US2944749A - Dispenser for rolled paper - Google Patents

Description

July 12, 1960 Y A. P. MAIER 2,944,749

' DISPENSER FOR ROLLED P$PER Filed Feb. 18, 1955 'INVENTOR. I

United se PatfifitO DISIIENSER FOR nonnnnrnrnn @An'ton PhMaier, 3410 W. LaytonAve, Greenfield, Wis.

- Filed Feb. 1s,'19 ss','ser. 489,199

2Claims. c1. m-ssz This invention relates generally to a dispenser-for mounting;

rolled paper and more particularly to an improved dispenser for dispensing rolled paper in sheets of a length established by perforations across the width of the paper at equal intervals along its length. 7

. Paper towels, toilet paper, and similar paper specialties are often furnished in rolls with the roll being divided torn from the roll, it is necessary to hold the roll with one hand while tearing the sheet off with the other hand. If the roll is not held either by hand or by a mechanical device, and the sheet is pulled sharply to'tear it"ofl the roll, the instantaneous force applied causes the roll to overrun on its spindle after the sheet has been torn away, and the paper unrolls from the roll to hang downwardly from it, leaving it unsightly, and renders it increasingly inconvenient for subsequent use.

It is therefore a general object 'of'the present invenespecially adapted to remove the paper in relatively short lengths from the continuous roll;

Another object of the present invention 'is'to provide an improved dispenser for rolled paper 'with simple-restricting means for preventing overrun ot the roll from v the force jappliedto tear a sheet; off of the roll.

A still further object is to provide a dispenser for struction which is convenient and"'eflicien't-in operation.

" "According to this invention'the improved' dispenser for rolled paper comprises a bracket having'an' extending arm for supporting the roll'of papen pair ofrings 2,944,749. Patented July 12, 196.0

. 2 ing detailed description of .an embodiment thereof, may be achieved by the apparatus herein described by wayof example, in connection with" the illustrations'of its structural components in the accompanying drawings, in which:

. Figural is a :VIEW in front elevation depicting" 'a dis penser embodying the features-of the present invention,

with one of the ringsbeing broken away to illustrate its FigureZ is a plan Figure 1; w I

Figure 3 is a view in side elevatic m of the "dispenser depicted in Figure 1, with a portion of one of the'rings broken away to illustrate its mounting; .and

Figure 4 is a detail perspective view ofone ofthe two rings which support the roll of paper. 7

Reference is now made more particularly to the drawings showing a dispenser for rolled paper embodying the principles of the present invention and comprising ,an L' shaped bracket 5 for mounting the dispenser on .a wall or other structure. The L shaped bracket 5 includes a short leg 6 and a long leg 7 with the latter being in the shape of a truncated triangle as seen in Figure 3, with its base joining'the short leg 6 and its line of truncation constituting the juncture withan arm 8 disposed substantially perpendicular to the long leg 7. Thus, the long leg 7 serves to support the "arm 8 in spaced relation to the Wall to provide clearance for a roll of 'paper carried by it The short leg 6 is provided with a pair of holes for receiving screws 9 which are screwed into the .wall

7 to secure the dispenser thereto.

It will be noted that the drawings illustrate the short leg 6, the long leg 7, and the arm 8 formed integrally from a single sheet of metal-bent at the junctures of the three members as a preferred embodiment; ,Such construction is very inexpensive but sturdy, it being only necessary to stamp the sheet of metal to the required configuration and then bend the stamping to form the three members described. r

The arm 8 is provided with two pairs of notches 14 'tion to provide an improved dispenser for rolled paper with the notches of each pair g oppositely fdl'spo'sefd across the width of the arm 8, and the two pairs of notches 14 beingdisposed in spaced relationship along to receive a ringor annular member 15 'fabrlicated of' rubber or other similar material, it having been found .that a material having ,a relatively highy-friction'al rerolled paper of simple "and inexpensive but sturdy con.

carried by the two rings on the arm. 'Sufiicient clean I ance is provided between the outer diameter of the rings and the inner diameter of the core of theroll .of paper to permit the roll to revolve about the'two rings when a light steady tangential force is applied to the rollby drawing easily upon the exposed end of the roll-of paper.

H when ar wt n e r is applied the, roll ,as will result from tearing a :sheet ofi of the roll, the frictional resistance of the rings functions to restrict the rotation of the roll of paper, permitting the which will become more fully apparent from the followwithin the notches 16 ofthe ringsglS. With this arrangement'the rings 15 are seeurely fiir'ed sistance to sliding movement with the coreof the'roll ef paper is preferable for producingthe retardin'g etl'ect'p'n the rotation of the roll of paper, and a'fieiiible ymaterial will facilitate the assembly of the will be presently seen. 1

A portion of the rings 15 are disposed within the 'notche's ld' to prevent their lateral movement; alongfithe arrn '8,- but their peripheries extend beyond the longitudinal edges of'the arm 8 for the purpose of receiving the roll of paper. In order to produce thedesired 'eflec't it'is preferred that the rings 15 do not rotate relative to the arm 8," and to this ,end diametrically opposite slots or notches 16 are formed in the rings--15 in their inner diameter as seen in Figures 3 and 4. The dimension'of the arm 8 between the bottoms of {each pair of notches #14 IiS greater than the inner diameter of the rings -15'so that in order to place the rings in the notches 14 it is necessary to insert the edges of the bottom of the notches {14 on the arm 8, the notches '14 prevent-ing their lateral movementon-the arm 8, and the notches 16 preventing 7 their rotational movement relative to the arm 8, If the rings 15 are fabricated of a flexible material, such as rubber, it is a simple matter to flatten their rotundity and view of the dispenser shown rings on-the arm 8-as '1 distend their inner diameter in the plane of the arm to clear the notches 14 so that they can be slid off of the arm 8.

. Paper of the type for which the dispenser is intended usually rolled upon a cardboard core,'andthe outer diameter of therings 15 is smaller than the inner} diameterjof the core .to' provide enough clearance so'that the fit between the rings 15 and the core of the roll ofpaper will not interfere with the rotation of the roll on the rings. With such arrangement, the roll of paper will rotate freely when a light tangential force is applied to its outer diameter by an easy steady pull on the extend ing end of the paper, but its rotation will be retarded by the frictional resistance of the rings 15 when a sharp force is applied as will occur when a sheet of paper is torn off'of the end of the roll.

The roll of paper is indicated diagrammatically in the drawings by broken lines and is identified by the reference numeral 20. It is shown assembled to the dispenserwith its core embracing the rings 15 to be supported thereby for the limited rotational movement as described.

In order to retain the roll of paper 20 on the arm 8, the latter is provided with a retainer member 21 at its extending end secured to the arm 8 for pivotal move? ment relative thereto 'by a rivet 22 or other suitable securing means. A spring 23 is interposed under one head of the rivet 22 to maintain the retainer 21 in frictional contact with the end of the arm 8 for the purpose of maintaining the retainer 21 in a desired pivotal position. To retain the roll of paper 20 on the arm 8 it is only necessary to position the retainer 21 transversely of the arm 8 as illustrated in solid lines in Figure 1 so that it will interfere with lateral movement of the roll 20 off of the arm 8. When it is desired to place a roll of paper on the arm 8, or remove it or its core therefrom, the retainer 21 maybe simply pivoted into alignment with ,the arm 8 as illustrated in broken lines in Figure l, and the core of the roll of paper may be readily passed over it in either direction.

Such construction, in which a pair of rings is provided for supporting the roll of paper in lieu of the customary cylindrical spindle, is relatively inexpensive. These rings are additionally advantageous in that they may have a surface presenting frictional resistance to sliding movement with the core of the roll of paper, so that when a sharp force tending to rotate the roll of paper is applied, the rings will retard the rotation of the roll and prevent it from. overrunning when a sheet of paper is torn off of it.- ou the other hand, the frictional resistance' of the rings will not interfere with the rotation of the roll when a light force is applied to unroll a portion of the paper from the roll. The paper may therefore be readily manipulated with one hand by simply pulling lightly on the extending end of the roll of paper to unroll the desired length of paper from the roll, and then applying a sharp force to tear the length from the roll without the roll overrunning. The tearing operation is facilitated by the presence of perforations or other paper weakening means across the width of the paper at intervals to establish the individual sheets forming the continuous roll, as the separation-of the paper will occur in a straight line along such perforations.

From the foregoing detailed description of the construction and operation of a practical embodiment of the dispenser for rolled paper provided by the present invention, it will be apparent that the apparatus is of simple construction especially adapted for dispensing sheets of paper from a continuous roll and preventing the II'OH fI'OIII overrunning due to the force applied in tearing Ia sheet ofi of the roll.

Although the illustrative embodiment of the invention has been described in considerable detail for the purpose of setting forth an operative and practical exemplifying structure, it is to be understood that the structure shown and described is intended to be illustrative only, and that various characteristics of the invention may be incorporated in other structural forms without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the subjoined claims.

The principles ofthe invention having now been fully explained in connection with the foregoing description of embodying structure, I hereby claim as my invention:

1. In a dispenser for rolled paper having an axial cylindrical opening, a bracket adapted to'be mounted on a supporting structure, an arm carried by said bracket in spaced relationship to the supporting structure, said arm having a plurality of notches spaced along its length, a plurality of flexible rubber rings having a smooth unbroken peripheral surface and an outer diameter smaller than the diameter of said cylindrical opening and carried by said arm in said notches in axial alignment for insertion into said cylindrical opening to support the roll on their peripheries for rotation relative thereto, said rings having slots formed in their inner diameters for receiving the bottom edges of said notches, and a retainer operatively secured to said arm to prevent lateral displacement of the roll of paper off of sai-drings, whereby the peripheral surface of said rubber rings presents a frictional resistance to sliding movement with the paper about said cylindrical opening to retard overunning of the roll when a sharp tangential force is applied as will occur when a sheet of paper is torn off of the roll, and the notches in said arm prevent lateral'displacement of the rings on the arm while the bottom edges of the notches in the slots of said rings prevent the rings from rotating relative to the arm.

2. In a dispenser for rolled paper having an axial cylindrical opening, a bracket adapted to be mounted on a supporting structure, an arm carried by said bracket in spaced relationship to the supporting structure, said arm having a plurality of notches spaced along its length, a plurality of rings having a smooth unbroken peripheral surface presenting a frictional resistance to sliding movement with the paper forming said cylindrical opening, said rings having an outer diameter smaller than the diameter of said cylindrical opening and being carried by said arm in said notches in axial alignment for insertion .into said cylindrical opening to support the roll on their peripheries for-rotation relative thereto, said rings having diametrically opposite slots formed in their inner diameters for receiving the bottom edges of saidnotches, and aretainer operatively secured tosaid armto retain the roll of paper on saidrings, whereby the roll of paper may be rotated on'said rings by pulling steadily upon the .outer end of the roll of paper, but the peripheral surface ;of said rings will retard overrunning of the roll when a sharp tangential force is applied as will occur when. a sheet of paper is torn off of the roll, and the notches in said arm prevent lateral displacement of the rings on the arm while the bottom edges of the notches in the slots of said rings prevent the rings from rotating relative to the arm.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNTTED STATES PATENTS

Images