US2090255A - Roll towel cabinet - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 17, 1937. A. FALK ROLL TowEL CABINET 4 Sheets-Sheet l AFiled Dec. 31, 1934 Aug. 17, 1937.

A, FALK ROLL TOWEL GAB INET 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Deo. 31,4 1954 INVENTOR Aug. 17, 1937. A. FALK ROLL TowEL cuuisiINET Filed Dec. 31, 1934 4 She'ets-Sheet 3 A. FILK ROLL TOWEL CABINET Aug. 17, 1937.

4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Dec. 31, 1934 HHIHHHHH l INVEM l MIME Patented Aug. 17, 1937 UNITEDSTATES PATENT oFFlcE 2,090,255 RoLL TOWEL CABINET Application December 31, 1934, Serial No. 759,833

20 Claims.

My invention relates to a cabinet for holding a continuous or roll towel and dispensing lengths thereof to successive users.

Roll towel cabinets as heretofore constructed have embodied a pair of friction driving rolls operating upon the used and unused portions of the towel respectively, and effective to roll up the former as the latter is manually pulled off the roll in which it is supplied, the friction driving rolls being connected by a chain and sprocket drive. A loop of the towel hangs below the cabinet at all times. These devices are objectionable, iirst, from the standpoint of appearance, since the soiled or used portion of the towel is 5 always visible to the subsequent users, who must pull out a fresh supply of toweling for their own use. Another objection is that it is very difficult toI synchronize the friction roll drive. As a result, the length of the loop of towel hanging below the cabinet varies from a minimum, which makes it difficult to use the towel, to a maximum,

which is very unsightly. In addition, the wearV on the moving parts, particularly the friction driving rolls, is not uniform at all points.

I have invented a roll towel cabinet which 2U overcomes the above-mentioned objections and,

furthermore, provides a much more effective means of holding and dispensing continuous or roller towels than has been available heretofore sol far as I am aware. In accordance with my invention, I use a single friction driving roll to operate the roll of used towel. This pulls fresh towel from the unused roll. In addition, I provide a door adapted to be opened by the means for operating the friction driving roll. The door 3D is closed automatically after the section of towel exposed thereby has been used and released. Other advantages characterizing my invention will become apparent as the description proceeds and the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

A complete understanding of the invention may be readily obtained by consideration of the accompanying drawings read in connection with 5 the following description. In the drawings, illustrating a present preferred embodiment of the invention:

Figure l is a front elevation showing my invention;

50 Figure 2 is a sectional view thereof taken on the line II-II of Figure l;

Figure 3 is a 'front elevation with the front wall removed and parts in section; l

Figure 4 is a sectional view-taken along the 55 line IV-IV of Figure 3;

(Cl. S12- 38) Figure '7 is a sectional view similar to Figure,

2 with the parts in operated position and the towel withdrawn from the cabinet for use;

Figure 8 is a sectional view along the line VIII-VIII of Figure 3; and

Figure 9 is an elevation of the interior of a portion of the front wall of the cabinet.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, a cabinet I0 has a front wall composed of hinged sections II and I2 and a fixed, sloping section I3; Side walls Ill, a rear wall I5, and a suitable top and bottom complete the cabinet. The top is provided with a hinged cover I6.

n Frame side plates I'I and I8 (Figure 3) are secured within the upper part of the, cabinet in any convenient manner. Slots I9 in the frame plates provide bearings lfor aroll 2|) on which the fresh towel, indicated at 2l, is supplied from the laundry. A plate 22 hinged to the top of thecabinet bears on the roll 2I 'and serves as a brake to prevent overrunningf of the coil of towel when unwound by means to be described later.`

Notches 23 in the side frame plates I'l and I8 are provided for receiving the roller 20 temporarily during installation and threading.

As shown .in Figure 2, the towel 2| passes downwardly of the front wall of the cabinet over a` gripper bar 24. This bar is carried on a yoke 25 hinged to the side frame plates. The yoke 25 normally rests on across bar 25'. The gripper bar itself is covered with a suitable friction gripping material for a purposewhich will appear later. A cooperating friction gripping bar 26,

similarly covered, is mounted at the bottom of a vertically sliding d oor 2l. The door 2l moves in guides 28 secured to the interior of the upper hinged portion II of the front wall of the cabinet. The mounting of the door 214in its guides` may best be observed in Figure 9. The door 21,

when lowered, closes an opening 29 in the hinged wall-portion II. The upper portion of the latter may conveniently be provided with a mirror 30. A roller 3l is journaled in the lower edge of the opening 29 for a purpose which will become ap- A parent later. As, shown in Figure 9, the door 21 has a rearwardly projecting finger 32 at one side thereof; This linger is'adapted, when the hinged wallportion' II is closed, to enter a' slot in a laterally extending plate 33 carried by Va' vertically recipromounted on the right-hand side wall' I4, as shown` in Figures 2, '1 and 8. An operating lever 36 on the outside of the cabinet is connected to the" gear 35 and movement of the handlethereon turns the gear to shift the rack bar 34"'vrticall'y.

A counterbalancing rack bar 3'Iis1vertically slid'- able in guides 35 xed to the riglfit-hand sid@ wall I4 adjacent the rear Wall I5. Operation of the hand lever 36 also eiectsth advancement of a fresh portion vof the towel-.2 I

from the unused roll into position for access through the opening 29 when the door' 2-1 is' raised to open position. 'I'he gearg35 drivesa pinion-, 38. which kis lsimilarlyA Vjournaled on t the inside Dof the vright-hand Vside wall I4 o f the cabinet. Thisk pinion-meshes witha pinion ,-39 which `Vis likewiseljournaled on ythe inside of-,th'e cabinet. b A 'friction-b driving roll 40 is journaled inthe side, frar'nsv I1V and I8 coaxially `with .the pinionH 39.1 y'paxxvlflll v'carried on a plate 1.42y mounted" on they pinionv 39 cooperates withja ratchet'wheel 43 `ke'yedto the frictionroll shaft 44. Slots 45.-.in 4the sideframes provide bearings for a roll46 which. the nused portion ofthe towel .indicated V*at-41` .wound. vNotches 45', similar tothos'e shown'at 23'., `provide temporary syupportsffforl the roll'46 tov facilitate threading ofthe towel.' As willsbeapparent'fromFiguresZ and'l, the roll 46 rises inthe slots 45 yas the coil ofwused towel builds up thereon. As shown inv Figures 2 and 7,`the continuous towel is threadedY 40 over guide rolls 4B 'and `4.9 and around a 2roll 45 the frame.

frame 50 which is vertically slidable ohguides" I in the lower portion of the cabinet. Il'h'e roll frame 50 has pins 52 adapted to enter slot's`53 in the guides v5I. A guide rolli54 is journaled in The slots 53 are vertical in "their upper portion but toward the bottom of thefcabi-v net have a forward' inclination terminating in an enlargement 54a with a stop shoulder Y55 adjacent thereto. Theguide roll v54 is journaled'in a 50 plane rearwardly of that in which the' -axes of the pins 52 lie. Thepurpose of thisconstruction is to prevent the frame 50 from rising when the friction roll 40 is operated to drive theV coil 41. It will be apparent from Figure 2 that `if torque 55 is applied to the coil ,'41 to exert an upward pull v on the rearward run of the towel, the frame`5I1 will be raised only slightly until the lowerv pins 52 engage the shoulders 55. Further rotation of the coil 41 will pull the soiled towel around the n 60 roll 54 and cause fresh towel to be advanced from Vthe unused portion 2| to a door 21 and the frame 50. k

` By now it will probably be apparent 'that when the lever 36 has beenoperated to open the door 65 `21 and advance fresh towel into a position such thatit is available through the opening 29, the user may seize the towel which will lthen appear as in Figure 6, and withdraw in 'a loop asindicated in Figure 7, for use. Asthe loop ofk towel 70 is pulled out, theY towel is drawn over the-.roller 3I journaled in Vthe ,lower Vedge/of .'thefopening y29. Withdrawal ofthe loop oftowel causesthe frame 5|]` to rise.,- It had already, been ,explained thatfapull on therearward runof thetowel locks 75 theframe ,against upward movement.V` ilimilarly,

position betweeny the a pull on the front run of the towel will swing bar 26 cooperates with the bar 24 when the door `f21-1is raised, as shown in Figure '1, to frictionally 4grip -tyhe.,towel tightly and prevent more towel from being pulled fromthe unused coil 2|, as long as the door 21 is raised. The towel is engaged between the bars 26 and 24 before the "door has 'reached the upper limit of its move? ment. The bar 24 then moves upwardly a short distance with the bar 26, the towel being gripped therebetween. Since these gripping bars are not effective until the door is fully raised, I provide a collapsible grille 56, (Figure 9) `which isI adapted temporarily to bar accessyto thetowel, as shown in Figure 5. The grille 56is` extended by means of a hoolrV 511 pivotedto the door 21 and adapted tol engage the top bar ofthe grille. "lheY grille is thus extendedv as the door is raised. A cam platea58 .(Figures 2 and 7) on the side frame IIl` cooperates-with the.` upper portion '-of the hook 51 to trip the latter and release the grille when the door 21 has reached 'its uppermostposition in which the -towel is tightly gripped between,.the`

bars 24 and 26.

The door 21 is aisebrnvided with yafhdwligg lug 59 (Figure 9). The means fonengagingthis lug to hold the door ingelevated position during, use of the towel will be described shortly. The upper edgeofbthe door 21 isadapted to engage behind a finger 6D xed to the'hinged section II' (Figure 3) to prevent opening of the latter when the door21 is .raised and the 4lever 36 inltheboperated (i. e., not thenorm-al)position. The purpose of this-will be explained later.

The door21 also has a lock bar- 6I cooperating with a slot 62 in the right-hand guide-.28, as viewed inV Figure .9.kr By advancing thevbargl before closingthe upper hingedY portion I I of the front wall, further operation of the device is prevented. This is useful in caseit is desirable,Y

for any reason, to suspend operation of the de@` vice.

the gear 35.

pawl 63 rides over the gear teeth. It is thus im#V possible to reverse the gear 35 until a full angular movementthereo has been made. At that time, a cam 64 on the gear 35 raises the pawl 63 which isr then latched by a pvoted detent 65. The gear35 is thus freed for On completion of the latter, a finger 66 also secured tothe gear 35 actuates the detent 65 to release the pawl 63. 1 As the door21 isvraised, the holding lug 5.9.displaces and slips past a detent:61,(fligure 4) piv-l oted .on thegvijnside ofthe left-hand"side-.wall- I 4 of the cabinet'. The door21 isthus held in elevated positionffuntil the detent61 is withdrawn.

The deten-t 61 has a rearward extension .163.adaptf t reverse movement.

50 Reverting to the drive mechanism for advanced to cooperate with a cooperating detent69 pivoted on a :channel-shaped slide 'lll through which the upper left-hand pin 52 of the framev The upper end of the slide'l Aworksy 55B projects. in a guide channel 1l. When the loop of towel spulIed out, it causes the frame 50 to rise. On upward movement of the frame, the de:- tent 69 is displaced by the rearward extension BS of the detent 6l. On downward movement of the` frame 5B, resulting from the release of the loop of towel, the detent 69 engages the rearward extension 68 and trips the detent, Bl from beneath the holding lug 59 whereby the doc-r 2l is released and permitted to drop. A pull knob "i2 is connected to the rearward extension 68 to permit manual operation of the detentz'l under certain circumstances to be mentioned later.

The operation of exchanging used towels fo-r fresh onesv is relative-ly simple. When the end ofthe towel is unw-ound from the coil 2i, and passes beyond the gripper bar 2t, it obviously can bepulled out of the opening 29. The frame 5@ thus may or may not be raised Iby the user of the last end of the roll. If not, the door 2l? will remain open and the lever 36 in operated position. If this happens, the attendant will rst have to open the lower hinged portion l2 ofthe front wall and pull down on the knob' l2 to close the door 2l' because, as above stated, 'the upper hinged portion li is locked by the engagement of the upper edge of the door behind the locking finger 853 when raised. When the door 21 has thus been closed, the lever 3E and the rack bar 3! then return to their positions illustrated in Figure 8. This is a safeguard against the operator changing towels and closing the machine up ready for use with the lever 36 in operated position. If this were done, the iinger 32 would not enter the slot in the plate 33 when the hinged portion il of the front wall is closed and the door 2l would not be operated on subsequent Vrestoration of the lever to starting position and advancement therefrom. While the drive would operate to feed fresh towel, the door 2l would not open to permit access thereto.

By lifting the coil 41 of soiled toweling out of the slots l5 and placing it temporarily in the notches 45', the last few feet of used towel can be rolled on the coil and the latter then removed, the upper hinged wall-portion Il having been unlocked and opened. The roll 2Q may then be placed in the notches and a coil of fresh towel on its roll is then temporarily supported on hinged arms i3 having notches in their ends, which may be swung outwardly as shown in Figure 'Z after opening the wall-portion il. Towel is then threaded under the guide roll 43 and over the roll i9 and around the roll 54 of the frame 5B. The end of the towel is then pulled up behind the front run and started around the roll placed in the notches i5. When the roll has been started, it is moved balckwardly and downwardly in the slots l5 until it is engaged by the friction driving roll fill. The yoke 25 and the plate 22 may then be swung upwardly and the roll having the coil of fresh towel thereon deposited with its ends in the slots I9. The device is then ready for operation on closing the hinged wall portions l and l2, providing thatthe lever 3S is in the illustrated position whenv the wall portion l I is closed; As explained above, this is effected automatically since it is neces'- sary to close the door 2l' before the wall-portion l! can be opened and the closing ofthe door 2l restores the lever 36 tothe illustrated position. AA nger hole 'U5 in the'side frame plate I8 facilitates the manual disengagement lof'the pawl 4l from the ratchet wheel so that the frictiony driving roll 4f! can be manually turned to start the leading end of the fresh towel on its roll. This' operation of the pawlndisconnects thel friction driving roll from the drive mechanism normally employed including the lever 36 and associated gearing.

It will be apparent from the foregoing description thatthe invention provides agreatimprovement over towel cabinets known heretofore since it includes means for dispensing precisely a predetermined length of towel on each operation of the handle and always maintains the used towel concealed. The fresh towel is locked against excessive withdrawal when the door is open and access to the towel is prevented until the door is fully opened. Pumping of the towel is prevented. TheA exchange of fresh towels for soiled ones is relatively simple. The entire structure,` furtherf more, is simple in arrangement and relatively inexpensive to manufacture;` The simplicity of the structure also contributes to easy maintenance. The apparatus may be embodied, as shown herein, in a cabinet adapted for; wall mounting or may equallywellbe disposed in'a cabinet adapted to stand on the floor. Suitablershock absorbers for the moving parts may be use-d to limit the noise and jar so that vthe devicelis adapted for use in all locations even those such as hospitals where noise is objectionable; Onoperatingi'the device only fresh towel is exposed. yThe door which opens to expose the towel is locked in the open position until the towel has been pulled out and releasedv so that even if the door should beopened and the towel unused, only fresh towel would be visible. Pulling out thetowel to .any extent will cause the door to be closed when the towel is released. Only one friction driving roller. is employed and chain drives are eliminated. f The friction drive roll, as well as the gripper bars, may be covered with abrasive cloth, rubber or other suitable frictional material. The invention is readily adapted to coin-controlled operation but the specific type of coin-controlled release is largely a matter of choice and is, therefore, not described herein. The cabinet is economical in the use of towel because only a predetermined amount can be advanced on one operation of the lever.

Although I have illustrated and described herein only one form of the invention, it will be apparent that numerous changes in the described embodiment may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

I claim: y

1. In a towel cabinet, means for supporting a coil of fresh towel, means for winding up the towel as used, vertically reciprocablemeans for maintaining a loop of towel of predetermined length therebetween, and means effective to prevent movement of said second-mentioned means only when the loop is tautened in response to operation of said first-mentioned means and not when the loop is pulled by a user.

2. In a towel cabinet, means for supporting a coil of fresh towel, means for Winding up` the towel as used, movable means for maintaining a loop of towel of predetermined length therebetween, saidsecond-mentioned means being movable by apuil on the towel extending therefrom'to the fresh coil to Afeed a portion of the towel for use, and means preventingmovefnent of said secondmentioned means when the towel extending from the loop to the winding up meansis tautened in response to operation of the latter.

3. In a towel cabinet, an opening through which a towel is accessible, manually operable means for 5 advancing towel from a fresh coil thereof' past said opening, means normally closing said opening and preventing access to the towel, means operable by said first mentioned means to operate said acv cess preventing means and provide access tothe towel, means on saidsecond mentioned means effective on complete operation of the latter to grip the towel extending from the fresh coll thereof to prevent manual unwinding thereof, and

additional means for barring access to the towelv until the second mentioned means has operated completely and said towel gripping means is effective.

4. The apparatus defined `by claim 3 lcharacterized by means for rendering said access barring meansineffective when Vthe means normally closing the opening'has been fully operated.

5. In a towel cabinet, thecombination with means for rotatably supporting a coil of .fresh towel, a coiling roll on which used towelmay be 251 coiled, means for feeding fresh towel and coiling used towel including only a single friction driving roll engaging the towel coiled on said coiling roll, of manuallyactuablemeans for operating said friction roll, means for maintainingl said coil and roll, and means whereby rotationy of said friction driving roll solely and exclusively tensions said loop throughout its entire length and pulls towel fromsaid coil around said lastmentioned means.

6. In a towel cabinet,'the combination with means for supporting a coil of fresh towel adapted to'be made available for use in a loop of predetermined length, a roll for winding up the towel 40 as used, manually operable means independent of the towel effective to drive the roll to wind up used towel, vertically movable means-for maintaining said loop of toweling of predetermined length between said coil andsaid wind-up means,

means for preventing movement of said movable means whereby rotation of said roll places the loop under tension throughout and pulls fresh towel fromV the coil, and'means responsive to a pull on the portion of: the towel extending toward the coil of fresh towel, for rendering said movement-preventing means ineffective.

7. .In a towel cabinet, the combination withan opening, a closure therefor precluding access to the towel in the cabinet, manually operable means independent of the' towel for drawing towel from a coil thereof past the opening, and opening the closure to expose the towel to be pulledout and used, means forflocking the closure in open position, and means operable o n release of the towel 6.0 for operating the last-mentionedmeans torelease the closure and permit it t-o close said opening.

8. The apparatus defined by claim '7 character-- ized by means for gripping the towel to prevent it 65 from being pulled offthe fresh coil. Y

9. The apparatus definedfby claim ''charac-l terized by means for preventing used towelfrom being pulled back from said drawing means.`

10. In a towel cabinet, an opening through 70 which the towel Vis accessible, means including al meanszand affordv access to the towel, and means independent of the towel advancing means for holding in operated position the means normally closing said opening.

11. In a' towel cabinet, an opening through 5l which the towel is accessible, means for advancing fresh towel from a coil thereof past said opening, a door normally closing said opening and preventing access to the towel, means operable with said first mentioned means to operate said 10 door to expose the towel, means for holding the door in open position, said holding means being operable by withdrawal of the towel from the' cabinet and release thereof, for causing the release of saidv door whereupon it returns to its l5l initial position.

12. In a `towel cabinet, a door normally barring access to the towel, an opening normally closed by the door through which the towel is accessible,

and means including a member accessible on the 20* exterior of the cabinet and operable by a user, for opening said door and drawing fresh towel from a coil toward said door so as to be accessible therethrough, and means operated by the door for holding the door in open position to permit and means including a member accessible on the 30" exterior of the cabinet and operable by a user for opening said door and drawing fresh towel from a coil toward said door so as to be accessible therethrough, means independent of said openingv means for holding the door in open position to 3 permit access to the towel, means for normally maintaining a loop of towel adjacent said opening, and means moving with said loop-maintaining means and effective on release of the towel to render inoperative the door holding means. 40

14. In a towel cabinet, a door normally barring access to the towel, an opening normally closed` by the door through which the towel is accessible, and means including a memberaccesslble on the exterior of the cabinet, operable by a user, and 45 including a wind-up roll for used towel, for opening said door and drawing fresh towel from a coiltoward said door so as to be accessible therethrough, meansk for maintaining a loop of towel adjacent said door, and means for locking said 50 last-mentioned means against operation by the driving torque exerted on said wind-up roll.

15. A towel dispenser comprising a support for a coil of fresh towel, means for gathering the towel as used, retractibley means for maintaining 55 a loop between the fresh and used towel, means frictionally engaging the used towel and effective to pull fresh towel from the coil thereof by tension thereon when said loop is maintained by said retractible means, a manually operable drive for said frictionally engaging means, means for preventing retraction of the loop-maintaining means, and means responsive to a pull on the portion of the loop extending toward the coil of fresh towel to render ineffective said retraction-preventing means.

v16. In a towel cabinet, means therein for supporting a coil of fresh towel, an opening in the cabinet through which the towel is accessible to a user, a door normally closing said opening, means including a member manually operable from the exterior of the cabinet, for drawing fresh towel from said coil past said opening and operating said door to expose the towel, and means includingmeans .operatedwith said door for locking the fresh towel against further uncoiling thereof from said coil.

17. In a towel cabinet, means therein for supporting a coil of fresh towel, an opening in the cabinet through which the towel is accessible to a user, a sliding door normally closing said opening, means including a member manually operable from the exterior of the cabinet, for drawing fresh towel from said coil past said opening and sliding said door back to expose the towel, and means including means operated with said door for holding the fresh towel against further uncoiling thereof from said coil.

18. In a towel cabinet, means therein for supporting a coil of fresh towel, an opening in the cabinet through which the towel is accessible to a user, a door normally closing said opening, means including a member manually operable from the exterior of the cabinet, for drawing fresh towel from said coil past said opening and operating said door to expose the towel, a friction gripping bar on said door, and fixed means cooperating therewith when the door is open for holding the fresh towel against further uncoiling thereof from said coil.

19. In a towel cabinet, means therein for supporting a coil of fresh towel, an opening in the cabinet through which the towel is accessible to a user, a door normally closing said opening, means including a member manually operable from the exterior of the cabinet, for drawing fresh towel from said coil past said opening and operating said door` to expose the towel, and a friction gripping bar on said door, a relatively fixed friction gripping bar adapted to cooperate with that on the door when the door is opened and seize the towel between them to prevent further uncoiling of fresh towel from the coil.

20. In a towel cabinet, means therein for supporting a coil of fresh towel, an opening in the cabinet through which the towel is accessible to a user, a sliding door normally closing said opening, means including a manually operable member for raising said door and drawing fresh towel from said coil past said opening, a gripper carried on said door and a relatively fixed gripper in said cabinet adapted to cooperate with said first mentioned gripper when the door is raised, to prevent further uncoiling of fresh towel from the coil.

ANDREW FALK.

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