Patent Abstract:
An improved web material dispenser that is designed to dispense web material, such as toilet tissue or the like. The dispenser is able to retain a roll containing tissue at a dispensing position until the tissue has been exhausted from the roll. The dispenser senses that the tissue is exhausted from the roll, and only then permits a reserve roll to be rotated into a dispensing position. Thus, the dispenser ensures that the tissue from each roll is used up before permitting access to a reserve roll. The invention also provides a new web material roll that utilizes a “double core”, as well as a method of making the “double core”.

Full Description:
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/521,834, filed on Mar. 9, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,491,251 B1, issued on Dec. 10, 2002, which application is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD 
     This invention relates to the dispensing of web material such as toilet tissue, paper towels and the like, from rolls of web material contained within a dispenser. This invention further relates to improved rolls that contain web material for use with a dispenser, and to methods of forming such rolls. The inventive concepts will be described hereinafter primarily in relation to toilet tissue dispensers and toilet tissue rolls. It is to be realized that the inventive concepts described herein have applications to other types of web materials in addition to toilet tissue, including, but not limited to, paper towels. 
     BACKGROUND 
     There has been continuing effort over the years to provide toilet tissue dispensers that store multiple rolls of toilet tissue and sequentially dispense the rolls. One of the advantages provided by these types of dispensers is that a reserve roll (or rolls) is available as a replacement for the roll that is currently in use. 
     To avoid tissue waste, it is important that the roll currently in use be depleted to its fullest extent before allowing the user to access a replacement roll. Devices that attempt to achieve such a result using a variety of methods are known in the prior art, as exemplified in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,294,329; 3,381,909; 3,387,902; 4,108,513; 4,522,346; 4,577,426; 5,310,129; 5,636,812; and 5,749,538. 
     There is, however, a continuing need for improved toilet tissue dispensers that inhibit access to a replacement roll until the roll currently in use is depleted. 
     SUMMARY 
     The invention provides an improved web material dispenser that is designed to dispense web material, such as toilet tissue or the like. The web material dispenser comprises a housing, with a spider rotatably mounted within the housing for rotation about an axis extending through a center of the spider. A plurality of spools are connected to the spider and project therefrom in a direction parallel to the rotation of the spider axis. The spools are rotatable with the spider along a rotational path spaced from the axis. A core stop is fixed to the housing, with the core stop crossing the rotational path of the spools to prevent rotation of the spider until the tissue has been substantially depleted or exhausted from the roll. 
     In addition to the web material dispenser, the invention provides an improved web material roll for use in the inventive web material dispenser described herein or in other web material dispensers, as well as a method of making the roll. 
     In one version as claimed, a web material roll includes first and second core sections, with the core sections being spaced apart from each other to define a gap therebetween. In addition, a web material is wound onto the core sections. 
     A method of forming a core for this type of web material roll comprises providing an elongate, generally cylindrical tube having a longitudinal axis; cutting the tube into a plurality of generally cylindrical sections, with each of the sections having a length approximately equal to a width of web material to be wound onto the roll; and removing a predetermined length from proximate the center of at least one of the sections to form first and second core sections, whereby the combined length of the first and second core sections is less than the width of the web material to be wound thereon. 
    
    
     These and various other advantages and features of novelty which characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed hereto and forming a part hereof. However, for a better understanding of the invention, its advantages and objects obtained by its use, reference should be made to the drawings which form a further part hereof, and to the accompanying description, in which there is described a preferred embodiment of the invention. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a front view of the web material dispenser, with the front housing portion open relative to the rear housing portion to show the interiors thereof and with the spider and core stop removed from the rear housing portion. 
     FIG. 2 is a front view of the rear housing portion showing the spider and core stop. 
     FIG. 3 is a side view of the core stop and the roll at the dispensing position, viewed generally in the direction  3 — 3  in FIG.  2 . 
     FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 2 showing rotation of the spider upon depletion of the web material from the roll at the dispensing position. 
     FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the core stop and core taken along line  5 — 5  in FIG.  4 . 
     FIG. 6 illustrates a dispenser using a second embodiment of a core stop. 
     FIG. 7 is a side view of the core stop and the roll at the dispensing position, viewed generally in the direction  7 — 7  in FIG.  6 . 
     FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 6 showing rotation of the spider upon depletion of the web material from the roll at the dispensing position. 
     FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the core stop and core taken along line  9 — 9  in FIG.  8 . 
     FIG. 10 illustrates a tube that is used to form the core of the web material roll. 
     FIGS. 11 and 12 are a side view and a perspective view, respectively, of the web material roll utilizing a core that is formed from the tube in FIG.  10 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The web material rolls and the methods of making the rolls will first be described by referring to FIGS. 10-12. The web material roll and related method described herein are specifically directed to rolls of toilet tissue. However, it is to be realized that the inventive concepts could be used in relation to other types of web material rolls that have a core and a web material wound onto the core, such as paper towel rolls. In addition, the inventive web material rolls are described as being used on the inventive web material dispensers described herein. It is to be realized that the web material rolls could be used with other types of web material dispensers in addition to the dispensers described herein. 
     FIGS. 10-12 illustrate the toilet tissue roll and method of forming the core thereof. This roll uses what can be referred to as a “double core”. Initially, as illustrated in FIG. 10, an elongate, generally cylindrical tube  12  having a longitudinal axis A—A is provided. The tube  12  is then cut at points  14   a ,  14   b , . . .  14   n  to form a plurality of equal length sections  16   a ,  16   b , . . .  16   n  having a width approximately equal to the width of toilet tissue. A portion  18  (shown in hatched lines) proximate the center of each section  16   a-n  is then removed by cutting to form core two core sections  20   a ,  20   b . The combined-length of the core sections  20   a ,  20   b  is thus less than the width of the toilet tissue to be wound onto the core sections  20   a ,  20   b . In one implementation, the portion  18  that is removed from each section  16   a-n  preferably has a length l of approximately 2.0 inches, so that the combined length of the core sections  20   a ,  20   b  is approximately 2.0 inches shorter in length than the tissue to be wound thereon. The tube  12  can have any convenient length from which a plurality of core sections can be formed, such as a length of approximately 115.0 inches. 
     Once the core sections  20   a ,  20   b  are formed, toilet tissue  22  is wound onto the core sections  20   a ,  20   b  with the core sections  20   a ,  20   b  being spaced apart from each other, as is evident from FIGS. 11 and 12 which illustrate a subsequently formed toilet tissue roll. As is further evident from FIGS. 11 and 12, the core sections  20   a ,  20   b  include ends  24   a ,  24   b  that face each other and which are spaced apart by approximately the distance  1  thereby forming a gap  25 . The core sections  20   a ,  20   b  further include ends  26   a ,  26   b  that are even with the opposite side surfaces  28  of the tissue  22 . Thus, there is a portion of the tissue  22  approximately midway between the side surfaces  28  that is not core supported due to the gap  25  between the ends  24   a ,  24   b  of the core sections  20   a ,  20   b . The gap  25  between the core sections  20   a ,  20   b  remains until such time as the tissue  22  is substantially depleted from the roll. 
     As will be described below, the gap  25  between the core sections  20   a ,  20   b  facilitates sensing that the tissue is substantially depleted or exhausted from the roll. It is to be realized that the core sections  20   a ,  20   b  could be formed using methods other than that described above. For instance, instead of removing a single portion at the center of each section, portions could be removed from each end of a section and the section then cut in half to thereby form the core sections. 
     One implementation of a web material dispenser  50  is illustrated in FIGS. 1-5. With reference to FIG. 1, the dispenser  50  includes a rear housing portion  52  and a front housing portion  54  pivotally connected to the rear housing portion  52  at the bottom ends thereof via pivots  56 . The housing portions  52 ,  54  include cooperating locking structures  58   a ,  58   b  at the top ends thereof, by which the housing portions  52 ,  54  can be locked together to form an enclosure for a plurality of rolls of toilet tissue. 
     The housing portions  52 ,  54  are generally circular in shape, with each including a generally circular end wall  60 ,  62  and a generally circular sidewall  64 ,  66 . The end walls  60 ,  62  and sidewalls  64 ,  66  combine to form an interior space when the housing portion  54  is pivoted upward from the position shown in FIG.  1  and connected to rear housing portion  52 , via the locking structures  58   a ,  58   b . When the housing portions  52 ,  54  are locked together, the end walls  60 ,  62  face each other and the sidewalls  64 ,  66  fit together to form an enclosure. A dispensing opening  70  is formed by the sidewalls  64 ,  66  at the bottoms thereof through which tissue from one of the tissue rolls is dispensed. 
     The end wall  60  of the housing portion  52  is further provided with a plurality of slots  72  by which the housing portion  52  can be mounted to a wall or other fixed structure using bolts, screws or other suitable fasteners. 
     With reference to FIGS. 2 and 4, a spider  78  is rotatably mounted on the rear housing portion  52  for rotation about a central axis B in a clockwise direction as shown by the arrows in FIGS. 2 and 4. The spider  78  is generally circular in shape and includes a central boss  80  projecting from the center thereof parallel to the rotation axis B and toward the front housing portion  54 . The boss  80  is sized to rotatably fit over a cylindrical hub  82  (best seen in FIG. 1) that projects from the end wall  60  of the rear housing portion  52  in the direction of the axis B. The boss  80  and hub  82  are preferably secured together via a snap fit connection that detachably connects the boss  80  and hub  82  together while permitting rotation of the boss  80 , and thus the spider  78 , on the hub  82 . 
     In addition, an x-shaped formation  90 , visible in FIGS. 1,  2  and  4 , projects from the top end of the boss  80 . Further, an actuation disk  92 , shown in dashed lines in FIG. 1, is rotatably mounted on the front housing portion  54 . The disk  92  is disposed on the exterior side of the end wall  62  whereby the disk is accessible from outside the housing  52 ,  54  by a user in order to rotate the spider  78 . A plurality of circumferentially spaced fingers  94  project rearwardly from the disk  92  toward the rear housing portion  52 , with a gap between each adjacent finger  94 . The x-shaped formation  90  and the fingers  94  are sized such that they engage when the front housing portion  54  is pivoted to the closed position relative to the rear housing portion  52 , with x-shaped formation  90  disposed within the gaps between the fingers  94 . With this construction, rotation of the disk  92  causes rotation of the spider  78 . A pair of diametrically opposite fingers  94  each include a shoulder  96  formed thereon which fit over a boss  98  projecting from the interior surface of the end wall  62  so as to rotatably secure the disk  92  to the end wall  62 . 
     Returning to FIGS. 2 and 4, the spider  78  is shown to include a plurality of spools  100   a-d , in this instance four spools, projecting from the spider  78  parallel to the axis B, with the spools disposed adjacent to the circumference of the spider  78 . The spools  100   a-d  are spaced at 90 degree intervals around the spider  78 . However, it would be possible to use a larger or lesser number of spools, depending upon the size of the tissue rolls and the needs of the consumer, in which case the spools would be spaced at intervals of 360 degrees divided by the number of spools. Each spool  100   a-d  is sized to receive thereon a tissue roll  102 . 
     As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the circumference of the spider  78  is provided with a plurality of detents  104 . Preferably, there is one detent  104  for each spool  100   a-d  disposed on the spider  78 . A resilient indexing finger  106  is fixed at a first end thereof to the rear housing portion  52  and the second end thereof extends toward the spider for engagement within one of the detents  104 . When the end of the finger  106  engages in a detent  104 , rotation of the spider  78  in a counterclockwise direction is prevented, and one roll  102  is held at a dispensing position while a second roll  102  is at a reserve position (see FIG.  2 ). However, rotation of the spider  78  in a clockwise direction is selectively permitted, as described below. 
     A core stop  110  is further fixed to the rear housing portion  52  and extends along a radial axis toward the boss  80  of the spider  78  and into the rotation path of the spools  100   a-d  and rolls  102 . The rotation path of the spools  100   a-d  is shown in dashed lines in FIG. 4, and includes an outer rotation path P o  defined by the radially outermost point of the spools  100   a-d  as the spider rotates, an inner rotation path P i  defined by the radially innermost point of the spools, and a central rotation path P c defined by the central point of the spools. As used herein, rotation path is meant to include at least one of the paths P o , P c , and P i . 
     The core stop  110 , as best seen in FIG. 5, includes a first portion  112  extending parallel to the spools  100   a-d  and a second portion  114  that extends perpendicular to the spools. The second portion  114  extends toward and crosses the outer, central and inner rotation paths of the spools  100   a-d  and includes a bottom edge  116  that is spaced a distance d above the spider  78 . Further, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the second portion  114  includes a front surface  118  that is sloped toward the bottom edge  116  in the direction of rotation of the spider  78 . 
     With reference to FIGS. 2-5, a “double core” type of roll, such as the roll described in FIGS. 11 and 12, is loaded onto each spool  100   a-d . The rolls  102  are shown as being mounted onto the spools  100   a-d  such that the core sections  20   a  are above the core sections  20   b . However, the rolls  102  could be mounted such that the core sections  20   b  are positioned above the core sections  20   a.    
     As shown in FIG. 3, the distance d r  between the side surfaces  28  of the tissue  22  is greater than the distance d between the bottom edge  116  of the second portion  114  of the core stop  110  and the spider  78 . Thus, the tissue  22  will contact the second portion  114  of the core stop  110 , if a user tries to rotate the spider  78 , and thereby prevent clockwise rotation of the spider  78 . The tissue  22  will retain the core sections  20   a ,  20   b  in their spaced apart condition until such time as the tissue  22  has been substantially depleted or exhausted from the roll, and rotation of the spider  78  will be prevented. It is important to realize that the distance d is greater than the length of the spools  100   a-d , as evident from FIG. 5, such that, during rotation of the spider  78 , the spools can travel under the bottom edge  116  of the core stop  110 . 
     However, referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, once the tissue  22  has been substantially depleted or exhausted, if a user rotates the spider  78  in a clockwise direction, the angled front surface  118  will cause the core section  20   a  to be forced downward toward the core section  20   b . Thus, as evident from FIG. 5, the core sections  20   a ,  20   b  and the spool  100   a  can travel under the bottom edge  116  to permit the spider  78  to be rotated so as to bring the next reserve tissue roll into the dispensing position. 
     Thus, the core stop  110  acts as a means for sensing that the tissue has been exhausted from the roll currently at the dispensing position. Once the tissue has been exhausted, the spider can be manually rotated in the clockwise direction to bring the reserve roll to the dispensing position. Since the reserve roll has tissue thereon, the tissue contacts the core stop  110  and prevents further rotation of the spider until the reserve roll is itself exhausted of tissue. 
     FIGS. 6-9 illustrate another embodiment of a dispenser  150 . The dispenser  150  is similar to the dispenser  50  of FIGS. 1-5, except that the dispenser  150  uses a different core stop  152 . The core stop  152  in FIGS. 6-9 is configured to function with the gap  25  between the core sections  20   a ,  20   b  in order to sense the depletion of tissue from the roll. 
     With reference to FIG. 9, it is seen that the core stop  152  includes a vertical portion  154  extending parallel to the spools. A finger  156  projects from the vertical portion  154  approximately midway along the length thereof, and extends along a radial axis toward the boss  80  of the spider  78 . In this embodiment, the distal end of the finger  156  preferably extends at least past the outer rotation path P o  defined by the radially outermost point of the spools  100   a-d,  but no further than the central rotation path P c  Preferably, the end of the finger is located adjacent the central rotation path, although the end could be located between the outer and central paths as well. Each spool  100   a-d  is formed with a cut-out  158  that, when a roll  102  is mounted on each spool, is positioned adjacent the gap  25 . The cut-out  158  is defined over approximately one-half of the circumference of each spool. 
     The core stop  152  functions as follows. When tissue  22  in the roll  102 , the tissue  22  will contact the finger  156  and rotation of the spider  78  is prevented. The spider will be prevented from rotating as long as tissue remains on the roll. However, once the tissue  22  has been substantially depleted or exhausted, the cut-out  158  will be uncovered, and the finger  156  can then pass through the cut-out  158  in the spool  100   a  to permit rotation of the spider to bring the next reserve roll to the dispensing position. Thus, in this embodiment, the core sections  20   a ,  20   b  remain generally spaced apart. 
     It is contemplated that rotation of the spider  78  could be caused by a user when a small amount of tissue remains on the roll, in which case sufficient force would need to be applied to overcome the force of the tissue that remains covering the gap  25  and the cut-out  158 . Under most circumstances, the force required to produce such a rotation would be sufficiently large so as to deter rotation until the tissue has been substantially depleted or exhausted. 
     It is to be realized that the dispensers  50 ,  150  described herein could be utilized with tissue rolls other than those described herein and still be in accordance with the principles of the invention. Furthermore, the tissue rolls described herein could be utilized on dispensers other than those described herein and still be in accordance with the principles of the invention. 
     The above specification, examples and data provide a complete description of the manufacture and use of the composition of the invention. Since many embodiments of the invention can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, the invention resides in the claims hereinafter appended.

Technology Classification (CPC): 0