Wet or dry paper towel dispenser

Abstract

A wet or dry paper towel dispenser includes a paper towel roll in a housing; drive rollers operably driven by an electric motor; driven rollers disposed oppositely of the drive rollers; a controller including a first sensor for detecting dispensation of dry paper towel sheet and a second sensor for detecting dispensation of wet paper towel sheet; a paper dispensing opening under the controller; a cutter disposed between the paper dispensing opening and the driven rollers, the cutter being configured to cut a portion of sheet product of the paper towel roll; a reservoir disposed rearward of the paper dispensing opening; a pump electrically connected to the controller; and nozzles. A leading edge of the paper towel roll is pinched by the drive rollers and the driven rollers to dispose in front of the nozzles.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to paper towel dispensers and more particularly to a paper towel dispenser capable of dispensing dry or wet paper towel upon detection of a user's hand proximate a first sensor or a second sensor.

2. Description of Related Art

Conventionally, a user may pull a portion of sheet product of a paper towel roll and tear same by means of a cutter when using a paper towel dispenser. However, the dispensed portion of the sheet product of the paper towel roll may be broken if sufficient care is not taken when tearing same.

Further, the conventional paper towel dispenser is configured to dispense wet or dry paper towel only. That is, dispensing dry paper towel at one time and dispensing wet paper towel at another time is impossible.

Thus, the need for improvement still exists.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore one object of the invention to provide a wet or dry paper towel dispenser comprising a housing; a paper towel roll disposed in the housing; a plurality of drive rollers disposed under the paper towel roll and operably driven by an electric motor; a plurality of driven rollers disposed oppositely of the drive rollers; a controller electrically connected to the electric motor and disposed in front of the driven rollers, the controller including a first sensor for detecting dispensation of dry paper towel sheet and a second sensor for detecting dispensation of wet paper towel sheet; a battery compartment disposed rearward of the drive rollers; a paper dispensing opening disposed under the controller; a cutter disposed above the paper dispensing opening and under the driven rollers, the cutter being configured to cut a portion of sheet product of the paper towel roll; a reservoir disposed rearward of the paper dispensing opening; a pump electrically connected to the controller and disposed on the reservoir; and a nozzle assembly disposed on the reservoir and including a plurality of nozzles; wherein the reservoir is in fluid communication with the pump; wherein the pump is in fluid communication with the nozzles; wherein a leading edge of the paper towel roll is pinched by the drive rollers and the driven rollers to dispose in front of the nozzles; wherein in a first operation, the first sensor detects a user's hand proximate the first sensor, the controller activates the electric motor to rotate the drive rollers upon detection of the user's hand proximate the first sensor, and the portion of the sheet product of the paper towel roll advances to pass through the paper dispensing opening; and wherein in a second operation, the second sensor detects the user's hand proximate the second sensor, the controller activates the electric motor to rotate the drive rollers upon detection of the user's hand proximate the second sensor, the portion of the sheet product of the paper towel roll advances and the controller activates the pump to draw water out of the reservoir, the pump delivers pressurized water to the nozzles which direct the pressurized water to the portion of the sheet product of the paper towel roll, thereby wetting the portion of the sheet product of the paper towel roll, and the wet portion of the sheet product of the paper towel roll passes through the paper dispensing opening.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a paper towel dispenser according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is another perspective view of the paper towel dispenser;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the paper towel dispenser with a cover removed to show internal components;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 with the paper towel roll removed;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the drive rollers, the driven rollers and the cutter; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the pump, the reservoir and the nozzle assembly.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 6, a paper towel dispenser 1 in accordance with the invention comprises the following components as discussed in detail below.

A housing 10 is provided.

A paper towel roll 22 is rolled up on a spool 21 which is disposed in the housing 10.

A plurality of drive rollers 32 are disposed under the paper towel roll 22 and operably driven by an electric motor 31. A plurality of driven rollers 33 are disposed in front of the drive rollers 32. A controller 34 is electrically connected to the electric motor 31. The controller 34 is disposed in front of the driven rollers 33 and includes a first sensor 34a for detecting the dispensation of dry paper towel sheet and a second sensor 34b for detecting the dispensation of wet paper towel sheet.

A battery compartment 41 is disposed rearward of the drive rollers 32. One or more cells (not shown) are provided in the battery compartment 41 and electrically connected to the controller 34.

A paper dispensing opening 61 is disposed under the controller 34. A cutter 62 is disposed above the paper dispensing opening 61 and under the driven rollers 33.

A pump 51 is electrically connected to the controller 34. The pump 51 is disposed on a reservoir 52 which is disposed rearward of the paper dispensing opening 61. A nozzle assembly 53 is disposed on the reservoir 52 and includes a plurality of nozzles 53a. An outlet (not shown) of the reservoir 52 is connected to the pump 51 and an outlet of the pump 51 is connected to the nozzle assembly 53.

A leading edge of the paper towel roll 22 extends through a gap between the drive rollers 32 and the driven rollers 33 to dispose in front of the nozzle assembly 53.

In a first operation, the first sensor 34a may detect a user's hand proximate the first sensor 34a. The controller 34 activates the electric motor 31 to rotate the drive rollers 32 upon detection of the user's hand proximate the first sensor 34a. And in turn, a portion of sheet product of the paper towel roll 22 advances to pass through the paper dispensing opening 61. Finally, the user may pull the portion of the sheet product of the paper towel roll 22 and tear same off the sheet product of the paper towel roll 22 using the cutter 62.

In a second operation, the second sensor 34b may detect a user's hand proximate the second sensor 34b. The controller 34 activates the electric motor 31 to rotate the drive rollers 32 upon detection of the user's hand proximate the second sensor 34a. And in turn, a portion of sheet product of the paper towel roll 22 advances. At the same time, the controller 34 activates the pump 51 to draw water out of the reservoir 52. The pump 51 delivers pressurized water to the nozzles 53a which in turn direct the pressurized water to the portion of the sheet product of the paper towel roll 22, thereby wetting the portion of the sheet product of the paper towel roll 22. The wet portion of the sheet product of the paper towel roll 22 passes through the paper dispensing opening 61. Finally, the user may pull the wet portion of the sheet product of the paper towel roll 22 and tear same off the sheet product of the paper towel roll 22 using the cutter 62.

While the invention has been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention can be practiced with modifications within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A wet or dry paper towel dispenser, comprising:

a housing;

a paper towel roll disposed in the housing;

a plurality of drive rollers disposed under the paper towel roll and operably driven by an electric motor;

a plurality of driven rollers disposed oppositely of the drive rollers;

a controller electrically connected to the electric motor and disposed in front of the driven rollers, the controller including a first sensor for detecting dispensation of dry paper towel sheet and a second sensor for detecting dispensation of wet paper towel sheet;

a battery compartment disposed rearward of the drive rollers;

a paper dispensing opening disposed under the controller;

a cutter disposed above the paper dispensing opening and under the driven rollers, the cutter being configured to cut a portion of sheet product of the paper towel roll;

a reservoir disposed rearward of the paper dispensing opening;

a pump electrically connected to the controller and disposed on the reservoir; and

a nozzle assembly disposed on the reservoir and including a plurality of nozzles;

wherein the reservoir is in fluid communication with the pump;

wherein the pump is in fluid communication with the nozzles;

wherein a leading edge of the paper towel roll is pinched by the drive rollers and the driven rollers to dispose in front of the nozzles;

wherein in a first operation, the first sensor detects a user's hand proximate the first sensor, the controller activates the electric motor to rotate the drive rollers upon detection of the user's hand proximate the first sensor, and the portion of the sheet product of the paper towel roll advances to pass through the paper dispensing opening; and

wherein in a second operation, the second sensor detects the user's hand proximate the second sensor, the controller activates the electric motor to rotate the drive rollers upon detection of the user's hand proximate the second sensor, the portion of the sheet product of the paper towel roll advances and the controller activates the pump to draw water out of the reservoir, the pump delivers pressurized water to the nozzles which direct the pressurized water to the portion of the sheet product of the paper towel roll, thereby wetting the portion of the sheet product of the paper towel roll, and the wet portion of the sheet product of the paper towel roll passes through the paper dispensing opening.