Portable Paper Towel Holder

Abstract

A portable paper towel holder incorporates a towel holding frame and a single spring loaded clamp, preferably made from metal, with padding to prevent damage. The spring clamping force is only sufficient to clamp the towel holder to an object, and provide a low enough force to prevent marring. The attachment of the spring clamp to the paper towel holder frame is preferably by affordable hardware such as rivets, screws, and glue. The portable paper towel holder is then built to be affordable, and is able to be conveniently relocated between objects such as ladders, table tops, counter tops, outdoor grills, construction equipment, and the like.

Claims

1. A portable paper towel holding assembly for a rolled paper towel comprising: A) a holding frame comprising: i) a rectangular outer frame, ii) two end brackets with a circular projection, wherein a diameter of said circular projection is sized to match a paper towel core, iii) wherein said two end brackets are attached inside said rectangular outer frame at a fold line, and additionally separated at a distance to substantially match a width of paper towels, iv) wherein said two end brackets rotate about said fold line, v) wherein said rotation of said end two brackets allows said two end brackets to be at least able to a) be perpendicular to said rectangular outer frame, or b) substantially aligned to the plane of said rectangular outer frame, and vi) wherein said rectangular outer frame and said two end brackets are made from a plastic material, B) a spring clamp, wherein said spring clamp incorporates handles that are designed to open said spring clamp by a single hand of a user, and C) wherein said spring clamp is attached to said rectangular outer frame substantially in the center of said rectangular outer frame, whereby said portable paper towel holding assembly is designed to clamp to an object.

2. The portable paper towel holding assembly according to claim 1 wherein said spring clamp opens up to clamp to objects that are up to 2 inches.

3. The portable paper towel holding assembly according to claim 1 wherein said fold line is created in said rectangular outer frame by a thinning of said plastic.

4. The portable paper towel holding assembly according to claim 1 wherein a tab with a hole is added to said portable paper towel holding assembly.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

[0016] FIG. 1 is a left front perspective view of the portable paper towel holder with the end brackets unfolded outwardly.

[0017] FIG. 2 is the same view of FIG. 1, except that the end brackets have been folded inwardly.

[0018] FIG. 3 is an exploded assembly view of the portable paper towel holder.

[0019] FIG. 4 is an example view of the portable paper towel holder that is clamped to a step ladder.

[0020] FIG. 5 shows an optional attachment for hanging the portable paper towel holder on a hook.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0021] It should be understood that the disclosed invention is only one preferred embodiment. Other embodiments are possible by utilizing various types of paper towel holding frames and various types of spring clamps.

[0022] FIG. 1 is a right front perspective view of a portable paper towel holding assembly as conceived in the invention. It comprises a substantially rectangular outer frame 101 that is attached to a spring clamp 102 in the center of the outer rectangular frame by use of screws 105. Two end brackets 103a,b are attached inside the rectangular outer frame along a fold line 106, and the fold line is preferably made by thinning the plastic. This provides very affordable hinge mechanism that does not require additional assembly. However, this is not a strict requirement and alternate hardware methods of providing a hinge could equally be used.

[0023] End brackets 103a,b are used to hold the open center of the paper towel roll. This is accomplished by holding a cardboard core commonly in the center of the paper towel roll. Circular projections 104a,b are connected to the end brackets and their diameter is sized to hold the paper towel roll center. When in use, the two end brackets are folded outwardly from their folding line to become perpendicular to the paper towel holding frame. A light gripping force is created when opening the two end brackets due to the tolerances of the lower bracket, causing interference between the lower bracket and the outer frame, which in turn makes the rectangular outer frame slightly flex to create the light gripping force. Thus, the end brackets remain firmly inside the open center of the paper towel roll.

[0024] The spring clamp has a clamping force of 38 lbs. In a preferred embodiment, and to ensure the capability of clamping to a wide variety of objects, the spring clamp opens up to clamp to objects that are up to 2 inches thick. As previously mentioned, bar clamps, sliding bar clamps, and C-clamps are all undesirable ways to clamp to a surface due to their stronger and unpredictable clamping force. A spring loaded clamp will only provide the designed force. Also, the spring clamp is operable by a single hand of a user, which adds to the convenience of the embodied portable paper towel holder.

[0025] FIG. 2 is the same view as FIG. 1 except that the end brackets have been folded downwardly into the outer rectangular frame as indicated by the arrows. This is very efficient from packaging, shipping, and room needed on a store shelf. Attachments

[0026] FIG. 3 is an exploded assembly view of the portable paper towel holder. Screws 301 are inserted through the outer rectangular frame with end brackets 302, through the spring clamp 303 and into nuts 304. The nuts are tightened on the screws so as to hold the assembly together.

[0027] FIG. 4 is one example of how the portable paper towel holder can be clamped to an object (step ladder in this case). The portable paper towel holder can equally be clamped to many other objects.

[0028] FIG. 5 shows an optional hook attachment 501 (i.e. a tab with a hole) for hanging the portable paper towel holder on a hook. This convenient feature provides for personal storage, and also provides for a compact storage space in a store display.

[0029] While various embodiments of the present invention have been described, the invention may be modified and adapted to various operational methods to those skilled in the art. Therefore, this invention is not limited to the description and figure shown herein, and includes all such embodiments, changes, and modifications that are encompassed by the scope of the claims.