Patent Grant
7677410
The present invention relates to an apparatus for discharging tissue, and more particularly, to an apparatus for discharging tissue one at a time, the tissue being of a type that is folded several times and stacked on top of one another.
Many restaurants offer customers wet towels to wipe their hands before a meal.
These wet towels are usually reusable towels that are collected after use, laundered, and offered to subsequent customers. However, washing wet towels consumes a large quantity of water. Also, due to the possibility of residual chemicals and germs remaining in wet towels after laundering, from sanitary and environmental standpoints, the use of wet towels is problematic.
To overcome the problems posed by the use of wet towels, many restaurants are now using disposable wet tissues individually packaged in plastic.
However, haphazard disposal of such plastic packaging augments environmental pollution.
Recently, traditional and fast-food restaurants and public washrooms have begun using tissue in rolls fitted into a separate container that permits a required amount of tissue to be extracted and cut for use.
Such an apparatus that automatically dispenses roll tissue is illustrated in
A conventional automatic roll tissue dispenser as illustrated includes: a housing 1, rolled tissue 2, a driving roller 31′ and a driven roller 32′ for compressing and feeding the rolled tissue 2, a contacting wetting device 5 that contactually discharges water to wet the rolled tissue 2, an indirect wetting device 6 that supplies water to the driven roller 32′ to indirectly wet the tissue 2, an upper and lower blade 82′ and 81′ for cutting the wet tissue 2 in a predetermined length, and a tissue discharging unit 7 for discharging the cut tissue 2.
When such a conventional automatic tissue dispensing apparatus is used, the apparatus directly discharges water to wet tissue that is then cut into a predetermined length and dispensed.
An almost identical apparatus to the one above, while not illustrated in the diagrams herein, is disclosed in Korean Utility Model No. 1999-0019082 and Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 1996-0042287.
However, because conventional automatic tissue dispensers use rolled tissue installed inside the housing, having to change the rolls is an inconvenience for a user. Furthermore, because it is hard to visually check the amount of tissue used, it is difficult to discern how much tissue there is remaining for use.
In addition, because conventional automatic tissue dispensers use rolled tissue installed inside the housing, they require a blade or similar cutting device to cut the tissue into predetermined lengths. After a certain duration of use, the blade wears and becomes blunt, necessitating replacement.
An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for discharging tissue capable of enabling easy replacement of tissue and easy discerning of when to replace tissue, eliminating the need for a blade or cutting device on account of the tissue used being a non-rolled type, eliminating the possibility of mold and germ formation during prolonged storage in a sealed environment, and maintaining a clean and hygienic state.
To achieve these objects and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, there is provided a tissue dispensing apparatus for dispensing multiply folded tissues from a stack of multiple tissues including: a cartridge for holding the stack and having a through hole at one end; and a holding member disposed adjacent to the through hole of the cartridge and including an arm for grasping and removing the tissues one by one from a top of the stack by pivoting around a central axis of the holding member.
The arm is formed in an opening and closing pincer structure, and the tissue grasped by the arm reaches an opposite side from the cartridge through a pivoting of the holding member, whereupon the arm opens to deposit the tissue onto a conveyor belt, the conveyor belt extending from the cartridge to a tissue tray and driven over a plurality of rollers.
The inventive apparatus having the above structure allows a user to easily replace tissue, prevents tissue dispensing failure, and increases precision and reliability and reduces dispensing time over the related art.
The cartridge has a transparent window for allowing the stack held inside the cartridge to be visually verified. For these reasons, a user can visually verify how much tissue has been used and determine how much longer the remainder will last.
Because tissue is stacked in the apparatus according to the present invention, the process of cutting the tissue into predetermined lengths is not required, and replacement of the tissue by a user becomes much easier. Furthermore, because a user can readily check the amount of tissue used through visual means, the user can discern how much longer the remaining tissue will last.
The present invention eliminates a reduction of cutting effectiveness caused by worn blades, and virtually eliminates tissue dispensing failure and other malfunctions by dispensing tissue one at a time from a cartridge through a holding member, substantially increasing precision and reliability over conventional automatic tissue dispensers.
Because the apparatus is able to dispense stacked tissue by means of the holding member, the discharging time is greatly reduced compared to the related art.
Because tissues are stored in the cartridge in a dry state, they will not develop mold or germs when stored over a long duration, and will thus retain a clean and hygienic condition.
The spirit of the present invention can be understood more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a tissue dispensing apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Referring to
The cartridge 60, 60′ and 60″ holds a stack 61 of tissues 62 that are folded several times and stacked one on top of another, and has a through hole 63, 63′ and 63″ at one end thereof.
The stack 61 consists of a plurality of tissues 62, with each tissue 62 folded multiple times to form a folded portion 62a and several opening portions 62b. The folded portions 62a of the tissues 62 are aligned in the stack 61.
The method of folding the tissue 62 shown in
Referring to
However, a variety of folding methods not described by
Such a tissue 62 may be made of a moisture absorbing textile or non-woven fabric, such as spunlace derived from rayon fibers.
Referring to
The case 65 for holding the stack 61 is a roughly rectangular parallelopiped shape, and has the through hole 63 formed at the top. A transparent window 76 is formed along the length on a side of the case 65 to allow visual checking of the stack 61 from the outside. By forming the transparent window 76 on the case 65, a user can always check how much of the stack 61 is remaining in the case.
At least one stopper 66 is formed adjacent to the through hole 63 at the top of the case 65 to provide elastic support to the edge of the highest portion of the stack 61. This stopper 66 is a structure consisting of a multi-edged plate 68 that pivots on a hinge axis 69 at its edges, and supports the uppermost portion of the stack 61 below the plate 68. A coil spring 70 connecting the plate 68 and the outer portion of the case 65 provides elastic support to the uppermost portion of the stack 61.
A supporting plate 67 is disposed at the lowermost portion of the stack 61, and has at least one elastic member 75 below it for providing upward elastic support to the stack toward the stopper 66. The supporting plate 67 has a pair of insertion holes 73 formed at an end thereof, and the insertion holes 73 have a pair of guide shafts 74 inserted therethrough. Each guide shaft 74 has a respective elastic member 75 encircling its outer surfaces for providing elastic support to the supporting plate 67. The guide shafts 74 may be formed along the longitudinal direction of the case 65 for guiding the supporting plate 67 towards the stopper 66.
Referring to
Like the embodiment of
Also similar to the embodiment of
The first supporting plate 71 is provided at the lowermost point of the stack 61, and the second supporting plate 72 has at least one elastic member 75′ thereabove for providing elastic support to the bottom of the first supporting plate 71 towards the top of the case 65′.
In further detail, the first supporting plate 71 and the second supporting plate 72 have ends with a respective pair of insertion holes 73′ and 73″ with a pair of guide shafts 74′ inserted therethrough. The portions of the guide shafts 74′ above the second support plate 72 have an elastic member 75′ around their outer surfaces for providing elasticity to the first supporting plate 71. The guide shafts 74′ may be formed along the case 65′ in a longitudinal direction in order to guide the first and second supporting plates 71 and 72 in an upward and downward direction along the case 65′.
The driver 77 supplies driving force for allowing an upward and downward movement of the second supporting plate 72 along the case 65′.
The driver 77 includes a motor 80, a gear 81, and a gear shaft 83.
The motor 80 used for providing driving force may be a reversible switched reluctance motor. The gear 81 is attached to the shaft of the motor 80 for receiving driving force from the motor, and may be a worm, bevel, or other type of gear.
The gear shaft 83 may be formed longitudinally along the case 65′ and parallel to the guide shafts 75.
The gear shaft 83 is rotatively mounted on the second supporting plate 72 to enable upward and downward movement of the second supporting plate 72 by means of rotational force supplied by the gear 81. The gear shaft 83 is configured in the shape of a screw with threaded passages 84 on its outer surface for meshing with the gear 81.
Specifically, the gear shaft 83 is rotatively inserted in a screw hole 78 formed in one end of the second supporting stand 72, and a bearing (not shown) may be disposed between the contacting surfaces of the screw hole 78 and the gear shaft 83 for facilitating a smooth rotation of the gear shaft 83.
The outer surface of the gear shaft 83 has threaded passages 84 formed therearound, which mesh with the teeth of the gear 81 that receives rotational force from the motor 80. That is, the gear 81 furnishes forward or reverse rotational force to the gear shaft 83 having the threaded passages 84, to move the second supporting plate 72 in an upward or downward direction along the gear shaft 83 towards the top or bottom of the case 65′.
Although not shown in the diagrams, a controller included inside the main body 103 controls the motor 80. For example, the controller may have a pressure sensor on the first supporting plate 71 for sensing the load of the stack 61 or several position sensors in the cartridge 60 for sensing the height of the stack 61. In either case, the controller receives signals from the sensors, compares the received signals with previously inputted data values, and rotates the motor 80 in a forward or reverse direction according to calculations based on the comparison.
A holding member 90 and 90′ is formed proximally to the through hole 63, 63′, and 63″ of the cartridge 60, 60′, and 60″. The holding member 90 and 90′ has an arm 91 and 91′ for grasping a tissue 62 on the stack 61. The arm 91 and 91′ removes held tissues 62 one at a time by pivoting on an axis 92 and 92′.
As shown in
Referring to
The holding member 90 and the arm 91 formed thereon are controlled by a controller (not shown). For example, in order to sense the operation of the holding member 90, the controller receives signals from a plurality of position sensors (not shown) located in the main body 103, compares the received signals with previously inputted data values, and controls the pivoting movement of the holding member 90 and the opening and closing of the arm 91 based on calculations derived from the comparison.
In
The conveyor belt 93 has a motor (not shown) rotating a plurality of rollers 95 for allowing the conveyor belt 93 to convey a tissue 62 (placed thereupon by the opening arm 91 of the holding member 90) to a tissue tray 96.
As shown in
As shown in
When the conveyor belt 93 and the auxiliary conveyor belt 94 grasp the top and bottom surfaces of the tissue 62 when conveying the tissue 62, the tissue 62 can more reliably be conveyed to the dispensing slot 104 of the main body 103. The controller (not shown) controls the conveyor belt 93 and the auxiliary conveyor belt 94.
Furthermore, the tissue 62 supplied by the conveyor belt 93 does not fall directly onto the tissue tray 96, but is held by a tissue holding stopper 97 (shown in
As shown in
The spray nozzle 98 is connected to a water tank 99 through a pipe 101.
In further detail, the spray nozzle 98 for spraying water pressurized by the pump 100 is provided at a side of the holding member 90 and 90′. The spray nozzle 98 sprays water to wet tissue 62 that progresses along the conveyor belt 93.
Although the spray nozzle 98 sprays water from above the tissue 62 only in
The water tank 99 (shown in
Such a heater raises the temperature of water to be sprayed from the spray nozzle 98, so that the wet tissue 64 dispensed to a user is not cold, but warm, thus providing a comforting sensation.
In addition, a water tray 102 for collecting residual water after the tissue 62 has been wetted by the spray nozzle 98 may further be provided below the conveyor belt 93.
The operation of the mechanism for dispensing tissue from the stack according to the present invention is shown in
First, when a user presses a button (not shown) located on the outside of the main body 103 for dispensing wet tissue, as shown in
The tissue 62 grasped by the arm 91 is then moved toward the conveyor belt 93 through a reverse pivoting of the holding member 90, as shown in
The conveyor belt 93 moves the tissue 62 removed from the cartridge 60 by the holding member 90 to a position beneath the spray nozzle 98 by means of the rollers 95. The spray nozzle 98 sprays water by means of pressure from the pump 100 onto the tissue 62 to render it a wet tissue 64. Here, the water to be sprayed by the spray nozzle 98 may be precedently heated by a heater (not shown).
Then, the wet tissue 64 that moves by means of the conveyor belt 93 is grasped at the top and the bottom by the auxiliary conveyor belt 94 and securely moved further to the tissue holding stopper 97, which stops the movement of the wet tissue 64.
The stopped wet tissue 64 can then be pulled from the tissue holding stopper 97 by the user and placed in readiness for use on the tissue tray 96 or used directly by a user needing a wet tissue 64 to wipe his/her hands of food deposits or clean his/her hands before consuming a meal.
Referring to
Like the embodiments shown in
At least one stopper 66″ is formed adjacent to the through hole 63″ at the bottom of the case 65″ to provide elastic support to the edge of the lowest portion of the stack 61. This stopper 66″ is a structure consisting of a multi-edged plate 68″ that pivots on a hinge axis 69″ at its edges, and supports the lowermost portion of the stack 61 above the plate 68″. A coil spring 70″ connecting the plate 68″ and the outer portion of the case 65″ provides elastic support to the lowermost portion of the stack 61.
Unlike the embodiments in
In the case where a cartridge 60″ in
The holding member 90′ in the embodiment illustrated in
The inventive apparatus for dispensing tissue improves on conventional tissue dispensers by using stacked individual tissues instead of uncut rolled tissue, and therefore eliminates the need to cut the tissue into predetermined lengths, enables easy replacement of tissue by a user, and allows a user to visually check the amount of tissue used and the amount remaining.
Unlike conventional tissue dispensers, the dispenser of the present invention does not require a blade, so that the problem caused by a dull blade of reduced cutting effectiveness is eliminated. Also, by dispensing stacked tissues in the cartridge one at a time by means of the holding member, the problem of dispensing failure is virtually negated, and precision and accuracy of the dispenser increases in comparison to conventional dispensers.
By using the holding member to dispense stacked tissues, the inventive dispenser dispenses tissues much more quickly than conventional dispensers.
Because the stacked tissues are not stored in a wet condition, but are stored in a dry condition inside the cartridge, the possibility of mold and germ formation over a prolonged storage period is unlikely, thus allowing clean and hygienic storage of tissues.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2004-0074672 | Sep 2004 | KR | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/KR2005/003016 | 9/13/2005 | WO | 00 | 3/15/2007 |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO2006/031047 | 3/23/2006 | WO | A |
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| Number | Date | Country | |
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