WO2023139520A1

WO2023139520A1 - Nozzle for dispensing paper towel

Info

Publication number: WO2023139520A1
Application number: PCT/IB2023/050474
Authority: WO
Inventors: Pablo Felipe MEJÍA ARISTIZÁBAL
Original assignee: Productos Familia S.A
Priority date: 2022-01-20
Filing date: 2023-01-19
Publication date: 2023-07-27
Also published as: CO2022000478A1

Abstract

The invention corresponds to a nozzle for dispensing paper towels comprising a first hole at one end of the nozzle, a second hole at the opposite end of the first hole. The second hole has a larger diameter than the first hole and has at least two cuts radially arranged around the first hole and equidistantly spaced. Additionally, a paper towel is dispensed through the first hole in the nozzle without getting stuck. This is achieved because the cuts of the nozzle allow the diameter of the first hole to be enlarged so that the paper towel passes through the first hole without the paper towel getting tangled or stuck.

Description

NOZZLE FOR DISPENSING PAPER TOWEL

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates in general to a nozzle for paper towel dispensers, especially, to a dispenser that receives a refill cartridge containing said paper towel in the form of a roll.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

Document US20170183144A1 discloses a dispensing lid for wet wipes, a container having a dispenser with a molded base that is integrally connecting its periphery to the sides. This base may have a molded reinforcing flange to add mechanical rigidity. The base has a frustoconical wall (trunk of a hollow cone) projecting upwards with a top and an opening through it. The base of this trunk has an exit opening that can be open or have any desired shape. Either or both openings can be formed in a wide variety of shapes including circular, oval, slot, etc., and at least one of which is preferably equipped with an elastic dispensing valve that can also have a valve opening in the form of a wide variety of shapes. The valve has a cross-shaped valve opening.

On the other hand, document US6158614A discloses a wet wipe dispenser having a dispensing opening including a main part and an auxiliary part adjoining the main part. The auxiliary part of the dispensing opening defines at least one slotted opening that emanates radially from the main part of the dispensing opening. Also, three such slotted openings are symmetrically arranged to generally emanate from the main part of the dispensing opening, in a radial way. However, two slotted openings or more than three slotted openings may form an auxiliary part of the dispensing opening.

Furthermore, document US6158614A discloses a slightly forward path that allows the auxiliary part slotted openings of the dispensing opening to grip the wipe enough so that in combination with the additional frictional force provided by the wipe passing over the bottom edge, wipe separation is certain to occur along the frangible line dividing adjoining wipes.

Finally, document US10149578B2 discloses a dispenser for paper towels made from a continuous roll of paper towels including a dispensing body configured to dispense paper towels. The paper towel dispenser includes a platform defining an opening that is configured to rotatably receive a carousel. The platform is attached to a base and configured to support the continuous roll of paper towels. The platform defines a cut in the platform through which the paper towels are moved to thereby load the paper towels into the dispensing body. The carousel is configured to rotate so one of the plurality of dispensing bodies is placed in a dispensing position such that the paper towels are configured to dispense through the dispensing body placed in the dispensing position.

However, the previously described documents disclose valves or dispensing elements where paper towels get stuck, generating knots of paper towels that cannot be dispensed through said outlets or openings because they are not very flexible and too narrow to properly dispense a paper towel.

In addition, paper towel dispensers often have a dispensing outlet or opening that allows paper towels to be dispensed through the outlet or opening. The continuous roll of paper towels is placed within a dispensing casing and at least one length of paper towels is placed through the dispensing outlet or opening.

Due to the above, there are situations in which more than one paper towel comes out when dispensing a paper towel or the paper towel breaks when it is dispensed and, therefore, it does not come out completely or is partially tom but does not break completely. Other situations are the jamming of the paper towel that prevents dispensing of the next paper towel, for which it is necessary to open the dispenser. Another situation is when there is no end or section left to pull the next paper towel at the time of dispensing a paper towel. BRIEF DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure corresponds to a nozzle for a paper towel dispenser that comprises a first hole at one of the nozzle ends, a second hole at the opposite end of the first hole, wherein the second hole has a larger diameter than the first hole and at least two cuts radially arranged around the first hole and equidistantly spaced. Each cut extends from the first hole in the direction of the second hole and ends in a perforation.

Additionally, through the nozzle first hole, a paper towel is dispensed without getting stuck and the nozzle is also arranged on a support which in turn is located in the lower part of a casing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 A illustrates an isometric view of a paper towel dispenser.

FIG. IB illustrates an isometric view of a paper towel dispenser in which a nozzle embodiment for dispensing paper towels is displayed, and the nozzle configuration and the support between the casing and the front cover are displayed.

FIG. 2 illustrates an isometric view of one embodiment of the paper towel dispensing nozzle, including an enlarged view of the first hole, cutouts, and perforations.

FIG. 3A illustrates an isometric view of one embodiment of the nozzle located in the holder.

FIG. 3B illustrates an isometric view of one embodiment of the nozzle and holder located on the bottom of the casing.

FIG. 4 illustrates an isometric view of one embodiment in which a paper towel roll is placed inside the casing, showing an enlarged view of a paper towel sheet being dispensed. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure corresponds to a nozzle (1) which is an elongated hollow body with an outer and an inner part, having a wide end defining a second wide inlet hole (3) and a narrow end defining a first hole (2).

Referring to FIG. 1 A, FIG. IB, and FIG. 2, the present disclosure corresponds to a nozzle ( 1 ) for a paper towel dispenser that comprises a first hole (2) at one of the nozzle ( 1 ) ends, a second hole (3) at the opposite end of the first hole (2), wherein the second hole (3) has a larger diameter than the first hole (2) and at least two cuts (4) radially arranged around the first hole (2) and equidistantly spaced. Each cut (4) extends from the first hole (2) in the direction of the second hole (3) and ends in a perforation (5).

A paper towel is dispensed through the first hole (2) of the nozzle (1) without getting stuck. This is achieved because the cuts (4) of the nozzle (1) allow the diameter of the first hole (2) to be enlarged so that the paper towel passes through the first hole (2) without the paper towel getting tangled or stuck.

The cuts (4) have a length that extends between 35% and 45% of the length between the first hole (2) and the second hole (3). In a preferred embodiment, the cuts (4) extend 38% of the length between the first hole (2) and the second hole (3).

In an embodiment coinciding with the preferred embodiment, the length between the first hole (2) and the second hole (3) is 36.9 mm, i.e., the length of the cuts (4) is 14 mm, which corresponds to 38% of the length between the first hole (2) and the second hole (3). In a further embodiment, the cuts (4) have a length of 16 mm.

Additionally, in one embodiment between the first hole (2) and the second hole (3) there is a length of 37 mm. In another embodiment, there is a length of 32 mm between the first hole (2) and the second hole (3). The diameter of the second hole (3) is between 45 mm and 65 mm, and the diameter of the first hole (2) is between 5 mm and 13 mm. In a preferred embodiment, the diameter of the second hole (3) is 58.2 mm and the diameter of the first hole (2) is 9.2 mm.

In another embodiment, the nozzle (1) comprises four cuts (4) radially spaced around the first hole (2) and equidistantly spaced. In a preferred embodiment, the nozzle (1) comprises three cuts (4).

The perforations (5) in which each cut (4) ends, are circular sections that allow distributing the efforts to which it is subjected when each cut (4) widens to make way to a paper towel. In addition, the perforations (5) prevent each cut (4) from tearing and the cuts (4) from extending towards the second hole (3).

The perforations (5) have a diameter between 2 mm and 4 mm. In a preferred embodiment, the perforation (5) has a diameter of 2.3 mm.

In one embodiment, the nozzle (1) is made of a material selected from polyethylene, polyamide, nylon, and polyacetal. In a preferred embodiment the nozzle (1) is made of nylon.

Referring to FIG. IB, FIG. 3B and FIG. 4, the nozzle (1) is arranged at the bottom of a casing (7) that is fixed to a surface and a front cover (8) that is attached to the casing (7). The support (6) is arranged in the casing (7). The casing (7) has coupling means to adjust the support (6).

The support (6) has an inlet hole (13) through which the nozzle (1) is entered and an outlet hole (14) that is concentric with the first hole (2) of the nozzle (1).

On the other hand, the nozzle (1) has a perimeter flange (9) surrounding the second hole (3). This allows the nozzle (1) to be located inside the support (6). Referring to FIG. IB and FIG. 3 A, the support (6) is a hollow cylindrical container that includes at least two flaps (10) inside that support the nozzle (1) by means of the nozzle (1) flange (9). The flaps (10) of the support (6) extend vertically from the internal base of the support (6) and are radially arranged around the outlet hole (14) of the support (6).

In one embodiment, the support (6) has at least 3 flaps (10) equidistantly spaced around the outlet hole (14) of the support (6).

Referring to FIG. 4, the casing (7) and the front cover (8) contain the paper towel. Between the casing (7) and the front cover (8) there is a paper towel roll that is also located over the second hole (3) of the nozzle (1). The paper towel comes in the form of a strip of paper that is rolled up into a paper towel roll.

In one embodiment, the paper towel sheet comes out of the center of the paper towel roll and is passed through the second hole (3) and then through the first hole (2) of the nozzle (1), thus the paper towel is ready to be dispensed by a user as illustrated in FIG. 4.

Referring to FIG. 3B and FIG. 4, an embodiment of a dispensing device is seen comprising the casing (7) which is connected to the front cover (8) and where the dispensing device is configured to be attached to a surface (e.g., a wall).

The casing (7) defines an inner space in which the paper towel roll is received. The front cover (8) protects the paper towel roll from external conditions (e.g., humidity, dirt, sun). In addition, the casing (7) and the front cover (8) are joined by means of a fastener such as a hinge that allows the front cover (8) to move and/or pivot with respect to the casing (7), so that an operator can load and/or replace the paper towel roll in the dispenser and/or perform maintenance on the dispenser.

Referring to FIG. 3B, the base of the casing (7) includes a third hole at the bottom and a channel through which the support (6) slides. In one embodiment, the support (6) has a perimeter flange (11) which slides over the support channel of the casing (7) until the outlet hole (14) of the support (6) is concentrically located in the casing hole (7). In one embodiment, the front cover (8) is secured to the casing (7) by means of a lock.

Examples

Example 1

Referring to FIG. 2, a nozzle (1) was designed and built to dispense paper towels with the following features:

A nozzle (1) made of polyacetal for a paper towel dispenser comprising a first hole (2) at one of the nozzle (1) ends, a second hole (3) at the opposite end of the first hole (2). The nozzle (1) has three cuts (4) radially arranged around the first hole (2) and equidistantly spaced, each cut (4) extends from the first hole (2) in the direction of the second hole (3) and ends in a perforation (5).

Furthermore, the cuts (4) have a length of 14 mm including the perforations (5) and furthermore, the perforations (5) have a diameter of 2.3 mm.

Also, the nozzle (1) has a height of 37 mm and a thickness of 1.3 mm. Additionally, the second hole (3) has a diameter of 58.2 mm. Finally, the first hole (2) has a diameter of 9.2 mm. Also, the length between the first hole (2) and the second hole (3) is 36.9 mm.

Example 2

A paper dispensing device was designed and built with the following features:

A nozzle (1) made of nylon for a paper towel dispenser comprising a first hole (2) at one of the nozzle (1) ends, a second hole (3) at the opposite end of the first hole (2). The nozzle (1) has four cuts (4) radially arranged around the first hole (2) and equidistantly spaced, each cut (4) extends from the first hole (2) in the direction of the second hole (3) and ends in a perforation (5). Furthermore, the cuts (4) have a length of 14 mm including the perforations (5) and furthermore, the perforations (5) have a diameter of 2.3 mm. The dimensions of the nozzle (1), the first hole (2), and the second hole (3) are the same as those indicated in example 1.

Example 3

A paper dispensing device was designed and built with the following features:

A nozzle (1) made of polyethylene for a paper towel dispenser comprising a first hole (2) at one of the nozzle (1) ends, a second hole (3) at the opposite end of the first hole (2). The nozzle (1) has four cuts (4) radially arranged around the first hole (2) and equidistantly spaced, each cut (4) extends from the first hole (2) in the direction of the second hole (3), and ends in a perforation (5).

Furthermore, the cuts (4) have a length of 14 mm including the perforations (5) and furthermore, the perforations (5) have a diameter of 2.3 mm. The dimensions of the nozzle (1), the first hole (2) and the second hole (3) are the same as those indicated in example 1.

Example 4

A paper dispensing device was designed and built with the following features:

A nozzle (1) made of polyethylene for a paper towel dispenser comprising a first hole (2) at one of the nozzle (1) ends, a second hole (3) at the opposite end of the first hole (2). The nozzle ( 1 ) has two cuts (4) radially arranged around the first hole (2) and equidistantly spaced, each cut (4) extends from the first hole (2) in the direction of the second hole (3) and ends in a perforation (5). Furthermore, the cuts (4) have a length of 16 mm including the perforations (5) and furthermore, the perforations (5) have a diameter of 2.3 mm.

It must be understood that the present invention is not limited to the described and illustrated modalities, since as will be evident to a person versed in the art, there are possible variations and modifications not departing from the invention spirit, defined by the following claims.

Claims

CLAIMS A nozzle (1) for a paper towel dispenser comprising:

- a first hole (2) at one end of the nozzle (1);

- a second hole (3) at the opposite end of the first hole

(2), the second hole

(3) having a larger diameter than the first hole (2); and

- at least two cuts (4) radially arranged around the first hole (2) and equidistantly spaced, each cut

(4) extends from the first hole (2) in the direction of the second hole (3) and ends in a perforation

(5); where a paper towel is dispensed through the first hole (2); and where the nozzle (1) is arranged in a support (6) that has a hole that is concentric with the first hole (2). The nozzle (1) of Claim 1, comprising a casing (7) that is fixed to a surface and a front cover (8) that is attached to the casing (7). The support is arranged (6) in the casing (7), the casing (7) has coupling means to adjust the support

(6) and the nozzle (1) in the lower part of the casing (7). The nozzle (1) of Claim 2, wherein the casing

(7) and the front cover (8) contain the paper towel. The nozzle (1) of Claim 1, wherein nozzle (1) is made of a material selected from polyethylene, polyamide, nylon, and polyacetal. The nozzle (1) of Claim 1, wherein the cuts (4) extend between 35% and 45% of the length existing between the first hole (2) and the second hole (3). The nozzle (1) of Claim 1, wherein the nozzle (1) has more than three cuts (4). The nozzle (1) of Claim 1, characterized in that the diameter of the second hole (3) is between 45 mm and 65 mm, and the diameter of the first hole (2) is between 5 mm and 13 mm.

8. The nozzle (1) of Claim 1, characterized in that the perforation (5) is circular in section and has a diameter between 2 mm and 4 mm.