US1849120A - Roll towel cabinet - Google Patents

Description

March 15, C, w HOMPSO 1,849,120

ROLL TOWEL CABINET Filed Nov. 15, 1928 3 sheets sheec 1 flo 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 I! f o o 0 o o q o o 0 o o o III. llrkln rf w J m. 4

- Iwvewlor March 15, 1932. c. w. THOMPSON ROLL TOWEL CABINET Filed Nov. 15,

March 15, 1932. c. w. THOMPSON 1,849,120

ROLL TOWEL CABINET 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Nov 1928 7/1/11!!!"III/11111111111lIllIllIlIIIl/l11111111114 Patented Mar. 15, v

it? i er res VPORATION OF UTAHv stem ifm I (ii-memes TI-F-OMBSON, or woLms'ron 'n'iAssAcHnsETrs; AssreNoRfBY nsnn as SIG-NMENTIS, seamen SALES coivrrenY, on SALT LAKE -CITY, 'UTAH, A 003,-

noLL rowii 2 cni nnr llbiilication filed. manbe 15, ez8. serial K013152532. I

b This invention relatesto a roll tbwel cabi net, particularly thekind designed to be attached to a'walL V One of the objects of thisinvent'ion is to provide a simple; reliable, and inexpensive mechanism whereby theact of unwinding the roll of clean toweling also winds thegsoiled toweling; Another object is to provide means wherebythe toweli'n'g'i's automatically v withdrawn from sight when it is released; after using. Another object is to provide a ineasuredor limited portion of clean toweling 'for each user. Still another object is to make the cabinet in two sections so that the inner section alone maybe replaced'wheni1t becomes worn or unsan tary, thereby sayin the cost of the more expensive outer section which willoutwear several, inner sections. This arrangement also makes it easier to insert clean toweling as, it provides more room for the hands between the Various parts. W ith the above and-other objects in View which will more readily appear ,as thefna ture of the invention is better understood, the

same consists in'the novel construction, combination, and arrangement of parts herein after, more fullydescrlbed', clalmed, and 11 lnstrated in the accompanying drawings. l

7 When my cabinet is equipped [with the automatic take-up m'echanism, some slight" changes are madein ityandthe'drawings illust-rate the cabinet with and without said mechanism i i vFigure 1 is a Vertical sectional side View of my cabinet without the automaticjtake-up mechanism, showing. the soile'dtowel hang-i v illustrated in Figure 2'of the drawings. .The

' toweling'which passes over this piece 10k exposed outside of the' cabinet sothat the user can readily seewhere to grasp it, and by llifl'sin a loop belowf s V V i Figure 2 1s, front iew of my towelcabinet with the dooropened, partlybroken away to show the towel and winding stick, and

showing part of theautomatic take-up mechanism.

Figure 3 is showing my towel cabinet equipped with the automatic take-up mechanism in its normal position when the toweling is not being'used.

I 501 line 4 -4 of Figure 2 with the F s refi how tw 1 joined togetherwith a 1asp.-

I a cross-sectional View taken on I the line 3-5 of F gure 2 w1th the door closed,

toweling.

Figure 6 i" a viewincro line 6 6 of Figure 4f Figure '7' traveler. r

Figuregfisja :view 1n perspective Q'f 'the winding stick. 7 1

inserted 111 5116 7 cate'corres-pondingpartsin each figure; v

As illustrated, the towel cabinet preferably consists of an outer frameor section 10 which consists ofa bottom 10a, sides 106', a bzicklOc';

= Like numerals andl'e'tters of reference "indi v a top 10d having holes .106 out thereinfor ventilating purposes, and a front door 10f swinging on hinges 10h, said door consisting of"?! mirror 10i onthe' outside; and a mirror backing piece or holder l'Oj on the inside; liorwardedge of the bottomj10a is slightly rearward of the forward edge of the sides 10b;

ss se'ction on the V iew in perspective ofthe Figure?) is a Trent View showing end-of the'sheet of toweli'ng with the winding stick Qg'ths' toweling leaving a space10g" betweenrthe bottom 10a th ejdoorlOfi -through which the toweli'ng runs downwardlyoutjof the cabinetfA large slot 10am is cut out lof the bottom 10a at the rear through whichthetoweling runs as later described.- I i 'lVhen my cabinet is equipped with the auto-: y matic taljze-up mechanism later described, an

extension piece 107:, narrower than the width of toweling which passes over it, isattached to-the bottomf'lO'a 'ofthe outer frame 1O, as

making said'piece 1070 narrower than the better grip on it than he, would be able to if the piecelOIc extended to the outer edge of the 'Slidably mounted within 1.0 is an inner case or section 11, havingja bottom 11a, sides 11?), a two-piece back" '110,'a top 11d, havingholes lle in alignment with this outer frame the holes 106 when the inner case is in place. The rear ends v111?) of the sides 11?) are rearward of the back 110, and fit flush against the back 100 of the outer frame 10 when the cabine't is in use. This construction of said rear ends 111?) provides suflicient space between the back 110 and the back 100 in which the toweling may freely move. This inner case 11 is divided by means of the shelf 12 into a lower compartment 13 in which the roll of clean toweling 14, preferably made of'cloth, is inserted, (which roll need not he wound on a stick) and an upper compartment 15 in which the soiled toweling 16 is rolled up on a winding stick. In the simplier form of towel cabinet shown in Figure 1, the front part of the shelf 12 is horizontal while the back part slants diagonally downward so as to provide room for the fingers between it and the driven roll 23 later referred to. This shelf 12 is inserted for the sanitary purpose of separatingthe soiled toweling from any possible contact with the clean toweling, and when the automatic take-up mechanism is used this shelf maylliave a gradual slant as shown in Figure 3 of the, drawings, allowing sufiicient space for the fingers between said shelf 12 and the driver roll 22. A small notch or hole 12a is cut in the front of said shelf in which to catch the end of a chain 43 later referred to. A slot 17 is cut in each side 11b of the inner case 11, and a locking bar 18 eX- tends through these slots with its ends removably mounted in holes 19 out part way through the sides 10?) of the outer frame 10". In one of said holes 19, a finger spring 20 is fitted which is compressed when it is desired to remove the locking bar 18. This locking bar serves to prevent the inner case 11 being.

accidentally pulled out ofthe outer frame 10 and the slots 17 are long enough to permit the innercase 11 to be, drawn toward the front, part way out of the outer frame, as shown in Figure 4 of the drawings, to make f room in the rear for the hands when putting the new toweling in, as later described,

In the lower compartment 13, above the locking bar 18, is a driver control roll 22, and in the upper compartment 15 is a driven control roll 23 of the same construction located in the rear. Each of these control rolls 22 and 23 have a body 24 with an axle 25 extending therefrom, which axle is mounted in ball bearings 25a mounted in holes 26 cnt'in the sides 11b of the inner case 11. Both of said rolls have a roughened peripheral surface 27 obtained by wrapping sand paper or a sheet of burred metal around the body, or the body 24 may be made of metal roughened on the surface. "Within a groove 32, made by cutting from the outside part way through the sides 11b of the inner case, at the end of said rolls 22 and 23, is mounted on each axle 25 a sprocket wheel 28 with teeth 29, on which ismounted a chain 30 which connects both ratchet wheels 28 which are fixed on the rolls 22 and 23 so that any motion imparted to either roll moves both. Between the two sprocket wheels 28 is a double locking pawl 31, the ends of which fit into the space between the teeth 29 of both wheels 28 and prevent movement in more than one direction, so that the soiled toweling cannot be unwound. This locking pawl 31 is pivoted at 31a offcenter-towards the driven roll so as to stay engaged in its locking position at all times.

The cleantoweling 14 is in direct contact with part of the roughened surface 27 of the driver roll 22 so that as the clean toweling 14 is pulled out this driver roll is caused to rotate, which-in turn causes the driven roll 23 torotate, and this in turn causes the roll of soiled toweling 16, which rests by gravity on the roughened surface 27 of said driven roll 23, to rotate in the opposite direction thereby winding the soiled toweling 16. A winding stick 36 on which the soiled toweling 16 is rolled, preferably having a portion be- 7 tween its ends cut out to make a flat surface,

as clearly shown in Figure 8 of the drawings, is inserted in the loop 37 at one end of the toweling as shown in Figure 9 of the drawings, and then said stick is inserted in the guide slots llbb cut in the inner case 11, which extend from the front of said case for a short distance horizontally and then diag onally downward so that the stick 36 with the soiled toweling wound around it rests directly on the driven roll 23, and as the soiled towel roll 16 becomes larger, the winding stiglj .36 moves upwardly in the guide slots 11 When it is desired to keep the toweling out of sight, instead of having a loop of it vise ible as shown in Figure 10f the drawings, this cabinet previously described is equipped with an automatic take-up mechanism for the soiled toweling. The only toweling then visible is' that portion running over the extension piece 1070, just sufi'icient'toweling to see where it is and grasp it. This mechanism is slidably mounted in slots 113)???) out in the rearward portion of the sides 11?) of the inner case 11. In Figure 3 of the drawings this automatic take-up mechanism is clearly shown, which consists of a movable traveler 38 having two sides 39 which slide in the grooves 115% and normally rest on the rubber bumpers 11pm at the bottom of the inner case 11 on each side, a top 40 connecting the two sides 39, a traveler roll 41, under which the soiled toweling passes, rotatably mounted in the sides 39 intermediate of their height, an eye 42 attached to the top 40 and a chain 43, one end of which is attached to said eye 42 and the other end having a ring 44a, which chain extends from said top 40 upwardly to the top of the inner case 11 where a small portion is inserted between the outer frame top 10d and the inner case top 45 eler 37 to drop, and in so doing the traveler roll 41 strikes the toweling and carries it downwardly. Next said'free end ispulled.

11d with the ring 444 hangingdown in-the compartment-15,: where it remains While the cablnet is in use. When filling the cabinet this chain 43 is pulled downwardly and the .end with the ring 44a is caught in the hole 12acut-in the shelf 12 as showninFigure 4 of thedra'wings. VVhen equipped with this automatic take-up mechanism, the inner case ,11 isprovided with two-rotating rolls 4.4Land 45, spaced apart, permanently mounted in -the;

sides 11?) nearthe 'rearof the inner case '11 over which the soiled towel1ng16 passes;

- It has been found preferableto use lengths of toweling of approximately twentyfive yards, and when morejtoweling is required a clasp is usedito, connect two lengths by slipping said clasp into the loops 37 at the end of e'ach'length, as shown in Figure-10' of the drawings.

"The operation of 'thisntowelcabinet with the automatic: take-up "mechanism. is as follows:

To insert arollof clean'toweling, the-door 10f is opened and the innercase 11. ispulled out as far as the locking bar 18 will permit,

as shown in Figure '4 of. the drawings. The i chain 43' is pulledvoutwardlyand downwardly and caught in thernotch'12a'in-"the shelf12 which causes the traveler 37 to move upwardly as shown in Figure 4 of therdraw ings. Next a roll ofclean toweling-14 is placed in the lower=compartinent of the inner case and 0ne end, termed the free end, is pulled up and inserted betweenthe locking bar 18 and the'driver roll 22 and over the top of said driver roll 22 and down and outwardly through the space 109; This free 1 end is brought under the cabinet and pushed through the slot 10aa and up the back between the outer fr'ame 'and inner case and,

over the two rotating rolls 44 and 45, which brings it under the traveler roll 41, which] is now suspended above and between' the' rolls 44 and 45. The chain 43 is then slipped out of the notch 12a which permits the travoutwardly and the windingstick 36 is inserted through the loop 37 formedin'said end, and said stick is slipped into the guide slots 1166 and pushed until it drops down and rests on the driven roll 23. The traveler clean toweling roll 14 in order to make the proper connection with the winding stick 36,

:the toweling is marked ata certainpoint, as by a c01ored'line,'and the cleantoweling'ls unwoundfrom the roll 14 untilt-hat portion with the colored line on it comes ofi the roll. The user, standingvinfront oflthe cab net,

grasps the ,outeredge of that small portion 7 of the toweling. which passesover theex'tension piecelOic, pulls downwardly and outwardly causing it tounwind from the roll of clean COYVQlHIg 14, which 1n turn, causes, the

roll of vsoiled toweling 16to wind at the same time therroll 14 unwinds, which pullingmay 'continue'until two lengths of toweling, each equal tothe distancebetween the roll 44 and the traveler roll 41, have been unwoundfrom the "clean roll and wound on the soiled-roll ing lifts the traveler 38' gradually upward until the-bottom of the traveler roll41 is. ap-

proximately even with the'top; of the; rolls '44 and45, at which point-the limit isrea'ched,x the toweling' becomes taut, and-no further winding or unwinding of'either the soiled or t clean toweling can take place. ,:T11lS constitutes the measured servicewhereby each user is limited by each operation of the automatic take up mechanism to a certain length; of towelingit At the' same time that the clean toweling is pulledout of the-cabinet,- a'length ofsoiled toweling: not greater than the dis tance between the roll 45 and, the traveler roll V v 41 is withdrawn from the cabinet -which length furnishes sufiicient slack permitting the'clea'n toweling to be freely moved, about by the user in drying himself; After thev'usler has driedihimself,he releases the toweling,

V respectively. This winding of soiled towel- 7 ice and the traveler; 38, which has been held inthe Q position above referred-to,immediately drops t by gravityito its normal position, and that 2 portion ofthe toweling which the person has just used-i'sautomatically withdrawn inside.

the'cabinet'back of the extension piece 107a,:

ise used, the doorlis opened-and the winding sticki36, with the soiled toweling wound aroundit, is slipped-out of the guide slots 11b?) andthe cabinet again 'filled with a clean I'Oll. I; v I:

-Whe'n the cabinet, without the automatic take-up mechanism, is :used,'asshownf in Figure 1 of the drawings, the-roll of clean toweling; is. inserted the. same way, disregarding that part which applies tothe" automatic mechanism,v the free endoftowe-ling being run under the-cabinet and up the back: directlyaontothe winding; stick 36, except that-allowance must be made between the two rolls of-toweling ,14 and 16for a portion of the jtoweling to hang exposed under the cabinetfin a loop 51.; Only the toweling' which constitutes the front half of the loop 51 is used for wiping, and the measured service consists of thisfront half, although there is nothingto preventthe userin drying himself, to continuously withdrawall of thecleantoweling,

"Y :When the last of the roll of clean toweling' i nism is used.

Even when'the cabinet is equipped wit this automatic take-up mechanism,it maybe disregarded if, for any reason, it is not clesired, and the toweling inserted and used just as ifthe mechanism were not there, leaving a loop 51 hanging below the cabinet. i

' I claim as my invention:

1. A towel cabinet comprising an outer frame and an'inner case'having aforward and backward sliding movement, the side walls of said inner case having substantially horizontal slots therein, a bar extending across said inner case and having its end portions projecting through said slotsand fitting within holes provided in; said outer frame, said inner case being'free to slide on said barand being limited'in its forward and backward movement by said bar, the lower portion of said inner case having a support-for a towel supply, a driver roll mounted in said inner case above-said towel supply and over which a 'web of clean towel may be stretched from said supply, a door for the front of said outerframe, an opening being provided in the bottom of the cabinet through which the web of clean towel may be drawn for use.-

2. A towel cabinet comprising an outer frame and an inner case having a forward and backwardsliding movement, the side walls of said inner case having substantially horizontal slots therein. a removable bar estending across saidinner case and having its end portions projecting through said slots and fitting within holes providedin said outer frame, said inner case being free to slide on saidbar and being limited in its forward and backward movement by said-bar, the lower portion of said inner case having a supportfor" a towel supply, a driver roll between said guide rolls and under which towel supply in its lower portion, instrumentalities for feeding the towel outwardly from the cabinet,a wall separating the towel supply from the rear'wall of the cabinet to form a narrow vertical gap, the bottom of the cabinet having an openingleading to said gap, guide rolls mounted in said cabinet above saidv wall and over which the web of soiled towel carried upwardly through said opening may be stretched, a winding stick mounted in said cabinet abovesaid guide rolls, a drivenroll mounted for contact with the convolutions of the towel web on said winding stick, a traveler extending across the cabinet and having vertical guides in the side walls thereof extending from the bottom of said cabinet to a point above and in the rear of said dri on roll, said traveler being adapted to contactwith the towel web between said guide rolls and exert a downward pull thereon to draw the towel in to the cabinet, and flexible means connected to said traveler and extending to the top of the cabinet for'raising'said traveler and holding it in its upper nonworking position.

CHARLES w; THOMPSON.

mounted in said inner case abovesaid slots near said bar and rearwardly thereof and whereto the web of clean towel may be stretched from said supply, the bottom ofsaid case having an opening through which the web of towel may depend, the relative position of said bar and driver roll being such that a web may be held by said bar incontact with said driver roll. 7

3. Atowel cabinet having a support for a towel supply in its lower portion, instrumen talities for feeding the-towel outwardly from the cabinet, a wall separating the towel sup ply from the rear wall of the cabinet to form a narrow vertical gap, the bottom of the cabinet having an opening leading to said gap, guiderolls mounted in said cabinet above said wall and over which the web of soiled towel carried upwardly through said opening may be stretched, a winding stick mounted in said cabinet above said guide rolls, a driven roll mounted for contact with the 'convolutions of the towel web on said winding stick, a traveler having a vertical movement insaid gap n u u

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