Versatile paper roll holder and dispenser

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6390410
  • Patent Number
    6,390,410
  • Date Filed
    Tuesday, September 22, 1998
    26 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, May 21, 2002
    22 years ago
Abstract
A paper roll holder for rotatably supporting a paper towel roll having a core with open ends. The holder includes a support structure having first and second attachment portions and two hubs insertable into the core of the paper towel roll for holding the paper towel roll. Each hub is rotatably coupled to an associated attachment portion of the support structure, each hub having a body having an axis and a resilient compressible sidewall having a maximum at rest diameter. The sidewall being radially compressible from the at rest position to a plurality of smaller diameters, whereby the sidewall is insertable into the open end of a plurality of differently sized cores. The paper roll holder can be placed in the housing of a paper towel dispenser.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




This invention relates to paper towel dispensers and, in particular, to paper roll holders therefor.




DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART




Certain prior paper roll holders for paper towel dispensers often had a complicated construction and could only adequately accommodate a single sized diameter core of a paper roll. These holders often included two circular, non-resilient end hubs having a sidewall inserted into the core. Since these hubs were non-resilient, these holders could only accommodate one sized cores. None of the prior art paper roll holders could accommodate paper rolls with various sized cores while maintaining a constant center line relative to the transfer mechanism.




Other holders included an extra piece releasably connected to the two end hubs. Though holders equipped with this piece could accommodate different diameter cores, the holder suffered several problems. First, it did not permit a tight fit with cores having a larger diameter than the end hub. This caused resistance by the larger core dragging on the holder rather than rotating with the holder during dispensing, making dispensing much more difficult. Second, the center line of these larger diameter cores would be moved down from the center of the hubs, which could cause the lower peripheral end of the paper roll to interfere with other portions of the dispenser, such as the transfer mechanism. Third, the extra piece often became lost or misplaced during roll replacement.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to provide an improved paper roll holder which avoids the disadvantages of prior paper roll holders while affording additional structural and operational advantages.




An important feature of the present invention is the provision of a paper roll holder which is a relatively simple and economical construction.




A still further feature of the invention is the provision of a holder of the type set forth which can accommodate a range of differently sized paper roll cores.




Another feature of the present invention is the provision of a holder of the type set forth which minimizes drag of the paper roll on the paper roll holder to ease dispensing of the toweling.




Still another feature of the present invention is the provision of the holder of the type set forth which maintains the axes of various size of paper roll cores in the same position in a paper dispenser which prevents interference of the paper roll with other parts of the dispenser.




Certain ones of these and other features of the invention may be obtained by providing a paper roll holder for rotatably supporting a paper towel roll having a core with open ends. The holder includes a support structure having first and second attachment portions and two hubs insertable into the core of the paper towel roll for holding the paper towel roll. Each hub is rotatably coupled to an associated attachment portion of the support structure and includes a body having an axis and a resilient compressible sidewall having a maximum at rest diameter. The sidewall being radially compressible from the at rest position to a plurality of smaller diameters, whereby the sidewall is insertable into the open end of a plurality of differently sized cores.




The invention consists of certain novel features and a combination of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that various changes in the details may be made without departing from the spirit, or sacrificing any of the advantages of the present invention.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS




For the purpose of facilitating an understanding of the invention, there is illustrated in the accompanying drawings a preferred embodiment thereof, from an inspection of which, when considered in connection with the following description, the invention, its construction and operation, and many of its advantages should be readily understood and appreciated.





FIG. 1

is a perspective view of the hub of the paper roll holder of the present invention;





FIG. 2

is a perspective view of the paper towel dispenser of the present invention;





FIG. 3

is an enlarged partial perspective view of the dispenser of

FIG. 2

with the front cover removed;





FIG. 4

is an enlarged partial front elevational view of the dispenser shown in

FIG. 3

better illustrating the paper roll holder with the paper roll shown in phantom;





FIG. 5

is a side elevational view of the hub and support structure of the paper roll holder of

FIG. 4

;





FIG. 6

is a sectional view taken generally along the line


6





6


of

FIG. 5

; and





FIG. 7

is a view similar to

FIG. 6

where the sidewall of the hub has been compressed to support a small diameter core of the paper roll.











DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT




Referring to the drawings, as seen in

FIG. 2

, a paper towel dispenser


10


is provided. The paper towel dispenser


10


includes a back support structure


12


to connect to a wall or other vertical structure in a known manner and a front cover


14


forming a housing


15


. As seen in

FIG. 4

, the back support structure


12


includes a back wall


16


having two central clips


18


, two upwardly facing U-shaped stamped projections


20


and two downwardly U-shaped stamped projections


22


. Each of the projections


20


and


22


and the backwall


16


form a channel (four in total).




Still referring to

FIG. 4

, a paper towel roll holder


24


is disposed in the housing


15


. The paper towel roll holder


24


includes support structure, such as a flexible wire rod


26


, and two hubs


28


rotatably coupled thereto.




The rod


26


is coupled to the backwall


16


. The rod


26


is a one-piece structure having a central portion


30


disposed in the two clips


18


. The rod


26


also has two legs


32


each passing through one of the channels formed by upwardly facing U-shaped portions


20


and backwall


16


and one of the channels formed by the downwardly facing U-shaped projection


22


and the backwall


16


. The legs


32


and central portion


30


of the rod


26


lie in substantially the same plane.




Each leg


32


of the rod


26


also has a bottom end


33


and a foot


34


connected to the bottom end


33


. The foot


34


has a first portion


36


which projects out of the plane of the legs


32


and central portion


30


. Each first portion


36


of the foot


34


is also sloped in a direction from the bottom end


33


toward the central portion


30


. Each foot


34


also has a second portion


38


connected to the first portion


36


. Each second portion


38


is substantially parallel to the central portion


30


and projects inwardly from the first portion


36


toward the opposite foot


34


. Each foot


34


also includes a substantially planar loop


40


disposed at the end of the second portion


38


. The loops


40


each lie in planes substantially parallel to one another. The loops


40


have an at rest position, as in

FIG. 4

, where they are separated a minimum distance. As discussed below, when the loops


40


are separated by a greater distance than the minimum at rest distance, the resilient wire rod causes the loops to be biased toward one another back to the at rest position.




As seen in

FIGS. 1 and 6

, each hub


28


of the paper roll holder


24


includes an axis “A”, a circular end wall


42


having a thicker central portion


44


(

FIG. 6

) having an aperture


46


. Each hub


28


also includes a plurality of spaced apart legs


48


projecting angularly and radially outwardly from the periphery of the end wall


42


. Together the legs


48


and the end wall


42


having a substantially frustoconical shape.




Each hub


28


also includes a plurality of U-shaped branches coupled to an associated leg


48


. In its at rest position, as shown in

FIG. 1

, flanges


50


lie substantially in a plane to form a retaining end wall


51


substantially parallel to end wall


42


.




As discussed below, the plurality of legs


48


define a sidewall


52


having a maximum diameter as measured where the legs


48


are connected to the flanges


50


. As seen in

FIGS. 6 and 7

, the ends of the legs


48


of sidewall


52


are advantageously compressible toward the axis “A” (toward a position parallel thereto) to vary the maximum diameter from a non-compressed state (or at rest position) as shown in

FIGS. 1 and 6

to a smaller diameter as shown in FIG.


7


. In that regard, the legs


48


are flexible, resilient and formed of a flexible material which allows the legs


48


to compress inwardly yet return to their at rest position. Preferably, the legs


48


are formed of a resilient plastic. Preferred plastics include acetals, polyacetals and polypropylene, including those sold under the tradename Celcon® made by Hoechst Celanese Corporation. It is possible that stainless steel could also be used.




As seen best in

FIG. 6

, the hubs


28


are coupled to the wire


26


by passing a rivet


54


, or other suitable connector, through an associated loop


40


of the wire rod


26


and an associated aperture


46


of the end wall


42


of the hub


28


. The rivet


54


includes a first cylindrical portion


56


having a diameter substantially equal to the diameter of the aperture


46


and passing therethrough, a larger diameter second cylindrical portion


58


passing through the loop


40


, a head


60


and a shoulder


62


formed between the first and second cylindrical portions


56


,


58


and resting on the end wall


42


. Preferably, the rivet


54


and hub


48


are fixed with respect to one another and rotate together. To allow rotation of the hub


20


and the attached rivet


54


, the length of the second cylindrical portion


58


is slightly greater than the diameter of the loop


40


of the wire rod


26


to provide clearance therefrom. When the loops


40


are in their at-rest position, the axes of the two hubs


28


connected to the loops


40


are substantially coaxial.




To provide ease of rotation of the hubs


28


about their respective axes, the end wall


42


is preferably made of a self lubricating, low coefficient of friction material, such as the same plastic forming the legs


48


of the hub


28


. Preferably, therefore, the hub


28


is a one-piece molded construction.




As seen in

FIGS. 3 and 4

, a paper roll


64


having a cylindrical core


66


and paper toweling


68


disposed thereabout is inserted and held by the paper roll holder


24


as follows. First, one of the loops


40


and connected hub


28


are manually moved away (a greater than the minimum at-rest distance discussed above) from the other connected loop


40


and hub


28


. Then, one end of the core


66


is placed over the non-moved hub


28


until the end of the core


66


contacts at least some of the flanges


50


of the retaining end wall


51


of the hub


28


. The other end of the core


66


is then aligned and placed over the hub


28


which has been moved. Since the loops


40


are biased towards one another back to the at-rest position, the connected hubs


28


are also so biased and apply pressure to entrap and support the core


66


between the two retaining end walls


51


.




As discussed above, the sidewall


52


formed by the legs


48


of the hub


28


are compressible radially inwardly toward the axis of the hub


28


to accommodate and support differently sized paper roll cores. As seen in

FIG. 7

, a core


66


′ of a paper roll


64


′ having a smaller diameter than that of the core


66


of

FIG. 6

is supported on hub


28


. As seen by the line D′ of

FIG. 7

, the sidewall


52


and legs


48


thereof have been further compressed inwardly to form a smaller maximum diameter sidewall


52


than when the hub


28


is supporting the larger diameter core


66


, such as shown in and represented by line D in FIG.


6


.




If the diameter of the core


66


is less than the maximum at-rest diameter of the sidewalls


52


, the legs


48


of the hub


28


will have been compressed radially inwardly and exert a radial force on the core


66


to form a frictionally engageable fit therebetween. As seen in

FIGS. 6 and 7

, this frictional fit allows the paper towel roll holder


24


to support and properly position a plurality of differently sized paper roll cores at a position where the axis (or center line) of the paper roll core is substantially coaxial with the axes of the hubs


28


.




While particular embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from the invention in its broader aspects. Therefore, the aim in the appended claims is to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention. The matter set forth in the foregoing description and accompanying drawings is offered by way of illustration only and not as a limitation. The actual scope of the invention is intended to be defined in the following claims when viewed in their proper perspective based on the prior art.



Claims
  • 1. A paper roll holder for rotatably supporting a paper towel roll having a core with open ends, the holder comprising:a support structure having first and second attachment portions biased toward one another; and two hubs insertable into the core of the paper towel roll for holding the paper towel roll, each hub rotatably coupled to an associated attachment portion of the support structure, each hub having a body having an axis, a circular end wall having an outer perimeter, and a resilient compressible sidewall angularly projecting away from the perimeter of the endwall, the sidewall having a first end adjacent the endwall having a minimum at rest diameter and a second end away from the endwall having a maximum at rest diameter, the second end of the sidewall being radially compressible from the at rest position to a plurality of smaller diameters, wherein the first ends of the sidewalls of the hubs are separated by a first distance and the second ends of the sidewalls hubs are separated by a second distance which is greater than the first distance, whereby the hub is insertable endwall first into the open end of a plurality of differently sized cores.
  • 2. The holder of claim 1, wherein the sidewall includes a plurality of spaced-apart legs angularly projecting from the end wall, wherein the end wall and sidewall form a substantially frustoconical shape.
  • 3. The holder of claim 2, wherein each of the hubs further comprises a plurality of flanges, each flange coupled to an associated leg, the flanges defining a slotted retaining end wall disposed substantially parallel to the circular end wall.
  • 4. The holder of claim 3, wherein the support structure is a resilient wire rod, the first and second attachment portions respectively include first and second loops, the first and second loops having an engaging position wherein the first and second loops are separated a first distance, wherein when the first and second loops are separated by a distance greater than the first distance, the first and second loops are biased towards one another, each hub respectively coupled to the support structure by a connector passing through an associated loop and the end wall of the associated hub.
  • 5. The holder of claim 4, wherein each of the end walls has an aperture and each of the connectors is a rivet, each rivet having a head, a first diameter portion passing through the aperture of the end wall and a second larger diameter portion connected to the head and the first diameter portion and passing through the loop, each rivets having a shoulder formed between the first and second portions, the second cylindrical portion having a length greater than the diameter of the wire rod.
  • 6. The holder of claim 1, wherein each of the hubs is formed of a resilient plastic.
  • 7. The holder of claim 6, wherein the plastic is selected from the group consisting essentially of acetals, polyacetals, and polypropylene.
  • 8. The holder of claim 7, wherein the hubs are each a one-piece molded construction.
  • 9. The holder of claim 1, wherein the support structure is resilient and the attachment portions are biased towards one another.
  • 10. A paper toweling dispenser comprising:a housing; and a paper roll holder disposed in the housing for rotatably supporting a paper towel roll having a core with open ends, the holder comprising a support structure having first and second attachment portions biased toward one another, and two hubs insertable into the core of the paper towel roll for holding the paper towel roll, each hub rotatably coupled to an associated attachment portion of the support structure, each hub having a body having an axis, a circular end wall having an outer perimeter, and a resilient compressible sidewall angularly projecting away from the perimeter of the endwall, the sidewall having a first end adjacent the endwall having a minimum at rest diameter and a second end away from the endwall having a maximum at rest diameter, maximum at rest diameter, the second end of the sidewall being radially compressible from the at rest position to a plurality of smaller maximum diameters, wherein the first ends of the sidewalls of the hubs are separated by a first distance and the second ends of the sidewalls hubs are separated by a second distance which is greater than the first distance, whereby the hub is insertable endwall first into the open end of a plurality of differently sized cores.
  • 11. The dispenser of claim 10, wherein the sidewall includes a plurality of spaced-apart legs angularly projecting from the end wall, wherein the end wall and sidewall form a substantially frustoconical shape.
  • 12. The dispenser of claim 11, wherein each of the hubs further includes a plurality of flanges, each flange coupled to an associated leg, the flanges defining a slotted retaining end wall disposed substantially parallel to the circular end wall.
  • 13. The dispenser of claim 12, wherein the support structure is a resilient wire rod, the first and second attachment portions respectively include first and second loops, the first and second loops having an engaging position wherein the first and second loops are separated a first distance, wherein when the first and second loops are separated by a distance greater than the first distance, the first and second loops are biased towards one another, each hub respectively coupled to the support structure by a connector passing through an associated loop and the end wall of the associated hub.
  • 14. The dispenser of claim 13, wherein each of the end walls has an aperture, and each of the connector is a rivet, each rivet having a head, a first diameter portion passing through the aperture of the end wall and a second larger diameter portion connected to the head and the first diameter portion and passing through the loop, each of the rivets having a shoulder formed between the first and second portions, the second cylindrical portion having a length greater than the diameter of the wire rod.
  • 15. The dispenser of claim 10, wherein each of the hubs is formed of a resilient plastic.
  • 16. The dispenser of claim 15, wherein the resilient plastic is selected from the group consisting essentially of acetals, polyacetals, and polypropylene.
  • 17. The dispenser of claim 16, wherein the hubs are each a one-piece molded construction.
  • 18. The dispenser of claim 10, wherein the support structure is resilient and the attachment portions are biased towards one another.
  • 19. The dispenser of claim 10, wherein the hubs have an engaging position where the hubs are substantially coaxial with one another and are friction fittable with a plurality of different sized cores having diameters substantially equal to or less than the maximum at rest diameter, whereby each of the differently sized cores is supported on the hubs at a position such that its axis is substantially coaxial with the hub axes.
US Referenced Citations (8)
Number Name Date Kind
2101531 Clemson Dec 1937 A
2482871 Rapport Sep 1949 A
2613041 Cantrell Oct 1952 A
3228519 Dong et al. Jan 1966 A
3584817 Bolger Jun 1971 A
3620468 St. Amour Nov 1971 A
3841576 Farrer Oct 1974 A
4032077 Baselice Jun 1977 A
Foreign Referenced Citations (3)
Number Date Country
517706 Oct 1955 CA
270203 May 1927 GB
0015344 Jan 1985 JP
Non-Patent Literature Citations (1)
Entry
Photographs of a paper roll holder sold by Alwin Mfg. Co. prior to Sep. 22, 1997.