Abstract:
An automatic rolled tissue dispensing system, which includes a housing within which is located a tissue advancing element comprising a pair of feed rollers which pull the tissue product from a roll of continuous rolled tissue product and advance the tissue to a sheet separating element comprising a pair of tearing rollers which remove individual tissue sheets from the continuous roll. A guide allows the tissue sheets discharged from the tearing rollers to be laid horizontally and stacked in a dispensing tray accessible to the user. An electric motor drives the rollers. The tearing rollers are driven through a variable clutch at a faster speed than the feed rollers, which causes the tissue to tear along its perforations in between the two sets of rollers. A first photo detecting sensor monitors the number of tissue sheets discharged from the tearing rollers, and a second photo detecting sensor monitors the presence of tissue sheets in the dispensing tray. When a pile of tissue sheets is removed from the dispensing tray, the second sensor activates the motor, which allows tissue sheets to be dispensed into the tray until the number of sheets pre-selected by the user has been counted by the first sensor.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]    This patent application has a Convention priority date based on a first provisional application Ser. No. 60/234,193 filed Sep. 20, 2000. A second provisional application was filed Mar. 12, 2001. 
     
    
     
       TECHNICAL FIELD  
         [0002]    The present invention relates to a paper dispensing system. More specifically, it relates to a system for dispensing tissue from a continuous length paper product stored on a roll, such as toilet paper, paper toweling, and the like.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    Most toilet paper comes on rolls. To use it, the paper has to be unrolled and torn off. The torn-off strip of paper has then to be folded, to create a layered strip of sufficient strength. The paper, perforated so that it can be torn off easily, is generally divided into square sheets between each perforation. Although the perforations make it easier to tear the paper from the roll, they do create a problem. If the tissue is not carefully folded along the perforations, a perforated line will be located in the middle of the layered strip. If perforation lines of juxtaposed layers line up, the tissue strip is significantly weakened. To compensate for this resulting reduced strength, more paper generally has to be used.  
           [0004]    In order to use the tissue in the most economical fashion, the perforations should ideally be located at the edges of the layered strip. This achieves greatest strength from the least amount of paper. Whether the paper is folded over at the edges, or torn creating separate sheets, makes little difference. However, the perforated lines are often hardly noticeable, and most people cannot be bothered to locate the perforated lines, count the sheets, and then fold the tissue along the perforations. As a result, they use more tissue to compensate for the reduced strength. While the paper waste for a single toilet may not be that significant, the combined paper waste on a city, country or global scale is staggering. As forests are steadily depleted world-wide, the environmental impact of paper waste on such a large scale is significant. Another problem associated with traditional use of perforated toilet paper from a roll is having to tear it off manually. While this does not necessarily require much effort for most, a dispenser which tears sheets off the roll for the user eliminates a step which could be of greater challenge for people with reduced mobility. Also, sheets are often manually torn off a roll in between the perforated lines, creating further waste. Unless diligence is taken and both hands are used, the tissue will often not tear along the perforations. No known prior art addresses the problem of having to manually tear off paper from the roll.  
           [0005]    Motorized paper dispensers with photoelectric detectors, and motorized paper towel dispensers are well known.  
           [0006]    U.S. Pat. No. 2,243,686, issued May 27, 1941 to Steiner et al, discloses a sheet dispensing cabinet which comprises a gravity fed supply roll which is continuously engaged with a feed roll. An operating disk, used to start the paper dispensing after tear-off, is attached at one end of the feed roll. A tear-off knife allows a sheet to be manually torn from the roll.  
           [0007]    U.S. Pat. No. 3,167,368, issued Jan. 26, 1965 to Rozlog et al, discloses a motor-driven dispenser, actuated by an accessible button, for rolled sheet material such as toilet tissue and paper towels. Two electric motor-driven feed belt assemblies within an external housing, resiliently engage the sheet material being fed. A guide chute receives the sheet material and guides it from its roll to the discharge opening in the front cover of the housing. Sheets are separated from the continuous roll by manual pulling of the free end of the material by the user, which causes the material to tear along a perforation line of the material within the housing of the dispenser.  
           [0008]    U.S. Pat. No. 4,786,005, issued Nov. 22, 1988 to Hoffman et al, discloses an apparatus for dispensing rolled sheet material such as paper towels. The apparatus automatically dispenses sheet material when actuated in response to the proximity of a hand of a user. An electric motor drives the dispensing apparatus for a predetermined time, dispensing a predetermined length of sheet material. The user then manually tears away the length of sheet material.  
           [0009]    U.S. Pat. No. 5,452,832, issued Sep. 26, 1995 to Niada, discloses an apparatus for dispensing, in response to the movement of a user&#39;s hand, an adjustable length of paper towel manually severable from a continuous roll of paper. A proximity detector actuates a motor for a predetermined time which operates a dragging roller, thereby dispensing a set length of paper from the feed roll. A stationary blade cuts the strip from the continuous roll when the user applies pressure with the paper on the blade.  
           [0010]    U.S. Pat. No. 6,105,898, issued Aug. 22, 2000 to Byrd et al, discloses a hands-free paper towel dispenser which dispenses a length of paper in response to the movement of a user&#39;s hands. A photo sensor activates a motor which rotates a drive roller, dispensing a predetermined sheet length which can be grasped by the user and manually torn off along a blade. Provision for two paper rolls, a main roll and a stub roll, allows a partially depleted main roll to be transferred by an attendant to the stub roll position, so that it can be completely depleted before a new roll is started.  
           [0011]    There exist four principal deficiencies in the conventional use of toilet paper: paper has to be manually unrolled, paper has to be torn off, paper has to be folded, and paper use is not most economical. Of these, the prior art fails to address all but the first of these deficiencies, and sufficiently solves none of them, as all known automatic unrolling dispensers nevertheless require the direct input of a user, whether to operate a push button or create a hand movement for a proximity detector. As a result of the foregoing, an improved paper dispensing device capable of providing a combined solution to all the aforementioned needs is presented herein.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0012]    It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved rolled paper dispensing device.  
           [0013]    It is also an object of the present invention to provide a paper dispensing device that automatically dispenses rolled toilet paper.  
           [0014]    It is another object of the present invention to provide a paper dispensing device that automatically tears off individual toilet paper sheets.  
           [0015]    It is a further object of the present invention to provide a device which dispenses toilet paper for most economical use.  
           [0016]    Therefore, in accordance with the present invention, there is provided a rolled tissue dispensing system comprising a housing means dimensioned to accept at least one roll of a continuous rolled tissue product, having at least a lower dispensing opening; at least a tissue sheet separating means disposed within said housing means, for removing individual tissue sheets from said continuous rolled tissue product; at least a tissue advancing means disposed within said housing means, for advancing said continuous tissue product from said roll to said sheet separating means; at least a tissue sheet guide disposed within said housing means, enabling tissue sheets discharged from said tissue sheet separating means to be laid horizontally and stacked in a dispensing tray accessible by said dispensing opening in said housing means; at least an electric motor for powering said tissue advancing means and said tissue sheet separating means; whereby the tissue sheets are individually separated from the rolled tissue product as continuous tissue product is advanced through the tissue separating means.  
           [0017]    The device operates automatically in order to maintain a supply of stacked tissue sheets in the dispensing tray. The device separates the continuous rolled tissue along the perforated lines, counts the pre-selected number of discharged sheets, and then stacks the sheets on top of each other in the dispensing tray. No force is required to remove the pile from the tray of the dispenser, and as soon as a pile is removed, another is delivered by the device.  
           [0018]    Further features and advantages of the present invention will become fully apparent by referring to the following detailed description, claims, and the appended drawings. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0019]    [0019]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the rolled tissue dispensing system.  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the present invention with the lateral face of the housing removed.  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 3 is a side elevation view of an alternate embodiment of the present invention, having two independent motors, with the lateral face of the housing removed.  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 4 is a top elevation view of the sheet paper guide means of the present invention.  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 5 is a front elevation view of a multiple dispenser embodiment of the present invention having two dispensers side-by-side.  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 6 is a top elevation view of an alternate embodiment of the sheet separating rollers having a jagged profile.  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the present invention showing the tissue advancing and tissue sheet separating means, and including a tissue serration element, convex shaped rollers, and solenoid driven paper guiding means.  
         [0026]    [0026]FIGS. 8 a  to  8   d  are top elevation views of the tissue advancing means of the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, showing the possible feed roller positions established by the paper guiding means.  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 9 is a partially exploded perspective view of the serration means of the embodiment of FIG. 7.  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the adjustable clutch mounted on the driven tearing roller of the tissue sheet separating means.  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 11 is a schematic circuit diagram of the electronic control system. 
     
    
       [0030]    It will be noted that throughout the appended drawings, like features are identified by like reference numerals.  
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0031]    Referring to FIG. 1, the rolled tissue dispensing device  10  is comprised of an exterior housing  12  having a front face  11 , a back face  15 , and two lateral faces  13 . A top cover  14 , attached to the exterior housing  12  along the top edge of the back face  15  by hinge  16 , provides access for the top loading of replacement tissue rolls  30 . A bottom dispensing tray  18  provides the dispensing medium for users, and an opening  20  in the tray  18  facilitates the removal of a pile of tissue sheets. A lower cutout  17  in the vertical front face  11  of the housing  12 , provides frontal access to the tissue sheets for the user. The front face  11  of the casing  12  also comprises an out-of-paper indicator light  26  and a load-paper push button  28 . A selector switch  24  which permits the pre-selection of the number of tissue sheets desired, and a power switch  22  are located on a lateral face  13  of the exterior housing  12 .  
         [0032]    Referring now to FIG. 2, the device uses two sets of rollers, namely, feed rollers  32  and  34  and tearing rollers  40  and  42 , to pull the tissue from the feed roll  30 . Roller  32  is driven by a motor  48  through a belt  38 . The motor  48  is also used to drive tearing roller  40 , through an adjustable clutch  44  having a free pulley  41 , by belt  46 . Rollers  34  and  42  are held in contact with rollers  32  and  40  respectively, by helical coil compression springs  54  and  56  mounted on fixed bases  58 . The springs ensure contact with driven rollers  32  and  40  causing spring-loaded rollers  34  and  42  to rotate in opposite directions from rollers  32  and  40 . The spring-loaded rollers  34  and  42  apply pressure to the paper, however still allowing small foreign objects which may fall inside the housing, such as coins, to pass through without obstructing the system. The size of the pulleys are chosen such that rollers  40  and  42  rotate faster than rollers  32  and  34 .  
         [0033]    An optional additional feed roller  36  provides additional support and rotating force for the tissue roll  30 . Small guide rollers  50  on either side of the tissue feed roll  30  ensure that the tissue roll  30  is centered and does not translate forward when it is rotated by the feed rollers  32  and  36 . Alternate feed roller  36  is driven by the attached pulley  37  which is driven by the motor  48  through a belt  39 . The motor pulley  51  is the driver for the belt driven roller pulleys  33 ,  37 , and  41 .  
         [0034]    The entire roller support assembly  52  is fixed to the inside of the lateral faces  13  of the housing  12 . The sheet paper guide  60 , as shown in FIG. 4, is downwardly biased towards the rear face  15  of the exterior housing  12 . The curved upper portion  62  of the sheet paper guide  60 , accepts tissue sheets pushed into the guide by tearing rollers  40  and  42 . Paper sheets then slide down the top surface of the guide  63 . To ensure that the paper sheets slide down the guide smoothly, the guide can be coated with a material such as Teflon. At the upper portion of the guide, the individual tissue sheets are supported by the top surface  63  such that the sheets remain generally flat as they slide down the guide. Trapezoidal shaped cutout  66 , in the middle of the guide  60 , eliminates the center support for the descending tissue as it reaches the lower portion of the guide. This causes the tissue sheet to cave in the middle, and fall through the guide into the dispensing tray  18  below. An opening  64  in the upper curved portion  62  of the sheet paper guide  60 , allows for the number of sheets dispensed to be counted by a censor. The device uses two photocell detectors  68  and  72  which have corresponding reflecting mirrors  70  and  74  respectively. Photocell detector  68  monitors the number of tissue sheets torn from the roll. Photocell detector  72  monitors the presence of paper in the dispensing tray  18 .  
         [0035]    When a roll of tissue  30  is inserted into the space  31  above the rollers, such that gravity maintains contact between the paper roll and the rollers, and the load button  28  on the front face  11  of the exterior housing  12  is pushed, the rollers  32  and  36  begin turning and rotate the roll of paper tissue  30 . As the freed end of the paper roll reaches feed rollers  32  and  34 , the loose end will get caught between feed rollers which pull the continuous tissue strip  19  down through the paper guide  25 , feeding the end into tearing rollers  40  and  42 . As rollers  40  and  42  are spinning faster than feed rollers  32  and  34 , the clutch  44  on roller  40  will begin to slip. The difference in rotating speeds between the lower rollers  40  and  42  and the upper rollers  32  and  34  creates pressure on the tissue strip between the two sets of rollers. The clutch  44  is adjusted so that the pressure on the tissue is such that it does not break the non-perforated tissue. However, when a perforated line in the tissue strip comes between the upper and lower sets of rollers, the tissue strip will break. The now separated individual tissue sheet  21  is pushed down into the tissue sheet guide  60  under the tearing rollers  40  and  42 , and subsequently falls into the dispensing tray  18  below. The system would equally work if rollers  32  and  34  were driven through the clutch and rollers  40  and  42  were driven directly by the motor. However, the roll of paper  30  would subsequently rotate in a less smooth and continuous manner.  
         [0036]    [0036]FIG. 10 shows the individual elements of the adjustable clutch  44 . The driven tearing roller  40  rotates about an axial shaft  55 , and is located by a support bearing  53 . Drive disk  43  is fixed on the shaft  55  by a keyway  57 . A free clutch pulley  41  is driven by the electric motor  48  through a drive belt  46 . The clutch pulley  43  is held against the drive disk  43  by a clutch helical coil compression spring  47 , and a retaining nut  49  is threaded onto the shaft  55 . By tightening or loosening the retaining nut  49 , the spring will exert more or less force on the clutch pulley  41 . This allows the amount of slip of the clutch to be varied, and therefore permits calibration of the force applied by the tearing rollers on the tissue.  
         [0037]    An alternate embodiment of the present invention, shown in FIG. 3, comprises two independent electric motors, namely, existing motor  48  and additional motor  76 . No clutch is required in this embodiment, as motor  48  drives feed rollers  32  and  36 , and the additional motor  76  drives the tearing roller  40 . The additional motor  76 , however, is driven with a higher voltage than the first motor  48 . This difference in voltages translates directly into a difference in torques. Therefore, the motor  76 , having more torque than the first motor  48 , would apply a greater downward pressure on the paper tissue, thereby tearing off tissue sheets from the continuous roll. The voltage difference for the alternate motor  76  is calibrated in a manner similar to the variable clutch  44  in the first embodiment. The voltage difference is set to a value such that if there is no perforated line in the tissue paper between the two sets of rollers, the tissue strip will not break. However, when a perforated line in the tissue strip appears between the two sets of rollers, the tissue will tear along these perforations. A sufficient discharge speed of the torn-off tissue sheets is required in order to guarantee that the tissue sheets  21  will fall through the trapezoidal cutout  66  in the guide  60  and settle in the dispensing tray  18  before the next sheet arrives. This guarantees that the individual tissue sheets  21  are stacked neatly on top of each other.  
         [0038]    The user can select the number of sheets desired in the dispensed stack by presetting the sheet selector switch  24  on the lateral face  13  of the exterior housing  12 , which varies the subsequent thickness of the tissue sheet pile. As each individual torn-off tissue sheet  21  is discharged from the tearing rollers  40  and  42 , the photocell detector  68  senses each sheet of paper as it passes through the light beam of the detector. An electronic control system  97 , as shown in FIG. 11, receives the input of the photocell detector  68  and compares the number of sheets that have passed by the detector  68  to the value preset by the user with the selector switch  24 . When these two numbers are equal, the drive motor is stopped by the control system  97 . When the photo detector  72  senses that the pile of sheets in the dispensing tray  18  has been removed, the motor is activated, and the cycle restarts delivering another pile of sheets into the dispensing tray. When the load paper button  28  on the exterior of the casing  12  is pushed, the motor is similarly started and runs until the preset number of individual tissue sheets have been dispensed into the tray. If the photocell detector  68  fails to sense paper for a preset time period, the motor will automatically stop, and the out-of-paper indicator  26  on the exterior of the casing  12  will light up.  
         [0039]    Although the system has been designed for toilet paper use, the device could be equally used in other applications requiring larger systems, such as paper toweling or sheet paper production. Similarly, this system could replace boxed facial tissue when used in commercial establishments. Additional features which would prevent the abuse of the device can be easily introduced through the control system  97 , such as fixing a maximum number of tissue sheets which can be dispensed at one time, and presetting a delay time before subsequent tissue sheets are dispensed following the removal of a stack of tissue sheets.  
         [0040]    [0040]FIG. 5 shows an alternate embodiment of the tissue dispensing device. A double dispenser system  78  comprises a double system exterior housing  80  enclosing two individual tissue dispensing devices  10 , as previously described. This system solves the problem associated with a single roll dispensing device running out of paper. Such a double dispenser system is necessary for commercial uses. Commercial establishments, such as restaurants and hotels, are reluctant to leave partially used rolls in the roll dispensing holders in the event that a partial roll will not be sufficient. Full spare rolls left unattended can be stolen or incorrectly inserted into the dispenser by the user. Dispenser holders which stack one roll above the other are not ideal, as the stacked rolls impede the bottom dispensing roll from turning. Two individual rolls side by side do not adequately solve the problem either, as there is no way to ensure that users will use the smallest roll first. This increases the likelihood that two partially used rolls will remain. Attendants then have to replace the partially used rolls with full ones in order to ensure a sufficient quantity is supplied. A solution is to use two identical dispensing systems in one single enclosure with an electronic switch-over from one system to another when the smallest roll is completely used up. In this way, there is also a backup system should one fail. Two additional photocell detectors  82  are provided on the interior wall  81  of the double system housing  80 . Corresponding reflecting mirrors  84  on the interior of the lateral faces  83  of the housing  80  reflect back the light beam from the photocell detectors when a paper roll is empty. When a photocell detector  82  senses that one roll is used beyond a preset level, the system automatically dispenses paper from the smallest roll, making sure that the roll will be completely finished before switching to the fuller roll.  
         [0041]    [0041]FIG. 6 shows an alternate embodiment of the tearing rollers  40  and  42 . In this embodiment, rollers  86  and  88  are formed having an interfitting wavy profile, which gives the paper passed through the rollers added rigidity. This prevents tissue sheets from them curling backwards as they slide down the tissue sheet guide  60 .  
         [0042]    Another embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 7. One potential problem with the device is that a paper roll which is not correctly inserted or which for some other reason moves laterally as it is pulled through rollers  32  and  34 , can become jammed. A solution to this problem, as shown in this embodiment, is to replace one or both feed rollers  32  and  34  having a uniform circumferential surface, with rollers  94  and  96  which have a double-convex longitudinal profile such that they are generally cylindrical but have a circular cross-section which gradually decreases towards the ends of the roller. Additionally, two control system activated solenoids  90  and  92  can provide slight rotation of the rollers about a vertical central axis through roller lever arms  91  or  93 .  
         [0043]    Two additional sensors, a left photocell  102  with corresponding light emitting diode  104  and a right photocell  106  with corresponding light emitting diode  108 , are positioned on opposing ends of the sensing and serrating assembly  110 , such that they are located on either side of the descending tissue strip  19 . If the continuous tissue strip wanders too far to one side, the photocell on the corresponding side will sense the presence of the tissue, and the control system will activate the opposing solenoid side in order to recenter the tissue strip. The curve of the rollers  94  and  96 , and their relative rotation when the solenoids are activated, will re-align the off center tissue strip. FIG. 8 a  shows such a system in normal operation.  
         [0044]    [0044]FIG. 8 b  shows the case where the tissue strip has moved laterally to the left in the drawing, and the rollers are squeezed together on the opposite side, creating a pulling center to the right side of the tissue strip, thereby recentering the strip. FIG. 8 c  shows the same situation, but for a strip that has strayed to the opposite side of center. Activating both solenoids simultaneously, as shown in FIG. 8 d,  permits the rollers to be completely removed from contact with each other. This removes the pressure put on the tissue strip and allows the strip to pass through the device without being broken. This permits a continuous sheet to be delivered if desired. The tissue feed slot  109 , between the opposing halves of the sensing and serrating assembly  110 , helps guide the descending tissue strip between the sets of rollers.  
         [0045]    For certain applications, the rolled tissue may not be preperforated into individual sheets. The embodiment shown in FIG. 7 permits the serration of such a tissue roll. A comb-like serrator assembly  111  comprises a serrator base  114 , serrator blades  116 , and a dedicated solenoid  112 . Corresponding holes  117  for the serrator blades  116  are located in the opposing half of the sensing and serrating assembly  110 , as shown in FIGS. 7 and 9. When the serrator is activated by the solenoid  112 , the sharp edges of the serrator blades are pushed through the stretched paper tissue, causing it to break. A control system, as shown in FIG. 11, detects if the inserted roll of tissue is non-perforated and switches automatically to the program for providing serrations using the serrator assembly  111 . This allows the use of both perforated and non-perforated tissue.  
         [0046]    The embodiment(s) of the invention described above is(are) intended to be exemplary only. The scope of the invention is therefore intended to be limited solely by the scope of the appended claims.