Dispensing system for consecutively dispensing paper sheet material from a stub roll and a primary roll

This invention relates to apparatus for dispensing sheet material, for example toilet tissue or toweling, from a roll of sheet material. More specifically, the invention relates to an apparatus and a method for consecutively dispensing paper sheet material from a stub roll of paper sheet material and a primary roll of paper sheet material.

A great many systems have been devised over the years for dispensing toilet tissue and paper toweling from rolls thereof. Some systems incorporate mechanisms for automatically introducing the lead end of sheet material in roll form such as paper toweling or toilet tissue into a transport or feed mechanism, including a rotatable feed roller, responsive to depletion of another roll.

One such arrangement for doing so is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,979,822, issued Nov. 9, 1999, wherein a tucker member is attached to a sheet material engagement member and rotates upon depletion of a primary roll of sheet material to position the end of a reserve roll between the sheet material engagement member and a feed roller.

Other arrangements for effecting transfer to full or primary rolls from depleted or exhausted rolls are known in the prior art.

The following patent documents are believed to be representative of the present state of the prior art in this field: U.S. Pat. No. 5,979,822, issued Nov. 9, 1999, U.S. Pat. No. 1,025,312, issued May 7, 1912, U.S. Pat. No. 1,026,128, issued May 14, 1912, U.S. Pat. No. 1,084,598, issued Jan. 20, 1914, U.S. Pat. No. 1,860,668, issued May 31, 1932, U.S. Pat. No. 2,169,399, issued Aug. 15, 1939, U.S. Pat. No. 2,930,664, issued Mar. 29, 1960, U.S. Pat. No. 2,957,636, issued Oct. 25, 1960, U.S. Pat. No. 3,107,957, issued Oct. 22, 1963, U.S. Pat. No. 3,140,060, issued Jul. 7, 1964, U.S. Pat. No. 3,628,743, issued Dec. 21, 1971, U.S. Pat. No. 3,672,552, issued Jun. 27, 1972, U.S. Pat. No. 4,192,442, issued Mar. 11, 1980, U.S. Pat. No. 4,699,304, issued Oct. 13, 1987, U.S. Pat. No. 4,756,485, issued Jul. 12, 1988, U.S. Pat. No. 4,807,824, issued Feb. 28, 1989, U.S. Pat. No. 4,846,412, issued Jul. 11, 1989, U.S. Pat. No. 5,294,192, issued Mar. 15, 1994, U.S. Pat. No. 5,244,161, issued Sep. 14, 1993, U.S. Pat. No. 4,358,169, issued Nov. 9, 1982, U.S. Pat. No. 5,294,192, issued Mar. 15, 1994, U.S. Pat. No. 7,570,067, issued Aug. 4, 2009, U.S. Pat. No. 7,270,292, issued Sep. 18, 2007, U.S. Pat. No. 6,152,397, issued Nov. 28, 2000, U.S. Pat. No. 8,282,033, issued Oct. 9, 2012, U.S. Patent App. Pub. No. US 2011/0253829, published Oct. 20, 2011, UK Patent No. 794825, and UK Patent No. 1114891.

The present invention relates to a dispensing apparatus and dispensing method for consecutively dispensing paper sheet material from a stub roll of the paper sheet material and a primary roll of the paper sheet material. The invention is characterized by its relatively low cost, high reliability and ease of use.

The dispensing apparatus of the present invention includes a dispensing cabinet defining an interior.

A primary roll holder is within the dispensing cabinet interior for holding a primary roll of paper sheet material and allowing rotation thereof during dispensing of paper sheet material from the primary roll of paper sheet material.

A stub roll holder is within the dispensing cabinet interior spaced from the primary roll holder for holding a stub roll of paper sheet material and allowing rotation thereof during dispensing of paper sheet material from the stub roll of paper sheet material.

Dispensing mechanism is provided. The dispensing mechanism includes a rotatable drum having an outer surface supporting paper sheet material from the stub roll during dispensing of paper sheet material from the stub roll.

A lever having first and second lever ends is pivotally mounted within the cabinet interior, the stub roll holder attached to the first lever end.

A stub roll support is engaged by the outer periphery of the stub roll and provides support for the stub roll and the stub roll holder. The stub roll holder is biased in the direction of the stub roll support and moveable toward the stub roll support during dispensing of paper sheet material from the stub roll.

The apparatus also includes a pivotally mounted transfer door having a proximal portion and a distal portion located within the cabinet interior adjacent to the rotatable drum and biased to move the distal portion toward the rotatable drum.

The second lever end is engageable with the transfer door to prevent movement of the distal portion toward the rotatable drum, pivoting of the lever caused by exhaustion of the stub roll disengaging the second lever end from the transfer door and allowing pivoting of the transfer door and movement of the distal portion toward the rotatable drum to place a lead end portion of the primary roll into a position on the rotatable drum allowing dispensing of paper sheet material from the primary roll upon rotation of the rotatable drum.

Other features, advantages and objects of the present invention will become apparent with reference to the following description and accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a dispensing cabinet of the dispensing apparatus of the present invention, a paper sheet material tail projecting downwardly from the cabinet;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the cover of the cabinet opened to disclose the structure located within the dispensing cabinet interior;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the dispensing apparatus with the cover removed and showing a coreless primary roll rotatably mounted on a spindle or primary roll holder and a coreless stub roll mounted on another spindle or stub roll holder, the tail of the stub roll projecting downwardly from the cabinet and the lead end portion of the primary roll located within an opening of a transfer door;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 3 , but illustrating a primary roll having been changed into a stub roll due to prior dispensing of the sheet material of the primary roll, the stub roll preparatory to being placed on the stub roll holder or spindle as shown by the arrow headed dash line;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the dispensing mechanism and roll holder structure removed from the cabinet altogether and viewed from the left side rather than from the right side as presented in FIGS. 3 and 4 , the primary roll and primary roll holder not being illustrated;

FIG. 6 is a sectional, side, elevational view illustrating the condition of a lever and the transfer door of the system when a stub roll is in place on the stub roll holder but not exhausted;

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6 showing the structural elements shown in FIG. 6 , but illustrating their condition when the stub roll is exhausted;

FIG. 8 is a greatly enlarged, perspective view showing cooperable portions of the lever and transfer door;

FIG. 9 is an elevational view illustrating the interior of the dispensing cabinet and illustrating the positioning and movement of paper sheet material during dispensing from the stub roll by dispensing mechanism of the apparatus;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged, elevational view showing enlarged details of the arrangement of FIG. 9 , more particularly details of a nip roller employed with a rotatable drum and positioning of the transfer door and lever before the stub roll has been exhausted;

FIG. 11 is a view similar to FIG. 9 , but illustrating a primary roll positioned in place in the dispensing cabinet with the lead end portion thereof positioned in a transfer door opening while the paper sheet material from the stub roll is still in position to be dispensed;

FIG. 12 is a view similar to FIG. 10 , but showing more detail concerning positioning of the primary roll lead end portion into the transfer door opening;

FIGS. 13, 14 and 15 are elevational views showing selected structural elements of the apparatus at sequential stages of the dispensing operation; and

FIGS. 16, 17 and 18 are enlarged, sectional views showing the condition of the transfer door, rotatable drum and other components in the stages of operation corresponding to those shown in FIGS. 13, 14 and 15 , respectively.

Referring now to the drawings, dispensing apparatus constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention is illustrated, the dispensing apparatus including a dispensing cabinet 10 having a cover 12 pivotally mounted on a base 14 , suitably wall mounted. The dispensing apparatus is for consecutively dispensing paper sheet material from a stub roll of said paper sheet material and a primary roll of the paper sheet material.

In the disclosed arrangement the paper sheet material is toilet tissue formed into coreless rolls. The principles of the present invention also are applicable to paper toweling and both rolls with cores and coreless rolls.

A primary roll holder in the form of a spindle 18 projects forwardly from the mounting base 14 . Spindle 18 is for holding a primary roll of paper sheet material and allowing rotation thereof during dispensing of paper sheet material from the primary roll of paper sheet material. FIG. 3 , for example, shows a full primary coreless roll 20 of toilet tissue.

The dispensing apparatus also includes a stub roll holder in the form of a spindle 22 for holding a stub roll of paper sheet material and allowing rotation thereof during dispensing of paper sheet material from the stub roll. FIG. 3 , for example, shows a coreless stub roll 24 of toilet tissue disposed on spindle 22 .

The dispensing apparatus also includes dispensing mechanism including a rotatable drum or toweling support roller 28 having an outer surface supporting paper sheet material from the stub roll 24 during dispensing of paper sheet material from the stub roll. Dispensing from the stub roll will be described in greater detail below.

The dispensing apparatus also includes a lever 30 that is pivotally mounted within the cabinet interior about pivot 32 . This may be seen for example in to FIGS. 5-7 . Spindle 22 is attached to and projects outwardly from one end of the lever.

Located below the spindle 22 is a stub roll support 36 engaged by the outer periphery of the stub roll and providing support for the stub roll and the spindle 22 , the lever being freely pivotal. The stub roll holder or spindle 22 is biased in the direction of the stub roll support 36 and movable toward the stub roll support during dispensing of paper sheet material from the stub roll. FIGS. 9, 11 and 13 provide a good illustration of this condition.

Stub rolls are of course formed from a full primary roll of toilet tissue after a certain amount of dispensing from the primary roll has taken place. FIG. 4 shows a substantially depleted primary roll 20 , i.e. a stub roll, and FIG. 4 illustrates the process of removal of a formerly full roll 20 from spindle 18 to spindle 22 at a suitable stage of operation. The present invention discloses a unique approach for initiating dispensing from a full or primary roll responsive to the stub roll on spindle 22 being exhausted.

In the disclosed arrangement a pivotally mounted transfer door 40 is provided. Transfer door 40 has a proximal portion at the location of pivotal interconnection of the transfer door with other dispenser structure. The proximal portion includes two downwardly extending pivot arms 42 which define a transfer door opening 44 . The transfer door also includes a distal portion 46 located adjacent to the outer surface of rotatable drum 28 .

Lever 30 has an end 48 which is engageable with the transfer door to prevent movement of the distal portion thereof toward the rotatable drum. Engagement is accomplished when the stub roll is transferred to spindle 22 . This remains the situation until the stub roll becomes exhausted, engagement by the stub roll with support 36 maintaining the lever in an orientation, as shown in FIG. 8 , wherein the transfer door is prevented from falling under the influence of gravity toward the rotatable drum. This relationship between the transfer door and the lever will exist until little or no toilet tissue remains on the stub roll, at which point the lever will disengage from the transfer door and allow pivoting of the transfer door and movement of the distal portion toward the rotatable drum to place a lead end portion of the primary roll into a position on the rotatable drum allowing dispensing of paper sheet material from the primary roll upon rotation of the rotatable drum.

As can be seen in the drawings, at an earlier stage, immediately after a full primary roll 22 has been positioned on spindle 18 , as shown in FIGS. 3 and 11 , the lead end portion 50 of the primary roll 20 is manually passed through the transfer door opening 44 . The transfer door may be readily pivoted outwardly to facilitate this operation. This is shown in FIGS. 13 and 16 . At this stage the sheet material from the stub roll is still in position for dispensing, the stub roll sheet material looping over and back under a nip roller 52 forming a nip with the rotatable drum 28 .

FIGS. 14 and 17 show the situation after the lever 30 disengages from the transfer door 40 and the transfer door 40 is allowed to fall forward toward the rotatable drum due to the fact that the stub roll no longer exists to provide support for the lever. In FIGS. 14 and 17 the distal portion of the transfer door has placed the lead end portion of the primary roll into a position on the rotatable drum allowing dispensing of the paper sheet material from the primary roll upon rotation of the rotatable drum.

In the arrangement illustrated, rotation of the rotatable drum 28 is caused by manual rotation of a knob 56 disposed externally of the cabinet and operatively connected to the drum.

To avoid frictional drag, the transfer door does not actually ever touch the rotatable drum. After the stub roll is exhausted and the transfer door has closed pushing the primary roll paper sheet material towards the rotatable drum, rotation of the knob 56 will feed the primary roll sheet material through the dispensing mechanism and provide a primary roll tail extending from the bottom of the cabinet. This is shown in FIGS. 15 and 18 .

At times, the primary paper sheet material may automatically load when the stub roll is nearly exhausted. When this happens, feed knob use will not be required for loading and two sheets will be dispensed, one from the primary roll and one from the stub roll, until the stub roll is completely exhausted.

In the arrangement illustrated, the dispensing apparatus includes a cutter blade 60 which is actuated upon rotation of the rotatable drum to sever the paper sheet material being dispensed. Such a cutting mechanism may be of any suitable type, and for that matter, the principles of the present invention can be applied to dispensers with a wide variety of cutting blade types including both movable and fixed.