Wet toilet paper automatic supplier

A wet toilet paper automatic supplier includes a toilet paper strip windably or foldably stored in a housing, a roller assembly having a plurality of rollers for directing the toilet paper outwardly from inside the housing by a driving device, a lower wetting device delivering water upwardly for capillarily wetting the toilet paper strip from an underside of the toilet paper strip, an upper wetting device positioned above the lower wetting device for indirectly distributing water downwardly towards the toilet paper strip, a paper discharging device for taking up the wetted toilet paper strip for discharging the wetted paper strip outwardly, and a pair of cuttig knives disposed on an upper and a lower side of the wetted paper strip for cutting the wetted paper strip to a desired paper length or size for providing an instantly wetting toilet paper for hygienic use.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
A conventional wet tissue or paper strip may be folded or wound to be 
stored in a container or can, which can be pulled outwardly for its use. 
However, the paper is premoisturized and stored in the closed container, 
thereby being easily mildewed especially when stored for a long time and 
possibly influencing health and hygiene for the use of the moisturized 
paper. The container for storing the moisturized paper therein are made by 
mass production in a factory. After using up the paper, the empty 
container shall be disposed to cause wasting of material and to increase 
environmental protection problem. 
The present inventor has found the drawbacks of the conventional wet paper 
container, and invented the present automatic supplier for supplying wet 
toilet paper. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The object of the present invention is to provide a wet toilet paper 
automatic supplier including a toilet paper strip windably or foldably 
stored in a housing, a roller assembly having a plurality of rollers for 
directing the toilet paper outwardly from inside the housing by a driving 
device, a lower wetting device delivering water upwardly for capillarily 
wetting the toilet paper strip from an underside of the toilet paper 
strip, an upper wetting device positioned above the lower wetting device 
for indirectly distributing water downwardly towards the toilet paper 
strip, a paper discharging device for taking up the wetted toilet paper 
strip for discharging the wetted paper strip outwardly, and a pair of 
cuttig knives disposed on an upper and a lower side of the wetted paper 
strip for cutting the wetted paper strip to a desired paper length or size 
for providing an instantly wetting toilet paper for hygienic use.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
As shown in FIGS. 1-5, the present invention comprises: a housing 1, a 
toilet paper strip 2, a roller assembly 3, a driving means 4, a direct 
wetting means 5, an indirect wetting means 6, a paper discharging means 7, 
and a cutting means 8. 
The toilet paper (or tissue) strip 2 may be wound on a reel 21 rotatably 
held in the housing 1 or may be foldably stored in the housing 1. 
The roller assembly 3 includes: a driving roller 31 having a driving roller 
shaft 311 rotatably held in the housing 1 and provided with a driving 
roller gear 43 which is driven by a driving gear 42 secured to a motor 
shaft of a driving motor 41 of the driving means 4, a follower roller 32 
rotatably engageable with the driving roller 31 for operatively clamping 
the toilet paper strip 2 between the driving roller 31 and the follower 
roller 32 rotatably mounted on a follower roller axle 321 which is held in 
the housing 1 and resiliently urged by a tensioning spring 322 to closely 
contact the follower roller 32 with the driving roller 31, and a pair of 
idler rollers 33 disposed on two opposite surfaces of the toilet paper 
strip 2 for guiding the paper strip 2 to the driving roller 31 and the 
follower roller 32. 
The driving means 4 includes: the driving motor 41, the driving gear 42, 
the driving roller gear 43, and a paper discharging gear 45 which is 
driven by the driving roller gear 43 by an intermediate transmission gear 
44 for driving the paper discharging means 7. The driving gear 42, the 
driving roller gear 43, the intermediate transmission gear 44, and the 
paper discharging gear 45 are defined as a transmission gear set 40 of the 
driving means 4. 
The direct wetting means 5 positioned under the indirect wetting means 6 
includes: a first water distributing container 51 secured in the housing 1 
under the toilet paper strip 2, a capillary wetting port 52 formed on an 
upper end of the first water distributing container 51 adjacent to the 
driving roller 31 and having a width generally equal to a width of the 
toilet paper strip 2 with the capillary wetting port 52 normally 
contacting a bottom surface of the toilet paper strip 2, a first water 
conduit 53 connected with the first water distributing container 51 for 
supplying water into the container 51 from a water source for capillarily 
wetting the toilet paper strip 2 in contact with the capillary wetting 
port 52, an electromagnetic latch 54 having a latch tip 541 operatively 
raising the toilet paper strip 2 to be separated from the wetting port 52 
when wetting operation is not required as shown in FIG. 1, an overflow 
water collector 55 secured to the first water distributing container 51 
for collecting water overflowing from the wetting port 52 for 
recirculation use, and a first water heater 56 for heating or warming 
water in the first water distributing container 51. 
The indirect wetting means 6 includes: a second water distributing 
container 61 positioned above the toilet paper strip 2 filled with water 
in the container 61, a water draining port 62 formed on an opening end of 
the second water distributing container 61 slightly contacting a 
circumferential surface of the follower roller 32 for draining water on 
the follower roller 32 for transferring water into the upper surface of 
the toilet paper strip 2 for wetting the paper strip 2, a second water 
conduit 63 supplying water into the second water distributing container 
61, and a second water heater 64 for heating the water in the second water 
distributing container 61. 
Both wetting means 5, 6 can be served together for wetting the toilet paper 
strip 2 or either wetting means 5 or 6 can be individually provided for 
wetting the paper strip according to practical requirement. 
The water source may be obtained from a water reservoir 9 positioned on a 
top portion of the housing 1 as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, wherein the 
reservoir 9 is provided with a valve 91 having a plug 93 secured on a 
bottom portion of a handle 92 for sealing a valve opening 94 in the valve 
91 and a male adapter 95 for detachably connecting a coupling connector 
501 of a main water conduit 50 having an adapter hole 502 engaged with the 
male adapter 95. The main conduit 50 may be bifurcated to supply water to 
the first and second conduits 53, 63. 
The paper discharging means 7 includes: a driving shaft 71 rotatably 
mounted in the housing 1 and secured to a paper-discharging gear 45 to be 
rotatably driven by the driving motor 41 through the gears 42, 43, 44 and 
45, a belt carrying frame 72 having a shaft hole 721 formed through a 
lower portion of the frame 72 for rotatably engaging the driving shaft 71 
in the shaft hole 721, a follower sleeve 73 rotatably mounted on a sleeve 
spindle 731 which is secured to an upper portion of the belt carrying 
frame 72 and slidably held in an arcuate slot 12 formed in two opposite 
side walls 11 of the housing 1 as shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of take-up 
belts 74 each belt 74 having a plurality of fine bristles 741 formed on 
the belt 74 rotatably contacting a circumferential surface of the driving 
roller 31 for smoothly taking up a wetted toilet paper strip 2 passing 
through the driving roller 31 and the follower roller 32 as shown in FIG. 
1 to prevent an adhering and winding of the wet paper strip 2 on the 
driving roller 31 with each take-up belt 74 formed as an endless belt 
wound about the driving shaft 71 and the follower sleeve 73 for forwarding 
a wetted toilet paper strip 1 from the driving and follower rollers 31, 32 
outwardly as laid on the belts 74, and a follower wedge 75 having an 
inclined bottom surface sloping downwardly outwardly and secured to a 
front end portion of the frame 72 to be thrusted upwardly by a tripping 
wedge 87 formed on an upper portion of the cutting means 8 for separating 
the belts 74 from a cutting means 8 positioned on an outer side of the 
driving and follower rollers 31, 32 for preventing cutting injury by the 
cutting means 8. 
The paper discharging means 7 may be modified as shown in FIG. 6, which 
includes a take-up roller 73a having a plurality of collars 74a 
juxtapositionally mounted on the take-up roller 73a each collar 74a having 
fine bristles 741 formed on a circumference of the collar 74a for taking 
up wetted toilet paper strip 2 from the roller assembly 2. The take-up 
roller 73a is driven by the driving means 4. 
The cutting means 8 positioned between the driving roller 31 and the paper 
discharging means 7 includes: a lower knife 81 slidably held in the 
housing, a crank arm 82 pivotally connecting the lower knife 81 and an 
eccentric gear 84 rotatably mounted in the housing 1, a knife-moving motor 
86 having a pinion 85 rotatably engageable with the eccentric gear 84 for 
rotating the eccentric gear 84 for eccentrically moving the crank arm 83 
for reciprocatively moving the lower knife 81 upwardly and downwardly, an 
upper knife 82 fixedly secured on the housing 1 above the lower knife 81 
and cooperatively cutting a wetted toilet paper strip 2 delivered 
outwardly by the driving and follower rollers 31, 32 when the lower knife 
81 is raised upwardly, and the follower wedge 75 having an inclined upper 
surface sloping downwardly outwardly and operatively engageable with the 
follower wedge 75 formed on the paper discharging means 7 for thrusting 
the follower wedge 75 and the paper discharging means 7 upwardly to 
separate from the cutting means 8 to prevent an injury such as cutting of 
a user's hand. 
The paper discharging means 7 further includes a scraper 70 fixed on the 
housing 1 to tangentially contact a circumferential surface of the 
follower roller 32 for scraping off any wetted toilet paper strip 2 
adhered and wound on the follower roller 32, ensuring a discharge of 
wetted paper strip by the paper discharging means 7. 
As shown in FIG. 5, the toilet paper strip 2 has its inner end portion 
formed with a deep color marking 22 to be sensed by a photoelectric sensor 
(not shown) which will operatively switch off a power source supplied to 
the driving means 4, the wetting means 5, 6, the roller assembly 3, the 
cutting means 8, etc. for safety purpose. 
As shown in FIG. 7, the present invention may be combined with a drinking 
or hot water reservoir or supplier 9. The water source for wetting the 
paper strip 2 may be supplied from such a reservoir 9. 
The present invention is superior to a conventional wet paper container 
because of an instantly wetting may prevent mildew problem for hygienic 
and health purpose. Also, the paper can be re-filled in the housing 1 and 
there is no problem for the disposal of paper container as found in a 
conventional wet paper container or can. 
The present invention may be modified without departing from the spirit and 
scope as claimed in this invention. 
As shown in FIG. 6A, the paper discharging means 7 can be modified to be a 
plurality of discharging rollers 73a, 73b with the two neighbouring 
discharging rollers 73a, 73b provided with male protrusions P on a first 
discharging roller 73a and with female recesses R recessed in a second 
discharging roller 73b, each said protrusion P rotatably received in each 
said recess R so that the rollers 73a, 73b can be juxtapositioned and 
simultaneously driven by the belt 74 and gear 45 for taking up the wetted 
paper 2 from the driving and follower rollers 31, 32 as cut by the cutting 
means 8.