US2248193A

US2248193A - Towel dispensing apparatus

Info

Publication number: US2248193A
Application number: US276518A
Authority: US
Inventors: Laurence L Price; Maurice E Maltby
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1939-05-31
Filing date: 1939-05-31
Publication date: 1941-07-08
Anticipated expiration: 1958-07-08

Description

July 8, 1941. PR|E E 2,248,193

TOWEL DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed May 31, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VENT 0R5 [105505 Z. Pe/oz WWML ATTORNEY 5 y 1941. L. L. PRICE ET AL 2 81 TOWEL DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed Ma 31, 1939 s Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS l/mef/vofi. fie/ai BY Mae/cf Mzrir ATTORNEYS July 8, 1941.

s Shets-Sheet s INVENTORS Awei/vcfz. fle/ai Mae/0i if fihzrir ATTORNEYS Patented July 8, 1941 TOWEL DISPENSING APPARATUS Laurence L. Price, Los Angeles, and Maurice E.

Maltby, Bell, Calif.

Application. May 31, 1939, Serial No. 276,518

11 Claims.

This inventio-nrelates to improvements in towel dispensing devices. It may be considered as an improvement over the disclosure set forth in our prior United-States- Patent No.- 2,135,767, issued November 8, 1938.

In the patent above referred to there is a towel dispensing apparatus wherein a rotary stop rotates and the toweling is dispensed. Arranged in the path-of the rotary stopis a lever connected to a dashpot so that as-the rotary stop rotates'thedashpot is actuated or set. Movement of thelever by the rotary stop shifts an engageable stop'into thepathof the rotary stop so as to be engageable therewith so that when the two stops engage they remain engaged to arrest further discharge of toweling until a predetermined period of time elapses determined by the dashpot returning to normal position. In that construction the engageable stop being integral with the-lever is sointimately connected with the time delay mechanism, namely the dashpot and its associated structure, that pulling on the toweling is capable in some instances of influencing or affecting the rate of operating of the dashpot. In that construction the same means which urges thedashpot to return to normal position serves to shift the engageable stop out. of the pathofthe rotary stop.

It is. an object of the present invention to provide a towehdispensing apparatus wherein the engageable stop movesout of thepath of the rotary stop by gravity, or at least is so independent of the time delay mechanism that forces imposed thereon by the movable stop will not affect or influence the rate of operation of the time delay mechanism. In this way, the means utilized to urge the time delay mechanism to return to normalposition does not operate upon the engageable stop to move it out of the-path of the rotary stop.

Another object of theinventionis to provide an improved-simple time delay mechanism controlling the disengagement ofthe rotary and engageable stops. When dashpots, vacuum cups, and the like are employed the rate of operation of the time delay mechanism is somewhat affected by atmospheric conditions. Thus, the rate of operation of dashpots and vacuumcups and like devices is somewhat aiiected by the humidity of the air and temperature. The present invention contemplates a time delay-mechanism which will not have its timing affected by these changing atmospheric conditions.

Another object of the invention is to provide a towel dispensing apparatus of such a design as to be capable'of simultaneously dispensing toweling from two supply rolls over thesamemeasuring roll. Devices of this character are serviced from time to time and if-thesupply roll is large- 'I ly exhaustedandreplaced by a new supply roll,

the largely exhaused roll has heretofore-usually beenwasted. On the other hand, if the partially exhausted supply roll is left in the machine to be completely exhausted before replacing it with a new supply roll there is danger of them'achine remaining exhausted for some time before the machine is againserviced and a new supply roll installed. By means of the present-invention, when a supply roll has been largely exhausted it may be replaced by a new supply roll and the remainder of the old roll caused to feed and dispense toweling over the samemeaSuring roll, thus delivering two towels until the largely exhausted supply roll is completely exhausted. Thereafter, toweling isdispensed onlyfrom the supply roll last installed in the machinedelivering onetowelat a time.- 7

A further object of the invention is'to provide a towel dispensing apparatus wherein there is a measuring roll over which toweling from a supply roll is trained, the supply roll being supported on relatively narrow spaced supporting rails which slope toward themeasuring r011 so that the supplyroll will be normally urged against the measuring roll -in such a -manner that there will be a minimum amount of fric-. tion retarding rotation-of thesupplyroll as the toweling is withdrawn therefrom.

Still another objectof the invention is toprovide a towel dispensing apparatus having a measuring roll over which the toweling from a supply roll is trained which is enclosed within a housing and which has a time delay mechanism controlling the rate of consecutive operations, the measuring roll being equipped with a disc or dial protrudingthrough awall of the housing enabling it to be manually operated.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, which will be made manifest in the following detailed description andspecifically pointed out in the appended. claims; reference is had to the accompanying drawings for an illustrative embodiment of the invention, wherein:

Figure 1 is a vertical section through the'improved towel dispensing apparatus taken substantially through the inside of the cover ofthe machine or substantially upon the line ll upon Fig. 4 in the direction indicated;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the exterior of the machine; 7

Fig. 3 is a partial view in perspective illustrating a mechanism that may be optionally employed to render the machine automatic in the sense that the beginning of the succeeding towel will be automatically projected from the machine when the machine is released and is ready for subsequent operation;

Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken substantially upon the line 4-4 upon Fig. 1 in the direction indicated, illustrating the parts in normal position wherein the machine has cleared or released and is ready for a subsequent operation;

Fig. 5 is a partial view illustrating the mechanism shown in Fig. 4, but in a position wherein the time delay means is partially set by the rotary stop;

Fig. 6 is a View similar to Fig. 4 but illustrating the time delay means as having been set by the rotary stop;

Fig. 7 is a partial view showing the construction illustrated in Fig. 6, but showing the parts in that position wherein the time delay means is functioning and the stops are in engagement to arrest the further discharge of toweling prior to the partsreturning to the position shown in Fig. 4; and

Figs. 8 and 9 are partial views illustrating the details of construction and operation of the pallet and escapement teeth forming the time delay mechanism.

Referring to the accompanying drawings wherein similar reference characters designate similar parts throughout, the machine is enclosed within a suitable housing providing a bottom I0, end walls II and I2, and a back wall l3. The housing is completed by means of a cover which provides a top I4 and a front wall IE on which may be mounted a mirror I6. The cover is hingedly connected to the top of the back wall as by a hinge I1. Intermediate its ends the bottom I is spaced from the bottom of the front wall l to form a slot for the discharge of toweling.

' Within the housing and on the bottom l0 there are two standards l8 and I9, these being arranged adjacent the end walls II and I2 respectively. Against the opposed faces of these standards there are downwardly and forwardly curved supporting rails 20 which are angular in crosssection and which have horizontal flanges supporting a supply roll of toweling such as paper toweling indicated at 2|. The inclination of these rails causes the supply roll to be normally urged against a measuring roll 22. The width of the flanges of the rails is quite narrow so as to afford a minimum frictional contact with the bottom of the supply roll which would otherwise retard its rotation on unwinding the toweling therefrom. The free end of the roll 2| is trained over the measuring roll 22 and between the measuring roll and a follower roll 23. The

rolls

22 and 23 are rotatably mounted between the standards l8 and I9, the ends of the follower roll extending through small slots therein and being urged toward the measuring roll by means of coil springs 24. The paper toweling on passing between

rolls

22 and 23, passes adjacent a cutter or severing member 25 mounted between the standards and then is guided by means of a curved uide 26 toward the slot in the bottom l0 immediately behind the bottom edge of front wall IS. The measuring roll has mounted on one end thereof in the preferred form of construction a disc or dial 21, a portion of which projects through a slot 28 in the front wall l5 so that the measuring roll may be manually rotated thereby. The other end of the measuring roll is equipped with a pinion 29 which meshes with a gear 30. The gear 3|] is rotatably mounted on the outer side of standard I8 and has struck out from its body a stop 3| constituting the rotary stop of the device which rotates as the toweling is withdrawn by the measuring roll. While the ratio of the pinion 29 to gear 30 may vary, a suitable gear ratio employed is 1:2.

An engageable stop 32 is formed on a lever or cam follower 33 which is pivoted on the outer side of the standard l8 as at 34. This lever or cam follower is designed to be lifted so that its engageable stop 32 may be lifted into the path of the rotary stop 3| as indicated in Fig. 7. However, when released, the lever or cam follower 33 will fall by gravity from the position shown in Fig. 7 into the position shown in Fig. 4 to clear the stops, or in other words, to lower the engageable stop 32 out of the path of the rotary stop 3| It will be noted that with this arrangement any forces imparted by the rotary stop 3| against the engageable stop 32 will be merely transmitted thereby to pivot 34 and will not be transmitted to the time delay mechanism to influence or affect its operation.

The time delay mechanism comprises a pallet shifting or lifting member 35 pivoted at 36 on the outside of standard I8 and, an escapement tooth carrying member 31 which is pivotally mounted on a standard 38 as by a pivot 39. The pallet shifting or lifting member 35 has an arcuate slot 40 formed therein through which a small stud 4| extends so as to guide the shifting or lifting movement of the pallet carrying member. The pallet carrying member has an outwardly extending arm 42 and a small spindle 43 connects the body of the pallet shifting member with the free end of this arm. This spindle serves to rotatably mount a rotary or oscillatory pendulum 44.

A portion of the spindle 43 is cut away as indicated in Figs. 8 and 9, and opposite this cutaway portion the pendulum carries a. small pin 45. The spindle 43 and the pin 45, together constitute a type of pallet rigid with the rotary pendulum 44 and which is engageable with escapement teeth 46 formed on the topof the escapement tooth carrying member 31.

The lower end of the pallet lifting or shifting member 35 provides a finger 41 normally arranged in the path of the rotary stop 3| so as to be capable of being engaged thereby and lifted. Lifting of the finger serves to lift or shift the pallet carrying member 35 about its pivot 35 to lift the pallet formed by spindle 43 and pin 45 out of engagement with the escapement teeth 46. Adjacent this finger the bottom edge of the pallet lifting member is arcuately formed as indicated at 48, radius of curvature of this portion being that of the path of rotary stop 3|.

The escapement teeth 46 are shaped approximately in the manner illustrated. The escapement tooth carrying member 31 has an adjustable part 49 carried thereby, the position of which is adjusted by means of a bolt 50 slidable through a slot 5|. The adjustable part 49 on the escapement tooth carrying member 31 is also normally interposed in the path of the rotary stop 3|. However, its position is such that the adjustable member 49 is engaged or encountered by the rotary stop 3| shortly after the finger 41 is engaged thereby. The escapement tooth carrying member has rigid therewith a cam 52 on if th'bolt 50 is shifted to the left-hand endof which the lever or cam follower 33 rests. The escapement tooth carrying member is urged into a normal position in a clockwise direction as illustrated in Fig. 4' against a stop 53 by means of a coil tension spring 54. A spring 55 mounted on the standard 3 engages. the top of the pallet shifting member 35v and urges it into its lowermost position- The. operation of the above-described construction is as follows.

wherein the lever or cam follower 33 is in its lowermost position wherein the engageable stop 32' clears the rotary stop 3 I In this position-the apparatus is in. condition for subsequent operation.

Onrotating the measuring roll 22 eithermanually by means of the disc or dial 21 or by pulling on the free end of thetoweling, the rotary stop 3| on the gear 30 is rotated. Stop 3| first passes over the top of stop 32 and as rotation continues the rotary stop 3| encountersthe end of finger 4T lifting the pallet carrying member 35 and causing it toswing a short distance in a counterclockwise direction about its pivot 36. This lifts the pallet formed by spindle 43 and pin 45 clear of the escapement teeth 46. As the rotary stop 3| remains in contact with the arcuate edge 48 the pallet shifting member is held in this elevated position against the action of spring 55 until after the escapement tooth carrying member 31 has been shifted. Fig. illustrates the pallet shifting member as having been lifted and the escapement tooth carrying member 3! about to be shifted by the rotary stop engaging the adjustable member 49 thereof. The continued rotation of the rotary stop shifts the'escapeme'nt tooth carrying member 31 from the position shown in Fig. 5 to the position shown in Fig. 6. In this position, as shown in Fig. 6, the rotary stop 3| has just released both the pallet shifting member and the escapement tooth carrying member allowing the pallet formed by spindle 43 and pin 45 to drop against one of the escapement teeth 46. The arrangement of the pallet on the pendulum is such as to cause the pendulum to oscillate about spindle'43 as a center while the escapementtooth carrying member 31 is being returned to its initial position by spring 54. The operation of the pendulum is of course constant under a given set of conditions and is unaffected by temperature or humidity of the atmosphere. The pallet works its way, tooth by tooth, across the escapement teeth operating the pendulum while the escapement tooth carrying member 31 is returned to its initial position as shown in Fig. 4, thus causing a time delay in the return of the escapement tooth carrying member 3! and its cam 52. U

When the escapement tooth carrying member 31 is moved from its initial position shown in Fig. 4, to the position shown in Fig. 6, the cam 52 lifts the lever orcam follower 33 interposing the engageable stop 32 in the path of the rotary stop 3|. Stop 32 remains in this elevated position until the time interval has passed to return the escapement tooth carrying member 31 to theinitial position when lever or cam follower 33 drops by gravity, thus clearing stop 32 from the path of rotary stop 3| and the machine is thus ready for a subsequent operation. 7

By adjusting the position of the adjustable member 43, the length of stroke or length of shifting of the escapement tooth carrying member by the rotary stop 3| can be varied. Thus,

I Fig. :4 illustratesthe parts in normal position.

' outer side of the disc'2l.

the slot 5| the escapement tooth carrying member 31. will be shifted only a few teeth per operation. The time delay under such circumstances will be relatively short in returning it to its initial position. If the adjustable member 49 is. shifted in the opposite direction the stroke of the escapement tooth carrying member will be much greater and. consequently, when the pallet is re-deposited on the escapement teeth it will have to release a much larger number of teeth-in order to permit return to the initial position, and consequently the time involved in returning to the initial position will be considerably greater. Thus by adjusting member 49 the time interval between which successive withdrawals of toweling is permissible can be adjusted. I

Itwill of course be understood that when stops 3| and 32 engage, further withdrawal of toweling is arrested. The extended length of toweling may be severed by pulling it against the severing member 25. Upon the apparatus returning to its normal position, that'is upon the construction moving from the position shown in Fig. '7 to the position'shown in Fig. 4 wherein the lever or cam follower 33 merely drops by gravity upon rotation of the cam 52, the machine is in condition for subsequent operation. This may be accomplished by manually rotating the dial or disc 21. v The construction shown in Fig. 3 may be 0ptionally employed on the machine to render it somewhat automatic in its operation. This construction comprises a pin 21 mounted on the This pin is so arranged that when stops 3| and 32 are in engagement it is just beyond center, or in other words, just beyond a vertical line extending through the axis of rotation of the disc 2? and the measuring, roll on which it is mounted. The pin operates'in a bifurcation 55 on a pivoted bracket 51 which is urged downwardly by means of a spring 58. By this construction, when stops 3| and 32 disengage or clear on the mechanism shifting from the position shown in Fig. '7 to the position shown in Fig. l, the spring 58 can become effective to ad-. Vance the measuring roll slightly less than onehalf of a revolution. This causes the forward edge of the next succeeding length of toweling to be automatically advanced through the slot so as to be partially extended from the machine and to permit its being pulled to withdraw the next succeeding towel. It will be understood'that during rotation of the measuring roll the bracket 51 is merely operated by pin 2T but when the stops 3| and 32 engage the pin 21 is left in its uppermost position and the spring 58 placed under sufiicient tension to cause this advancement.

Towel dispensing machines of this character are serviced from time to time to replace or supply supply rolls of toweling indicated at 2|. It not infrequently occurs that at the time of servicing, the supply roll 2| is largely exhausted, there remaining thereon an insuflicient number of towels to last until the next servicing. If the remaining portion of the roll is allowed to remain in the machine, the machine will either have to be closely watched in order to supply a new supply roll when the previous roll becomes exhausted, or the remainder of the previous roll will have to be taken out of the machine and largely Wasted or else rewound to form a new supply roll.

In the bottom of the machine we provided a partition 59 which forms a pocket 60 designed to receive the remainder of a largely exhausted supply roll indicated at 21a. The free end of this largely exhausted roll is trained over the measuring roll 22 along with the free end of the supply roll 2| and while towels remain on roll 2 la there are simultaneously delivered by the machine two thicknesses of toweling. Thus, as long as towels remain on roll 2Ia the machine will simultaneously deliver two towels per operation. In this way it is possible to advantageously use up the remaining portions of supply rolls, it being re garded that it is more advantageous to deliver to the user an additional towel per operation than to either waste or rewind the paper toweling on the remainder of roll 2 la. The bracket or partition 59 merely serves to retain the roll 2la in proper position within the machine.

From the above-described construction will be appreciated that a novel and advantageous towel dispensing machine has been devised wherein the engageable stop that is engaged by the movable stop 3| moves out of the path of the movable stop by gravity and is so arranged that it does not influence or affect the time delay mechanism regardless of forces imposed thereon by the engagement of the rotary stop 3| therewith. Also, the time delay mechanism employed herein is of such construction that its parts can be readily manufactured from metal stampings, and it will be unaffected by changes in atmospheric conditions such as temperature and humidity. A given setting of the adjustable member 49 will require a predetermined length of time between successive operations of the machine and this time will not be affected or changed by changes of atmospheric conditions. The machine isalso advantageous in that it makes provision for using up, instead of wasting, small portions of supply rolls of toweling.

Various changes may be made in the details of construction without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A towel dispensing apparatus having time delay means comprising a pendulum controlled pallet, escapement teeth engageable therewith and urged relatively thereto, stop means arresting the discharge of toweling operable by the escapement teeth, and means operable by the withdrawal of toweling for causing the pallet to engage the escapement teeth at a point requiring a predetermined time interval to elapse before the stop means is released.

2. A towel dispensing apparatus having stop means for arresting the discharge of toweling after a predetermined quantity has been withdrawn, time delay means for causing the stop means to release to permit the further withdrawal of toweling after an elapse of time comprising a pendulum controlled pallet, escapement teeth engageable therewith operable to cause the stop means to arrest but normally urged into a position to cause the stop means to release, and means operable by the discharge of toweling to cause the escapement teeth ,to engage the pallet at such a position as to cause the elapse of a predetermined interval before the stop means releases.

3. A towel dispensing apparatus comprising a rotary stop rotatable as the toweling is dispensed, an engageable stop movable into and out of the path of the rotary stop, means including escapement teeth for moving the engageable stop into the path of the rotary stop but normally permitting it to move out of the path, a pallet and means operable by the rotary stop for causing the escapement teeth to engage the pallet and cause a time delay between the engagement of the rotary and engageable stops and the disengagement thereof.

4. A towel dispensing apparatus comprising a rotary stop rotatable as the toweling is dispensed, an engageab-le stop movable into and out of the path of the rotary stop, a pallet, escapement teeth engageable with the pallet, and means operable by the rotary stop' for shifting the pallet, moving the escapement teeth thereunder and reengaging the pallet and escapement teeth to cause a time delay in the escapement teeth returning to normal position, and means operable by the escapement teeth returning to normal position for allowing the engageable stop to move out of the path of the rotary stop.

5. A towel dispensing apparatus comprising a rotary stop rotatable as the toweling is dispensed, an engageable stop movable into and out of the path of the rotary stop, a pallet, means arranged in the path of the rotary stop for shifting the pallet, escapement teeth engageable by the pallet and urged into a normal position, means engageable by the rotary stop for shifting the escapement teeth from the normal position to a position wherein they may be reengaged by the pallet to cause a time delay in the escapement teeth returning to normal, and means operable by the escapement teeth being moved from normal position for moving the engageable stop into the path of the rotary stop and upon returning to normal position allowing the engageable stop to move from said path.

6. A towel dispensing apparatus comprising a rotary stop rotatable as the toweling is dispensed, an engageable stop movable into and out of the path of the rotary stop, a pallet, means arranged in the path of the rotary stop for shifting the pallet, escapement teeth engageable by the pallet and urged into a normal position, means engageable by the rotary stop for shifting the escapement teeth from the normal position to a position wherein they may be reengaged by the pallet to cause a time delay in the escapement teeth returning to normal, said means being adjustable so that the amount of displacement of the escapement teeth from normal position may be varied, and means operable by the escapement teeth being moved from normal position for moving the engageable stop into the path of the rotary stop and upon returning to normal position allowing the engageable stop to move from said path.

'7. A towel dispensing apparatus having a rotary stop rotatable as the toweling is dispensed, pallet shifting means having a portion normally in the path of the rotary stop, a pallet carried 'thereby, a rotary pendulum associated with the pallet, escapement teeth engageable with the pallet, means normallyinterposed in the path of the rotary stop for shifting the escapement teeth from their normal position to a position wherein they are engaged by the pallet and thus cause a time delay in returning to normal position, and an engageable stop movable by the shifting of the escapement teeth from normal position into the path of the rotary stop and allow it to move therefrom upon the escapement teeth returning to normal position.

8. A towel dispensing apparatus having a rotary stop rotatable as thetoweling is dispensed, pallet shifting means having a portion normally in the path of the rotary stop, a pallet carried thereby, a rotary pendulum associated with the pallet, escapement teeth engageable with the pallet, adjustable means normally interposed in the path of the rotary stop for shifting the escapement teeth from their normal position to a position wherein they are engaged by the pallet and thus cause a time delay in returning to normal position, and an engageable stop movable by the shifting of the escapement teeth from normal position into the path of the rotary stop and allow it to move therefrom upon the escapement teeth returning to normal position.

9. A towel dispensing apparatus having a rotary stop rotatable as the toweling is dispensed and a movable stop engageable therewith, means for causing the engageable stop to be moved into and out of the path of the rotary stop including escapement teeth, a pallet engageable therewith, pendulum means associated with the pallet, and means operable by the rotary stop for disengaging the pallet from the escapement teeth, shifting the escapement teeth with respect thereto and reestablishing engagement between the pallet and the escapement teeth.

10. A towel dispensing apparatus having a rotary stop rotatable as the toweling is dispensed, and. an engageable stop engageable therewith to arrest withdrawal of toweling, and pendulum controlled means for moving the engageable stop into and out of the path of the rotary means.

11. A towel dispensing apparatus having a rotary stop rotatable as the toweling is dispensed, an engageable stop engageable therewith to arrest withdrawal of toweling, pendulum controlled means for moving the engageable stop into and out of the path of the rotary means, and means for varying the length of time of operation of the pendulum means so that the timing of movements of the engageable stop may be varied.

LAURENCE L. PRICE. MAURICE E. MALTBY.