Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
  • A47K—SANITARY EQUIPMENT NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; TOILET ACCESSORIES
  • A47K10/00—Body-drying implements; Toilet paper; Holders therefor
  • A47K10/24—Towel dispensers, e.g. for piled-up or folded textile towels; Toilet-paper dispensers; Dispensers for piled-up or folded textile towels provided or not with devices for taking-up soiled towels as far as not mechanically driven
  • A47K10/32—Dispensers for paper towels or toilet-paper
  • A47K10/34—Dispensers for paper towels or toilet-paper dispensing from a web, e.g. with mechanical dispensing means
  • A47K10/36—Dispensers for paper towels or toilet-paper dispensing from a web, e.g. with mechanical dispensing means with mechanical dispensing, roll switching or cutting devices
  • A47K10/3631—The cutting devices being driven manually
  • A47K10/3643—The cutting devices being driven manually by pulling the paper

Definitions

• This invention relates to a one-revolution stop mechanism for a dispenser and a dispensing method for roiled web material of the flexible sheet type such as paper toweling.
• the stop mechanism has a low operating force and is associated with the feed roller in the dispenser to allow the feed roller to undergo one revolution and then be stopped in dispensing an individual sheet of the rolled web material.
• Dispensers for rolled flexible sheet material such as paper toweling
• dispensers include mechanisms for perforating or severing a web of material to divide the web into individual sheets.
• Towel dispensers have also been developed with various mechanisms or techniques to provide a waste-restricting system, namely, the dispenser permits only a single individual sheet to be dispensed to the intending user at one time with a delay being provided before the user can gain access to a second individual sheet.
• towel dispensers in public washrooms should preferably be operable by merely pulling down on an exposed portion of the towel web with no need to touch parts of the dispenser such as cranks, buttons or levers commonly present in many prior art types of towel dispensers, these actuators serving to activate the towel dispenser in supplying the length of towel web or individual toweling sheets.
• the dispenser should eliminate unnecessary waste of paper toweling while still not unduly restricting use of the toweling to the intending user.
• Certain dispensers now on the market accomplish these objectives by such devices as spring-operated one-revolution stop feeding mechanisms and vacuum cup timers.
• Spring-operated devices have the disadvantage that in being cocked while the towel is being withdrawn from the dispenser, a substantial drag is placed on the web of paper toweling, often resulting in it being prematurely torn where it is held by the wet fingers of the intending user.
• Prior art vacuum cup timers provide the needed time delay between withdrawal of individual towel sheets to thus reduce waste but have the disadvantage that the desired preset time intervals cannot be reliably maintained especially at very short time interval settings.
• Figure l represents one example of a towel dispenser known in the prior art.
• the dispenser 30 has a cabinet 31 adapted to be mounted at a convenient location for intending users of the paper toweling supplied from the rolled web material carried within the cabinet 31.
• a portion of the cabinet 31 is broken away to display a portion of the one-revolution stop mechanism and other components mounted within the cabinet 31.
• a roll 1 of flexible web material is mounted on a yoke 33, the yoke being pivoted at 34 to the backplate of the dispenser cabinet 31.
• Yoke 33 has a pair of yoke arms with cups 32 rotatably mounted at the outer ends of the yoke arms, these cups being inserted at each core end into the central tubular core of the towel roll 1.
• the web W withdrawn from roil 1 is threaded counterclockwise around a pinchroller 3.
• the web then passes clockwise around the rearside of a feed roller 4 to pass counterclockwise over an exit pinchroller 24.
• Pinchrollers 3 and 24 are pressed against thef feed roller 4 by springs (not shown) with all rollers being supported by appropriate bearings mot shown) in the sideplates of the dispenser cabinet 31.
• the web W then exits through opening 26 in cabinet 31 to be accessible to intending users of the paper toweling material coming from roll 1.
• a tab length T of the toweling web W of about 3 inches will extend outside the dispenser beyond opening 26 to be available for grasping by the intending users of the web material.
• This preferred length T of web material is automatically fed from the dispenser 30 in conjunction with the operation of a one-revolution stop mechanism.
• the feed roller 4 has an internal knife 40 which is mounted laterally offset from the rotational axis of feed roller 4. Knife 40 is supported within the feed roller to project through an opening (not shown) in the feed roller pe ⁇ phery to essentially sever the web material when it passes over the feed roller surface as the feed roller 4 makes a single revolution.
• the web material is thus perforate to leave only, for example, three uncut 1 ⁇ 4 inch long tabs connecting successive sheets in the web.
• This transverse perforating of the web material in cabinet 31 defines individual sheets which are of a lenght equal to the feed roller circumference so that the web W is forrmed with a row of perforations between one sheet and the next succeeding sheet.
• Feed roller 4 is rotatably mounted on shaft 32 which extends through an appropriate bearing which is carried by the sidewall of cabinet 31. Shaft 32 extends outwardly beyond the bearing and has a feed wheel 36 fixedly secured to it outer end. The feed wheel 36 has a control tab 38 which cooperates with a stop lever 41 to constitute the active components of the stop mechanism as desc ⁇ bed in allowed and commonly assigned Application Serial No. 838,799 (now U.S. Patent No. ).
• U.S. Patent No. Re 28,911 discloses the use of a conventional vacuum cup timer to provide a time delay between withdrawal of individual towel sheets. The operation of this type of timer will be explained with reference to Figures 2 and 3 which are taken f rom Figure 10 of the Re. 28,911 patent.
• Figure 2 is a side eievational view of the one-revolution stop mechanism in an unlatched position as used in the dispenser disclosed in the Re. 28,911 patent.
• the mechanism includes a feed wheel 240 which is drive by the towel web being pulled from the dispenser.
• the mechanism also includes a stop lever 230 which pivots about pivot pin 232. Stop lever 230 has a cam follower 234 and a stop lug 236 which engage camming pin 238 formed on feed wheel 240.
• cam follower 234 is positional in the rotational path of camming pin 238.
• the rotation of feed wheel 240 causes camming pin 238 to engage the underside of cam follower 234, raising cam follower 234 upwardly.
• Stop lever 230 thus, pivots in a clockwise direction about pivot pin 232.
• vacuum cup 242 is drawn into vacuum-gripping relationship with vacuum cup 244.
• camming pin 238 passes under and out of engagement with cam follower 234 to arrive at the position shown in Figure 3. In this position, vacuum cups 242 and 244 are in full vacuum-gripping relationship and stop lug 236 is in engagement with camming pin 238.
• Vacuum cups 242 and 244 remain in vacuum-gripping relationship for a predetermined period of time which is regulated by needle valve 254. Needle valve 254 allows a controlled flow of ambient air into the vacuum environment between vacuum cups 242 and 244 in order to regulate the period of time during which the cups remain in vacuum-gripping relationship. After the vacuum-gripping relationship is destroyed by the entry of ambient air between vacuum cups 242 and 244, stop lever 230 is returned to its unlatched position as shown in Figure 2 by spring 256 for the start of another cycle.
• vacuum cup timers perform their intended function. They suffer from a number of disadvantages. As mentioned above, the desired preset time delay interval cannot be reliably maintained, especially at very short time interval settings. Another such disadvantage is that a relatively large amount of compression force is required in order to engage the vacuum cups in a vacuum-gripping relationship. Creation of such a large force also creates a corresponding drag on the towel web, often resulting in premature tearing of the towel. This particular disadvantage is addressed in the Re. 28.911 patent by making one cup of a relatively hard resiliient material and the other of a relatively soft resilient material. The use of a soft resilient material also provides a better cushion for absorption of forces generated by the abrupt arresting of feed wheel movement, thus minimizing wear of the stop mechanism components.
• the rolled web dispenser of this invention basically overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages of prior art dispensers by eliminating the use of feed-out springs altogether and provides a great improvement over the conventional use of vacuum cup timers.
• the present invention provides a fully reliable momentary stop and time delay which makes possible the use of very soft and weak paper toweling, with the dispenser being operated solely by pulling on the paper web of toweling while still providing the desired waste restricting system.
• the dispenser for roiled web flexible material of this invention overcomes the disadvantages discussed above with reference to prior art proposals by providing a stop mechanism for the feed roller which has a substantial advantage over conventional stop lever designs.
• a relatively small force by the user in pulling a towel from the dispenser is translated in a correspondingly larger force for setting the vacuum cups into vacuum-gripping engagement.
• operation of the dispenser is made much easier.
• the stop lever in accordance with Applicant's invention has a long actuating arm which pivots about a pivot point. The long actuating arm creates a substantial mechanical advantage for setting the vacuum cups in vacuumgripping engagement.
• the mechanism advantage afforded by the stop lever of Applicant's invention greatly enhances the low pull force requirement and smooth operation of the dispenser.
• the pneumatic and elastic characteristics of the stop mechanism which incorporates Applicant's stop lever serves as an efficient way of absorbing the energy generated when the dispensing mechanism is cycled and abruptly stopped.
• the exit pinch roller is allowed to float in a slot.
• the slot is in angular relationship with the feed roller such that the web is drawn into biting relationship with the pinch roller when the web is pulled. This arrangement assures that the towel will separate outside the dispenser when pulled.
• Figure 1 is a side elevational view, with portions in section, of a rolled web dispenser.
• Figure 2 is an elevational view of the stop mechanism and associated elements used in a prior art dispenser, wherein the stop mechanism is in an unlatched position.
• Figure 3 is an elevational view of the stop mechanism and associated elements used in a prior art dispenser, wherein the stop mechanism is in a latched position.
• Figure 4 is a side elevational view of a rolled web dispenser in accordance with Applicant's invention displaying the stop mechanism associated with the feed roller and feed wheel.
• Figure 5 is a side view of a stop lever and vacuum cup time in accordance with Applicant's invention.
• Figure 6 is a side elevational view of a vacuum cup timer in accordance with Applicant's invention.
• Figure 7 is a side elevational view showing the operation of the exit pin roller in a prior art dispenser.
• Figure 8 is a side elevational view showing the operation of an exit pin roller in accordance with Applicant's invention.
• Figure 9 is a side elevational view of another embodiment of the vacuum cup timer of Applicant's invention.
• Figure 10 is a front side elevational view of another embodiment of the camming lug which cooperates with the stop lever of Applicant's invention.
• Figure 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 11-11 in Figure 10.
• Figure 12 is a rear side elevation view of the camming lug shown in Figure 10.
• Figure 13 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 13-13 in Figure 12.
• Figure 14 is an enlarged elevational view of the center portion of Figure 10. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
• FIG. 4 illustrates one embodiment of the one-revolution stop mechanism of Applicant's invention.
• Web W withdrawn from roll 1 is threaded counterclockwise around a pinchroller 3 through a nip 2.
• the web then passes clockwise around the rearside of feed roller 4 to pass counterclockwise over exit pinchroller 6 through a nip 5.
• the web then exits through opening 27 in cabinet 31 to be accessible to intending users of the paper toweling material coming from roll 1.
• a tab length 7 of the toweling web W of about 3 inches will extend outside the dispenser beyond opening 27 to be available for grasping by the intending users of the web material.
• This preferred length 7 of web material is automatically fed from the dispenser 30 in conjunction with the operation of the stop mechanism in accordance with Applicant's invention.
• the feed roller 4 has an internal knife as known in the art which is mounted laterally offset from the rotational axis of feed roller 4.
• the knife is supported within the feed roller to project through an opening (not shown) in the feed roller periphery to essentially sever the web material when it passes over the feed roller surface as the feed roller makes a single revolution.
• the web materi l is thus perforated to leave only three uncut 1 ⁇ 4 inch long tabs connecting successive sheets in the web.
• This transverse perforating of the web material in cabinet 31 defines individual sheets which are of a length equal to the feed roller circumference so that the web W is formed with a row of perforations between one sheet and the next succeeding sheet.
• Feed roller 4 is rotatably mounted by a shaft which extends through a bearing which is carried by the sidewail of cabinet 31 at pivot point 19.
• the shaft extends outwardly beyond the bearing and has a feed wheel 8 fixedly secured to its outer end.
• the shaft and feed wheel 8 are driven by the towel web being pulled from the dispenser.
• the feed wheel 8 has a camming lug 9 which cooperates with a stop lever 15.
• Stop lever 15 is pivotally mounted at point 11 on one of the side plates of dispenser cabinet 31 and is provided with a recipient arm 12, a long actuating arm 18 and a short actuating arm 17.
• Vacuum cup 13 is attached to the end of arm 12 which cooperates with vacuum cup 14 as shall be discussed below.
• feed roller 4 when web W is pulled through the dispenser, feed roller 4 is caused to rotate which in turn causes feed wheel 8 to rotate in a corresponding manner.
• lug 9 engages and slides across surface 10 of arm 18, thereby causing arm 18 to pivot upwardly about pivot point ll.
• arm 12 causes vacuum cup 13 to engage vacuum cup 14.
• the relatively high mechanical advantage of long arm 1 8 pivoting stop lever 15 about point 11 causes cup 13 to firmly engage fixed cup 14. thus expelling air trapped in cavity 20 (See Figure 6) formed by the vacuum cups.
• a seal 21 is formed by the lips of the mating vacuum cups, thus holding arm 12 down by the pneumatic pressure created by the vacuum. Arm 17 is therefore held in a latched upward position so that lug 9 engages surface 16 to interrupt the rotation of feed wheel 8.
• dimension A should be at least one-half that of dimension B. Such a length permits a relatively small amount of camming force from lug 9 to be translated into a relatively large force at the end of arm 15 for setting vacuum cups 13 and 14 in vacuum gripping relationship.
• radius C is chosen such that surface 10 is in line with pivot point 11 while lug 9 is in engagement with surface 10 as illustrated in Figure 5.
• This orientation of surface 10 with pivot point 11 creates an easy progression of force between surface 10 and lug 9 as lug 9 passes through its toggle point between surface 10, lug 9 and pivot point 19.
• venting device After a predetermined delay, it is necessary to provide a venting device to induce air back into the vacuum created when vacuum cups 13 and 14 were compressed so that chamber 20 can be reformed.
• the venting device can be on either the moving cup 13 or the fixed cup 14. Needle valve 25 shown in Figure 6 serves this purpose.
• An orifice 22 is provided in vacuum cup 14 which cooperates with stem 23. Air can be metered into chamber 20 by moving stem 23 relative to orifice 22 and allowing the air to bleed past threads 24.
• FIG. 9 illustrates another embodiment of the vacuum cup timer of Applicants invention.
• flat plate 29 replaces vacuum cup 14.
• FIGS 10-14 illustrate another embodiment of lug 9.
• Lug 9a extends from the center portion of feed wheel 8 and has a shank portion 9b.
• Shank portion 9b provides additional shock absorption characteristics and has been found by Applicant to lend considerable reliability to the stop mechanism.
• Applicant's dispenser overcomes this problem by the use of a lower pinch roller 6 which is mounted in a slot 26 as shown in Figure 8.
• Slot 26 is in angular relationship E, as illustrated in Figure 8, with the feed roller so as to move away from nip 5 when the mechanism is cycled and into a biting relationship when the web is pulled. This assures that the towel will separate outside the dispenser past point 5.
• shaft 27 is allowed to float so that the portion of web 7 exerting the most pressure on roller 6 will be held the firmest at point 5.

Landscapes

• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Public Health (AREA)
• Unwinding Webs (AREA)
• Replacement Of Web Rolls (AREA)

Priority Applications (4)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=22639577

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (7)

Citations (3)

Family Cites Families (3)

• 1989
  • 1989-03-28 CA CA000594870A patent/CA1335982C/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1989-03-29 EP EP89303082A patent/EP0339798A1/en active Pending
  • 1989-03-29 PT PT90156A patent/PT90156A/pt not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1989-03-30 WO PCT/US1989/001246 patent/WO1989009013A1/en active Application Filing
  • 1989-03-30 JP JP1506248A patent/JPH02504119A/ja active Pending
  • 1989-03-30 BR BR898906481A patent/BR8906481A/pt unknown
  • 1989-11-29 FI FI895729A patent/FI895729A0/fi not_active IP Right Cessation

Patent Citations (3)

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