US3498688A - Cabinet arrangement for dispensing paper towels - Google Patents

Description

Mitch 3, 19 70 R. BQMoT'r EfAl. 3,498,688 CABINET ARRANGEMENT FOR nxsrnusiue fAPERJ'I'OWELS med um 27, 1968 2 Shqets-Sheet 1 Kala/1 fleacfi Aloft, Jr. fla/p/z Bear/2 Muff, JP. 7/20/2704 P. long Faber! A. Wood:

INVENTORJ I BY all Hun & Mdhnl ATTORNEYS March 3, 1970 Q M i-f E'I'AL 3,498,688

CABINET ARRANGEMENT FOR DISPENSING PAPER 'I'OWELS Filed May 27. 1968 2 Sheets-She a z 5/ m Jefl 30 fiiiiiiiii' a 40 INVENTORJ' 9 3 a'y I B Y 6/ T M da wallow Mmkm w 3.9 (ITTORNE YS Patented Mar. 3, 1970 3,498,688 CABINET ARRANGEMENT FOR DISPENSING PAPER TOWELS Ralph B. Mott, Ralph B. Mott, Jr., Thomas P. Long, and Robert L. Woods, Houston, Tex.; said Long and said Woods assignors to Reserv-A-Roll C0,, a partnership composed of Ralph Beach Mott, Sr., and Ralph Beach Mott, Jr.

Filed May 27, 1968, Ser. No. 732,462 Int. 'Cl. B65h 1/04; B65f 1/06 US. Cl. 312-61 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a towel or tissue dispenser arrangement for a cabinet which enables the towels or tissues to be dispensed one at a time and which includes means for urging the towels to a position so that they may be removed from the housing and also includes an arrangement so that when an additional supply of towels or tissues is positioned within the housing, the urging means is automatically relieved of its function.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART Various devices have been proposed for dispensing towels or tissues such as represented by the patents to A. S. Krueger et al., No. 2,682,441 issued on June 29, 1954; the patent to A. B. Campbell, Jr., No. 2,781,151 issued on Feb. 12, 1957, and the patent to Chaplin, No. 2,831,602 issued on Apr. 22, 1958.

While these devices illustrate an arrangement for urging the towels to a position where they may be dispensed from an opening in a housing or container, none of such references include an arrangement so that the urging means is automatically released when the housing or container is open for reloading of paper towels. In addition to the foregoing, the housings are not constructed so that while completely enclosing the towels or tissues to protect them, they may be readily and easily mounted on a door of a cabinet for disposal of the tissues through an opening in the door.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a cabinet arrangement for dispensing paper towels including a door pivotally mounted on the cabinet whereby access may be gained to the interior thereof for storing a supply of towels, and a housing or container adapted to be secured adjacent an opening on the door for dispensing towels or tissues, one at a time, therefrom through the door opening. The housing or container is constructed and arranged so that access may be readily had thereto by opening the door of the cabinet and by opening the back of the housing or container which automatically deactivates a spring loaded mechanism so that it moves to a retracted position within the container or housing whereby a fresh supply of towels or tissues may be inserted in the housing and the back closed so that the spring loaded mechanism thereupon moves to a position to urge the towels in the hous- 'ing to a position so that they may be readily dispensed therefrom.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a cabinet arrangement with a door pivotally mounted thereon and the present invention supported on the door;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the housing of the present invention which is adapted to be positioned on the pivotally mounted cabinet door adjacent an opening therein and for carrying the towels or tissues therein;

FIG. 3 is an end view on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2 to illustrate the relationship of the components of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view on the line 44 of FIG. 2 to further illustrate additional structural details of the housing and the relationship of the various portions thereof; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged partial perspective view showing a portion of the follower plate arrangement to urge the towels or tissues toward the position fordispensing from the housing and its manner of support on the housing.

Description of the preferred embodiment Attention is first directed to FIG. 1 of the drawings wherein a cabinet is represented generally by the letter C. The cabinet may be of any suitable type and shape, and as shown, may include a lavatory and a roll tissue dispenser 11 on one end thereof. Access to the interior of the cabinet C may be provided by means of the door 12 which is supported adjacent an opening 21 in the cabinet by any suitable pivot means, such as hinges or the like (not shown) As illustrated in FIG. 1 of the drawings, it will be noted that the door 12 is shown as being pivotally mounted along one edge 13 thereof; however, in some circumstances it may be desirable to pivot the door 12 along the bottom edge 14 or the edge 15 opposite the edge 13.

The door 12 provides a means for access to the interior of the cabinet C, which interior may serve as a supply storage for the towels or tissues to be dispensed from the housing represented generally by the numeral 18. The housing 18 is secured to the inside surface 19 of the door 12.

If desired, a lock 20 may be positioned in the door 12 so that access to the interior of the cabinet C may be controlled.

The housing 18 is mounted on the door 12, and access to the interior of the housing 18 is attained by reason of the opening 21 provided in the door 12.

The housing 18 includes side walls 25 and 26 (FIGS. 3 and 4) which extend rearwardly into the cabinet C when the housing 18 is mounted on the door 12 and the door closed. Each of the side walls 25 and 26 extends rearwardly from the door surface 19 in a plane perpendicular to such surface, and are spaced from-each other a suitable distance to accommodate the size towels or tissues to be carried within the housing 18.

The side walls 25 and 26 are each provided with a vertically extending slot 28 which extends from the lower end of each side wall 25 and 26 and terminates at a position indicated by the numeral 29 which is spaced from the upper end 30 of each side wall. As illustrated in FIG. 3 of the drawings, the slot 23 in side walls 25 and 26 is rectangular in configuration throughout its extent.

A nonmovable plate 31 is mounted by any suitable means between the side walls 25 and 26 (FIGS. 1, 2, and 4), said plate having a central slot 32 therein which extends substantially the length of the plate 31. The plate 31 is secured to and extends horizontally between the side walls 25 and 26 so that the central slot 32 therein is positioned substantially at the termination 29 of the slots 28 in the side walls 25 and 26.

If desired, the plate 31 may be formed so that it is generally concave throughout its longitudinal extent to provide edge portions 31a and 31b which extend longitudinally of the plate 31 and are inclined or slope upwardly towards the central portion of the plate in which the slot 32 is formed. Also, the innermost edges 31c and 31d of the inclined edge portions 31a and 31b may extend vertically as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 4 adjacent the slot 32.

The slot 32 has an enlarged central opening 32a adjacent the central portion thereof for easier grasp of the towels or tissues supported within the housing 18.

A brace 36 extends across the top of the side walls 25 and 26 and a similar brace 37 extends across the bottom of the side walls 25 and 26 as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 of the drawings. The braces 36 and 37 may be secured to the end walls 25 and 26 by any suitable means. If desired, the housing 18 may also include the top wall 38 and the bottom wall 39 which extend between and are secured with the side walls 25 and 26 to form the housing 18 with an open front 18a as shown in FIG. 4 of the drawings.

It will be noted that each end of the braces 36 and 37 projects outwardly beyond the end of the side walls 25 and 26 as shown at 36a and 37a, respectively (FIG. 2).

The portions 36a and 37a of the braces 36 and 37 which extend beyond the side walls 25 and 26 provide a support means for the guide rods 39a which are secured at each of their respective ends to the portions 36a and 37a, respectively, and extend vertically adjacent, but spaced from, each side wall 25 and 26.

A movable plate 40 (FIGS. 2 and extends between the side walls 25 and 26 and includes reduced end portions 40a which extend through each of the slots 28 formed in the side walls 25 and 26, respectively. The reduced end portions 40a have openings (not shown) through which each of said guides 39a extend whereby said movable plate 40 is movable vertically along said slot 28 and on the guides 39a toward and away from the stationary plate 31.

A member 41 is secured to the reduced end portions 40a adjacent the openings therein and is also provided with an opening 42 coincident with the opening in the reduced end portions 40a of movable plate 40 to serve as a stabilizer for the movable plate 40 and tends to inhibit tilting thereof relative to the towels or tissues supported thereon or relative to guide rods 39a as vertical movement of the plate 40 occurs along the guide rods 39a.

A back 45 is pivotally secured by any suitable means such as pins 46 extending through each of the side walls 25 and 26 at the lower end or bottom of the back 45 as shown in FIG. 3 whereby access may be gained to the interior of the housing 18 when it is positioned on the door 12.

A coil spring 46 has one end 47 connected adjacent the upper end of the back 45 by any suitable means such as by welding or by extending through an opening formed in the back 45, and its other end is secured to the member 41. A coil spring 46 is connected on each upper edge of the back 45 adjacent the side walls 25 and 26 and is in tension when the back 45 is closed (the position shown in FIG. 3 of the drawings), thereby tending to urge the paper towels or tissues represented by the numeral 50 supported on plate 40 upwardly within the housing 18 towards the opening 32 so that they may be dispensed by grasping one of the towels represented by the numeral 53 in FIG. 1 of the drawings which projects through slot 32.

The towels 50 are interfolded so that when one towel is removed through the opening 32, another towel is lifted upwardly therethrough for grasping by a user.

The plate 40 serves as a follower and support plate for the towels 50, tending to continuously urge them upwardly until the supply of towels is depleted or ready for replenishing.

When this occurs, the door 12 may be opened, and the back 45 tilted to the dotted line position represented by the numeral 55, and the coil springs 46 will move to the position represented in dotted line by the numeral 46a, thus lowering the plate to the position represented by the numeral 60 in housing 18. It can be seen that this enables a new supply of towels 50 to be inserted within the housing 18, and if there are any towels 50 remaining within the housing 18 when the back is open to provide an additional supply of towels, the plate 45 will serve to lower them away from fixed plate 31 so that the fresh supply of towels or tissues may be in serted in the housing 18 without any interference from the presence of towels which may already be therein. If any towels or tissues are on plate 31, then the top one may be infolded with the towel on the bottom of the fresh supply to provide continuity.

If desired, the side walls 25 and 26 as well as the upper and lower walls 38 and 39 may be integrally connected together or stamped out of a suitable piece of material and provided with flanges 61 along the front edge which are provided with openings 62 therein for receiving screws or the like toposition the housing 18 adjacent the opening 21 within the door 12. If desired, suitable trim as represented by the numeral 63 in FIG. 1 may be provided around the opening 21 for decorative purposes.

The surface 19 of the door 12 covers the open front 18a of housing 18 when the housing 18 is positioned on the door 12, thus completely enclosing the towels or tissues to protect them.

From the foregoing description, it can be seen that the plate 40 tends to urge the towels carried and supported thereby upwardly towards the slot 32 in the plate 31 until the supply of towels is depleted or almost depleted.

Periodically, a fresh supply of towels may be inserted in the housing by pivoting the door 45 rearwardly as illustrated in FIG. 3 to the dotted line position represented by the numeral which lowers the plate 40 and thereby eliminates any urging force on any remaining towels within the housing 18.

Preferably an additional plate 65 may be provided within the housing 18 between the side walls 25 and 26 and serves as a guide for a users hand to guide it downwardly to become engaged with the upwardly projecting towel represented by the numeral 53. It can be seen that with this arrangement, the top and bottom plates 38 and 39 may be eliminated if desired and the plate 65 along with the back 45 and end walls 25 and 26 and door surface 19 will serve as an enclosure for the towels to protect them.

The foregoing disclosure and description of the invention are illustrative and explanatory thereof, and various changes in the size, shape, and materials as well as the details of the illustrated construction.

What is claimed is:

1. A cabinet arrangement for dispensing paper towels including:

(a) a dor pivotally mounted on the cabinet to provide access to the interior of the cabinet;

(b) a housing for storing and dispensing paper towels which is constructed and arranged for mounting on said door within the cabinet;

(c) said door having an opening for access to the interior of said housing and paper towels therein;

(d) said housing including side walls which extend rearwardly into the cabinet when said housing is mounted on said door with each of said side walls being in a plane perpendicular to said door;

(c) said side walls being spaced and each having a slot extending from adjacent the lower end thereof and terminating at a position spaced from the upper end of said side walls;

(f) a nonmovable plate extending between the side Walls within said housing, said plate having a slot therein which extends substantially the length of the plate;

(g) said plate being secured between said side walls so that the slot therein is substantially at the termination of the slots in said side walls;

(h) a brace extending across said side walls adjacent the top and bottom thereof, respectively, and each brace having a portion protruding over the side walls at the top and bottom thereof;

(i) a guide extending adjacent each side wall of said housing and retained between said top and bottom protruding portions of each of said braces;

(j) a movable plate extending between said side Walls of said housing and having end portions which protrude through the slot in said side walls, said protruding end portions having an opening through which said guide on each side of said housing extends whereby said movable plate is movable vertically along said side wall slots, said movable plate serving as a support for paper towels to be displaced through the slot in said nonmovable plate;

(k) a member secured to each of said end portions of said plate and having an opening which coincides with the opening in said end portions to thereby surround each side of said guides for a vertical extent to inhibit tilting of said end portions and movable plate relative to said guides;

(l) a back for said housing which is pivotally connected with said side walls adjacent the bottom of said back whereby it may be opened for access to said housing; and

(m) a spring connected adjacent each side wall of said housing at one end to said member and at its other end to the uppermost portion of said back so that when said back is pivoted away from said side walls said movable plate is moved away from said nonmovable plate for receiving paper towels within the space between said movable and nonmovable plates, and said springs urging said movable plate towards said nonmovable plate when said back is closed whereby the paper towels are urged toward said nonmovable plate for dispensing through the slot there- 2. The invention of claim 1 including an additional plate which is arcuate and extends between said side plates from said nonmovable plate to the top of said housing as a guide for a users hand in grasping a paper towel from the slot.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,160,412 5/1939 Broeren et a1. 22152 2,253,742 8/1941 West et a1. 22152 2,781,151 2/1957 Campbell 221-45 2,831,602 4/1958 Chaplin 221-59 3,313,583 4/1967 Turkington et a1 3l2-61 3O CASMIR A. NUNBERG, Primary Examiner US. 01. x42,

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