WO2009075950A1

WO2009075950A1 - Web material dispenser

Info

Publication number: WO2009075950A1
Application number: PCT/US2008/080807
Authority: WO
Inventors: Mike Young; Paul Omdoll
Original assignee: The Colman Group, Inc.
Priority date: 2007-10-22
Filing date: 2008-10-22
Publication date: 2009-06-18

Abstract

A web dispenser comprising a housing maintaining at least one roll of web material therein, a rotatable assembly in said housing having at least three mandrels connected thereto for holding at least one roll of web material to be dispensed and a drive motor for rotating said the rotatable assembly to bring a roll of web material to a dispensing position.

Description

WEB MATERIAL DISPENSER

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional application Ser. No. 60/837,780 filed August 15, 2006 and U.S. application Ser. No. 11/839,231, filed August 15, 2007, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a dispenser for dispensing rolls of flexible sheet material, such as toilet tissue. More particularly, this invention relates to a dispenser for dispensing flexible sheet material which presents the flexible sheet material to a user in an ergonomic manner from preferably multiple staged rolls which advance into dispensing position automatically or selectively by means of a powered drive mechanism. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In institutional and public restrooms, toilet tissue is maintained in some form of dispenser. Traditionally, such tissue is in the form of a standard roll measuring 4 to 6 inches in diameter. Such rolls are generally mounted on the wall of a bathroom stall adjacent a commode to facilitate ease of use by a person occupying the stall.

However, more recently, in an effort to minimize service requirements, toilet tissue has also been provided in a large "jumbo-sized" roll. Jumbo-sized rolls are typically seven to thirteen inches in diameter, as opposed to the traditional-sized rolls which are four to six inches in diameter. Thus, the jumbo-sized rolls can hold about five to twelve times the amount of tissue as the traditional-sized rolls. These jumbo-sized rolls have necessitated much larger dispensers to accommodate them. As an alternative to jumbo-sized rolls, large multiple roll dispensers have been created to store and dispense multiple standard sized toilet tissue rolls. These dispensers are often as large as or larger than the dispensers designed to accommodate jumbo-sized rolls. Examples of such multiple roll dispensers are shown and described in the following patents.

U.S. Patent No. 7,014,140 to Elliot et al. discloses a Ferris wheel type arrangement of three mandrels for holding three rolls of web material. A user selectively rotates the entire Ferris wheel device by hand to bring a new roll into position for dispensing. This means that the user must physically touch the dispenser to replace a depleted roll.

U.S. Patent No. 4,108,513 to Lander discloses a Ferris wheel type arrangement of four mandrels for holding four rolls of web material. Again, a user selectively rotates the entire Ferris wheel device by hand to bring a new roll into position for dispensing. Moreover, a user can jam the dispenser when trying to rotate a new roll into position encouraging the need for a service visit to verify the presence of available material. Thus, in Lander, not only must a user physically touch the dispenser, a user can potentially jam the dispenser by trying to rotate a new roll into position before a prior roll is fully depleted.

U.S. Patent No. 4,557,426 to Siciliano discloses a four roll rotary toilet paper dispenser that provides rolls of paper sequentially through a cabinet to which it is mounted. A user can rotate new rolls into position at will, without regard for how much toilet paper is on the active roll. U.S. Patent No. 5,310,129 discloses a Ferris wheel type arrangement of three mandrels for holding three rolls of web material. The device maintains the rolls in an unbalanced condition to sequentially present the rolls at a dispensing position under the influence of gravity whenever one roll is depleted. However, this approach depends on the use of coreless rolls which release a lockout when the remaining amount of paper on the roll cannot successfully maintain an opposition to a biased lockout mechanism.

U.S. Patent No. 5,636,812 to Conner et al. discloses a Ferris wheel type arrangement of three mandrels for holding three rolls of web material to be dispensed. The rolls are rotated into position by gravity provided that all three mandrels are not occupied. The Ferris wheel is locked out of rotation by a limiting pin which limits the rotation only to the extent of its placement relative to the center of a given roll, hi other words, a roll need not be completely depleted to have a new roll rotate into dispensing position if the limiting pin is not appropriately located.

U.S. Patent No. 6,491,251 to Stanland et al. discloses a Ferris wheel type arrangement of four mandrels for holding four rolls of web material to be dispensed. A user selectively rotates the entire Ferris wheel device by hand to bring a new roll into position for dispensing. The rotation is limited by a mechanical device which prevents rolls of certain a certain size from rotating past the limiter.

In most of these multiple roll dispensers, the user must physically touch the dispenser to change rolls, hi the gravity fed dispensers, the kinds and number of rolls are limited and insuring depletion of a roll is inexact at best.

At the same time as the size of dispensers has been increasing, the size of bathroom stalls has been shrinking to maximize the number of units provided in limited space. This has created space and dispensing issues within the stall. In addition to taking up much of the limited space in the stall, these large sized dispensers are designed so that the axis of rotation of the roll is perpendicular to the restroom wall. This makes it annoying and difficult to withdraw tissue paper. For example, when a new jumbo-sized roll is installed in the dispenser, it is difficult to withdraw tissue paper because full and substantially full jumbo-sized rolls are heavy, and a large force must be applied by pulling the free end or tail of the roll, to rotate the roll. This can be particularly challenging because the user is generally located in the center of the stall such that pulling the paper toward the user's position is unnatural and can undesirably fold or tear the paper. Still further, where the stall includes rails to accommodate handicapped users, the dispenser must either be mounted very high or very low, or the paper dispensed through the rails.

When traditional sized rolls of toilet tissue are employed they too are often angled away from a user depending on their mounting location. As is well known, traditional toilet tissue dispensers dispensing traditional sized rolls of toilet tissue are mounted so that the toilet tissue is dispensed at 90° to the wall on which the dispenser is mounted. If the dispenser is not mounted right next to the user, the paper can end up undesirably folded or torn in a manner similar to that which occurs when a jumbo-sized roll is used and mounted along the wall. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing, the present invention is directed to improved dispensers for rolled sheet material that present the paper to a user in an ergonomic and natural way that minimizes the likelihood of unwanted folding and tearing of the sheet material. In one embodiment of the present invention, a dispenser for dispensing flexible sheet material from jumbo-sized rolls is provided. The dispenser comprises an angled mounting block that is used to mount the dispenser along a wall such that the dispenser housing is angled relative to the wall. This construction permits the dispenser to be mounted slightly out in front of a commode to ease space concerns and yet permit the flexible sheet material to be dispensed directly toward a user in a natural manner without undesirable folding or tearing. This is accomplished while minimizing the protrusion of the dispenser from the wall so as not to impede access to the facilities within the allotted space. Preferably the mounting block and the dispenser housing are configured such that they can by rotated relative to each other to permit the dispenser of the present invention to be mounted on any parallel wall while still maintaining the desired sheet presentation. The mounting block can also be integrated into the dispenser's housing so that the housing itself serves as the means by which the dispenser is mounted at an angle relative to the wall.

In a second embodiment of the present invention, a dispenser for dispensing flexible sheet material from traditional sized toilet paper rolls is provided. As with the jumbo roll embodiment, the dispenser comprises an angled mounting block (or housing) that is used to mount the dispenser along a wall such that the dispenser housing is angled relative to the wall. Preferably the mounting block and the dispenser housing are configured such that they can by rotated relative to each other to permit the dispenser of the present invention to be mounted on any parallel wall while still maintaining the desired sheet presentation. Just as in the first embodiment, the mounting block can also be integrated into the housing. In a third embodiment of the present invention, a powered Ferris wheel type multiple roll storage device is incorporated into a web material dispenser. Preferably a sensor is provided to automatically determine when a roll in the dispensing position is depleted and then to automatically send a signal to a powered drive mechanism which stages a new roll of web material to be dispensed in the dispensing position. This is accomplished without the necessity of a user's intervention; something that tends to make users uncomfortable in restroom settings.

In a fourth embodiment of the present invention, a mandrel assembly, to which multiple mandrels are connected, is rotated about a center hub by a motor drive to index product rolls supported by the mandrels to a dispensing position. The mandrels travel along a raceway that is shaped such that each mandrel, when positioned at the dispensing position, is angled relative to the user. Generally, when a mandrel is positioned at the dispensing position, the mandrel angles toward the center hub and thus away from a user station. The resulting presentment angle provides better access for a user to the product carried by the mandrel when the user is at the user station. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Fig. 1 is a front view of one embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a back view of one embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 3 is a left side view of one embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 4 is a right side view of one embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 5 is a top view of one embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 6 is a bottom view of one embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 7 is a front perspective view of one embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 8 is a front view of one embodiment of the present invention as it would appear if mounted on a wall; and

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a mandrel to be used in conjunction with the present invention;

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 11 is a perspective view of the embodiment shown in Fig. 10 with the front cover removed with web material mounted on the mandrels;

Fig. 12 is a side view of the embodiment shown in Fig. 10 with the cover removed with web material mounted on the mandrels;

Fig. 13 is a perspective view of the embodiment shown in Fig. 10 with the cover removed and without any web material mounted on the mandrels;

Fig. 14 is a perspective view of the embodiment shown in Fig. 10 with the angled mounting block removed;

Fig. 15 is a perspective view of the embodiment shown in Fig. 10 with the cover and rotating block removed and without any web material mounted on the mandrels which are shown unattached but in relative deployment position;

Fig. 16 is a cross section view of the embodiment shown in Fig. 10 taken along line 16-16 of Fig. 17;

Fig. 17 is a front view of the embodiment shown in Fig. 10 without any web material mounted on the mandrels;

Fig. 18 is a right side plan view of the embodiment shown in Fig. 10;

Fig. 19 is a left side plan view of the embodiment shown in Fig. 10;

Fig. 20 is a front elevation view of another embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 21 is a front isometric view of the embodiment shown in Fig. 20 with a cover portion removed;

Fig. 22 is a front isometric view of a mandrel assembly of the invention shown in Figs. 21 and 22;

Fig. 23 is a side elevation view of the mandrel assembly of Fig. 22;

Fig. 24 is a reverse side elevation view of the mandrel assembly of Fig. 22;

Fig. 25 is a top plan view of the mandrel assembly of Fig. 22;

Fig. 26 is an isometric view of the mandrel assembly of Fig. 22 with a center hub removed;

Fig. 27 is an isometric of the center hub of the mandrel assembly shown in Fig. 22;

Fig. 28 is an isometric view of the invention shown in Fig. 20 with two of the mandrels of the mandrel assembly removed to illustrate interconnection of the mandrels to respective arms that are in turn connected to the center hub;

Fig. 29 is a top plan view of the invention shown in Fig. 22 with multiple rolls mounted therein;

Fig. 30 is a rear isometric view of a mandrel assembly according to another embodiment of the invention; and

Fig. 31 is a top schematic view of a dispenser in accordance with the present invention situated relative to a user. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As shown in Figs. 1-8, in one embodiment of the present invention 10, a housing 12 is fitted on an angled mounting block 14. The housing 12 is sized to accommodate at least one roll of web material to be mounted on a mandrel 22 (see Fig. 9).

As shown in Fig. 8, the angled mounting block 14 is designed to be mounted on a wall 26. Preferably, but not necessarily, the mounting block 14 is separable from housing 12 so that it can be mounted independently on a wall 26. Also, preferably, the mounting block 14 can be rotated 180° for mounting on either side wall of an enclosure, so that the presentation of web material from the housing 12 to an end user is substantially the same.

As shown in Figs. 5 and 6, mounting block 14 is wedge shaped and preferably defines an angle θ between 5° and 85°. More preferably the angle θ is between 6 ° and 45° and most preferably between 10° and 15°. The smaller the defined angle, the less the space is taken up by the dispenser 10 when it is mounted on a wall 26. However, greater angles may be more desirable for proper presentment of the contained web material to a user.

The housing 12, is preferably in two pieces with the first inner housing piece 18 capable of being selectively mounted on mounting block 14. Inner housing piece 18 is configured to attach to mounting block 14 in multiple positions so that it can be properly positioned for proper web material presentation regardless of which sidewall to which mounting block 14 is attached. Alternatively, inner housing piece 18 can be rotatably attached to mounting block 14 such that it can be rotated into a desired position and then locked in place. Preferably the pieces rotate relative to each other between 45 and 180 degrees. An external housing piece 16 cooperatively engages inner housing piece 18 to complete and define the housing 12. It is selectively removable in order to place a roll of web material 20 into position on a supporting mandrel 22. The housing 12 has an opening 24 for egress of the contained web material 20. If the web material 20 to be used in the dispenser 10 is not perforated, a cutting blade 11 (see Fig. 10) is juxtaposed relative to the opening 24 to facilitate tearing of the web material.

As shown in Fig. 9, the mandrel 22 has an axially extending presentment 46 curvilinearly contoured to facilitate linear contact with the core of a roll of web material mounted thereon. The mandrel 22 has the shape of a modified elliptic cylinder with a pair of parallel axially extending contact lines 30 and 32. As such, the mandrel comprises a plurality of pairs of contact lines with a first pair of supports providing support when the roll of web material is rotated in one direction and a second pair of supports providing support when the roll of web material is rotated in a second, opposite direction. This construction creates a 2-point contact with the roll core to minimize roll wobble, and minimizes overall friction, resulting in smoother operation. Preferably the mandrel 22 is removably or rotatably connected to inner housing piece 18 so that it can be oriented to properly support a roll of web material as the dispenser 10 is moved from one wall 24 to the opposite wall.

In another embodiment the present invention is configured to accommodate multiple rolls of web material such that it is possible to automatically switch from one roll to the next, hi other words, the present invention is not limited to the dispensing of a single roll of web material, a jumbo roll of web material or the particular configuration of the housing as shown in Figs. 1-8. hi fact, in one alternative embodiment of the present invention shown in Figs. 10-29, rolls are maintained in the dispenser housing such that they are arrayed around a wheel like cars on a Ferris wheel. In one embodiment of the present invention, the Ferris wheel assembly, comprises a round block 150, rotatably mounted relative to the rear housing 114 and guided in place by guide blocks 160. The rotating block 150 has three or four mandrels 122 extending perpendicularly from the block 150 and arrayed substantially evenly around the block 150. The rotating block itself is connected to or integral with a toothed gear 156 that interacts with a drive gear 158 mounted on a motor driven shaft 153 that extends into the angled mounting block 114. The motor 152 is preferably battery operated and rotates the shaft 153 in response to one or more signals from a CPU 154. A sensor, not shown, is preferably provided to detect when a roll of web material in the dispensing position is depleted. When the sensor detects the depletion of the roll 120 in the dispensing position, it sends a signal to the CPU 154 which, in turn, sends a signal to the motor 152 which rotates the rotatable block 150 to move a new roll 120 to the dispensing position. Preferably, the dispenser includes an override switch (not shown) which increments the rotatable block 150 to bring a new roll 120 into dispensing position.

In a still further embodiments of the present invention, rolls are maintained in the dispenser housing in stepped or side-by-side relation. By making mounting block 14 hollow and communicating the hollow portion (not shown) into the space defined by housing 12, additional storage or staging space for one or more reserve rolls of web material can be created more readily facilitating stepped or side-by-side staging of rolls.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, and referring to Figs. 20 through 29, a dispenser 200 includes a track or raceway 202 having a presentment portion 204 together with a mandrel 206 is used to present a roll at an angle generally towards a user and away from a wall to which the dispenser 200 is mounted. The dispenser 200 generally includes a housing 208 comprised of a mounting portion 210 that is mounted in a conventional manner to a wall or other upright member and a cover portion 212 that mates with the mounting portion 210. The cover portion and the mounting portion collectively define a volume in which multiple rolls may be stored and ultimately dispensed via an opening 214.

A mandrel assembly 216 is mounted to the inside surface 218 of the mounting portion 210 and includes the aforementioned mandrel 206 as well as two additional mandrels 220, 222, each of which is capable of supporting a roll. In the illustrated embodiment, the dispenser 200 is capable of holding three separate rolls before the dispenser needs to be replenished. The mandrels 206, 220, and 222 are connected to a hub or spinner 224 by respective arms 226, 228, and 230. The arms 226, 228, and 230 are configured to travel along raceway 202, as will be described more fully below.

Each arm 226, 228, and 230 is connected to the hub by a ball and socket union that allows each of the arms 226, 228, and 230 to pivot independently as the arms travel along the raceway 202. In this regard, each arm 226, 228, and 230 includes a ball 232, 234, and 236 that is received in a corresponding socket, e.g., socket 238 for ball 232, which is formed in the hub 224. While it is desirable to allow the arms 226, 228, and 230 to pivot in response to changes in the raceway 202, it is generally desirable to limit lateral movement of the arms 226, 228, and 230. hi this regard, the hub 224 includes wings 240, 242, 244, 246, 248, and 250, with each arm extending between a pair of the wings. The wings therefore are operative to limit side-to-side movement of the arms 226, 228, and 230.

The raceway 202, as shown in Fig. 25 particularly, provides a generally circular path along which the arms 226, 228, and 230 and thus the mandrels 206, 220, and 222 may travel. However, as shown in Figs. 22-24, the raceway 202 has a presentment portion 204 that results in the mandrels, when positioned at this area of the raceway, to lean inwardly toward the hub 224. More particularly, the raceway 202 includes a base 252 having a planar edge 254 that mounts to the interior surface of the mounting portion 210. Opposite edge 254 is a lip 256 to which the arms 226, 228, and 230 may be slidably mounted. More particularly, each arm includes a mandrel mount 227, 229, and 231, respectively, to which each mandrel is respectively mounted by a respective mounting pin 233. The mandrel mounts 227, 229, and 231 generally have an inverted U-shape that allows the mounts to slide along the raceway 202 as the hub 224 is indexed. This can be likened to a cam follower riding on a cam.

The axial distance between the lip 256 and the edge 254 however is not uniform around the raceway 202. At the presentment portion 204, the distance between the edge 254 and the lip 256 exceeds that generally found around the raceway 202. While the raceway 202 is constructed to provide a gradual inclination to the elevated portion 204 and a gradual declination from the elevation portion 204, for a majority of the raceway, the distance between the edge 254 and the lip 256 is uniform and substantially less than that distance when measured at the elevated portion 204. Thus, the mandrel positioned at the elevated portion 204 is generally angled toward the hub 224 whereas the other mandrels extend normal to the plane of the interior surface of the mounting portion. The presentment portion 204 of the raceway 202 is generally adjacent the opening 214 which is somewhat angled to provide access to a roll mounted to the mandrel positioned at the elevated portion 204. The cover portion 212 generally includes a flared portion 258 that extends away from the mounting portion 210 to define the aforementioned angular oriented opening 214.

Referring now to Fig. 29, it will be appreciated that the mounting portion 210 and the cover portion 212 are sculpted such that wall 211 of the mounting portion 210 (and the corresponding wall of the cover portion 212 that is adjacent wall 211 but not shown in the figure) is angled slightly inward toward the mandrel assembly 216. By this sculpting, a roll mounted to cannot be rotated past wall 211 along the raceway 202 until the roll is (substantially) exhausted. As such, in the illustrated example, mandrel 206 cannot be moved along the raceway 202 until roll Rl has been exhausted sufficiently for the roll to pass behind scalloped wall 211.

Referring now to Fig. 30, a rear isometric view of a mandrel assembly 300 according to another embodiment of the invention is shown. Mandrel assembly 300 is similar to that described with respect to Figs. 20 through 29, except that the configuration of the hub 302 and the arms 304 and 306 are somewhat different. It is noted that the mandrel assembly 300 includes a third arm which is not shown in the figure. The arms support respective mandrels, of which mandrel 308 is only shown in the figure. The hub 302 is rotated by a motor 310 which cause the arms and thus the mandrels to travel along raceway 312, which like the embodiment described with respect to Figs. 20 through 28, includes a presentment portion 314. The motor 310 is powered by a battery pack 316 that in the illustrated embodiment includes first and second batteries 318, 320. It is understood that the mandrel assembly 216 described with respect to Figures 20 through 29 similarly includes a motor and battery back to cause rotation of the hub 224 to cycle placement of the mandrels and thus the rolls supported thereon to the presentment portion of the raceway. It is also recognized that in a preferred embodiment, the motor automatically causes indexing of the hub when a sensor (not shown) detects exhaustion of the roll supported by the mandrel currently positioned at the presentment portion of the raceway.

Referring to Figs. 20-31, the mounting portion 210 of the housing 213 has a substantially flat back 215 for mounting on a wall 217 of an enclosure. The cover portion 212 of the housing 213 preferably has flared portion 258 to accommodate the angle presentment of a full roll of web material mounted on a mandrel 206, 220, or 222 when the roll and the mandrel are in the dispensing position in communication with the opening 214.

As shown in Fig. 31, when mounted on a wall 217, the mandrel 206, 220, or 222 is angled relative to the wall and a user position 219. The angle of the mandrel a is obtuse relative to the wall 217. Preferably, the obtuse angle is between 95° and 175°, more preferably between 100° and 125° and most preferably between 100° and 105°. The angle of the mandrel β relative to the user position 219 is an acute angle. Preferably the acute angle is between 5° and 85°, more preferably the angle is between 6 ° and 45° and most preferably between 10° and 15°.

The present invention may be implemented in a variety of configurations, using certain features or aspects of the several embodiments described herein and others known in the art. Thus, although the invention has been herein shown and described in what is perceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not intended to be limited to the specific features and embodiments set forth above. Rather, it is recognized that modifications may be made by one of skill in the art of the invention without departing from the spirit or intent of the invention and, therefore, the invention is to be taken as including all reasonable equivalents to the subject matter disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A web dispenser adapted to be mounted to a wall, said wall generally adjacent and spaced from a user station, comprising: a housing that generally abuts the wall when the housing is mounted to the wall, the housing defining a presentment window through which web material may be dispensed; a rotatable assembly in said housing having multiple mandrels connected thereto, each of which is configured to hold a roll of web material to be dispensed; a drive assembly configured to rotate the rotatable assembly such that the mandrels are indexed into communication with the presentment window; and wherein each mandrel when at the presentment window is oriented at a presentment angle that is obtuse relative to the wall and acute relative to the user station.

2. The web dispenser of claim 1 wherein the rotatable assembly includes a raceway along which the mandrels travel when the rotatable assembly is rotated by the drive assembly, the raceway having a generally circular shape and having a first portion and a second portion, the first portion being raised relative to the second portion and the first portion generally communicating with the presentment window.

3. The web dispenser of claim 2 wherein the rotatable assembly includes a hub and multiple arms, each arm connecting a corresponding mandrel to the hub, and wherein the drive assembly is configured to rotate the hub.

4. The web dispenser of claim 3 wherein each arm is connected to the hub by a ball and socket joint that allows vertical movement of the arm relative to the hub.

5. The web dispenser of claim 4 wherein the hub includes a set of flanges, and wherein each arm connects to the hub between a pair of flanges, and wherein the flanges limit lateral movement of the arm extending therebetween.

6. The web dispenser of claim 1 wherein the housing is shaped such that a mandrel having a roll of web material loaded thereon cannot be rotated out of communication with the presentment window until the roll has been substantially exhausted.

7. The web dispenser of claim 1 further comprising a sensor for detecting the presence or absence of web material on a roll.

8. The web dispenser of claim 7 wherein said sensor sends a signal to a CPU which sends a signal to said drive assembly to rotate said rotatable assembly to move a new roll of web material into a dispensing position communicating with the presentment window when an existing roll of web material staged at said dispensing position has been substantially exhausted.

9. The web dispenser of claim 1 wherein the housing includes a substantially wedge- shaped mounting block for mounting said housing to the wall at an acute angle relative to said wall.

10. The web dispenser of claim 9 wherein said acute angle is between about 6 and 45 degrees.

11. The web dispenser of claim 1 wherein said housing comprises an inner housing piece and an outer housing piece and wherein said inner housing piece is connected to said rotatable assembly.