US2783878A - Dispensers for sheet material - Google Patents

Description

March 5, 1957 F. c. TRAVER DISPENSERS FOR SHEET MATERIAL Filed Oct. '7, 1955 inventor Fred C. Trav er gqflornegs nited States Patent DISPENSERS FOR SHEET MATERIAL Fred C. Traver, Chicago, Ill. Application October 7, 1955, Serial No. 539,052 1 Claim. (Cl. 206-52) This invention relates to dispensers, and more particularly to transparent, tubular dispensers for severable sheet material in roll form.

The dispenser of the present invention is adapted to be used as a container 'for severable sheet material such as waxed paperunder-circumstances such that a predetermined length of the sheet may be withdrawn from a roll in the dispenser and readily torn along a cutting edge included as a part of the dispenser. Heretofore, dispensers for waxed paper or the like have usually been in the form of an elongated, rectangular carton provided with a displaceable lid affording passage for the free end of the sheet material Withdrawn from such container, and the relation is such that the withdrawn sheet is associated with means affording a saw-tooth edge on which the sheet can be tensioned and torn to afiord a sheet of predetermined length.

Under the present invention, a dispenser including a container for waxed paper or the like is provided in tubular form, and the container is composed of transparent plastic enabling the particular color of the sheet material disposed therein to be viewed. The container of the present dispenser is closed at either end by removable caps, and preferably these caps are of the color of the sheet material disposed within the tubular container. At one portion, a slot is afforded in the side wall of the container to enable the sheet material to be withdrawn, and this afiords a cutting edge along which the sheet material may be severed or torn.

In view of the foregoing, the primary object of the present invention is to enable sheet material such as waxed paper or the like to be readily withdrawn in predetermined lengths from a tubular container and severed along an edge afforded by the slot in the container through which the material is withdrawn; to enable containers of the foregoing kind to be arranged on a merchandizing shelf in such a way that sheet material of a particular color can be readily selected; and to materially simplify the construction of dispensers for waxed paper or the like.

Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description and claim and are illustrated in the accompanying drawing which, by way of illustration, shows a preferred embodiment of the present invention and the principle thereof and What I now consider to be the best mode in which I have contemplated applying that principle. Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same or equivalent principle may be used and structural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the art without departing from the present invention.

in the drawings: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a dispenser constructed accordance with the present invention; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the container, away at either end;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the dispensing of sheet material from the dispenser; and

being broken 2,783,878 Patented Mar. 5, 1957 Fig. 4 is a sectional view illustrating relations involved during the severing of a sheet.

The present invention is illustrated in the drawing as embodied in a dispenserlO of tubular form which is adapted to contain a roll R of sheet material such as waxed paper or the like. It will be appreciated, however, that waxed paper is but oneexample of the kind of sheet material contemplated by the present invention, inasmuch as the roll R may consist of any kind of sheet material of relatively frangible nature adapted to be torn along a knife edgemerely by applying tension to the portion of the sheet that is engaged with the means affording such The dispenser 10 includes acylindrical sleeve 11, and under the present invention this sleeve 11 is composed of a transparent plastic material such as cellulose acetate, butyrate, polyethylene or like plastic material transparent in nature and capable of being-extruded into the desired, self-sustaining tubular shape and configuration. The sleeve 11, as will be observed in Fig. 2, is open at either-end, and is-provided at one such end with a cap 13 which is preferably adhesively secured thereto. At the end opposite the cap 13, the sleeve portion 11 of the dis penser is provided with a removable cap 14 adapted to be frictionally retained in place. Thus, by removing the cap 14, the roll R may be inserted into the sleeve 11, or the empty spindle Preferably the caps 13 and 14 are of the color corresponding to the color of the sheet material comprising the roll R. Thus, dispensers as 10 may be arranged on a store shelf with an end 13 or 14 exposed to view, thereby enabling the purchaser to select a dispenser 1!) containing a roll R of waxed paper or the like of the desired color.

Under the present invention, the side wall of the container cylinder or sleeve 11 is provided with an elongated axially directed slot 20 which is of a length corresponding to the width of the sheet material to be dispensed.

Thus, the free end of the roll R may be disposed opposite the slot 20, and to enable this end of the sheet to be withdrawn through the slot 20 an enlarged fingerreceiving notch 20N is formed at the medial point along one edge of the slot 20 as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The notch 20N enables the thumb and forefinger to be inserted in the slot 20 to grip and pull through the slot 20 the free end E, Fig. 3, of a sheet S of predetermined length off the roll R.

Provision of the slot 20 affords at the same time a cutting edge 21, this being represented by the edge of the slot 20 opposite the edge in which the notch 20N is formed. After a sheet S of predetermined length has been withdrawn as described above, the roll R may be engaged by the thumb as shown in Fig. 3 to hold the roll R stationary within the container 11. The sheet S is then tensioned by the opposite hand as shown in Fig. 3 and is torn along the cutting edge 21 as will be readily apparent from Fig. 4.

Tubular extrusions as 11 are, of course, relatively thin in nature, so that the cutting edge 21 is an innate characteristic of an edge of the slot 20 formed in the sleeve 11, and it will be readily appreciated that a slot 20 having this characteristic may be stamped in the sleeve 11 after first mounting the sleeve 11 on a mandrel, or by a similar tooling procedure.

It will be seen from the foregoing that under the present invention there is provided a dispenser of relative simplicity, and this includes an extruded container of such nature that by forming a dispensing slot therein a cutting edge is produced at the same time. The container 11 being of extruded, that is, continuous or seamless form is capable of economic production, and resultantly there are no seams to be sealed or flaps to be closed. Moreover, the end caps 13 and 14 in effect lend rigidity to the 16 of the roll R may be removed.

sleeve or tube 11 so that the tube 11 can be provided of optimum thinness.

Hence, while I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that this is capable of variation and modification.

I claim:

A dispenser for sheet material in roll form comprising a continuous, seamless, cylindrical, thin, flexible and resilient walled extruded tube of plastic selected from the group consisting of cellulose acetate, cellulose butyrate and polyethylene, a reinforcing and closure cap on each end of the tube, each cap having an annular side wall flange complement-ally engaging and closing oif one end portion of the tube, one of the closure caps being removable, said tube having die stamped in the wall thereof an axially directed slot the ends of which terminate well inwardly of the ends of the tube, said side wall flanges of the end caps extending closely adjacent the ends of said slot, a roll of sheet material in said tube to be withdrawn through said slot, a cutting edge for material withdrawn through said slot formed solely and entirely by the thin plastic wall portion of the tube directly bordering one side of the slot, the tube being provided with a finger notch extending inwardly from the edge of said slot opposite said cutting edge and centrally of the ends thereof, said roll of sheet material enclosed in said tube having the convolutions thereof running in a direction to deliver the free end of the outer convolution to said cutting edge without traversing said finger notch whereby said sheet material may be dispensed by reversely bending it over said cutting edge prior to cutting thereof, and the resilient wall portion of the tube directly adjoining said notch being depressible inwardly by pressure of the thumb thereon and thereby providing for variable movement of the tip of the thumb inwardly during the dispensing of the roll of sheet material to readily engage and hold the roll of material against rotation while a withdrawn portion of the sheet material is being engaged with and severed on said cutting edge.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,739,560 Ranck Dec. 17, 1929 1,833,999 McCaskey Dec. 1, 1931 FOREIGN PATENTS 9,845 Great Britain 1906

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