Patent Abstract:
A countertop mounting base and bracket for a napkin dispenser includes a base with a generally planar upper surface provided with a sidewall having a stepped locking recess adapted to cooperate with a stepped tongue of a mounting bracket which is secured directly to the counter. The base and bracket allow for the quick release of a gravity feed napkin dispenser, for example, mounted on the countertop.

Full Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates generally to napkin dispensers and in a preferred embodiment to a gravity feed countertop mounted napkin dispenser having a base secured to a countertop with a quick release mounting bracket. 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     Dispensers for napkins including inter-folded napkins are well known in the art. Typically such dispensers are spring-loaded dispensers as is shown, for example, in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,838,454 to Salzmann et al. This class of dispensers are typically placed on a countertop. There is shown in the &#39;454 patent a napkin dispenser including a drawer which slides in and out of the housing and a push plate which also slides in the housing and is spring-biased to push the napkins forward. A pair of locks on the rear of the drawer in the preferred napkin dispenser pushes the plate forward when the drawer is open but pivot to release the push plate when the drawer is closed so the napkins are not pressed too tightly, even if napkins are overloaded in the drawer when it is open. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,679,703 to De Luca discloses a napkin dispenser configured to reduce bunching at the dispensing opening in the napkin dispenser. A pair of pressure relief rods are provided along the upper and lower portions of the dispenser face plate to relieve pressure between the face plate and the center portion of the napkin stack. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,343,415 to Radek shows a napkin dispenser designed for disposition on a restaurant table or counter housing a stack of paper napkins. The dispenser is in the form of a parallelepiped with a top axis opening for loading and removing napkins. The opening is generally rectangular or may taper slightly from one end to the other. A salient feature is that the edges of the opening extend outwardly providing a relatively narrow peripheral arcuate flange or lip around the opening, the effect of which is to lead a napkin gently outwardly without likelihood of damage to the exiting napkins. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,311,252 to Hope, Jr. et al. discloses a large capacity elevator type napkin dispenser including an elongated supporting structure or cage composed of series of spaced rod-like vertical supports. A stack of folded napkins is supported on a pressure plate that is mounted on a carriage adapted to slide vertically within the cage, whereas U.S. Pat. No. 4,094,442, also to Radek discloses a napkin dispenser provided with an aperture which is generally rectangular except for a concavely arcuate edge on one side from which the napkins are normally extracted. Two opposed sides of the opening normal to the arcuate edge are provided with a pair of relatively narrow spring-biased leaves resiliently extendable into the container to facilitate loading, the free edges of the leaves being longitudinally gently oblique and widening to the aforesaid arcuate edge. Each of the leaves has a longitudinal outwardly turned lip and the exposed corners of the leaves are rounded. The features are reported to contribute towards a convenient extraction of a napkin without damage. 
     As will be appreciated from the foregoing, spring-biased dispensers are prone to overfilling and malfunction and may damage product if the dispensers are misused. Gravity feed dispensers are simpler and less subject to malfunction; however they are more difficult to conveniently locate in establishments which require countertop access to the napkins. 
     SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
     There is provided generally in accordance with the invention a countertop mounting base and bracket for releasably securing a napkin dispenser attached to the base. The mounting system includes a base having a generally planar upper surface and a sidewall extending downwardly therefrom to define a hollow cavity and also defining a stepped locking recess having an upper portion with a first recess width and a lower portion with a second recess width where the upper locking recess width is smaller than the lower locking recess width. The base is also provided with a plurality of locking projections in the hollow cavity having locking shoulders thereon each of which has a characteristic locking shoulder width. The base cooperates with a mounting bracket provided with means for attaching the bracket to a countertop. The bracket has a raised central locking surface provided with a moveable tongue adapted to flex with respect to the locking surface from a locking position to a release position. The tongue is provided with a stepped outer profile defining an outer width which is less than equal to the upper recess width of the base. The tongue also has a locking width which is greater than the upper recess width of the base, the locking surface of the mounting bracket being further provided with a plurality of locking slots with open portions having widths at least as great as a corresponding characteristic width of a locking shoulder of a corresponding locking projection of the base. The locking slots of the locking surface also have elongated narrow portions with widths smaller than corresponding characteristic widths of locking shoulders of locking projections of the base. The base and mounting bracket are configured such that the locking projections of the base may be inserted into the open portions of the locking slots and the base slid into the locking position with the bracket wherein the shoulders of the locking projections of the base are secured from vertical translation away from the locking position by the elongated narrow portions of the locking slots of the raised central locking surface of the mounting bracket. The base is concurrently prevented from horizontal translation away from the locking position by the locking width of the tongue until the tongue is flexed downwardly to its release position. 
     Typically the base further includes a post for mounting a napkin dispenser, such as a gravity feed napkin dispenser of the general class disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/213,575, filed Aug. 7, 2002, entitled “Gravity-Feed Dispenser and Method of Dispensing Inter-Folded Napkins”the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. So also, in a preferred embodiment the mounting bracket is stamped from sheet metal and the base is cast from white metal. 
     Generally, the tongue requires a force of from about 2 to about 10 pounds to move it from the locking position to the release position. In the locking position, the tongue may be generally co-planar with the raised locking surface of the mounting bracket or it may be elevated slightly in portions if so desired. Typically, the tongue requires a force of from about 4 to about 6 pounds to move it from the locking position to the release position. 
     In a preferred embodiment the assembly of the bracket and base includes biasing means to urge the base and bracket into engagement with each other in the locking position. The biasing means may be, for example, upwardly raised portions defined on the mounting bracket and downwardly projecting ridges on the base located within the hollow cavity. There are optionally provided guide ridges on the base as described hereinafter. The upper portion of the stepped locking recess of the base typically has an L-shaped profile as does a lower portion of the stepped locking recess of the base. The stepped outer profile of the tongue is also generally L-shaped on both sides and may include an arcuate central portion at the end of the tongue. 
     A particularly preferred arrangement is a countertop mounting base and bracket for releasably securing a napkin dispenser including a base with a generally planar upper surface and a sidewall extending downwardly therefrom to define a hollow cavity wherein there is provided a plurality of downwardly extending vertical ribs including at least two longitudinally extending mounting ribs each of which is provided with at least one engagement ridge thereon. The sidewall also defines a stepped locking recess having an upper portion with a first recessed width and a lower portion with a second recessed width where the upper recessed width is smaller than the lower recessed width. A base is further provided with a plurality of locking projections in the hollow cavity having locking shoulders each of which has a characteristic locking shoulder width. 
     The mounting bracket is provided with means for securing it to the countertop as well as at least two longitudinal guide tracks each of which has at least one raised engagement portion for interacting with the engagement ridges of the mounting ribs of the base. The bracket further includes a raised central locking surface between the longitudinal guide tracks provided with a moveable tongue adapted to flex with respect to the locking surface from a locking position to a release position, the tongue being provided with a stepped outer profile defining an outer width which is less than equal to the upper recess width of the base and a locking width which is greater than the upper recessed width of the base. The locking surface of the mounting bracket is still further provided with a plurality of locking slots with open portions having widths at least as great as the corresponding characteristic widths of the locking shoulders of the locking projections of the base and elongated narrow portions having widths smaller than corresponding characteristic widths of locking shoulders of locking projections of the base. The base and mounting bracket are configured such that the locking projections on the base may be inserted into the open portions of the locking slots and the base slid into the locking position with the bracket wherein the shoulders of the locking projections of the base are secured from translation away from the locking position by the elongated narrow portions of the locking slots of the raised central locking surface of the mounting bracket. The base is prevented from horizontal translation away from the locking position by the locking width of the tongue until the tongue is flexed downwardly to its release position. In this preferred embodiment the engagement ridges of the base and the raised engagement portions of the mounting bracket urge the mounting bracket and the base into engagement with each other. The engagement portions of the mounting bracket are preferably arcuate portions of the guide tracks of the mounting bracket. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
     The invention is described in detail below with reference to the various Figures in which like numerals designate similar parts and wherein: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a gravity feed napkin dispenser mounted on a countertop with the mounting base and bracket in accordance with the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is an exploded view in perspective showing the inventive base and mounting bracket of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is another exploded view in perspective showing the inventive mounting base and bracket of FIG. 1; and 
     FIGS. 4-6 are schematic views in perspective of another embodiment of the mounting base and bracket of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The invention is described in detail below in connection with several embodiments. Such description is for purposes of illustration and exemplification only. Variants to the embodiments illustrated within the spirit and scope of the present invention, set forth in the appended claims, will be readily apparent to those of skill in the art. 
     Referring to FIGS. 1-3 there is shown a gravity feed napkin dispenser  10  mounted on a post  12  secured to a mounting base  14  configured in accordance with the present invention. Mounting base  14 , in turn, is secured to a mounting bracket  16  as appears in FIGS. 1,  2  and  3 . Napkin dispenser  10  may be of the class described in co-pending application Ser. No. 10/213,575, filed Aug. 7, 2002 entitled “Gravity-Feed Dispenser and Method of Dispensing Inter-Folded Napkins” . The post upon which napkin dispenser  10  is mounted maybe secured to base  14  by way of screws  18  and  20  provided with washers  22  and  24 . 
     Base  14  is provided with a plurality of ridges such as transverse ribs  26  and  28 , guide ridges  27 ,  29  as well as longitudinal ribs  30  and  32 . Ribs  30  and  32  are provided with ridges  34 ,  36 ,  38  and  40  as can be seen in FIG.  3 . There is also provided on the base a plurality of locking projections in the form of fasteners  42 ,  44 , and  46  each of which has a shaft  48 , a shaft  50  and a shaft  52  as well as a head  54 , a head  56  and a head  58 . Fasteners may be screws or bolts or the like which are fitted to be secured in holes  60 ,  62  and  64  respectively defined on base  14 . The fastener operates as locking projections as will become apparent from the discussion which follows. 
     The base is further provided with a stepped recess  66  which has L-shaped profiles at his lower portion  68  and its upper portion  70  as is best seen in FIG.  3 . Note that the width of the upper portion of recess  66  indicated at  72  is less than the width of the lower portion of recess  66  indicated at  74 . 
     The base is specifically designed to cooperate with the countertop mounting bracket  16 . Mounting bracket  16  has a left track  76  and a right track  78  each of which has a pair of arcuate projections  80 ,  82 ,  84 , and  86  which interact with the ridges  34 ,  36 ,  38  and  40  of the base in order to urge the bracket and mounting base into contact with each other when the base is secured to the bracket. The bracket is further provided with a raised central portion  88  which has a tongue  90  as well as locking slots  92 ,  94  and  96 . There are further provided guide slots  95 ,  97  on either side of the tongue. The mounting bracket is secured to a countertop  98  by way of screws such as screw  100  or by way of double sided tape indicated at  102  and  104 . Note that tongue  90  also has a stepped profile at its portion  106  notably having L-shaped profile on either of its side at  108  and  110 . 
     In order to secure the napkin dispenser to countertop  98  the mounting bracket  16  is first secured to the countertop. Base  14  optionally provided with mounting post  14  and napkin dispenser  10  is secured to the mounting bracket by way of fasteners  42 ,  46  and  48 . That is to say, the fasteners are first inserted into the open portions  106 ,  108  and  110  of slots  92 ,  94 , and  96  and then the entire base is slid rearwardly in the direction indicated by arrow  120  in FIGS. 2 and 3 such that the fastener heads will be restrained from vertical translation by the narrow portions  112 ,  114 , and  116  of slots  92 ,  94  and  96 . When the base is slid rearwardly into the locking position shown in FIG. 1 the stepped profile of tongue  90  prevents the base from sliding forwardly to the release position until tongue  90  is pressed downwardly in the direction indicated by arrow  122 . That is to say tongue  90  by virtue of the fact that its width at  124  is wider than the width  72  of the upper portion of the locking recess of base  14  prevents horizontal translation of the base away from the locking position shown in FIG. 1 until tongue  90  is pressed downwardly in the direction indicated by arrow  122  to a release position where the width  124  is below the upper portion of slot  66  as should be fully appreciated from FIGS. 1,  2  and  3 . So also, the various raised portions of tracks  76  and  78 , that is raised portions  80 ,  82 ,  84  and  86  interact with the engagement ridges  34 ,  36 ,  38  and  40  of the base to urge the bracket and base into secure contact with one another so that the napkin dispenser will not rock when secures to countertop  98 . Preferably, width  124  of tongue  90  is larger than width  72  of the upper portion of recess  66  but smaller than width  74  of the lower portion of stepped recess  66 . In preferred embodiments, the base and bracket are urged into engagement before tongue  90  latches into place in its locking position in slot  66 . So also, base  14  preferably includes guide ridges  27 ,  29  which cooperate with slots  95 ,  97  of the mounting bracket in order to orient the base with respect to the bracket and prevent unwanted snagging of the locking projections on slots or holes while the assembly is being locked into engagement. That is to say, ridges  27 ,  29  are configured to cooperate with slots  95 ,  97  in order to orient the base with respect to the mounting bracket as the base is being engaged with the mounting bracket. 
     There is shown in FIGS. 4-6 an alternate embodiment of the inventive bracket and mounting base for a napkin dispenser. The mounting base and bracket have generally the features described above in connection with the embodiment of FIGS. 1-3. However, here mounting bracket  16  is secured to countertop  98  by way of four screws such as screws  100 , located on the various corners of the mounting bracket. The mounting bracket has a raised central portion  88  which is generally planar as is tongue  90 . That is to say, tongue  90  is co-planar with the rest of raised portion  88 . Raised portion  88  is only provided with two slots  92  and  94  having open portions  106  and  108  as well as narrow portions  112  and  114 . The base is provided with a stepped locking recess  66  having an upper portion and a lower portion with two L-shaped shoulders on either side of upper and lower parts of the stepped recess  66 . That is, both the upper portion  70  and lower portion  68  of recess  66  have L-shaped profiles on both sides as shown. Here again the base  14  has an upper surface and a hollow cavity  45  for mounting over bracket  16 . There is optionally provided transverse support ribs such as rib  47  to strengthen the base. Here again tongue  90  has a pair of shoulders  128  and  130  to interact with stepped recess  66  in order to secure the base in the locked position until tongue  90  is pressed downwardly to release the base so that it may be slid away from mounting bracket  16 . 
     While the invention has been described in connection with several embodiments, modifications of those embodiments within the spirit and scope of the present invention will be readily apparent to those of skill in the art. The invention is defined in the appended claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 5