheet material wound around a hollow center core having first and second ends, and first (118) and second (119) end caps positioned in respective ends of the hollow center core (116). Both end caps have an inwardly projecting portion located side the hollow centre core, and an outwardly projecting cylindrical spindle (120, 121) extending outwardly past their respective end of the hollow center core. The spindles guide the roll within the guide tracks of the dispenser. The spindle of one of the end caps includes at least one annular groove (126) in its circumference which interfaces with the elongated guide projection of the guide track, to provide a system where the roll is keyed to fit the dispenser. This assures proper orientation of the rolls in the dispenser, and provides an arrangement for coordinating the quality of the rolls being dispensed from specific dispensers.

Description

The present invention relates to a roll of thin material for use in a dispenser with a rolled-up product, according to the claims.

The present invention relates to flexible rolls of thin material, for example rolls of toilet paper, and storage and dispensing of the rolled up flexible thin material. Institutional dispensers of toilet paper are often sized and adapted to hold and dispense several rolls of toilet paper. Conventional dispensers of this type are typically designed so that the rolls of toilet paper can be arranged inside the dispenser housing, where at least one roll is held in an upper reserve position, while a lower roll is in a dispensing position. The paper rolls have a hollow core with a cap placed at both ends of the hollow core. The end caps comprise outwardly facing cylindrical projections extending past the ends of the rollers. The dispenser comprises separate guide grooves in opposite lateral wall surfaces. The guide grooves each guide a projection from the respective end caps as the rolls rotate about their center axis while being dispensed, and as the roll moves from the upper reserve position to the lower dispensing position when the lower roll is exhausted and/or removed.

A general problem associated with these dispensers is that janitors or other operators insert new rolls of toilet paper into the dispenser in the wrong orientation, i.e. reversed 180°. This makes dispensing the roll more difficult and/or impossible because the leading edge of the paper does not extend from the leading edge of the dispenser.

In an attempt to overcome this problem, prior art dispensers have used guides of different widths, and rollers having end caps with protrusions of different diameters, which generally correspond to the different widths of the guides. The dispenser would thus comprise a narrow guide groove, i.e. the right-hand guide groove, and a wide guide groove, while the roller would be equipped with a projection with a smaller diameter, i.e. the right-hand projection, and a projection with a smaller diameter. Correct orientation of the roll in the dispenser is improved by the larger or left cap protrusion only fitting in the larger or left guide groove. However, there are at least two disadvantages associated with this device.

First, the janitor who is in a hurry or otherwise inattentive may forcefully insert a misoriented replacement roll into the guide slot when loading rolls into the dispenser. This can result in clogging of the lower dispensing roll and preventing it from being dispensed and/or jamming of the upper reserve roll and preventing it from falling into the dispensing position. Furthermore, this device does not provide a system for coordinating the quality of rolls for use with specific dispensers.

In addition, color coding and written instructions may be written on the wrapper of a toilet paper roll to help the janitor determine the correct orientation of the roll. However, janitors who are in a hurry or are inattentive may overlook these visual indicators when they depend on the lighting in the restroom area or the janitor's ability to read instructions, which may also be in a foreign language.

Known technique within the subject area is described, among other things, in US 4 307 639 and US 3 437 388.

The invention relates to a dispenser and end cap system for rolls of thin materials, and a roll of thin material, which ensures correct orientation of the rolls in the dispenser, and provides a means of coordinating the quality of rolls dispensed from specific dispensers.

In one embodiment, the dispenser is intended for use in dispensing sheets of thin material from rolls having projecting end regions, one of which has an annular groove. The dispenser comprises first and second opposite side walls, each side wall having a corresponding guide groove for guiding a respective projecting end region of the roll of thin material. The guide groove in the first lateral side wall comprises an elongate guide projection which is dimensioned and shaped to fit into the annular groove in the one projecting end area.

The present invention is also directed to a dispensing system for dispensing flexible materials from a roll of thin material. The system comprises a dispenser for rolled-up products and a roll of thin material. The dispenser comprises first and second opposite lateral side walls, where each side wall has a corresponding guide groove. The guide groove in the first lateral side wall comprises an elongated guide rib spring. The roll of thin material comprises a thin material wrapped around a hollow core. The core has first and second ends, and mll guide hardware located partially within the hollow roll core so as to extend outwardly from both ends of the hollow core to guide the roll of thin material into the opposite guide slots in the coiled product dispenser. The roll guide structure comprises a first outwardly cylindrical region extending outward past the first end of the hollow roll core and a second outwardly cylindrical region extending outward past the second end of the hollow core. The first outward region comprises at least one annular groove located in the periphery. When a roll of material is inserted into the dispenser, the guide groove will guide a respective outwardly cylindrical area of the roll. The annular groove works together with the guide projection.

The present invention also provides a paper roll which is intended for use in a dispenser for a rolled-up product, which has opposite guide grooves and a guide protrusion in one of the guide grooves. The roll of material comprises a flexible thin material wrapped around a hollow core having first and second ends and mll guide structure. The roll forming structure is located partially within the hollow core, and extends outwardly from both the first and second ends of the hollow core to feed the material into the opposite guide tracks of the rolled product dispenser. The roll forming device comprises a first outwardly cylindrical region extending outwardly past the first end of the hollow roll core, and a second outwardly cylindrical region extending outwardly past the second end of the hollow core. The first and second outward projection areas allow the roll to be guided inside the opposite guide grooves of the dispenser. The first outwardly extending area comprises at least one annular groove which is placed in the circumference and cooperates with the guide projection.

The invention also relates to a roll of thin material intended for use in a rolled-up product which has opposite guide grooves and a guide projection in one of the guide grooves in the dispenser. The roll of material comprises a first end cap, a second end cap and a roll of flexible thin material wound around a hollow center core having first and second ends. The first end cap is placed at the first end of the hollow center core, and the second end cap is placed at the second end of the hollow center core. Both ends include an inwardly projecting region located within the hollow center core, and an outwardly cylindrical region extending outward past the respective ends of the hollow center core. The outward cylindrical projection areas enable the roll to be guided inside the opposite guide grooves in the dispenser for rolled up product. The outward cylindrical areas in the first end cap comprise at least one ring-shaped groove which is placed in the circumference and works together with the guide projection. A stop flange serves as an alignment device for aligning the annular groove relative to the first end of the hollow roll core to align the groove with the elongated guide spring when the roll of thin material is inserted into a dispenser.

The present invention provides a dispenser, a roll of thin material, and a dispensing system which eliminates the above-mentioned problems with previous dispensers, rolls and dispensing systems. The dispenser and spindles on the paper rolls are disc guided, which minimizes the possibility of incorrectly oriented rolls being inserted into the dispenser. Furthermore, the Idle device provides a system for coordinating the quality of rolls dispensed from the dispenser.

The roll and the dispenser according to the present invention are defined by the features listed in the claims.

Further preferred features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, given through examples of a preferred embodiment, illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawings, where Figure 1 shows a top-right isometric view of an end, for example the right end, of a dispenser and a roll of toilet paper according to the present invention, showing the interface between the end cap of the roll and the guide track of the dispenser, Figure 2 shows a cross-sectional view of the roll of toilet paper with the end caps shown in Figure 1, taken through the center of the roll, for use in the dispensing apparatus of Figure 1, Figure 3 shows an enlarged cross-sectional view of the wedge-guided end cap of Figures 1 and 2 for use in the dispensing apparatus shown in Figure 1, Figure 4 is a perspective view showing a dispenser housing with the conventional dispenser cover removed, comprising the features illustrated on figure 1 and correspondingly described below, figure 5 shows a section of dispensers n shown in figure 4, showing a roll entering the upper end of the housing with the parts in the dispensing position ready to receive the roll, figure 6 showing a section of the dispenser shown in figure 4, showing a roll in section in the dispensing position and a spare roll held in the spare roll position, where the rolls comprise the features illustrated in Figures 1-3 and correspondingly described below, Figure 7 shows a section of the dispenser of Figure 4, similar to Figure 6, and shows an empty hollow roll core in the dispensing position, showing the forces acting to achieve physically deformed removal of the hollow core, Figure 8 shows a section of the dispenser of Figure 4, showing a full roll, with the features illustrated in Figures 1-3 and correspondingly described below, in dispensing position , figure 9 shows a section showing a modified form of an easily deformable hollow core from that illustrated in figure 7 and comprising the features illustrated in figures 1-3 and correspondingly described below, and figure 10 v is a section showing another modified form of easily deformable hollow core from that illustrated in Figure 7, and comprising the features illustrated in Figures 1-3 and correspondingly described below.

Figures 1-3 show the dispenser and end cap system according to the present invention. The dispenser and end cap system comprises a pair of guide tracks in a roll dispenser 5, where only the right guide track 10 is shown in Figure 1, which receives one or more rolls 12 of flexible thin material, e.g. toilet paper. The guide grooves 10 are preferably located inside opposite lateral side walls 14 of the dispenser 5, and preferably comprise, separated from the rear wall, surfaces 10a and 10b which define the width of the guide groove 10, and an inward facing lateral wall surface 10c which defines the length of the guide groove 10.1 a preferred dispenser design, e.g. that shown in Figures 4-8, the guide slots are generally vertically oriented and allow the dispenser to accommodate a lower paper roll in a lower dispensing position for immediate dispensing, and an upper paper roll in the reserve position, allowing the dispenser to transfer the roll from the upper reserve position to the lower dispensing position.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, each roll 12 has a hollow core 16 with end caps 18 and 19 placed therein. Each end cap 18 and 19 comprises a cylindrical outwardly projecting area 20 and 21, i.e. a spindle, which extends past the respective side ends 22 and 23 of the roller 12. The spindles 20 and 21 join with, and are guided into, a respective guide groove 10 in the dispenser. Furthermore, depending on the desired dispenser used, hollow cores 16 may be designed to be easily deformable or otherwise breakable to facilitate their removal from the dispenser. In order to achieve such characteristics, a core 16 is preferably made of light cardboard, as shown in figure 9, of a core construction as shown in section in figure 6, where the core between the ends is cut or otherwise weakened, or is made in the form of a shared core. US 4,522,346 describes the use of split cores, while US 4,671,466 describes the use of deformable, cut or weakened cores.

To facilitate correct orientation of the roll 12 in the dispenser, the opposite guide grooves have different widths. Accordingly, the end caps 18 and 19 of the rollers 12 also have spindles 20 and 21 of different diameters. For example, the spindle 20 of the end cap 18 has a smaller diameter than the spindle 21 of the end cap 19. Similarly, the guide grooves 10 are narrower than the opposite guide grooves, not shown in figure 1. The guide groove 10 is also narrower than the diameter of the spindle 21, so that the spindle 21 will not normally fit in the guide slot 10. The paper roll 12 is delivered to the dispensing location with the end caps placed in the correct core ends. The janitor will usually put the roll 12 in the dispenser with the correct orientation, i.e. with the narrow spindle end 20 in the narrow guide slot 10, since the roll 12 will not fit in the dispenser if it is oriented the opposite way, without being forced in.

To minimize the possibility of a janitor forcefully inserting an incorrectly oriented roll, and to achieve other advantages as described herein, at least one of the guide grooves on one of the spindles is "keyed". The key guide feature is provided in part by including a guide projection strip 24 on at least one of the front and rear end surfaces 10a and 10b of the guide groove, i.e., the guide groove 10, and in part provided by a U-shaped groove 26 located on the circumference of its corresponding spindle , e.g. spindle 20.1 the preferred embodiment, the protrusion strip 24 is located a narrow guide groove 10, and the annular groove 26 is located in a narrow spindle 20. The guide protrusion 24 is shaped in a similar way, and dimensioned slightly smaller than the annular groove 26, i.e. the are approximately complementary to each other, to form a device where the spindle 20 works together with the guide groove 10. It is understood that while the groove 26 is preferably U-shaped, the groove 26 could have other shapes, e.g. V-shaped. Furthermore, depending on the construction of the dispenser and the user's preferences, the guide strip 24 may extend from the top of the guide groove 10 to the bottom of the guide groove 10, or may be just enough to prevent the insertion of a roll without a wedge-guided end cap.

As shown in Figures 2 and 3, each end cap 18 and 19 includes a roll core insertion area 28 and 29 for insertion into the hollow core 16 of the roll 12. The roll core insertion areas 28 and 29 on both end caps 18 and 19 are functionally similar, and therefore only the insert part 28 is described here. As best shown in Figure 3, the insertion area 28 preferably comprises an annular leading edge 30, a conical centering area 32, and an annular outer wall 34. The leading edge 30 and centering area 32 facilitate insertion of the end cap 18 into the core 16 by producing an inherent centering structure, where clearance is absorbed by the conical centering area 32 abutting an inner surface of the hollow core 16. Insertion of each end cap 18 and 19 into the core 16 may continue until the stop flange 36, which is located on the end of the outer wall 34, is against the end 22 of the roller 12. After complete insertion of the area 28, the outer wall 34 will fit snugly inside the inner wall of the hollow core 16. The stop flange 36 guarantees the correct tolerance between the groove 26 and the roller 12, and therefore also provides the desired tolerance between the spindle 20 and the guide groove 10, in particular adaptation of the groove 26 to the projection 24. The stop flange 36 thus functions as an internal trimming device which ensures correct predetermined separation of the groove 26 from the edge of the roll so that it is aligned with the projection 24.

The end cap 18 is preferably made of plastic by any desired molding technique. The end cap 18 may, for example, be injection molded, and the groove 26 may be formed in the molding process or in a secondary operation by any technique, e.g. a foundation core activated by a hydraulic cylinder.

An advantage achieved by the projection strip 24 is that it further limits the width of the guide groove 10. This makes it more difficult for a caretaker to insert an incorrectly oriented roll. Furthermore, since one would have increased difficulty in inserting a roll without a wedge-guided or incorrectly wedge-guided end cap, there is a greater possibility that one would notice this difficulty and only install a roll with the correct orientation and with a correctly wedge-guided end cap. Furthermore, this wedge steering feature helps, e.g. the slot 26 and the strip 24, to provide a visual indicator to reduce the possibility that a caretaker would attempt to insert an incorrectly oriented roll. The track 6 can be felt by the janitor, and therefore also serves as a tactile indicator to minimize the possibility that the janitor will insert a roll incorrectly.

Another advantage achieved by the wedge guide feature is that unwanted lateral movement of the rollers 12 is limited at the interface and guide relationship between the projection strip 24 and the track 26. Since lateral movement of the roller 12 is limited by the strip 24 and the guide track 26, more of the force exerted on the roll in the dispensing process by pulling the free end of the paper be transformed into smooth rotational movement. Furthermore, lateral alignment of the roller 12 in relation to the guide grooves 10 is achieved without the need to rely on the inward facing lateral wall surfaces 10 in the guide groove 10 laterally limiting the ends of the spindles 20 and 21.

Furthermore, while Figures 2 and 3 show only a pair of protrusion strip 24 and groove 26, more than one protrusion strip 24 and groove 26 could be used. Alternatively, or in addition to varying the number of strips 24 and grooves 26, the distance between the pair of strips 24 and grooves 26 can be varied relative to the roller 12. This provides additional control combinations for the roller and dispenser, and improves the feature that only rollers with correct wedges are inserted into the wedge-controlled dispensers.

This feature helps to provide a means of coordinating the quality of rolls dispensed from predetermined dispensers. For example, toilet paper could be manufactured according to two separate degrees of softness, such as grade A and grade B, where grade A is the softer grade. A company could manufacture and supply rolls with correctly coded or keyed protrusions 20 on the end caps, corresponding to their grade. The dispensers could also be similarly coded or wedge-controlled by the number and/or separation of the projection strips 24, so that they would only receive rolls 12 with a predetermined minimum level of softness. Assuming that one wishes to have dispensers on a specific floor of a building, which dispense paper from top quality rolls, i.e. grade A. Grade B paper would not fit in the dispenser because the number or separation of the slot 26 in the end cap 18 would not fit the wedge guide pattern of the strip or strips 24 in the guide groove 10. Similarly, this device will save money by also ensuring that paper of the more expensive grade A is not used in a dispenser where it has been decided that grade B would be sufficient.

In addition to an exclusive control device, ie only one-to-one matching, the wedge control device can produce a system where dispensers are designed only to allow rolls to have a minimum predetermined degree. For example, grade B paper would have a one-groove end cap, while grade A paper would include a two-groove end cap. A dispenser for top quality paper would be constructed with two guide strips 24, and would receive only rolls with end caps guided for grade A paper. A dispenser for lower quality paper, i.e. grade B or better, would include only one guide strip 24, and would accept rolls with end caps guided for either grade A or grade B paper, since the additional slot in the end cap for grade A paper would not affect dispensing of the roll in the dispenser. This control feature therefore minimizes the insertion of incorrectly oriented rolls, and ensures that specific dispensers dispense paper only to a minimum degree.

Furthermore, the ldle control features produce a system that prevents the insertion of false or unwanted rales into a wedge-controlled dispenser. For example, if a user of a dispenser without wedge control is satisfied with the quality of rolls of material from a specific manufacturer, and only wants rolls from that manufacturer dispensed from his dispenser, the user would have to constantly monitor the purchase and installation of rolls by maintenance personnel to ensure that the rolls came from the desired manufacturer. However, if the dispenser is controlled to have one or more projection strips, the specific wedge control can be coordinated with the desired manufacturer to produce rolls with spindles specifically controlled to suit the dispenser construction. Any attempt by maintenance personnel to install unauthorized rollers, i.e. rollers without the correct guide, from other manufacturers would be thwarted, since unauthorized rollers would not fit in the wedge-guided dispenser.

The wedge guide feature according to the present invention also allows end caps that have protrusions of the same size to be used on opposite ends of the roll, and still achieve the correct orientation by different wedge guidance of the end caps. This can have manufacturing advantages as it allows both end caps to be made in the same shape.

In addition, it is understood that a single insert member with guide spindles extending from its opposite ends could be used instead of the two insert end cap members. In such an arrangement, the outward-going spindles would preferably be shaped like or identical to the spindles 20 and 21 of the end caps 19 and 20.

As previously described, the features of Figures 1-3 are preferably included in a dispenser construction where the guide slots are generally vertically oriented, allowing the dispenser to accommodate a lower paper roll in a lower dispensing position for immediate dispensing, and an upper paper roll in a standby position, such that the dispenser can transfer the roll from the upper position to the lower position. An example of such a dispenser without many of the features in figures 1-3, for example the ldle control features including the guide protrusion and the groove, is described in US 4,671,466.

Figures 4-9 illustrate a dispenser and end cap system for rolls of flexible thin material, and include features of the present invention as illustrated in Figures 1-3 and as described above. In a description of the dispenser 100 as shown in the drawings, and especially in figure 4, it should be pointed out that in order to facilitate the illustration of structural features of this embodiment, the dispenser's cover, which would conventionally be arranged, is not shown in the drawings. Reference can be made to US 3,437,388 for an example of how a conventional cover that completes the dispenser cabinet can be rotatably mounted relative to the housing 102 that forms the chassis for active components in the dispenser.

Reference is now made to Figure 4 to describe the dispenser 100. The housing 102 has a first side wall 104, a second side wall 114 and a rear wall 108. It will be understood that in use of the dispenser 100, the housing 102 which forms the chassis for the active components in the dispenser, is mounted on a wall at the desired location for use of the dispenser. The rear wall 108 of the housing 102 will thus be equipped with suitable openings, not shown, for fastening devices which are used to fasten the dispenser 100 to the desired wall.

As mentioned above, the conventional cover which together with the housing 102 completes the dispenser cabinet is not shown. The side walls 104 and 114 are provided with aligned holes 109 which serve as pivot points for mounting the dispenser cover.

The side wall 104 of the housing 102 is equipped with an inward-facing channel or guide groove 111. Likewise, the opposite side wall 114 is equipped with an inward-facing channel or guide groove 110. The pair of inward-facing, opposite guide grooves 110 and 111 serve to conductively receive the spindle which forms a part of the roll core and serve as roll core supports where they protrude from the opposite ends of the rolls when the rolls are stored in the dispenser 100.

The channels 111 and 110 are preferably of different widths to accommodate different diameter spindles which form the roll core supports for the rolls loaded in the dispenser 100. These channels of different widths mate with different diameters of the roll core support spindles to ensure proper unwinding direction and roll orientation during loading of the rolls in the dispenser 100. Each of the guide channels 111 and 110 in the side walls 104 and 114 of the housing 102 is equipped, at its lower ends, with a saddle part, this part has the number 146 at the bottom of the channel 111, and 148 at the lower end of the channel 110. The bottom of the housing 102 is open at 150 so that the roll 112 which is held in the roll dispensing position at the lower end of the dispenser 100 protrudes downward through the open bottom 150 as shown in Figures 6 and 8 so that the material on the roll 112 can be accessed from the dispenser 100 by a user.

Reference is now made to figure 6, where the design of the roll 112 can be described as an example of the type of rolls of flexible materials intended for dispensing in the dispenser 100 according to this invention. The roller 112 thus has a flexible material wrapped around a tubular hollow roller core 116.1 the shape of the roller core illustrated in Figures 6 and 7, the core 116 is made easily deformable by having a series of separate peripheral cutting lines 130 formed between the ends of the core. It will be understood that other weakening techniques can be used to make the core easily deformable as soon as the thin material first carried on the core is consumed.

Another form of easily deformable hollow core 116' is illustrated in Figure 9. The core 116' is formed of a lightweight material such that forces applied to the core as described below to enable easy removal of the hollow core are sufficient to physically deform the core without need for weaknesses 130, as shown in the easily deformable core of Figures 6 and 7. In Figure 10, the core 116 is illustrated in the form of a split core 116". An emptied core of this type is removed from the dispenser by splitting the core.

In the illustrated form of the core, core supports for either the cores 116, 116' or 116" are provided by an end cap 119 having a spindle 121 inserted into an outer end of the tubular hollow core and the end cap 118 having a spindle 120 inserted in the tubular hollow core on the opposite outer end. It will be seen from Figure 6 that the core support spindle 121 on the end cap 119 engages the saddle portion 146 at the lower end of the channel 111, and the core support spindle 120 on the end cap 118 engages the saddle portion 148 on the lower end of the channel 110, and supports the roll 112 in the dispensing position inside the housing 102 of the dispenser 100. Supported in this way, the toilet paper material on the roll 112 will protrude through the open bottom 150 of the housing 102.

To minimize the possibility of a person forcefully inserting an incorrectly oriented roll, and to provide other advantages, including those described above, at least one of the guide grooves on one of the spindles is keyed. The wedge guide track is partially provided by including a guide guide strip 124 on at least one of the guide tracks, e.g. the guide groove 110, and partly arranged by a U-shaped ring groove 126 located in the circumference of the corresponding spindle 120. The guide groove 110 comprises separate front and rear wall surfaces 110a and 110b, which define the width of the guide grooves 110, and an inwardly facing lateral wall surface 110c. In the preferred embodiment, the protrusion strip 104 is located in a narrow guide groove 110 along either the front or rear wall surface 110a or 110b, and the annular groove 126 is located in a narrow spindle 120. The protrusion strip 124 is similarly shaped, and slightly smaller than the annular groove 126, to provide a complementary arrangement where the spindle 120 cooperates with the guide groove 110. It will be appreciated that while the groove 126 is U-shaped, the groove 126 could have one of many other desired shapes, e.g. V-shaped. Furthermore, the guide strip 124 is illustrated as extending from the top of the guide groove 110 to a position near a roll in the reserve or storage position. It is realized, however, that the guide strip 124 may extend further downwards along the guide track 110, or may have a length which is only sufficient to prevent the insertion of a roll with a spindle which is not correctly guided.

As illustrated in the drawings, the open bottom 150 is defined within the side walls 104 and 114, and the rear wall 108 of the housing 102. These walls extend downwardly below the seat portions 146 and 148. Generally, with the dispenser cover in place, the cover could be in conjunction with the housing 102 take the form shown in the above-mentioned US 3,437,388. In such a configuration, the toilet paper material on the roll 112 is exposed through the open bottom 150 of the dispenser 100. It will be understood that the roll 113, partially shown in Figures 6 and 7, while it is held in a spare roll position inside the housing 102, would have a similar composition to the composition described above with reference to the roll 112.

Operation control for the dispenser 100 which is between the two rollers 112 and 113 loaded in the housing 102 is provided by a control arm 160. The arm 160 is rotatably mounted in the channel 111 on the side wall 104 on a pivot pin 162. This pivotable mounting means that the pin 162 simply passes through sides of the channel 111 to achieve the desired mounting of the control arm 160.

The arm 160 has a lower sensing end 164 which serves to sense the presence of a roller core 116. As will be described in more detail with reference to Figure 7, this lower end also exerts an axial force FL on the upper part of the end of the hollow roller core 116. This sensing of a roll core such as the roll core 112 as shown in Figure 6 occurs when the first roll is held in a dispenser position inside the housing 102. An upper support end 166 on the rotatably mounted arm 160 serves to hold a second roll 113 in the reserve roll position inside the housing 102, such as a roller 113 which is also shown in Figure 6.

A leaf spring 168, which may be riveted at 170 to the outer wall of the channel 111, serves to bias the control arm 160 towards the position shown in Figure 5. The biasing force from the spring 168 thus forces the sensor end 164 of the arm 160 towards the ruU dispensing position inside in the housing 102. Consequently, it forces the support end 166 of the arm 160 away from the reserve roll position inside the housing 112, and exerts the force FL on the upper part of the end of the hollow core 116.

The upper support end of the control arm 160 is formed with a reverse bend in the embodiment shown, to form a surface 176 which is inclined inwardly relative to the plane of the first side wall of the housing 102. This inclined surface 176 physically engages the roller core support spindle 121 as shown in Figures 6 and 7 with reference to a roll 113 which is held in the reserve roll position inside the housing 102 by the dispenser 100.

As will be apparent from the view of these figures, the inward slope of the surface 176 of the upper support end 166 of the arm 160 tends to utilize the weight of the roller 113 acting downwardly on the spindle resting on the surface 176 in a manner which tends to to force the arm 160 and its upper support end 166 outwards from the blocking groove 111. The weight of the roller 113 thus promotes the awakening of the lower end 164 of the arm 160 to press inwards against the upper part of the end of the core 116, and thus produces a further biasing force against the core 116, which tends to break the easily deformable core after consumption of the paper material.

The other side wall 114 of the housing 102 is equipped with a spring-biased locking device 180 which can be riveted at 182 to the outer wall of the channel 110 so that this locking device 180 will lie inside the channel 110. The spring-biased locking device 180 has its lower end 184 separated above the saddle part 148 at the bottom of the channel 110. It is thus sufficiently separated above this saddle part that the spindle 120 of the end cap 118 on the hollow core 116 can rest freely on the saddle part 148 below the end 184 of the locking part 180 as shown in figure 6 and 7.

As the spindle 120 of the end cap 118 moves downward along the guide groove channel 110, the spindle 120 will act to press down the locking device 180 until it moves below the locking end 184. In this position, opposite movement along the guide groove 110 will be blocked by the latch 180. blocking effect serves to prevent the right end of the roll 112, as seen in figure 6, from being raised inside the housing 102 of the dispenser, and thus prevents full or partially full toilet paper rolls from the dispenser 100. The left end of the roll 112 is likewise prevented from being raised up the channel 111 by the lower sensor part 164 of the arm 160 which lies above the spindle 121 on the end cap 119.

The other side wall 114 of the housing 102 is also provided with a biasing leaf spring 190. This spring may have its upper end conveniently riveted at 192 to the side wall 114. The spring 190 is located near the roll dispensing position inside the housing 102 so that it protrudes inwardly and performs two functions. First, with a full roll 112 as shown in Figure 6, the spring 190 exerts a frictional resistance to one side end of the roll, which is held in the roll dispensing position. This function of the spring 190 acts to delay rotation of the roller 112 or the roller placed in the dispensing position so that it does not rotate freely while material such as toilet paper is being pulled out of the dispenser 100 by the user. The leaf spring 190 exerts an axial force against the upper part of one end of the hollow roller core 116, and this force is identified as FR in Figure 7.

Operation of the dispenser 100 as described above can now be explained. In Figure 4, the dispenser housing 102 is shown in its empty or uncharged state. To load a roll 112 into the dispenser 100, the cover, not shown, is opened and a roll is dropped into the dispenser 100 with opposite spindles 120 and 121 aligned with the respective opposite guide slots 110 and 111. If the roll 112 is correct oriented and correctly guided, i.e. a roll having a spindle 120 with a groove 126 which is adapted to a guide strip 124 in the guide groove 110, the guide groove 126 and the strip 124 on the spindle 120 and the guide groove 110 will fit together. Thus, when the roll 112 is released, it passes down into the dispensing position at the lower end of the housing 102 with its core support spindles conductively engaged with the guide channels 111 and 110. The interface between the groove 126 and the guide projection 124 limits unwanted lateral movement of the roll 112, and facilitates better lateral alignment of the roller 112 in relation to the guide grooves 110, as previously described. Figure 1 illustrates the relationship between the ldle control line for the roll 12 and the dispenser 5 just before insertion of the roll 12. The cross-sectional view in Figure 5 shows the first roll 112 just after it has been loaded, but before the roll reaches the dispensing position.

If the roll to be inserted is not correctly guided by the dispenser 110, for whatever reason guidance was desired, the roll will not fit in the dispenser because the guide protrusion strip 124 reduces the width of the guide groove 110 at this point, and the spindle will be too large to continue down the guide grooves 110 and 111. Furthermore, if the roller to be inserted is correctly guided but incorrectly oriented, the large spindle will not fit in the narrow guide groove and the roller will be prevented from moving down the guide grooves 110 and 111.

In Figure 6, the roll 112 is shown after it has fallen into the dispensing position with the support spindles on the hollow core 116 resting on the saddle parts 146 and 148 in the channels 111 and 110. In this position, the roll 112 has its material exposed through the open bottom 150 of the house 102 for easy access for the user. Further in Figure 6, the correctly oriented and correctly controlled second or spare roll 116 is loaded into the housing by the spindles being inserted into the upper ends of the channels 111 and 110.

Presence of the roller 112 as it passed down into the dispensing position has shifted the control arm 160 so that the upper support end 166 of this arm has moved to the channel 111 to form a stop inside the channel 111. The left spindle of the roller 113 has come into contact with this stops by the spindle resting on the inclined surface 176 of the upper support end 166 of the arm 160.

The bias spring 190 is compressed with the downward movement of the roller 112, so that the spring 190 exerts frictional resistance to counteract free rotation of the roller 112. Likewise, the downward movement of the spindles on the roller 112 into contact with the saddle parts 146 and 148 will cause the spindle on the end cap 118 passes below the locking end 184 of the spring biased locking device 180. Consequently, when the sensing end 164 of the control arm 160 is above the left spindle of the roller 112 and the end 184 of the spring biased locking device 180 is above the right spindle of the roller 112, any attempt to raise the roller 112 effectively blocked by these two elements lying over the core support spindles on the opposite ends of the roller 112.

The state of the rolls 112 and 113 as shown in figure 6 where they are both held in their respective dispensing and reserve roll positions, will continue while consumption of paper material from the roll 112 takes place by toilet paper being pulled out by users. Also during the use of paper from the roll 112, the control arm 160, especially under the biasing force from the spring 168, will continuously feel the hollow roll core 116. The second roll 113 in the reserve roll position is thus continuously held in this position while feeling the hollow core 116.

As seen in figure 6, the diameter of the rollers 113 and 112 is in relation to the length of the control arm 160, where this arm extends above its pivot point 162, so that these full rollers 113 and 112 are kept out of contact with each other. At this particular full size of roll and length of the rotatably mounted arm 160, the rolls 113 and 112 will be continuously held out of contact with each other while paper material is pulled from the roll 112.

The feeling of the hollow core 116 in the roll 112 is thus used to continue holding the roll 113 in the reserve roll position, with the two rolls out of contact with each other, at least when the core in the roll 112 approaches emptying, so that in this last step in emptying of the roll 112, there is no friction between the spare roll 113 and the roll 112. The important concept is that the sensing of the intact core of the roll 112 is used to continue holding the roll 113 in the reserve position, and at least to keep the two rolls out of contact with each other when the stage where the roll 112 approaches emptying of the paper material.

When all the paper material has been pulled out and the roll 112 is empty, the condition shown in Figure 7 is obtained. At this time, the spare roll or the second roll 113 is still held in the spare roll position at the upper end of the housing 102. However, the lower end will 164 of the arm 160 when pressed axially against the upper end of the hollow roller core 116 cause buckling of the core after emptying tissue material from the hollow core 116.

The forces acting on the easily deformable hollow core 116 can best be described with reference to Figure 7 and the reference numbers shown there. The full roll 112 has spindles 121 and 120 on its core end caps 119 and 118 which support the roll wound on the hollow core 116, resting in saddles 146 and 148. As the paper material making up the roll 112 is consumed, the weight of the core 116 on its end caps 119 and 118 still resting in the saddles 146 and 148 as shown in Figure 7. Thus there are reaction forces RL and Rr acting along the lines of the arrows shown to the left and right where the spindles are in contact with the saddles.

At the same time, axial forces are exerted on the upper parts of the opposite ends of the cores 116 at the lower end 164 of the spring biased arm 160 and the leaf spring 190 on the other side of the dispenser housing 102. These axial forces are represented by the arrows FL and FR in figure 7 .

The axial forces FL and FR which are exerted from the left and right have a tendency themselves to break the core 116 downwards by being exerted on the upper part of the opposite core ends. This downward buckling of the core 116 is further promoted by the force FL which generates a twisting movement around the contact point where the spindle 121 of the end cap 119 engages the saddle part 146, counteracted by the reaction force RL. Similarly, the force FR acting against the opposite end of the core 116 will produce a twisting movement around the contact point of the spindle 120 on the end cap 118, counteracted by the reaction force RR. These two twisting or torques which are applied to opposite ends of the hollow core 116 further promote downward buckling of the easily deformable core 116. Thus, when the paper material is depleted from the core 116 so that the material no longer reinforces the easily deformable core, a slight downward pressure W applied manually as shown in Figure 7, causes easy removal of the core 116 from the saddles 146 and 148 at the dispensing position inside the dispenser 100.

In summary, still referring to Figure 7, the axial forces FL and FR will place the upper surface of the core 116 under compression, thus tending to break it. In addition, the torques between FL and RL and FR and RR at each end will tend to twist the broken core out of the dispenser. In some cases, a minimal force W will be exerted on the upper surface of the core 116, thus making it easy to remove the core and its end caps 119 and 118. Then, the hollow core 116 is released from the guide channels 116 and 110 and their saddles 146 and 148, to fall out from the bottom 150 of the dispenser housing 102.

This frees the arm 160, particularly under the influence of the leaf spring 168, to move to a position as shown in Figure 5. Such movement of the arm 160 shifts the sensor end 164 to the mld dispensing position area, and likewise shifts the support end 166 of the arm 160 away from the reserve roll position, opening thus the guide channel 111 so that the spindles on the roller 113 are now free, so that this roller can move down into the dispensing position at the bottom of the housing 102.

This state of the roller 113 is shown in figure 8. From this figure it can be seen that the arm 160 is again shifted at its lower sensing end 164 which detects the hollow core 116 inside the roller 113. This shifting of the arm 160 again moves the upper supporting end 166 of the arm 160 to a position that blocks the guide channel 111.

Then, upon loading a properly guided and oriented new roll into the dispensing housing 102, by entering its outward core support spindles into opposite channels 111 and 110, this new roll can only descend these channels to a point where one of the spindles meets the support end 166 of the arm 160, which blocks the channel 111. Again, this new roll will be held in reserve until the roll placed in the dispensing position and resting on the saddle parts 146 and 148 is emptied.

As shown in Figure 10, if a split core roll 116" is used and becomes empty, the lower sensing end 164 of the arm 160 will press against the end of the intact roll core 116" causing the core section to break after discharge of paper material from the intact core 116". This causes the core sections to be released from being held in the dispensing position. More specifically, the core sections are forced to continue through the broken lines shown for this core section at the left of Figure 10. Thus, the force exerted by the sensor end 164 will not only exert a buckling force on the core end, but due to the contour and shape of the feeler end 164, it will direct this buckling force against the core end in a direction that tends to lift the core off the saddle portion 146, thereby freeing it from the friction that previously existed between the roll core support spindle and saddle 146 during normal use of paper material from the roll 112.

As the intact core undergoes the breaking action between the core sections after consumption of paper material from the intact roll core, the core sections are released from the guide channels 110 and 111 and the saddle parts 146 and 148 fall out of the open end 150 in the housing. This frees the arm 160, particularly under the action of the leaf spring 168, to move to the position shown in Figure 5.

This movement shifts the sensor end 164 of the arm 160 into the roll dispensing position area, and likewise shifts the support end 166 of the arm 160 away from the reserve roll position area, thus opening the guide channel so that the spindles on the roll are now free for this roll to move down into the dispensing position at the bottom of the house 100.

It should be noted that the position of the guide strip 124 and the presence of the annular groove 126 have no adverse effect on the dispenser's ability to dispense thin material from rolls, store rolls in the reserve position, or transfer rolls from the reserve position to the dispensing position.

Claims (12)

1. Roll (112) of thin material for use in a dispenser (100) for a rolled-up product and having opposing guide grooves (110, 111) and a guide rib spring (124) in one of the guide grooves, the roll comprising a flexible thin material wrapped around a hollow core (116) which has first and second ends, characterized in that a first end cap (118) is arranged at the first end of the core and protrudes from there, that the first end cap comprises an inwardly projecting part (30, 32, 34) arranged on the inside of the hollow core, and an outwardly projecting part (120) for guiding the roll of material in a guide groove for the dispenser, the outwardly projecting part comprising at least an annular groove (126) on the circumference, which cooperates with the guide projection, that a second end cap ( 119) is arranged at the other end of the core and projects outwards, the second end cap comprising an inwardly projecting part (30, 32, 34) on the inside of the core, and an outwardly projecting part (121) for guiding the material roll in a groove in the dispenser, and that the first end cap s (118) outwardly projecting part (120) has a smaller diameter than the second end cap's (119) outwardly projecting part (121). 2. Roll according to claim 1, characterized in that the outward facing part (121) of the second end cap (119) does not have annular grooves. 3. Roll according to claim 1-2, characterized in that the outwardly projecting part (120) of the first end cap (118) comprises a first end arranged at the first end of the core (116), and that a second end is arranged at a distance from the first end of the core , and that at least one annular groove (126) is arranged between the first and second ends of the outwardly projecting part of the first end cap. 4. Roll according to claim 3, characterized in that the inwardly projecting part (30, 32, 34) of the first end cap comprises a stop flange (36) that projects outwards from near the core (116) both inwardly projecting part and outwardly projecting part (120), that the stop flange rests against the first end of the core (116) when the inwardly projecting part of the first end cap is fully inserted into the core in order thereby to locate the annular grooves (126) at a fixed distance from the first end of the core. 5. Roll according to claims 2-4, characterized in that the annular groove (126) is essentially complementary to the guide projection. 6. Dispenser for dispensing a flexible material from rolls, comprising a housing (100) for rolled product with first and second opposite side walls (104, 114) each having a guide groove (110, 111), the first side wall (104) guide track (110) has an extended guide projection (124) and at least one roller according to claim 1, characterized in that the guide tracks guide an outwardly projecting cylindrical part of the material roll with the annular groove (126) interacting with the elongated guide projection when the material roll (112) is inserted into the dispenser , and that the second side wall's (114) guide groove guides the second outwardly projecting part (121). 7. Dispenser according to claim 6, characterized in that the annular groove (126) has a U-shaped cross-section and extends completely around the first outwardly projecting part (120). 8. Dispenser according to claims 6-7, characterized in that the guide grooves have an essentially rectangular cross-section, that the guide grooves comprise several inner wall surfaces, and that the guide protrusions (104) project from one of the guide groove's inner side surfaces in the first side wall (104) into the guide groove in the first side wall 9. Dispenser according to claim 8, characterized in that the guide grooves and the elongated guide projection (124) are arranged essentially vertically. 10. Dispenser according to claims 6-9, characterized in that the second side wall's (114) guide groove does not have a guide projection, and that the second outwardly projecting part (121) does not have an annular groove. 11. Dispenser according to claims 6-10, characterized in that the inwardly projecting part (30, 32, 34) of the first end cap (118) comprises a stop flange (36) which projects radially out near both the inwardly projecting part and the outwardly projecting part of the first end cap (118), that the stop flange rests against the first end of the core (116) when the inwardly projecting portion of the first end cap is fully inserted into the core to thereby locate at least one annular groove (126) at a predetermined distance from the first end of the core end to align at least one annular groove with the elongated guide projection (124) when the roll of material is inserted into the dispenser (100). 12. Dispenser according to claims 6-11, characterized in that the guide projection (124) and the annular groove are essentially complementary.