US2118627A - Paper towel dispensing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

May 24, 1938. I F. G. STEINER I 2,

PAPER TOWEL DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed April 26, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 I [rm/en 07f EPA/w GJTE/NER ATTOENEY:

y 1938. F. G. STEINER 2,118,627

PAPER TOWEL DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed April 26, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 20 I 20 /3o 3 v I zz 22 23 25 23 -May 24, 1938. STEINEYR 2,118,627

PAPER TOWEL DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed April 26, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 [kl/67112407 fi'cwA/K G. STE/NEE ATTOENE VJ May 24, 1938. F. G. STEINER PAPER TOWEL: DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed April 26, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 jnvemfo FeAA/K 6572/5/52 ATTOB E Y5 Patented May 24, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Frank G. Steiner, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Steiner Sales Company, Salt Lake City, Utah, a corporation of Utah Application April 26,

' 3 Claims.

This invention relates to a mechanism for dispensing paper towels of the inter-folded type wherein the pulling out of one towel pulls the end of the next towel into an accessible position.

The invention includes features, some of which are applicable for the dispensing of other kinds or types of paper toweling.

The preferred embodiment of the invention shown herein includes means for preventing quick successive operations of the feeding mechanism, thus making it necessary for the user to wait for some predetermined time period before he can obtain a second towel. By this means, the number of towels used is substantially reduced and great economic gain is made.

Features of the invention include: the downfeed and delivery of the towels for access from the bottom of the cabinet: the incorporation of friction-reducing means in the towel supply support; the arrangement of the feed-roll-separating and stop mechanism; and. the details of construction of the same and the broader ideas of means inherent in the disclosure.

Objects, features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description of the drawings forming a part of this application, and in said drawings: a

Figure 1 is a front sectional elevation viewing the mechanism as when the door is removed and with the timer and stop mechanism positioned as in Figure 5;

Figure 2 is a vertical transverse section on line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 with the 35 mechanism positioned as after a feeding operation, and with a towel so positioned as to be accessible to the user, and with the timer and stop mechanism positioned as in Figure 4;

Figure 4 is a vertical transverse section on line 40 4-4 of Figure 1, showing the timer stop mechanism positioned as immediately after towel delivery and withdrawal;

Figure 5 shows in full lines the timing and stop mechanism positioned as at the end of the 45 timing period, and shows, in dot-and-dash lines, the position of the stop arm and timer control link as during the feeding operation;

Figure 6 is a plan section on line 6-6 of Figure l, with the parts positioned as in Figure 4;

Figure '7 is a vertical section on .line 'l-'l of Figure 6 showing the means acting promptly after feeding to prevent reverse motion of the feeding means; and

Figure 8 is a section similar to Figure 7 but 55 showing the stop armand its pawl positioned as 1935, Serial No. 18,397

just before the pawl assumes the position of Figure '7;

The drawings show the, at present, preferred embodiment of the invention, but the invention is not entirely limited to the details shown.

In the drawings, numeral I indicates the casing or cabinet which has a door 2 hinged at its bottom, as at 3, to the bottom of the casing. A suitable lock is shown at 4. Within the cabinet are arranged two plates respectively indicated 10 Ill-4i, said plates being spaced from the end walls of the cabinet and being suitably secured as at I2--i3 to the walls of the cabinet. The back wall I4 has inverted keyhole slots I5 adapted. to be engaged with hooks on the wall to sup- 15 port the cabinet.

The towel supply chamber is defined by the plates Ill-i I, the rear wall It, the door 2 and a pair of plates, see Figures 2 and 6, the members of which are respectively generally indicated at l8-l9. These plates form the bottomof the towel supply chamber, and the pile of towels is supported upon them. Each plate has a flat portion 20 provided with a plurality of transverse, spaced, relatively narrow, upwardly bulging portions ii. The plate is bent downwardly as at 22, then upwardly curved as at 23 and then is bent to provide a horizontal portion 24, spaced below the portion 23. The plate is then bent upon itself to provide a smooth rounded portion 25, is then arched outwardly as at 26, and ends in a relatively flat, inwardly directed portion 21, the lower longitudinal edge of which is slightly spaced from the periphery of one of the feed rolls. These plates have down-turned flanges which are 5 suitably secured to the plates Ill and H by means generally indicated at 3|].

The plates l8 and I9 are substantially identical in figuration but are arranged as rights and lefts, with their portions 25 and 2'! spaced to provide a downwardly leading throat delivering to the feed rolls. The bottom-most sheets of the supply of paper rest on the apices of the elements 2| and 23, and have, so to speak, a bridging relation with these elements. Inasmuch as there are only line contacts between the elements 2| and 23 and the paper, withdrawal friction is reduced to the minimum. For clearness, the lowermost sheets have been difierentiated by making one solid black, defining others by two lines only, and others by two lines, plus stippling.

The rounded portions 25 are spaced from one another at each side of a vertical mid-line passing between the rolls, andthe rolls are respecma indicated at 1 I42. Referring to Figure 1: Roll ll has a shaft a which is iournaled in and passes laterally beyond the side plates l and ll.

One end of this shaft extends through the outer wall. of the casing and has attached thereto a suitable operating crank II. The roll 32 has a shaft 85 which is journaied in horizontal slots 81 of the plates II and i I. By this arrangement, the roll 32 can move toward and away from the roll II, that is to feeding and non-feeding positions. Normally, the bottom-most portion 40 of the sheet lies between the spaced mils as shown in Figure 2 so that when the rolls are brought together and rotated, this portion ll is brought to the accessible position shown in Figure 3 while a corresponding portion ll of the next sheet is arms, arm 4 for example, is also a feature of this invention. The mechanism includes a small stop arm OI, see Figures 1, 4, 5 and 6, having pivoted thereto as at II, a link 02 slotted as at ll. Through the slot slidably passes a pin or projection ll of a connection II. This connection is slidably held at its upper and lower portions in brackets respectively indicated "41. The connection has a laterally bent portion II providing clearance for the arm ll only at the end of a timing operation, see Figure 5, and said connection at its upper end has spaced lateral extensions II engaged with a head 12 of a piston stem I3 of a piston timer l4. The inner construction of this timer is not shown. It will be understood, however, that when the piston is pushed to the posibrought to the position shown in Figure 3 in a tion shown in Figure 4, it automatically travels position to be fed by a subsequent operation of the feed rolls. It is, of course, understood that as one sheet is fed outwardly, another sheet is drawn to feeding position.

Below the rolls is a throat into and through .which the fed towel is delivered. This throat is formed by a pair of spaced plates 18 leading to an opening I! in the bottom wall of the casing. A feature of the invention is the downward delivery of the sheets to a point outside of and below the cabinet for access by the user. The throat-forming plates are held by suitable fastening means to the plates II and II and, of course, extend from one plate to the other.

An important feature of the invention is the construction of the combined stop and feed roll control mechanism now to be described. Referring first to Figures 6, '7 and 8: The shaft 33 is provided at opposite ends with arms respectively designated 0 and 44 adapted to engage the shaft 80 of the roll I! and'move it in the slots away from the friction surface 4! of the roll II, and to temporarily releasably lock the roll ll against further motion, as well as to hold the roll 32 in non-feeding position. Each arm 43 and 44, therefore, has in its periphery a depression or notch ll, see Figure 8, adapted to receive the shaft 35, as shown in Figures 4, 5, 6 and 7. The shaft 85 is urged toward the roll II by means of springs, one at each end of the shaft, and attached as at to the plates ll and II. One arm of each spring engages a stop ll, and the other arm passes through an opening in a clip 50 circumscribing the shaft 85. The spring, of course, is coiled, as shown in Figure 6, at Ii and tends to press the shaft 35 toward the roll ii. The clip 50 is slotted as at 52, so that the arms 43 and 44 can directly engage the ends of shaft ll.

Referring to Figure '1: In order to prevent reverse rotation of the rolls at the end of each feeding operation, a pawl 55 is provided and is arranged as shown in Figures 7 and 8, and pivoted at 55 to the plate II. In Figure 7, the pawl is positioned to prevent rotation of the arm 43 in a direction opposite to that of the arrow. In Figure 8, the pawl is being pushed by the arm to a position from which it will swing to the position of Figure 7. Figure 7 shows the separated nonfeeding position of the rolls, and Figure 8 shows the rolls in feeding position but just about to be moved from feeding position as the arm 43 swings to bring its notch in releasably locked engagement with the shaft 36. Each arm 44 has a cam surface II which leads to the depression or notch 45 and gradually pushes the shaft It outwardly to its non-feeding position.

The arrangement of a stop arm, now to be described, on the shaft II, adjacent one of the downwardly at a regulated rate to the position shown in Figure 5, thus performing the timing operation. There is no intention to be limited to the kind of timer.

when the parts are positioned as in Figure 4, the stop arm I! is so related to the vertical portion ll of the link that the shaft 38 cannot be turned in the direction of the arrow because the stop arm immediately engages the part II. At the end of the timing period, the off-set portion 10 of the connection is brought into opposition to the part so that the latter is free to make a complete revolution in counterclockwise direction from the position shown in Figure 5, again to that position thus permitting a feeding operation, which is accomplished herein by a single rotation of the shaft 33. During this operation, the roll 32 moves to feeding position, is operated for feeding and is moved again to its spaced nonfeeding position.

rat on Assume the parts of the machine to be positioned as shown in Figures 2 and 5. On rotation of the shaft by means of the crank 35 in counterclockwise direction, as viewed in Figure 5, thearm 5. is moved and the link 5! is drawn upwardly correspondingly moving the connection ll upwardly. The full upward movement of the connection to set the timer is made at about the end of a half revolution of the shaft 33, that is when the parts assume the dot-and-dash line position shown in Figure 5. On completion of the feeding rotation of the shaft to-the position shown in Figure 4, the link assumes the position shown in that figure and the timer is thus free to act and move downwardly merely swinging the link in clockwise direction. with the parts positioned as in Figure 4, the shaft cannot be turned because of the relation of the stop 50 to the part II of the connection 55. At the end of the timing period, however, as shown in Figure 5, the stop arm is free to rotate because the ofi-set portion II is opposed to it. On slight initial movement of the shaft a from the position in Figure 5, the arms l3, 44 move to release the roll 32, which immediately moves to feeding position so that feeding occurs while the shaft 33 continues its motion. It will, of course, be understood that each time a towel is moved to position for access by the user, it pulls the end of the next towel between the rolls in position to be fed at the next operation of the machine.

There is no intention to be entirely limited to the use of any particular number of feed rolls, nor'indeed to the use of rolls at all, because other modes of feeding might be employed. I believe myself the first to separately and successively deliver ready-cut sheets of paper toweling from a stack, bundle, pile or assembly, in combination with means for delaying delivery of a second towel for a predetermined time interval, by the use of a timer.

I claim as my invention:

1. A mechanism for dispensing paper towels o the inter-folded type including first and second feed rolls and shafts therefor, between which rolls the end of the bottom-most sheet of a pile of inter-folded towels normally lies and between which the end of the following towel is pulled when the forward towel is withdrawn, means yieldably holding the second roll against the first, a pair of arms one on each end of the shaft of the first roll and engageable with the shaft of the second roll to move the second roll away from the first and releasably hold it in nonfeeding position, a. stop mechanism including a stop arm also carried by the shaft of the first roll, said stop arm and pair of holding arms being so related that the holding arms assume holding position by the time the stop arm reaches stop position.

2. A mechanism for dispensing towels having feeding means including a roll, a stop mechanism controlling and controlled by the roll, including a stop arm controlled by the roll, timer means, which is set and thereafter automatically performs its timing function, a setting connection out of which said stop arm can move at the end 1 of the timing operation, to again permit operation of the roll.

3. A mechanism for dispensing paper inciuding a measuring roll, and a pinch roll therefor, Journaled to be moved away from the measuring roll to release the paper for withdrawal, means yieldably holding the pinch roll against the measuring roll, a stop mechanism controlled by and controlling the measuring roll including a stop arm on the measuring roll, and means also on the measuring roll for moving the pinch roll away from the measuring roll and for releasably holding the same, including arms which engage the journallng elements of said pinch roll, said arms being so angularly related to the stop arm as to cause the pinch roll to be moved away from the measuring roll as the stop arm approaches stop position and to be so held while the stop arm remains at stop position.

FRANK G. STEINER.

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