US3045883A - Roll dispenser - Google Patents

Description

Ju y 24, 1 6 M. B. ANDREWS ETAL 3,045,883

ROLL DISPENSER Filed Aug. 5, 1959 3,@45,883 Patented July 24., 1962 3,045,883 ROLL DISPENER Mark B. Andrews and William J. Burke, St. Louis, Mo.,

assignors to Roll-O-Sheets, Inc, St. Louis, Mo., a corporation of Missouri Filed Aug. 5, 1959, Ser. No. 831,866 2 Claims. (El. 225-90) This invention relates to improvements in roll dispensers and, in particular, is concerned with a dispenser for dispensing a roll of web material perforated in sheets by a structure that automatically pierces the web at the perforated portions so that sheets may be torn therealong with the end of the web material remaining exposed in order that it may be readily grasped in the next sheet tearing operation.

By means of this invention there has been provided a roll dispenser for very conveniently receiving rolls therein. The invention may take the form of a standard having a plurality of troughs receiving the rolls. These troughs are provided with piercing means at one side thereof which pierces perforations in the web material as it is pulled out and over the piercing means to tear off a sheet along the perforations on the web material.

In addition, there has been provided in association with the piercing means a rest means for the end of the web after the sheet has been torn off it. This is of great advantage in readily grasping the end of the web material in the next tearing operation. In handling very thin materials such as saran and polyethlyene, which have a tendency to stick and adhere to flat surfaces, there has been quite a problem in the past in grasping the ends of such material. The rest means provides a rest for the reception of saran and polyethylene, and like materials, which tend to cling to flat surfaces. By the particular design of this rest means an end portion of the web is left freely exposed so that it may be readily grasped and then pulled out over the piercing means while the roll rotates in the trough with the web being pierced and then torn as the portion of the web having the perforation upon it passes over said piercing means.

The roll dispenser of this invention is very simple in design and construction and can be used by untrained personnel in various stores or industrial locations where sheet material is desired to be readily torn from a web having transverse perforations. The frame and standard of this invention are very simply designed to provide for receiving a plurality of such perforated rolls where different types of rolls and different size sheets are desired to be used, it being understood that the rolls may be varied in their type of web material and perforation spacing and the like for use in the different troughs.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of this invention to provide a roll dispenser in which a roll can be placed with means for piercing perforations in the roll material in such a manner that the remaining roll material can be readily grasped in the next tearing operation.

It is another object of this invention to provide a roll dispenser having a trough for receiving a roll of perforated web material with a pointed piercing means at one side of the trough for piercing the intermediate portion of the perforated web as it is pulled over the piercing means.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a trough for roll material so that sheets may be torn along the perforations in the roll material as the material is pulled over a piercing means and in which rest portions are provided adjacent the piercing means for receiving the ends of the roll material after a sheet has been torn off, while leaving an exposed free edge of the material which can be readily grasped for the next operation.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a convenient frame and standard for receiving a plurality of rolls with the piercing and rest means whereby sheets of material may be readily torn off the roll and along perforations thereon without the necessity of so-called hunting for the end of the roll material after the tearing operation.

Still a further object of this invention is to provide a roll dispenser which is rugged and simple in design and can be employed by unskilled users.

Further objects of this invention will appear in the detailed description which follows and will be further apparent to those skilled in the art.

For the purpose of illustration of this invention there is shown a preferred embodiment thereof in the accompanying drawing. It is to be understood that these drawings are for the purpose of example only and that the invention is not limited thereto.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of the roll dispenser and frame;

FIGURE 2 is a view in front elevation of the roll dispenser and frame with all rolls being omitted;

FIGURE 3 is a view in rear elevation of the roll dispenser with the middle roll being omitted;

FIGURE 4 is a view in side elevation taken from the right side of FIGURES 1 and 2 with the middle roll being omitted;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged view in section taken on the line 5-5 of FIGURE 4 showing the manner of securing one of the roll dispensing troughs to the frame; and

FIGURE 6 is a top plan view of a perforated roll material with the end of the web stretched out showing the manner of perforation.

The dispenser of this invention is best shown by reference to FIGURES 1 through 4 where it is generally illustrated by the reference numeral 10. It is comprised of a frame 11, troughs 12, 13 and 14, piercing means 15, and rest means 16. The frame 11 has two foot elements 18 and 19, respectively, so that it may be placed upon the floor and supported thereupon. Vertical supports 22 and 23 are connected to the foot elements and serve as a support for the troughs.

As best shown in FIGURES 4 and 5, the troughs 12, 13 and 1.4 are all in the form of a V-shaped configuration. Trough 13 will be described, it being understood that troughs 12 and 14 are identical in construction. The trough 13 is comprised of a back element 2.4 and a front element 25, both of these elements being flat and converging together to form the trough. The back element 24 is connected to a flange 27 which fits along the front of the supports 18 and 19 as a positioning device. In addition, the trough is connected to the supports by by brackets 23 which are fastened to the bottom of the trough by screws 31 and to the supports 18 and 19 by fastening elements 32.

The piercing means 15 is best defined by referring to the configuration of the front element 25 of the trough. It will be noted that the top sides of the trough, as shown in FIGURE 1, have sloping edges 34 and 35, which terminate in a point 37. This point, together with the slanting edges 34 and 135, defines the piercing means 15. The rest means 16 is best shown by referring to FIGURES l, 2 and 4. There it will be seen that it is formed by two triangularly shaped flanges 3S and 39'. These flanges are connected to the trough along the edges '34 and 35 and coincide with the point 37 of the piercing means. It will further be noted that the flanges 38 and 39 have free edges 41 and 42, which diverge slightly from the point 37 toward the roll and the trough. The angle that each of these forms with the axis of the trough and the roll may be very slight, as in the order of 5, it being understood that this angle is not important but that there should be some slanting away toward this axis and that the edges 41 3 and 42 should not be parallel to the axis in order that there can be some free exposure of the edge of the web material, as will be further described.

The roll material that is employed in this dispenser is generally referred to by the numeral 45 in FIGURE 6. As disclosed therein it has a core 46 and a roll of web material 47, which is perforated at intervals at 48. The perforations define individual sheets, such as 51.

It will be further understood as referred to more fully herein that an idler bar 53, as shown in FIGURES l and 4, may be employed to separate the web material from the roll as it is being dispensed. This idler bar also aids in maintaining the proper rolling action of the roll and prevents adherence of the web to the roll in the dispensing action.

Use

The dispenser is portrayed ready for use in FIG- URES 1 and 4. As shown in these figures it will be noted that the first sheet 51 has its corners extending a slight amount beyond the edges 41 and 4-2 of the rest means. This makes it possible for the free ends of the sheet to be grasped. For example, the left corner is grasped with the left hand and the right corner is grasped with the right hand. Then the sheet is withdrawn horizontally or slightly downwardly until a perforation 48 appears over the piercing means and the piercing point 37.

When the perforation 48 rides over the piercing point 37 the perforation is pierced because of the tension placed upon the web in this area and the sheet tears completely along the perforation 48 in both directions away from the point. The separated sheet has then been completely separated from the roll While the end of the web appears in the position shown in FIGURE 1 and in the top and bottom troughs 12 and 14 in FIGURE 4. It will be noted that in these figures the end of the web with the next sheet to be perforated is left in a position for ready grasping in the next tearing operation.

In the use of the dispenser the idler bar 53 can be i used with fairly light rolls to prevent any possible resistance against separation of the web from the remainder of the roll as it is dispensed and also to prevent the roll from riding up out of the trough, since the idler bar may be made of metal and can be of considerable Weight. On the other hand, where heavy rolls such as that shown in the bottom trough 14 are employed, such an idler may note be necessary.

In the operation of the dispenser of this invention it has been made particularly advantageous for the separation of very thin sheets of material such as polyethylene from the roll material. Such sheets as polyethylene, for example, are well known as being difficult to separate from the roll because of the tendency to cling to flat surfaces. There are a number of explanations for this including the attraction caused by static electricity, the thinness of the material, and other explanations. However, suflice it to say, this material is quite difficult to separate into sheet form from roll material or to pick up from flat surfaces and the roll dispenser of the instant invention has provided a very simple device for this operation.

Although the operation has been described with respect to the simplest means for execution, it should be understood that variants can be used with this device. Thus,

the web can be withdrawn horizontally and then in a downward direction or can be withdrawn in a generally downward direction away from the roll in such a manner that the piercing point 37 places the greatest amount of pressure at the center of the perforation line 48 as it crosses this point. Also, the sheets 51 can be grasped with just one hand after some experience with the operation of the dispenser by grasping either the left hand corner or the right hand corner and then withdrawing it in the manner previously described.

Various changes and modifications may be made within this invention as will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications are within the scope and teaching of this invention as defined by the claims appended hereto.

What is claimed is:

l. A roll dispenser for dispensing transversely scored material in the form of sheets, said dispenser comprising a trough having converging front and rear walls for receing a roll of material in web form, said trough having means elevated with respect to the trough for piercing the web along a transverse scoring as the web is pulled out of the trough and across the piercing means, said piercing means comprising a pair of flanged extensions of said front wall having front edges convergng to a point intermediate the ends of said trough, and said flanged extensions providing a rest for the web portion connected to the roll 'while leaving the end exposed for ready handling in the next sheet tearing operation, said pair of flanged extensions being oppositely disposed and having flat surfaces connected integrally to the front wall of the trough and converging toward the point of said piercing means, said flange extensions forming a continuous surface extension with the trough and said flange extension forming an obtuse angle with the front wall of the trough.

2. A roll dispenser for dispensing transversely scored material in the form of sheets, said dispenser comprising a trough having converging front and rear roll support members for receiving a roll of material in web form, said trough having piercing means elevated with respect to the trough for piercing the web along a transverse scoring as the web is pulled out of the trough and across the piercing means, said piercing means comprising a pair of extension elements of said front support member having front edges converging to a point intermediate the ends of said trough, and said extension elements providing a rest for the web portion connected to the roll while leaving the end exposed for ready handling in the next sheet tearing operation, said pair of extension elements being oppositely disposed and being connected integrally to the front support member of the trough and converging toward the point of said piercing means, said extension elements forming a continuous extension with the trough and said extension elements forming an obtuse angle with the front support member of the trough.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

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