Tissue paper dispenser

Abstract

A tissue paper dispenser includes a holding member for holding a stack of separated sheets of tissue paper and having an access opening and a dispensing slot, and an actuator including an actuating member terminating at an enlarged dragging portion contacting a leading sheet of the stack with a friction force, a shifted member operable to move the dragging portion between standby and ready-to-dispense positions, and a key confronting the access opening and interposed between the actuating member and the shifted member. A guiding member is disposed on the holding member, and has a keyway to guide the key to move between initial and end regions along forward and backward paths. The keyway is configured such that the friction force between the dragging portion and the leading sheet is instantly decreased when the key reaches the end region by following the forward path.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a tissue paper dispenser, more particularly to a tissue paper dispenser for dispensing separated sheets of tissue paper.

2. Description of the Related Art

Toilet paper is generally available in rolls and in packs of interfolded sheets. Toilet paper is also available in flat packs of separated single-ply sheets. The sheets are usually placed in a stack in a box for retrieval. In use, a user takes a desired number of sheets from the box. However, the user's hand may contaminate the tissue paper remaining in the box upon retrieval. Besides, it is not easy to retrieve the toilet paper from the stack.

Taiwanese Publication No. 355346 is directed to a dispensing device for dispensing separated sheets of toilet paper. Referring to FIGS. 10 and 11, the dispensing device 8 includes a paper holder 81, a dispensing member 82 mounted on a top wall 811 of the paper holder 81, and a restoring unit 83 for restoring the dispensing member 82 to the original position thereof. The paper holder 81 has a bottom wall 812 opposite to the top wall 811, a surrounding wall 813 extending upwardly from the bottom wall 812, and a receiving space 814 cooperatively confined by the bottom wall 812, the top wall 811, and the surrounding wall 813 for receiving a stack of separated sheets of toilet paper. The surrounding wall 813 is formed with a dispensing slot 815. The dispensing member 82 is mounted in a guiding groove 816 formed in the top wall 811, and is movable therein along a dispensing direction. The dispensing member 82 includes a guiding seat 821 clamped between two longer sides of the guiding groove 816 and capable of linear movement, a paper pushing member 823 mounted in a limiting passage 822 of the guiding seat 821, and two rollers 824 mounted rotatably at a bottom end of the paper pushing member 823 and resting on a top sheet of the stack. The restoring unit 83 includes a securing seat 831 mounted on the top wall 811, a swing arm 832 mounted swingably on the securing seat 831, a linkage rod 833 connected pivotally between the swing arm 832 and the guiding seat 821, and a spring 834 which pulls a bottom end of the linkage rod 833 toward the securing seat 831.

In use, the user pulls the swing arm 832 against the biasing action of the spring 834 so as to push the entire dispensing member 82 toward the left side of FIG. 11 such that the guiding seat 821 and the paper pushing member 823 are both pushed leftward by means of the linkage rod 833. At this juncture, the rollers 824 can push the toilet paper out of the paper holder 81 through the dispensing slot 815. Thereafter, the paper pushing member 82 is pulled back to the original position thereof by the spring 834 to get ready for a next dispensing operation. As illustrated, the conventional paper dispenser is complicated in construction, and has a large number of components. Furthermore, the frictional resistance provided by the rollers 824 is relatively inferior so that the dispensing of paper is not smooth. Besides, as the position of the rollers 824 changes with the height of the stack of toilet paper in the receiving space 814, the dispensing slot 815 has to be relatively large so as to accommodate the thickness of the stack of toilet paper in the receiving space 814. Thus, dust and other matter may easily enter into the receiving space 814 to contaminate the toilet paper therein.

Taiwanese Publication Nos. 413033 and 503733 are directed to improvements on the above-described structure. However, they are also complicated in construction and do not provide a satisfactory tissue paper dispensing effect.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a tissue paper dispenser for dispensing separated sheets of tissue paper, which has a simplified construction, and which allows for easy and smooth dispensing of tissue paper.

Accordingly, a tissue paper dispenser of this invention is adapted for dispensing sheets of tissue paper from a stack of separated sheets of tissue paper, the stack including a leading sheet, a succeeding sheet that is in contact with the leading sheet by a first friction force, and a last sheet that is opposite to the leading sheet in a depleting direction. The tissue paper dispenser includes a holding member, an actuator, and a guiding member. The holding member confines a receiving space for holding the stack, and includes a standby abutment wall and a front major wall. The standby abutment wall has front and rear ends opposite to each other in a longitudinal direction transverse to the depleting direction, an inner major surface adapted to have the stack disposed thereon such that the leading sheet abuts against the inner major surface, and is movable between a standby position where the leading sheet is disposed inwardly of the front end, and a ready-to-dispense position where the leading sheet extends beyond the front end, and an outer major surface which is opposite to the inner major surface in the depleting direction and which has an access opening that extends through the inner major surface so as to permit access to the leading sheet, and that is proximate to the front end. The front major wall extends from the front end in the depleting direction to terminate at a replenishing edge that is proximate to the last sheet, and has a dispensing slot that extends in a transverse direction transverse to both the depleting direction and the longitudinal direction, and that extends through the front major wall. The dispensing slot is disposed to confront the inner major surface in the depleting direction such that the leading sheet extends through the dispensing slot when in the ready-to-dispense position. The actuator defines an axis in the depleting direction, and includes an actuating member which extends along the axis to terminate at an enlarged dragging portion that is normal to the axis, and that is adapted to contact the leading sheet with a second friction force which is greater than the first friction force in the standby position, a shifted member opposite to the actuating member along the axis and externally operable to move the enlarged dragging portion in the longitudinal direction and between the standby and ready-to-dispense positions, and a key unit disposed between the actuating member and the shifted member and confronting the access opening in the depleting direction. The guiding member is disposed on the outer major surface, and has a keyway unit which defines initial and end regions that are opposite to each other in the longitudinal direction, and that correspond to the standby and ready-to-dispense positions respectively, and which is configured to guide the key unit to move along a forward path when the key unit moves from the initial region to the end region, and to move along a backward path when the key unit moves from the end region back to the initial region. The forward and backward paths are configured such that no sooner did the key unit reach the ready-to-dispense position by following the forward path than the second friction force decreases to a value smaller than the first friction force, and such that when the key unit is being moved along the backward path back to the initial region, the second friction force is maintained at the value until the initial region is reached.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the first preferred embodiment of a tissue paper dispenser according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is an assembled sectional view of the first preferred embodiment;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing an actuator and a guiding member of the first preferred embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view of the first preferred embodiment, illustrating operation of the guiding member;

FIG. 5 is similar to FIG. 2, illustrating a leading sheet in a ready-to-dispense position;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the second preferred embodiment of a tissue paper dispenser according to this invention;

FIG. 7 is an assembled sectional view of the second preferred embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the third preferred embodiment of a tissue paper dispenser according to this invention;

FIG. 9 is an assembled sectional view of the third preferred embodiment according to this invention;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a conventional toilet paper dispenser; and

FIG. 11 is an assembled sectional view of the conventional toilet paper dispenser shown in FIG. 10.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Before the present invention is described in greater detail, it should be noted that like elements are denoted by the same reference numerals throughout the disclosure.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the first preferred embodiment of a tissue paper dispenser according to the present invention is shown to be adapted for dispensing sheets of tissue paper from a stack 9 of separated sheets of tissue paper, the stack including a leading sheet (9A), a succeeding sheet (9B) that is in contact with the leading sheet (9A) by a first friction force, and a last sheet (9N) that is opposite to the leading sheet (9A) in a depleting direction. The tissue paper dispenser includes a holding member 2, an actuator 43, and a guiding member 4.

The holding member 2 confines a receiving space 23 for holding the stack 9, and includes a standby abutment wall 21, a front major wall 22, a rear wall 20 opposite to the front major wall 22 in a longitudinal direction transverse to the depleting direction, and two sidewalls 201 interconnecting the front major wall 22 and the rear wall 20, which cooperate to confine the receiving space 23. The holding member 2 further includes a cover 24 removably mounted on the front major wall 22, the rear wall 20, and the sidewalls 201 to close the receiving space 23. The cover 24 can be mounted on the holding member 2 by sliding engagement, by fasteners, or by mere placement on the holding member 2. Any suitable conventional manner may be adopted.

The standby abutment wall 21 has front and rear ends (21A, 21B) opposite to each other in the longitudinal direction, an inner major surface 211 adapted to have the stack 9 disposed thereon such that the leading sheet (9A) abuts against the inner major surface 211, and is movable between a standby position where the leading sheet (9A) is disposed inwardly of the front end (21A) (see FIG. 1), and a ready-to-dispense position (see FIG. 5) where the leading sheet (9A) extends beyond the front end (21A), and an outer major surface 212 which is opposite to the inner major surface 211 in the depleting direction and which has an access opening 213 that extends through the inner major surface 211 so as to permit access to the leading sheet (9A), and that is proximate to the front end (21A).

The front major wall 22 extends from the front end (21A) in the depleting direction to terminate at a replenishing edge that is proximate to the last sheet (9N), and has a dispensing slot 221 that extends in a transverse direction transverse to both the depleting direction and the longitudinal direction, that extends through the front major wall 22, and that has a width not smaller that the width of the sheets. The dispensing slot 221 is disposed to confront the inner major surface 211 in the depleting direction such that the leading sheet (9A) extends through the dispensing slot 221 when in the ready-to-dispense position.

With further reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, the actuator 43 defines an axis in the depleting direction, and includes an actuating member 431, a shifted member 432, and a key unit 44. The actuating member 431 extends along the axis to terminate at an enlarged dragging portion 45 that is normal to the axis, and that is adapted to contact the leading sheet (9A) with a second friction force greater than the first friction force in the standby position. The shifted member 432 is opposite to the actuating member 431 along the axis, and is externally operable to move the enlarged dragging portion 45 in the longitudinal direction and between the standby and ready-to-dispense positions. The enlarged dragging portion 45 is a friction sheet, such as a sand paper, attached to the actuating member 431. The key unit 44 is disposed between the actuating member 431 and the shifted member 432, and confronts the access opening 213 in the depleting direction.

The guiding member 4 is disposed on the outer major surface 212 of the standby abutment wall 21, and has a keyway unit 415. The keyway unit 415 defines initial and end regions (L, E) that are opposite to each other in the longitudinal direction, and that correspond to the standby and ready-to-dispense positions, respectively. The keyway unit 415 is configured to guide the key unit 44 to move along a forward path when the key unit 44 moves from the initial region (L) to the end region (E), and to move along a backward path when the key unit 44 moves from the end region (E) back to the initial region (L). The forward and backward paths are configured such that no sooner did the key unit 44 reach the ready-to-dispense position by following the forward path than the second friction force decreases to a value smaller than the first friction force, and such that when the key unit 44 is being moved along the backward path back to the initial region (L), the second friction force is maintained at the value until the initial region (L) is reached. The forward path and the backward path are spaced apart from each other in the depleting direction, and are proximate to and distal from the standby abutment wall 21, respectively. The forward and backward paths interconnect with the initial and end regions (L, E) to form a looped track unit 416.

The key unit 44 includes left and right major surfaces which are opposite to each other in the depleting direction, which are proximate to and distal from the standby abutment wall 21, respectively, and which extend in radial directions relative to the axis to terminate at left and right peripheries respectively, and a sliding area which extends between the left and right peripheries, and which is in sliding contact with the looped track unit 416.

Furthermore, the guiding member 4 includes a spacer unit 42 which is interposed between the forward and backward paths in the depleting direction, and which is configured to abut against the left and right major surfaces of the key unit 44 when the sliding area of the key unit 44 is guided towards and away from the initial region (L) along the backward and forward paths, respectively, in response to movement of the shifted member 432 to pass through the initial region (L) in the depleting direction. The spacer unit 42 is made from an elastomeric material, such as rubber, so as to be deformed when the left and right major surfaces of the key unit 44 are forced to abut thereagainst in response to the movement of the shifted member 432 in the depleting direction. The spacer unit 42 has a fixed end 421 and a flippable end 422 proximate to the initial and end regions (L, E), respectively. The flippable end 422 is configured to extend into the forward path such that the key unit 44 is deterred from moving back into the forward path after moving over the flippable end 422 to the end region (E) along the forward path.

In this embodiment, the actuating member 431 includes two actuating rods 4311 parallel to each other in the longitudinal direction, and the shifted member 432 includes a substantially U-shaped rod having two parallel ends opposite to the actuating rods 4311, respectively. The shifted member 432 further includes a knob portion 433 extending from the U-shaped rod and outwardly of the guiding member 4 for manipulation by the user. The key unit 44 includes two keys 440, each of which is disposed between a respective one of the actuating rods 431 and the shifted member 432. The guiding member 4 is formed from opposing left and right blocks 41 each of which has a recessed wall 414. The left and right blocks 41 are arranged opposite to each other such that the recessed walls 414 thereof cooperatively define a slide groove 413 therebetween. The slide groove 413 extends in the depleting direction, and confronts the access opening 213. Each of the recessed walls 414 is formed with upper and lower keyways 4151. The upper and lower keyways 4151 of the left and right blocks 41 cooperatively define two keyway units 415 to guide movement of the two keys 440. The spacer unit 42 includes four spacers disposed respectively in the upper and lower keyways 4151 of the keyway units 415 to form two loop track units 416 for guiding the keys 440.

The tissue paper dispenser of this invention further includes a depressing member 3 disposed in the receiving space 23 and adapted to abut against the last sheet (9N) so as to maintain the first friction force between the leading sheet (9A) and the succeeding sheet (9B). The depressing member 3 is configured to have a base portion 311 with a cross-sectional area dimensioned to fit the receiving space 23, and an abutting portion 312 with a smaller cross-sectional area adapted to abut against the stack 9 toward the standby abutment wall 21.

In this embodiment, the tissue paper dispenser further includes a seat member 1 in the form of a triangular case such that the holding member 2 can be disposed in an inclined position. The seat member 1 may be provided with an opening such that the seat member 1 can serve as a storage compartment.

In use, the stack 9 of tissue paper and the depressing member 3 are disposed in the receiving space 23 in order. Then, the cover member 24 is put in place. At this time, each of the keys 440 is located at the initial region (L) of the respective keyway unit 415. By operating the shifted member 432, the user can drive the keys 440, and hence the enlarged dragging portion 45, to move along the embodiments, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.

forward paths to the end regions (E) of the respective keyway units 415, thereby pushing the leading sheet (9A) to the ready-to-dispense position. Thereafter, the shifted member 432 can be operated to move the keys 440 along the backward paths to return to the initial regions (L) of the respective keyway units 415.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, the second preferred embodiment of a tissue paper dispenser according to this invention differs from the first preferred embodiment primarily in that the seat member 1 of the first preferred embodiment is omitted so that the holding member 2 can stand on the rear wall 20 thereof in an upright position. Furthermore, the second preferred embodiment further includes two first biasing members 32 to urge the depressing member 3 to abut against the last sheet (9N).

Referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, the third preferred embodiment of a tissue paper dispenser according to this invention is shown to be adapted to be disposed in a horizontal position, and differs from the previous embodiments primarily in that the tissue paper dispenser further includes a second biasing member 46 disposed to bias the shifted member 432 towards the initial region, and that the holding member 2 is mounted on a seat member 1 which includes spaced-apart left and right seat portions and which may serve as a storage compartment.

As illustrated, the tissue paper dispenser of this invention has a simple construction, and allows for easy and smooth retrieval of sheets of tissue paper.

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred

Claims

1. A tissue paper dispenser adapted for dispensing sheets of tissue paper from a stack of separated sheets of tissue paper, the stack including a leading sheet, a succeeding sheet that is in contact with the leading sheet by a first friction force, and a last sheet that is opposite to the leading sheet in a depleting direction, said tissue paper dispenser comprising:

a holding member which confines a receiving space for holding the stack, and which includes a standby abutment wall having front and rear ends opposite to each other in a longitudinal direction transverse to the depleting direction, an inner major surface adapted to have the stack disposed thereon such that the leading sheet abuts against said inner major surface, and is movable between a standby position where the leading sheet is disposed inwardly of said front end, and a ready-to-dispense position where the leading sheet extends beyond said front end, and an outer major surface which is opposite to said inner major surface in the depleting direction and which has an access opening that extends through said inner major surface so as to permit access to the leading sheet, and that is proximate to said front end, and a front major wall which extends from said front end in the depleting direction to terminate at a replenishing edge that is proximate to the last sheet, and which has a dispensing slot that extends in a transverse direction transverse to both the depleting direction and the longitudinal direction, and that extends through said front major wall, said dispensing slot being disposed to confront said inner major surface in the depleting direction such that the leading sheet extends through said dispensing slot when in the ready-to-dispense position;

an actuator defining an axis in the depleting direction, and including an actuating member which extends along the axis to terminate at an enlarged dragging portion that is normal to the axis, and that is adapted to contact the leading sheet with a second friction force which is greater than the first friction force in the standby position, a shifted member opposite to said actuating member along the axis and externally operable to move said enlarged dragging portion in the longitudinal direction and between the standby and ready-to-dispense positions, and a key unit disposed between said actuating member and said shifted member and confronting said access opening in the depleting direction; and

a guiding member disposed on said outer major surface and having a keyway unit which defines initial and end regions that are opposite to each other in the longitudinal direction, and that correspond to the standby and ready-to-dispense positions respectively, and which is configured to guide said key unit to move along a forward path when said key unit moves from said initial region to said end region, and to move along a backward path when said key unit moves from said end region back to said initial region, said forward and backward paths being configured such that no sooner did said key unit reach the ready-to-dispense position by following said forward path than the second friction force decreases to a value smaller than the first friction force, and such that when said key unit is being moved along said backward path back to said initial region, the second friction force is maintained at said value until said initial region is reached.

2. The tissue paper dispenser according to claim 1, wherein said forward path and said backward path are spaced apart from each other in the depleting direction and are proximate to and distal from said standby abutment wall, respectively, said forward and backward paths interconnecting with said initial and end regions to form a looped track unit.

3. The tissue paper dispenser according to claim 2, wherein said key unit includes left and right major surfaces which are opposite to each other in the depleting direction, which are proximate to and distal from said standby abutment wall, respectively, and which extend in radial directions relative to the axis to terminate at left and right peripheries respectively, and a sliding area which extends between said left and right peripheries, and which is in sliding contact with said looped track unit, said guiding member including a spacer unit which is interposed between said forward and backward paths in the depleting direction, and which is configured to abut against said left and right major surfaces when said sliding area is guided towards and away from said initial region along said backward and forward paths, respectively, in response to movement of said shifted member to pass through said initial region in the depleting direction.

4. The tissue paper dispenser according to claim 3, wherein said spacer unit is made from an elastomeric material so as to be deformed when said left and right major surfaces are forced to abut thereagainst in response to the movement of said shifted member in the depleting direction.

5. The tissue paper dispenser according to claim 4, wherein said spacer unit has a fixed end and a flippable end proximate to said initial and end regions, respectively, said flippable end being configured to extend into said forward path such that said key unit is deterred from moving back into said forward path after moving over said flippable end to said end region along said forward path.

6. The tissue paper dispenser according to claim 5, wherein said enlarged dragging portion is a friction sheet which is attached to said actuating member.

7. The tissue paper dispenser according to claim 6, further comprising a depressing member adapted to abut against the last sheet so as to maintain the first friction force between the leading sheet and the succeeding sheet.

8. The tissue paper dispenser according to claim 7, further comprising a biasing member disposed to urge said depressing member to abut against the last sheet.

9. The tissue paper dispenser according to claim 6, further comprising a biasing member disposed to bias said shifted member towards said initial region.

10. The tissue paper dispenser according to claim 1, wherein said holding member further includes a rear wall opposite to said front major wall in the longitudinal direction, and two sidewalls interconnecting said front major wall and said rear wall to confine said receiving space, said holding member further including a cover removably mounted on said front major wall, said rear wall, and said sidewalls to close said receiving space.