Patent Application
20060226277
Institutions and businesses using dispensers of rolled sheet material products in commercial settings depend upon the dispenser to reliably dispense sheet material until the sheet material is depleted. One desirable type of dispenser in such a setting is a “hands free” dispenser. Such a dispenser permits a user to grasp a tail of a sheet material extending from an exit port in the dispenser and to withdraw the sheet of material for use. In this manner, a user is not required to touch the dispenser. When the sheet material in such a dispenser becomes bunched up and jammed within the dispenser, the dispensing mechanism is unable to adequately dispense sheet material to a user, and dispensing failure occurs. Although some dispensers have a rotational device to allow users to dispense such bunched or jammed sheet material, the dispenser must be touched by the user to activate the rotational devise and obtain a sheet of material. This action defeats the purpose of the “hands-free” dispenser, where a user may keep his/her hands free of contamination by avoiding touching a dispenser.
It would be desirable to have an apparatus which prevented bunching, jamming and/or dispensing failure of rolled sheet material in a “hands-free”-type dispenser. Such a device would desirably be simple, but it would also be effective in guiding the sheet material from a roll in an even, aligned and measured manner into and through the dispensing mechanism. Further, such an apparatus would desirably prevent the sheet material from moving transversely from one side to the other within a dispenser housing. Such an apparatus would allow sheet material from a new, full roll of sheet material product as well as from a partially or nearly depleted roll of sheet material product to be dispensed reliably from the dispenser without bunching, jamming and/or dispensing failure.
Definitions
As used herein, the term “exit port” or “dispensing port” is the opening in a housing of a dispenser for the passage of sheet material out of the dispenser.
As used herein, the term “sheet material” means a material that is thin in comparison to its length and breadth. Generally speaking, sheet materials should exhibit a relatively flat planar configuration and be flexible to permit folding, rolling, stacking, and the like. Exemplary sheet materials include, but are not limited to, paper tissue, paper towels, label rolls, or other fibrous, film, polymers, or filamentary products.
As used herein, the term “fasteners” means devices that fasten, join, connect, secure, hold, or clamp components together. Fasteners include, but are not limited to, screws, nuts and bolts, rivets, snap-fits, tacks, nails, loop fasteners, and interlocking male/female connectors, such as fishhook connectors, a fish hook connector includes a male portion with a protrusion on its circumference. Inserting the male portion into the female portion substantially permanently locks the two portions together.
As used herein, the term “hinge” refers to a jointed or flexible device that connects and permits pivoting or turning of a part to a stationary component. Hinges include, but are not limited to, metal pivotable connectors, such as those used to fasten a door to frame, and living hinges. Living hinges may be constructed from plastic and formed integrally between two members. A living hinge permits pivotable movement of one member in relation to another connected member.
As used herein, the term “couple” includes, but is not limited to, joining, connecting, fastening, linking, or associating two things integrally or interstitially together.
As used herein, the term “about” includes plus or minus 10 percent of the numeral stated at each end of the range.
These terms may be defined with additional language in the remaining portions of the specification.
In response to the difficulties and problems discussed herein, an apparatus adapted for use with a dispenser housing for rolled sheet material to provide reliable dispensing of sheet material therefrom is provided. The apparatus is adapted for a dispenser housing which includes a roll support configured to hold at least one cylindrical roll of sheet material and a dispensing assembly. The dispensing assembly includes an exit port to permit sheet material to be withdrawn therefrom. The cylindrical roll of sheet material is desirably mounted on a portion of the roll support. The roll includes opposing flat surfaces and an outer circumference, the apparatus comprises a guide roller including an elongated central portion positioned between two opposing ends and a flange positioned near each end of the guide roller. The central portion is configured to be positioned adjacent the outer circumference of a roll of sheet material when the roll is a new roll disposed in the dispenser housing. At least a portion of an inner surface of each flange is positioned adjacent a flat surface of the roll of sheet material when the roll is a new roll. The guide roller is positioned such that sheet material flows from the roll between the flanges and over the central portion of the guide roller to the dispensing assembly. The flow of sheet material is aligned on its path to the dispensing assembly such that bunching and jamming of non-aligned sheet material is eliminated.
In another aspect of the invention, a system adapted for use with a dispenser housing for rolled sheet material to provide reliable dispensing of sheet material therefrom is provided. The system includes a dispenser housing which includes a roll support configured to hold at least one cylindrical roll of sheet material and a dispensing assembly. The dispensing assembly includes an exit port to permit sheet material to be withdrawn from the dispensing assembly and housing. The cylindrical roll of sheet material is desirably mounted on a portion of the roll support. The roll includes opposing flat surfaces and an outer circumference. The system also includes a guide roller positioned between the roll support and the dispensing assembly. The guide roller includes an elongated central portion positioned between two opposing ends and a flange positioned near each end of the guide roller. The central portion is configured to be positioned adjacent the outer circumference of a roll of sheet material when the roll is a new roll disposed in the dispenser housing. At least a portion of an inner surface of each flange is positioned adjacent a flat surface of the roll of sheet material when the roll is a new roll. The guide roller is positioned such that sheet material flows from the roll between the flanges and over the central portion of the guide roller to the dispensing assembly. The flow of sheet material is aligned on its path to the dispensing assembly such that bunching and jamming of non-aligned sheet material is eliminated.
Reference will now be made in detail to the presently preferred embodiments of the invention, one or more examples of which are illustrated in the drawings. Each example is provided by way of explanation of the invention and is not meant as a limitation of the invention. For example, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment or figure can be used on another embodiment or figure to yield yet another embodiment. It is intended that the present invention include such modifications and variations.
The present invention provides an apparatus for dispensing rolled material. Such rolled material may include, but is not limited to, woven materials, nonwoven materials, synthetic materials, natural materials, foils, polymer films, any combination thereof, and so forth. Desirably, the rolled material is provided as a sheet material within a roll. Exemplary sheet materials for which the present invention is suitable include, but are not limited to, absorbent sheet materials such as towels, wipers, tissue, and so forth. Suitable sheet materials are disclosed, by way of non-limiting examples only, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,048,589 to Cook et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,399,412 to Sudall et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,674,590 to Anderson et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,772,845 to Farrington, Jr. et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,904,971 to Anderson et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,248,212 to Anderson et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 6,273,996 to Hollenberg et al., the entire contents of which are herein incorporated by reference. The sheet materials for which the present invention is suitable may be wound around a core (not shown). Alternatively, as illustrated in
The present invention is desirably used with a dispenser which has a housing or dispensing module. One suitable dispenser having a housing or dispensing module is disclosed, by way of non-limiting examples only, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,314,850 B1 to Morand, the entire contents of which are herein incorporated by reference for all purposes. Other dispensers which are suitable for use with the present invention will be known by those skilled in the art.
One prior art dispenser having a dispensing module or housing 12 is shown in
A roll support 16 is operatively associated with the dispensing module 10 to rotatably support a cylindrical roll 18 of sheet material 20. The roll support 16 includes two double-ended arms 22 spaced-apart from one another and a roll engagement member 19 positioned at the distal or upper ends 24 of each arm 22 for engaging each flat end 25 and/or an opening 25′ in the roll 12 and permitting rotation of the roll 18. The roll 18 is directly rotatably supported by the roll engagement members 19. The roll engagement member 19 may include a support roller (not shown).
The arms 22 are pivotally connected to the housing 12 by pivot connectors 26. The pivot connectors 26 are located at the lower ends 28 of the arms.
A dispensing assembly or a dispensing actuator roller assembly 30 is positioned within the housing 12 and spaced-apart from the roll support 18. The dispensing actuator roller assembly 30 receives the sheet material 20 from the roll 18 of sheet material 18. When the dispensing actuator roller assembly 30 is actuated by a user, it rotates in a predetermined direction to provide a single sheet of sheet material 20 to a user. The dispensing actuator roller assembly 30 desirably has a cylindrically-shaped outer peripheral portion 32 which includes strips of material 34 which are desirably parallel, spaced-apart channels which are covered by a curved toweling guide plate 36. A pivotably mounted cutter blade (not shown) is desirably mounted on the outer peripheral portion of the dispensing actuator roller. The blade is movable between a first position (not shown) in which the cutting edge of the place is positioned closely adjacent to the outer peripheral portion of the dispensing actuator roller and a second position (not shown) in which the blade is disposed at an angle relative to the outer peripheral portion with the cutting edge of the blade spaced from the outer peripheral portion of the dispenser actuator roller. The cutter blade when in the second position projects in a direction generally opposed to the direction of rotation of the dispenser actuator roller so that pulling force exerted on the sheet material by a user will bear against the cutting edge of the cutter blade to sever a single sheet from the sheet material (not shown).
A cylindrical member 38 may be provided with the dispensing actuator roller assembly 30 and it is desirably rotatably mounted between the side walls 40 of the housing 12 and positioned against the dispensing actuator roller assembly 30. Springs 42 desirably extend between the housing 12 and the ends 44 of the cylindrical member 38 to bias the cylindrical member 38 against the outer peripheral portion 32 of the dispensing actuator roller assembly 30 and form a nip therebetween (
Problems, however, occur with this arrangement. The sheet material 20 from a roll 18, 50 (the number “18” applies to a roll having a number of sheets withdrawn therefrom; the number “50” applies to a new roll having fewer than three (3) sheets withdrawn therefrom) has room within the housing 12 and a tendency to move transversely therein. When this occurs, the sheet material 20 tends to bunch to one side or the other of the dispenser housing 12, and moves past the cylindrical member 38 and through the nip and against the dispensing actuator roller assembly 30 in this bunched condition. Such bunching of the sheet material 20 due to its displacement to one side of the housing 12 results in a jam of sheet material 20 within the dispensing actuator roller assembly and inadequate dispensing and/or dispensing failure. The sheet material 20, when bunched within the dispensing actuator roller assembly 30, may break off and/or tear within the dispensing actuator roller assembly 30. Such dispensing failure may result in a complete failutre, until maintenance personnel have cleared the blockage or jam. Therefore,
As illustrated in
The guide roller 52 is positioned closely adjacent and desirably against an outer circumference 66 defined by the cylindrical body 67 of the new roll 50 of sheet material 20, as illustrated in
The guide roller 52 is maintained in a rotatable position relative to the roll 18, 50 and the cylindrical member 38, and it desirably rotates to facilitate flow of sheet material 20 thereover. The guide roller 52 is desirably adjacent or closely adjacent to the new roll 50 until the new roll 50 has dispensed about 100 sheets therefrom. It has been discovered that once the new roll 50 has been partially depleted by about 100 sheets and therefore reduced in size, the flanges 62 are not required to be positioned as closely to the flat surfaces 25 of the roll 18. In fact, the flat surfaces 25 similarly are reduced in size with depletion of the roll 18 and are therefore positioned near but do not touch the flanges 62, as shown in
Turning back to
Each flange 62 desirably has a diameter 72 in a range of about 0.5 inch to about 4.0 inches. Even more desirably, each flange has a diameter in a range of about 1.0 inch to about 3.0 inches. Yet even more desirably, each flange has a diameter of about 1.5 inches to about 2.5 inches.
Each central portion 54 of the guide roller 52 desirably has a diameter 74 of about 1.5 inches to about 0.25 inches. Even more desirably, central portion has a diameter of about 1.0 inch to about 0.35 inch. Yet even more desirably, each central portion has a diameter of about 0.8 inch to about 0.4 inch.
Each central portion 54 desirably has a length 76 between flanges 62 which permits it to be positioned closely adjacent or against an outer circumference 66 of a roll 50 of sheet material 20 without either flange 62 touching the outer circumference 66. Desirably, the length 76 of the central portion 54 permits each inner surface 64 of each flange 62 to be positioned closely adjacent to the flat surface 25 of the new roll 50. “Closely adjacent” as used herein relative to each flange 62 means that at least a portion of each inner surface 64 of each flange 62 is positioned within about 0.25 to about 0.02 inches from the flat surface 25 of the new roll 50. Alternatively, however, it will be understood that at least a portion of an inner surface 64 of at least one flange 62 may be positioned against a flat surface 25 of the new roll 50 or roll 18. “Closely adjacent” as used herein relative to the center portion 54 of the guide roller 52 means that at least a portion of the center portion 54 is positioned within about 0.5 to about 0.01 inches from the outer circumference 66 of the new roll 50. Alternatively, however, it will be appreciated that at least a portion of the center portion 54 of the guide roller 52 may be positioned against the outer circumference 66 of the new roll 50. “New roll” as used herein means a roll which is provided to the dispenser which has fewer then three sheets withdrawn from the roll 50. “Partially depleted roll” as used herein means a roll 18 having at least 100 sheets withdrawn from the roll 18.
It will be appreciated, as illustrated in
A tapered flange 62 is desirable. However, it will be appreciated that a flange without a taper may be used as an alternative embodiment (not shown).
While certain characteristics are described in specific embodiments, any one or more characteristics, features, and/or elements may be used in any combination in any embodiment, or to create a particular embodiment from the disclosures, teachings, and/or suggestions provided herein. While the present invention has been described in connection with certain preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the subject matter encompassed by way of the present invention is not to be limited to those specific embodiments. On the contrary, it is intended for the subject matter of the invention to include all alternatives, modifications and equivalents as can be included within the spirit and scope of the following claims.
