Patent Publication Number: US-6988691-B1

Title: Floor rack for holding a paper towel roll and the like

Description:
RELATED U.S. APPLICATIONS 
   Not applicable. 
   STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
   Not applicable. 
   REFERENCE TO MICROFICHE APPENDIX 
   Not applicable. 
   FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to a floor rack for holding paper towel rolls. The floor rack is provided with means to hold a standby paper towel roll. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   As shown in  FIG. 7 , a floor rack of the prior art comprises a base  50 , an upright support post  51 , and a paper towel holder  52 . Such a prior art floor rack as described above is defective in design in that it is not provided with means to hold a paper towel roll which can be put into service on an emergency basis. 
   BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a floor rack for holding paper towel rolls. The floor rack comprises a first holder and a second holder. The first holder is used to hold a paper towel roll ready to serve, while the second holder is used to hold a standby paper towel roll. 
   The features and the advantages of the present invention will be more readily understood upon a thoughtful deliberation of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 2  shows a perspective view of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention at work. 
       FIG. 3  shows a partial exploded perspective view of a second preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 4  shows a perspective view of the second preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 5  shows a sectional schematic view of the second holder and a portion of the upright support post of the second preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 6  shows a perspective view of the second preferred embodiment of the present invention at work. 
       FIG. 7  shows a perspective view of a prior art floor rack for holding paper towel roll. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a floor rack  10  embodied in the present invention comprises a base  11 , a support post  12  extending uprightly from the base  11 , a first holder  20  for holding a paper towel roll  45  ready to serve, and a second holder  30  for holding a standby paper towel roll  46 . 
   The first holder  20  is formed of a fastening portion  21 , a support frame  22 , and a holding rod  23  for holding a paper towel roll  45 . The fastening portion  21  is fastened to a top end of the support post  12 . 
   The second holder  30  has a fastening arm  31  and a holding arm  32  extending from the fastening arm  31  such that the holding arm  32  is perpendicular to the fastening arm  31 . The fastening arm  31  is fastened at one end by welding to a lower segment of the upright support post  12 . The holding arm  32  is used to hold the standby paper towel roll  46 . 
   As shown in  FIGS. 3–6 , the present invention comprises a second holder  40  which is detachably fastened at one end to the lower segment of the upright support post  12 . The second holder  40  has a fastening arm  41  and a holding arm  42 . The fastening arm  41  is provided with a locating portion  43 , which is located in the hollow interior of the upright support post  12  via a through hole  44  located in the lower segment of the upright support post  12 , as illustrated in  FIG. 5 . The locating portion  43  of the fastening arm  41  is removably located in the hollow interior of the upright support post  12 . The holding arm  42  is used to hold the standby paper towel roll  46 . 
   The embodiments of the present invention described above are to be regarded in all respects as being illustrative and nonrestrictive. Accordingly, the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without deviating from the spirit thereof. The present invention is therefore to be limited only by the scope of the following claims.