A TOWEL DISPENSING APPARATUS FOR MAKING EXTERNALLY AVAILABLE AND RECOVERING A LENGTH OF TOWEL

Abstract: The apparatus comprises a rear plate (5) and two covers (6, 7) and progressively makes available at the outside a length of a towel band (40) by unwinding the same from a supply roll (11), at the same time recovering an equal length of soiled towel and winding it over a second roll (12), both rolls being housed within the apparatus. The apparatus comprises towel dispensing means (55, 50, 70) and recovery or take-up means (57, 58), the latter being coupled through a kinematic chain (110, 105, 135) to the former. An energy accumulating device (150) is partially loaded at each user's pull operation and released by the trail­ ing end of the clean towel passing by a sensing plate (181) equipped with detecting blades (184). After the passage of the trailing end, the blades (184) engage gaps provided between each two roller sections (63) forming one (170) of the dispens­ ing rollers, thereby elastically returning a pair of parallel levers (305, 306) to a disengaged position wherein a pin (92) carried by one (306) of the levers releases the accumulator (150) that in turn, via gear wheels (155, 160, 157) causes an additional rotation of one (57) of the take-up rollers pulling the trailing por­ tion of the soiled towel (40) within the dispenser.

Description: A TOWEL DISPENSING APPARATUS FOR MAKING EXTERNALLY AVAILABLE AND RECOVERING A LENGTH OF TOWEL The present invention relates to a dispensing apparatus adapted to progressively make available at the outside a length or web material for towelling purpose from a supply roll while an equal length of soiled towel is simultaneously taken up and wound on a second roll, both rolls being housed within the apparatus fastened to a wall. Dispensers of this type are well known and widely employed to supply toilets and public lavatories with conventional towels, i.e. of cloth, at the same time meeting the opposing needs of ensuring the availabili ty to any person of a sanitarily acceptable towel and preventing the stealing or undesired using of the material. In the previous European patent application No. 59893 of the same applicant it has been proposed an apparatus of this type providing, among other things, an energy accumulator progressively loaded at each. withdrawal of the material that, at the end of the towel band, takes care of winding up the trailing end thereof, thus avoiding that it hangs outside the apparatus with undesired consequences. Furthermore the apparatus provided for sensing means to control this winding up as well as for a kinematic chain connecting the dispensing means with the recovery means. It is also known from U.S. Patent No. 3,893,738 a dispenser wherein an accumulator is progressively loaded in use and the stored energy is used to recover, at each pull, a portion of the soiled towel causing it to adhere to the dispenser lower wall so that it is not visible. This same accumulator also recovers the trailing end of the towel when the supply roll is exhausted. It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus of the above type including several and useful improvements adapted to make the operation more reliable and the construction easier. According to the invention there is provided a dispensing apparatus of the said type wherein the recovery of the towel trailing end is obtained by the additional rotation (driven by the accumulator) of one of the rollers provided on the recovery path thus avoiding any possibility of defective operation due to an uneven winding up of the soiled towel that might cause a jamming of the device. According to another characteristic of the invention there are provided improved sensing members acting along the whole width of the roll to detect the passage of the soiled towel trailing end and to consequently release the accumulator. According to a further feature of the invention these members cooperate with lever means provided for dispensing the material according to a non reversible operative sequence. Finally according to another feature of the invention there are provided rolls at the zone where the towel re-enters and a roll in the dispensing area for a smoother and more reliable working. The invention will now be disclosed with reference to a preferred embodiment shown in the attached drawings in which: FIGURE 1 shows a partially schematic cross-section of the apparatus according to the invention where the towel path can be seen; FIGURE 2 shows a top view of the apparatus frame and mechanisms from which the multiple lever controlling the dispensed length of towel has been omitted for simplicity; FIGURE 3 is a cross-section view along lines IIT-III of Fig. 2; FIGURES 4 to 7 are partial side views, cross-sectioned along various lines, illustrating the operation of the dispenser; FIGURE 8 is a side view from the left of the frame with the kinematic chain and the multiple control lever; and FIGURE 9 is a side view from the right of the frame showing the drive mechanisms connected to the accumulator. With reference now to Figs. 1 and 2 there are disclosed the main components of the apparatus. It com prises an outer cabinet or housing, preferably of moulded plastics, formed of three members, namely a rear plate 5 having holes 9 for fastening the apparatus to a wall 1 by means of screws 8 or the like, and two bent portions or covers 6 and 7, hinged to the plate and completing the housing. More particularly the rear plate 5 extends upward with an arcuated portion II connected by hinges 26 to the top arcuated cover 6 for the opening of the housing. Top cover 6 comprises an arcuated and a flat portion , the latter being suitable for engaging the lower cover 7 that in turn is movably connected to the rear plate. The parts define together a lower chamber or space housing a coreless supply roll 11 of the towel band to be dispensed and an upper space into which the soiled towel is recovered and wound up to form an upper soiled towel roll 12. In Fig. 1 this roll 12 is shown by dashed lines since the two rolls do not simultaneously co-exist with their maximum sizes. The situation illustrated in Fig. 1 relates to an initial state wherein roll 11 practically has the maximum diameter and only a portion of limited length of the towel web material 110, coming out from the front side of the housing and re-entering into the lower rear part of the same, forms a much smaller roll of soiled towel. Upon exhaustion of the supply roll 11, almost all the web material will be wound to form the upper roll 12 whereas the lower space will be empty. Between these two spaces there is provided a metal frame 30 acting as a support means for the mechanisms and as a reinforcement of the rear plate 5. The rear plate 5 has two protruding side walls (not shown) with parallel guides 18 frontally provided each with a tooth 19 adapted to engage corresponding slots 21 in the front side of lower cover 7. A key lock or similar device, not shown, blocks the parts together. The ends 27 of the lower cover 7 can slide in the guides 18 and are furthermore rotatable for opening the housing by tilting the lower cover in order to introduce a new clean roll. For other details of the housing tcontruction that are not part of the present invention, reference is made to the cited European patent application No. 59893. The front end of cover 7 is equipped with two brackets 39, spaced apart by a length shorter than the cover width, between which a small rubber roller 55 is rotatably mounted, adapted to properly position the web of. material from roll 11 by pressing it against a drive roller 50. Fig. 1 shows the path of towel 40 that unwinds from roll 11, passes through the rubber t-coated roller 55 and the first drive roller 50 having Åa fixed shaft, then turns about a pinch roller 70 having a rough or knurled surface and mounted on a movable shaft, and thereafter leaves the housing through a slot formed by a recess in the top cover 6. From here onwards the portion of the web material outside the housing can be used as a towel. The length of this externally accessi ble portion is chosen when the machine is loaded, whereas the maximum towel length that can be withdrawn (and recovered)at each pull by the user is adjusted by other means and will be described more in detail later on. Then the web re-enters the housing through a rear slot in proximity of which there are provided two rubber-coated rollers, 57 and 58 respectively, acting as guiding and positioning means. Roller 57 is mounted on metal frame 30 and also performs the recovery of the towel trailing end, whereas roller 58 is fastened by brackets 4.4 to the end of lower cover 7, in a manner similar to roller 55. When the cover 7 is iclosed as shown in Fig. 1 and the towel 40 has been reintroduced and positioned into the housing, roller 58 is positioned close to roller 57 so as to grip towel 40 as shown in the figure. Towel 40 is then wound about a core 45, movable along slots 48 to accommodate the )roll 46 to be formed during the use, the diameter of which is progressively increasing. The take-up of roll 46 is caused by a roller 60 having a roughed or knurled surface and mounted for rotation on frame 30, which frictionally engages the surface of the upper roll 46 and is rotatively driven by the recovery roller 50. At the ends of slots 48 there are provided two cradle supports (one at each side) whereinto the ends of core 45 fall in order to make easier the removal of the wound roll 12. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the apparatus frame with the main mechanisms with the exception of the control multiple lever. Metal frame 30 comprises two side parallel plates 31 and 32 between which the aforementioned rollers extend. The two plates ara transver )sely connected by a corrugated sheet iron 33 fastened to the side plates by rivets. On the outer sides of these plates there are furthermore mounted the drive and control mechanisms (left or outward side of plate 31) and the mechanism for the recovery of the towel trailing end (right or outward side of plate 32). As stated before the rubber-coated roller 55 is carried by cover 7 below the drive roller 50. This roll has a roughed outer surface to engage the cotton tissue of the web forming the towel and its rotation axis 38 is mounted between plates 31 and 32. Between the plates there is also provided a roller 70 formed of a plurality of smaller rollers or sections 63, rotatably mounted on the same axis 37 and mutually spaced apart in order to better distribute the pull stress applied onto the web 40. The axis 37 extends itself between two tabs 305 and 306 having the function of levers and pivoted to the plates 31 and 32 by means of an axis 38. Preferably the roller sections are of aluminum and provid ed with smaller collars or spacers 611 so as to form recesses 67 into which can fit the appendixes or blades 184 of a sensor formed as a curved plate 181 from which blades 184 depend downwards, spaced apart of the same length as between the recesses 67. Also the sensing plate or follower 181 is pivotedly mounted (at 188 Figgs. 4-7) between plates 31 and 32. Roller 60 is similar to roller 50, i.e. with a rough surface to engage the web of material, and is furthermore mechanically and rotatably connected to roller 50. On the contrary the core 45 is free to rotate within guide slots 118 which are preferably formed on plastics inserts 99, and can further slide along them as the roll of wound material increases its diameter. Fig. 2 shows rollers 57 and 58. Roller 57 comprises a plurality of smaller rollers, preferably of rubber, mounted onto a shaft 59, the middle part of which has a non circular cross-section for a better engagement with the rollers. Finally the two metal tabs operating as levers, 305 and 306 respectively, are pivoted on the same axis 38 of the drive roller 50 to the inner sides of plates 31 and 32. Such levers are equipped with similar slots 318, 319 (see Figgs. 4 to 7) within which the ends of axis 37 of roller 70 can slide. With reference to Figgs. 3 and 8 the drive and take-up mechanism for the towel will be described. More particularly, Fig. 8 shows the parts mount ed on the outer side of plate 31 whereas Fig. 3 shows only the components on the inner side of the plate 31, which has been partially cross-sectioned for a better under standing. With reference to Fig. 8, 'it can be noted that axis 38 of roller 50 carries a toothed wheel or gear 110 to which a cam or pawl 120 is fastened. Gear 110 meshes with a free toothed wheel 105 having a larger diameter, rotatably punted on plate 31 and carrying a pinion 108 toward the outside of the frame. Pinion 108 engages another toothed wheel 135, internally mounting a pinion 130 fixed thereto, which in turn meshes with the periphery of the toothed wheel 105. 'The shaft of toothed wheel 135 and pinion 130 is the same shaft 77 of roller 70 providing for the take-up of the recovered towel. Moreover a fixed pin 129 and a number of holes 145 are provided on the periphery of wheel 135. A metal strip 127 having two protruding pins 128 can be mounted on wheel 135 by fitting pins 128 in a pair of said holes, one of them being the hole that is nearer to fixed pin 129, so that the pins 128 protrude, together with the pin 129, toward the inner face of wheel 135. This way the length of towel made available to the user at each pull can be varied in a manner similar to the one disclosed in the cited European patent application No. 59893. A multiple lever 200 is pivotally mounted on plate 31. It comprises an elongated and shaped arm 206 extending to reach a rectangular window 81 cut in the plate 31 below roller 50, and a strut 212 the end of which can engage a stop catch 120 to prevent the further rotation of roller 50. The multiple lever ;furthermore includes a rocking arm or lever 214, pivotally mounted on body 200 at 207, having a bent and profiled end 209 adapted to engage pins 128, 129 protruding from wheel 135. The rocking arm 214 is connected through a spring 216 to an appendix 217 of multi )ple lever 200 whereas an arm 213, rigidly secured to the body 200 provides a stop member that limits the elastic return of spring 216. The cross-section of Fig. 3 shows the components which are immediately behind the plate 31. They include two similar levers 305 and 306 pivotally mounted on axis 38, only one (305) of them being visible in the figure. Lever 305 is provided with an arcuated slot 318 in which the axis 37 of pinch (idle) roller 0 can slide. The other end of the lever has a stop pin 91 adjusted to abut against the edges of a window 81 cut into the plate 31. Finally an appendix 178 of the lever provides for a connection (at 173) with the frame through a spring 170. The other end of the spring is secured to the frame at 174 and the spring is housed in a groove 175 cut in the plate 31. Lever 305 is designed to move in synchronism with the lever 306 mounted on plate 32 and having an identical structure and similar return means that are not described here ,for simplicity. The sensing member 181, pivotally mounted on the frame at 188, abuts against roller 70 due to its weight and more particularly, when the towel web lays over sections 63, it leans thereon as shown in Fig. 3. For an easier understanding, the operation of the dispenser will be firstly illustrated with reference to Figgs. 3 to 8, whereas the energy accumulating device and the mechanism for recovering the trailing end portion of the towel, mounted on the outer side of the plate 32, will be described later. Figgs. 4 to 7 diagrammatically illustrate the positions of the components. The figures are side views from the left of the mechanism wherein the plate 31 has been cut away almost completely to make easier the understand ing of the relationships between the lever 305 and the multiple lever 200 avoiding a large number of additional drawings. In Fig. 4 the dispenser is not yet operating even if the towel web 40 has been introduced between rollers 55, 60 and 70 and1 after following a path outside the housing, between rollers 57, 58, 45 and 60. The position of levers 305 and 306 is determined both by the return spring 170, shown only in Fig. 3 and in no further drawing to avoid and unduly complicated ;illustration, and by the abutment of pins 91 and 92 against the outer edges of windows 81 and 82 respectively. The blades 184 of the sensing member 181 are resting ori the surface of roller 70 since the presence of the web prevents the blades 184 from penetrating into gaps 67. )Furthermore the arm 206 of lever 200,because of pin 91, keeps the strut 212 of lever 200 far from the stop catch 120 as also shown in Fig. 8 and the rocking arm 2111, biased by spring 216, abuts against the stop 213. After positioning the web and closing the apparatus the dispenser is made ready to use by pulling the web to to reach the configuration of Fig. 5. Lever 305 (and of course lever 306) has been rotated by a certain angle so as to force the blades 184 to further descend and engage roller 70 through the web. The presence of the web anyway prevents the penetration of the blades into the recesses 67 so that levers 305 and 306 can not return to the original position, still maintaining the possibility of a further clockwise rotation. In this position of the levers, the pin 91 cooperating with lever 305 reaches a position at about the center of the corresponding window 81, but anyhow such displacement is not enough for lowering the strut 212 of lever 200 to interfere with the stop catch 120. The apparatus is so ready for use. Fig. 6 shows the system configuration during the withdrawal. Under the pulling action applied by the towel user to web 110, levers 305 and 306 further tilt toward the right, thus causing pins 91 and 92 to abut onto the inner edges of the windows 81 and 82 where they stop the levers rotation. Under these circumstances no further obstacle exists to the lowering of arm 206 and the consequent descent of the strut 212 to such a position as to intercept the Stop catch 120. As a matter of fact it is the passage of the first fixed pin 129 to cause the lowering (no longer impeded) of lever arm 206 shown in Fig. 6. From now onwards the withdrawal of the web can continue until the surface 121 of the stop catch abuts against strut 212, thus stopping the rotation and the towel dispensing. The choice of the toothed wheel diameters univocally binds a (multiple) rotation of the roller 50 to the dispensed web length. The additional possibility of mounting the pins 128 into different holes on wheel 135 allows for the change of the length of towel that is dispensed and recovered each time. In fact, as can be seen in Fig. 8, only one of the pins 128 on strip 127 is effective to the adjustment, the other one having a support function being mounted,on an inner circumference. The towel cannot be further withdrawn due to the stopping catch 120 and when the user ceases to pull the system returns to the configuration of Fig. 5 raising again the arm 206 and thereby excluding the strut. The system is then ready for another dispensing cycle, while a web length equal to the one dispensed has been taken up and wound over the core 45 by means of the associated rotation of roller 60. With reference to Fig. 7 there is illustrated the configuration of the system at the end of the web. When the trailing edge of the web 40 has passed beyond the roller 70, the blades 184 are no longer retained by the fabric and penetrate into the recesses 67 causing a leftward rotation of levers 305 and 306 until pins 91 and 92 come into contact with the outer edge of windows 81 and 82. As a matter of fact the pins do not abut against such edges as shown in Fig. 7, but they are anyhow blocked at the position shown since the sensing member has now been lowered beyond the returning capability of spring 170. In such a position a lever 190 controlling an accumulator mounted on plate 32 is released as it will be disclos ed in the following with reference to Fig. 9. The energy stored in the accumulator drives into rotation roller 57 that completely recovers the trailing edge of web 40 within the housing. Fig. 9 diagrammatically shows the accumulator 150 mounted on the outside of plate 32 and the controlling lever 190. The lever or rocker 190 is pivotally mounted at 192 on plate 32 and has one end 197 adapted to abut against the detent surfaces or cams 198 of the cumdator during its loading. The other end 195 of the lever faces window 82, symmetrical to window 81 within which it is movable the pin 92, symmetrical to pin 91 and carried by lever 306 symmetrical to lever 305. A return spring 193 keeps the end 197 engaged with the detent surfaces 198 preventing the rotation in the direction shown by arrow Z. The mechanism is substantially a ratchet gear consenting only rotations opposite to those of arrow Z during the rewinding of roll 46 since the axis 77 ot take-up roller 60 is the same axis of the accumulator. The accumulator is not described in detail being of a known type, such as the one disclosed in the already cited European patent application. A toothed wheel 160, mounted on plate 32, engages the teeth 155 on the periphery of the accumulator 150. The toothed Wheel 160 in turn engages a gear 157 coaxial to roller 57 and protruding from plate 32 by means of a unidirec tional clutch device including a choke spring. Such a spring allows for a free rotation of roller 57 during the normal web taking up driven by roller 601 whereas 4t fastens gear 157 to shaft 59 when the accumulator is released. As long as the towel web 40 lays over pinch roll 70 and the apparatus is working (Figgs. 5 and 6), pin 92 (and the corresponding pin 91) can swing from a position at the centre of slot 82 (81) and an abutment position on the inner edge of such slot. Under these conditions the return spring 193 keeps the end portion 197 raised so that the rotation of axis 77 lets the accumulator be loaded blocking any backward movement due to the cam surfaces 198. Thereby the accumulator progressively loads a spiral spring storing energy so that, in the proximity of the web termina tion, the energy stored is enough to drive a winding upn** to recover the web length hanging loose from the apparatus. When the system is in the configuration of Fig. 7 wherein pins 91 and 92 are led towards the front part of the apparatus as can be seen in Fig. 9, the lever end portion 197 is lowered thereby releasing the :accumulator that can now rotate for a number of turns in the direction of the arrow Z and drive the gear 157 and therefore roller 57, this latter completely recovering the towel tail portion at the outside. The tail portion of the soiled towel is recovered into the apparatus without being wound upon the formed roll 12. In this way the apparatus prevents any defective working that might be caused by an incorrect winding, since the system does not attempt to wind the tail portion over the roll 12, but only carries it into the free space available under this roll.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. An apparatus for progressively dispensing a length of web material tor towelling purpose, unwinding from a first roll while recovering an equal length of material that is wound up on a second roll, both rolls being housed in a case anurable to a wall, said apparatus being characterised by: - a housing formed of a base rear plate (5) and two pivotable arcuate portions or covers (6, 7); - a metal frame (30) comprising two parallel plates (31, 32) connected to the base plate between which there are mounted for rotation: a main drive roller (50) frictionally rotated by the web (40) pulled by the user, said roller carrying a gear (110) having a stop catch (120) keyed to the gear; a pinch roll (70) rotatable about a shaft (37) movable with respect to the frame; a third roller (60) for winding up the web (40) onto a take-up roll (liy) having its ends movable along two parallel slots (48, 48) on said plates, said third roller (60) being connected to an accumulator of energy (150) mounted on the frame and partially loaded at each rotation of the roller; driving gear means (100) coupling said main roller (50) to said third roller (60); multiple lever means (200) pivoted to one (31) of said frame plates for engaging said stop catch (120) after a predetermined rotation of the main roller (50); blocking lever means (300) pivoted on both plates (31, 32) for selectively preventing the engagement of the multiple lever means (200) with the stop catch (120), said means being inoperative when no pulling action is exerted on the web (40); rear guide and recovery means of the web including an upper roller (57) pivoted on said plates (31, 32) and frictionally engaging a lower roll (58) carried by the lower cover (7) when the apparatus is closed, said upper roller (57) being equipped with a gear (157) outwardly projecting from the other plate (32) and coupled by a unidirectional reduction gear (160) to a toothed wheel (155) coaxial with the accumulator device (150); ; - sensing means (181) detecting the end of the web for causing the further rotation of the upper roller (57) releasing the stored energy of the accumulator (150) that is mounted on the other plate (32) in order to recover the free tail end of the web into the housing. 2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, characterised in driving gear means (100) comprises an idle toothed wheel (105) engaging the gear (110) of the roller i(50) and carrying a coaxial pinion (108); and an additional toothed wheel (130) engaging the free wheel (105) and coaxial with a larger toothed wheel (135) that in turn engages the pinion (108) of the preceding one, two pins (128, 129) protruding from the larger wheels for controlling the amount of allowed rotation at each user's pull and thereby the length of the dispensed web. 3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 2, daractrisedintfl blocking means (300) comprises a pair of identical levers (305, 306) each pivoted on the shaft (38) of the drive roller (50) and provided at one end with a guide slot (318, 319) housing the ends of the shaft (37) of the pinch roller (70) and, at the other end, with a stop pin (91, 92) abutting against the edges of an elongated window (81, 82) cut into each plate (31, 32); resilient return means (170) being provided to force the levers into a first position when the web (40) is pulled by the user. 11. An apparatus as claimed in claim3,charactdsedinitiatit multiple lever means (200) comprises: - a main body (200) pivotally mounted (at 205) onto one of the plate (31), having an arm (206) adapted to abut against one of the stop pins (91) jutting out from the window (81); - a strut (212) adapted to block the stop catch (120) of the wheel (110) carried by the roll (50) and a lever (2111) elastically swingable with respect to the body (200) in consequence of the contact with the pins (128, 129) protruding from the larger toothed wheel (135). 5. An apparatus as claimed in claim 4, Charactérised in that the pinch roll (70) is formed by a plurality of smaller spaced rolls (63) that are spaced apart to form inter mediate recesses (67); and wherein the sensing means (180) comprises a bent plate (181) pivotally mounted (at 188) between the plates (31, 32) and carrying a plurality of parallel spaced apart plates (184) adapted to fit between said smaller rolls (63) forming the pinch roller.(70) when the web to be dispensed is no longer present between the rollers (50, 70); and wherein a rocker (190) is provided to control the accumulator (150), said rocker being pivoted (at 192) on the other plate (32) and elastically biased by a spring (193) towards a position wherein one end (197) engages as a pawl a plurality of detents (198) of the accumulator, the other rocker end (195) facing the window (82) cut in the other plate (32) whereby the pin (92) of the lever (306) releases the accumulator when the web is finished. 6. An apparatus as claimed in claim 5, caracterjsed rolls (55, 58) are mounted on brackets at the ends of the lower cover (7) and a further roll (57) is mounted on the frame (30), the positions of the rolls (55, 58) being such that when the cover (7) is closed, said rolls are adjacent to the upper recovery roll (57) and to the drive roller (50) respective ly, and wherein the shaft (59) of the further roll (57) carries a gear (157) engaging the unidirectional gear (160) mounted onto the other plate (32), this latter gear in turn engaging the toothed wheel (155) on the periphery of the accumulator device (150).

Inventors: CASSIA, ANTONIO MACCHI
Applicants: STEINER COMPANY INTERNATIONAL S.A.
Application year: 1984
Main classification: A47K10
IPC codes: A47K10