DISPENSER FOR SHEETS FROM STACKS OF INTERFOLDED SHEETS

Abstract

The dispenser comprises an openable housing, inside which two adjacent parallel seats are provided, configured so that each seat accommodates a respective stack of interfolded sheets. Each seat ends with a dispensing opening. A sliding slider is provided in front of the dispensing openings, adapted to take a closing position for closing one or the other of the dispensing openings alternatively.

Claims

1. A dispenser for interfolded sheets comprising an openable housing, inside which two parallel seats are provided, adjacent to each other along a longitudinal direction, and configured so that each seat accommodates a respective stack of interfolded sheets; wherein each seat ends with an elongated dispensing opening that extends longitudinally in the direction along which the two seats are adjacent to each other; and wherein a slider is provided in front of the dispensing openings, adapted to take a closing position for closing one or the other of the dispensing openings alternatively; wherein a dispensing mouth is associated with each dispensing opening, positioned above the dispensing opening; and wherein each dispensing mouth comprises two sheet guiding and retaining elements, arranged opposite each other and aligned in the longitudinal direction of extension of the respective dispensing opening.

2. The dispenser of claim 1, configured to have a use position where the seats extend vertically, with the dispensing openings located at the lower ends of the seats.

3. The dispenser of claim 1, wherein each dispensing opening has a longitudinal extension in the direction along which the two seats are adjacent to each other and along which the slider moves.

4. The dispenser of claim 1, wherein the guiding and retaining elements of each mouth form a striction area in front of the respective opening.

5. The dispenser of claim 1, wherein each guiding and retaining element comprises a surface sloping downward and toward an intermediate position of the respective dispensing opening, wherein the sloping surfaces of the two guiding and retaining elements associated with each dispensing opening converge with each other downward.

6. The dispenser of claim 1, wherein the dispensing mouths are interchangeable.

7. The dispenser of claim 1, wherein the slider comprises opposite teeth that engage in guide slots that are parallel to each other and extend in the direction of movement of the slider.

8. The dispenser of claim 1, comprising, in each seat, a blocking member that prevents the movement of the slider in front of the respective dispensing opening when a stack of sheets is contained in the seat.

9. The dispenser of claim 8, wherein each blocking member comprises an elastic foil arranged in the respective seat and adjacent to a wall of the housing, parallel to the direction of movement of the slider; wherein the elastic foil is configured to remain spaced from the wall of the housing when the respective seat is empty, and to be pushed against the wall of the housing by a stack of sheets contained in the respective seat; and wherein each foil is configured to prevent the movement of the slider in front of the opening of the respective seat when the foil is pressed against the wall by the sheets contained in the respective seat.

10. The dispenser of claim 9, wherein the slider has protrusions extending, through a respective guide slot, toward the inside of the housing, the protrusions co-acting with, and abutting against, the elastic foils, preventing the movement of the slider when the elastic foils are pushed against the wall of the housing.

11. The dispenser of claim 1, wherein the housing comprises a first back portion and a second front portion, hinged to each other so as to take a closed position and an open position respectively.

12. The dispenser of claim 11, comprising a lock for closing the housing.

13. The dispenser of claim 1, wherein an intermediate partition wall is provided inside the housing for separating the two seats.

14. The dispenser of claim 13, wherein retaining members are fastened to the intermediate partition wall for retaining the stacks of interfolded sheets housed in the two seats.

15. The dispenser of claim 14, wherein the retaining members comprise plates orthogonal to the intermediate partition wall.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

[0006] The invention will be better understood by following the description below and the attached drawing, showing a non-limiting embodiment of the invention.

[0007] More specifically, in the drawing:

[0008] FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a dispenser according to one embodiment;

[0009] FIG. 2 is an axonometric view of the dispenser of FIG. 1 when mounted and open;

[0010] FIG. 3 is a front view of the dispenser of FIGS. 1 and 2, with the closure removed and without sheets inside;

[0011] FIGS. 4 and 5 show cross sections according to IV-IV and V-V of FIG. 3;

[0012] FIG. 6 is a front view similar to that of FIG. 3, with the dispenser filled with sheets; and

[0013] FIG. 7 shows a cross section according to VII-VII of FIG. 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0014] The dispenser, indicated as a whole with reference number 1, comprises a housing 3, in which two seats are provided, for two stacks or packs of interfolded sheets. Alternatively, the packs can consist of a continuous web material, which is folded and perforated to be subdivided into individual sheets that, at the time of use, can be separated by tearing along the perforation line. The seats are indicated with reference numbers 5A and 5B. When mounted and ready to use, the dispenser 1 is in vertical position, with the seats 5A, 5B extending in the vertical direction. The dispenser 1 can be fastened to a vertical wall or other bearing structure extending vertically.

[0015] In the present description and the attached claims, the term vertical refers to a direction parallel to the direction of the force of gravity, and the term horizontal refers to a direction orthogonal to the vertical direction. Unless otherwise indicated, the terms vertical direction and horizontal direction refer to the position of the dispenser when in use. Unless otherwise indicated, also the terms front, back and the like refer to the position of the dispenser when in use.

[0016] Each seat 5A, 5B contains a stack or pack PA, PB (FIGS. 6, 7) of folded sheets, preferably interfolded sheets. The two seats 5A, 5B, which extend vertically, are separated from each other by an intermediate partition wall 7, so that the two packs of sheets housed in the two seats do not interfere with each other. Retaining members are fastened to the intermediate partition wall for retaining the stacks of interfolded sheets housed in the two seats. In the illustrated embodiment, the retaining members comprise plates orthogonal to the intermediate partition wall 9A, 9B. In practice, the plates form vertical supports that prevent the packs PA, PB, inserted in the two seats, from accidentally falling forward. In practice, the plates increase the stability of the sheet packs when the housing 3 of the dispenser 1 is open. This facilitates loading of sheet packs into the dispenser 1.

[0017] The intermediate partition wall 7 extends orthogonally from a back wall 11, which forms part of a back portion 3A of the housing 3. The back portion 3A of the housing 3 is hinged to a front portion 3B of the housing that forms an openable and closable lid.

[0018] In the illustrated embodiment, the portions 3A, 3B of housing 3 are hinged to each other around an upper horizontal axis that is embodied by hinges 13. In other embodiments, not shown, the portions 3A, 3B of the housing are hinged to each other around a vertical axis.

[0019] The back wall 11 has attaching members for attaching to a bearing structure, not shown, e.g. a vertical wall. The attaching members comprise holes 15 for hooks or screws, not shown, for fastening to the wall.

[0020] In the illustrated embodiment, just by way of example, the two portions 3A, 3B of the housing 3 are in the form of a shaped shell, so that the housing 3, when closed, has an approximately cylindrical shape with elongated, i.e. not rectangular, cross section.

[0021] The front portion 3A of the housing 3 comprises an inspection window 17A, 17B for each seat 5A, 5B, the window consisting, for example, of a hole 19A, 19B and a closure plate 21A, 21B, for example made of transparent plastic. The inspection windows 17A, 17B allow to check the quantity of paper contained in each seat 5A, 5B. Advantageously, the inspection windows have a vertically elongated shape to allow a better view of the interior.

[0022] The front portion 3A of the housing 3 has a seat 25 for a lock 23 with a key or other locking system. This is especially useful if the dispenser shall be installed in public premises or workplaces, as avoids fraudulent misappropriation of the sheet stock from inside the dispenser 1.

[0023] An opening 31A, 31B is provided at the bottom of each seat 5A, 5B. The openings 31A, 31B are elongated in the direction F along which the two seats 5A, 5B for the stacks PA, PB of interfolded sheets are adjacent to each other. The openings 31A, 31B are formed in a bottom wall 33 of the housing 3. In the illustrated embodiment, the shape of the two openings 31A, 31B is enlarged in the center, to facilitate taking the sheets from the stack or pack PA, PB.

[0024] A dispensing mouth is provided above the bottom wall 33, in front of each opening 31A, 31B. The dispensing mouths are indicated with the reference numbers 35A and 35B. In some embodiments, the dispensing mouths 35A, 35B are removable and interchangeable, for example based on the features of the sheets to be dispensed.

[0025] In the illustrated embodiment, each dispensing mouth 35A, 35B comprises a pair of sheet guiding and retaining elements. The guiding and retaining elements are indicated with reference numbers 37A, 37B for the mouth 35A and the mouth 35B, respectively. The guiding and retaining elements 37A, 37B are opposite each other and aligned along the longitudinal extension of the openings 31A, 31B (direction F). The packs of sheets that are arranged in the seats 5A, 5B are held at the bottom by the pairs of guiding and retaining elements 37A, 37B that form striction areas in front of the openings 31A, 31B. In practical embodiments, each striction element comprises a surface sloping downward and toward an intermediate position of the respective dispensing opening, that is, from the longitudinally opposite ends toward the center of the dispensing opening. Therefore, the sloping surfaces of the two guiding and retaining elements associated with each dispensing opening converge with each other downward. This arrangement is useful to hold the packs of sheets, ensuring that the sheets are dispensed one at a time, avoiding that more sheets are simultaneously taken, or anyway reducing the possibility of this happening.

[0026] In order that the user uses all the sheets of a stack PA, PB housed in a seat 5A) or 5B before starting to use the stack in the adjacent seat, in advantageous embodiments the dispenser 1 comprises a slider 41, which is mounted to close selectively either of the openings 31A, 31B. Gripping projections 43 are provided for gripping more easily the slider 41 and causing it to slide in the direction of the double arrow F.

[0027] Advantageously, the slider 41 is attached to the outside of the bottom wall 33 and has two side tabs 41A, 41B provided with appendages 41C, 41D, that slidingly engage slots 51, 52, arranged on the back wall 11 and on a front portion 33A of the bottom wall 33. With this arrangement, the cursor can be easily moved from one to the other of two alternative positions. By engaging the slider 41 through the gripping projections 43, it is easy to control the sliding of the slider 41 in one or the other direction of the double arrow F so as to position it in front of the opening 31A, thus avoiding that the sheets from the stack PA arranged in seat 5A are dispensed, or in front of the opening 31B, thus avoiding that the sheets from the stack PB arranged in the seat 5B are dispensed.

[0028] In this way, the users shall use the entire pack or stack PA arranged in the seat 5A before accessing the pack or stack PB arranged in the seat 5B, or vice versa. This facilitates the replenishment of the dispenser and makes the interventions for restoring the paper stock in the two seats more efficient. In particular, taking into account that each seat is sized to hold an integer number of sheet packs (e.g., 1, 2 or 3), it is advisable that at the time of replenishment, the seat is completely empty. The use of the slider avoids that the seats are partially or almost totally empty, but not totally free, which would require splitting the sheet packs before inserting them into the seats 5A, 5B.

[0029] To prevent the user from deliberately sliding the slider 41 from one position to the other, a blocking device can be provided, which prevents the sliding of the slider 41 in front of the opening 31A or 31B when there is still a stack of sheets in the seat 5A or seat 5B.

[0030] In the illustrated embodiment, a blocking member is provided in each seat 5A, 5B. The blocking members, indicated with the reference numbers 61A, 61B, are shown especially in FIGS. 3 and 5. Each blocking member 61A, 61B is configured to move to a slider stop position when there are still sheets in the seat.

[0031] In the illustrated embodiment, each blocking member 61A, 61B has a foil 63A, 63B, hinged around a horizontal axis B-B and extending downward from the axis B-B. When the seat 5A, 5B is empty, the respective foil 63A, 63B is stressed into a sloping position at a certain distance from the inner surface of the back wall 11. In such a position, the foil does not hinder the movement of the slider 41. Instead, the presence of sheets in the seat 5A or 5B presses the respective foil against the back wall 11, so as to cause an interference between the foil and the appendages 41C of the slider, which engage the guide slot 51 and protrude from the inner surface of the back wall 11 toward the inside of the housing.

[0032] In the illustrated embodiment, each foil 63A, 63B has a flat spring, 65A, 65B, which rests on the back wall 11 and holds each foil 63A, 63B rotated forward, spaced away from the back wall 11. In practice, the flat spring 65A, 65B and the respective foil 63A, 63B can be made from a single component, for example of polymeric material.

[0033] If in the seat 5A, 5B there are no sheets, the flat spring 65A, 65B holds the respective foil 63A, 63B raised from the back wall 11, so that the appendages 41C of the slider 41 can freely slide in the direction F inside the guide slot 51, passing behind the foils 63A, 63B, without interfering with them. Conversely, when in the seats 5A, 5B there is a pack or stack PA, PB of folded sheets, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the weight of the packs presses the respective foil 63A, 63B against the back wall 11, against the force of the respective flat spring 65A, 65B. The foil 63A, 63B, pushed by the pack PA, PB against the inner surface of the back wall 11, goes to interfere with the appendages 41C of the slider 41. Therefore, the slider can no longer slide freely due to the impact of the appendages 41C against either of the foils 63A, 63B.

[0034] Specifically, from FIG. 7 it is clear that the slider 41 can be translated from right to left, freeing the lower opening 31B of the seat 5B, only when the sheet pack PA in the seat 5A is exhausted. The same occurs when the cursor 41 is in front of the opening 31A and the seat 5B is full or partially full with sheets: the cursor can be translated from left to right only when the sheet pack PB is exhausted.

[0035] In all cases, whatever its initial position, the slider 41 can be translated to the other position only when the initially accessible pack has been completely consumed.

[0036] This results in an efficient, large-capacity dispenser that therefore requires few replenishment interventions, with an efficient system of sequentially exhausting one and then the other of the two stacks or packs PA, PB. This streamlines and simplifies the replenishment intervention and allows saving material.