Dual hinged sheet product dispenser

Abstract

A dispenser including a rear housing member and a front housing member that are connected by way of a first hinge so that the front housing member is openable relative to the rear housing member in order to fill a space defined by the front housing member and the rear housing member with at least one stack of sheet products. The front housing member and the rear housing member also include components for forming a second hinge. The first hinge allows the front housing member to open from a first side of the rear housing member in a first rotational direction, and the second hinge, when formed, allows the front housing member to rotate in an opposite direction from an opposite side of the rear housing member.

Claims

1. A dispenser, comprising: a housing defining an interior space for receipt of a stack of sheet products, wherein the housing comprises a front housing member and a rear housing member; a dispensing opening through which sheet products are dispensable; components forming a first hinge on a first side of the housing; and components forming a second hinge on a second side of the housing opposed to the first side of the housing; so that when the front housing member is mounted to the rear housing member about the first hinge, the front housing member is openable in a first rotational direction about the first hinge; and so that when the front housing member is mounted to the rear housing member about the second hinge, the front housing member is openable in a second rotational direction opposed to the first rotational direction about the second hinge; wherein the front housing member is openable relative to the rear housing member to provide access to fill the interior space with one or more stacks of sheet products, and wherein components of the first hinge or the second hinge comprise a first component attached to the front housing member that comprises a bore and a second component attached to the rear housing member that comprises a bore, and the dispenser further comprises a pivot pin selectively receivable in the bores of the first and second components to cooperate those components, wherein the pivot pin is selectively removable from the bores of the first and second components to release those components to move relative to one another.

2. The dispenser of claim 1, wherein when the front housing member is in a closed position with respect to the rear housing member, the sidewalls of the rear housing member mate with the sidewalls of the front housing member and the components forming the first hinge and the components forming the second hinge are disposed interiorly of the housing, whereby the mating side walls cover the first and second hinge components with respect to an outside of the housing.

3. The dispenser of claim 1, wherein the first component of the first hinge or the second hinge comprises an attaching part attached to the front housing member and a projecting part that projects into the interior cavity of the rear housing member when the front housing member is closed with respect to the rear housing member, wherein the projecting part is connected to the second component of the first hinge or the second hinge at a hinge axis to thereby form the first hinge or the second hinge, and wherein the attached part and the projecting part of the first or second hinge are disposed interiorly of the side wall of the front and rear housing members when the front housing member is closed with respect to the rear housing member.

4. The dispenser of claim 1, wherein the first component of the first hinge or the second hinge comprises a part in the form of an L or C shaped bracket, wherein one leg of the L or C shape is attached to the front housing member and the other leg of the L or C shape is connected to the second component of the first hinge or the second hinge about a hinge axis.

5. The dispenser of claim 1, wherein when the front housing member is mounted to the rear housing member about the first hinge, the first and second components of the second hinge are movable from a position in close proximity to one another when the front housing member is closed relative to the rear housing member to a spaced apart position when the front housing member is opened relative to the rear housing member, and wherein when the front housing member is mounted to the rear housing member about the second hinge, the first and second components of the first hinge are movable from a position in close proximity to one another when the front housing member is closed relative to the rear housing member to a spaced apart position when the front housing member is opened relative to the rear housing member.

6. The dispenser of claim 1, wherein the first component or the second component of the first hinge or the second hinge comprises a hinge bracket disposed on one of the front housing member or the rear housing member and the other of the first component or the second component comprises first and second rails disposed on the other of the front housing member or the rear housing member that cooperate to form at least part of the first hinge or the second hinge.

7. The dispenser of claim 6, wherein the first and second rails are located on the first side of the housing and another set of first and second rails are located on the second side of the housing, wherein the bracket is selectively mountable between the first and second rails on the first and second sides of the housing by the pivot pin to respectively form at least part of the first or the second hinge.

8. The dispenser of claim 6, wherein the rails and the hinge bracket include the bores that are able to receive a pivot pin to form the first or the second hinge.

9. The dispenser of claim 6, wherein part of the hinge bracket of the first or second hinge and/or part of the first and second rails protrude away from the interior cavity of the front or rear housing member relative to the side walls.

10. The dispenser of claim 1, wherein the first component of the first hinge and the first component of the second hinge are disposed on opposed sides of the front housing member, wherein the rear housing member includes the second component of the first hinge and the second component of the second hinge are disposed on opposed sides of the rear housing member, wherein the first components on the front housing member align with the second components on the rear housing member when the front housing member is in a closed position relative to the rear housing member, and wherein the aligned components are respectively for forming one of the first or second hinges.

11. The dispenser of claim 1, wherein one of the front or the rear housing members include latch components for forming a latch for holding a closed configuration of the front housing member relative to the rear housing member and which is releasable to allow the front housing member to be opened relative to the rear housing member for filling the interior space with at least one stack of sheet products, the latch components arranged so that the latch is positionable on the first side of the housing or the second side of the housing.

12. The dispenser of claim 1, wherein the front housing member includes first latch components of a latch on the first and second sides of the housing and the rear housing member includes second latch components of the latch on the first and second sides of the housing, wherein the first latch components are one of a mating part for receipt of a latch member or a latch member mount and the second latch components are the other of a latch member mount or a mating part for receipt of a latch member, wherein the dispenser includes a latch member mountable to either of the latch member mounts to form the latch, so that the latch is positionable on the first side of the housing or the second side of the housing and so that a portion of the latch member is receivable in the mating part when the front housing member is closed to hold the front housing member in the closed position and so that the portion of the latch member is moveable out of the mating part to release the latch to allow the front housing member to be opened.

13. A dispenser, comprising: a housing defining an interior space for receipt of a stack of sheet products, wherein the housing comprises a front housing member and a rear housing member; a dispensing opening through which sheet products are dispensable; a first hinge for mounting the front housing member to the rear housing member, wherein the front housing member is openable about the first hinge relative to the rear housing member to provide access to fill the interior space with one or more stacks of sheet products, wherein the front housing member includes a front wall and sidewalls to define an interior cavity, and the rear housing member includes a rear wall and side walls to define an interior cavity, wherein when the front housing member is in a closed position with respect to the rear housing member, the sidewalls of the rear housing member mate with the sidewalls of the front housing member and the first hinge is disposed interiorly of the housing, whereby the mating side walls cover the first hinge with respect to an outside of the housing, wherein a first component of the first hinge includes an attaching part attached to one of the front housing member or the rear housing member and a projecting part that comprises a bore and projects into the interior cavity of the other of the front housing member or the rear housing member when the front housing member is closed with respect to the rear housing member, wherein the projecting part is connected to the other of the front housing member or rear housing member at a hinge axis, and wherein the attaching part, the projecting part and the hinge axis of the first and the second hinges are disposed interiorly of the sidewalls of the front and rear housing members when the front housing member is closed with respect to the rear housing member, wherein a second component of the first hinge includes a bracket shaped so that one end of the bracket is attached at an interior of the other of the front housing member or the rear housing member from the one attached to the attaching part of the first component of the first hinge and the other end comprises a bore and is connected to the first component of the first hinge at a hinge axis, wherein the bracket includes a bend between the two ends of the bracket that spans edges of a side wall of the front housing member and a side wall of the rear housing member, and the dispenser further comprises a pivot pin selectively receivable in the bores of the first and second components to cooperate those components, wherein the pivot pin is selectively removable from the bores of the first and second components to release those components to move relative to one another.

14. The dispenser of claim 13, wherein the first component of the first hinge includes at least one first or second rail, and wherein the bracket of the first hinge is disposed to engage at least one of the first or second rail.

15. The dispenser of claim 14, wherein the first or second rail and the bracket include the bores that are able to receive the pivot pin to form the first hinge.

16. The dispenser of claim 14, wherein part of the bracket and/or part of the first and second rails protrude relative to the side walls in a direction away from the cavity.

17. The dispenser of claim 13, wherein the front and rear housing members further include components for forming a second hinge on the side of the housing opposite the first hinge, and wherein the first hinge is arranged to be able to be uncoupled so that the second hinge is able to be formed on an opposite side of the housing relative to the first hinge so that the front housing member is able to open from the opposed side of the housing about the second hinge in an opposite rotational direction as compared to the first hinge.

18. The dispenser of claim 13, wherein the pivot pin is removable by deflecting legs thereof to disarm a blocking surface that otherwise prevents removal of the pivot pin.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

(1) These and other aspects will now be described in more detail, with reference to the appended drawings showing embodiment(s) of the invention, in which:

(2) FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a dispenser according to a first embodiment;

(3) FIG. 2 shows another view of the dispenser of FIG. 1;

(4) FIG. 3 shows a close up view of the hinge mechanism of the dispenser of FIG. 1;

(5) FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of an exemplary pivot pin forming the operative hinge mechanism of the dispenser of FIG. 1; and

(6) FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of a dispenser according to a second embodiment.

DETAIL DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

(7) FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a dispenser according to an embodiment. The dispenser includes a rear housing member and a front housing member that are connected by way of a first hinge mechanism so that the front housing member is openable relative to the rear housing member in order to fill a space defined by the front housing member and the rear housing member with at least one stack of sheet products. The front housing member and the rear housing member also include components for forming a second hinge mechanism. The first hinge mechanism allows the front housing member to open from a first side of the rear housing member in a first rotational sense, and the second hinge mechanism, when formed, allows the front housing member to rotate in an opposite sense from an opposite side of the rear housing member.

(8) FIG. 2 shows another view of the dispenser of FIG. 1, in which a latch member can be seen mounted to an opposite side of the front housing member to the side of the front housing member including the first hinge mechanism. The latch member is engagable with an opening in the rear housing member in order to hold the front housing member in a closed position relative to the rear housing member. The front housing member includes first and second latch member mounts disposed on opposite sides of the front housing member so that the latch member can be mounted on either side of the front housing member depending upon whether the first hinge mechanism or the second hinge mechanism is operational, whereby the latch member is always mounted on an opposed side of the front housing member to the hinge mechanism formed between the front and rear housing members. The rear housing member includes latch openings on opposed sides so that the latch member has a counterpart component in the rear housing member irrespective of which side of the front housing member that the latch member is mounted.

(9) FIG. 3 shows the particular form of the hinge mechanism in greater detail. A bracket is provided having one end attached to the front housing member and a free end with a bore therethrough. The free end of the bracket is disposed between rails attached to the rear housing member. A pivot pin extends through bores in the rails and the bore in the free end of the bracket to form the hinge mechanism. The front housing member rotates about a hinge axis passing longitudinally through the pivot pin. The bracket defines a bent shape so as to extend around a sidewall of the rear housing member so that the pivot pin and the free end are disposed inside the cavity defined by the rear housing member.

(10) FIG. 4 shows a pivot pin for forming the operative hinge mechanism. The pivot pin includes a head that is too large to pass through bores in cooperating hinge parts and at least one ledge at a distal end that is unable to pass through the bores. The at least one ledge is disposed on deflectable legs to allow the ledge to move out of a blocking position to allow the pivot pin to be moved into or out of the bores.

(11) FIG. 5 shows an alternative embodiment of a dispenser in which hinge mounting features are disposed on opposite sides of a front housing member or door and the same hinge parts are used to form either a first hinge mechanism or a second hinge mechanism that open in opposite rotational senses by fastening the hinge parts to either the mounting features on one side of the door or the mounting features of the other side of the door. The rear housing member includes corresponding hinge mounting features on opposed sides thereof of the same kind as for the first embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 3.

(12) Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a dispenser 1 including a rear housing member 2 and a front housing member 3. The rear housing member 2 includes a rear wall 4 having sidewalls 5, 6 and a top wall 7 extending therefrom to define a cavity in the rear housing member 2. The front housing member 3 likewise includes a front wall 8, sidewalls 9, 10 and a top wall 11 that define a cavity in the front housing member 3. When the front housing member 3 is closed to the rear housing member 2, the cavities combine to define an interior space in which a stack of sheet products 12, e.g. napkins, is placed for dispensing from the dispenser 1. The rear housing member 2 includes a rear part and a bezel attached to the rear housing member. The front housing member 2 is attached to the bezel and forms a door for the dispenser 1 that is openable for stack loading purposes.

(13) The dispenser 1 includes a face plate 13 including a stand portion 14 upon which the dispenser stands on a counter top or other work surface. The face plate 13 defines a dispensing opening 15 through which sheet products in the interior space defined by the housing 2, 3 are dispensed in a one-at-a-time fashion. The face plate 13 may be removable and replaceable with a different type of face plate in which the dispensing opening reveals edges of a plurality of napkins rather than a bottom surface of the lowermost napkin in the stack as with the implementation in FIG. 1. This alternative type of face plate could allow dispensing of a plurality of napkins at once. The alternative type of face plate may not include a stand portion 14. The dispenser 1 may be stood on its base or hung on an upright wall using the fastening holes 16 in the rear wall 4 of the rear housing member 2. In the standing or hanging configuration, the shown face plate 13 can be used or an alternative kind can be used, such as one allowing multiple dispensing of napkins at a time.

(14) The rear housing member 2 contains a curved chute surface 17 so that the stack of napkins contained in the housing 2, 3 are guided into a more forward facing configuration towards the bottom of the interior space so that a bottom surface of a lowermost napkin in the stack is more forward facing for convenient access through the dispensing opening 15.

(15) The front housing member 3 includes first, second, third and fourth hinge components 18, 19, 20 and 21 of a first hinge component type. The rear housing member 2 includes first, second, third and fourth hinge components 22, 23, 24 and 25 of a second hinge component type. The first and second hinge components 18, 19 of the first hinge component type are axially spaced on one side of the front housing member 3 and the third and fourth hinge components, 24, 25 of the first hinge component type are spaced along an opposite side of the front housing member 3. The hinge components 18, 19, 20 and 21 of the first type are positioned on the front housing member 3 at corresponding positions as the first to fourth hinge components 22, 23, 24 and 25 of the second type on the rear housing member 2 so that they cooperate with one another when the front housing member 3 is closed to the rear housing member 2. The cooperating hinge components of the first and second type are able to form a hinge mechanism disposed on one side of the housing 2, 3 or on the other side of the housing 2, 3 so that the front housing member 3 is able to be set up to open in opposite rotational directions.

(16) In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the cooperating hinge components on the left side of the housing are connected by first and second pivot pins 26, 27 to form a first hinge mechanism on that side of the housing, while the cooperating hinge components of the first and second type on the right hand side of the housing are not connected by a pivot pin so that they are free to move into a cooperating position when the front housing member 3 is closed to the rear housing member 2 and into a spaced apart position when the front housing member 3 is in the shown open position.

(17) Referring to FIG. 3, a formed hinge mechanism part can be seen in more detail. The hinge mechanism part includes the first hinge component 21 of the first type in the form of a bracket having a first end attached (e.g. integrally moulded, removably fastened or removably clipped in place) to an interior of the sidewall 10 and having a second end disposed between guide rails 28, 29 of the hinge component 25 of the second type. The guide rails 28, 29 and the second end of the bracket 21 include a bore extending through them for receipt of the pivot pin 26. The bracket 21 is bent so that the first end is attached interior of the front housing member 23 and the second end is connected by the pivot pin 26 interior of the second housing 22 with the bend being such that the bracket 21 does not contact an edge of the sidewall 6 of the rear housing member 2.

(18) Continuing to refer to FIG. 3, the first and second guide rails 28, 29 protrude beyond an edge of the sidewall 6 of the rear housing member 2 and the second end of the bracket 21 protrudes beyond an edge of the sidewall 10 of the front housing member 3. The protrusion of the first and second guide rails 28, 29 supports and positions the bracket 21 during opening and closing of the front housing member 23. The protrusion of the bracket 21 allows the second end of the bracket 21 to be positioned interiorly of the rear housing member 2, which allows the front housing member 3 to open and close relative to the rear housing member 2 so that the edges of the sidewalls 4, 5 and the top walls 7, 8 of the front and rear housing members 2, 3 come into mating engagement when the front housing member 3 is closed while the opening and closing operation can be performed without the sidewalls 5, 6, 9, 10 obstructing each other during opening and closing of the front housing member 3.

(19) The guide rails 28, 29 provide a support and guiding function not only for the functional hinge mechanism, but also for the cooperating hinge components that move relative to one another because they have not been formed into a functioning hinge mechanism by the introduction of a pivot pin.

(20) The guide rails 28, 29 are, as can be seen in FIG. 3, configured so that the distal or free ends are splayed apart relative to one another. This is an optional feature of the embodiments. This serves to aid the guiding function and also aid a smooth operation of the hinge mechanism. One can imagine that just one of the guide rails 28, 29 could diverge relative to the other to achieve these functions, although perhaps not as effectively as both of the rails 28, 29 diverging.

(21) Referring back to FIG. 1, a user is able to reconfigure the housing 2, 3, so that a hinge mechanism is formed on the other side of the housing 2, 3 to that shown. More specifically, the first and second pivot pins 26, 27 are removed from connecting the third and fourth hinge components 20, 21 of the first type to the third and fourth hinge components 24, 25 of the second type, to thereby free front housing member 3 from connection to the rear housing member 2. The cooperating hinge components on the other side of the housing, namely the first and second hinge components 18, 19 of the first type and the first and second hinge components 22, 23 of the second type are brought into position so that the first and second pivot pins 26, 27 can connect them. In this way, the front housing member 3 no longer rotates about a first side of the housing in a clockwise sense as in the arrangement shown in FIG. 1, but instead rotates from a second side of the housing in a counter-clockwise sense. This reconfiguration means that an obstructing wall can be avoided in the opening and closing operation of the front housing member 3 relative to the rear housing member 2 if necessary, and such is done by merely removing and repositioning the pivot pins 26, 27.

(22) FIG. 4 shows a pivot pin 26 in more detail. The pivot pin 26 includes an enlarged head 40 relative to a shaft portion 41. At a distal end relative to the head 40 is first and second legs 43 that are spaced apart and able to be deflected together to narrow the space. The legs 43 resiliently reform to the spaced apart condition shown. The legs include ledges 42. The ledges 42 block removal of the pin 26 through the bores when the legs 43 are in the spaced apart condition and are thus required to be deflected toward one another in order to locate the pins 26, 27 in the bores or remove the pins 26, 27 to assemble or disassemble the hinge mechanism. The pins 26, 27 may be made of polymer materials and thus may be formed by injection moulding.

(23) In use, when the front housing member 23 is closed relative to the rear housing member 2 about the first hinge mechanism formed by the hinge components 21, 25, 26 and the hinge components 20, 24 and 27, the hinge components 18, 19 of the first type enter the gap between the rails 28, 29 of the hinge components 22, 23 of the second type to guide the closing motion until the sidewalls 5, 9 are brought into mating contact.

(24) Referring to FIG. 1, there can be seen a mounting component 30 in the form of fastening holes to which a latch member 31 is able to be attached. The latch member mounting component 30 is provided on an interior of the sidewall 10 on a first side of the housing 2, 3. A corresponding latch member mounting component (not shown) is provided on an interior of the sidewall 9 of the front housing member 3, which is an opposite side of the housing 2, 3. The latch member 31 can be mounted, using suitable fastening means such as screws to either of the opposed latch member mounting components 30 depending upon whether the hinge mechanism is set up on a first or a second side of the housing 2, 3. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the latch member 31 is attached to a mounting component 30 provided on an opposite side of the housing 2, 3 to the functioning hinge mechanism.

(25) The rear housing member 2 includes latch member mating parts 32, 33 in the form of openings through opposed sidewalls 5, 6 of the rear housing member 2. A bulbous end of the latch member 31 resiliently clips into the corresponding mating part 32, 33 when the front housing member is closed relative to the rear housing member 2 to maintain the closed portion. The bulbous end of the latch member 31 can be pushed back through the corresponding opening 32, 33 from outside of the dispenser 1, by the hand of a user in order to allow the front housing member 3 to be opened relative to the rear housing member 2.

(26) To reconfigure the dispenser shown in FIG. 1 so that the front housing member 3 opens from the opposite side and in the opposite rotational sense to that shown in FIG. 1, the first and second pins 26, 27 are rearranged so that the functioning hinge mechanism is disposed on the opposite side of the housing 2, 3, as described above. Further, the latch member 31 shown in FIG. 2 is removed by undoing the fastening means and then the latch member 31 is moved to the opposite latch member mounting component 30 and the fastening means reinserted so that the latch member 31 is mounted on the opposite side to that shown in FIG. 2.

(27) FIGS. 1 and 2 further show first and second support members 34, 35 attached to a top wall 7 of the rear housing member 2 and protruding outwardly from the edge of the top wall 7. The first and second support members 34, 35 have a tapered front edge and guide a top wall 11 of the front housing member 3 so that the edges of the top walls 7, 11 of the front and rear housing members 2, 3 are brought into mating contact. The first and second support members 34, 35 serve to guide and align the top walls 7, 11 of the rear and front housing members 2, 3 while they are being closed and also serve to take the weight of the front housing member 3 when the front housing member 3 is in the closed position with respect to the rear housing member 2 to help reduce the weight being carried by the hinge mechanism. The positioning of the free first and second hinge components 18, 19 of the first type between the guide rails 28, 29 of the first and second hinge components 22, 23 of the second type also serves to support the weight of the front housing member 23. Various alternatives to the specific embodiment shown in the figures can be envisaged. For example, instead of the provision of opposed hinge components of the first type, one can imagine that just first and second hinge components 20, 21 of the first type are provided and the front housing member 23 includes first, second, third and fourth mounting features, with the first and second mounting means disposed on one side of the housing and the third and fourth mounting means disposed on the other side of the housing. The first and second hinge components of the first type could be selectively mounted at the mounting means on either a first side of the housing or an opposite side of the housing by way of, for example, removable fasteners. Such an embodiment is described in greater detail with reference to FIG. 5, where only the differences to the preceding embodiment are discussed. The description given above is applicable to the embodiment of FIG. 5 for common features.

(28) Referring to FIG. 5, the dispenser 50 has a door 51 mounted to a stack housing member 52 about a first hinge mechanism 53. The first hinge mechanism 53 includes first and second hinges each including a hinge bracket 54 as a removable piece that is mounted at one end (by way of removable fasteners) to a mounting feature 55 attached to the door 51 and is mounted at another end to guide rails 56 by way of a pivot pin 57. Although hidden in the figure, the door 51 includes corresponding mounting features 55 on both left and right sides of the door 51. The first hinge mechanism 53 may be disassembled by removing the pivot pins 57, and undoing fasteners holding the hinge brackets 54 to the mounting features 55. The bracket 54 may then be mounted to the mounting features 55 disposed on the opposite side of the door 51 by way of fasteners, such as screws, and connected to the guide rails 56 disposed on the opposite side of the stack housing 52 by way of the pivot pins 57, thereby allowing the door 51 to be mounted on either side of the stack housing 52 so as to open in either of opposed rotational directions. If present, the latch member 58 would also have to be mounted to the opposite side of the door 51 in the manner described above.

(29) In the shown embodiment, there are two hinge parts on each side of the housing. One can imagine that embodiments of the present invention could also be implemented by the provision of one such hinge part or three or more such hinge parts.