US2322552A - Dispensing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

June 22, 1943. 4 J SWEETLAND 2,322,552

DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 29, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVEN TOR. 3

June 22, 1943. E. J. SWEETLAND 5 DISPENSING APPARATUS Filedpct. 29, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIIS IN V EN TOR.

E. J. SWEETLAND DISPENSING APPARATUS June 22, 1943.

Filed Oct. 29, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN V EN TOR.

June 22, 1943. E. J. SWEETLAND 2,322,552

DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 29, 1940 5 Sheets-Shee t 4 I I I IN V EN TOR.

Filed Oct. 29, 1940 s Sheets-Sheet 5 FIES 7 I N V EN TOR.

Patented June 22, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DISPENSING APPARATUS Ernest J. Sweetland, Piedmont, Calif.

Application October 29, 1940, Serial No. 363,303

8 Claims.

This invention relates to means for dispensing dressings and especially moist dressings, moist wash cloths and the like.

A particular object of my invention is to provide a dispensing apparatus designed to preserve moist dressings and moist cloths in a sanitary condition free from evaporation for an indefinite period of time and to dispense the same in suitably metered quantities by the automatic means herein described.

A further object is to provide a dispensing apparatus with a sealed gate mechanism which is normally maintained in closed position, but which automatically opens when a portion of fabric is to be dispensed, and automatically closes thereafter, whereby the contents of the dispensing unit are protected from contamination and preserved in a manner that prevents evaporation and deterioration from atmospheric action.

The invention possesses other advantageous features, some of which with the foregoing, will be set forth at length in the following description where I shall outline in full that form of my invention which I have selected for illustration in the drawings accompanying and forming part of the present specification. In said drawings, 1 have shown one form of my invention, but it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to such form since my invention is capable of various modifications which are limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure l is a sectional front elevation of my dispensing apparatus.

Figure 2 is ,a side elevation of pawl and rachet arrangement and is taken on the line 2--2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a side elevation of my dispensing apparatus showing the casing thereof in vertical section. This view is taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1.

Figure 4'is a vertical sectional elevation showing certain of the mechanical parts of my dis-' Referring in detail to Figure 1, numeral l represents a metal housing which is secured to the base member 2 to form an air tight joint by means of the gasket or sealing material 3. 4 and 4a represent the side plates which constitute the framework of the dispensing mechanism. These plates are rigidly maintained in spaced relation by means of the spacing bars 5, 5a and 51). At the top of the side plates, a pair of supporting arms 6 and 6a are supported by means of the pivots 'l and la in a manner to permit radial movement of the arms 6 and Ba numeral [2a, the outer layer of which, shown at.

62 is fed downwardly through the dispensing mechanism. This fabric may be rolled up in single layer in the manner customary for ordinary bandages or it may be folded over into a plurality of layers as is indicated in Fig. 8 which represents a sectional view on the line 8-8 of Fig. 1, of the fabric folded in a 3-ply thickness.

' Obviously it may be folded in as many plies as required in order to produce a cloth of the desired dimensions after it is dispensed and opened up for use.

I3 is the metering roll which is clearly shown in side elevation in Fig. 4 and in section in Fig. 5. This metering roll is revolvably mounted on the shaft M. The rachet I5 is secured to the side of the metering roll 13. The pawl l6 controls the movement of the rachet, l5 and the metering roll 13 to prevent backward movement thereof. The bar I! carries the brake shoe 3 which'bears upon the brake wheel I!) which is more clearly shown in Fig. 4. This brake wheel is integral with the metering roll l3 and prevents over-travel of the metering roll that might otherwise occur due to inertia. II is the pawl-carrying disc, the hub of which is fixed to the shaft I4 by means of the pin 22 (Fig. 1). The wheel 23 which is actuated by the pawl 24 (Fig. 2) is integral with the brake drum l9 and the metering wheel l3 so that these parts and the rachet wheel 15 will move together. The pinion 25 is keyed to the shaft M by the pin 25a which passes through its hub so that the movement of the pinion drives the pawl-carrying wheel 2| and movement is imparted to the metering roll by engagement of the pawl 24 in the notch 2! of the wheel 2-3 (see Fig. 2). The spring 28 maintains a constant tension on the lever ii which carries the brake shoe E8.

The pinion 25 is driven by the gear 3! which is fixed t the shaft 32. The shaft 32 i connected by tooth 32a to stub shaft 321) which passes through a stuffing box 34 in order to maintain an air-tight seal wher the shaft passes through the casing. The stub shaft 32b is fixed to the operating lever 33 which is-held in operating position by the clip 33a. This clip is e cured to the housing I by means of screws 33b. The free outer end of the clip 33a is provided with a slot which fits into a groove located at on the horizontal portion of the operating lever. The object of the clip 33a is to hold the operating lever in the position shown and it is so arranged that the horizontal shank of the lever is free to rotate in the slot while the clip prevents the lever and its attendant shaft 32b from working out of place. When it is desired to remove the casing I from the mechanism to service the unit, the screws 331) are removed whereupon the lever 33 and shaft 32b may be moved outwardly to disengage the tooth 32a. The casing I which is held tightly against the base member 2 by any convenient means (not shown) may then be removed.

Referring again to the metering roll l3' it will be noted that the idler roller 52 mounted on shaft (see Figs. 4 and 5) which cooperates with the metering roll is provided with a grooved rubber cover 52 whichoo-acts with the metering roll in feeding the strip of cloth downwardly. Thegrooves 52a accommodate the vertical track or guidemembers 53- which serve as a guide for the-strip l2' as it'feeds downwardly through the rolls. I have found it desirable-to have these track guide members 53 pass through thegrooves 4 8" of the metering roll and grooves 52a of the idler because the moistened cloth strip slides freely upon theedges of the guides 53, and the cloth is always maintained in position, and it is prevented from sticking to the surfaces of the roll.

The gear 3|- (Figs. 1 and 3) serves the double purpose of actuating the pinion 25 and the rack 54. This rack, as will be seen by reference to Fig; 3 is mounted in the guide and is supported-at its outer end' by the post 56. In the top of post 56 is a groove 51 through'which the rack 54 slides freely in its backward and forward motion. The object of the rack 55' is'to' transmit motion that is applied to the hand lever 33 to the shears which serve to cut off the metered strip of cloth; This shear movement will be understood by reference to' Figures 3 and 6, the latter of which shows a horizontal view of the shears taken on the line 66 of Figure 1. The block 58 (Fig. 3) is fixed to the rack 54 and in the lower side of this block is post 59 which passes through the slot 6i in the part 62'. The post 59 is'slidably secured to the part 62 by means of the screw 63. At the left hand end of'the part 62 is" a hole which receives the end of the post 6'4: The screw 65 holds part 62 in its pivotal mounting on post 641 The lower end of post 65' is welded to or is otherwise made integral with the movable shear arm 65.

The shear mechanism which is actuated by movement of the arm 66 consists of a pair of shear blades H and 12 pivotally secured together by the pin-1 3' (s'ee' Fig. 6), the blade H being stathrough the fabric.

dispensed.

tionarily mounted while 12 is caused to move and render a shearing action against H by a movement of post i i. The post 64 not only communicates rotary movement to th arm 66 about the axis 13, but since this post has the power applied at its upper end, it has the effect, when the strip of cloth is between the shear blades, of biasing the shear blade to which it is connected in such manner as to hold the cutting edges of the shear blades in close shearing-contacts with each other to cause the shears to cut to the best advantage at all times. This action is quite important, as without this bias action shear blades of this type will bind and may even fail entirely to cut Beneath the shear blades is the chute M which guides the cloth that is cut from the strip downwardly out of the dispensing opening 15 onto the shelf 15.

It is understood that the cloth to be dispensed may be untreated, or it may be medicated or moistened with any desired fiuid depending upon the purposes for which it is to be used. The cloth may, for instance, be moistened with water containing soap in solution in addition to any desired agent for disinfecting ormedicating the cloth. In some instances, the fluid used may be ofa highly volatile nature and for this reason it is.

desirable to preclude th possibility of evaporation during storage of the treated cloth or other 1 fabric, such as paper, that may be dispensed from the apparatus; To carry out these objects, I

provide the only opening to the casing of the apparatus with a valve or gate which automatically closes as soon as a piece of the fabric is Since the only opening through which evaporation could occur is at 15, Fig. 4, I locate the valve or gate at the upper end of the chute 14- in the manner illustrated in detail. The walls of the chuteare air-tight to prevent evaporation from the interior of the casing. At the-upper end of the chute 14* is gasket Hi which is secured to the top of the chute. The valve plate 17 is secured to the arm 18, which i slidably mounted within the guide 19. An upright cam follower 8| is integral with the arm 18 and thisis acted upon by the cam 82 which is driven by the chain 83 from the sprocket 86 which isthe valve remains-open until the cloth is cut off and dispensed; when it returns to the closed position and securely seals the only opening in the casing, thus preventing'eva-poration or contamination.

The operation of the apparatus above describedis as follows: A roll of prepared fabric such as gauze or Canton flannel, or any other fabricsuitable for the purpose including certain types of absorbent paper, is mounted on the reel I I whichfor convenience is so constructed that it is easily dismounted from the apparatus and the side plates separated to receive the roll of cloth or' other fabric. This is preferably folded into' the form shown in cross-section in Fig. 8 before being formed into a roll. The cloth may be moistened or medicated either before or after being formed into the roll, at the option of the manufacturer. The outer end of the strip: of rolled fabric is thenthreaded into the machine. The end is threaded downwardlythrough the chutewhich is formed by the slats 53 and the side plates 53a which is constructed as shown in cross-section in Fig. 5. The slats 53 form a guide for the strip of cloth, the openings between them permitting roll |3 and the grooved rubber cover 52 of the idler 5| to enter through the walls of the chute to feed the strip of cloth in its downward course. In threading the machine ready for operation, the loose end of the fabric strip is fed by hand down the chute 53a until the lower end approaches the shear blades H and 12. This, of course, is done while the cover is removed from the machine, thelever 33 being removed for this purpose. When the cover is replaced the gaskets 3 or any other suitable ensealing means makes the casing a substantially air-tight structure.

To vend a metered section of the fabric, the operator pulls the lever 33 forward through an arc of 90 when the arm 86a (Fig. 3) strikes a suitable stop 86b. The travel of arm 86a is limited on the return stroke by stop 9|]. The forward movement of lever 33 first of all causes the cam 82 to strike the follower 8| and open the'valve 11, leaving the top of the shaft 14 wideopen to receive the fabric strip when it is fed downwardly. While this is taking place the metering roll I3 is rotating in a clockwise direction and since 180 of the surface of this metering roll is cut away there is a slight delay in its action of feeding the strip downwardly. This provides the time lag required to give valve 11 time to open. As soon as the grooved metering roll l3, which has a horizontally corrugated surface to prevent slippage, revolves through about one-third of a circle, its grooved surface, which enters the chute formed by slat members 53 and side plate 53a, engages the strip of cloth and presses it against the soft rubber surface 52' of the idler 5|, and the cloth feeds downwardly until the metering roll l3 reaches the end of its effective bearing surface. While this action is taking place the strip of cloth advances between the shear blades H and 12 and passes into the chute 74. The mechanism is so timed that the shear blades remain stationary while the cloth strip is advancing, but as soon as the effective stroke of the metering roll is completed the shear blade 12 starts to advance to out off the metered strip of cloth. This is accomplished by rotation of the gear 3| which engages the rack 54 causing the pin 59 to move in the slot 6| until it reaches the end of the slot 6|, whereupon the pin 59 imparts motion to the part 62, which in turn moves the post 64 and the shear arm 66 to which it is attached, thus causing the shear blade 12 to close against blade H to shear off the fabric which then drops down the chute I4 onto the shelf 16.

It will be understood that the action of the metering roll I3 is comparatively rapid due to the relatively small size of the pinion as compared with gear 3| and that the action of the shear is delayed by the pin 59 having to travel the length of the slot 6| before it takes effect upon the part 62. When the forward stroke of the lever 33 is completed, the lever is released and the spring 88 returns it to its place in readiness for another operation. During this return stroke the lever 86 hits the lug 81 which is integral with the part 62, pushing the part 62 toward the left to open the shear blades. This rapid opening motion of the shear blade 72 quickly releases the cloth in the event any of the fibers tend to adhere to the shear blades. During the return stroke the gear 3| returns the rack 54 and its attendant parts back to its original position and at the same f5;

time the valve TI is closed by the action of spring 85.

Figure 2 is a detail view on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, which shows how the drive is effected between the shaft I4 and the metering roll |3. The disc 2| which carries the pawl 24 is fixed to the shaft |4 while the disc 23 which is provided with notch 21 is fixed to the metering roll l3, the latter being free to rotate around shaft M. This arrangement maintains the proper timing of the metering roll in the event that through improper operation the lever 33 is moved forward without traversing its complete stroke. The object of the brake lever H, which by means of spring 28 maintains the brake shoe l8 against the hub of the metering roll, is to prevent overdrive of the metering roll.

It will be understood that when the lever 33 returns to normal position, after an operation is completed, the cam 82 allows the follower 8| and slide 18 to be returned by spring 85 to closed position and the valve 11 is thus closed to form an air-tight seal for the casing.

An important feature of the machine described is that the chute 74 through which the cloth is dispensed is of greater length than the metered section of cloth. The cloth therefore does not appear through the opening 15 until it has been severed by the shear blades and allowed to fall. If it were not for this feature, it would be possible to pull the lever 33 down part way and then grasp the end of the cloth and pull out an extended length before shearing it off. Such procedure is not desirable and would interfere with the correct operation of the machine which is to deliver uniform, metered sections of fabric. This is especially the case in the event the machine is equipped with coin-control for vending purposes.

The shelf 16 provides a convenient place for the piece of metered fabric to be caught and at the same time it serves as a guard against tampering with the interior of the machine.

The foregoing description relates to a machine designed to carry rolls of fabric that have been moistened prior to their being placed in the machine.

A modified form of my invention is illustrated in Fig. '7. This machine is similar to the appara. tus described above as regards the cloth metering and cutting mechanism but is so designed that the fabric may be loaded into the machine in dry form to be moistened or medicated by a spray of suitable liquid during the dispensing process.

In this modification I provide the air cylinder |0| which is equipped with the piston I82 fixed to an extension of the rack 54. The piston is provided with a packing ring 403 and air vent I04 which during the forward stroke of the piston is covered by the valve I35, which, being of flexible material, opens during the reverse stroke of the piston to allow air to enter the cylinder. I36 is a fluid tank which, through the tube Mil, leads to the atomizer nozzle I08. The tube I99 leads from the cylinder I! to an outlet it which completes the atomizer nozzle. In the operation of this machine, metering and cutting of the fab ric strip is effected as hereinbei'ore described. While the cloth is advancing between the shear blades, air is compressed in the cylinder Ii?! by the forward movement of the piston 5E2. The air thus compressed discharges through the air outlet I I0 thus drawing fluid out of the tank tilt and producing an atomizing action to spray the fabric while it is being fed downwardly through the chute 14a. In this description and the accompanying drawings, I have illustrated a conven tional type of atomizer but it is within the province of my invention to provide other means for spraying or otherwise moistening the piece of fabric just prior to dispensing it from the machine. The specific design of atomizer or other moistening means is immaterial so long as it carries out the object of moistening the fabric before it is dispensed.

The invention herein described is capable of a great variety of difierent uses. It may be used for dispensing moistened or medicated washcloths for any purpose whatsoever. They may be used in first-aid stations for dispensing sterile medicated dressings, and they may be used for various purposes in toilet rooms.

In other modifications of the invention, the cloth may be treated with a cleaning fluid such as carbon tetra-chloride and used for removing spots from clothing, or suitable solvents may be used for the removal of make-up etc. Whatever the use, the air-sealed casing of the apparatus preserves the fabric in its original condition free from contamination and evaporation.

Any well known type of coin control may be adapted to the machine in cases where it is desired to use the apparatus for vending purposes.

In the appended claims the terms dressings or moist dressings are used to designate whatever materials might be dispensed by the machine in accordance with the foregoing description.

Th term valve as used in the claims and specification of this application is intended to define a door or gate or valve of any kind capable of tightly closing the dispensing aperture.

. I claim:

1. An apparatus for dispensing strip material which comprises asubstantially air-tight casing; means to support a supply of strip material in said casing; means for measuring a pre-determined length from said supply of strip material; shear means to out 01f said measured length; a chute having a passageway to receive the measured length from said strip and to conduct same to a dispensing aperture in said casing; the passageway through said chute being of greater length than said measured strip whereby said strip is protected until it is sheared from said supply; valve means to control the passageway through said chute; and actuating means co-acting with said measuring means and said valvemeans to cause said valve means to function in timed relation with said measuring means.

2. An apparatus for dispensing moist dressings comprising a substantially air-tight casing; means to support a supply of moist strip dressing material within said casing; metering means to feed a metered portion of said dressing toward a dispensing aperture in said casing; a conduit in said casing to receive said metered portion and guide the same toward a dispensing aperture; shear means arranged and constructed to shear off said metered portion after it enters said conduit; valve means to control the opening in said conduit; control means external to said conduit to control the operation of said metering means, said shear means and said valve; means for operating said valve means in timed relation with said shear and metering means whereby said valve is opened to admit a metered portion of said supply into said conduit and is closed after said metered portion is sheared ofi of said supply; and said valve means being located at one end of said conduit and said dispensing aperture at the opposite end thereof.

'3. An apparatus for dispensing strip material which comprises a substantially air-tight casing; a dispensing aperture in said casing; means within said casing to support a supply of strip material; valve means to open and close said dispensing aperture; shear means to cut off a portion of said strip material; means controllable from the exterior of said casing to feed said strip material through said aperture and to operate said shear means; means co-acting with said exteriorly controlled means for opening said valve means to allow the exit of a portion of strip material from said casing and for closing said valve means after said portion of strip material has passed through said valve.

4. An apparatus for dispensing moist dressings comprising an air-tight casing; means within said casing to support a supply of strip dressing material; an aperture for dispensing dressings from said casing; actuating means within said casing to feed said strip dressing material through said aperture; shear means within said casing to out 01f a portion of said strip material; a valve within said casing to form a substantially air-tight seal for said aperture; a lever external to said casing to actuate said shear means and said valve; means connected with said lever to open said Valve during the initial part of the normal operating stroke of said lever and to shear said strip of dressing during a portion of the stroke of said lever after said valve has been opened; means to restore said lever to its original position and to close said valve after a portion of dressing has been dispensed.

5. An apparatus for dispensing strip material which comprises a substantially air-tight casing; means to support a supply of strip material in said casing; means for measuring a pre-determined length of strip material from said supply; shear means to cut off said measured length; a valved aperture in said casing through which to discharge said measured length of strip material; actuating means to feed said strip material past said shear means and through said aperture; means for opening and closing said valved aperture; connecting means between said actuating means and the means for opening said valve to cause said valve to open and close in timed relation with said actuating means.

6. An apparatus for dispensing strip material which comprises a casing; -a dispensing aperture in said casing; means within said casing to support a supply of strip material; means for measuring a pre-determined length of said strip material; shear means to cut off a portion of said strip material; a chute to receive a measured strip of material and conduct the same to the dispensing aperture; said chute being greater in length than the measured length of strip material; means mounted upon said casing and controllable from the exterior thereof to actuate said measuring means and said shear means; means co-acting with said exteriorly controlled means for moistening the measured strip of material during its pass'ageway'through said chute.

7. An apparatus for dispensing dressings comprising an air-tight casing; means within said casing to support a supply of strip material; a dispensing aperture in said casing; means to feed said strip material from said supply toward said aperture; a normally closed valve to control said aperture; shear means within said casing to cut function in timed relation with said feeding means; means connecting said shear means with said actuating means to cause said shear means to cut off a portion of said strip material while said valve is in open position.

8. An apparatus for dispensing dressings comprising an air-tight casing; means within said casing to support a supply of strip material; a dispensing aperture in said casing; means to feed said strip material from said supply toward said aperture; a normally closed valve to control said aperture; shear means within said casing to cut off a portion of said strip material; actuating means co-acting with said feeding means and said valve means to cause said valve means to function in timed relation with said feeding means; means connecting said shear means with said actuating means to cause said shear means to cut off a portion of said strip material while said valve is in open position; means co-acting with said actuating means to spray a fluid upon said strip while it is being fed from said supply by said feeding means.

ERNEST J. SWEETLAND.

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