Winding – tensioning – or guiding – Coil holder or support – Mounted coil holder or spindle
Reexamination Certificate
2000-06-05
2001-12-11
Walsh, Donald P. (Department: 3653)
Winding, tensioning, or guiding
Coil holder or support
Mounted coil holder or spindle
C242S598500, C242S560300, C242S560000, C242S561000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06328255
ABSTRACT:
The present invention relates to toilet tissue dispensers and, in particular, to methods and apparatus for converting such a dispenser from a concurrent roll dispensing mode to a sequential roll dispensing mode.
Depicted in
FIGS. 1-2
is a prior art toilet paper dispensing unit
10
which is mounted in a divider panel
12
that separates adjacent toilet stalls in a restroom. The dispensing unit
10
comprises a pair of parallel vertical walls
14
,
16
spaced apart to define therebetween an internal chamber. Disposed within the internal chamber are rolls
18
of toilet tissue which project from openings
20
A-D formed in respective walls
14
,
16
to be accessible to users. Each wall includes two openings to dispense two rolls concurrently. One of the walls
14
is hinged along a vertical edge and can be swung open to provide access to the internal chamber for replacement of the rolls, as shown in FIG.
2
.
Since the dispensing unit
10
is built into the divider panel
12
, it may be necessary to replace that unit
10
in the event that it is desired to provide a different type of dispensing mechanism, e.g. a sequential-dispensing mechanism that dispenses a new toilet tissue roll after a previous roll has been used up.
It would be desirable to provide a simpler and less costly way of making such a conversion, and to effect the conversion in a way that can be easily reversed, if desired to return to the original current-dispensing mode.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A method aspect of the present invention involves converting a toilet tissue dispensing mechanism from a concurrent roll dispensing mode to a sequential roll dispensing mode. The tissue dispensing mechanism comprises a unit formed by a pair of parallel vertical walls enclosing an interior chamber therebetween. One of the walls is movable between open and closed positions. Each wall includes vertically spaced openings arranged as such that the openings of each wall are in vertically staggered relationship with the openings of the other wall when the movable wall is closed. Each opening has a roll-mounting structure associated therewith. Each roll-mounting structure is disposed in the chamber and includes a shield mounted for swinging movement between open and closed positions. The method comprises the steps of:
A. opening the movable wall;
B. swinging the shields to their open positions;
C. positioning adapter plates against inside surfaces of respective ones of the walls to cover the openings of the respective walls;
D. closing the movable wall such that the shields are secured in their closed positions, with edges of the shields engaging interior surfaces of respective ones of the adapter plates to push the adapter plates against respective ones of the walls; and
E. attaching sequential roll dispensers to exterior surfaces of respective adapter plates.
An apparatus aspect of the invention relates to a sequential roll dispensing mechanism which comprises a unit formed by a pair of parallel vertical walls enclosing an interior chamber therebetween. One of the walls is movable between open and closed positions. Each wall includes vertically spaced openings arranged such that the openings of each wall are in vertically staggered relationship with the openings in the other wall when the movable wall is closed. Each opening has a roll-mounting structure associated therewith. Each roll-mounting structure is disposed in the chamber and includes a shield mounted to swinging movement between open and closed positions. Adapter plates are positioned against inside surfaces of respective ones of the walls and are pressed thereagainst by edges of the shields. The adapter plates cover the openings in the respective walls. Sequential roll dispensers are mounted to exterior surfaces of respective adapter plates.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3824953 (1974-07-01), Boone
patent: 4004687 (1977-01-01), Boone
patent: 5288032 (1994-02-01), Boone et al.
Hodges Victor M.
Moody John R.
Burns Doane , Swecker, Mathis LLP
Fort James Corporation
Miller Jonathan R.
Walsh Donald P.
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