Patent Application
20110186612
This disclosure relates to the dispensing of sheet material.
Food wrap sheet material such as aluminium foil, cling-film, greaseproof paper or baking parchment is conventionally sold on rolls, the rolls being packaged in cardboard boxes provided with a serrated cardboard, metal or plastics edge to allow a length of the sheet material to be separated from the remainder of the roll held within the cardboard box. The box often ceases to function properly before the roll it contains has been exhausted.
Various wall mounted dispensers have been proposed for such sheet material. While these may prove more robust than a typical cardboard box, they are generally incapable of accommodating rolls of different widths of material.
In accordance with a first aspect of this disclosure, a housing for dispensing sheet material from a roll thereof contained within the housing comprises an elongate generally cylindrical box openable to define a base and a lid, the box being provided with a slot extending longitudinally of the box, through which, when the box is closed said sheet material may be manually pulled, one of the base and lid being provided with a toothed profile portion extending parallel to said slot for separating a length of sheet material from the remainder of the roll, the interior of the box being provided with respective supports for engaging opposite axial ends of a roll, at least one said support being selectively positionable along the length of the box interior at a plurality of mounting locations defined interiorly of at least one of the base and lid, whereby one and the same box can accommodate a range of alternative rolls of sheet material of different widths of material.
Preferred embodiments may have one or more of the following features: The lid and base are hinged together. The lid and base together define the slot between them when closed together. The lid and base are held in their closed position by snap clips that maintain the slot. The box is formed as a single plastics moulding, the lid and base being coupled by one or more live hinges. The toothed profile portion is integrally moulded as part of the base. One support is integrally moulded with the interior of the base. The selectively positionable support(s) comprise(s) a plate mounting a projection adapted to extend in the axial direction of the box towards the other support for insertion into the end of a roll of sheet material, the mounting locations for said plate being defined by grooves formed interiorly of at least one of the base and lid into which the plate may be slotted. The whole of the housing is formed from food grade plastics.
Embodiments of housing for dispensing sheet material from a roll thereof contained within the housing are described hereinbelow by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Housing 1 shown in the drawings comprises an elongate generally cylindrical box 2 moulded in a single piece from food grade plastics, preferably from polypropylene. Box 2 has a base 3 and lid 4 hingedly coupled by a live hinge 5. Both base and lid are generally rigid. Although less preferred, the box could be formed as two parts that interengage. When closed, as shown in
Rolls of sheet material such as aluminium foil, cling-film, greaseproof paper or baking parchment are sold in rolls of differing longitudinal extent providing sheet material of differing widths. The housing 1 is adapted to accommodate a range of alternative rolls of sheet material of different widths of material. Rolls of sheet material to be dispensed are wound on a (usually, cardboard) tubular former. As best shown in
Other arrangements are feasible. Although considered less preferable, the grooves need not be continuous, need not be provided in both of lid and base, and may be replaced by other forms of mounting locations allowing for a plurality of positions for the roll end support axially of the box.
In the illustrated embodiment, one end roll support, namely projection 15 on right end wall 14, is fixed, while the other is movable. In alternative embodiments, both end roll supports may be selectively positionable in the axial direction of the box to enable accommodation of a range of alternative rolls of sheet material of different widths of material.
Although the box is preferably formed from plastics material, most preferably as a single moulding, this is not necessary. The box could be formed from metal, such as a brushed surface effect stainless steel.
Although the illustrated embodiment is free-standing and portable, the dispenser could be wall-mounted, or mountable to a suitable kitchen surface such as a surface of a built-in, free-standing or movable kitchen unit, a kitchen cupboard or a worktop. In particular, the housing could be arranged for mounting beneath a counter-top.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61300103 | Feb 2010 | US |
