Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
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Title: Dual-Mount Roll Dispenser
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a dispenser for absorbent
sheet products contained in roll form within a dispenser
body, preferably paper towels.
2. Description of Related Art
Paper towel dispensers in which the towels are
supplied in roll form are widely used in commercial
establishments and have the advantage of relatively high
capacity, and thus a less frequent need to replace the
rolls. Most commercial paper towel rolls are eight
inches in diameters, with others being six inches.
Therefore, most roll dispensers, if mounted on a wall,
will project outward from the wall in excess of eight
inches, taking into account that the surrounding housing
structure will be at least slightly deeper than the
diameter of the paper roll contained therein.
On the other hand, the Americans with Disabilities
Act (ADA) mandates that when a building or facility is
under construction or undergoing significant alterations
strict guidelines must be observed to ensure that it is
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accessible to and usable by individuals with
disabilities. In particular, buildings and facilities
must follow the ADA Accessibility Guidelines for
Buildings and Facilities (ADAAG) which, among a variety
of other requirements, specify that no objects may
protrude beyond four inches in the space between 27 and
80 inches above the walking surface along a walkway,
corridor or other path of travel, unless a lower-lying
structure is provided that will serve as a cane stop to
alert an approaching visually impaired individual.
Roll dispensers in public facilities might be
regarded as being along a "path of travel" when installed
in public restrooms or the like, and there is therefore a
demand for roll dispensers that are ADA-compliant, in
that they project no more than four inches from the wall
on which they are mounted. This requires the dispenser
to be recessed with the wall by four or more inches, or
recessed within an in-built cabinet in the wall. Certain
roll dispenser suppliers provide specially designed
dispensers made to be recess-mounted, which requires them
to design and stock another product in addition to their
wall-mounted roll dispenser. Such recess-specific
dispensers are unsuitable for wall mounting (i.e., not
recessed mounting), because the structure intended to be
received within the wall is made of stamped metal that
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has a variety of sharp edges and abrupt protuberances,
which are unacceptable for safety reasons within publicly
accessible spaces.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the invention to
address and alleviate, at least in part, the
disadvantages described above in connection with the
prior art, by providing a dual-mount roll dispenser
comprising a dispenser body and a cover; the dispenser
body comprising a rear portion comprising top, bottom and
side surfaces and a rear mounting surface, the rear
portion being adapted to at least partially receive a
roll of absorbent sheet products to be disposed within
the dispenser, such a roll having a diameter of at least
about six inches, a first hinge structure and a first
lock structure; the cover comprising a second hinge
structure engaging the first hinge structure to secure
the cover to the dispenser body while permitting the
cover to be opened for service of the dispenser or
replacement of a roll of absorbent sheet products
therein, and a second lock structure adapted to engage
the first lock structure to secure the cover in a closed
position, wherein the cover has a horizontal projection
not exceeding about four inches when the cover is closed
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and when the dispenser is oriented with the rear mounting
surface disposed vertically, the top, bottom and side
surfaces of the rear portion of the dispenser body being
outwardly free of sharp edges.
Preferably, the dispenser body further comprises a
flange along at least one of the top, bottom and side
surfaces of the rear portion, the flange projecting
outwardly from the rear portion.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Other objects, features and advantages of the
invention will become more apparent after reading the
following detailed description of preferred embodiments
of the invention, given with reference to the
accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment
of a dispenser according to the present invention;
Figure 2 is a side view showing the dispenser
according to Fig. 1;
Figure 3 is a sectional view seen from the same side
as in Fig. 2;
Figure 4 is a view from the underside of the
dispenser of Fig. 1; and
Figure 5 is a view of the rear mounting surface of
the dispenser of Fig. 1.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
In Figure 1, it can be seen that the dispenser 1
comprises a cover 2 and a body portion 3. The cover 2 is
pivotally mounted to the body portion 3 via pivot pins 8
that pass through complementary aligned openings in the
cover 2 and body portion 3, although another hinge type
or other pivotal mounting structure could also be used.
The term "hinge structure" is used broadly in this
specification and claims to designate any structure that
allows the cover to be pivotally mounted to the body
portion. The cooperating hinge structures could also
take the form of bosses formed on the dispenser body that
fit within openings formed on the cover.
With the cover closed as shown in Fig. 1, it is held
in place by a lock 7, which involves a conventional
locking structure engaging with a cooperating locking
structure on the body portion 3.
Cover 2 includes a dispensing opening 5, a
transparent window 4, and a sensor indicator 6. In the
depicted embodiment, the dispenser is a powered hands-
free dispenser, of the type in which a sensor disposed
behind the sensor indicator 6 detects the presence of a
user's hand, and in response to that detection
automatically dispenses a predetermined or adjustable
length of paper towel, which the user then tears off by
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pulling the towel against the cutting blade disposed
inside the dispenser housing. The type of sensing is not
limited in this invention, and could be for example
passive or active infrared sensing, or capacitive
proximity sensing.
However, the invention can also be embodied in roll
dispensers of other types, for example the so-called
"hands-free mechanical" type of dispenser, in which the
user provides the dispensing power by pulling the next
sheet out of the dispenser by its protruding tail; as
well as roll dispensers in which the user causes the roll
to dispenses by actuating a mechanical lever or the like.
The roll of absorbent sheet material to be dispensed
from the dispenser may either be a continuous imperforate
roll, which is detached from the roll by the user pulling
the dispensed sheet against a cutting blade, or may
instead be a partially pre-cut web in which the force of
the user pulling on the dispensed sheet serves to sever
the tabs that connect the dispensed sheet to the next
sheet to be dispensed, as is common in hands-free
mechanical dispensers. Those pre-cuts can be made either
during manufacturing converting of the roll, or in-situ
by a blade in the dispenser that pre-cuts the tail of the
sheet as it is being dispensed.
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The term Aabsorbent sheet products@ as used herein
embraces not only paper products such as paper napkins,
but also absorbent nonwoven materials not normally
classed as papers or tissues. Such nonwoven materials
include pure nonwovens and hybrid nonwoven/pulp webs.
Cover 2 is mainly opaque or translucent, except in
the area of the window 4, which is transparent. Cover 2
and body portion 3 are both preferably made by injection
molding of plastic, and it is preferred that the cover 2
with its window 4 be formed by two-shot injection molding
so as to enhance the structural integrity of the window 4
within the cover 2.
The body portion 3 comprises a rear portion that is
in this embodiment generally parallelepiped, in that the
side surfaces are generally parallel to one another, the
top and bottom surfaces are generally parallel to each
other, the top and bottom surfaces are generally
perpendicular to the side surfaces, and the rear mounting
surface is generally perpendicular to the top, bottom and
side surfaces. This structure facilitates a recessed
mounting in an orthogonal wall cut-out or framing rough-
in. The outward corners of this rear portion are
nevertheless rounded, and the rear portion is otherwise
free of sharp edges or abrupt protuberances. The
dispenser 1 of this embodiment is therefore uniquely
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suited not only for recess mounting in an ADA-compliant
environment, but also for wall mounting in an environment
or under conditions where the four inch restriction of
the ADA does not apply.
Referring now to Fig. 2, it can be seen that the
cover 2 extends rearwardly of the dispenser body a
greater distance at a top portion thereof than at a
bottom portion thereof, such that the cover has a
generally lenticular shape as viewed from the side.
The body portion 3 is formed with a flange 9 that
provides a positive stop for the cover 2 when it is
closed. The flange 9 in this embodiment extends along
the top side of the body portion 3 and downwardly along
its vertical sides; however, it is sufficient that the
flange 9 extend along at least one side of the body
portion 3. The portion of flange 9 extending along the
top of the body portion 3 also provides a dual function
of acting as a stop limiting the extent to which the
dispenser body may be recessed in a recess-mounting
application, with the broken line 11 in Fig. 2 signifying
an outer wall surface, with the part of the dispenser to
the left of the broken line 11 being recessed within a
wall or cabinet structure, and the portion of the
dispenser to the right of line 11 projecting from the
wall surface. Thus, the horizontal projection of the
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cover to the right of line 11, including the thickness of
the flange, taken with the rear mounting surface 10 of
the body portion 3 oriented vertically as shown in Fig.
2, is not greater than four inches. To the extent that
the projection is less than four inches, then in a recess
mounting application the dispenser need not be recessed
all the way to the flange 9.
It is also apparent in Fig. 2 that hinge structures
8 are located adjacent bottom side corners of the
dispenser body and the cover, respectively. The forward
location of the hinge structures, together with the shape
of the lid, permits the cover to be opened a full 180 for
replacement of a roll, even when the dispenser body is
recess mounted to the flange 9. It is not necessary that
the cover have sufficient clearance to open a full 180 ,
but rather that the cover be able to open far enough in a
recess mount environment to permit a new roll of
absorbent sheet product to be installed.
Fig. 3 shows how the dispenser according to the
invention accommodates a little more than half of an
eight-inch roll 12 of absorbent sheet products in the
body portion 3, with a little less than half of the roll
diameter projecting into the cover portion 2. Element 13
in Fig. 3 is a stub roll, that is, a mostly used-up roll
that will be dispensed with the first part of the fresh
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roll 12, whereas 14 is the shaft of the dispensing
roller.
In Figure 4, the dispensing opening 5 and hinge
structures 8 are more clea.rly visible as shown from
below.
In Figure 5, the rear mounting surface 10 is shown
in detail. A variety of elongated openings 15 are
provided, which provide flexibility in mounting the
dispenser whether in a wall mount or recess mount
application. Element 16 is a business card holder
integrally molded with the rear mounting surface of the
dispenser body and facing inwardly of the dispenser.
This permits the salesman who places the dispenser to
leave his card in the dispenser itself, not viewable by
customers, but easily accessible to the proprietor of the
establishment in which the dispenser is placed, when he
or she goes to replace a roll of sheet material.
While the present invention has been described in
connection with various preferred embodiments thereof, it
is to be understood that those embodiments are provided
merely to illustrate the invention, and should not be
used as a pretext to limit the scope of protection
conferred by the true scope and spirit of the appended
claims.
