Towel dispensing apparatus

Dec. 28, 1937.

2,103,403

R. G. BIRR

TOWEL DISPENSING APPARATUS

Original Filed April 8, 1935

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Patented Dec. 28, 1937

2,103,403

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE

2,103,403

TOWEL DISPENSING APPARATUS

Rudolph G. Birr, Lombard, Hl., assignor to Steiner Sales Company, Salt Lake City, Utah, a corporation of Utah

Original application April 8, 1935, Serial No.

15,271. Divided and this application November 1, 1935, Serial No. 47,855

Claims.

This invention relates generally to improvements in apparatus for dispensing toweling material, and particularly to a mechanism responsive to changes in the amount of toweling supply 8 for indicating to an attendant that the supply is exhausted or nearly exhausted. The invention may be applied to any device in which an element, associated with the toweling supply, is moved bodily as a result of dispensing action, or in re10 sponse to change in the amount of toweling.

Features of the invention include the operation of the towel supply indicating means by a bodily movable means, including a roll properly associated with the towel material, or in case of roll IS toweling, with the clean portion of the toweling, or with the soiled portion thereof; along with all details of construction; and along with all broader ideas of means inherent in the disclosure.

This application is divisional of my copending 20 application Serial Number 15,271 filed April 8, 1935.

Objects, features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description of the drawing forming a part of this application, and 25 in said drawing

Figure 1 is a central vertical transverse section taken through the rolls, and supply chamber and illustrating one type of towel dispensing mechanism with which the present invention is used;

Figure 2 is a vertical transverse section of the upper part of the cabinet taken laterally of the supply chamber and illustrating the means for indicating the amount of the towel supply; and Figures 3 and 4 are detail front views, viewed 35 as from line 4—4 of Figure 2, eliminating the cabinet door but showing in dot-and-dash lines the position of the aperture of the door through Which the position of the slide is viewed.

The invention is embodied in a wall type of 40 towel dispensing cabinet but is applicable to any . type of cabinet wherein a bodily movable element moves as a result of change in the amount of the supply of toweling material, or wherein a supply or a takeup roll is used and wherein the shaft of 45 one of these rolls changes position as a result of increase or decrease in the amount of toweling on the roll.

Referring to Figure 1, numeral I indicates the outer casing of the cabinet. This casing is pro50 vided with the usual door 2 and has in its bottom, at the rear vertical wall, an elongated slot 3 upwardly through which the toweling is drawn to be connected to a soiled towel roll.

The front edge of the bottom 6 is spaced from 55 the door 2 to form an elongated slot 4 through (Cl. 312—38) which the toweling passes to a point beneath the cabinet where it is in a position to be grasped by the user. Attached to the rear wall of. the casing is a bracket 5 which forms part of means for smoothing out the soiled toweling before it 5 reaches the soiled towel roll.

Within the casing I is an element, referred to herein as a swing housing, and which constitutes a chamber within which is housed the rolls and the toweling supply. The housing is formed by 10 two side plates 11 (only one of which is shown) cross-connected at their lower portions by a plate having a vertical portion 13, a curved portion 14 and a horizontal portion 15. The latter portion forms the bottom of the swing chamber or hous- 15 ing, and provides a support for a roll of clean toweling 16. A second plate 17 extends from the portion 13 and overlies and is spaced from the first plate and extends horizontally forwardly, as shown. The outer end of the plate is curved up- ₂o wardly to lie between the feed and takeup rolls respectively indicated at 19 and 20 both journaled in the plates 11. It will be understood that in this type of cabinet, the roll 20 is driven by the roll 19 by means of a chain and sprocket drive 95 more or less diagrammatically indicated in dotted lines at 21 in Figure 2. The swing housing is pivoted by suitable means indicated at 22. It is understood that after the door 2 of the casing is opened, the housing can be swung outwardly to 30 facilitate removal of soiled toweling and introduction of fresh toweling, as well as for adjusting the mechanism.

After introduction of the roll of clean toweling 16 the end of the toweling is first engaged with 35 the feed or measuring roll 19 which roll is fixed to a shaft 25 rotatably journaled in the plates II. The toweling is then brought around a pinch roll 27, journaled in slots 28 of the plates. The pinch roll operates by gravity in a well-known manner 40 to press the toweling against the measuring roll to obtain, the proper frictional contact to provide power for operating the takeup roll through the sprocket system 21. The toweling is then brought downwardly through slot 4 and formed into a 45 loop and is then brought upwardly through slot 3 around a towel smoothing edge 30 of the plate 17, then around the bracket 5, thence around the smoothing rod 31, to the soiled towel roll 32. The trunnion-like portions of shaft 33 of the soiled 50 towel roll are suitably guided in slots 34 in the side plates If, and the roll rests by gravity upon and is frictionally driven through the toweling thereon by the takeup roll 20.

The above described mechanism is not claimed 55

8,103,408 herein per se, but is representative of one structure which includes a roll 11 or equivalent bodily movable element associated with the towel material, and having journaling means capable of mo5 tion in a direction perpendicular to its rotative axis, and wherein the journaling means and its motion are utilized for controlling an indicator.

The foregoing constructions may be of any preferred form, the broad gist of this invention 10 being the utilization of the journaling means of an element which is responsive to changes in the towel supply, or which carries that supply, or which carries or takes up soiled toweling. The use of a portion of a shaft or of a trunnion to 15 control the indicator has the advantage that the connection can be made at a point outside of the chamber which houses the mechanism and towel supply.

The journaling means includes shaft 33 or a 20 pair of projecting pins equivalent to the shaft, and this means is held in slots 34 of the plates 11. Thus, the journaling elements can move, in this embodiment, in a direction away from the windup roll 20 as the amount of soiled toweling on the 25 soiled towel roll 32 increases. In the present embodiment, there is also provided upon the outer side of plate ί I, of the inner chamber, an operating lever 38 pivotally mounted as at 37 and having a forwardly extending portion 38, the end ⁸⁰ of which terminates in a bifurcation 39 operably received by a laterally extending lug 40 of an indicator slide 41. This slide is mounted for vertical movement upon the outer side of one plate i I by means of screws 42 traversing an elongated 35 slot 43 of the slide. At the opposite side of the pivot 37, the lever has an upwardly extending portion 48 having a curved cam surface 49, lying adjacent the slot 34 in which the end portions of the shaft 33 of the soiled towel roll 32 are 40 guided or journaled. As shown in Figure 2, the cam surface 49 overlies the shaft 33 so that as the roll moves upwardly due to increase in the size of the soiled toweling, the upright portion 48 will be slowly moved to the left about the pivot 37 45 thus elevating the forked terminal 39, whereupon the slide will be correspondingly gradually moved.

The slide 41 is provided with a right-angled portion 50 and this angled portion is provided with suitable indicia which is visible to the at50 tendant through an aperture 52 of the door 2. The door is also slotted as at 53 to allow the forward part of the slide to project therethrough as shown in Figure 2, sufficient clearance being provided to allow free opening and closing of the 55 door.

Figures 3 and 4 illustrate one kind of indicating means including red color which is represented by lines 55. In Figure 3, the position of the sight aperture 52 is indicated by dot-and-dash ⁶⁰ lines and here the colored portion lies just below the aperture, which position corresponds to a minimum amount of soiled towel on the roll 32, with a corresponding amount of clean toweling in the cabinet. The line defining the upper limit of 65 the color area is curved to facilitate an estimation of the amount of towel supply.

Although the specific construction is claimed, it is understood that the invention is not entirely limited thereto because the indicating slide or 70 other signaling or indicating means may be of different form, one of the important features of the Invention being the connection or association of the indicator operating means with the shaft 33.

In the present embodiment, as the roll 32 moves upwardly due to the increase in the diameter of the soiled toweling thereon, the slide 41 moves upwardly. In Figure 4, the slide has moved to a position (which corresponds to the dot-anddash line position of the slide in Figure 2) indi- 5 eating that all of the clean toweling has been used, or that substantially all of the soiled toweling is on the roll. The indicating means in this position shows all red through the aperture 52, whereas heretofore red and white areas were visible 10 through the aperture as defined by the aforementioned curved line.

The means for operating the takeup roll 20 by the measuring roll 19 has only been somewhat diagrammatically indicated in dotted lines in Fig- 15 ure 2. It will, of course, be understood that when the feed roll is operated by a pull on the clean toweling, see Figure 1. the takeup roll is operated and this can be accomplished by any suitable means known to the prior art. 20

The present invention is applicable either to fabric toweling or to paper toweling in rolls, or to sheet toweling in separate sheets. In the latter instance, the roll 32 and its journaling means will be responsive to change in the amount of 25 toweling material, due to operation of the feeding means, and the indicating means will be controlled by the journaling means.