US2946636A - Holder for toilet paper - Google Patents

Description

July 26, 1960 E. PENNEY 2,946,636

HOLDER FOR TOILET PAPER Filed July 18, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet l .ygy, 1.

INVENTOE.

HTTOENE! July 26, 1960 E. PENNEY HOLDER FOR TOILET PAPER 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 18, 1958 KE A HTTOIENEQ' l N VE-IbT 0/2 July 26, 1960 E. PENNEY 2,946,636

' HOLDER FOR TOILET PAPER Filed July 1a, 1958 s Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOE B egzda dk QTTOENED United States HOLDER FOR TOILET PAPER Ernest Penney, Conister Market St., Whitworth, Rochdale, England This invention relates to a new or improved holder for a bundle of toilet paper, which bundle may be in the form of a roll or, alternatively, a pack of separate sheets.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a holder for toilet paper which is especially adapted to preclude pilfering of a complete bundle so that the holder is especially adapted for use in public conveniences, factories, and the like.

Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide a holder which is adapted to accommodate a reserve bundle in addition to the one actually in use.

A holder constructed in accordance with the present invention comprises a housing adapted to support the bundle in its operative position, said housing being provided with a withdrawal opening and an insertion opening, the Withdrawal opening being small enough to preclude withdrawal of a substantially unused bundle whilst permitting withdrawal of individual sheets of paper, to gether with retaining means associated with saidhousing, said retaining means being adapted to permit insertion of a bundle into the housing through said insertion opening but to preclude the removal of such bundle from the interior of the housing through said insertion opening.

Said housing may extend to one side of the position at which it accommodates the bundle actually in use sofas to provide a storage space adapted to contain a reserve bundle or pack, the arrangement being such that on exhaustion of the previously in use bundle the reserve bundle can be displaced into its operative or in use position without it being necessary to remove it from the housing for that purpose.

Preferably the storage space aforesaid is disposed directly above the space within the housing which accommodates the bundle in use, the arrangement being such that on exhaustion of the latter the .reserve bundle in the form of a roll or pack can be displaced downwardly into its in use position and with, such an arrangement means'would be provided for releasably supporting such reserve bundle in its storage position until required for use. Such supporting means would preferably comprise one or more resilient fingers or the equivalent.

The retaining means referred to may also be constructed as one or more resilient fingers which are adapted partially to extend across the insertion opening to preclude the withdrawal of both bundles referred to, such resilient finger or fingers being displaceable into a position allowing insertion of a bundle through the insertion opening. Alternatively, said retaining means may be in the form of a lid which is pivotally connected to the housing, there beingprovided catch means disposed within the interior of the housing and operable from such interior through an aperture provided either in the lid or the housing, the arrangement being that -when the reserve bundle is in its storage position such aperture will be'covered by said reserve bundle so as to atent l ice prevent insertion of the fingers ortool through such aperture in order to operate the catch means.

Where the housing is provided with'a lid as aforesaid, said lid may also be provided with an extension member or portion which lies within the interior of the housing when the lid is closed so that it is closely adjacent to a reserve bundle and precludes opening of the lid by reason of such extension member or portion engaging said reserve bundle if opening of the lid is attempted should said catch, for example, inadvertently be not engaged.

The withdrawal opening referred to may be formed to the reduced size required merely by the provision of one or more bars or rollers which extend thereacross so erture which will allow withdrawal of such spent bundle.

In yet a further construction one or more of said bars or rollers may be mounted in' a pair of slots disposed on opposite sides of the housing so that the bar or roller can be displaced to one side' in order to permit of withdrawal of the spent bundle.

In one preferable embodiment the catch means re- .ferred to above incorporate a pivoted catch mounted on the interior of the housing, which catch is adapted to engage with a co-operating lug secured to the lid. Alternatively, the catch may be adapted to engage directly with a part of the lid or the extension member provided on the lid, the catch being weighted or counter-balanced so that it tends to assume the closed position.

The housing is preferably provided with means whereby it can be secured to a wall' such as, for example, by providing one or more keyhole slots at the back of the housing. Alternatively, the holder may be arranged to fit into a recess formed in the wall and be retained therein.

The invention will now be more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of one form of holder constructed in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of an alternative form of holder.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary vertical section of the holder shown in Figure 1, the lid being shown in the closed 'position and the figure being on a somewhat smaller scale ance with the present invention, and

Figure 7 is a fragmentary perspective View showing a modified form of catch.

Referring now to Figure 1, a holder for a bundle of toilet paper comprises a housing 10 which is conveniently formed from sheet metal bent to a generally channel shaped configuration. Whilst a holder constructed in accordance with the present invention is adapted to be used either with a roll or with a pack comprising. a plurality of separate sheets, the embodiments now to be described are particularly suited for use with a roll. The front of such housing 10 is provided with a plate 11 extending between the two sides of the housing and there is also provided a lid 12 pivotally connected to the housing by means of rod 13 and spring loaded by a coil spring 14, which tends to move the lid 12 into the open position.

' The holder incorporates an insertion opening which is disposed above the plate 11 and which is generally indicated by reference numeral 15 and a withdrawal opening indicated by reference numeral 16 which is disposed below said plate 11. t

The holder-is also provided internally with supporting means in the form of four resilient fingers 17, each formed of short lengths of spring material secured at their upper ends as by means of rivets to the housing and plate 11. There are thus provided two pairs of such resilient fingers 17, these being disposed opposite to each other so as to define between them a space through which a roll can be pushed, the fingers 17 deflecting downwards somewhat to allow of the roll being pushed downwardly.

The lower part of the housing is provided with three rollers 18, each arranged to rotate about fixed horizontal axes and the arrangement is such that said rollers 18 are spaced so as to preclude withdrawal of an unused or substantially unused roll whilst at the same time permitting withdrawal of individual sheets. The bottom of the holder is also provided with an extension plate 19 and this is spaced from the three rollers 18 as aforesaid so that a spent roll can be withdrawn from the holder through the space existing between two adjacent rollers 18.

Associated with the insertion opening are retaining means in the form of a pair of spaced spring loaded flaps 20 mounted on a common spindle 21 movable independently of each other, each of said flaps 20 being biased upwardly by a spring 22 so as to bring it into contact with a stop 23. Thus the arrangement is such that a roll of paper can be inserted through the insertion opening 15 when the lid 12 is open and pushed downwardly past the pair of flaps 20 which are thus depressed downwardly to allow such downward movement of the roll. Once the roll has moved past the flaps 20, said flaps spring upwardly to retain the roll in a storage position in which it is supported on the aforementioned resilient fingers 17. In this case the roll in use would be supported by the three rollers 18 but when the latter is exhausted the upper or storage roll would be moved downwardly into the in use position by means of pressure applied to the upper side thereof through an aperture 24 provided for that purpose in the lid 12.

As will be seen in Figures 1 and 3, the lid 12 is provided with additional retaining means in the form of an extension member or portion 25 which extends on the opposite side of the rod 13 from the lid itself and which is adapted to be brought into engagement with a stop 26 when the lid is in its open position so as to limit such opening movement. Said portion 25 extends into the interior of the housing and is adapted to engage with a roll or pack disposed in the upper part of the housing so as to prevent opening of the lid and withdrawal of such roll or pack. The lid is also provided with a pair of side plates 27 for additional security.

In order to retain the lid in a closed position there is provided catch means in the form of a pivoted catch 28 (see Figures 1 and 3) which catch 28 is mounted in the interior of the housing and has a portion 29 which is adapted to engage with a part of said extension member 25. The catch 28 is weighted so that said portion 29 will normally be disposed in the retaining position in which it engages the extension member 25. Thus to release the catch and open the lid the fingers have to be inserted through an aperture 30 in the plate 11 so as to lift the portion 31 of the catch and thus depress portion 29 to free the extension member 25 and allow the lid to spring into its open position. It will be understood that it is not possible to obtain access to the catch 28 whilst a reserve roll is in position as the aperture 30 will be covered thereby. Furthermore, if the catch 28 should not be properly engaged when the lid 12 is shut, the extension member 25 will engage with one side of such reserve roll and prevent the lid from opening. Additional security is, of course, also provided by the pair of spaced flaps 20 which act in the manner of a valve, allowing insertion of a roll into the holder but preventing or reducing the possibility of the roll being withdrawn through such insertion opening. When the roll in use has been exhausted and the reserve roll pushed downwardly to the in use position the catch 28 can, of course, be operated so as to open the lid 12 but in this case the resilient fingers 17 will prevent upward removal of the roll, which now lies beneath said fingers 17.

The alternative arrangement shown in Figures 2 and 4 of the drawings is generally similar to the arrangement shown in Figures 1 and 3 except that the catch means and resilient fingers adapted to support the reserve roll are somewhat different. Thus, referring to Figures 2 and 4, the catch means now comprise a catch 32 having a hooklike end 33 which is adapted to engage with a lug 34 which is secured to the lid 35. Such catch 32 may be pivoted by inserting the fingers through the aperture 36 provided in the lid when there is no reserve roll in position, said aperture 36 being used also for the purpose of applying pressure to such a reserve roll when in position in order to force it downwardly to the in use position.

The resilient fingers each comprise a pair of tongues 37 and 38, the lower tongue 38 providing additonal security against anyone attempting to apply pressure from the bottom of the holder so as to force a roll back against such resilient tongue. The lid 35 is also pro vided with an extension member 39 and the holder has a pair of keyhole slots 40, by means of which it can be hung on a wall. Other features of the holder and its mode of operation are generally as described with reference to Figures 1 and 3.

With the two forms of holder previously described the spent roll at the bottom of the holder is withdrawn through the space existing between a pair of adjacent rollers 18. With the alternative arrangement shown in Figure 5 one side of the housing is provided with an aperture 41 through which the spent roll can be withdrawn, it being understood that such aperture is of a size small enough to preclude withdrawal of an unused or substantially unused roll.

In the further alternative arrangement shown in Figure 6, one of the rollers 18 is mounted on a spindle which is arranged between a pair of elongated slots 42 cut in opposite sides of the housing so that the roller can be displaced laterally in order once more to allow of withdrawal of a spent roll. Other details of the holders shown in Figures 5 and 6 may be as previously described.

In Figure 7 there is shown a modified form of catch means, the extension plate 43 of the lid being cut away at one side as indicated by reference numeral 44 so that the underside of the portion 45 of the catch can be borught into contact with the upper side of the portion 46 of such extension plate 43 when the lid is in its closed position.

Thus, in all the above described embodiments there is provided a holder which is adapted to preclude pilfering of a roll of toilet paper, whilst, at the same time, provision is made for the storage of a reserve roll. It is also to be understood that more than one reserve roll may be provided, if desired, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim then is:

1. In a toilet paper holder comprising a reserve compartment and a main compartment located in a housing having means for supporting bundles of paper in the respective compartments, releasable means for displacing a bundle from the reserve compartment into the main compartment and prevent the displacement of a bundle from the main compartment into the reserve compartment, said housing having an insertion opening communicating with the reserve compartment, and a lid closing said insertion opening, catch means located in said reserve compartment, said catch means being positioned to engage with said lid to retain said lid in the closed position and means operably associated with said catch means located in a position such as to be obstructed by a bundle of paper in the reserve compartment to maintain the catch means in the retaining position until the bundle has been displaced from the reserve compartment into the main compartment.

2. A toilet paper holder comprising a housing, retaining means dividing the interior of said housing into a main compartment and a reserve compartment, said retaining means permitting transfer of a bundle of said paper from said reserve compartment into said main compartment and preventing reverse directional transfer of said paper from said main compartment into said reserve compartment, a lid hinged to said housing and adapted to mask an insertion opening communicating with the reserve compartment, said housing having a withdrawal opening communicating with the main compartment which is sufliciently small to preclude the withdrawal of a substantially unused bundle therefrom, but permitting withdrawal of individual sheets therethrough, catch means for securing the lid in a position masking said opening, said catch means being located in the re serve compartment, and associated means to release said catch means and free said lid for opening when said reserve compartment is empty.

3. A toilet paper holder comprising a housing which is divided into compartments, each adapted to receive a bundle of toilet paper and which includes a lid hinged to said housing, an extension portion secured to said lid and projecting from the latter into one of the compartments, a catch pivoted to said housing and located in said one compartment, one end of said catch co-operating with said extension portion to prevent movement of said lid, said housing having an aperture to permit access to be had to the catch to pivot same clear of said extension portion and enable the lid to be opened, spring means for retaining a first bundle of toilet paper in the said one compartment to mask said aperture and prevent access to said catch while said first bundle remains therein, and said lid having an aperture to permit access to be had to said first bundle to permit same to be forced past said spring means into the other said compartment. 7

4. A holder as claimed in claim 3 wherein said spring means comprise fingers which are deflected by the passage of a bundle from the one compartment to the other, and are inclined towards said other compartment so that passage of a bundle in the reverse direction is prevented.

5. A holder as claimed in claim 3 wherein the housing is provided with spring loaded flaps associated with an opening through which bundles are inserted into the housing, which opening is closed by said lid.

6. A holder as claimed in claim 3 wherein the lid is spring loaded so as to open automatically when the catch is pivoted clear of the extension and wherein said extension swings, as the lid is pivoted open, through the space which is adapted to be occupied by a reserve bundle.

7. A holder as claimed in claim 3 wherein said catch is weighted so that it swings to a lid securing position.

8. A holder as claimed in claim 7 wherein the lid extension is cut away at one side and said catch co-operates with the extension adjacent the cut.

9. A holder for at least two bundles of toilet paper comprising a box having an open top and an open bottom, a number of rollers extending across said bottom to support a bundle which may be inserted into a main compartment formed by the lower portion of said box, a number of spring blades secured to opposite front and back walls of the box and inclined towards the bottom of the box, said blades separating the main compartment from a reserve compartment formed in the top of the box, being adapted to deflect towards the walls of the box to permit a bundle to be displaced past said deflected blades from the reserve compartment to the main compartment but being adapted to deflect to or towards positions normal to the said walls as an attempt is made to displace a bundle in the opposite direction, so as to prevent such displacement, a lid hinged to said back wall at the open top of said box, said lid having an extension flap which extends into the box parallel with said back wall when the lid is in a closed position, said flap and lid being adapted to lie upon opposite sides of the reserve bundle supported on said blades, said lid having an aperture therein to permit said displacement, and cooperating catch means on said lid and in said reserve compartment which means may be released when said reserve compartment is empty but which cannot be reached when a reserve bundle is in said reserve compartment, said catch means when engaged preventing opening of said lid.

10. A holder as claimed in claim 9 wherein said catch means comprise a hooked member on said lid and a cooperating hook formed at one end of a lever pivoted to a side wall of said box and weighted so as to swing into the engaging position.

11. A holder as claimed in claim 9 wherein said blades are mounted in overlapping pairs, the blades of each pair being inclined at different angles to the adjacent wall of the box.

12. A holder as claimed in claim 9 wherein two of said rollers are journalled about fixed axes which are guided in slots formed in the box walls.

13. A holder as claimed in claim 9 wherein two rollers are provided in the side Wall of the box adjacent the rollers, is apertured.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 461,209 Olds Oct. 13, 1891 993,416 Scott May 30, 1911 1,661,357 Boivin Mar. 6, 1928 2,307,994 Clemens Jan. 12, 1943 2,605,975 Page et al Aug. 5, 1952 2,839,346 Lawalin June -17, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 7 1,066,968 France Jan. 27, 1954

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