Winding – tensioning – or guiding – Unwinding – With supply coil replenishment
Reexamination Certificate
2002-12-18
2004-06-22
Rivera, William A. (Department: 3654)
Winding, tensioning, or guiding
Unwinding
With supply coil replenishment
C242S599300
Reexamination Certificate
active
06752349
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates generally to dispensers for sequentially dispensing rolls of tissue, towel, or the like of the general class used for commercial operations and institutions. In a preferred embodiment, the present invention is directed to a dispenser for sequentially dispensing coreless rolls of tissue utilizing a support sled mounted for generally vertical motion within the dispenser.
BACKGROUND
Absorbent sheet is frequently distributed in the form of a roll of strip material. There is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,214,014 to Perrin a roll of strip material having a separable core structure. It is well known that the winding of rolls of strip material such as paper toweling, bath tissue, or the like, may entail the utilization of a hollow, elongated cylindrical core which is customarily fabricated from cardboard or similar material. The rolls of strip material incorporating such cores may be supported by the location of bearing bosses in the opposite extremities of the core, the bearing bosses being adapted to permit rotation of the roll of strip material in order that lengths of strip material may be dispensed from the roll. When the roll of strip material is consumed, difficulty may be encountered in dislodging the cores from the associated bearing bosses. This is particularly true in the case of public washrooms where the attendants must mount and dismount large numbers of rolls of tissue and towel and the time consumed in mounting and dismounting rolls is greatly increased by the difficulties inherent in the mounting and dismounting of the core structures. In accordance with the aforesaid U.S. Pat. No. 3,214,014 there is provided a core structure constituted by a pair of core elements each of which is a cylindrical body which may be formed of cardboard, plastic or the like and which are disposed in end to end relationship. Alternatively, the elements of the core could be semi-cylindrical and disposed in face to face relationship. The so-called “split core” product disclosed in the '014 patent has the advantage that the strip material holds the core together, such that when the strip material is exhausted the core is readily disassembled into its component parts and removed from the dispenser. The split core material has thus enjoyed significant commercial success particularly for commercial operations and institutional use.
Likewise, it is desirable to have dispensers that dispense more than one roll of material in a sequential manner. For instance, this type of arrangement would allow an attendant to replace material much less frequently than would be the case for single roll dispensers. In connection with such dispensers, it is further noted that it is highly desirable for one roll of material to be exposed for use until that exposed roll is exhausted and a second roll is held in a reserved or covered position, until such time as the first roll is exhausted. In this connection there is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,381,909 to Tucker et al. an apparatus for sequentially dispensing rolls of strip material. In the '909 patent there is shown a dispenser having two mandrels or spindles for receiving rolls of strip material fulcrummed about a central point. Upon installation a first roll is in a lower position and, upon exhaustion thereof, the spring biased mounting lever pivots about a center point whereby the mounting mandrel of the exhausted roll moves upwardly and a new or fresh roll moves downwardly into a dispensing position. Separable cylindrical mounts cooperate with the split roll material to activate the transition of the second roll to a dispensing position.
So also, there is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,294,329 to Tucker et al. another dispenser for sequentially dispensing rolls of strip material. In accordance with the '329 patent there is provided a dispenser which may be readily refilled prior to the complete exhaustion of both rolls of tissue being dispensed therefrom. That is to say, it is not necessary to remove a partially exhausted roll in order that a full roll may be placed in the dispenser but merely necessary that a full roll can be placed in the reserve position while a partially consumed roll being dispensed is maintained in the dispensing position. In the device according to the '329 patent there is provided sensor or detector means constituted by elongated detector arms pivotally mounted upon a common pivot pin for independent rotation with respect to the roll holder. Each of the sensor or detector arms is urged downwardly about the circumference of an associated roll by a torsion spring secured by a pivot pin. The sensor arms are coupled to latch dogs which engage a centrally located rib to hold the rolls of material in position. When a first roll is exhausted, the sensing arms activate the latch dogs so as to rotate the roll support frame so that a new roll is presented for dispensing.
Still another dispenser for sequentially dispensing rolls of tissue and the like is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,387,902 to Perrin et al. Unlike the patents discussed above, the '902 patent is directed to a dispenser designed to hold two rolls on a sled or frame, generally in a vertical relationship wherein the lower roll is presented for dispensing and the upper roll lies generally under a cover in a first, or fully loaded position. There is further provided latch means for retaining the roll holder assembly in this first position which are releasable for permitting vertical movement of the roll holder assembly to a second position. The latch means are associated directly with a roll split core detection mechanism. The reported advantages according to the '902 patent are that the split core geometry is utilized to minimize moving parts so that complicated and interconnecting arms and levers are not required. With the first, or lowermost roll of tissue in the dispensing position and the second or uppermost roll of tissue in the reserve or non-dispensing position, the first roll of tissue may be used in conventional manner and upon complete use of the wrapped tissue, the split cores are exposed and a housing latch spring bearing transversely against a sleeve latch engagement leg engaged with a housing latch stop will overcome the lessor resilient force of a holder spring of the roll holder, thereby pivoting the roll holder sleeve relative to the roll holder mandrel. The pivoting of the sleeve of the roll holder, by way of the housing latch spring, forces the sleeve latch engagement leg transversely off of a housing latch stop or shoulder freeing the roll holder assembly for further movement downward along the housing tracks. See also U.S. Pat. No. 4,143,827 to Tucker which shows a roll holder of the type disclosed in the aforesaid '902 patent for mounting split core rolls of tissue. The roll holder of the '827 patent is positioned in a dispenser moveable from an upper dispensing position to a lower exhausted position. The device includes blocking members at roll holder opposite ends normally retained inactive permitting a release operation in the presence of split core material but automatically moving to a position preventing proper operation upon lack of a split core product. This dispenser insures that the split core product must be utilized for proper roll holder functioning and that a solid core roll cannot be used with core stripping to cause the roll holder functioning. In any case, it is noted that avoiding core stripping from the roll can reduce undesirable littering.
While split core products have provided advantages in terms of ease of filling and replenishing dispensers, coreless products provide more useful material per roll, such that less storage space for shipping and dispensing is required for a given amount of product and there is no need to have expensive and wasteful cores which are discarded when the material is exhausted. There is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,370,336 to Whittington a dispenser for sequentially dispensing webbed material from a plurality of coreless rolls including
Budz Gregory D.
Kilgore Michael R.
Moody John R.
Ferrell Michael W.
Fort James Corporation
Rivera William A.
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