Paper towel dispenser with fixed, axially aligned roller on loading door

• US 8,079,543 B2
• Filed: 05/13/2010
• Issued: 12/20/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/12/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GPCP IP Holdings LLC
• Original Assignee: Innovia Intellectual Properties, LLC
• Inventors: Troutman, William Bryant, Troutman, William Bryant II
• Primary Examiner(s): Rivera, William A
• Application Number:
  US12/779,218
• Publication Number:
  US 20100219280A1
• Time in Patent Office: 586 Days
• Field of Search: 242/563, 242/563.2, 242/564, 242/564.1, 242/564.3, 242/564.4, 242/565, 242/566, 242/596.8, 312/34.8, 225/93, 225/106, 226/181
• US Class Current: 242/564.4
• CPC Class Codes: A47K 10/36 with mechanical dispensing, roll switching or cutting devices
• CPC Class Codes: A47K 10/3612 with drive and pinch rollers
• CPC Class Codes: A47K 2010/3668 Detection of the presence of a user
• CPC Class Codes: A47K 2010/3681 characterised by the way a new paper roll is loaded in the dispenser

Abstract

A towel dispenser includes a housing for receiving toweling. The housing includes a main body; a loading door that is configured to rotate relative to the main body between a closed position and an open position; and a guide system that includes a first roller attached to the main body and a second roller attached to the loading door. The towel dispenser may include a motor for driving dispensing of the toweling from the housing and an associated sensor. The towel dispenser can be mounted to an underside of a cabinet. In an aspect, the second roller includes an axis of rotation that is fixed relative to the loading door, and the first roller includes an axis of rotation that is substantially parallel with the axis of rotation of the second roller regardless of whether the loading door is in the closed position or the open position, or transitioning therebetween.

Claims

1. A towel dispenser, comprising:

(a) a housing for receiving toweling, the housing comprising,

(i) a main body,

(ii) a loading door that is configured to rotate relative to the main body between,

(A) a closed position, in which the housing is configured to dispense towels therefrom, and

(B) an open position, in which the housing is configured to receive toweling therein, and

(iii) a guide system configured to guide the toweling while towels are dispensed from the housing, the guide system comprising a first roller attached to the main body and a second roller attached to the loading door, the first and second rollers being configured to allow toweling to pass therebetween without being separated;

(b) wherein the second roller comprises an axis of rotation that is fixed relative to the loading door regardless of whether the loading door is in the closed position or the open position, or transitioning therebetween, and wherein an axis of rotation of the first roller is substantially parallel with the axis of rotation of the second roller regardless of whether the loading door is in the closed position or the open position, or transitioning therebetween;

(c) wherein the loading door comprises a curved body, a lip, and two walls at opposite lateral ends of the curved body and extending generally perpendicularly to the lip, the curved body including an interior curved surface that is semicircular in profile and generally corresponds in curvature to that of a roll of paper towels; and

(d) wherein the loading door is configured to generally rotate about the axis of curvature of the curved surface when the loading door is rotated between the closed position and the open position, the axis of curvature of the curved surface being generally parallel to the axes of rotation of both the first and second rollers.

2. The towel dispenser of claim 1, wherein the main body comprises a front wall, and wherein a lip of the loading door and the front wall collectively define a gap to which the guiding system guides the toweling and through which towels are dispensed when the loading door is in the closed position.

3. The towel dispenser of claim 2, wherein the housing is configured such that movement of the loading door to the closed position, with toweling inserted in the housing and with a leading length of the toweling draped over the loading door, automatically threads the toweling between the first and second rollers, without manual threading of the toweling, by the act of the loading door being moved to the closed position.

4. An automatic paper towel dispenser, comprising:

(a) toweling comprising a roll of perforated paper towels; and

(b) a housing in which the roll of perforated paper towels is received for dispensing, the housing comprising,

(i) a main body,

(ii) a loading door that, in combination with the main body, defines a space within which the roll of perforated paper towels is received, the loading door being configured to rotate relative to the main body between,

(A) a closed position, in which the housing is configured to dispense towels therefrom, and

(B) an open position, in which the housing is configured to receive toweling therein, and

(iii) a guide system for guiding the toweling while towels are dispensed from the housing, the guide system comprising a first roller attached to the main body and a second roller attached to the loading door, and

(iv) a motor located within the housing for feeding the toweling outside of the housing during dispensing of a towel,

(v) wherein the second roller comprises an axis of rotation that is fixed relative to the loading door regardless of whether the loading door is in the closed position or the open position, or transitioning therebetween, and wherein an axis of rotation of the first roller is substantially parallel with the axis of rotation of the second roller regardless of whether the loading door is in the closed position or the open position, or transitioning therebetween;

(c) a motor and a transmission attached to the main body of the housing and not to the loading door, wherein the second roller attached to the loading door is connectable to the transmission and is driven by the motor via the transmission when the loading door is in the closed position.

5. The automatic paper towel dispenser of claim 4, wherein a portion of the main body extends over a lip of the loading door when the loading door is in the closed position, but not when the loading door is in the open position;

and wherein a motor for feeding the toweling outside of the housing during dispensing of a towel is located within the portion of the main body extending over the lip of the loading door.

6. The automatic paper towel dispenser of claim 4, wherein the main body comprises a front wall, and wherein the lip of the loading door and the front wall collectively define a gap to which the guiding system guides the toweling and through which towels are dispensed when the loading door is in the closed position.

7. The automatic paper towel dispenser of claim 6, wherein the housing is configured such that movement of the loading door to the closed position, with toweling inserted in the housing and with a leading length of the toweling draped over the loading door, automatically threads the toweling between the first and second rollers, without manual threading of the toweling, by the act of the loading door being moved to the closed position.

8. The automatic paper towel dispenser of claim 4, wherein the loading door comprises a curved body, a lip, and two walls at opposite lateral ends of the curved body and extending generally perpendicularly to the lip, the curved body including an interior curved surface that is semicircular in profile and generally corresponds in curvature that that of a roll of paper towels;

and wherein the loading door is configured to generally rotate about the axis of curvature of the curved surface when the loading door is rotated between the closed position and the open position.

9. A towel-dispensing apparatus, comprising:

(a) a cabinet; and

(b) a paper towel dispenser mounted to an underside of the cabinet, the paper towel dispenser comprising a housing in which toweling comprising a roll of perforated paper towels is contained for dispensing, the housing comprising,

(i) a main body,

(ii) a loading door that, in combination with the main body, defines a space within which the roll of perforated paper towels is received, the loading door being configured to rotate relative to the main body between,

(I) a closed position, in which the housing is configured to dispense paper towels from the roll of perforated paper towels, and

(II) an open position, in which the housing is configured to receive within the space the roll of perforated paper towels, and

(iii) a guide system for guiding the toweling while dispensing paper towels from the housing, the guide system comprising a first roller attached to the main body and a second roller attached to the loading door, and

(iv) a motor located within the housing for driving dispensing of the paper towels from the housing,

(v) wherein the second roller comprises an axis of rotation that is fixed relative to the loading door regardless of whether the loading door is in the closed position or the open position, or transitioning therebetween, and wherein an axis of rotation of the first roller is substantially parallel with the axis of rotation of the second roller regardless of whether the loading door is in the closed position or the open position, or transitioning therebetween.

10. The towel-dispensing apparatus of claim 9, wherein the cabinet is mounted to a wall.

11. The towel-dispensing apparatus of claim 9, wherein the cabinet is suspended from a ceiling.

12. The towel-dispensing apparatus of claim 9, wherein the loading door forms a majority of the underside of the dispenser when the loading door is in the closed position;

wherein the loading door further comprises a lip that generally extends away from the curved body in a radial direction relative to an axis of rotation of the loading door;

wherein the lip of the loading door extends generally in parallel to the underside of the cabinet when the loading door is in the closed first position; and

wherein the lip of the loading door rotates away from the underside of the cabinet when the loading door rotates from the closed position to the open position.

13. The towel-dispensing apparatus of claim 9, wherein the main body comprises a front wall, and wherein a lip of the loading door and the front wall collectively define a gap to which the guiding system guides the toweling and through which towels are dispensed when the loading door is in the closed position.

14. The towel-dispensing apparatus of claim 13, wherein the housing is configured such that movement of the loading door to the closed position, with toweling inserted in the housing and with a leading length of the toweling draped over the loading door, automatically threads the toweling between the first and second rollers, without manual threading of the toweling, by the act of the loading door being moved to the closed position.

15. The towel-dispensing apparatus of claim 9, wherein the loading door comprises a curved body, a lip, and two walls at opposite lateral ends of the curved body and extending generally perpendicularly to the lip, the curved body including an interior curved surface that is semicircular in profile and generally corresponds in curvature that that of a roll of paper towels.

16. The towel-dispensing apparatus of claim 15, wherein the loading door is configured to generally rotate about the axis of curvature of the curved surface when the loading door is rotated between the closed position and the open position.

17. The towel-dispensing apparatus of claim 9, further comprising a sensor associated with the motor and configured to sense during dispensing a towel in a gap that is collectively defined by the loading door and the main body.