US3838792A

US3838792A - Dispenser for tubular cylindrical articles, especially tapered hair rollers

Info

Publication number: US3838792A
Application number: US00347652A
Authority: US
Inventors: M Porter
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1971-06-30
Filing date: 1973-04-04
Publication date: 1974-10-01
Anticipated expiration: 1991-10-01

Abstract

The specification discloses a dispenser for tubular articles, especially hair rollers, and more particularly still, for tapered hair rollers. The dispenser comprises a frame having a plurality of cylindrical passages extending therethrough from top to bottom in side to side relation. Each passage is adapted for receiving the hair rollers at the top, small end down, so the rollers will nest in the passages while, at the bottom of each passage, a retaining means is provided for engaging the lowermost one of the rollers, so that the rollers can be withdrawn from the dispenser one at a time.

Description

United States Patent 1191 Porter Oct. 1, 1974 1 DISPENSER FOR TUBULAR CYLINDRICAL 3,048,181 8/1962 Quinn 133/2 ARTICLES, ESPECIALLY TAPERED HAIR 311L329 10965 y 22V308 X ROLLERS 3,254,804 6/1966 Grant 222/185 Rl5,958 12/1924 Ashton 312/ [76] Inventor: Michael V. Porter, 707 E. Walnut, FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS Kokomo, 1nd.

502,624 3/1939 Great Britain 221/310 [22] Filed: Apr. 4, 1973 [21] APP! N0: 347,652 Primary Examiner-Robert B. Reeves Assistant Examiner-Charles A. Marmor Related Appllcatlon Data Attorney, Agent, or FirmAlbert L. Jeffers; Roger M. [63] Continuation-impart of Ser. No. 158,489, June 30, Rickert 1971, abandoned.

[57] ABSTRACT 8 221/283 133; The Specification discloses a dispenser for tubular arti- [58] Field 01581151; 17581565, 310, 124, fi espicany rollers and Partlculafl? 221/123 311 92 282 285 0r tapered halr rollers. The d spenser comprlses a 222/185 frame havlng a plurality of cylmdrlcal passages extending therethrough from top to bottom in side to side relation. Each passage is adapted for receiving the [56] References cued hair rollers at the top, small end down, so the rollers UNITED STATES PATENTS will nest in the passages while, at the bottom of each 1,341,606 5/1920 Wilson 221/307 X passage, a retaining means is provided for engaging 15841517 9/ 1928 the lowermost one of the rollers, so that the rollers 11181321 5/1938 can be withdrawn from the dispenser one at a time. 2,323,841 7/1943 2,543,746 3/1951 8 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures murmur H v 3.888.792

S'EET30F4 JNVENTO MICHAEL V. PORTER DISPENSER FOR TUBULAR CYLINDRICAL ARTICLES, ESPECIALLY TAPERED HAIR ROLLERS The present application is a continuation-in-part application of Ser. No. 158,489; filed: June 30, 1971, and entitled: DISPENSER FOR TUBULAR CYLINDRI- CAL ARTICLES, ESPECIALLY TAPERED I-IAIR ROLLERS, which is now abandoned.

The present invention relates to a dispensing arrangement, especially a dispensing arrangement for tubular articles, and more particularly still, to a dispensing ar rangement for hair rollers.

Hair rollers are well known and are widely used by individuals and also by beauticians and the like. The rollers are used in substantial quantity, especially by beauticians, and it is a matter of considerable convenience for beauticians to have the rollers stored in a convenient and readily accessible manner.

With the foregoing in mind, the primary objective of the present invention is the provision of a dispensing arrangement for receiving tubular hair rollers which supports the rollers in a convenient readily accessible position and in such a manner that the rollers can be withdrawn from the dispenser one at a time when needed.

Another object is the provision of a dispensing arrangement of the nature referred to which will protect the rollers against being soiled or damaged.

Still another object is the provision of a dispenser of the nature referred to which is relatively inexpensive to construct and which can readily be opened up for cleaning when necessary.

A still further object of the present invention is the provision of a dispenser for hair rollers and the like which provides for a plurality of sizes of the rollers to be available for use.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon reference to the following detailed specification taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a dispenser arrangement according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial plan view partly broken away looking down on top of the dispenser.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary section indicated by line III- -III on FIG. 1 and drawn at enlarged scale.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view indicated by line IVIV on FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view showing how the dispensing arrangement can be provided with a retaining means to support the rollers in stacked relation in the passages or compartments therefor.

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of a modification adapted for wall mounting.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view looking in at the back of the modification of FIG. 6 showing the support elements provided for mounting the dispenser on a wall.

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the modification of FIGS. 6 and 7.

FIG. 9 is a plan view looking down on top of the bottom plate of an embodiment of the dispenser.

FIG. 10 shows the bottom plate of FIG. 9 in perspective.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION:

According to the present invention, the dispensing arrangement comprises a frame having cylindrical passages of different sizes extending from top to bottom and arranged in side by side relation. Advantageously, the frame consists of a molded body member having grooves, extending thereacross, and the passages are formed by a front cover plate mounted on the body member and confing the grooves on the open side thereof. The front cover member is preferably transparent so that the number of rollers in each passage or compartment can readily be observed.

The device is adapted for having supporting feet connected therewith and is also adapted for wall mounting. The rollers, which are preferably tapered, are inserted in the respective compartments or passages at the top, small end foremost, and nest in telescopic relation in the passages.

Each passage at the bottom has a yieldable retaining means so that the lowermost roller in each passage or compartment is supported with a portion thereof exposed, so that it can easily be grasped and withdrawn from the dispenser arrangement. The retaining means then engages the roller next above the said lowermost one and retains this roller and the others stacked thereon in the respective passage or compartment.

' DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring to the drawings somewhat more in detail, and in particular with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5, which illustrate a first modification of the present invention, the dispensing arrangement comprises a frame part 10 having a plurality of passages 12 extending therethrough from top wall 14 to bottom wall 16 and opening through both thereof. Each passage 12 is adapted for receiving a plurality of rollers 18 therein in stacked relation.

The rollers 18 taper inwardly toward one end and are inserted in the compartments, small end foremost, at the top, so that the rollers will stack in the compartments, as shown in FIG. 1. Near the lower end of each passage or compartment, retaining means is provided which engages the lowermost roller therein and supports this roller, as well as the other rollers which are stacked thereon, with the lowermost roller partially exposed, so that it can easily be grasped and withdrawn from the dispenser. When the lowermost roller is withdrawn from a passage or compartment, the retaining means supportingly engages the next roller thereabove.

The frame 10 in FIGS. 1 to 5 is provided with detachable legs or standards 20 on the opposite ends which may be detachably connected to the body part of the frame as by the T-shaped projections 22 on the end walls of the frame of the frame of the dispensing arrangement, which are receivable in slots 24 in the legs or standards 20.

As will be seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the frame of the device comprises a main body part .26, which may be a molding, for example, an injection molded member of high impact polystyrene, and is shaped so as to have grooves 28 therein opening toward one side of the body member. The body member may be formed with integral side walls 30 or the side walls may be attached to the body member after the molding thereof.

The body member is molded with, or is provided with, a top covering member 32, and there is, likewise, provided a body cover member 34, the latter being shown in FIG. 5. Each of the

cover members

32 and 34 is provided with apertures which register with the axes of the grooves 28 formed in the body member.

The body member is preferably also provided with a back wall 36 in the form of a planar member and a planar front wall 38 which is advantageously transparent and which is also, advantageously, readily removeable from the body member to expose the aforementioned grooves for cleaning.

Front cover or wall member 38 completes the formation of the passages or compartments by confining the groove 28 toward the front, and it is, therefore, advantageous for each groove to have the axis thereof spaced from front wall 38 a distance about equal to the radius of the respective groove.

As will be seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, the retaining means,

which holds the stacked rollers releasably in the respective passages or compartments therefor, may be in the form of a sheet of rubber-like material 40, mounted on top or bottom wall 34 and having apertures therein, registering with the apertures in the rubber plate but slightly smaller in diameter so as to engage the rollers in the respective compartment in the axial region between the opposite ends thereof.

A suitable region for engagement by the retaining means along the rollers is illustrated in FIG. 4, wherein it will be seen that about three-fourths of the lowermost roller illustrated therein is exposed.

FIG. 5 also indicates schematically the clearance between the lower end of the conical hair roller illustrated therein and the interference provided by the rubberlike retaining member 40.

Individual retaining means could be provided for each of the passages or compartments, and the single apertured rubber-like member 40, illustrated in FIG. 4, is merely exemplary.

The above described embodiment of the invention is characterized in the provision of supporting legs or standards which support the dispensing arrangement with the passages or compartments for the rollers extending in the upright direction and with the lower ends of the passages exposed and spaced from the horizontal surface on which the lower ends of legs rest.

It is convenient for the passages and compartments to provide for the storage of different numbers of rollers therein and, to this end, as will be seen in FIG. 1, the body part of the dispenser arrangement may taper inwardly toward one end.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 6 to 8, substantially the same arrangement is illustrated as above described but, in the embodiment of FIGS. 6 to 8, the body 50 of the dispensing arrangement has mounting blocks 52 mounted on the back thereof with the back surface of each thereof provided with a pressure sensitive adhesive coating 54 that may be covered by a peel off strip 56.

The dispensing arrangement of FIGS. 6 to 8 is adapted for being mounted on a vertical or upright wall surface 58 and, merely by peeling off the peel off cover strips 56 and pressing the adhesive coated back surfaces mounting blocks 52 against the vertical surface. In all other respects, the dispensing arrangement of FIGS. 6 to 8 can be substantially identical with that of FIGS. 1 to 5.

A typical dispenser may be arranged for holding about twelve dozen cone shaped rollers, and which rollers are generally color coded to indicate the size thereof, so that a variety of different diameters and lengths of rollers will be readily available to the user of the dispenser once it is loaded.

In the molding of the body part of the dispenser, it will be evident that the portion thereof bearing the grooves may have the top and bottom walls and the end walls molded integrally therewith, or these elements can be attached to the grooved body portion independently.

Similarly, the rubber-like strip forming the retaining portion can be mounted on either side of the bottom wall but is preferably mounted on top thereof and, if the bottom wall is mounted integrally with the grooved body part, the molding would provide clearance for receiving the rubber-like strip.

FIG. 8 shows the grooved body part with the top and bottom walls and end walls integrally molded at 60, with the rubber-like retainer strip 62 and with the transparent front wall 64 adapted for being mounted in closing relation to the grooved body part.

As shown in FIG. 8, the dispenser has a back wall 66 adapted to be mounted thereon and which, in turn, is adapted for receiving the aforemensioned mounting blocks 52. The body of the dispenser in FIG. 8 is also provided with the lugs or projections 22 adapted for receiving the supporting legs or standards 20 so that one and the same body part can be arranged for wall mounting or for receiving supporting legs.

FIGS. 9 and 10 show a modification in which the retaining means for yieldably supporting the hair rollers at the lower end of the passages is integrally formed with the bottom wall of the device.

In FIGS. 9 and 10, 72 indicates the bottom wall of the device and 74 and 75 indicate rib elements upstanding from the bottom wall between the openings provided therein which are in registration with the passageways formed in the frame of the device. The frame of the device comprises a back wall 76 which, as explained previously, defines vertical passageways, two of which are indicated at 80 and 82 in FIGS. 9 and 10. The frame may include stiffening rib means as at 78 extending vertically therealong.

The retaining means according to the embodiment of FIGS. 9 and 10 comprise finger elements 84 extending radially into the several passage means provided for the hair rollers. Advantageously, the frame of the device is molded from a medium impact polypropylene when the finger elements are formed integrally therewith, or a similar plastic material, and the finger elements 84 are formed integrally with the frame about the periphery of each opening in the bottom wall which registers with a respective passageway.

The finger elements can vary widely in size and configuration and may be fewer in number than is shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. For example, it has been found that finger elements disposed at 45 intervals are quite satisfactory with the finger elements extending radially inwardly about 0.200 to 0.250 of an inch and each being about 0.020 inches thick. The finger elements in this case extend circumferentially such a distance that the opposed edges thereof are spaced about 0.080 to 0.090 of an inch in the circumferential direction.

Advantageously, the finger elements may project inwardly from the upper surface of the top of the bottom wall, whereby there will be substantially no protrusion of the fingers through the bottom wall even when a roller is drawn therethrough.

It is apparent that while the finger elements are advantageously molded integrally with the bottom wall of the frame it is also conceivable that a member can be molded independently of the bottom wall and the finger elements formed thereon and being affixed to the bottom wall.

The yieldable finger elements according to the present invention are substantially everlasting and can be considered to be as long lived as the remainder of the apparatus disclosed herein.

Modifications may be made within the purview of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A dispenser for tubular cylindrical hair rollers of respective diameters and lengths comprising, in combination; a frame having substantially vertical open ended passages thereacross in the form of semicircular grooves extending between the top and the bottom of said frame, said semicircular grooves having radii of different sizes and open toward the front of said frame each groove adapted to receive hair rollers with a slightly smaller diameter for free movement of the rollers along the respective passage, retaining means on the frame adjacent the open lower end of each passage for engagement with the lowermost hair roller in each passage to support the hair rollers in stacked relation while exposing a portion of the length of said lower most hair roller at the bottom of each passage, said retaining means yieldably engaging the lowermost hair roller of each stack to permit it to be drawn downwardly from the lower end of the passage and also being operable for supportingly engaging and halting the hair roller next above the lowermost hair roller when the latter is withdrawn from the lower end of the passage, front wall means on said frame confining the grooves toward the front and spaced from the axes of the grooves a distance at least equal to the radius thereof, said frame being provided with top and bottom walls having apertures registering with the passages, said retaining means comprising a sheet of rubber-like material carried by said bottom wall and having apertures smaller in diameter than the apertures in said bottom wall and registering therewith, said frame also having end wall means, projections on said end wall means, and standards having slots which engage said projections, said standards extending downwardly below said bottom wall for supporting said frame on a horizontal surface.

2. A dispenser according to claim 1 in which said passages are in side by side generally coplanar relation.

3. A dispenser according to claim 1 wherein the hair rollers are tapered and are introduced into the upper ends of said passages small end foremost so as to nest together in telescoped relation in said passages, said retaining means comprising a resilient rubber-like element near the lower end of each passage at least partially surrounding the respective passage and of such a size as to engage the lowermost hair roller in a respective passage in a region axially between the smaller and larger ends of the hair roller.

4. A dispenser according to claim 1 in which said front wall means is' detachable from said body member to expose said grooves for cleaning.

5. A dispenser according to claim 1 in which the top and bottom of said body member converge toward one end of the body member whereby said grooves are of respectively different lengths from top to bottom.

6. A dispenser according to claim 1 in which said retaining means comprises flexible finger means in circumferentially distributed relation extending radially into each said passage near the lower end thereof.

7. A dispenser according to claim 6 in which said bottom wall is a molded plastic material and said finger means comprise a plurality of circumferentially distributed fingers integral with said bottom wall.

8. A dispenser according to claim 1 in which said hair rollers are tapered and tubular and are introduced into said passages at the top small end foremost so as to stack in said passages in partially telescoped relation with each other, said retaining means comprising circumferentially distributed flexible finger elements pro- 40 jecting radially into the lower end of each passage, the

upper end of the hair roller.

Claims

1. A dispenser for tubular cylindrical hair rollers of respective diameters and lengths comprising, in combination; a frame having substantially vertical open ended passages thereacross in the form of semicircular grooves extending between the top and the bottom of said frame, said semicircular grooves having radii of different sizes and open toward the front of said frame each groove adapted to receive hair rollers with a slightly smaller diameter for free movement of the rollers along the respective passage, retaining means on the frame adjacent the open lower end of each passage for engagement with the lowermost hair roller in each passage to support the hair rollers in stacked relation while exposing a portion of the length of said lowermost hair roller at the bottom of each passage, said retaining means yieldably engaging the lowermost hair roller of each stack to permit it to be drawn downwardly from the lower end of the passage and Also being operable for supportingly engaging and halting the hair roller next above the lowermost hair roller when the latter is withdrawn from the lower end of the passage, front wall means on said frame confining the grooves toward the front and spaced from the axes of the grooves a distance at least equal to the radius thereof, said frame being provided with top and bottom walls having apertures registering with the passages, said retaining means comprising a sheet of rubber-like material carried by said bottom wall and having apertures smaller in diameter than the apertures in said bottom wall and registering therewith, said frame also having end wall means, projections on said end wall means, and standards having slots which engage said projections, said standards extending downwardly below said bottom wall for supporting said frame on a horizontal surface.

4. A dispenser according to claim 1 in which said front wall means is detachable from said body member to expose said grooves for cleaning.

8. A dispenser according to claim 1 in which said hair rollers are tapered and tubular and are introduced into said passages at the top small end foremost so as to stack in said passages in partially telescoped relation with each other, said retaining means comprising circumferentially distributed flexible finger elements projecting radially into the lower end of each passage, the radially inner ends of said finger elements being located on a circle having a diameter greater than the diameter of the smaller lower end of a hair roller in the respective passage but smaller than the diameter of the larger upper end of the hair roller.