FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to dispensers for paper such as toilet paper, and more particularly, to devices to restrain and control the unwinding of a roll of toilet paper during use or otherwise.
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
The use of toilet paper dispensers is known in the prior art. More specifically, toilet paper dispensers heretofore devised and utilized are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements. While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, a problem with such toilet paper dispensers is waste associated with toilet paper. This waste may be caused by the unintentional removal of excessive amounts of paper from the roll caused by roll runaway.
The unintentional removal of excessive amounts of paper from the roll caused by roll runaway is controllable and there are solutions currently available that attempt to solve the problem. Under one solution, the dispenser will permit the roll to turn a set number of revolutions then it will stop. This will provide the user a set number of toilet paper sections before they must be separated from the roll. In order for the user to accumulate an adequate amount of toilet paper for use, it may be necessary to remove several pulls worth of toilet paper. The second solution includes a dispenser that is filled with interfolded, individual toilet paper sheets. The sheets are fitted together such that as one sheet is removed, a portion of the next sheet will extend from the dispenser. In order for a user to obtain an adequate number of sheets, the user must pull a desired number of sheets from the dispenser. The two solutions are more appropriate for locations such as schools and public facilities where the chance of abuse is high. However, they are not as desirable for residential or commercial buildings where the risk of such abuse is low.
There is the desire to provide a degree of runaway prevention yet still permit the toilet paper roll to turn as freely as possible. There is also a desire to remove a predetermined length of toilet paper with a single hand. The present invention solves the problems of the past and provides a toilet paper dispenser that prevents toilet paper runaway as well as enables the removal of a predetermined length of toilet paper with a single hand.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An embodiment of the invention is a device to restrain the unwinding of a roll of paper for use in combination with a paper dispenser is disclosed. The paper dispenser is conventional as it includes a back plate mountable upon a wall, a pair of opposed side plates extending from the back plate for rotatably supporting a roll of paper having a depending lead sheet. The restraining device comprises a base portion mountable to the wall and a support arm extending laterally from the base portion over the roll of paper. The support arm includes a collar located at its free end, the collar including a central opening. A roll braking arm is oriented substantially vertically and extends through the central opening of the support arm. The roll braking arm contacts and applies its weight as a braking force against the roll of paper to restrain the roll of paper from unwinding unnecessarily.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a side elevational view, partially in section, of the device of a first embodiment of the present invention situated above a dispenser rotatably supporting a roll of paper;
FIG. 1A is a sectional view taken along lines 1A-1A of FIG. 1;
FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the device of a first embodiment of the present invention situated above a dispenser rotatably supporting a roll of paper;
FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along lines 3-3 of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of a second embodiment of the present invention situated above a dispenser rotatably supporting a roll of paper;
FIG. 5 is a front elevational view of the second embodiment of the present invention situated above a dispenser rotatably supporting a roll of paper;
FIG. 6 is a top view of the second embodiment of the present invention; and,
FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along lines 7-7 of FIG. 5.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring now in detail to the various figures of the drawings wherein like reference characters refer to like parts, there is shown at 10 in FIGS. 1 and 2, a toilet paper roll holder of conventional design. The toilet paper roll holder 10 includes a back support 14 mountable to a support surface 18, e.g., a wall, by conventional means, e.g., a strip of adhesive material (not shown). Alternatively, the back support 14 may connect to the wall 18 with screws, pins, slide connections, glue, or other conventional types of connection methods. It is understood that although the back support 14 is shown as a rectangular plate (e.g., FIG. 2), it may have other geometric shapes, and it may be other than flat and still be within the scope of the present invention.
Extending perpendicularly and laterally from the back support 14 is a pair of opposed side plates 22 which are secured to the back plate 14 in any appropriate fashion. Each side plate 22 includes a free end having a socket (not shown) for rotatably supporting a conventional roll holding dowel 26 therebetween. The placement of the side plates 22 with respect to the back support 14 is to properly space them to engage the ends of the roll holding dowel 26. The conventional roll holding dowel 26 is shown interposed between the free end portions of the side plates 22 nested within opposed recesses (not shown) within the side plates 22 in a conventional manner. As is characteristic of many dowels 26 of this type, the dowel 26 includes two nested portions and an internal retractable spring (not shown) to enable the dowel 26 to yieldably nest between the side plates 22 to provide a means of conveniently removing the dowel 26 from the side plates 22 to facilitate assembly thereon or removal therefrom of a roll of paper 30 in a conventional manner. It should be understood that the toilet paper roll holder 10 described herein is merely exemplary and that the inventions described herein could be utilized with other types of toilet paper roll holders not described herein.
The roll of paper 30 includes a cylindrical core 34 which is loosely mounted upon the dowel 26 and thus free for rotation thereof including the lead sheet 38 which projects from the windings of paper upon and forming a part of the roll of paper 30. The roll of paper 30 includes overlapping webs of paper with perforations 42 at regular intervals therebetween.
Referring now to FIG. 1, the inventive restraining device includes a base 50 that is mountable to the support surface 18, e.g., a wall, by any conventional means. As shown in FIG. 1, the base 50 is attached to the wall 18 by a strip of adhesive material 54. Alternatively, the base 50 may connect to the wall 18 with screws, pins, slide connections, glue, or other conventional types of connection methods. A support arm 58, which extends laterally above the roll of paper 30, is shown as being cylindrical in shape, and is attached to the base 50 by any suitable means, e.g., a screw 62. As best shown in FIGS. 1 and 1A, the support arm 58 is provided with a tab portion 66 which is arranged to fit within an opening in the base 50 to register the support arm 58 and preclude its rotational movement about its axis.
Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 3, the arm 58 includes a free end at which a collar 70 is located. The collar includes a central opening 72 through which a roll braking arm 78 is disposed. As best shown in FIG. 2, the roll braking arm 78 includes a rod-shaped upper section, a bell-shaped lower section 86, both sections having a rectangular cross-section, as shown in FIG. 3. It should be understood that although the drawings show the support arm 58 as being circular in cross-sectional shape and the roll braking arm 78 as being rectangular in cross-sectional shape, these cross-sectional shapes are merely exemplary, and other cross-sectional shapes could be employed without departing from the scope of the invention.
As best shown in FIG. 3, the collar 70 also includes a hole for threadably receiving a thumb screw 82. The thumb screw 82 is arranged to extend through the hole and into the central opening 72 of the collar 70 to secure the roll braking arm 78 extending therethrough to any desired vertical position. For example, during replacement of a spent roll of paper, the roll braking arm 78 may be withdrawn upwardly and out of the way of the toilet paper holder 10. By tightening the thumb screw 82, the roll braking arm 78 may be held in this upward position to facilitate removal of the spent toilet paper roll and the insertion of a new roll of paper 30 into the toilet paper holder 10. Thereafter, the thumb screw 82 may be loosened to enable the roll braking arm 78 to slide downwardly and rest upon the roll of paper 30 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. With the thumb screw 82 in a loosened position, as the roll of paper 30 is consumed during use and its cross-sectional size gradually reduces, the roll braking arm 78 moves downwardly to remain in contact with the roll of paper 30. As best shown in FIGS. 1, 2 a limit screw 80 is provided to prevent the roll braking arm 78 from falling through the central opening 72.
The weight of the roll braking arm 78 applies a force upon the roll of paper 30 to prevent it from unwinding unnecessarily, such as during rapid unwinding during use. As best shown in FIG. 2, at its lower end, the roll braking arm 78 includes a bell-shaped braking bar 86. The braking bar 86 includes braking pads 90 which extend forwardly in the direction the paper is unrolled from the roll 30. The braking pads 90 contact the surface of the roll of paper 30 and are shown as being pointed at 90a. Optionally, however, the end of the braking pads 90a could include a radius of curvature, e.g., 0.125 inches. Moreover, optionally, the surface of the braking pad 90a may be include a roughened surface or a serrated surface to provide added frictional engagement of the braking pads 90 with the roll of paper 30 to prevent excessive unwinding during use or unwanted unwinding caused by external forces, such as home pets and small children. The braking pads 90 also provide a surface against which the toilet paper may be torn during use. Moreover, because the braking pads 90 extend almost the entire width of the roll of paper 30, the braking pads prevent twisting or folding of the paper 30 being withdrawn. In this manner, a desired length of tissue paper may be removed from the roll of paper 30 with one hand, instead of two.
Referring now to FIGS. 4 through 7, there is shown at 100 a second embodiment of the present invention which is a device for controlling the dispensing of paper from a roll. Like the first embodiment, the second embodiment 100 is arranged to be positioned over a paper roll holder of conventional design, the holder including a back support 114 mountable to a support surface 118, e.g., a wall, by conventional means, e.g., a strip of adhesive material (not shown) and including a pair of opposed side plates 122 secured to the back plate 114 in any appropriate fashion, the side plates extending perpendicularly and laterally from the back support 114 and at their free end rotatably supporting a conventional dowel 126. The roll of paper 130 includes a cylindrical core 134 which is loosely mounted upon the dowel 126 and includes a lead sheet 138 which projects from the roll. The roll 130 includes overlapping sheets of paper with perforations 142 at regular intervals therebetween.
Referring to FIGS. 4 through 7, the inventive dispensing control device 100 is shown as including a base 150 that is mountable to the support surface 118, e.g., a wall, by any conventional means. The base 150 may be attached to the wall 118 by any suitable means, e.g., a strip of adhesive material (not shown). A support arm 158, which extends laterally above the roll 130, is attached to the base 150 by any suitable means, e.g., a screw (not shown). As in the first embodiment, the support arm 158 may be of any cross-sectional shape including that shown in FIGS. 4, 6 and 7, without departing from the scope of the invention.
As best shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, a housing 186 is disposed at the end of the support arm 158 opposite the support surface 118. The housing 186 is provided to retain a friction roller 190 disposed therein. As best shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the friction roller 190 is rotatably mounted within the housing 186 by means of opposed bolts 181 extending through openings 186a (FIG. 4) at opposite sides of the housing 186 and extending into the central axis of the friction roller 190. Alternately, the friction roller 190 may be snap-fitted within the housing 186 (not shown). The friction roller 190 may be formed of any suitable material for frictionally engaging the paper of the roll 130, e.g., a rubber material or a suitable transparent material that enables a user to determine that the surface of the friction roller 190 is a clean surface.
Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 7, the housing 186 includes a feed platform 189 having a downwardly sloped inlet end 191 and an outlet end 193. In this manner, the lead sheet 138 of the roll 130 may be inserted into the inlet end 191 of the feed platform 189 where it comes into frictional engagement with the roller 190. Manual rotation of the roller 190 in the direction of arrow 188 (FIG. 4) enables the lead sheet 138 to extend further along the feed platform 189 and out the outlet end 193.
The outlet end 193 may include a sharpened or serrated edge 193a (FIG. 7) to facilitate tearing of the lead sheet 138 at the outlet end 193 when a sufficient amount of paper 130 has been dispensed from the roll 130. In this manner, a desired length of tissue paper may be removed from the roll 130 with one hand of the user, instead of two. As best shown in FIG. 4, arrow 188 illustrates the direction of rotation of the friction roller 190 in response to manual actuation. Rotation of the friction roller 190 causes the paper roll 130 to rotate in the opposite direction and to dispense paper from the roll 130 through the feed platform 189. In this manner, by rotating the friction roller 190, the amount of dispensed paper may be controlled. In this manner, excessive unwinding of paper during use or unwanted unwinding caused by external forces, such as home pets and small children is substantially reduced, or eliminated. For example, to provide added control, the circumference of the friction roller 190 may be adjusted to equal the length of a single sheet of paper between perforations. In this manner, each single rotation of the friction roller 190 will result in another sheet of paper being dispensed from the roll 130. Thus, the user can control the precise amount of paper to be dispensed.
Referring now to FIGS. 6 and 7, there is shown a spring 194 which is mounted to the support arm 158 by any conventional means, e.g., a screw (not shown) and is situated within the housing 186. At its free end, the spring 194 is curved towards the outer surface of the friction roller 190. The spring 194 is situated and oriented in such manner that the curved free end bears upon the outside surface of the friction roller 190 during rotation of the roller. The friction roller 190 is provided with a detent or slot 198 located on the surface thereof. The slot 198 is oriented and is of sufficient width such that during rotation of the friction roller 190, the spring engages the slot 198 so as to provide an audible and/or tactile confirmation that a full rotation of the friction roller 190 has been reached. In this manner, a user who may be sight challenged or who has lost all sight may determine the amount of paper dispensed from the roll by counting the audible and/or tactile confirmations during rotation of the friction roller 190. The lodging of the spring 194 within the slot 198 also serves to prevent unintentional removal of excessive amounts of paper from the roll during use. Moreover, the lodging of the spring 194 within the slot 198 prevents the roll 130 from rotating backwards.
The devices of the present invention have been described in respect to the particular embodiments thereof set forth in the specification and as illustrated in the drawings. As a result of such disclosure, other variations and modifications may become apparent to those skilled in the art and therefore, no limitation as to the scope of the invention is intended by the specific embodiments disclosed, but the scope of the invention is to be interpreted in view of the appended claims.
Patent Application
20110108598
