Winding – tensioning – or guiding – Coil holder or support – Mounted coil holder or spindle
Reexamination Certificate
2003-05-22
2004-08-17
Rivera, William A. (Department: 3654)
Winding, tensioning, or guiding
Coil holder or support
Mounted coil holder or spindle
Reexamination Certificate
active
06776368
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a device for holding a roll of paper towels on a horizontal surface so that the paper towels can be dispensed efficiently and maintained neatly.
2. Description of the Related Art
Paper towels typically are wound onto a hollow cylindrical cardboard core that has an inside diameter of about 4 cm and a length of about 28 cm. An elongate strip of the paper towels is perforated, typically at 28 cm intervals, and is wound around the core. Thus, rectangular towels can be torn from the roll and used for a variety of household cleaning, drying and wiping chores.
Rolls of paper towels commonly are used in kitchens, and are stored and employed most frequently near a kitchen sink. Additionally, most households prefer to maintain the roll of paper towels in a neat and orderly fashion to enhance the aesthetic appearance of the kitchen. Accordingly, devices are widely employed for storing rolls of paper towels in a manner than enables rectangular sections of the paper towels to be separated from the roll as needed.
Households periodically will want to access paper towels at a location other than a location adjacent the sink. For example, it may be necessary to employ paper towels on a kitchen island where food is being prepared, at a dining counter in a kitchen or at other locations. Additionally, there may be instances where a household will want a kitchen to be especially attractive, and hence will not want the roll of paper towels to be present at all.
Some paper towel holders have a mounting panel and two end panels. The mounting panel has a length approximately equal to the length of the roll of paper towels and the end panels extend perpendicularly from the mounting panel. The end panels each include a central aperture configured to receive a spindle. Paper towel holders of this type are employed by permanently securing the mounting panel to an underside of a cabinet or to a wall so that the end panels project away from the cabinet or wall. The roll of paper towels is positioned between end panels with the central aperture through the core of the roll of paper towels aligned with the apertures through the end panels of the paper towel holder. The spindle then is passed through the first end panel, through the core of the roll of paper towels and then through the second end panel. Thus, the roll of paper towels is rotationally mounted under a cabinet or on a wall, and typically near a sink. This type of prior art paper towel holder functions well. However, many households would prefer not to mount a paper towel holder permanently to a cabinet or wall. Additionally, paper towel holders of this type do not permit the roll of paper towels to be moved from one location to another in a kitchen. Furthermore, paper towel holders of this type do not permit the paper towel holder to be removed from view.
Some paper towel holders are configured to mount vertically on a horizontal surface of a kitchen counter. These paper towel holders typically include a horizontal base with a diameter approximately equal to the diameter of a full roll of paper towels. A spindle projects centrally up from the base and is cross-sectionally dimensioned to telescope into the hollow core of the roll of paper towels. A simple paper towel holder of this type has two drawbacks. First, the free end of the roll of paper towels is likely to unwind partly from the roll and will provide an unsightly appearance. Additionally, forces exerted to tear a paper towel from the roll can tip the entire paper towel holder. The tipping of such a paper towel holder can damage glassware or other fragile items that might be on a kitchen counter. Additionally, such tipping presents an annoyance and inconvenience to the person working in the kitchen.
Several attempts have been made to prevent the above-described paper towel holder from tipping in response to forces generated during the separation of a paper towel from the roll. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,297,750 shows a paper towel holder with a plurality of suction cups mounted to the lower face of the base. Each suction cup includes a downwardly concave surface that can be pressed downwardly against a horizontal surface on a kitchen counter. These downward forces will urge air out from the volume beneath the suction cup. The suction cup then will resiliently return toward its initial position and create a low pressure region beneath each suction cup. The low pressure tends to hold the paper towel holder in position on the kitchen counter. However, a paper towel holder of this type is difficult to move for those situations when it is desired to have the paper towels at a different location in the kitchen.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,405,973 shows a paper towel holder with a single large suction cup mounted to the lower face of the base. The suction cup includes a downwardly concave surface that can be placed on the horizontal surface of the kitchen counter. The entire holder is then pushed down so that air initially trapped beneath the suction cup is urged outwardly. The suction cup then will resiliently return slightly toward its original position, and hence will create a low pressure region beneath the suction cup that holds a paper towel holder in place, in much the same manner as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,297,750. The suction cup of U.S. Pat. No. 6,405,973 also includes an upwardly projecting tab at an outer periphery of the suction cup. The tab can be gripped between a thumb and forefinger and lifted up to release the suction force. Thus, the towel holder can be moved. The towel holder shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,405,973 also includes a side bar that extends parallel to the central spindle. The side bar is intended to minimize the unsightly unwinding of the free end of the roll of paper towels. The towel holder shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,405,973 can be difficult to release from the supporting surface when the roll of paper towels is full or nearly full. In particular, the tab is very near the outer periphery of the roll of paper towels and hence can be difficult to grip conveniently. Furthermore, the tab projecting up through the base of the paper towel holder shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,405,973 is an obtrusive appendage to an otherwise streamlined configuration. Additionally, the side bar shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,405,973 is effective for neatly holding the free end of the roll of paper towels when the roll is full. However, the side bar is less effective when the roll of paper towels is partly depleted. Additionally, the device shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,405,973 requires the inconvenient downward pushing on the device to activate the suction mechanism. The holder shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,405,973 would not work well if the user did not push the entire holder down sufficiently or if the user forgot to push the holder down.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,012,007 shows a suction-mounted paper towel holder that does not require the downward pushing of the entire holder to activate the suction mechanism. Rather, the spindle of the device shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,012,007 includes a movable section that is attached to the suction cup. The movable section can be rotated and cooperates with a helical cam surface to pull the center of the suction cup up. This upward movement of the center part of the suction cup creates a low pressure that holds the suction cup in place. The suction forces can be released by rotating the movable member in the opposite direction to lower the center of the suction cup. The required rotation of the movable member to activate the suction cup is an inconvenience.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,076,527 shows a suction device that can be adapted to a plurality of different articles that require secure retention on a horizontal surface, but also require movement periodically. In particular, U.S. Pat. No. 5,076,527 provides a downwardly concave suction device mounted to the underside of the article that requires support. The suction device includes at least one aperture at a central position for providing air communication to the concave region be
Duncan McKay
Williams Kevin
Casella Anthony J.
Creative Bath Products, Inc.
Hespos Gerald E.
Rivera William A.
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