US460775A - Toilet-paper fixture - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) s ,sheets-sheet `1.

C. I'. GROSVENOR 8v H. E. HOLMES. TOILET PAPER FIXTURE.

No. 460,775. Patented Oct.6. 1891.

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TOILET PAPER FIXTURE.

Patented Qot. 6, 1891.g /f I,

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C. P. GROSVENOR & H. E. HOLMES. TOILET PAPER FIXTURE.

No. 460,775. Patented Oct. 6, 1891.

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UNITED STATES 4PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES F. GROSVENOR, Oli1 LUDLOV, AND HERBERT E. HOLMES, OF MITTINEAGUE, MASSACHUSETTS.

TOILET-PAPER FIXTURE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 460,77' 5, dated October 6, 1891. Application tiled December 15, 1890. Serial No. 374,845. (No model.)

To (ou zul/1,0m it may concern:

Be it known that we, CHARLES F. GROSVE- NOR, of Ludlow, in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, and HERBERT E. HOLMES, of Mittineagne, in the county of Hampden andState of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Devices for Holding and Delivering Toilet- Paper, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part thereof.

O ur invention relates to means for holding packages of toilet-paper in sheet form, as distinguished from those in which the paper is held in a continuous roll, and to means for delivering said sheets of paper, one at a time, from the holder as the same are required for use.

The objects of our invention are to provide a holder which is adapted to receive the pa per in loose packages of any desired size, thereby obviating the necessity of previously punching the paper to receive a needle or hook within the holder and avoiding the necessity of using the paper furnished by any particular manufacturer or dealer, and to provide delivering means connected with such holder, which will infallibly deliver but one sheet at a time, thereby preventing waste of the paper.

To these ends our invention consists in the device for holding and delivering paper constructed and operating as hereinafter fully described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the drawings, in which like parts are designated by like letters in the several figures, Figure .l is a front view, partly in vertical section, of a paper holding and delivering device embodying our invention. Fig. 2 is an end View thereof looking toward the right in Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a cross-section Fig. 4 is a plan view with a portion of the box or casing broken away.

The lettera designates the box or casing for holding the paper, which is preferably rectangular in shape, as shown, and of the proper length and width to receive loosely therein sheets of toilet-paper of the usual or any desired dimensions. Said box or casing will be provided with suitable means `for securing it to a wall or other support and for enabling a package of paper to be inserted therein, and we prefer to secure these results by hinging it at the bottom ot' its rear side to a back piece a', which back piece is pro vided with a staple a2 atits upper end, adapted to enter an eye a3 on box a, thereby enabling' the latter to be locked in its closed position by a suitable padlock a", or other suitable locking means. The back piece a is preferably secured to the wall or other support by means of screws passing therethrough from the inner side of the box a, as indicated by broken lines, thereby preventing its removal without first gaining access to the interior-ot said box. The box c, being thus hinged to the back piece, isadapted tobe swungdownwardly away from the latter whenever it is desired to insert a package of paper therein, and to be again securely locked in its closed position, thus preventing the removal ot' the paper, except by the delivering means presently to be described.

Vithin the box d is located a false bottom a5 or other movable device capable of movement toward and away from the front side of the box, which is constantly pressed in the former direction by a spring a, said spring, as herein shown, being of convolute form and of considerable diameter to secure a substantially uniform degree of pressure against said false bottom throughout its range of movenient. Centrally located in the front side of box a is the delivery opening ai, and the sheets of paper b, being` placed in the box in front of said false bottom, are pressed by thelatter and its spring against or toward the front side of the box in such manner that a limited portion of the outermost sheetat or near its center is exposed to the action of the delivery device through said opening. To remove said sheets through said opening aone at a time, we depend upon the action of a frictional device which is caused to engage the outermost sheet, impart a turningortwistingmovement thereto to disengage it from the remaining sheets of the package, and then withdraw the crumpled sheet through said opening by engaging it at or near its center. AVarious arrangements of mechanism for thus engaging IOO and. withdrawing the sheets of paper can loe employed within the spirit of our invention, but we prefer to use that shown in the drawings and which will next be described.

The letter c designates a shaft revolubly mounted in suitable bearings at the front side of the box or casing a, which shaft at one end projects beyond the end of said box and has mounted thereon a pinion c and at its opposite end projects in front of the opening aT of the box and carries at said end a bevel or other gear-wheel c2. Surrounding said shaft at its inner end or the end to which the gear c2 is secured is a hub cl, which passes through the adjacent bearing for said shaft in such manner as to be capable of rotation about the shaft as a center and independently of the latter. At its inner end said hub carries `two bracketarms d', in which is mounted a shaft e, the axis of which is perpendicular to that of shaft c, upon which shaft is mounted, between said bracket-arms, a bevel or other gear e', which meshes with gear c2, whereby revolution of shaft c will impart a similar movement to said shaft e. At one end thereof the shaft e carries a head e2, which, as shown, is circular in form, and has its face slightly concaved,asindicated bybrokenlines, said face being preferably covered with rubber or otherwise provided with a frictional surface. Said head e2 constitutes the medium for engaging and exerting a twisting frictional action upon the paper, and while we have shown a head which is of circular or disk form, it will be understood that the same could consist of radial arms or have various other forms without affecting its operation. The shaft eis of such length that in its normal position the head e2 will project wit-hin the box through the opening a7, the shaft at such time occupying a position perpendicular to the face of the outermost sheet of paper, and the paper being pressed squarely against head e2 by the false bottom and its spring.

The preferred means for revolving shaft c consists of a sector-lever f, pivoted at f to the end of box a, said lever being provided with teeth which mesh with those of pinion c' and with a suitable handle f2 for convenient manual operation thereof, whereby, by moving said lever about its pivot in one direction, shaft cwill be revolved in the opposite direction, and vice versa, the movement of said shaft c being transmitted to shaft e through the gears c2 and e', as described. A coilspring f3, secured at one end to the box and at the other to said sector-lever, normally retains said lever in its forwardmost posit-ion,

in which position of said lever the head e2 on shaft e bears against the face of the outermost sheet of paper in the box, as before described. lt will be obvious that with the parts in such-position if lever f be moved rearwardly a revolving movement will be imparted to head e2, and that the latter, by reason of its frictional engagement with the outermost sheet of paper, will twist thelatter from its center in such Vmanner as to disengage it from the next sheet and cause it to become hunched about said head. The sheet so hunched still remains within the box, hcwever, and it becomes necessary to withdraw the head with the paper through the opening-c1,7 of the box in order to enable the sheet to be used. This result we secure byimparting a partial revolution to hub d about shaft p c as a center, and thereby swinging shaft e bodily in such manner as to reverse the position of its ends, the head e2 and the sheet ot' paper being carried upwardly and outwardly in said swinging movement. We provide for producing such partial revolution of hub d from a continuous movement of the shaft c by rigidly securing upon the latter a collar c3, having projecting from the end thereof a stud or pin c4, adapted to engage the end of the hub, and by providing for a certain amount of lost motion between said stud or pin and the hub, which lost motion, in the example shown,`is secured by cutting away a portion of the end of the hub to form a shoulder extending diametrically across said end, against which said stud or pin is adapted to be brought by a partial revolution of shaft c in either direction.

In order to prevent head e2, as it returns to its normal position against the paper from exerting a downward-rubbing action against the outermost sheet and crumpling the latter in such manner as to interfere with its proper action in picking up said sheet, we employ a compressor to force back the package of' paper against the stress of spring ab',

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suiiiciently to permit said head to resume its y normal position without touching the paper, whereupon the compressor is retracted,and the paper is forced against said head by spring d6. As herein shown, the compressoris composed of a U-shaped lever g, having the upwardly-extendin g arms g', adapted to enter the openingin the front side ofthe box and to bear against the package of paper at each side of the vertical plane in which the latteris engaged by head e2. At its lower end said lever g is rigidly secured to a shaft g2, which is supported in suitable bearings at the lower front side of the box in such manner as to be capable of a rotary and also of a slight endwise movement, and which projects slightly beyond the end of the box, as shown in Fig. l. A coil-spring g3, surrounding said shaft and connected at one end to the shaft and' at its opposite end to the box, normally retains the arms of lever g out ot' engagement with the paper or in the position shown in Figs. 3 and 4, and tends to move shaft g2 in a direction to cause its end to project to a greater distance beyond the end of the box or toward the left in Fig. l. The end of said shaft is thus caused to bear against the inner side of sector-lever f, which lever is provided upon said inner side with a depression or recessj, into which the end of said shaft normally projects, thus causing the lever gto normally occupy the position indicated by broken lilies in Fig.1. The end walls of said depression or recessf are beveled, thereby enabling the sector-lever to act as a cam as the depression is moved past the end of shaft g2 to force the latter and lever g to the position shown by full lines in Fig. l, as will be presently described. To secure the requisite rotary movement of said shaft g2 to move lever g rearwardly against the paper and depress the latter, we utilize an arm d2 on hub d, so located lengthwise of said hub as to engage one of the arms g of said lever only when the latter occupies its normal position, said arm being provided with a wing gA1 at its upper end and upon its front side, againstwhich said arm d2 acts and beneath which it is held to positively prevent rotary movement of the hub while head e2 is given its initial revolving movement.

In Figs. 2 and 3 the different positions of the sector lever and head e2, (shown by full and broken lines,) are designated by corresponding numerals, and, referring more particularly to said figures, the operation of the device is as follows: Starting with the normal position of said parts, indicated by the numeral l, in which the paper is pressed squarely against head e2 by spring a0, and compressor g occupies the position indicated b.y broken lines ln Fig. i with its wing g4 overlapping arm d2 on hub d, the handle f2 of the sector-lever is grasped and moved rearwardly or away from the operator, thereby imparting a rapid revolving movement to shaft e and head e2 through shaft c, pinion c', and gears c2 e', and causing the outermost sheet of paper to become hunched about head e2, hub d during such initial movement of said-head heilig positively held against accidental rotary movement by wing g4 of the compressor, as before described. Shortly before the sector-lever reaches the position designated by numeral 2, the end wall of the depression f4 therein is brought into engagement with the end of shaft g2 and moves the latter and the compressor to the position shown by full lines in Figi, and pin c4 on collar c is brought into contact with thc shoulder on hub d and begins to revolve the latter, so that when said sector-lever reaches said point (designated by numeral 2) shaft e has been swung upwardly to a substantially vertical position, head c2 carrying with it the bunched sheet of paper, as represented by full lines in Fig. 2. The continued movement of the sector-lever to its extreme rearward position (designated by numeral S) carries shaft e to the position similarly indicated, in which its ends are reversed, head e2 still carrying the sheet of paper, as indicated by broken lines in Fig. 3. The sheet of paper is thus withdrawn from the box and presen ted to the operator in crumpled form by a continuous backward movement of the sector-lever. lf now the sector-lever be released, spring f3 immediately returns it to its normal position,

its forward movement at first simply revolving shaft e and head c2 in the reverse direction, thereby releasing the sheet of paper, and then as pin c'l is brought into contact with the opposite side of the shoulder on hub d swinging said shaft and head back to their normal position. Then the sector-lever and head e2 in such return movement have arrived at substantially the position indicated by numeral 4 in Fig. 2, the recess f4 in the sector-lever is again brought opposite to the end of shaft g2, and said shaft is forced by its spring g3 into said recess, thus returning compressor g to its normal posit-ion laterally, whereupon arm d2 on hub d engages the front side of wing g* on said compressor, and by the continued rotation of said hub, rocks the same rearwardly against the paper, pressing the latter toward the rear of the box as the head c2 nears its normal position, and enabling said head to resume such position without rubbing against. the outermost sheet. Vhen said arm d2 on hub d reaches its lowest position, it clears wing g4 on the compressor, and the latter is moved outwardly by its spring g3, thereby permitting the paper to be moved against head e2 by spring a6, and causing said wing g4 to again overlap said arm d2, as before. All of the parts are thus restored to their normal positions, and the device is ready to be again operated to withdraw a second sheet of paper. Sheets of paper can thus be withdrawn from the box as rapidly as the sector-lever can be moved back and forth about its pivot, the head e2 infallibly taking up a single sheet at a time without displacing in any manner the suc ceeding sheet. To protect the shafts @and g2 from dirt and injury, we prefer to inclose them within a housing 7L at the front side of box a, as shown, the side walls of the housing thus affording bearings for said shafts, and, if desired, a hood or cover for the remaining parts of the delivery mechanism, having an opening to admit of the passage of head e2 with the sheet of paper can be employed.

By rendering it impossible to withdraw the paper from the holder except by a single sheet at a time, the device devised by us tends to obviate waste of the paper, and by delivering IOO the sheets in crumpled form the likelihood of a quantity of paper being carried away for future use is greatly lessened-results of prime importance to those who furnish paper for workshops, hotels, railway-stations, and other public places. Furthermore, by obviating the use of any detaining device for the package of paper, such as a needle or hook, we do away with the time and trouble involved in punching or otherwise preparing the package to receive such detaining device each time the paper is renewed in the holder. Again, by withdrawing the paper from the holder through an opening in the front side of the latter, and by a device which engages the sheet in a plane perpendicular to the face of the same, we are enabled to make the delivery mechanism operate successfully` with sheets of any size greater than that. `of said opening in the holder, and thereby enablethe owner of the holder to purchase his paper' in at form and cut, it into, sheetsof any desired size.. A great.saving in the expenseiof keep,- ing the holder supplied with paper-is thuis. efr fected, as compared` with th-oseformsof holders which are only adapted to receive paperof a certain form,and,which must be, procured ofY oneparticular manufacturer or dealer. By making the holder of metal, as3 is preferred, it presents a neat and attractive appearance, and is given. the requisitestrengthand dura-- bility.

. Believing ourselves to be theirst todevise aholder forftoiletpaperqin which a sheet is,

withdrawn through. an opening in the, front side thereof by a device which exerts accurbined rubbing and twisting action again-st the central portion of said sheetw.e de notl wish to limit ourselves to the exact detailszof construction herein` shown and describedfor securing such result,as various modifications; therein can be made without departure from the spirit. of our invention. y

Having thus filly described our in ventien, what we claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is;-

. l. A holder for toilet-paper, consistingof a said box having its rear sidefopen. and having at its front side an opening for thewithdrawal of a sheet of paper, a back piece, to which said box is. hinged at its rear side, said back piece having within the area thereof covered by the box in its closed position, mean-s, such as screw-holes, whereby it can be securely fastened to a wall or other support, and means f or lookin 0 said box in itsl closed position upon said back piece, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. A holder for toilet-paper, consistingof a box-like lreceptacle for a package ofl paper having in the front side thereof and lying wholly within the edges of said side, a centrally-located opening of less area than thatof the sheets of paper composing said package and provided with a spring adapted to press the paper toward said front side, and adelivery device for engaging the'outermost sheet of paper at or near the center thereof and withdrawing it from the receptacle through said opening, combined and operating substantially as described.

3. A holder for toilet-paper, consisting of a box-like receptacle for a package of paper having in the front side thereof a centrallylocated opening and provided with a spring tov press the paper toward said front side, a rotating head adapted to bear `against the outermost sheet of paper in the plane of said opening in the receptacle, and means for withdrawing said head th rough said opening, combined and operating substantially as described. 4... A holder for toilet-paper, consistingof a box-like receptacle for a package of paper having in the fron-t side thereof a centrallylocated opening and provided With al spring for pressing; the paper toward said, frontside, a shaft carrying at. o ne end thereof, a. head' lwhich isadapted tobear against the outermost sheetof paper, saidshaftbeing supported in bearingsawhich are movable; to advance said head through theopenigng in the receptacle and tor-withdraw ittherefronnand means for imparting a revolving movement tosaid. shaft, combined and operating substantially asset; forth..

5. A holder for toiletpaper, consisting of a box-like receptacle; for a package ofpape-r having in thefront side thereof an opening of less. area than that of the sheets-ot 'paper i composing said package and provided with a spring for pressing the paper toward said front side, a hub revolubly mounted in bearings at, the front side of said receptacle and f having its axis parallelvvitlr the, front side of the; latter, a shaft supported in. bearingsupen 1 said hub,` the. axis of which, is perpendicular l to that of the; hub, said shaft carrying at one endl thereof a head adapted tov be moved into `icontact with the outermost sheet ot paper i through the opening in said receptacle bythe .l rotation of said hub, and means, subst-antially as described, for imparting arevolving box. adapted to receive a package of paper,

movement to said shaft and a. rotary movef mentA to said hub, combined and operating substantiallyA asv set forth.

6. A holder for toilet-paper, consisting of a box-like recept-acle adapted to receive. loosely therein a package of paper, said receptacle` having in the front side thereof a, centrallyl disposed opening and provided with a spring adapted to` press the paper toward said front side, a hub revolubl-y mounted in bearings at the front, side of said receptacle,l the axis of which is parallel with the front side of the latter, said hub having at one end thereof bearings for supporting a shaft, a shaft. supported in said bearings and having its axis perpendicular to that of said hub., said shaft carrying at one end thereof a head adapted to bear against the face of the outermost sheet of paper 'Within the receptacle, a` secondary shaft passing loosely through said hub and having gear connection with said head-carrying shaft, and intermediateconnections, sub-y i stantially as described,between said secondary shaft and said hub, whereby a partial revolution is imparted tothe latter by the former to move said head into and out. of the recep tacle through the opening in the latter, combined and operating substantially as described.

7. The combination, with a box-like receptacle for loosely holding a package of toiletpaper, having in the front sidethereof a centrally-disposed opening for exposing an area of the outermost sheet of paper lying Wholly within the edges of such sheet and provided with a spring for pressing the. paper toward said front side, of an engaging device for en- IOO IIO

gaging the outermost sheet of paper movable toward and away from the paper through said opening in the receptacle, and a compressor also movable toward and away from the paper for holding the paper out of the path of movement of said engaging' device until the latter reaches its operative position, substantially as set forth.

8. The combination, with a box-like receptacle for holding a package of toiletpaper, having in the front side thereof a centrallydisposed opening and provided with a spring for pressing the package of paper toward said front side, of a hub revolubly supported in bearings at the front side of said receptacle and having' its axis parallel with said side, a shaft supported in bearings on said hub with its axis perpendicular to that of the latter, said shaft carrying' at one end thereof a flattened head adapted to bear against the face of the outermost sheet of paper when said shaft occupies its normal position, a secondary shaft passing loosely through said hub and having gear connection with said head-carrying' shaft, intermediate connections, substantially las described, between said secondary shaft and said hub,wherebya partial revolution will be imparted to the latter from the former to move said head into and out of engagement with the package of paper, means for manually operating said secondary shaft, a pivotally supported compressor lever adapted to be moved into and out of engagement with the paper, a spring normally retaining said lever out of engag'ement with the paper, and means, as an arm on said hub, for moving said lever into engagement with the paper and forcing the latter out of the path of movement of said head as the latter approaches its normal position, substantially as and for the purpose described.

9. In a holder for toilet-paper, the combination, with the box a, having an opening in the front side thereof and a spring for pressing' a package of paper loosely placed Within said box toward said front side, of hub CZ, shaft c, supported upon said hub and carrying a head, as e2, shaft c, passing loosely through said hub, said shaft having gear connection at one end with said shaft e and carrying at its opposite end pinion c', toothed sector-lever f,

nation, with box d', having opening al therein and provided With false bottom a5 and spring a, of hub d, provided With arm d2, shaft c, intermediate connections between said shaft and hub, whereby the latter is given a partial revolution from the former, sector-lever f, engaging a pinion on said shaft and having a recess, as f", in the side thereof, compressorlever g, shaft g2, adapted to have both a re volving and an endWise movement in its bearings, said shaft carrying said lever g at one end and having its opposite end in engagement with the side of said sector-lever, and springs g3 andfs, arranged and operating substantially as set forth.

ll. A holder for toilet-paper, consisting of a box-like receptacle adapted to receive loosely therein a package of toilet-paper, said receptacle having in one of the sides thereof an opening' of less area than that of the sheets of paper composing' said package and having a spring arranged to press the paper toward said opening, and a delivery device for withdrawing said sheets of paper one at a time through said opening', the same consisting of a shaft revolubly supported in movable bearings and carrying at one end thereof a disk having a slightly-concaved frictional face adapted to bear against the face of the outermost sheet of paper in the normal position of said shaft, means, substantially as described, for imparting au initial revolving movement to said shaft to cause the outermost sheet of paper to become hunched about said disk, and means, substantially as described, for imparting movement to the bearings in Which said shaft is supported to withdraw said disk and the sheet of paper from the receptacle, combined and operating substantially as set forth.

CHARLES F. GROSVENOR. HERBERT E. HOLMES. \.\."itnesses:

W. H. CHAPMAN, J. E. CHAPMAN.

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