WO1997036531A1 - Manually operated device for the controlled dispensing of portions of paper from a continuous roll, to be used as towels - Google Patents

Abstract

A manually operated device is disclosed which is suitable for the controlled dispensing of portions of paper, to be used as towels, from a continuous roll (10) mounted inside the device. For safety purposes, the cutting blade (4), which acts on the paper strip in a radial direction from outside towards the inside of a dragging roller (2) by entering a longitudinal slot (21) thereof, is mounted on a cutting assembly by means of a pivoted and laterally driven fork (5), means being provided suitable to retain said blade (4) in a rest position during the introduction of the paper from a new feed roll (10). The driving member (8) of the cutting assembly is pivoted on a lateral wall of the paper dragging roller (2) and, during the rotation of said roller (2), normally engages a side arm (6) of the cutting assembly through an extension (11).

Description

"MANUALLY OPERATED DEVICE FOR THE CONTROLLED DISPENSING OF PORTIONS OF PAPER FROM A CONTINUOUS ROLL. TO BE USED AS TOWELS"

The present invention relates to a device for the controlled dispensing, with manual tearing, of portions of paper from a continuous roll, to be used as towels, of the type wherein the action exerted by the user on the strip of paper projecting from the device controls the feeding of a pre-established length of paper and the cutting thereof. There are known devices, of a less advanced type than these ones, for dispensing paper towels from continuous rolls, wherein the cutting blade is fixed and the user has to take thereon the strip of paper of pre- established length in order to severe it from the roll and thus be able to use it. As a natural evolution of said device, only some attempts have been made to obtain also the automatic cutting of the paper, still with manually operated devices and without resorting to motorized solutions which are obviously much more expensive. However, the attempts made until now in this direction have resulted in various drawbacks, related especially to the operating reliability and to the user safety, besides some difficulties concerning the paper loading operation.

For example, according to the European patent publication EP-A- 0573558, a paper-dragging cylinder, with a rough surface and preferably made of rubber in order to enhance the friction, is provided with a blade driving cam which makes it spring out radially from a rest position, within a longitudinal slot formed in the cylinder, to a cutting position in which it interferes with the paper outside said cylinder. In addition to the danger of a possible springing out of the blade while the user is manually performing the operations of introducing the paper on the dragging cylinder, it can be particularly difficult to reach the blade, for its possible replacement, due to its position within the cylinder. Moreover, the paper path is pre-established and a new roll must be positioned with a specific unwinding direction of the paper, whereas the personnel employed on this operation usually acts in a hurry and without paying too much attention to these details. Therefore, the subject-matter of the present invention is a manually operated device for dispensing portions of paper from a continuous roll, of the type mentioned at the beginning, which does not have the above- mentioned drawbacks. In particular, the present device is provided with safety measures such as to prevent damages to the user or the operator which looks after the paper loading and at the same time the cutting blade is relatively accessible for interventions thereon and its possible replacement.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a device of the above-mentioned type, which offers a sufficient operating reliability while preventing paper jamming during the loading, which can be carried out without taking into account the unwinding direction of the roll, whereby the latter can be placed in the device in one direction or the other indifferently. These and other objects are achieved by a device having the characteristics disclosed in claim 1.

The device according to the present invention will now be described in greater detail, with reference to a non-limiting preferred embodiment thereof, referring to the annexed drawings wherein:

Figure 1 shows a schematic front view of the device, with the lid removed in order to show the internal mechanisms, with some parts omitted; Figure 2 shows a side view of the device, along the direction of arrow

A, obviously after removal of the relevant shoulder of the case, wherein the paper feed is illustrated in both possible paths, one with a continuous line and the other with a broken line, in a rest position, preceding the blade working position; Figure 2a corresponds to fig.2, in a subsequent situation, after acting on an external knob or crank, along a length of idle rotation during which the cylinder is still, to be used upon loading of the paper, thus preventing the blade working; and

Figures 3, 4 and 5 are views similar to the preceding views of the device according to the invention, in subsequent operating situations following the continued pulling of the strip of paper starting from the position of fig.2, as an alternative to the situation of fig.2a.

With reference to the drawings, the device includes, similarly to conventional devices for dispensing paper towels obtained by tearing portions of constant length from a continuous feed roll, a supporting and covering structure 1 of which only the shoulders 1a and 1 b are shown, also comprising a lid not shown, on which structure the feed roll 10 and the mechanisms described hereafter are mounted. On said structure 1 there is also preferably mounted an elastic member 1 ' (fig.1 and 2a) suitable to exert a braking pressure onto roll 10 during the unwinding thereof in order to oppose its inertia. Therefore, said member 1 ' is mainly acting at the largest roll thickness, when it can exert thereon the greatest braking action, which is progressively reduced as roll 10 decreases in diameter while its mass and therefore its inertia also decrease.

A cylindrical paper dragging roller 2 and a pressure roller 2a, of smaller diameter and elastically pushed in contact with the preferably rough surface of roller 2, made of a material similar to rubber, are mounted in a substantially known way on the two lateral shoulders 1 a and 1 b. Guides 20 are also provided for the paper path, for example consisting of at least a pair of shaped metallic wires. It should be noted that in fig.1 the pressure roller 2a has been omitted in order to prevent hidding of the parts thereunder, and that in fig.2 two different paths of the paper 10 have been illustrated, both being possible according to the present invention thanks to the particular arrangement of roller 2a with respect to the dragging roller 2, taking into account said guides 20. In the area where the rotation pin 2' of the dragging roller 2 is rotatably mounted on the shoulder 1b, there is provided an assembly 3, already known, including cams, ratchet gears and pawls. On this assembly 3 there is secured an end of a biasing spring 24 which is secured at the other end to shoulder 1 b. Spring 24 is suitable to be loaded during the operation in a first rotation phase of roller 2, and to assure therefore the continuation of the rotation up to the correct stopping of the dragging roller in the cutting position, as it will be better described further on. Since their application, for the same purposes, is already known in prior art devices, said mechanisms will not be described in greater detail. Referring now to figures 1 and 2, the device according to the present invention has a mobile cutting assembly consisting of a blade 4, extending transversely with respect to the two shoulders 1a, 1 b, along almost the whole width of roller 2, and mounted on a fork 5 whose side arms are pivoted in 6' at their ends on a substantially C-shaped mobile frame 6 which supports the cutting assembly. This frame 6 has its two side arms rotatably mounted, against the action of a biasing spring 23, on pivot 2' of roller 2 and the central portion of frame 6 is parallel to blade 4 and to its blade-carrier which forms the nearly horizontal central area of said fork 5. At both ends of fork 5 two members 15 are integral therewith, preferably small rollers, suitable to slide in respective lateral guides 7, cam-shaped and pivoted in T at their lower ends onto the lateral shoulders 1 a and 1b. Pins T are preferably slidable in turn in a slot (not shown) formed in said shoulders, being normally retained against an end of the corresponding slot by elastic pulling means shown in fig.4 only. These cams are therefore free to rotate around pins T along a short pre-established length, the length being defined for example by the length of said slot. It should be noted that also the pivoting of fork 5 on frame 6 of the cutting assembly is limited, on one side, by the engagement of rollers 15 with guides 7 and on the other by means of any stop member (not shown) integral with frame 6, against which fork 5 is normally elastically pushed, for example by pulling springs , as indicated by 16 in fig.4 only, for the sake of clarity.

The driving mechanism of the cutting assembly will now be described, i.e. the members which transfer the motion from the dragging roller 2 to blade 4, through frame 6, so as to bring it to the position of a slot 21 provided along a generatrix of the cylindrical roller 2. At one end of the rotation pin 2', and precisely towards shoulder 1 a on the side opposite to mechanism 3, there is a driving member 8, consisting of a L-shaped lever pivoted in 8' onto the lateral end wall of roller 2. Said lever 8 has a projecting pawl 11 , at the bend, suitable to come into contact with the corresponding arm of frame 6 thus pushing it for the blade operation. On the same lateral wall of roller 2, an operating cam 9 is mounted, pivoted on the rotation pin 2', which is integral with an external knob or crank 12. Said cam 9 can make an idle rotation along an arc, around pivot 2, between two stops 9' and 9" integral with roller 2, coming in contact therewith through its tooth 19. The driving member 8 is normally elastically pushed onto the profile of cam 9 by a biasing spring 8" (figs.3-5).

The arm of frame 6 on the side of shoulder 1 a has, for a limited portion of its length between pivot 2' and pivot 6' of fork 5, an outwards deviation 13 from its straight shape. This allows in certain conditions, better detailed hereafter, the passage of pawl 11 without interference with the arm, whereas there is interference between pawl 11 and the frame arm outside said area of deviation or passage 13.

Finally, a fixed member is provided, projecting from shoulder 1a towards the end of roller 2 nearby, such that, without reaching it, this member can come in contact with the driving member 8 during the operation. In the drawings, this member has been depicted as a pin 14 encountered by the lever driving member 8 with a properly shaped profile thereof, on the side opposite to pawl 11 , so as to perform a rotation around pivot 8'. In this way, a more effective final push is given by pawl 11 during the blade action at slot 21 to carry out the cutting. This action, made possible by the intervention of pin 14 and by the subsequent reaction of the driving member 8, is particularly useful in the situation shown in fig.3, in which the blade must strongly enter slot 21 (depicted in fig.1 only) in order to carry out the cutting exactly when the push of pawl 11 on frame 6 would decrease. In fact, the force exerted by the user directly on the paper is almost ceased, said force being turned in the meanwhile into energy stored in the biasing springs (of known type and schematized by the reference numeral 24 in fig.1) before that energy is released and produces the second phase of spring rotation from the position shown in fig.4 to the rest position of fig.2, passing through the position of fig.5.

The operation of the device according to the present invention should be clear from the foregoing description, but it is nonetheless summarized hereafter by pointing out the advantages offered by the invention.

Starting from the loading of a new paper roll 10, this is inserted with its core into a freely rotating pivot 10a, while being supported at its ends in two proper seats formed in shoulders 1 a and 1 b of the device. The resilient pressure member 1', consisting for example of a sheet fixed at one end, exerts with its free end the greatest braking action on the new roll 10, of largest diameter, thus reducing the inertia thereof which could cause an additional unwinding of paper even after each dispensing and cutting action. The paper is first manually unwound by the operator and introduced into the device following the guides 20, so as to be arranged on slot 21. To this purpose, the operator is not required to mount the roll in a compulsory way, but rather the mounting can be carried out indifferently in one way or the other as shown in fig.2, thus facilitating the operator's work. The only difference is the amount of winding around the pressure roller 2a, which is smaller when the paper path is the one depicted in broken lines as shown in fig.2.

However it is important that, while passing the paper between the dragging cylinder 2 and the pressure roller 2a, elastically pushed against the former, as well as around cylinder 2 until the end edge comes to the outside of the device, the operator's hands can not touch the blade 4 which, in this situation, is in a retracted position, behind a metal plate 22 (not shown in fig.1) extending along the whole length of the blade, parallel thereto, in a fixed position between the two lateral shoulders of the device. Since roller 2 has to be rotated during the introduction of the paper, a provision is made for having said rotation not produce any consequence on the blade operation. To this purpose it is sufficient to act not directly on the strip of paper or the cylinder, but on knob or crank 12. By doing so, cam 9 which is integral therewith, is initially rotated idle from the position of fig.2, wherein its tooth 19 is in contact with stop 9", to that of fig.2a wherein the contact is with stop 9'. During this limited rotation of cam 9, the dragging cylinder 2 remains still and the driving member 8, constantly pushed against cam 9 by springs 8", makes a corresponding clockwise rotation around pivot 8' until it carries pawl 11 at passage 13. Therefore, when proceeding with the clockwise rotation of crank 12, cam 9 now takes along therewith roller 2 with stops 9' and 9" but the cutting assembly remains inactive, since it is not engaged by pawl 11 passing through passage 13 without interfering with the support frame 6.

On the contrary, when during the normal operation a user carries out a pulling action on the free strip of paper projecting from the lower side of the device, it is the dragging roller or cylinder 2 which is rotated by friction (thanks to its rough surface, preferably made of rubber or the like) whereby cam 9 remains in contact with stop 9" and is driven into rotation by the latter, without ever coming in contact with stop 9'. Therefore, the driving member 8 remai: s in contact with the portion of cam 9 which does not cause a rotation thereof around pivot 8'. Consequently, upon rotation of the assembly, pawl 11 will remain in contact with the corresponding arm of support 6 of the cutting device thus causing its rotation around pivot 2', while spring 23 is loaded. In this situation, fork 5, driven by frame 6, also begins its movement guided by rollers 15 along the set path of guides 7 which, due to the cam profile of the latter, is eccentric with respect to pivot 2' in order to take blade 4 with a radial component towards slot 21 which in the meantime is moving to the pre-established contact generatrix along which the cutting will take place. At the same time, fork 5 carries out a rotation around pivot 6', while springs 16 between said fork and the support frame 6 are loaded. In the meanwhile, also spring 24 is loaded due to the rotation of assembly 3.

When the rotation caused by the user's pull has brought the assembly to the position of fig.3, wherein fork 5 is about to come out from the cam guides 7, the driving member 8 comes in contact with the fixed pin 14 which causes a rotation thereof around pivot 8' along an arc sufficient (see fig.4) to move pawl 11 till passage 13, whereby the cutting assembly is immediately disengaged. Spring 23 causes the sudden return of the latter to its starting position, through a counter-clockwise rotation, while spring 24, previously loaded, carries on the rotation of the dragging roller, by means of known cams within assembly 3, until completion of the turn and return to the position of fig.2 are achieved.

After the cutting, this additional arc of rotation provides for a further length of paper to be unwound, thanks to the friction between rollers 2 and 2a, which is sufficiently long to protrude from the device so as to be available to be grasped by the user for a subsequent operation.

It should be noted that in order to prevent the interference of the cutting assembly with guides 7 during the return stroke, the latter are mobile and pivoted in 7 ', so as to allow the rolling of rollers 15 along their outer profile which is eccentric, as mentioned before, but can be adapted to the almost circular trajectory of fork 5 by rotating around pivots T, which can also slide transversely in a suitable slot formed in the lateral shoulders 1a and 1b. It should also be noted that the contact on the outer profile is assured by the pull exerted by springs 16 on fork 5 as soon as the latter comes out from guides 7. When, at the end of the return stroke of the cutting assembly, fork 5 has reached the upper ends of guides 7 with its rollers 15, the pulling springs 17 are under tension due to the shifting caused by the (counter-clockwise) rotation of the guides. Therefore, guides 7 return to the starting position, under the action of springs 17, as soon as rollers 15 leave the outer profile and go back to the inlet of said guides, preferably rail-shaped, ready for a new stroke therein upon a subsequent cutting operation. It should be noted that guides 7 could also be made fixed with a member, e.g. a lever, which causes the cutting assembly to be directed towards the inlet of the guides. In any case, the inlet cross-section will be such as to guarantee that when rollers 15 leave the outer profile of the guides 7 or return to said position in any way, they will reliably enter inside them. For example, provision can be made for a sure contact with an abutment on the inner side of guides 7, opposite to the side along which the return stroke was carried out, even in case of external starting lever. The foregoing description clearly illustrates the advantages of the device according to the present invention which provides certainty for the physical safety of the operator during the introduction of the paper from a new roll, as well as for the operating reliability with cutting effectiveness, while offering the possibility of mounting the feed roll on its support in an indifferent way. Possible additions and/or modifications may be made by those skilled in the art to the above-described and illustrated embodiment of the device according to the present invention, yet without departing from the scope of the invention. In particular, as mentioned above, the lateral guides may be fixed while providing an auxiliary member to return the cutting device to its starting position. Furthermore, the driving member may have a different embodiment, as well as the means provided for disengaging it from the cutting assembly, both for the initial safety measures during the paper loading and at the end of the cutting operation.

Claims

1. A device for dispensing portions of paper, to be used as towels, from a roll (10), including a case structure (1) with two lateral shoulders (1a, 1b) and a support for the paper roll (10) therebetween, a paper dragging cylinder (2) with a rough surface, provided with a longitudinal slot (21) along a generatrix thereof, and a pressure roller (2a) elastically pushed against said cylinder (2), both being rotatabie around parallel rotation pins, there being provided a cutting assembly and a cam mechanism (3) for non-return and completion of the rotation of the cylinder (2) by means of a spring (24) up to the stopping in the pre-established angular position, at which the free end of the paper strip, after the cutting, is available outside the device for a subsequent operation, characterized in that said cutting assembly includes a blade (4) secured onto a fork (5) pivoted and elastically connected to a rotatably mounted support (6), idle on the pivot (2') of said dragging cylinder (2) and engageable by a driving member (8) suitable to be made integral with said cylinder (2) so as to push said blade (4) into said slot (21), with a movement having a radial inwardly directed component, elastic means (23) being provided to return said support (6) of the cutting assembly to the starting position, at a pre- established angular position of the cylinder (2), as well as means for disengaging said support (6) of the cutting assembly from said driving member.

2. A device according to claim 1 , characterized in that said means for disengaging the support of the cutting assembly consist of a cam (9) integral with an external control means (12) and mounted at one end of said cylinder (2) so as to be able to make an idle rotation with respect to the pivot (2') thereof along a limited arc between two stops (9', 9") thus moving the driving member (8) in such a position that it does not interfere with the support (6) of the cutting assembly.

3. A device according to claim 2, characterized in that said support (6) of the cutting assembly is a C-shaped frame, having its ends rotatably mounted on said pivot (2') and two side arms, one of which is normally suitable to interfere with a projecting portion (11) of said driving member (8) and provided with a passage area (13) deviating outwards from its normal straight shape so as to allow a space free from engagement with said projection (11).

4. A device according to claim 3, characterized in that said driving member (8) is shaped as a L-shaped lever, with said projection consisting of a pawl (11) in the bend area, pivoted (8') on the same lateral end surface of the cylinder (2) on which said cam (9) is mounted, being movable between a normal position of engagement with the support (6) of the cutting assembly and, through the operation of said cam (9), a position of non-engagement, at said passage (13), elastic means (8") being provided to push said lever (8) in constant contact with said cam (9).

5. A device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it further includes lateral means (7) for guiding said fork (5) of the cutting assembly in said movement with a radial component, said fork (5) being controlled by the driving member (8) through said support (6) so as to guide said blade (4) to said slot (21) and subsequently release it at the end of the length guided by said means (7) in order to return it to a retracted rest position under the action of biasing springs (23).

6. A device according to claim 5, characterized in that said guide means (7) consist of a pair of rail-shaped members with a cam profile, eccentric with respect to the pivot (2'), being pivoted (7') on the lateral shoulders (1a, 1b) between two positions in a first of which said fork (5) is capable to enter, by means of end rollers (15), the internal profile of said guide means (7) and, in the other position, said fork (5) can start a return path, along an outer profile of the same guide means (7), suitable to load springs (17) for returning to said first position of entrance to the guide path.

7. A device according to claim 5, characterized in that said guide means consist of a pair of rail-shaped members with a cam profile, fixedly secured on said lateral shoulders (1 a, 1b), lever means being provided in association therewith for directing the fork (5) and receiving it at the end of its path within said guides and returning it to the area of entrance to the guides without interferences.

8. A device according to claim 5, characterized in that it includes further means for disengaging said driving member (8) from the cutting assembly upon ending of the path of said fork (5) within said guides (7).

9. A device according to claim 4 and 8, characterized in that said further disengaging means consist of a pin (14) fixedly mounted on the shoulder (1 b) next to said end of the dragging cylinder (2) on which said driving member (8) is mounted, said pin (14) being suitable to interfere with a profile thereof and cause a rotation of said driving member (8) around said pivot (8') and the subsequent movement of said pawl (11) towards said passage (13), whereby the support (6) of the cutting assembly is released and, under the action of the elastic biasing means (23), is directed to the position of entrance to said guides (7).