Continuous towel dispenser

Claim 2

A towel dispenser of the continuous type comprising a housing having associated therewith a loop of toweling that extends from a source of clean toweling along an exit path to an exposed position accessible to a user an thence along a return path into said housing to storage for used toweling, support structure mounted on each side of said housing and providing a ramp and a journal structure and a bearing surface, a storage roller shiftably and rotatably movable on said ramps in said housing for accumulating thereon a roll of used toweling, drive roller structure freely rotatably supported on said journal structures in said housing in contact with the used toweling roll for rotating the used toweling roll and said storage roller, a pinch roller freely rotatably supported on said bearing surfaces in said housing adjacent to said drive roller structure and movable toward and away therefrom, clean toweling from the source thereof passing upwardly between said drive roller structure and said pinch roller and over said pinch roller and downwardly into the loop of toweling, tension on the loop of toweling urging said pinch roller along said bearing surfaces against the toweling between said pinch roller and said drive roller structure and urging said drive roller structure into said journal structures and against the used toweling roll, downward pulling on the loop of toweling causing feeding of clean toweling from the source thereof into the loop of toweling and rotation of said pinch roller and said drive roller structure and said storage roller to accumulate the used toweling thereon during shifting and rotating movement of said storage roller to maintain a predetermined amount of toweling in the loop of toweling.

Claim 3

The towel dispenser set forth in claim 1, wherein the bearing surfaces of said support structures extend rearwardly and downwardly and the center of gravity of said pinch roller is disposed above the center of gravity of said drive roller structure continually to urge said pinch roller toward said drive roller structure.

Claim 4

The towel dispenser set forth in claim 1, wherein said drive roller structure includes at least one cylindrical tube having an abrasive covering of sandpaper thereon.

Claim 5

The towel dispenser set forth in claim 1, wherein said pinch roller is a cylindrical tube having an abrasive covering thereon.

Claim 6

The towel dispenser set forth in claim 1, wherein said drive roller structure includes at least one cylindrical tube and said pinch roller is a cylindrical tube having a larger diameter than said one cylindrical tube of said drive roller structure.

Claim 7

The towel dispenser set forth in claim 1, wherein said housing includes a door mounted for pivotal movement and a towel break mounted on the inside of said door so that the end of said towel break away from said door is positioned downwardly and underneath said pinch roller when said door is closed.

Claim 8

A towel dispenser of the continuous type comprising a housing having associated therewith a loop of toweling that extends from a source of clean toweling along an exit path to an exposed position accessible to a user and thence along a return path into said housing to storage for used toweling, first support structure mounted on each side of said housing and having an upwardly inclined ramp terminating in rest at the bottom thereof, a storage roller shiftably and rotatably mounted on said first support structures for accumulating thereon a roll of used toweling during shifting and rotating movement along said ramps, second support structure mounted on each side of said housing and providing a journal disposed below said ramp and having vertical and rearward restraints, a drive roller rotatably mounted in the journals of said second support structures in contact with the used toweling roll for rotating the used toweling roll and said storage roller, third support structure mounted on each side of said housing and providing a bearing surface extending rearwardly and downwardly toward the associated journal, and a pinch roller shiftably and rotatably mounted on the bearing surfaces of said third support structures movable toward and away from said drive roller for restraining forward movement of said drive roller during operation of said towel dispenser, clean toweling from the source thereof passing upwardly between said drive roller and said pinch roller and over said pinch roller and downwardly into the loop of toweling, tension on the loop of toweling urging said pinch roller rearwardly on the bearing surfaces of said third support structures against the toweling between said pinch roller and said drive roller to urge said drive roller into said journals on said second support structures and against the used toweling roll, downward pulling on the loop of toweling causing feeding of clean toweling from the source thereof into the loop of toweling and rotation of said pinch roller and said drive roller and said storage roller to accumulate the roll of used toweling thereon during movement of said storage roller upwardly and rearwardly along the ramps of said first support structures to maintain a predetermined amount of toweling in the loop of toweling.

Claim 9

A towel dispenser of the continuous type comprising a housing having associated therewith a loop of toweling that extends from a source of clean toweling along an exit path to an exposed position accessible to a user and thence along a return path into said housing to storage for used toweling, first support structure mounted on each side of said housing and having an upwardly inclined ramp terminating in rest at the bottom thereof, a storage roller shiftably and rotatably mounted on said first support structures for accumulating thereon a roll of used toweling during shifting and rotating movement along said ramps, second support structure mounted on each side of said housing and providing a journal disposed below said ramp and having vertical and rearward restraints, a drive roller rotatably mounted in the journals of said second support structures in contact with the used toweling roll for rotating the used toweling roll and said storage roller, third support structure mounted on each side of said housing and providing a bearing surface extending rearwardly and downwardly toward the associated journal, and a pinch roller shiftably and rotatably mounted on the bearing surfaces of said third support structures movable toward and away from said drive roller for restraining forward movement of said drive roller during operation of said towel dispenser, clean toweling from the source thereof passing upwardly between said drive roller and said pinch roller and over said pinch roller and downwardly into the loop of toweling, tension on the loop of toweling urging said pinch roller rearwardly on the bearing surfaces of said third support structures against the toweling between said pinch roller and said drive roller to urge said drive roller into said journals on said second support structures and against the used toweling roll, downward pulling on the loop of toweling causing feeding of clean toweling from the source thereof into the loop of toweling and rotation of said pinch roller and said drive roller and said storage roller to accumulate the roll of used toweling thereon during movement of said storage roller upwardly and rearwardly along the ramps of said first support structures to maintain a predetermined amount of toweling in the loop of toweling.

Claim 10

The towel dispenser set forth in claim 7, wherein said first support structure and said second support structure and said third support structure are one piece.

Claim 11

A towel dispenser of the continuous type comprising a housing having associated therewith a loop of toweling that extends from a source of clean toweling along an exit path to an exposed position accessible to a user and thence along a return path into said housing to storage for used toweling, support structure mounted on each side of said housing and providing a ramp and journal structure and a bearing surface, a storage roller shiftably and rotatably movable on said ramps in said housing for accumulating thereon a roll of used toweling, a first drive roller freely rotatably supported on said journal structures in contact with the used toweling roll for rotating the used toweling roll and said storage roller, a second drive roller freely rotatably supported on said journal structures in said housing drivably connected to said first drive roller, a pinch roller freely rotatably supported on said bearing surFaces in said housing adjacent to said second drive roller, clean toweling from the source thereof passing upwardly between said second drive roller and said pinch roller and over said pinch roller and downwardly into the loop of toweling, tension on the loop of toweling urging said pinch roller along said bearing surfaces against the toweling between said pinch roller and said second drive roller, downward pulling on the loop of toweling causing feeding of clean toweling from the source thereof into the loop of toweling and rotation of said pinch roller and said first and said second drive rollers and said storage roller to accumulate the used toweling thereon during shifting and rotating movement of said storage roller to maintain a predetermined amount of toweling in the loop of toweling.

Claim 12

A towel dispenser of the continuous type comprising a housing having associated therewith a loop of toweling that extends from a source of clean toweling along an exit path to an exposed position accessible to a user and thence along a return path into said housing to storage for used toweling, support structure mounted on each side of said housing and providing a ramp and journal structure and a bearing surface, a storage roller shiftably and rotatably movable on said ramps in said housing for accumulating thereon a roll of used toweling, a first drive roller freely rotatably supported on said journal structures in contact with the used toweling roll for rotating the used toweling roll and said storage roller, a second drive roller freely rotatably supported on said journal structures in said housing drivably connected to said first drive roller, a pinch roller freely rotatably supported on said bearing surFaces in said housing adjacent to said second drive roller, clean toweling from the source thereof passing upwardly between said second drive roller and said pinch roller and over said pinch roller and downwardly into the loop of toweling, tension on the loop of toweling urging said pinch roller along said bearing surfaces against the toweling between said pinch roller and said second drive roller, downward pulling on the loop of toweling causing feeding of clean toweling from the source thereof into the loop of toweling and rotation of said pinch roller and said first and said second drive rollers and said storage roller to accumulate the used toweling thereon during shifting and rotating movement of said storage roller to maintain a predetermined amount of toweling in the loop of toweling.

Claim 13

The towel dispenser set forth in claim 9, wherein each of said drive rollers carries a sprocket thereon with a chain interconnecting said sprockets drivingly to connect said first drive roller with said second drive roller.

Claim 14

A towel dispenser of the continuous type comprising a housing having associated therewith a loop of toweling that extends from a source of clean toweling along an exit path to an exposed position accessible to a user and thence along a return path into said housing to storage for used toweling, first support structure mounted on each side of said housing and having an upwardly inclined ramp terminating in rest at the bottom thereof, a storage roller shiftably and rotatably mounted on said first support structures for accumulating thereon a roll of used toweling during shifting and rotating movement along said ramps, second support structure mounted on each side of said housing and providing a journal disposed below said ramp and having vertical and rearward restraints, a first drive roller rotatably mounted in the journals of said second support structures in contact with the used toweling roll for rotating the used toweling roll and said storage roller, third support structure mounted on each side of said housing and providing a journal disposed below said ramp and having vertical and rearward restraints, a second drive roller rotatably mounted in the journals of said third support structures drivingly interconnected with said first drive roller for rotating the first drive roller, fourth support structure mounted on each side of said housing and providing a bearing surface extending rearwardly and downwardly toward the associated journal, and a pinch roller shiftably and rotatably mounted on the bearing surfaces of said fourth support structures adjacent to said second drive roller, clean toweling from the source thereof passing upwardly between said second drive roller and said pinch roller and over said pinch roller and downwardly into the loop of towling, tension on the loop of toweling urging said pinch roller rearwardly on the bearing surfaces of said fourth support structures against the toweling between said pinch roller and said second drive roller, downward pulling on the loop of toweling causing feeding of clean toweling from the source thereof into the loop of toweling and rotation of said pinch roller and said drive roller and said storage roller to accumulate the roll of used toweling thereon during movement of said storage roller upwardly and rearwardly along the ramps of said first support structures to maintain a predetermined amount of toweling in the loop of toweling.

Claim 15

A towel dispenser of the continuous type comprising a housing having associated therewith a loop of toweling that extends from a source of clean toweling along an exit path to an exposed position accessible to a user and thence along a return path into said housing to storage for used toweling, first support structure mounted on each side of said housing and having an upwardly inclined ramp terminating in rest at the bottom thereof, a storage roller shiftably and rotatably mounted on said first support structures for accumulating thereon a roll of used toweling during shifting and rotating movement along said ramps, second support structure mounted on each side of said housing and providing a journal disposed below said ramp and having vertical and rearward restraints, a first drive roller rotatably mounted in the journals of said second support structures in contact with the used toweling roll for rotating the used toweling roll and said storage roller, third support structure mounted on each side of said housing and providing a journal disposed below said ramp and having vertical and rearward restraints, a second drive roller rotatably mounted in the journals of said third support structures drivingly interconnected with said first drive roller for rotating the first drive roller, fourth support structure mounted on each side of said housing and providing a bearing surface extending rearwardly and downwardly toward the associated journal, and a pinch roller shiftably and rotatably mounted on the bearing surfaces of said fourth support structures adjacent to said second drive roller, clean toweling from the source thereof passing upwardly between said second drive roller and said pinch roller and over said pinch roller and downwardly into the loop of towling, tension on the loop of toweling urging said pinch roller rearwardly on the bearing surfaces of said fourth support structures against the toweling between said pinch roller and said second drive roller, downward pulling on the loop of toweling causing feeding of clean toweling from the source thereof into the loop of toweling and rotation of said pinch roller and said drive roller and said storage roller to accumulate the roll of used toweling thereon during movement of said storage roller upwardly and rearwardly along the ramps of said first support structures to maintain a predetermined amount of toweling in the loop of toweling.

Claim 16

A towel dispenser of the continuous type comprising a housing having associated therewith a loop of toweling that extends from a source of clean toweling along an exit path to an exposed position accessible to a user and thence along a return path into said housing to storage for used toweling, a storage roller shiftably and rotatably mounted in said housing for accumulating thereon a roll of used toweling, drive roller structure rotatably mounted in said housing in contact with the used toweling roll for rotating the used toweling roll and said storage roller, a Pinch roller shiftably and rotatably mounted in said housing adjacent to said drive roller structure and movable toward and away therefrom, clean toweling from the source thereof passing upwardly between said drive roller structure and said pinch roller and over said pinch roller and downwardly into the loop of toweling, tension on the loop of toweling urging said pinch roller against the toweling disposed between said pinch roller and said drive roller structure, and stop mechanism responsive to predetermined angular rotation of said pinch roller during dispensing of clean toweling for halting rotation of said pinch roller and thereby said drive roller structure to stop dispensing of clean toweling into the loop of toweling, said stop mechanism being responsive to release of the loop of toweling after actuation of said stop mechanism for automatically releasing said pinch roller and thereby said drive roller structure to permit subsequent dispensing of clean toweling, downward pulling on the loop of toweling causing feeding of clean toweling from the source thereof into the loop of toweling and take-up of used toweling on said storage roller until the end of the predetermined angular rotation of said pinch roller actuates said stop mechanism to stop dispensing of clean toweling, release of the loop of toweling causing said stop mechanism to release said pinch roller to permit subsequent dispensing of clean toweling upon downward pulling on the loop of toweling.

Claim 17

A towel dispenser of the continuous type comprising a housing having associated therewith a loop of toweling that extends from a source of clean toweling along an exit path to an exposed position accessible to a user and thence along a return path into said housing to storage for used toweling, a storage roller shiftably and rotatably mounted in said housing for accumulating thereon a roll of used toweling, drive roller structure rotatably mounted in said housing in contact with the used toweling roll for rotating the used toweling roll and said storage roller, a Pinch roller shiftably and rotatably mounted in said housing adjacent to said drive roller structure and movable toward and away therefrom, clean toweling from the source thereof passing upwardly between said drive roller structure and said pinch roller and over said pinch roller and downwardly into the loop of toweling, tension on the loop of toweling urging said pinch roller against the toweling disposed between said pinch roller and said drive roller structure, and stop mechanism responsive to predetermined angular rotation of said pinch roller during dispensing of clean toweling for halting rotation of said pinch roller and thereby said drive roller structure to stop dispensing of clean toweling into the loop of toweling, said stop mechanism being responsive to release of the loop of toweling after actuation of said stop mechanism for automatically releasing said pinch roller and thereby said drive roller structure to permit subsequent dispensing of clean toweling, downward pulling on the loop of toweling causing feeding of clean toweling from the source thereof into the loop of toweling and take-up of used toweling on said storage roller until the end of the predetermined angular rotation of said pinch roller actuates said stop mechanism to stop dispensing of clean toweling, release of the loop of toweling causing said stop mechanism to release said pinch roller to permit subsequent dispensing of clean toweling upon downward pulling on the loop of toweling.

Claim 18

The towel dispenser set forth in claim 12, wherein said stop mechanism is actuated to halt rotation of said pinch roller in response to less than a 360* rotation of said pinch roller.

Claim 19

The towel dispenser set forth in claim 12, wherein said pinch roller and said drive roller have different diameters to prevent wear on the surface of said drive roller.

Claim 20

A towel dispenser of the continuous type comprising a housing having associated therewith a loop of toweling that extends from a source of clean toweling along an exit path to an exposed position accessible to a user and thence along a return path into said housing to storage for used toweling; a storage roller shiftably and rotatably mounted in said housing for accumulating thereon a roll of used toweling, drive roller structure rotatably mounted in said housing in contact with the used toweling roll for rotating the used toweling roll and said storage roller, a pinch roller shiftably and rotatably mounted in said housing adjacent to said drive roller structure and movable toward and away therefrom, clean toweling from the source thereof passing upwardly between said drive roller structure and said pinch roller and over said pinch roller and downwardly into the loop of toweling, tension on the loop of toweling urging said pinch roller rearwardly against the toweling disposed between said pinch roller and said drive roller structure, and a stop mechanism including a latch and a cam on said pinch roller and a stop pawl pivotally mounted on said housing, said latch being angularly spaced from said cam on said pinch roller, said stop pawl including a catch for engagement with said latch and a cam follower for engagement with said cam, said stop pawl being biased at the beginning of clean toweling dispensing to position said catch spaced from said latch, downward pulling on the loop of toweling cuasing feeding of clean toweling from the source thereof into the loop of toweling and take-up of used toweling onto said storage roller and eventual engagement of said cam follower with said cam causing said catch to engage said latch after a predetermined angular rotation of said pinch roller in one direction to stop dispensing of clean toweling, release of the loop of toweling permitting said stop pawl to rotate in the opposite direction to disengage said catch from said latch and said cam follower from said cam and thus to release said pinch roller to permit subsequent dispensing of clean toweling upon downward pulling on the loop of towelinG.

Claim 21

A towel dispenser of the continuous type comprising a housing having associated therewith a loop of toweling that extends from a source of clean toweling along an exit path to an exposed position accessible to a user and thence along a return path into said housing to storage for used toweling; a storage roller shiftably and rotatably mounted in said housing for accumulating thereon a roll of used toweling, drive roller structure rotatably mounted in said housing in contact with the used toweling roll for rotating the used toweling roll and said storage roller, a pinch roller shiftably and rotatably mounted in said housing adjacent to said drive roller structure and movable toward and away therefrom, clean toweling from the source thereof passing upwardly between said drive roller structure and said pinch roller and over said pinch roller and downwardly into the loop of toweling, tension on the loop of toweling urging said pinch roller rearwardly against the toweling disposed between said pinch roller and said drive roller structure, and a stop mechanism including a latch and a cam on said pinch roller and a stop pawl pivotally mounted on said housing, said latch being angularly spaced from said cam on said pinch roller, said stop pawl including a catch for engagement with said latch and a cam follower for engagement with said cam, said stop pawl being biased at the beginning of clean toweling dispensing to position said catch spaced from said latch, downward pulling on the loop of toweling cuasing feeding of clean toweling from the source thereof into the loop of toweling and take-up of used toweling onto said storage roller and eventual engagement of said cam follower with said cam causing said catch to engage said latch after a predetermined angular rotation of said pinch roller in one direction to stop dispensing of clean toweling, release of the loop of toweling permitting said stop pawl to rotate in the opposite direction to disengage said catch from said latch and said cam follower from said cam and thus to release said pinch roller to permit subsequent dispensing of clean toweling upon downward pulling on the loop of towelinG.

Claim 22

The towel dispenser set forth in claim 15, wherein said pinch roller is a cylindrical tube having a portion of one end thereof bent out of the plane of the cylindrical surface to form said cam and having a notch in said one end to form said latch.

Claim 23

The towel dispenser set forth in claim 15, wherein said cam follower is biased by gravity.

Claim 24

A towel dispenser of the continuous type comprising a housing and having associated therewith a loop of toweling that extends from a source of clean toweling along an exit path to an exposed position accessible to a user and thence along a return path into said housing to storage for used toweling, a storage roller shiftably and rotatably mounted in said housing for accumulating thereon a roll of used toweling, drive roller structure rotatably mounted in said housing in contact with the used toweling roll for rotating the used toweling roll and said storage roller, a pinch roller rotatably mounted in said housing adjacent to said drive roller structure and movable toward and away therefrom, clean toweling from the source thereof passing upwardly between said drive roller structure and said pinch roller and over said pinch roller and downwardly into the loop of toweling, tension on the loop of toweling urging said pinch roller against the toweling between said pinch roller and said drive roller structure, and a towel straightener including spaced-apart plates mounted at the bottom of said housing adjacent to the return path of the toweling providing spaced apart straightening surfaces engaging the longitudinal edges of the used toweling to straighten the used toweling and to prevent the used toweling from folding during travel along the return path to the roll of used toweling, said plates being spaced apart a distance to provide an opening therebetween sufficiently large for an operator conveniently to engage the free end of a clean roll of toweling with said storage roller during loading of the towel dispenser, downward pulling on the loop of toweling causing feeding of clean toweling from the source thereof into the loop of toweling and rotation of said pinch roller and said drive roller structure and said storage roller to accumulate the used toweling thereon while said towel straightener serves to maintain the used toweling straight along its return path onto the roll of used toweling.

Claim 25

A towel dispenser of the continuous type comprising a housing and having associated therewith a loop of toweling that extends from a source of clean toweling along an exit path to an exposed position accessible to a user and thence along a return path into said housing to storage for used toweling, a storage roller shiftably and rotatably mounted in said housing for accumulating thereon a roll of used toweling, drive roller structure rotatably mounted in said housing in contact with the used toweling roll for rotating the used toweling roll and said storage roller, a pinch roller rotatably mounted in said housing adjacent to said drive roller structure and movable toward and away therefrom, clean toweling from the source thereof passing upwardly between said drive roller structure and said pinch roller and over said pinch roller and downwardly into the loop of toweling, tension on the loop of toweling urging said pinch roller against the toweling between said pinch roller and said drive roller structure, and a towel straightener including spaced-apart plates mounted at the bottom of said housing adjacent to the return path of the toweling providing spaced apart straightening surfaces engaging the longitudinal edges of the used toweling to straighten the used toweling and to prevent the used toweling from folding during travel along the return path to the roll of used toweling, said plates being spaced apart a distance to provide an opening therebetween sufficiently large for an operator conveniently to engage the free end of a clean roll of toweling with said storage roller during loading of the towel dispenser, downward pulling on the loop of toweling causing feeding of clean toweling from the source thereof into the loop of toweling and rotation of said pinch roller and said drive roller structure and said storage roller to accumulate the used toweling thereon while said towel straightener serves to maintain the used toweling straight along its return path onto the roll of used toweling.