US2110238A - Towel for towel cabinets - Google Patents

Description

March 1938. L. L. PRICE ET AL 2,110,238

TOWEL FOR TOWEL CABINETS Filed April 14, 1934 2 sheets sheec 1 14 .EWENT RS L.L-FZZIDE UDJTMHNSBN BYWFX 74 75 11 .ZZTTUHNEYB.

March 8, 1938.

. L. L. PRICE 1-;1- AL TOWEL FOR TOWEL CABINETS 2 Shet-Sheet 2 Filed April 14, 1934 JNVENTUES LLFL JEE UDJTMHNBUN BY "gm" 2 T T UHNEYS.

Patented Mar. 8, 1938 UNETED STATES PATENT OFFIQE TOWEL FOR TOWEL CABINETS Application April 14, 1934, Serial No. 720,580

6 Claims.

Our invention relates to a novel type of towel and towel cabinet to handle such towel.

As to the towel, our invention comprises providing a plurality of individual towels each in- 5 tended to be used by only one person for what is technically termed a wipe. These individual towels are secured along one edge to an elongated band or web so that the assembly of the web and the individual towels may be formed into a roll of clean toweling, then, by means of the special cabinet, the web with the individual towels may be moved so that a person may use one of the individual towels for a wipe and then the soiled individual towel is wound with its carrier web on a roll for the soiled toweling.

In one form of our towel assembly the individual towels are stitched at one of their ends to the web so that as the web is drawn through the dispensing cabinet each individual towel during a portion of its travel hangs suspended from the web in a position for use for a person to obtain a wipe.

Another feature of our invention as it relates to the towel construction is forming the web and the individual toweling of one elongated strip of fabric but in this case, the web at intervals is provided with longitudinal slits adjacent its opposite side edges, these slits being joined by a transverse slit thus forming an individual towel attached and formed integral with the web or supporting strip. With this construction, the individual towels and the web at the slits may be provided with selvage edges on the side and on the free ends of the toweling and adjacent por- 5 tions of the web.

An object and feature of our invention as it concerns the cabinet includes an upper and lower supporting carrier located in the cabinet, the upper carrier preferably being for the roll of clean toweling which roll as above mentioned has the web with the individual towels attached thereto, and at the lower portion of the cabinet there is a second supporting carrier on which the roll of the soiled individual towels attached to the web maybe wound.

A further feature of our invention in regard to the carriers is that these are each made in the form of an endless conveyor belt which belts may have a roughened surface, and they support the upper and lower rolls on the upper runs of the belts which belts may be roughened to increase the friction between the toweling and the belt. v

. Another object .and feature of our invention is 55 ran interconnected drive between the upper and lower conveyor belt carriers so that the upper conveyor, which is in the main portion of the feed is operated by pulling an individual towel through an opening in the cabinet. This action unwinds the clean toweling and transmits a drive to the lower conveyor for rolling or winding up the soiled individual towels and their supporting web.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a vertical section substantially through the center of the clean and soiled towel rolls illustrating a partial vertical section of a cabinet in which the rolls are mounted and have an interconnected feeding mechanism between the two rolls.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the cabinet for using individual towels attached to a web illustrating one towel exposed below the bottom of the cabinet for wiping.

Fig. 3 is an elevation of one form of the individual towels, each towel being stitched to a supporting web.

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3 in the direction of the arrows, and Fig. 5 is an elevation of another form of towel in which the individual towels are formed integral with theweb; and

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section of Fig. 5 on the line G-6.

Referring first to the toweling of Figs. 3 and 4: In this construction there is a long web of fabric H, and secured to this web there are a plurality of individual towels 12 for wiping. These towels are preferably stitched as at E3 at one end to the web. The towels are secured close together from the web so that the lower free edge M of one towel is close to the edge l5 at the stitched portion, there being a slight clearance to allow for stretching of the towels when used and laundered. The transverse measurement 15 of the individual towels may, if desired,be slightly less than the transverse measurement H of the web but this is more or less immaterial. There is a strip 3 left at each end of the web without towels secured thereto, and in this strip there is formed preferably a pocket l9 which may be slipped over a mandrel to form a roll of the toweling in the web.

The individual towels are preferably provided with numerals 20, these numbering from zero to the highest number of towels and is used to indicate to the user the number of clean towels remaining in the cabinet. With this type of individual towel stitched to the web, the side margins 21 'of the towel may have a salvage edge and ter.

the free edge l4 may have a hem. The individual towels may be made of quite different material from the carrier web, the towels preferably being a good quality of material for absorbing moisture and the web a strong material for conveying the individual towels through the cabinet.

In order to show that the cabinet is empty and that there are no more towels to be used, a flap 22 is secured to the web above the last towel and this has indicia 23 thereon, which is illustrated as being the word empty. This flap is so attached to the web that a portion of it will hang below the bottom of the cabinet and thus show that the cabinet is empty. This flap is preferably of material unsuitable for use as a towel.

In the form of toweling shown in Figs. 5 and 6 the web or supporting portion 24 and the individual towels 25 are formed integral and of the same type of material. In this case therefore, there are two parallel slits 26 parallel to the side edges of the web structure and a transverse slit 2'! thus leaving the individual towels 25 attached to the web portion by a transverse section 28 of the web whichjoins in the marginal edges. With this construction itis necessary that the transverse measurement 29 of the individual towels be less than the transverse measurement 3% of the web in order to provide a sufficient web to give strength and to hold the individual towels inposition properly. This form of toweling is also provided with the numerals to indicate the number of towels in the cabinet, a flap to indicate that the cabinet is empty, and have end portions with loops or other means for attaching to a mandrel.

In the construction of the toweling of Figs. 5 and 6, the edges 25 and 21 of the individual towels may be woven with a selvage edge and also the marginal portion of the web have a selvage edge. It is therefore unnecessary to stitch the individual towels to the Web or to hem the lower free edge of the individual towels. Moreover, when the towel of Figs. 5 and 6 is wound into a roll, the Web and the towel only form one thickness, whereas in the construction of Figs. 3 and 4 they form two thicknesses. Thus, with the construction of Figs. 5 and 6, a greater number of individual towels of the, same length as in Figs. 3 and 4 may be wound on a roll of the same diame- In the construction of Figs. 5 and 6, on acount of having the individual towels formed integral with the web there is thus a space between the longitudinal slits 26 and the. end 2'! of the towels where they join the transverse section of a web 28.

The cabinet structure is designated by the assembly numeral 3|] and is constructed as follows and may be in the form of a rectangular box having a back 3! top 32, a bottom 33 which is preferably hinged to the back by hinge 34, opposite sides 35 and a door 36 which may be hinged at one side, the hinged edge being indicated at 3'! at the right hand side. The door is provided with a vertical flange 38 on one side overlapping one of the sides and with av flange 39 at the bottom to engage the hinged bottom when this bottom is in the closed position. The door is provided with a lug not illustrated, and with ventilating openings 40 adjacent the top. An upper flange 4| on the door may also overlap the top 32 of the cabinet.

Inside of the cabinet there is a frame 42 which is illustratedas having a pair of opposite side plates 43 suspended on a transverse rod 44 which extends from one side of the cabinet to'the other A transverse partition 45 connects the side plates at about the center of the cabinet and there is a lower shelf 46. This shelf is preferably provided with a slot 41 and has a curve 46 at the lower corner of the frame. A vertical guide plate 48 connects the two side plates 43 of the frame and is preferably set inwardly from the front edge 49 of these plates. An inwardly extending end 50 approaches the front portion of the transverse partition 45. At the lower portion of the vertical guide plate 48 there is a cylindrical section 5|, this preferably being spaced inwardly from the lower corner 5| of the side plates 43. The shelf 46 has a front edge 52 spaced from the cylindrically curved portion 5| of the guide plate.

Each side plate is provided with a horizontal slot 53 extending inwardly from its upper portion, which portion is preferably convexly curved as indicated at 53. The slot extends to the vertical axial center of each plate 43 and from the horizontal slot there is a downwardly extending vertical slot 54 terminating .at 55. The lower portion of each plate 43 is also provided with a horizon tal slot 56 extending inwardly from its rear edge which joins into a vertical slot 57 terminating at 58. same vertical plane. The upper slots 53 and 54 are for the insertion of the axle or shaft 59 of the mandrel 60 on which the roll of clean toweling is formed into a large roll. The ends of the roll are accommodated between the plates 43 of the,

The vertical slots 54 and 5'! are. in the a frame and the shafts are of sufiicient length to extend slightly beyond the outside of these side plates 43. The lower mandrel 53 on which the soiled toweling 62 is wound is also provided with an axle or shaft 64 which isinserted through the horizontal slot 56 into the vertical slot 51.

These axles may move downwardly into slots, or the slots can be of suflicient length so that when the toweling is completely unrolled from each mandrel, the mandrels with the loops|9 of the toweling will be supported on carriers designated by the assembly numeral 64.

These carriers each comprise an endless conveyor which is illustrated as being formed of a belt 66 with half round slats 51 secured thereto. These slats. engage sprocket rolls 68 mounted on shafts 69, which shafts are journaled into side plates 43 of the frame. The journals may be formed by perforations in these plates. Each of the sprocket wheels has a series of notches 70 to accommodate the slats 67.. The outside or exposed surfaces of the belts 66 are preferably roughened which may be done by forming the belts of a rubberized material provided with ridges, or by providing these with a sanded surface. The upper runs of the belts preferably sag slightly in order to form a longer contact surface with the clean towel rolls and the soiled towel rolls 52. The transverse partition 45 is for the purpose of preventing any contact of the soiled towel roll with the upper carrier 64 which might possibly cause a contamination with the clean'toweling of the roll 6|.

The upper and lower carriers are driven at the same speed by means of an interconnecting sprocket chain 1| which operates over sprockets 12. Each of these sprockets is secured to one of the shafts 69 of the upper and lower carriers, which shafts project beyond the plates. 43 in the side space 13 between the plates 43 and the sides 35 of the cabinet. The sprocket chain II is accommodated in a. side space.

The roll of clean toweling is rolled on the clean toweling roll in such a manner that the attached edges of the individual towels are towards the mandrel on which such roll is wound. Therefore, when toweling such as shown in Figs. 3 and 4 is used having a web with the individual towels attached thereto, the web portion binds the individual towels attached thereto between the outer portion of the web and the mandrel. Thus considering any portion of the clean towel roll, the web is on the outside portion of the roll with the individual towels between the web and the mandrel. As the toweling is unwound, the web with the individual towels extends downwardly in front of the guide plate 48, the end 50 guiding this in threading the toweling, thus the web is in contact with the vertical surface 48 and the individual towel hangs downwardly in front of this. When the toweling is in position for feeding a clean individual towel for use, a lower edge portion M of the towel of Figs. 3 and 4, or the lower edge 21 of the towel of Figs. 5 and 6 is suspended spaced from the cylindrical section 5!. The web follows the contour of this cylindrical section and passes rearwardly underneath the lower rung of the lower belt of the lower carrier, passes over this carrier, and is wound on the lower roll 62 of the soiled toweling. In this winding action the individual towels are reversed so that the towels attached to the web by stitches are reversely bent at these stitches, or the toweling of Figs. 5 and 6 is reversely folded at the transverse sections 28 of the toweling web. As the web and toweling is fed, an individual towel hangs downwardly through the opening 15 in the bottom of the cabinet and may be used for wiping purposes. This is the only part of the web or toweling exposed outside of the cabinet and it is only exposed while a person is using it for a wipe in the manner hereunder detailed.

The cylindrical curved section 5| of the guide plate 48, functions in conjunction with the web having the individual towels, the opening 15 at the bottom of the cabinet and the direction taken by the web in being wound in on the soiled towel roll to limit the feed of the web and thus the individual towels when the projecting end of an individual towel is pulled downwardly through the opening 15 as indicated by the dotted towel 74. When this depending towel is in alignment with the center of curvature of the curved end 5| of the guide, a downward pull cannot advance the web or the toweling. In other words, the web or the toweling can only be advanced until the point of attachment of the individual towel to the web is at its lowest point of travel around the curved end 5| of the guide 48.

In order to have the dispensing cabinet and the towels sanitary, we make provision for pulling of the cabinet after its release by the user, and

before it is rolled on the soiled towel roll.

In addition to the numerals on the individual towels engaging the number of towels remaining still in the cabinet we may provide a window I82 in the door (note Fig. 2) through which the number on a towel still in the cabinet is visible, this, then indicating the number of towels still in the cabinet. With this construction, when the last towel is removed, the flap 22 may have some designation to indicate when the cabinet is empty.

Various changes may be made in the details of construction without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A towel having a web structure with a plurality of pairs of parallel slits, each pair being joined by a transverse slit thus forming a plurality of individual towels formed integral with the web structure and attached to the web structure at the non-slitted portion, the web portion extending beyond the end individual towels and having means for attachment to a mandrel.

2. A toweling roll having a web with a plurality of individual towels, each attached to the web at one end only of each towel, the remaining portions of each towel being free of the web, the towels being spaced along the web, the web extending beyond the end towel and having means for attachment to a mandrel, the web and towels being spirally wound with the attached end of each towel towards the inside and the free end of .each towel towards the outside of the spiral, whereby in unwinding the web from the roll the free end of each towel leads its attached end, said web having a substantial end or leader strip beyond the towel carrying portion forming a cover for the complete roll.

3. A toweling roll as claimed in claim 2, each towel having a numeral thereon, the last towel on the inside of the spiral having the lowest numeral and the outermost towel in the spiral having the highest numeral, the numerals being in sequence on the towels therebetween, whereby inspection of the numeral on a towel when unwound indicates the number of towels remaining on the roll.

4. A toweling roll as claimed in claim 2, a flap secured to the web between the innermost towel of the spiral and the means for attaching the mandrel, said flap having its free end towards the outside of the spiral, said fiap having indicia thereon to indicate when exposed in unwinding the roll that there are no more towels on the roll.

5. A toweling roll having a web with a plurality of individual towels, each attached to the web at one end only of each towel, and the towels being spaced along the web, the web having lateral edges extending beyond the side edges of the towel, the web and towels being wound spirally, whereby the outer layers of web having attached towels confine the inner towels of the roll and the said lateral edges of the web beyond the side edges of the towel at the outside of the roll, forming a portion of the web to be grasped without soiling the towels in handling the roll and in inserting such roll in a towel dispensing cabinet, said web having a substantial end or leader strip beyond the towel carrying portion forming a cover for the complete roll.

6. A toweling roll having a web with a plurality of individual towels, each attached to the web at one end only of each towel and the towels being spaced along the web and separated one from another by a portion of the web, the web and. towels being wound spirally with each towel lying between the web adjacent its place of attachment thereto and the next inner layer of the web, said web having a substantial end or leader strip beyond the towel carrying portion whereby a portion of the web forms the outside covering of the roll and prevents the towels being soiled in handling the roll and inserting such roll in a towel dispensing cabinet.

LAURENCE L. PRICE. OSCAR DITMANSON.

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