Abstract:
A dispenser for dispensing a web from a roll of paper includes a housing and a cover connected thereto to provide access to the housing interior. The dispenser has mechanism for supporting a paper roll and a drive roller and tension roller operatively associated therewith which urges paper from the paper roll into contact with the drive roller for dispensing a length of paper from the paper roll. Actuator mechanism operates the drive roller and extends across substantially the entire housing at the bottom thereof. A roller frame assembly is mounted within the housing and carries the tension roller and a transfer roller. The transfer roller releasably holds the free end of a first paper roll while paper from the second roll is dispensed upon actuation of the actuator to rotate the drive roller. Because the paper from a second paper roll is positioned between the drive roller and the transfer roller, rotation of the transfer roller during rotation of the drive roller is prevented until the second paper roll is exhausted.

Description:
This is a divisional of application Ser. No. 08/705,326 filed Aug. 29, 1996, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,032,898. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to a paper roll towel dispenser of the type which is capable of dispensing paper toweling and automatically dispensing paper from a reserve roll of toweling after a stub roll has been exhausted. 
     The invention provides a paper roll towel dispensing cabinet which includes a roll supporting cradle or bottom in which a stub roll is housed and a transfer mechanism which carries the free end of a reserve roll of paper toweling. After the stub roll is exhausted, the transfer mechanism operates automatically to dispense paper towel from the reserve roll of toweling. Such transfer assemblies in and of themselves are not new as disclosed in the Collins U.S. Pat. No. 5,400,982. However, most transfer mechanisms result in the transfer of toweling from both the reserve roll and the stub roll, whereas the present invention is designed such that the transfer mechanism only operates when the stub roll is exhausted. 
     The invention also relates to a method of dispensing toweling which is novel and conforms with the current ADA legislation for disabled persons. Additionally, the invention includes interior mechanism which provides for easy maintenance in the field, a desirable feature due to the fact that towel cabinets of the type set forth herein are commonly used in restaurant washrooms, gas station restrooms and other places where maintenance is sporadic and the level of skill of the maintenance people is not high. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, an object of the invention is to provide a paper towel dispenser in which an actuator means is pivotally mounted on the cabinet housing outwardly of the housing and extends substantially across the entire housing at the bottom thereof. 
     Another object of the invention is to provide a towel dispenser with an actuator of the type set forth in which the pressure needed to dispense toweling is less than about 2 to 3 psi which is well below the ADA limit of 5 psi. 
     Another object of the invention is to provide a roller frame assembly pivotally mounted within the cabinet housing movable between the use position wherein a tension roller carried by the roller frame assembly is in contact with the paper web and urges same against a drive roller for dispensing the paper web from the cabinet and a maintenance position in which the roller frame assembly falls away from the drive roller permitting easy access to the interior of the towel cabinet for loading fresh rolls of toweling into the cabinet. 
     Yet another object of the invention is to provide a transfer roller for releasable holding the free end of a reserve roll of toweling which is transferred when the stub roll of toweling is exhausted. 
     The invention consists of certain novel features and a combination of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that various changes in the details may be make without departing from the spirit, or sacrificing any of the advantages of the present invention. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     For the purpose of facilitating an understanding of the invention, there is illustrated in the accompanying drawings a preferred embodiment thereof, from an inspection of which, when considered in connection with the following description, the invention, its construction and operation, and many of its advantages should be readily understood and appreciated. 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a paper roll towel dispenser embodying the invention with the cover closed; 
     FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the cabinet illustrated in FIG. 1 with the cover removed and the roller frame assembly in the non-maintenance or operating position thereof; 
     FIG. 3 is a side elevational view with the cover broken away showing a stub roll exhausted and a reserve roll of toweling in position to be dispensed by the mechanism; 
     FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the transfer and tension roller mechanism when the roller frame assembly is in its maintenance position in the absence of toweling connected to the transfer mechanism; 
     FIG. 5 is a view like FIG. 3 with the cabinet cover in the open position showing the mechanism being positioned for replacement of the toweling; 
     FIG. 6 is a view like FIG. 5 with a stub roll being positioned in the bottom of the cabinet and a reserve roll being added with the free end thereof attached to the transfer mechanism; 
     FIG. 7 is a view like FIG. 4 with the free end of a fresh roll being attached to the transfer mechanism; 
     FIG. 8 is a view like FIG. 3 with both the stub roll and the reserve roll configured for operation; 
     FIG. 9 is a view like FIG. 3 showing the operation of the transfer mechanism upon exhaustion of the stub roll; 
     FIG. 10 is a view like FIG. 9 further along in the dispensing cycle; 
     FIG. 11 is a front elevational view of the transfer roller; 
     FIG. 12 is a view like FIG. 11 rotated 90°; 
     FIG. 13 is an enlarged view partially in section of the transfer roller illustrated in FIG. 11 as seen along line  13 - 13  thereof; 
     FIG. 14 is a view in section of the transfer toller illustrated in FIG. 11 as seen along line  14 - 14  thereof; 
     FIG. 15 is a view in section of the transfer roller illustrated in FIG. 11 as seen along line  15 - 15  thereof; 
     FIG. 16 is a front elevational view of a tear bar; and 
     FIG. 17 is a view of the tear bar assembly illustrated in FIG. 16 as seen along lines  17 - 17  thereof. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to the drawings, there is disclosed a dispenser  20  which includes a housing  21  comprised of opposed and parallel side walls  22  and  23 , each of the side walls  2  and  23  respectively have an offset outwardly extending flange  24  and  26 . The outwardly extending flange  24  from the side wall  22  has a stamped portion  27  and similarly the outwardly extending offset flange  26  of the wall  23  has a stamped portion  28 . An aperture  30 , for a purpose hereinafter set forth, is positioned at the bottom of the flange  24  and a corresponding aperture (not shown) is in registry with the aperture  30  in the flange  26 . The housing  21  further includes a rear wall  32  which extends downwardly and interconnects the side walls  22  and  23  and the back terminates at the bottom edge of the side walls and a top wall  33  which interconnects the tow side walls  22  and  23  and the back wall  32 . Forwardly extending from the top wall  33  is a stair step ledge  34  which includes a pair of lock apertures  36  for a purpose hereinafter to be explained. A pair of clips  38 , only one of which is seen in FIG. 2, extend from the rear wall  32  for a purpose hereinafter set forth. A roll holder assembly  40  is mounted to the rear wall  32  of the housing  21  and has a pair of resilient arms  41  and  42  extending from a right portion of the paper roll holder assembly  40 , the right portion not being shown. The paper roll holder assembly  40  is standard in the art and includes a pair of hubs  43  and  44 , respectively, extending inwardly from the arms  41  and  42 . 
     A sleeve  46  extends inwardly from the stamped portion  27  of the flange  24  and is held in place by a screw  47 , the sleeve  46  being for a purpose hereinafter set forth while the screws  47  serve to maintain a chassis  55  within the housing  21 , as will be described. 
     A cover  50  is pivotally mounted to the housing  21  at the spaced apertures  30 , the cover including a front panel  51  integral with a top panel  52  and two side panels  53 . Locking mechanism  54  as seen in FIG. 5 is provided in the top panel  52  and cooperates with the two lock apertures  36  to secure the cover  50  to the housing  21 , in a well recognized fashion. 
     As previously stated, the chassis  55  is mounted within the housing  21  on the clips  38  extending from the rear wall  32  and maintained in place by a pair of screws  47  extending from the stamped portions  27  and  28  in the sides of the housing  21 . The chassis  55  includes spaced parallel side walls  56  and  57  interconnected by a rear wall  58  and a curved arcuate bottom wall  59  which forms a well for a stub roll as will be explained. The bottom of the chassis extends below the housing  21 . 
     An actuator assembly mechanism  65  includes a push bar  66  extending across the bottom of the housing  21  which includes a concave surface  67  against which the user pushes, the push bar  66  being connected to an arm  68  and an arm  69  at opposite ends of the push bar  66 . The arm  68  is pivotally connected to the chassis side wall  56  and the arm  69  is pivotally connected to the chassis side wall  57 . As seen in FIGS. 3 and 5, the arm  68  has a bearing  71  which mounts the push bar  66  and the actuator assembly mechanism  65  to the chassis  55 , the other bearing for the arm  69  not being illustrated. The push bar  66  has an inner edge  72  which is positioned adjacent the bottom wall  59  of the chassis  55  a distance preferably less than fingers width to prevent injury to a user described operation of the dispenser  20 , as hereinafter will be described, as well as preventing vandalism of the dispenser  20 . 
     The actuator assembly mechanism  65  has one arm  68  thereof which includes an arcuate segment  75  which carries a quadrant gear  76  with the gear teeth facing inwardly but not being illustrated for purposes of clarity. The gear teeth on the quadrant gear  76  are for a purpose hereinafter set forth. A second open portion in segment  75  has a stop wall  77  which contacts the sleeve  46  extending inwardly of the flange  44 , for a purpose hereinafter set forth. Finally, a torsion spring  80  cooperates with the arm  69  in a manner which is well known, to provide resistance to the actuation of the actuator assembly mechanism  65  and to bias the assembly mechanism  65  into its rest position illustrated in FIG.  2 . 
     A roller frame assembly  85  includes spaced apart side wall members  86  and  87 , interconnected by a bottom plate  88 , the roller frame assembly  85  having arm extensions through which extend pivot mounting aperatures  89  (see FIG. 5) pivotally mounting the roller frame assembly to the chassis  55 . Reinforcement members  91  extend from the bottom plate  88  to an upstanding wall  92 , as best seen in FIG. 2, and bearings  93  are located at the top of the side walls  86  and  87  for a purpose hereinafter set forth. 
     A tear bar  95  as best seen in FIGS. 16 and 17 is either mounted to or integral with the bottom of the roller frame assembly  85 . The tear bar  95  may be provided with tabs  95   a  and clips  95   b  for attachment to the bottom of the roller frame assembly  85  if the tear bar  95  is not molded as part of the roller frame assembly  85 . A serrated edge  95   c  is at the bottom of the tear bar  95  for a purpose to be explained. 
     Finally, spring receptacles  96  at both sides of the roller frame assembly  85  from a box-like device between the bottom plate  88  and adjacent side walls  86  or  87  to house two leaf springs  97  which extend forwardly of the roller frame assembly  85  and cooperate with the cover  50  and particularly the front  51  thereof when the cover is in its closed position, as will be explained. 
     A tension roller assembly  100  is rotatably mounted on the roller frame assembly  85  and has a pair of bearings, not shown. The tension roller assembly  100  includes a shaft  101 , see FIGS. 3-10, and spaced roller segments  102 . A transfer roller assembly  105  is mounted interior of the tension roller assembly  100  on bearings  93  of the roller frame assembly  85 . The transfer roller assembly  105  includes a shaft cruciform in cross section, see FIGS. 11-15, provided with a journal  107  at one end and a journal  108  at the other end of the shaft, the journal  108  having a stop plate  109  extending upwardly from the journal, for a purpose to be set forth. A transfer mechanism  110  is positioned generally centrally of the shaft  106  and includes a cylindrical portion  11  having an indented or removed portion  112  and a groove or receptacle  116  which receives a snap clip  115 , as seen in FIG. 2, which is resilient and cooperates with the portion  112  for a purpose hereinafter set forth. 
     A drive roller assembly  120  is rotatably mounted on the chassis  55  and includes a plurality of longitudinally spaced apart drive roller segments  121  on a shaft connected at one end to a drive gear  122  at one end of the shaft. The drive gear  122  is more completely described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,843,218 issued to Krueger et al. Oct. 22, 1995, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference. The drive gear  122  includes drive gear teeth  123  which mesh with the quadrant gear teeth  76 . The drive gear  122  further includes a one-way clutch assembly, all as previously described in the above-mentioned &#39;218 patent. 
     A paper roll  130  may be mounted on the paper roll holder assembly  40  and more particularly between the two spaced apart hubs  43  and  44  thereof. The arms  41  and  42  are resilient to allow the arms to be spread to accommodate a new paper roll  130 . A flight of paper  131  from the roll  130  extends from the roll and as will be explained, passes over the drive roller  120  and is held thereagainst by the action of the tension roller assembly  100 , as is common in the art. The free end  132  of the paper roll  130 , when installed may be inserted under the clip  115  of the transfer mechanism  110  as will be described. When the paper roll  130  has been partially dispensed, it may be moved downwardly into the well formed by the bottom wall  59  of the chassis  55  whereupon it becomes a stub roll  135 , the core  138  of which is shown in FIG. 3 in the well provided by the bottom  59  of chassis  55 . A flight of paper  136  from the stub roll  135  passes over the drive roller assembly  120  as particularly illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 8. 
     Operation of the dispenser  20  is hereinafter set forth. Referring now to FIGS. 2,  3 ,  4  and  5  of the drawings, it will be seen that when the cover  50  of the dispenser  20  is moved away from the locked position thereof shown in FIG. 1 to the position shown in FIG. 5, the roller frame assembly  85  rotates outwardly about the pivot shafts in apertures  89  such that the tension roller  100  and the transfer roller  105  carried on the roller frame assembly  85  are away from the drive roller mechanism or assembly  120  and the interior of the housing  21  is accessible. A reserve roll of toweling  130  may be inserted onto the paper roll holder assembly  40  by spreading the arms  41  and  42  apart so as to locate the hubs  43  and  44  into the core of a paper roll  130 . The flight  131  of which can be positioned easily over the drive roller assembly  120  as illustrated in FIG. 5, it being appreciated that FIG. 5 shown a paper roll  130  which is partially dispensed while FIG. 3 shows a paper roll that is reserve. The flight  131  of the paper roll  130  passes over the drive roller assembly  120  and thereafter the cover  50  can be moved from the open position shown in FIG. 5 to the closed position shown in FIG.  3 . Movement of the cover  50  to the closed position of FIG.  3  causes the leaf springs  97  mounted on the roller frame assembly  85  to come in contact with the inside of the cover front panel  51  and resiliently to urge the tension assembly  100  into contact with the flight  131  from the paper roll  130  thereby to ensure frictional contact between the paper flight  131  and the drive roller assembly  120  and more particularly the drive roller segments  121  thereof. 
     As can be seen in FIG. 3, the actuator assembly mechanism  65  is in the home or rest position in FIG. 3 whereas when the housing  21  is open for maintenance, the actuator assembly mechanism  65  is moved from the rest or home position illustrated in FIG. 3 to the dispensing position illustrated in FIG.  5 . In the position illustrated in FIG. 5, it will be noted that the segment stop wall  77  is in contact with the sleeve  46  to prevent further rotation of the actuator assembly mechanism  65  around the pivots or mounting  71  to the chassis  55 . The sleeve  49  in cooperation with the stop wall  77  also limits the amount of toweling dispensed with each actuation of the push bar  66 . 
     After a certain amount of the roll  130  has been dispensed, the towel dispenser  20  is again opened to the position shown in FIG.  5 . This time, a portion of the roll  130  remains and a reserve roll of toweling can now be moved into position. As illustrated in FIGS. 6-8, the previous roll of toweling partially dispensed (but preferably having a diameter of about 4 inches or less) is now moved into the position shown in FIGS. 6 and 8 and is denoted by the reference numeral  135  as a stub roll which rests on the bottom  59  of the chassis  55 . The flight  136  extending from the stub roll  135  which is mounted on a core  138  as seen in FIGS. 3,  9  and  10 , still passes over the drive roller assembly  120 . After the stub roll  135  is moved to the position shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, a fresh roll  130  of toweling can be inserted onto the paper roll holder assembly  40  as previously described. The flight  131  having a free end  132  is then threaded into the transfer roll assembly  105 . More specifically, the free end  132  of the flight  131  is retained under the clip  115  which urges the toweling against the indented portion  112  of the transfer mechanism  110  after the free end  132  of the reserve roll  130  is inserted into the clip  115 , the flight  131  from the reserve toll  130  passes over the flight  136  from the stub roll  135  and is therefore out of contact with the drive roller assembly  120  and more particularly out of contact with the drive roller segments  121 . The drive roller segments  121  are preferably made from a tacky material such as rubber or other frictional materials such as sand paper or the like in order to drive the flight of toweling in contact therewith. Because of the weight of the roller frame assembly  85  with both tension roller assembly  100  and transfer roller assembly  105  mounted thereon, the roller frame assembly  85  moves to its maintenance position illustrated in FIG. 6 when the cover  50  is in the open position as illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6. 
     When the cover  50  is moved to its closed position as illustrated in FIG. 8, the leaf springs  97  bear against the inside of the front  51  of the cover  50  and urge the roller frame assembly  85  into the position illustrated in FIG. 8 wherein the tension roller assembly  100  and more particularly the roller segments  102  thereof are urged against the flight  136  of the stub roller  135  which passes over the drive roller assembly  120  to ensure frictional contact between the drive roller segments  121  and the flight  136 . As will be noted from FIGS. 6 and 8, the transfer roller assembly  105  is out of contact with the drive roller assembly  120  due to the flight  136  from the stub roll  135  which passes therebetween. In this condition, actuation of the actuator assembly  65  to dispense paper toweling  136  from the dispenser  20  does not cause rotation of the transfer roller assembly  105 . 
     As before noted, the torsion spring biases the actuator assembly mechanism  65  into the position shown in FIGS. 3 and 8. Movement of the push bar  66  causes rotation of the drive roller assembly  120 . More particularly, movement of the actuator assembly mechanism  65  to the right as shown in FIGS. 3 and 8 causes the quadrant gear  76  and the teeth thereof to engage the teeth  123  on the drive gear  122  to cause the drive gear  122  and thereby the drive roller segments  121  to rotate in a counter clockwise direction. The one way clutch in the mechanism  122  disengages after the actuator assembly mechanism  65  reaches the end of its stroke whereupon the sleeve  46  comes in contact with the stop surface  77  of the arcuate segment  75 . When the torsion spring causes the push bar  66  to move to the left in the direction opposite of the arrows in FIGS. 3 and 8, the one way clutch assembly in the drive gear  122  disengages whereby the drive rollers  121  do not rotate in an opposite direction. Repeated actuation of the push bar  66  causes the stub roll  135  to be dispensed, in general a web of approximately 5-12 inches of toweling is dispensed with each complete actuation of the actuator assembly mechanism  65  and toweling is torn from the dispenser  20  by engagement of the flight of toweling with the tear bar  95  and particularly the serrated edge  95   c.  In some instances, the paper is glued to the roll and in these instances the roll tends to interfere with the transfer roll assembly  105 . To prevent this core stops may be added to prevent contact of the roll with the transfer roll assembly  105 . 
     When the paper roll  130  gets to be approximately four inches in diameter, it can be moved from the position shown in FIG.  3  and becomes a stub roll  135  as shown in FIGS. 6 and 8. After a reserve roll  130  is inserted into the dispenser  20  and the free end  132  of the flight  131  is inserted the clip  115  as previously discussed, the configuration illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 8 is obtained. In FIG. 9 the stub roll  135  is exhausted and a free end  132  of the flight  131  is moved into the nip formed between the transfer roller  105  and the drive roller assembly  120 , all as illustrated in FIG. 9, because the absence of flight  131  causes the transfer roll assembly  105  to contact the drive rollers  121  causing clockwise rotation of the transfer roller  105 . Continued movement of the actuator assembly  65  to the right or in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 9 causes the free end  132  of the flight  131  to move between the transfer roller  105  and the drive roller  120  until the free end  132  meets the nip between the tension roller  100  and the drive roller assembly  120 . Further actuation then causes the flight  131  to be dispensed from the housing  121  as previously illustrated. Rotation of the transfer roller  105  is limited by the stop plate  109 . Thereafter, toweling is dispensed in response to actuation of the actuator assembly mechanism  65  until the roll  130  is reduced to about four inches in diameter whereafter it can be moved as a stub roll  135  to the position illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 8. 
     An important feature of the present invention is the relationship between the actuator assembly mechanism  65  and particularly the push bar  66  thereof and the bottom  59  of the chassis  55 . The close spatial relationship in the arc of travel of the bar  66  and the shape of the bottom  59  prevent users from inadvertently jamming a finger between the inner edge surface  72  of the push bar  66  and the bottom  59  of the chassis  55 . This is an important safety feature and particularly useful for young children. 
     Another important feature of the present invention is the fact that the push bar  66  extends entirely across the width of the housing  21 . This configuration of the push bar  66  permits easy use of the dispenser  20  by both left handed and right handed individually as well as by disabled persons in wheelchairs or younger users who are not tall enough to reach the usual mechanisms which are higher up on the housing  21 . The dispenser  20  may be made out of plastic or metal as may be the major constituents of the dispenser. Preferably, the housing is made of a plastic material and molded in one piece. The cover  50  may also be molded of a single piece and pivotally mounted onto the housing  21 . The chassis  55  is also preferably molded as a single piece and is easily inserted into the housing  21 , even in the field due to the clips  38  and the screws  47 . The roller frame assembly  85  is also preferably molded as a single plastic piece and the tear bar  95  may be either integrally molded with the roller frame assembly  85  or may be a metal piece clipped on by use of the tabs  95   a  and the resilient clips  95   b.  The transfer roller assembly  105  can also be integrally molded as a single piece with the clip  115  being snap fit into the receptacle  116  provided in the transfer mechanism cylindrical position  111 . As previously stated, the stop plate  109  serves to limit the amount of rotation of the transfer roller assembly  105  so that the transfer roller assembly  105  rotates through approximately 180° of arc. 
     Because the quadrant gear  76  causes the drive roller to rotate in a counter clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 9, the transfer roller  105  rotates in a clockwise direction until the free end  132  of the flight  131  is introduced into the nip between the tension roller  100  and the drive roller assembly  120 . 
     A significant aspect and important object of the invention is that the dispenser  20  is designed to transfer the reserve roll  130  only when the stub roll  135  is exhausted. Although it may be that under certain conditions of high static electricity, a premature transfer may take place, the only result of this is that two flights of paper  131  and  136  are dispensed simultaneously, a condition which can be endured and is preferred to the situation where no paper is dispensed. Nevertheless, under the usual and ordinary commercial working situation, the dispenser  20  will operate to transfer paper at a zero condition, that is when the stub roll  135  is exhausted and the transfer roller  105  and most particularly the cylindrical portion  111  thereof comes in contact with the drive roller segments  121  thereby causing rotation of the transfer roller  105  to introduce the free end  132  of the flight  131  into the nip between the drive roller assembly  120  and the tension roller assembly  100 . At the present time, the dispenser  20  dispenses about 5-{fraction ( 1 / 2 )} inches of towel per stroke, but this can be varied by means well know in the art. 
     While there has been disclosed what is considered to be the preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is understood that various changes in the details may be made without departing from the spirit, or sacrificing any of the advantages of the present invention.