US2114935A - Towel dispensing cabinet - Google Patents

Description

April 19, 1938. P. D. PARsoNs 2,114,935

'- TOWEL DISPENSING CABINET Filed Sept. 12, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet l A ril 19, 1938.

D. PARSONS TOWEL DISPENSING CABINET Filed Sept. 12, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 P 31 411502.? 647 44%fizg:

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10 a cabinet of this type of generally improved conwhen the cabinet is closed slides under the flange Patented Apr. 19, 1938 2,114,935

STTES PATENT OFFIQE TOWEL DISPENSING CABINET Philip D. Parsons, Swarthmore, Pa., assignor to Scott Paper Company, Chester, Pa., 21. corporation of Pennsylvania Application September 12,1926, Serial No. 100,563

4 Claims. (01. 3129-62) This invention relates to towel cabinets of a the back plate I and which is shaped to more or type adapted more particularly for paper towels less neatly receive the towel pack indicated in and from which the towels may be individually Fig. 2 by the reference numeral 5. In the preswithdrawn for use. More specifically, the invenent instance, the back plate I is formed at its 5' tion relates to a type of cabinet wherein the upper and side edges with forwardly projecting individual towels are supported in vertical planes flanges 6 and I which when the cabinet is closed and are withdrawn through a suitably formed fit into the top and sides of the casing member 3. aperture in the forward face of the cabinet. Secured to the inside of the top wall of the A principal object of the invention is to provide casing 3 is a spring latch -8 the free end of which struction, which may be manufactured economi- 6. The flange 6 has a depressed boss 9 which is 10 cally from sheet metal, is efficient in operation, adapted to fit into an aperture H in t e at 8 and which presents a desirably neat appearance. to thereby 100k vthe Casing 3 in the v d Another object of the invention is to provide in Closed p s o This latch y e e ed to a cabinet of the stated type an improved form permit e e t of he Casing member 3 to the 15 of device for exerting pressure at the back of pres e r p n po i i y means f pressure the towel pack required to maintain the pack exerted upon'abutto-n i2 which projects from the and the individual towels in position for ready face of the latch and through an p e 3 in ithdr l from th bin t the top Wall of the casing 3. As shown in Figs.

A more specific object of the present inven- 1 and 3, the front Wall Of the casing 3 iS provided tion is to provide a pressure device that is thrown with an elongated opening t throu h which i t r ti automatically by 1; closing of access may be had to the towels within the cabithe cabinet and which when the cabinet is opened net and through Which the Said towels y be is permitted to occupy an inoperative position at individually Withdrawn e front or apertured a the back of the cabinet wherein it offers no ob- Wall Of the Casing 3 is we outwardly fmm 0 struction to the charging of the cabinet with a the er and lower ed es to t e ed es of the fresh supply of towels. V aperture Still another object is to provide a novel and The towel pack 5 consists Of a number of towels improved form of latching means for normally arranged one behind the other and so individually retaining the cabinet in the closed condition. foldedlthat their upper and lower edges l5 and Still another Object is to combine with this it pro ect into the aperture I4, these edges therelatch the function of actuating the pressure deby being a s i l for w h w n th owels i in th manner t forth above from the cabinet through said aperture. When The inventionfurther resides in certain novel the Cabinet is Open as OWn n Fig. 2, this towel structural features and details hereinafter de- P y be readily pp into the v y of 3 scribed and illustrated in the attached drawings, h casing 3, d when the cabinet is closed, the

in which; towels rest in vertical position upon a plurality of "Figure 1 is a m, View in perspective of h 'ribs H, which in the present instance are pressed cabinet; 1 up from the bottom wall of the casing member 3.

M F 2 is a from; View in perspective showing In order to maintain the towel pack at the front 40 th b t open f charging t a upply of of the cabinet and against the front wall, particutowels; larly aftera number of the towels have been with- Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3, Fig. '1; drawn, it is necessary to provide means for exert- Fig. 4 is a similar sectional view showing the ing pressu e o t y against he back of the cabinet partly open and illustrating the operation pack. To t end, I provide pressure Plate 18 45 of the pressure device, and which is secured by means of a hinge pin l9 be- Fig. 5 is a detached perspective view of the tween lugs 2L2 projecting inwardly from the pressure plate assembly. back plate-l adjacent the upper edge of the lat- With reference to the drawings, the cabinet in ter. In the present instance, these lugs 2| are a preferred embodiment comprises two principal formed integrally with the back plate l by press- 5 parts-or-complementary elements consisting reh P rtions of the latter. One of these lu spectively of a back plate l, which is adapted to is-formed with a single aperture, While the other besecured against a wall surface by means for -lug, shown at the left in Fig. 2, is provided at its example of screws 2, and a casing member 3 which forward side with a slot 22 which terminates at is attached by hinges 4,4 to the lower edge of its inner end in an aperture of suitable size to 55 accommodate the pin I9. Originally the slot 22 is sufficiently wide to permit the pin I9 being passed therethrough into the terminal aperture, and in assem ling the pressure plate I8 with the back plate I, one end of the cotter pin I9 is passed through the aperture in the one lug 2i, and the other end is passed through the slot 22 in the aperture in the other lug 2|, after which the portions of the latter lug at opposite sides of the slot 22 are forced together by pressure sufficiently to retain the pin in position. Subsequently if it is necessary to detach the pressure plate I8, the cotter pin I9 may be withdrawn longitudinally from the apertures of the two lugs. By this means, the pressure plate I8 is suspended from the pin I9 and normally occupies a position substantially fiat against the back plate I, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 4. It will be noted that the pressure plate I8 is provided at each side with a rearwardly extending flange through which the pivot pin I9 extends, and that the upper end of each of these flanges is beveled, as indicated at 20, to permit the lower end of the pressure plate to swing outwardly away from the back plate I and to thereby assume an angular position with respect to the plane of the latter.

The pin I9 supports a coiled spring 23 the extremities of which are extended and lie against the rear face of the pressure plate, Centrally thereof the spring 23 is provided with two upstanding loops 24, 24, and the upper edge of the pressure plate I8 is cut away at 25 to expose the upper ends of the said spring loops 24. The loops 24 are formed at an angle approaching 90 to the extremities of the spring, which as previously described lie at the back of the pressure plate I8, and with the loops 24 engaging the edge of the aperture 25, and the extremities of the spring engaging the back of the plate I8, the spring is thus held normally under tension. Also the loops 24 of the spring project forwardly at an angle away from the plane of the back plate I.

It is apparent that if under these conditions the upper ends of the loops 24 are forced back towards the back plate I, the pressure plate I8, by reason of the pressure against the back thereof of the extremities of the spring, will be swung on the pivot pin I9 away from the back plate I. When the casing 3 is moved up into the closed position, the flanged extremity of the latch 8 passing through the recess 25 of the pressure plate I8 engages the loops 24, 24 of the spring and forces the loops rearwardly toward the back plate I, and thereby swings the lower end of the pressure plate forwardly against the back of the towel pack 5, and the pressure of the plate I8 against the towel pack is maintained by reason of the resiliency of the spring 23. The pressure plate I8 thus functions to exert resilient pressure against the towel pack forcing the edges forwardly in the cabinet and against the apertured front wall. The forward or outward slant of this front wall, previously described, above and below the aperture I4 permits the free edges I5 and I6 of the towels to project slightly through the aperture so that they may be readily grasped for withdrawal of the towels from the cabinet. The relative positions of the various parts described above are clearly shown in Fig. 3. It will be noted now that the pressure plate I8 is forced away from its normal depending position at the back of the cabinet into an operative position with respect to the towel pack only when the cabinet is closed, and that movement of the casing 3 toward the open position, as shown in Fig. 4, by releasing the pressure on the loops 24, 24 of the spring permits the plate I8 to assume a normally depending position in the back of the cabinet as illustrated. When, therefore, the cabinet is fully opened as shown in Fig. 2, the pressure plate I8 occupies a position offering no obstruction to the insertion or withdrawal of towels in and from the casing 3. While in the present instance the latch 8 performs the double function of a locking element and a keeper for the spring 23, it is apparent that by slight modification the latter function may be removed from the latch and imposed upon a separate element secured to the casing member. There may be other modifications without departure from the invention.

I claim:

1. A dispensing cabinet for towels comprising a casing having a rear section adapted to be secured against a wall surface, and a forward casing section hinged to the bottom of said rear section and movable on said hinges between an upright closed. position and a substantially horizontal open position, said casing section having in its forward wall an aperture affording access for withdrawal of the towels from the cabinet, a pressure member movably mounted on said rear casing section and adapted normally to occupy a retracted position on the latter, a spring also mounted on the rear casing section and operatively associated with said pressure member for resiliently urging said member toward an extended position and against the towels to thereby support the towels in a vertical position in the forward casing section and against said apertured wall, said spring being normally inoperative and permitting said member to assume the retracted position when the casing is open, to thereby permit unobstructed access to the front casing section for replenishing the supply of towels therein and means on said forward casing section automatically operative when the casing is closed to actuate the spring to urge the pressure plate toward an extended position and against the towels.

2. A dispensing cabinet for towels comprising a casing having a rear section adapted to be secured against a wall surface, and a forward casing section movable between open and closed positions with respect to said rear section, said forward casing section having an aperture in its front wall affording access for withdrawal of the towels from the cabinet, means for locking said sections in the closed position, a pivot pin mounted transversely in the upper part of said rear casing section, a pressure member suspended from said pivot pin and normally occupying a retracted position on the said rear section, a spring mounted on said pivot pin and adapted to exert pressure against said pressure member to urge the latter away from the rear casing section and against the towels to urge the latter toward the apertured wall of said casing, said spring being normally inoperative and permitting said pressure member to assume its normal retracted position, and said means having a portion carried by the forward casing section for operatively engaging the spring whereby when the lock is operated to retain the casing sections together the said spring is automatically actuated to resiliently force the pressure member away from the rear section of the casing and into operative engagement with the towels.

3. A dispensing cabinet for towels comprising a casing having complementary front and rear sections, said rear section being adapted to be secured against a wall surface, and said front section being relatively movable with respect to the rear section to open and close the casing, a flange projecting forwardly from the upper edge of said rear section, a latching element carried by the front section and arranged for engagement with the under side of said flange to lock the sections together in closed position, said front section having in the front wall thereof an aperture affording access for withdrawal of the towels from the casing, a pivot pin supported at the top of said rear section, a pressure plate suspended from said pivot pin, a spring carried by said pivot pin and adapted to exert pressure at the rear of said pressure plate to urge the latter away from the rear casing section and against the towels to force the towels toward the said apertured wall, said spring being normally inoperative and permitting said pressure plate to occupy a normal retracted position on the rear casing section, and said spring having upstanding portions exposed at the top of said plate, which portions when forced rearwardly toward the rear casing section cause the spring to exert pressure against the said plate to urge the latter resiliently away from said rear casing member and against the towels, and said spring portions being located in the path of said latching element and being forced by the latter rearwardly when the casing sections are brought together in the closed position to thereby actuate the spring to extend the pressure plate.

4. A dispensing cabinet for towels comprising rear and front complementary casing sections relatively movable between open and closed positions, the forward casing section having in a wall thereof an aperture affording access for withdrawal of the towels from the cabinet, and means on the rear casing section for exerting pressure against the towels to force the latter toward said apertured wall, said means comprising a pivot pin and a pressure element suspended from said pin, a pair of apertured lugs for reception of said pin, one of said lugs having a slot extending from the edge of the lug inwardly to said aperture and of sufiicient width to admit the said pin therethrough to the aperture, and the portions of said lug at the opposite sides of the slot being adapted to be forced together after the pin has been introduced into the aperture to thereby prevent retraction of the pin through the slot, and a spring operatively associated with said plate and adapted to resiliently force the said plate against the towels.

PHILIP D. PARSONS.

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