Winding – tensioning – or guiding – Coil holder or support – Mounted coil holder or spindle
Reexamination Certificate
2000-10-05
2001-08-07
Nguyen, John Q. (Department: 3653)
Winding, tensioning, or guiding
Coil holder or support
Mounted coil holder or spindle
C242S592000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06270035
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a supporting apparatus for a roll of paper towels, toilet tissue or a similar item.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A roll of paper towels loosely situated on a countertop together with other items might be difficult to find and inconvenient to use, e.g., requiring two hands to remove a towel from the roll. A variety of designs of paper towel holders and dispensers have therefore become popular items in households and commercial locations. These designs range from minimalist structures to elaborate devices with sophisticated lock and release mechanisms. U.S. Pat. No. 5,692,639 discloses a design for a paper towel holder that is relatively simple, yet functional and versatile. Its loop allows a user to fasten it temporarily to many types of fixtures, an improvement over several prior art devices that need to be fastened permanently to a surface. Its loop also allows the user to select the height of the towels, a feature that can keep the towels both accessible and out of the way. Its small size is an improvement over prior art devices that are bulky, especially where space is limited. Dual stop elements are an improvement because they allow the user to attach and remove the roll quickly and are simple to manufacture, while providing a novel means for holding the roll when it is in use. The holder is durable and lacks stress points that might otherwise be susceptible to early failure.
It is still desirable for a paper towel holder to be even simpler to use, e.g., by being easier for the user to attach and remove the roll of paper towels, to tear away a sheet of paper towels, and to fasten the paper towel holder to a fixture.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the foregoing background, the apparatus of the present invention has several features. It allows a user to move it easily from one location to another. It has a releasable loop whose novel configuration can fasten temporarily to additional types of fixtures. It engages and disengages a roll of paper towels or tissues quickly. It is inexpensive to manufacture because it requires few parts, all of which are simple to construct and assemble. It occupies little space. It suspends paper towels at a height selected by the user, helping the user maximize workspace. It is lightweight, durable, and aesthetically attractive. It makes tearing off a towel from the roll easy. It accommodates rolls with a wide range of sizes, a useful feature for many of today's extra wide rolls that do not fit onto other holders.
In accordance with the features mentioned above, the apparatus of the present invention has a piece of lanyard or other flexible material fastened along its lower region to an adjoining collar that is between two arms extending outward from the adjoining collar in generally opposite directions. When in use, the lanyard extends through the core of the paper towels, and the roll rests along the arms. Along the upper region of the lanyard are means for fastening the apparatus to any of a variety of fixtures.
In one aspect of the invention, the adjoining collar has a spherical shape. A series of knots and a dual-passage collar, also spherical, along the upper region of the lanyard form an adjustable loop by which the apparatus is hung. Adjusting the loop varies the effective length of the lanyard section, which is typically long enough to give the user an option of positions from which to choose. The dual-passage collar also provides an additional advantage. Namely, its open-sided slot makes the loop releasable by allowing the user to remove the upper region of the lanyard laterally from the open-sided slot. Thus it is possible for the user to fasten the apparatus to additional types of fixtures, such as closet rails that are typically used for hanging clothes.
As a further aspect of the invention, the apparatus can have confining elements at the distal ends of the arms for holding a roll of paper towels therebetween, where each confining element comprises a section of a flexible, resilient material such as heavy monofilament. Each section of monofilament is predisposed to rest against the roll of paper towels to prevent the paper towels from unrolling.
The adjoining collar, arms, and flexible confining elements form a shape that fits through the hollow cylindrical core of most rolls of paper towels and the like. Therefore, to attach the roll of paper towels to the apparatus, the user simply drops the adjoining collar, arms, and confining elements through the core. Alternately, because the dual-passage collar is similarly small enough to fit through the core of most rolls, the user can also drop the dual-passage collar through an inverted core to attach the towels to the apparatus.
The configuration of the apparatus and the economy with which it may be provided make it ideally suited for use in marketing paper towels, toilet tissues and similar items, e.g., by distributing it as a giveaway device or by packing it inside the core of a roll of paper towels or tissues and then selling it together with the roll.
REFERENCES:
patent: 755657 (1904-03-01), Harrington
patent: 1238571 (1917-08-01), Rosenthal
patent: 2256204 (1941-09-01), Jameson
patent: 3988810 (1976-11-01), Emery
patent: 5098055 (1992-03-01), Leonian
patent: 5323995 (1994-06-01), Grittman et al.
patent: 5692639 (1997-12-01), Lahaussois et al.
Nguyen John Q.
Schweitzer Cornman Gross & Bondell LLP
LandOfFree
Supporting apparatus for a roll of paper towels, toilet... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Supporting apparatus for a roll of paper towels, toilet..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Supporting apparatus for a roll of paper towels, toilet... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2507089