US3917191A

US3917191A - Paper towel dispenser and transfer mechanism

Info

Publication number: US3917191A
Application number: US391655A
Authority: US
Inventors: Jr Andrew Stuard Graham; Coleman David Berg
Original assignee: Fort Howard Paper Co
Current assignee: Georgia Pacific Consumer Products LP
Priority date: 1972-04-12
Filing date: 1973-08-27
Publication date: 1975-11-04
Anticipated expiration: 1992-11-04

Abstract

A roll paper towel dispenser having stations for primary and reserve rolls of paper toweling. Provision is made for automatic transfer of feed of the paper toweling from the primary roll and then from the reserve roll, the transfer mechanism being operative under the influence of decrease or termination in the tension of the web running from the primary roll to the feed mechanism. Provision is also made for convenient shifting of the roll from the reserve roll station to the primary roll station without the necessity of rethreading the paper web through the feed mechanism.

Description

' United States Patent Graham, Jr. et a]. Nov. 4, 1975 PAPER TOWEL DISPENSER AND 2,668,022 2/1954 Fairfield 242/55.53 TR S MECHANISM 2,930,664 3/1960 Liebisch 242/58 X 5 2,974,839 3/1961 Batlas et a1. 242/58.4 x Inventors: Andrew Stuerd Graham, J 3,288,387 11/1966 Graven, Jr. 242/55.3 x

Wyncote; Coleman David Berg, 3,310,214 3/1967 Nesin Philadelphia, both of Pa. 3,318,547 5/1967 Bejach 3] gneez Fort Howard Paper Company 3,580,757 5/1971 N1epmann 242/58.4 Green Primary ExaminerJ0hn W. Huckert [22 Filed; 27, 1973 Assistant Examiner-John M. Jillions 1 pp NO: 391,655 .ggtrgfy, Agent, or Ftrm Cullen, Settle, Sloman &

Related U.S. Application Data [6 Continuation-impart of Ser. No. 243,230, April 12, [57] ABSTRACT 1972, abandoned. A roll paper towel dispenser having stations for primary and reserve rolls of paper toweling. Provision is [52] U.S. Cl. 242/55.3; 226/11; 226/91; made for automatic transfer of feed of the paper tow- 226/ 186; 242/55.53; 242/58 eling from the primary roll and then from the reserve [51] Int. Cl. B65H 19/04; B65l-I 19/10; roll, the transfer mechanism being operative under the 3 51- 25 00 influence of decrease or termination in the tension of [58] Field of Search 242/553, 55.53, 55.2, the Web running from the p y roll to the feed 242/5 5&4 752 753 7 312 39; 22 44 mechanism. Provision is also made for convenient 17 186, 131 11 91 shifting of the roll from the reserve roll station to the primary roll station without the necessity of rethread- 56 References Cited ing the paper web through the feed mechanism.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 9 Claims, 1 1 Drawing Figures 2,174,802 10/1939 Mullen 242/55.2

US. Patent Nov. 4,1975 Sheet 1 of 3 3,917,191

llllll Ill Illl llllk A- U.S. Patent Nov. 4, 1975 Sheet2 of3 3,917,191

U.S. Patent Nov. 4, 1975 Sheet 3 of3 3,917,191

PAPER TOWEL DISPENSER AND TRANSFER MECHANISM REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation-in-part application of our copending application, Ser. No. 243,230 filed Apr. 12, 1972, now abandoned.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to roll paper dispensers, espe- I cially such dispensers as employed in the dispensing of paper toweling. Moreover, the invention is particularly concerned with roll paper dispensers having at least two paper roll stations, for accommodating primary and reserve paper rolls and in which provision ismade for, automatic transfer of the paper feed from the primary roll and then from the reserve roll at or close to the point of exhaustion of the paper web of the primary. roll. After the feed has been transferred to the reserve roll, the loading or refilling operation involves a shifting in position of the reserve roll to the station previously occupied by the primary roll and a new reserve roll is then inserted in the reserve station.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART Various dispensers of this general kind are already known, and the present invention contemplates an improved arrangement of a dispenser of this kind in which the operation of loading or refilling is greatly simplified as compared with various prior dispensers. For example; whereas in some prior arrangements when the reserve roll is moved to the station of the primary roll (to make room for a new reserve roll) it is necessary to break or tear the paper web and, after insertion of the roll into the primary roll station, the web must be rethreaded through the feed mechanism. This is distinctly inconvenient. In addition, various of the prior known arrangements require displacement of several parts of the mechanism in order to permit re-threading of the dispenser and, for practical purposes, it is not feasible to use dispenser equipment of any type where the rethreading operation is complex or inconvenient.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION In accordance with the present invention the dispenser automatically transfers from the primary to the reserve roll under the influence of termination of tension' in the web of paper running from the primary roll to the feed and dispensing mechanism, so that the transfer will occur when the primary is exhausted or when the web of the primary roll is broken. It is an objective of the invention to provide for the shifting of the position of the reserve roll to the primary roll station,

merely by moving the reserve roll to the station forposition, i.e., to provide for feed of the web from either the upper or lower side of the roll. This further simplifies re-threading and assures that proper operation will be maintained regardless of the position in which the rolls are inserted.

In the second embodiment of the transfer mechanism of this invention, an element is employed for moving I the reserve web into the feed mechanism which includes a laterally movable element capable of positional self-adjustment, such that the reserve paper web is brought accurately into the feed nip formed by the feed rollers. This improvement provides maximum reliability in the transfer of function. Further, in this embodiment, a novel means for mounting the primary roll is provided which maintains the tension in the web extended from the primary roll, thereby insuring the feed of the web from the primary roll until exhaustion. Again, the transfer mechanism will feed the web of the reserve roll if the web of the primary roll is accidently broken.

Other advantages and meritorious features of the disclosed invention will be more fully understood from the description of the preferred embodiments, the appended claims and the drawings, a description of which follows:

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 illustrates a preferred form of the dispenser in vertical section, this view being taken as indicated by the section line l-1 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 2 is a horizontal sectional view taken as indicated by the section line 2-2 to FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 1 but illustrating the condition where only a small amount of the roll remains.

FIG. 4 is a similar view but showing the shift in position of the upper roll to the lower or primary roll station.

FIG. 5 is a similar view but further illustrating the in-.

sertion of a new reserve roll inv the upper station.

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5 but illustrating the condition after exhaustion of the paper on the lower roll and transfer of the feed to the roll in the upper station.

FIG. 7 illustrates another embodiment of the towel dispenser of this invention in vertical section.

FIG. 8 is a horizontal sectional view of the elements of the dispenser shown in FIG. 7, in the direction of view arrows 88 in FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a vertical section view, similar-to FIG. 7, il-' lustrating a condition in the dispenser when the primary roll is nearing exhaustion and has been moved to the lower or primary roll station, with a new reserve roll placed in the reserve roll station.

FIG. 10 is an isometric view of the portion of the transfer mechanism shown'in FIGS. 8 and 9, and

FIG. 11 is an isometric view of the mounting bracket for the primary roll in the primary station.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 6, the dispenser is provided with a back wall 7, which is usually fastened to a support,

side walls

8,8, and a cover comprising a front wall 9 and a top wall 10; the cover being pivoted in the remaining cabinet structure by means of pivots 11,11 so that the cover may be swung upwardly and thus fully expose the interior of the cabinet.

The cabinet is provided with stations for accommodating primary and reserve paper rolls, it being understood that these terms primary and reserve are used to refer respectively to the roll which is respectively supplying the paper toweling and to the roll which is in reserve for subsequent dispensing of the paper toweling.

The station for the primary roll is provided in the cabinet by a cabinet wall 12 inclined upwardly and forwardly from the lower edge of the back wall of the cabinet. This forms a pocket in the back rear corner of the cabinet for accommodating the primary roll, for instance, the roll indicated at P in FIGS. 4 and 5. The lateral position of the primary roll in the primary roll station may be established by angle brackets having lower portions 13 overlying and secured to the inclined wall 12 and further having upright portions 14 positioned just beyond the ends of the primary roll.

The reserve paper roll station is established by a pair of

bent wire elements

15,15 one end of each of which is fastened as at 16 to the inner surface of the back wall 7, these wire supports having inwardly bent portions 17 adapted to be inserted into ends of the core C. A roll such as the paper supply roll indicated at S in FIG. 1 may readily be mounted in the reserve paper station or removed therefrom merely by outwardly flexing the wire supports 15.

The channels or throat through which the paper is delivered from the cabinet is indicated at 18, being formed between a forward, upward bent edge 12a of the inclined wall 12 and the transverse strip or bracket 19 provided to support the paper feed mechanism. The paper feed mechanism includes the drive roller 20 and the pressure roller 21, the latter preferably having rubber rings or friction material thereon cooperating with the drive roller 20 in the feed of the paper in a manner which is well understood in this art. The drive roller 20 is provided with an operating handle 22 extended through the adjacent side wall of the cabinet to a position for convenient access (see FIG. 2).

With the cabinet in the condition illustrated in FIG. 1, a supply roll of paper S is shown as mounted by the spring supports with its web 23 extended from the roll around the forward portion of the pressure roller 21 into and through the nip between the

rollers

20 and 21 and thence downwardly through the dispensing throat 18. In FIG. 1 only a single roll is shown and this may be considered as representing an initial loading condition of the cabinet; the roll S occupying the reserve roll station. After use of some appreciable quantity of paper from the roll S, for instance when the roll has been diminished to the size indicated at P in FIG. 3, this roll which may be considered as the primary roll, is then moved to the primary roll station, in which the roll is illustrated in FIG. 4. For the purpose of accomplishing this shift of this roll P from the position illustrated in FIG. 3 to the position illustrated in FIG. 4, the friction or pressure foot 24 is pivoted upwardly about the pivot 25. The friction device 24 is shown in lowered position in FIGS. 1 and 4 but in the upwardly pivoted position in FIG. 3. A pair of

springs

26,26 serves to urge the friction device 24 downwardly when it has been pivoted in the downward direction and serves also to retain the device 24 in its upwardly pivoted position as shown in FIG. 3, because of the over center relationship of the spring to the axis of the pivots 25.

Referring again to FIG. 3, when the device 24 is in its up position as there shown, it will be seen that the pri mary roll P may then readily be removed from the spring supports 15 and dropped into the primary roll station as shown in FIG. 4, whereupon the device 24 may be dropped to its lower positionas is also shown in FIG. 4.

Attention is now called to the primary roll P in the primary station, as in FIG. 4. The web 23 of this roll ex:

tends under the friction or pressure foot 24a of thede- I vice 24 and thence over a feeler or sensing rolleror device'27. This device is mounted by means of a pair of double ended arms 28 which are pivoted at 29,29 on. the

brackets

30,30 projecting upwardly from the support 19.

The double ended arms 28 also carry the transfer roller 31, the purpose and functions of which will be described below.

With the cabinet in the condition illustrated in FIG.

4, an attendant may also introduce a reserve roll of paper indicated at R in FIG. 5. This roll is mounted in the reserve paper station provided by the spring supports 15, and the leading end of the web 32 is drawn downwardly and introduced between the transfer roll 31 and the pair of

feed rollers

20 and 21 as is illustrated. 1

in FIG. 5. In this condition illustrated in FIG. 5, feed of the paper will continue drawing the web 23 fromthe primary roll P and the web 32 from the reserve roll R occurs when the trailing end of the web 23 leaves the core C of the primary roll. At that time the

springs

33,33 acting on the double ended arms 28 move the double ended arms about the pivots 29 to the position shown in FIG. 6. In consequence, the leading end of the web 32 of the reserve roll is delivered by the transfer roller 31 into the nip between the feed rollers .20 and 21, with the result that the paper feed now occurs by withdrawing the web 32 from the roll which had been occupying the position of the reserve roll. This condi tion again continues until the roll R is moved to the primary roll station, as in FIG. 4. It will be understood that the empty core C of the roll which had previously been in the lower or primary station will be removed and discarded before the roll R is transferred from the reserve station to the primary station. It is understood that the tension in the web 23 may also be interruptedif the 1 web is broken. In this case, the transfer mechanism will automatically begin feeding the web 32 from the reserve roll, asshown in FIG. 5.

The embodiment of the dispenser shownin FIGS. 7 to 11 maybe similar in many details to the dispenser shown in FIGS. 1 to 6 with the improvements described below. As described above, the cabinet for the dispenser includes a back wall 106, side walls 107,107 and top and

bottom walls

108 and 109, respectively. A displaceable lid or closure 110 is pivotally connected with the remainder of the cabinet by pivots indicated at 111. The lid is thus capable of being opened by swinging the lid outwardly and downwardly to expose the interior of the cabinet in order to provide for shifting of the re-.

serve or upper roll to the lower or primary roll station n and for loading a new reserve roll, as described above in regard to FIGS. 1 to 6. The toweling is delivered from the cabinet through a dispensing opening pro vided in the lower forward corner of the cabinet, be-

tween the bottom wall 109 andthe closure 110, as indicated at 112 in FIGS. 7 and 9.

Rolls of toweling, for example paper toweling, commonly have a central core by means of which the roll may be mounted. In the upper portion of the cabinet, a pair of spring arms 113 are mounted on the back wall 106 and extend forwardly to carry; roll mounting elements 114 which are configured to be received in the ends of the roll core and provide a mounting axis for a roll of paper or the like in the upper portion of the cabinet. This mounting establishes the] station for the re.- serve roll of paper, asdescribed above. In FIG.. 7, only single roll S of paper is illustrated, with the web W thereof extending downwardly to and through the feed' mechanism described below. I

The feed mechanism comprises a pair of

feed rollers

115 and 116, similar to the

feed rollers

20 and 21 in FIGS. 1 to 6. Feed roller 116 is provided with a shaft having an operating crank or handle 117 projecting of one side of the cabinet (see FIG. 8) providing for manual activation of the feed rollers ifiTh'e roller 116 is therefore the driven roller and advantageously the roller 115 comprises a pressure rolle,r,. preferably having rubber rings or friction material, as described above, cooperating with the drive roller 116 in the feed of toweling in the manner as described above and understood in this art.

It will be seen from FIG. 7'that theweb W of the roll S is threaded downwardly in front of the roller 115 and then rearwardly through the nip provided between the

rollers

115 and 116 from which the web extends downwardly and forwardly in front of the. paper guide 118, to be delivered from the cabinet through the dispensing opening 112. p

As described above and shown in FIG. 7, the paper web from the roll S first passes in front of the roller 119 and then downwardly to a pair of

feed rollers

115 and 116. The roller 119 is mounted on a-=rod or shaft 120 (see also FIG. 10). The rod 120 includes arms 121, 12 l which are pivotally mounted a122, 122. The rods are further extended beyond the pivot points, as indicated at 123, 123 in FIG. 4, in order to mount the shaft 124 by means of which the roller 125 is carried. The parts 119 to 125 comprise the transfer-mechanism and this assembly is biased about the axis provided by pivots 122,122 to the position shown in'FIG. 7 by means of springs 126, one of which is associated with the parts adjacent the pivots at each side of the cabinet, as described above and shown in FIGS. 7 and 8.

The operation of this embodiment of the dispenser to feed the web RW of the reserve roll R when the primary roll P is exhausted has been described above and need not be described here in detail. Briefly, when some appreciable quantity 'of the paper from roll S has been dispensed (see FIG. 7) its diameter will be reduced so that it may readily be accommodated by the lower of primary roll station provided in the lower back of the cabinet. This partially used roller is shown in the primary roll station and is indicated in FIG. 9 by the letter P. In this lower or primary station, the roll is mounted by means of a pair of

core'engaging elements

127, 127, see also FIG. 11. These elements are mounted by means of spring armsj"l28,128, each of which has a spring loop 129. The spring arms 128 are mounted on the back wall of the cabinet by brackets 130 and in this way the arms ares upported and in posi tion in which they are urged inwardly towards each other, at opposite ends. The elements 127,127 frictionally engage the ends of the roll core, thereby imposing drag upon the paper web being dispensed from the roll in this station, eliminating the requirement of a pressure foot, as shown at 24 in FIGS. 3 to 6. The use of the friction or drag on the primary roll P cooperates with the paper feed mechanism, including the hand operated lever 117 in establishing tension in the web W from the primary roll. That is, the run of the web from the roll in the primary station to the feed mechanism is tensioned and displaces the trigger or feeler 119 to the position illustrated in FIG. 9. In consequence of this, the transfer roll 125 is displaced forwardly, away from and out of the nip between the feed rollers and l 16. i

When servicing the dispenser, the attendant places a fresh roll in the upper station, as described above, which is the reserve station, as shown at R in FIG. 9. Roll R comprises the reserve roll from which the web RW will be fed when the web from the primary roll is exhausted or the tension in the web is broken. It will be seen from FIG. 9 that the web RW is initially drawn downwardly with its leading end loosely inserted between the transfer roll and the feed mechanism, as described above. With the parts in this position, the web RW will not be dispensed, but the leading end will merely remain adjacent the feed mechanism preparation for delivery.

As described above, when the web W of the primary roll P is completely exhausted or the tension in the web is interrupted, the springs 126 acting on the transfer assembly parts 119 to 125, inclusive, cause'the trigger or feeler 119 to rise from the position shown in FIG. 9 to the position shown in FIG. 7. The transfer roller 125 will move rearwardly, forcing the web RW into the nip between the

feed rollers

115 and 116, thus initiating the dispensing of the web from the reserve roll. This condition will then continue until the attendant again services the cabinet, at which time he will remove the core of the primary roll and reposition and reserve roll from the upper or reserve station to the lower or primary station as described above.

It will be noted, particularly from FIGS. 7, 9 and 10, that the transfer roller 125, which is mounted on the rod 124, has an internal diameter substantially larger in diameter than the external diameter of the rod 125. In the disclosed embodiment, the internal diameter of the transfer roller is approximately twice the external diameter of the rod 124. The mounting of the transfer roller in this manner provides for self-adjustment movement of the transfer roller to accurately fit and engage in the feed nip between the feed rollers 1 15 and 116. Consequently, the web of the reserve roll is brought accurately into engagement with the feed nip and this enhances reliability of the transfer function. The arrangement of this transfer element to have the capability of self-adjustment movement is highly advantageous and compensating for manufacturing inaccuracies and permits the utilization of the relatively simple and inexpensive wire construction shown in FIG. 11.

of the cabinet, in the space behind the feed and transfer mechanisms.

It will be seen from the description of the embodiments above that the towel dispenser of this invention is exceedingly simple and reliable and has the further advantage that the transfer of feed from one roll to another normally occurs only at a point very close to the end of the primary roll, thus avoiding paper waste incident to feed of a portion of the leading end of the reserve roll web along with a portion of the trailing end of the primary roll web.

Further, the reserve roll may be transferred from the reserve roll station to the primary roll station without rethreading of the web through the feed rollers and in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 7 to 11, the reserve roll may be transferred without any adjustment of the internal mechanism.

We claim:

1. A towel dispenser for sequentially dispensing toweling from rolls supported within the dispenser, comprising:

a first roll station for rotatably supporting a first towel roll, a second roll station for rotatably supporting a second towel roll, spaced from said first station, a feed mechanism spaced from said roll stations receiving the web from either of the towel rolls and dispensing the toweling, tensioning means longitudinally tensioning an unsupported free travel portion of the first towel web between said first towel station and said feed mechanism when feeding said first towel roll, and a transfer means for transferring the web of the towel roll in the second station to said feed mechanism when the tension in the web of the towel roll in said first station is broken, and a sensing means biased against said longitudinally tensioned free travel portion of the first towel web for sensing the longitudinal tension therein and responsive to a loss in the longitudinal tension in said free travel portion in the first towel web to actuate said transfer means and deliver the web of the second towel roll to said feed mechanism and thereby initiate dispensing of said second towel roll.

2. The towel dispenser defined in claim 1 characterized in that said tensioning means rotatably supports the opposed ends of a towel roll within said first towel station and is resiliently tensioned inwardly to restrict the free rotation of the towel roll and tension the web between the roll and said feed mechanism.

3. The towel dispenser defined in claim 1, characterized in that said feed mechanism includes a pair of parallel, engaging feed rollers, at least one of which is rotatably driven to feed a toweling web from the dis penser and said transfer means including a transfer roller normally spaced from said feed rollers when the rollers are dispensing the web of the first towel roll and receiving the web of the second towel roll between said transfer roller and said feed roller, said transfer roller then biased between the feed rollers by said sensing means to begin feeding the second towel roll web.

4. The towel dispenser defined in claim 3, characterized in that said transfer roller is loosely received on a shaft parallel to the axis of rotation of said feed rollers to permit internal adjustment and alignment of said transfer roller between said feed rollers, providing equal pressure against said feed rollers.

5. A device for dispensing paper from .rollscomprising a cabinet having a dispensing opening, paper feed means engageable with the paper to deliver the paper from the interior of the cabinet through the dispensing opening, the cabinet having a station fora primary paper roll from which the paper web extends in a run to the feed means having an unsupported longitudinally tensioned free travel portion, the cabinet also having a station for a reserve paper roll located above the stameans and the station for the primary roll and below the path of said primary web run, the feeler being biased in an upward direction against said longitudinally. tensioned free run of the primary roll web and being responsive to reduction in tension in the primary web to activate the urging means to effect engagement of the reserve web with the feed means.

6. A device as defined in claim 5 in which the cabinet is provided with a substantially unobstructed passage through which a roll may be moved from the reserve station to the primary station without disengaging the paper web from the feed means.

7. A device as defined in claim 5 and further including means for applying drag on the primary web and thereby maintain tension therein until the primary roll is exhausted.

8. A device for dispensing paper from rolls compris ing a cabinet having paper feed means comprising a pair of feed rolls rotatably engaging and forming a 7 paper feed nip, the cabinet having a station for a primary paper roll from which the paper web extends in a run into said feed means nip, the cabinet also having a station for a reserve paper roll from which the paper web extends in a run to a point adjacentsaid nip, a.

mechanism for introducing the reserve paper web into said nip comprising a roller loosely mounted on a shaft generally parallel to said feed rolls and means moving said roller into said feed means nip upon exhaustion of said primary roll, said loosely mounted roller then floating on said shaft to assure accurate engagement with said feed rolls.

9. A towel dispenser for sequentially dispensing tow eling from a primary towel roll located at a first roll sta-.

tion and a secondary towel roll located at a second roll station spaced from said first station, comprising afeed means spaced from both said towel roll stations and adapted to feed toweling from said dispenser, the towel web of the primary roll being longitudinally tensioned.

in an unsupported free travel portion betweensaid primary roll and said feed means when a toweling web is being dispensed from said primary roll, sensing means contacting said free travel portion of said primary towel web to sense the longitudlnal tension therein, a transfer roller normally spaced from said feed means by said sensing means, the web of said secondary roll being interposed between said transfer roller and said feed means, and means interconnecting said sensing means and said transfer roller adapted to displace the transfer roller to the feed means, delivering the interposed web of said secondary roll into feeding relation withsaid A feed means thereby dispensing the web of said secondary towel roll by said feed means when the longitudinal tension in saidfree travel portion of said primary roll.

web is lost by virtue of either l) exhaustion of the primary roll web or (2) breakage of the primary roll web.

Claims

1. A towel dispenser for sequentially dispensing toweling from rolls supported within the dispenser, comprising: a first roll station for rotatably supporting a first towel roll, a second roll station for rotatably supporting a second towel roll, spaced from said first station, a feed mechanism spaced from said roll stations receiving the web from either of the towel rolls and dispensing the toweling, tensioning means longitudinally tensioning an unsupported free travel portion of the first towel web between said first towel station and said feed mechanism when feeding said first towel roll, and a transfer means for transferring the web of the towel roll in the second station to said feed mechanism when the tension in the web of the towel roll in said first station is broken, and a sensing means biased against said longitudinally tensioned free travel portion of the first towel web for sensing the longitudinal tension therein and responsive to a loss in the longitudinal tension in said free travel portion in the first towel web to actuate said transfer means and deliver the web of the second towel roll to said feed mechanism and thereby initiate dispensing of said second towel roll.

3. The towel dispenser defined in claim 1, characterized in that said feed mechanism includes a pair of parallel, engaging feed rollers, at least one of which is rotatably driven to feed a toweling web from the dispenser and said transfer means including a transfer roller normally spaced from said feed rollers when the rollers are dispensing the web of the first towel roll and receiving the web of the second towel roll between said transfer roller and said feed roller, said transfer roller then biased between the feed rollers by said sensing means to begin feeding the second towel roll web.

5. A device for dispensing paper from rolls comprising a cabinet having a dispensing opening, paper feed means engageable with the paper to deliver the paper from the interior of the cabinet through the dispensing opening, the cabinet having a station for a primary paper roll from which the paper web extends in a run to the feed means having an unsupported longitudinally tensioned free travel portion, the cabinet also having a station for a reserve paper roll located above the station for the primary roll from which the paper web extends to a point adjacent to the feed means, and mechanism for effecting transfer of paper feed from the primary roll to the reserve roll comprising means for urging the reserve roll web from its position adjacent to the feed means into operative engagement with the feed means, and means for activating said urging means including a web feeler positioned between the feed means and the station for the primary roll and below the path of said primary web run, the feeler being biased in an upward direction against said longitudinally tensioned free run of the primary roll web and being responsive to reduction in tension in the primary web to activate the urging means to effect engagement of the reserve web with the feed means.

8. A device for dispensing paper from rolls comprising a cabinet having paper feed means comprising a pair of feed rolls rotatably engaging and forming a paper feed nip, the cabinet having a station for a primary paper roll from which the paper web extends in a run into said feed means nip, the cabinet also having a station for a reserve paper roll from which the paper web extends in a run to a point adjacent said nip, a mechanism for introducing the reserve paper web into said nip comprising a roller loosely mounted on a shaft generally parallel to said feed rolls and means moving said roller into said feed means nip upon exhaustion of said primary roll, said loosely mounted roller then floating on said shaft to assure accurate engagement with said feed rolls.

9. A towel dispenser for sequentially dispensing toweling from a primary towel roll located at a first roll station and a secondary towel roll located at a second roll station spaced from said first station, comprising a feed means spaced from both said towel roll stations and adapted to feed toweling from said dispenser, the towel web of the primary roll being longitudinally tensioned in an unsupported free travel portion between said primary roll and said feed means when a toweling web is being dispensed from said primary roll, sensing means contacting said free travel portion of said primary towel web to sense the longitudinal tension therein, a transfer roller normally spaced from said feed means by said sensing means, the web of said secondary roll being interposed between said transfer roller and said feed means, and means interconnecting said sensing means and said transfer roller adapted to displace the transfer roller to the feed means, delivering the interposed web of said secondary roll into feeding relation with said feed means thereby dispensing the web of said secondary towel roll by said feed means when the longitudinal tension in said free travel portion of said primary roll web is lost by virtue of either (1) exhaustion of the primary roll web or (2) breakage of the primary roll web.