US3428267A - Toilet paper dispenser - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 18, 1969 F. S. BRILES.

TOILET PAPER DISPENSER Filed Oct. 17, 1966 Sheet of 2 JVI/ENTOE.

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Feb. 18, 1969 F. s. BRILES 3,428,267

TOILET PAPER DISPENSER v Filed 061;. 17, 1966 Sheet 2 IvvEA/Tcw. flH/V/(L w 5. BEILES flrroeusys.

United States Patent 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A toilet paper roll dispenser employed in combination with a conventional toilet paper wall bracket of the type having a portion recessed into the wall and a pair of spaced, parallel support arms projecting outwardly from the wall with opposed recesses therein. The dispenser is generally U-shaped, with a transverse base portion and a pair of generally flat, diverging sides which are resiliently bendable for mounting on the wall bracket, the sides having inwardly projecting bosses for supporting a toilet paper roll and outwardly projecting studs for engagement into the recesses of the arms of the wall bracket, with a pair of ears projecting laterally outwardly from the respective sides and engageable with the wall bracket for positioning the dispenser fixedly relative to the wall bracket.

The present invention relates to toilet paper roll dispensers of the type currently in wide usage having a wall bracket with a portion recessed into the wall and a pair of spaced arms projecting outwardly from the wall for supporting a spring-loaded roll holder, and the invention relates more particularly to a novel toilet paper roll dispenser which is used in connection with the aforesaid type of wall bracket as a replacement for the conventional spring-loaded roll holder to provide simplified structure and operation and to greatly enhance the appearance of the toilet paper roll dispenser.

The conventional toilet paper wall bracket of the type having a portion recessed into the wall and a pair of spaced, outwardly projecting arms is almost universally employed in homes in the United States today, and has the advantages of partially recessing the toilet paper roll in the wall and providing a positive and durable means for mounting a toilet paper roll on the wall. However, the toilet paper roll is conventionally supported on this type of wall bracket by means of a spring-loaded rod or shaft which is inserted into the core of the toilet paper roll and then engaged at its ends in a pair of opposed recesses in the outwardly projecting arms of the wall bracket. Such engagement of the spring-loaded rod or shaft in the wall bracket is notoriously awkward and difficult because the ends of the shaft are so small as to be hard to hold, and the outward biasing force of the spring makes it awkward to engage the ends of the shaft in the recesses of the bracket because of the obstruction of the toilet paper roll. When the roll has been completely dispensed, the cardboard core thereof remains suspended on the rod, and this provides an obstruction to the disengagement of the rod from the bracket, leaving such a limited clearance between its ends and the arms of the bracket that it is difiicult to reach in and grip the rod and then collapse the rod against its outward spring biasing force sufiiciently to release the ends of the rod from the bracket arms.

The conventional spring-loaded rod or shaft has the further disadvantage that it leaves the toilet paper roll virtually completely exposed to view. An exposed toilet paper roll is considered unsightly by most people, and because of this numerous attempts have been made in the past to conceal the toilet paper in the wall. However, such attempts have generally involved structures which are Patented Feb. 18, 1969 cumbersome and unsure in operation, or require the use of separate stacked sheets of toilet paper instead of the preferred roll.

In view of these and other problems in the art, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel toilet paper roll dispenser of simplified construction and improved operation and appearance which replaces the usual spring-loaded rod or shaft for mounting a toilet paper roll on a conventional wall bracket of the type which is partly recessed and has a pair of outwardly projecting arms.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel toilet paper roll dispenser of the character described which may be fabricated as a unitary structure, and avoids the use of separate moving parts such as telescoping rod portions and separate springs.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a toilet paper dispenser of the character described which is particularly simple to operate, having external means thereon which is conveniently held in either one or both hands for engagement with the wall bracket or removal therefrom without any interference whatsoever from either the toilet paper roll or the core portion of the roll.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel toilet paper roll dispenser of the character described which provides an attractive hood over the toilet paper roll which shields most of the roll from view; and wherein this hood serves the additional practical purpose of providing an edge against which the toilet paper can be torn without requiring that the roll be held against rotation to prevent substantial unwinding thereof.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will appear during the course of the following part of this specification, wherein the details of construction and mode of operation of several preferred embodiments are described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of one form of the present invention operatively mounted on a conventional wall bracket which is shown in vertical section.

FIGURE 2 is a front elevational view of the form of the invention and wall bracket shown in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a top plan view of the invention as illustrated in FIGURES l and 2, with the wall bracket shown in horizontal section.

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of the form of the present invention shown in FIGURES 1, 2 and 3.

FIGURE 5 is a side elevational view, partly in section, of the toilet paper dispenser shown in FIGURES 1 to 4, the dispenser being mounted on a second form of wall bracket which is shown in vertical section.

FIGURE 6 is a view taken on the line 6-6 in FIGURE 5, being partly in bottom plan and partly in horizontal section.

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary, vertical section taken on the line 7-7 in FIGURE 6.

FIGURE 8 is a top plan view of a second form of the present invention shown mounted on a wall bracket of the type shown in FIGURES 5 and 6, the bracket being illustrated in horizontal section.

FIGURE 9 is a fragmentary vertical section taken on the line 99 in FIGURE 8.

FIGURE 10 is a perspective view of the second form of the invention shown in FIGURES 8 and 9.

Referring to the drawings, and at first particularly to FIGURES 1 to 3 thereof, one form of toilet paper dispenser 10 according to the present invention is illustrated in these figures operatively mounted on a conventional wall bracket 12 of the type that is usually employed to hold a spring-loaded telescoping rod or shaft for supporting a roll of toilet paper. The bracket 12 is mounted in a wall 14, the bracket including an arcuate recessed portion 16 and a flange portion 18 which overlays the surface of the wall around the recessed portion. A pair of spaced arms 20 project forwardly from the wall, and are provided with opposed, circular recesses adapted normally to receive the ends of the spring-loaded rod or shaft upon which a roll of toilet paper is supported.

The first form of toilet paper dispenser 10 according to the invention is shown in FIGURES 1 through 7 of the drawings, the dispenser 10 being oppositely positioned on the mounting bracket 12 in FIGURES 1 to 3, and on another form of mounting bracket, to be described hereinafter, in FIGURES through 7.

The dispenser comprises a pair of generally flat and parallel side walls 22, a front wall 24 and a top wall 26. The top wall 26 as shown depressed at its forward portion somewhat below the upper edges of the side wall 22 and the front wall 24 to provide a recess 28 in the top, for ornamental purposes, and as a holder to hold any of a variety of items, such as an ash tray.

A pair of round studs 30 project laterally outwardly from the respective side walls 22 for engagement in the respective opposed openings in the bracket arms 20. Aligned with the studs 30 is a pair of bosses 32 which project inwardly in opposed relationship from the respective side walls 22, the bosses 32 providing divided shaft means upon which a toilet paper roll 33 is rotatably mounted.

Extending laterally outwardly from the lower edges of the respective side walls 22 are a pair of positioning ears 34 in the form of flanges, the rearward ends of the cars 34 being arranged as abrupt rearwardly facing shoulders 36.

The dispenser 10 is preferably but not necessarily made of plastic, the material thereof being of a generally rigid character which, when provided in sheet form as in the side walls 22, is generally resilient. The dispenser 10 is a unitary or integral structure, and may either be made as a single member or may be made in several parts which are integrally attached to each other, and by adhesive bonding or other suitable means.

In the unmounted condition of the dispenser 10 as illustrated in FIGURE 4, wherein the parts are in their positions of repose, the side walls 22 flare somewhat outwardly from their junctures with the front wall 24 and the top wall 26, preferably with a sufficient outward flaring of the side walls from a parallel relationship so as to separate the inwardly projecting bosses 32 approximately the length of the roll of toilet paper, so that the roll can easily be moved between the bosses 32 so as to align the bosses 32 with the passage through the core of the roll. When the roll is thus positioned, the side walls 22 of the dispenser are merely squeezed together against the outwardly biasing resilience of the side walls 22 so as to engage the roll in its operative, rotatable position on the bosses 32. The side walls 22 are squeezed together sufficiently so that the studs 30 can be inserted between the arms into alignment with the opposed recesses in the arms 20. The side walls 22 are then released for engagement of the studs in the recesses in the arms 20 to secure the dispenser 10 in its operative position on the bracket 12 as shown in FIGURES l, 2 and 3. In this position, the rearwardly facing shoulders 36 on the positioning ears 34 engage against the side portions of the bracket flange 18 so as to secure the dispenser 10' against downward tipping or clockwise movement as viewed in FIGURE 1. Likewise, the readward edges of the side walls 22 adjacent the top wall 26 engage against the top portion of the flange 18 to secure the dispenser 10. against anti-clockwise movement as viewed in FIGURE 1. In this manner, the dispenser 10 is securely locked in its operative position until the toilet paper roll is fully dispensed, at which time the dispenser 10 and the remaining core portion of the roll are quickly and easily removed from the bracket 12 simply by again squeezing 4 the side walls 22 together until the studs 30 are free of the openings in the bracket arms 20, and then moving the dispenser 10 outwardly away from the bracket and releasing the side walls 22 so that the core member will drop free.

During the mounting of the dispenser 10 with the toilet paper roll 33 therein on the wall bracket 12, when the side walls 22 are released to expand outwardly and move the studs 30 into engagement with the arms 20, this latter movement provides suflicient space between the ends of the toilet paper roll 33-and the inner surfaces of the side walls 22, as best illustrated in FIGURE 2, for freedom of rotational movement of the roll 33 within the dispenser 10. Preferably, the bosses 32 upon which the roll is mounted are made only slightly smaller in diameter than the opening through the core portion of the roll to provide some frictional resistance against accidental unwinding of the roll.

The roll is preferably positioned on the bosses 32 as shown in FIGURE 1 with the free end of the toilet paper unwinding downwardly from the front part of the roll. With such positioning of the toilet paper roll 33, the bottom edge of the front wall 24 of the dispenser is located adjacent to the strip of toilet paper as the toilet paper is being pulled downwardly for dispensing, and when the desired length of the strip of paper has been pulled out, the paper can then be pulled upwardly and laterally in a shearing motion to tear it off against the bottom edge of the front wall 24. This will then leave a short length of unwound paper still attached to the roll, generally as illustrated in FIGURE 1, and this free end of the roll can then easily be gripped for a further dispensing operation.

Referring now particularly to FIGURES 5, 6 and 7, an alternative form of wall bracket 38 is illustrated in these figures. The wall bracket 38 is similar to the bracket 12 shown in FIGURES l, 2 and 3, but is not recessed as far into the wall, and has arms which project somewhat further outwardly from the wall. Thus, the wall bracket 38 is shown mounted in a wall 40, and has relatively shallow recessed portion 42 extending into the wall, with a flange 44 overlying the wall about the recessed portion. Arms 46 project outwardly from the wall substantially farther than the arms 20 of the bracket 12, and have opposed recesses 48 which are best shown in FIGURE 7, and which have counterparts (not shown) in the arms 20 of bracket 12.

The toilet paper dispenser 10 is operatively engaged with and disengaged from the alternative wall bracket 38 in substantially the same manner as the dispenser 10 is engaged with and removed from the bracket 12, although the operative positions are somewhat different. Thus, when the dispenser 10 is engaged with the alternative bracket 38, the greater extension of the arms 46 from the wall causes the shoulders 36 on the positioning ears 34 to be spaced substantially outwardly from the bracket flange 44. Accordingly, the shoulders 36 can no longer be employed to secure the dispenser 10 against clockwise or downwardly tilting movement of the dispenser as viewed in FIGURE 5. However, the rearward edges of the side walls 22 are shaped so that they lie approximately in the plane of the forward face of the flange 44 of the bracket 38, and as is seen in FIGURE 6, the outward biasing action of the side walls 22 will cause the rearward edges of the walls 22 in the lower portions thereof to overlie the flange 44 and thus secure the dispenser 10 against downward tilting or clockwise shifting as viewed in FIGURE 5.

Referring now to FIGURES 8, 9 and 10 of the drawings, the alternative form of toilet paper dispenser 50 which is there illustrated is a somewhat skeletal form of the invention which does not provide a hood for shielding the roll of toilet paper.

The dispenser 50 is a unitary, generally U-shaped structure having a transverse rear portion 52 and a pair of generally parallel, spaced, forwardly projecting arms 54 which extend from the ends of the rear portion 52. Studs 56 project outwardly from the respective arms 54 for engagement in the respective recesses 48 of the bracket arms 46, while bosses 58 project inwardly from the respective arms 54 of the dispenser to provide divided shaft means upon which the toilet paper roll is rotatably mounted. Ears 60 extend outwardly from the respective arms 54 proximate the upper edges of the arms 54, the cars 60 overlying the respective bracket arms 46 so as to secure the dispenser 50 against rotational movement when it is operatively mounted on the wall bracket.

The arms 54 of dispenser 50 extend somewhat forwardly of the studs 56 so as to provide gripping tabs which may be conveniently gripped by the user for mounting the dispenser 50 with a roll of toilet paper on a wall bracket and for removing the dispenser 50 and the remaining core portion of the roll from the wall bracket after the roll has been fully dispensed. The arms 54 of the dispenser 50 diverge somewhat outwardly from their connections with the transverse rear portion 52 of the dispenser in the position of repose, so that the roll of toilet paper can be easily slipped between the inwardly projecting bosses 58, the arms 54 squeezed toward each other so as to spring them inwardly against the outward biasing force of the resilient arms 54, and the unit with toilet paper attached inserted into the wall bracket with the studs 56 aligned with the bracket arm recesses 48, and then the arms 54 of the dispenser released for resilient engagement of the studs 56 in the bracket recesses 48. Removal of the dispenser 50 with the remaining toilet paper roll core member after the paper has been dispensed, is accomplished by simply squeezing the dispenser arms 54 together at their outer ends until the studs 56 are freed from the bracket arm recesses 48, and then withdrawing the unit from the bracket and releasing the arms 54 to free the roll core therefrom.

While the instant invention has been shown and de-, scribed herein in what are conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is recognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the invention, which is therefore not to be limited to the details disclosed herein, but is to be accorded the full scope of the claims so as to embrace any and all equivalent devices.

I claim:

1. In a toilet paper wall bracket of the type having a portion recessed into the wall and a pair of spaced, parallel support arms projecting outwardly from the wall with opposed recesses therein, the combination with said wall bracket of a toilet paper roll dispenser comprising a transverse base portion and a pair of generally fiat, opposed sides extending therefrom in diverging relationship, said sides being resiliently bendable toward each other to a generally parallel relationship wherein they are insertable between said bracket arms so as to lie alongside the arms in the operative position of said dispenser, a pair of opposed, aligned bosses projecting inwardly from the respective said sides, said bosses being engageable in the open ends of a toilet paper roll when said sides are in their said diverging relationship and rotatably supporting the roll when the dispenser is in its said operative position, a pair of aligned studs projecting outwardly from the respective sides and resiliently biased by said sides into engagement in the respective said arm recesses in said operative position of the dispenser, and shoulder means on said sides defined by a pair of ears projecting laterally outwardly from the respective said sides, said shoulder means being engageable with said wall bracket in said operative position of the dispenser relative to said wall bracket.

2. In a toilet paper wall bracket of the type having a portion recessed into the wall and a pair of spaced, parallel support arms projecting outwardly from the wall with opposed recesses therein, the combination with said wall bracket of a toilet paper roll dispenser comprising a transverse base portion and a pair of generally flat, opposed sides extending therefrom in divering relationship, said sides being resiliently bendable toward each other to a generally parallel relationship wherein they are insertable between said bracket arms so as to lie alongside the arms in the operative position of said dispenser, a pair of opposed, aligned bosses projecting inwardly from the respective said sides, said bosses being engageable in the open ends of a toilet paper roll when said sides are in their said diverging relationship and rotatably supporting the roll when the dispenser is in its said operative position, and a pair of aligned studs projecting outwardly from the respective sides and resilent- 1y biased by said sides into engagement in the respective said arm recesses in said operative position of the dispenser, said sides being side walls, and said transverse base portion comprising transverse wall means extending in said operative position of the dispenser outward- 1y from the wall on which said wall bracket is mounted and over the upper portion of the toilet paper roll, said side walls and transverse wall means forming a hood over the roll generally shielding the roll from view, said hood proximate its upper, rear edge being engageable against an upper portion of said wall bracket in said operative position of the dispenser to limit upward tilting of the dispenser, and at least one of said side walls having rearwardly facing shoulder means thereon engageable against a lower portion of said wall bracket in said operative position of the dispenser to limit downward tilting of the dispenser, said shoulder means comprising first shoulders defined by a pair of ears projecting laterally outwardly from the respective said sides for engaging a first configuration of said type of wall bracket that is relatively deeply recessed into the wall and has relatively short support arms, and second shoulders defined by rear edges of the respective said sides for engaging a second configuration of said type of Wall bracket that is relatively shallowly recessed into the wall and has relatively long support arms.

3. In a toilet paper wall bracket of the type having a portion recessed into the wall and a pair of spaced, parallel support arms projecting outwardly from the wall with opposed recesses therein, the combination with said wall bracket of a toilet paper roll dispenser comprising a transverse base portion and a pair of generally flat, opposed sides extending therefrom in diverging relationship, said sides being resiliently bendable toward each other to a generally parallel relationship wherein they are insertable between said bracket arms so as to lie alongside the arms in the operative position of said dispenser, a pair of opposed, aligned bosses projecting inwardly from the respective said sides, said bosses being engageable in the open ends of a toilet paper roll when said sides are in their said diverging relationship and rotatably supporting the roll when the dispenser is in its said operative position, a pair of aligned studs projecting outwardly from the respective sides and resiliently biased by said sides into engagement in the respective said arm recesses in said operative position of the dispenser, and shoulder means on said sides defined by a pair of ears projecting laterally outwardly from the respective said sides, said shoulder means being engageable with said wall bracket in said operative position of the dispenser relative to said wall bracket, said base portion and sides being elongated strips arranged in a generally U-shaped configuration, said base portion in said operative position of the dispenser being disposed within said recessed portion of the wall bracket, and said sides having free ends forward of said studs to provide gripping tabs for holding the dispenser when it is being mounted on and removed from the wall bracket.

4. A toilet paper roll dispenser as defined in claim 3, wherein said ears are located above said studs and engageable against the upper edges of the respective said support arms in said operative position of the dispenser.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Hertz 24255.53

Banks 24255.53

Sieven 24255.3

Kuhn 242-55.2

GEORGE F. MAUTZ, Primary Examiner.

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