Winding – tensioning – or guiding – Coil holder or support – Mounted coil holder or spindle
Reexamination Certificate
2000-06-27
2001-07-31
Rivera, William A. (Department: 3653)
Winding, tensioning, or guiding
Coil holder or support
Mounted coil holder or spindle
C242S615300, C242S615400, C242S132000, C242S137000, C206S409000, C220S253000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06267321
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Paper dispensing devices that dispense paper from the center of a paper roll are known as centerflow dispensers. The web of paper in such dispensers is fed from the axial portion or center of the paper roll.
Dispensers preferably must be easy to use and operate Maintenance personnel using dispensers may not be trained adequately in the operation of the dispenser which they are hired to refill. Therefore, if is imperative to provide a dispenser that is easy to understand and relatively simply to reload with a new paper roll.
Prior art centerflow feed dispensers such as the dispenser shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,370,338 provide a variable orifice that may be dialed or adjusted to meet the needs of the paper roll being dispensed. Different size rolls require a different dial setting. The frictional engagement of the paper with the orifice provides an appropriate amount of friction to tear the paper at the perforations, but only at the perforations. In such dispensers, the diameter of the dispensing orifice may be varied to accommodate different rolled products.
Unfortunately, many prior art centerflow dispensers are difficult and time consuming to load with a new paper roll. Many existing dispensers require several or multiple steps in loading a new roll. Dispensers that include a two piece housing often first must be disassembled, or hinged away. Then, a sliding mechanism must be manually disengaged, and moved from one position to another in order to fully engage the paper stream that emerges from the bottom of a center feed roll. Sometimes, operators do not understand the sliding mechanisms of such dispensers, and may incorrectly or inadequately displace such slides. Also, many prior dispensers undesirably pinch paper when sliding mechanisms are activated, causing rolls to misfeed when the dispenser housing is closed and the dispenser is placed in operation.
What is needed is a centerflow dispenser that is capable of being loaded with new paper rolls easily and conveniently. Further, a dispenser that is capable of configuring itself for loading of a new roll automatically, without additional steps, upon opening of the housing, would be highly desirable. Additionally, a dispenser that reduces the number of steps required to insert a new roll would be useful. A dispenser that uses a variable orifice, but does not undesirably pinch the paper when a new roll is inserted would also be desirable.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a dipsenser for rolled paper webs wherein the diameter of the dispensing orifice is variable to accommodate different rolled paper products.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a centerflow dispenser that is adaptable for use with rolled paper webs of different bulks, as well as different weights, widths and tensile strengths.
It is a further object of the present invention to make reloading the dispenser with new rolls of paper easier and more convenient. Less steps are required to reload the dispensers of this invention as compared to other prior art dispensers.
One object of this invention is to provide a mechanism that automatically presents itself in a configuration for fast and efficient reloading when the housing is opened, facilitating relatively easy and convenient threading of a new roll into a dispensing position.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a centerflow dispenser that incorporates a large exit port through which the rolled paper product can be initially inserted.
In one embodiment of the invention, a centerflow paper roll dispenser is provided comprising an upper housing and a support member within said upper housing for supporting a roll of paper. The lower housing is attached to the upper housing. Further, an exit port is provided from the upper housing to the lower housing. A spring loaded means within the lower housing positions any one of a plurality of user interchangeable dispensing orifices of differing diameters such that the roll can be dispensed from the center of the roll through a predetermined dispensing orifice. The spring loaded means further comprises a drawer member slidably engageable with the lower housing and configured to slide between an open and a closed position, the drawer member supporting one of the orifices in substantially overlapping position with said exit port. Further, the drawer member is spring loaded to bias the drawer member towards the open position.
In another embodiment, a dispenser is provided wherein a drawer member is capable of sliding between open and closed positions in response to the position of the upper housing. Other configurations provide for a dispenser in which the upper housing is capable of assuming an open position for loading a new paper roll into the dispenser, and a closed position for dispensing paper from a paper roll. In this embodiment, the drawer member is held open by spring action when the upper housing is in the open position and the drawer member is held closed when the housing is in the closed position.
In one aspect of the invention, a dispenser also comprises a means for positioning a disk with said plurality of orifices disposed in the periphery thereof, said disk being rotatably supported on said drawer member. A dispenser also is disclosed in which the spring loaded means is actuated by a coil spring.
In a further aspect of the invention, a dispenser is shown in which the upper housing comprises an inner surface and an outer surface, the inner surface of the housing being capable of engaging and closing the drawer member when the housing is articulated from the open to the closed position. In one embodiment, the dispenser is shown with an exit port extending from said upper housing to said lower housing through which the roll of paper is dispensed from the center of the roll.
In one embodiment, a dispenser is provided in which a drawer member provides a means to minimize pinching of paper when the paper is dispensed through the exit port. In one embodiment, the dispenser is provided in which a coiled spring holds the drawer member against the upper housing when the housing is in the closed or dispensing position.
A dispenser also is provided in which the drawer member is movable from an open position partially extending from said lower housing to a closed position substantially within said lower housing, said means for interchanging said dispensing orifices rotatably affixed to said drawer member.
In another aspect of the invention, a centerflow dispenser is provided for dispensing a coreless rolled web comprising a lower housing above which the rolled web is supported, said lower housing forming a first compartment. Further, an upper housing mounted above said lower housing forms a second compartment. The second compartment contains the rolled web. The first compartment has an opening into said second compartment. A disk rotatably resides within said lower housing. The disk comprises a plurality of orifices of differing diameters disposed through the periphery thereof. An exit port is provided through said lower housing, the rolled web being dispensed from the center of the roll, through said opening and through said exit port. Each of said orifices is capable of being positioned to overlap the exit port by rotation of the disk so that the rolled web can be dispensed through a selected one of said orifices. Further, a spring loaded drawer member is provided within said lower housing.
In a further embodiment of the invention, a method of dispensing a rolled web of paper from a coreless centerflow dispenser is provided. In the invention, a lower housing is provided above which a rolled web is supported, said lower housing forming a first compartment, the lower housing comprising a spring loaded drawer member. In another aspect of the invention, an upper housing is mounted above said lower housing, said upper housing forming a second compartment, said second compartment being configured for containing the rolled web, said first compartment having an
Dority & Manning PA
Kimberly--Clark Worldwide, Inc.
Rivera William A.
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