US3151771A - Sheet material dispenser - Google Patents

Description

J. P. GREENE 3,151,771

SHEET MATERIAL DISPENSER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEY- 8 9 6 I 3, s \2 m 0 \r E 4 1 I I!!! VR 3 n O 2 a E a Z W 5 \ll u 3 2 m 9 a? P 3 n a 5 9 8 d u m 2 6 V N 8 mwlw W X H n 2 w j I Q n n 2 n m G 6 m 4 5 F WMHWU MWVHUNHMUV W Hud1hfl fld1fli I l 2 B l 2 I w 2 H Oct. 6, 1964 Filed Jan. 30, 1962 Oct. 6, 1964 J. P. GREENE SHEET MATERIAL DISPENSER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 30, 1962 FIG. 3

INVENTOR. JOHN P. GREENE ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,151,771 SHEET MATEREAL DEPENSER John P. Greene, Denvilie, NJ, assignor to Parachem Corporation, North Newark, N.;I., a corporation of New Jersey Fiied Jan. 30, 1962, Ser. No. 169,752 29 Claims. (Cl. 221-26) This invention relates to dispensers for sheet material or leaves and, more particularly, to such for feeding convenient sections of such material as from a stack thereof, an illustrative example being cleansing leaves, one at a time through a slot under an out-turned lip on the front wall of an enclosing housing or case.

With the development of soap and other cleansing substances in the form of sheet material, an example being loose leaves or sheets to take the place of cakes or liquid, the problem arises as to how to dispense such leaves one at a time to users, in a convenient manner and without wastage. If the leaves are merely stacked, a prospective user with wet hands, even if he tried to take only one leaf from the top of such a stack, would inevitably waste or upset the stack while not accomplishing any more from the standpoint of cleansing effect. The present invention avoids such wastage by providing for the feeding one at a time of such cleansing leaves, as an example of sheet material in general, which may be held in my dispenser.

An object of the present invention is the provision of a dispenser for sheet material comprising a housing formed by a front wall and side walls, for holding therein a stack of leaves of said material, shelf portions projecting from the side walls of said housing for the support of such a stack, parts of said shelf portions having inner edges spaced from one another near the front wall to allow a finger or fingers to engage the lower surface of the lowermost leaf in a stack thereon in said housing for withdrawing it, the front wall of said housing having its lower portion cylindrically curved downward and outward about a relatively large radius and through a substantial angle to form a lip on which a thumb may rest and under which a finger or fingers may pull said lowermost leaf from the housing.

Another object of my invention is to provide a dispenser, as described in the foregoing paragraph, wherein tr e leaves are held in a refill carton and means are provided preventing upward movement of the stack in said carton upon engagement of and upward pressure on the lower leaf thereof by a finger or fingers.

A further object of my invention is to provide a dispenser as above described wherein the means preventing upward movement of the stack upon pushing upward on the lower leaf comprises a Weight on the top of the stack, which weight consists of two parts articulated with respect to one another adjacent a center line, and with outer sharp edges remote from said line, and a member disposed between said weight and the top leaf of said stack, said member having upturned edges which prevent the parts from being coplanar by being overlain but not normally contacted by the outer edge portions of the respective Weight sections, so that said sharp edge portions bitingly engage the adjacent walls of the holding device to prevent upward movement thereof, but release and slide down with the stack of leaves as the latter are withdrawn from said dispenser.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a novel form of enclosing carton for such leaves comprising a lower wall portion formed as a panel, connected to the lower edge of the rear wall, formed as two sections hinged upon themselves, and a metal plate with a sharp prong struck therefrom, portions of said plate bent at right angles, passed through corresponding slots in the outer section of said panel and bent thereover to hold said plate thereto, with the prong outstanding therefrom, said outer section being folded over the other section of said panel, holding the bent-over metal plate end portions therebetween, the folded sections turned to underlie the rear portion of said carton with the prong then upstanding and on which the rear portions of leaves in said carton are impaled, said folded-over sections being held beneath said leaves by tabs depending from the side walls of the carton and sandwiched therebetween when the leaves are supported thereon, the side walls and the front wall of said carton being relieved forwardly of said tabs to facilitate the removal of leaves.

These and other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description when taken with the accompanying drawings. It will be understood that the drawings are for purposes of illustration and do not define the scope or limits of the invention, reference being had for the latter purpose to the appended claims.

In the drawings, wherein like reference characters denote like parts in the several views:

FIGURE 1 is a transverse sectional vieW of a leaf or sheet material dispenser embodying my invention and supported on a wall or other vertical surface, the View being on the line 1-1 of FIGURE 2, in the direction of the arrows, a portion of a hand being represented in the act of removing a leaf.

FIGURE 2 is a front elevational View of the dispenser of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a bottom plan of the supported dispenser illustrated in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 4 is a horizontal sectional view on the line IVIV of FIGURE 1, in the direction of the arrows.

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of the back or mounting bracket for the dispenser.

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of the resilient locking member normally secured to said bracket but here shown before attachment thereto.

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary perspective view of the bottom portion of a leaf-holding carton, with the bottom wall members shown in open position and the pronged plate separated therefrom, with an indication of how it is to be connected.

FIGURE 8 is a fragmentary sectional view, to a larger scale, on the line VIIIVIII of FIGURE 7, but showing the bottom wall member in closed position.

FIGURE 9 is a transverse sectional view on the line IX-IX of FIGURE 8, in the direction of the arrows.

FIGURE 10 is a View showing an alternative construction of the driving weight illustrated in FIGURE 1, on the line XX of that figure.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, there is shown in FIGURES 1 to 4, inclusive, a leaf dispenser generally designated 11. This dispenser is illustrated as using a refill carton 12 holding a stack of sheets or leaves 22. Such a stack could conceivably be employed with the enclosing case or housing 13 of the dispenser without a refill carton, although it would not be as convenient. The housing 13 of the dispenser 11 is desirably integrally formed of plastic material and comprises a front wall 14, side walls 15, 16, and bottom wall portions 17. The latter are formed as shelves and only partially close the bottom of the housing. There is also a sloping top wall 18 which merges into the top of the front wall at a cylindrically curved portion 19 of relatively large radius.

The outer surface of the bottom portion of the front Wall 14, which wall desirably slopes somewhat inwardly as it extends downwardly, is desirably a concavely curved cylindrical portion 21 formed about a relatively large radius as an outward projection. This curved shelf or lip portion 21 serves as a thumb rest during the action of withdrawing a leaf or sheet 22 of material from the dispenser. Such leaves or sheets are shown stacked and enclosed in the carton 12. The illustrated embodiment is well adapted for feeding leaves of material entitled Detergent Film Composition, described and claimed in the Robert J. Anderson application, Ser. No. 762,938, filed September 24, 1958, now abandoned.

The projecting shelf 21 also serves as a mechanical separator and, if the housing is formed of plastic or similar material, has a low coeflicient of friction with respect to the leaves, which permits an extended withdrawal thereof before contact is made with the thumb. The inside surface or bottom portion of the lip or shelf 21 merges into the inside surface of the front wall 14 of the housing 13 along a smooth cylindrical curve of substantial radius. A sharp corner here would not be desirable as there would then be a chance that the leaf being withdrawn would strike or make contact with the nearly vertical inside surface of the housing, thus interfering with further withdrawal. The drawing is to scale.

The bottom wall 17 of the housing is so designed that the leaves which are exposed are supported by extensions or shelves 23 for a width of about one-half inch on each side of the stack. This prevents the leaves from sagging down over an extended period of time due to lack of support. However, enough open area 24 is left to permit the use of one, two or three fingers to make contact with and withdraw the bottom leaf of a stack. The shelves 23 are desirably beveled to a fine but not sharp edge where they terminate. This permits a finger or fingers to more intimately engage the bottom leaf and results in a better withdrawing contact with the leaf as it is slid from the housing or plastic case along the bottom surface of the lower lip 21.

The inside of the bottom wall 17 of the housing is desirably slightly sloped at the back of the case, as indicated at 25 in FIGURE 1. Also, there is a horizontal surface provided on the shelves 23 for supporting the leaves at the front portion of the bottom of the case. This horizontal surface or area comprises the shelves above discussed. The purpose of the inclined surface toward the back of the case is to allow the bottom wall 25 to slide over a metal latch spring 26 of a mounting bracket 27. Also, as a result of such inclined area, a space is provided for said latch spring beneath the cardboard box or carton 12 containing the leaves which permits support of said leaves 22 at a lower level in the dispenser 11 than would otherwise be possible and thus an easier withdrawal thereof from the stack.

The mounting bracket 27 for the housing 13 desirably has a plurality of apertures 28 for receiving connecting screws or the like 29, whereby it may be secured to a wall or other vertical support 31. The top edge portion of the bracket'27 has an outstanding web 32 from the outer edge of which a flange 33 extends diagonally upward and rearward. The rear edge portion of the upper wall 18 of the housing 13 has a depending flange 34 which may, while said housing is in outwardly angled position, be hooked over the flange 33. The housing may then be swung counterclockwise to the supported position of FIGURE 1 where it is latched in place by the spring 26 after sliding along the sloping portion 25 until the locking tabs 35 at the ends thereof snap over the front end portions 36 of the bottom wall 17. It may be found necessary to push upward on the latch 26 during this operation so as to clear the wall portion 25 and then allow said latch to snap over the portion 36 to the position viewed in FIGURE 1.

The lower portion of the mounting bracket 27 is desirably formed with lips 37 which extend diagonally downward and outward to engage the lower edge of the sloping portion lips, as viewed in FIGURE 1. The spring latch 26 may be secured between said lips 37 in any desired manner. The means shown in the present embodiment comprises tabs 38 and 39 struck out from the bracket 27, the tabs 38 overlapping the top edge of the vertical or 4 upper flange portion 41 of the latch 26 and the tabs 39 overlying the side edges of said vertical portion and crimped thereinto, making a satisfactory connection between the parts.

The dispenser case or housing 13 of the present embodiment is desirably deeper, that is, it has a greater horizontal dimension from front to back, at the top than at the bottom above the lip 21, to give a more pleasing appearance. The present refill carton 12, which fits inside the housing, is desirably of such horizontal section and height or length, that when in place the top thereof contacts the curved portion 19, as illustrated in FIGURE 1. Therefore, the carton is restrained from tilting forward when in its operating position within said housing.

However, if a shorter refill carton 12 were to be used, such would be free to tilt forward and rest against the front wall 14 of the housing.

If such is the case, it is considered desirable to have the bottom housing portions or shelves 23 slope downward with the back surface of the dispenser.

as they extend forward or away from the supporting bracket 27. That is, the supporting surface of said portions 23 may make an angle of less than 90, such as or with the wall or mounting area corresponding The effect would be to have the exposed surface of the bottom leaf sloping downward toward the operator at the outer portion.

The advantage of this construction would be to provide 7 for a more forceful contact between the fingers and a leaf as it is withdrawn. Such improved frictional grip on the leaf would result automatically rather than requiring some manual effort. The disadvantage of such construction is that it would detract from the outside appearance of the housing and make manufacture thereof more difiicult and expensive.

The dispenser housing or case 13 is so designed and constructed that it can be washed with water with a minimum of danger of such getting inside and damaging the leaves. That is, there are no apertures which would permit water to get within the case when the water comes from above. The forwardly and downwardly curved lip 21 at the bottom of the front of the dispenser can be as low as possible but yet not act as an obstruction to the withdrawal of a leaf, but rather assist in such withdrawal. At the bottom surface of this lip there is a long, narrow flat portion on the same plane as that formed by the supporting shelves or extensions 23, assuming that these are horizontal rather than sloped. However, with the sloping construction described, the bottom edge of the curved lip 21 would be lower so as to be in the same plane as that formed by the sloping support extensions.

Due to the relative lightness of the individual soap leaves for which this dispenser is particularly designed, but not limited to such, it is necessary that some device be used to help the leaves slide down the inside of the housing 13 or refill carton 12 thereof. Also, in order to withdraw a leaf, it is necessary to press a finger or fin gers against the bottom of the stack with sufiicient force to develop an effective frictional grip on the bottom leaf. With a full stack of leaves, this does not present much of a problem. However, as said leaves become nearly used-up leaving, say a 2-inch stack or less remaining in the dispenser, the force necessary to develop a suflicient frictional grip on the bottom leaf simply lifts up the whole stack of leaves.

A simple, fiat weight, if heavy enough, would solve this problem but would be costly both from a material and a transportation consideration. I overcome this problem by using a device which is light but still heavy enough to help the leaves slide down to the point of withdrawal and yet is so designed as to prohibit any movement in an upward direction when force is directed from below. It is also desirable that this device take up as little useful space as possible within the housing or refill carton.

An articulated-type weight such as designated 42 meets all the necessary specifications. This weight is positioned on an insert piece 43 which may be formed of any desired material, corrugated cardboard being mentioned as an example. This insert has two upturned flanges or sides 44 and 45 and is free to slide within the refill carton 12, as viewed in FIGURE 1. The Weight may be formed of steel or other metal sections 46 and 47, cut out of sheet of the desired thickness. The carton-wall engaging edges of said sections are either right-angular or slightly beveled, as indicated at 52 in FIG. 10, hinged together, as by a strip of strong yet flexible tape, as indicated at 48. The axis of the hinge or line of articulation between the parts, when the dispenser is mounted on a wall or the like, is to be generally normal or vertical with re spect thereto, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 4. The line of articulation is so positioned because a withdrawing finger is to engage the lower surface of the outer portion of the lower one of leaves 22, or that portion between the center and front edge thereof. Alternatively, said sections may be separate and have their inner or engaged surfaces or adjacent edges interfitting, as viewed in FIGURE 10. That is, the section 46 may be grooved, as indicated at 49, to receive a correspondingly shaped extension 51 on the section 47', with clearance to allow some articulation therebetween.

The weight 42, comprising either the sections 46 and 47, or those designated 46' and 47', is positioned on the insert piece 43 so that, when out of the carton, the free edge portions of the sections rest on the upturned flanges 44 and 45. However, these free edge portions extend beyond said flanges so that, when the parts are in place in the carton 12, they respectively engage the inner surfaces of the side walls thereof, as viewed in FIGURES 4 and 10. Therefore, the weight cannot lie flat when positioned within the carton. However, to keep one section of the weight from sliding and coming to rest in a horizontal position, the weight sections are positioned over the aforementioned cardboard insert with the upturned edges. The latter serve to maintain the correct attitude of the articulated weight combination, that is, hold the sections in the shape of a very flat V.

To function correctly, the upturned flanges 44 and 45 of the insert 43 do not actually support the weight sections when in place, as said sections must rest against the sides of the carton, with a slight clearance, say above said flanges. If the weight sections rest upon the upturned sides of the insert and do not make contact with the sides of the carton 12, or housing 13 if no carton is used, then there will be no binding or wedging action against said sides when a force is directed upward from below on the stack of leaves 22. These weight sections are formed and assembled in such a manner that a sharp corner or edge 52 at each side contacts the inside walls of the container. If these sections were smooth and free of sharp edges or burrs, they would not function correctly and would not grip the sides of the box.

The assembly of the weight 42 and the insert 43 on the top of the leaves 22 serves two purposes. First, it assists in driving the leaves down through the container as the lower ones are withdrawn from the bottom of the stack. Second, it resists with a positive locking action any force directed upward from below, as a result of a finger trying to make a positive leaf-withdrawing contact by pushing against the bottom of a stack of leaves. Thus the use of the weight prevents deterioration of the action of feeding the leaves as the height of the stack decreases during use, which would otherwise make it almost impossible to withdraw leaves from a stack when the supply has become about 75% exhausted.

Referring now to the construction of the carton 12, illustrated in FIGURES l, 7, 8 and 9, it will be seen that said carton 12 may be closed at the top by conventional means 50. It opens downwardly and is cut away or relieved at its lower front portion, that is, along the front wall 14, as indicated at 53. Said front wall is also desirably slotted upwardly for a short distance, as in- 6 dicated at 54, to give an indication of when the supply of leaves is almost exhausted. The side walls 55 and 56 of said carton 12 are likewise cut away or relieved, as indicated at 57 and 58, respectively. Said walls, adjacent the rear wall 59 are, however, not only not cut away but are desirably extended beyond the extreme bottom of the carton to form bottom wall supporting panels or tabs 61 and 62, respectively.

The rear wall 59 of the carton terminates in a panel 63 hinged thereto along line 64 at the extreme bottom of the carton. Said panel is formed in two sections, that is, section 65 hinged directly to the rear wall 59 and section 66 hinged to the edge of the section 65 remote from said rear wall. Secured to the section 66, desirably constructed as illustrated most clearly in FIGURE 7, is a metal strip or plate 67. This plate has a sharp prong 68 slit therefrom and bent out, as illustrated in FIG- URE 7. The end portions of said plate are bent at right angles, as indicated at 69 and 71, passed through slots or apertures 72 and 73, respectively, in the section 66 and bent over said section to gripping relationship therewith, as indicated most clearly in FIGURES 8 and 9.

This connection holds the prong 68 outstanding from the surface of the section 66 which faces downwardly when the carton is positioned as viewed in FIGURE 7, but which faces in the opposite direction when the section 66 is bent up over the section 65 to sandwich part of said plate 67 between said sections 65 and 66. The whole folded panel is then bent up to underlie the lower portion of the carton and extend at right angles to the rear wall 59 thereof, as viewed in FIGURES 8 and 9. When this occurs, the tabs 61 and 62 are sandwiched between the sections 65 and 66, and the tongues 60 formed on the free edge of the section 66 may be passed into cooperative slots on the line of the hinge 64. When a stack of leaves 22 rests on the folded panel 63, it presses the section 66 down on the section 65, frictionally gripping the tabs 61 and 62 between said sections which thus form a firm support for the rear portion of a stack 22 of leaves.

It will be seen from the foregoing description that the panel construction, heretofore described, provides a prong or needle 68 with points upward beneath a supported stack of leaves and on which the lower members in said stack are impaled. If this needle cleanly slices each separate leaf or film as the latter is pulled away, there will be no necessity for any further action and the function will be satisfactory. If, however, a leaf should fail to be sliced by the needle, a small, generally triangularlyshaped piece will be torn from said material and lodge behind the needle 68. Once such a condition starts, it may continue with the successive operations which remove a leaf from the dispenser until a stack of roughly triangularly-shaped pieces builds up in the carton behind the needle. Such a stack may eventually underlie the whole stack of leaves so that it is no longer supported as desired. The carton 12 must then be removed and the area behind the needle cleared out.

The embodiment illustrated eliminates such a possibility of trouble by providing a desirably semi-circular shaped aperture or cutout 74 and a corresponding notch 75 which registers with said aperture 74 when the sections 66 and 65 are folded together. This notch and aperture, by lining up with one another, provide a clear- 1 ance area through which the pieces of film or leaves are free to fall as they are torn off, thereby avoiding any trouble in the use of the dispenser.

Having now described my invention in detail in accordance with the patent statutes, those skilled in this art will have no difliculty in making changes and modifications in the individual parts or their relative assembly in order to meet specific requirements or conditions. Such changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention, as set forth in the following claims.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my application Serial No. 824,698, filed July 2, 1959, now Patent No. 3,051,352, dated August 28, 1962.

I claim:

1. A dispenser for sheet material comprising a housing formed by a front wall and side walls rigid with respect to each other for holding therein a stack of separate leaves of said material, shelf portions projecting from the side walls of said housing for the support of such a stack, parts of said shelf portions projecting from the side walls having generally horizontal upper leaf supporting surfaces with wall-remote edges laterally spaced from one another near, but rearwardly spaced from, the front wall to allow a finger to engage the lower surface of the lowermost leaf of a stack thereof in said housing for individually withdrawing it from said stack, the front wall having its lower portion curved downward and outward about a relatively large radius and through a substantial angle to form a fixed lip on which a thumb may rest and under which a finger may pull said lowermost leaf for extended withdrawal until it may be grasped between finger and thumb.

2. A dispenser as recited in claim 1, wherein means are provided preventing upward movement of such a stack upon engagement of the lower leaf thereof by a finger.

3. A dispenser as recited to claim 1, wherein the spaced shelf portions have their adjacent edges beveled toward one another and the front portions beveled forwardly to permit a finger to make a more intimate contact with the lower leaf of a stack.

4. A dispenser as recited in claim 1, wherein the shelf portions near the back of the dispenser are extended rearwardly at an angle with respect to said parts with generally horizontal upper supporting surface, and inclined toward said back to guide a metal latch spring of supportingmeans and allow it to slide thereover to the front edge into locking engagement therewith, space being provided between elements of said inclined portions to allow a finger to be inserted from below to release said spring.

5. A dispenser as recited in claim 1, wherein the supporting surfaces near the front of said shelf portions slope downwardly and outwardly to only a slight extent so as to provide a more forceful contact between a finger and the lowermost leaf to be withdrawn from the stack.

6. A dispenser as recited in claim 1, wherein a carton is enclosed in said housing, a stack of separate leaves disposed in said carton, a wall at the top closing said dispenser, extending between the side walls and joined to the front wall along a curved portion, the top of said carton normally engaging said curved portion to prevent it from tipping forward.

7. A dispenser as recited in claim 1, wherein the bottom of the curved lip portion is disposed in the same plane as the tops of the supporting shelf portions.

8. A dispenser for sheet material comprising a housing formed by a front Wall and side walls rigid with respect to each other, a carton therein for holding a stack of separate leaves of said sheet material, shelf portions projecting from the side walls of said housing for the support of such a carton, parts of said shelf portions projecting from the side walls having inner generally horizontal upper leaf supporting surfaces with wallremote edges laterally spaced from one another near, but rearwardly spaced from, the front wall to allow a finger to engage the lower surface of the lowermost leaf of a stack thereof in said carton for individually withdrawing it from said stack, the front wall having its lower portion curved downward and outward about a relatively large radius and through a substantial angle to form a fixed lip on which a thumb may rest and under which a finger may pull said lowermost leaf for extended withdrawal until it may be grasped between finger and thumb,

' 9. A supporting bracket for a sheet material dispenser comprising a metal plate to form a wall of said dispenser, said plate being apertured to receive means for securing it to a vertical support, a flange extending outwardly from the top edge of said plate, the outer portion of said flange being bent upwardly and rearwardly to provide an elongated hook for engaging the top portion of the housing of such a dispenser, the lower portion of said plate having tabs struck therefrom, and a spring latch with a vertical portion clamped underneath said tabs and from which projects outwardly a resilient tongue terminating in spaced lugs which depend from the outer edge thereof whereby, after a dispenser housing is hooked over the upper portion, it may be swung down and locked in place by said resilient tongue.

10. A carton for holding a stack of leaves of sheet material in a dispenser therefor, comprising front, rear and side cardboard walls forming a closure rectangular in horizontal section, the rear wall terminating in a panel hinged thereto and formed as two sections hinged upon themselves and a metal plate with a sharp prong struck therefrom, end portions of said plate being bent at right angles, passed through corresponding slots in the outer section of said panel and bent thereover to hold said plate thereto with the prong outstanding therefrom, said outer section being folded over the other section of said panel, holding the bent-over metal plate end portions therebetween, and the folded sections turned to underlie the rear portion of said carton and present the prong, then upstanding, on which the rear portions of leaves in said carton are impaled, and means holding said folded panel sections in place beneath said leaves comprising .tabs depending from the side walls of said carton and sandwiched between the folded sections of said panel when leaves are supported thereon, the side walls and the front wall of said carton being relieved forwardly of said tabs to facilitate removal of leaves one by one from the bottom of said carton.

11. A dispenser for sheet material comprising a housing, a carton of said material disposed in and having a lower wall portion resting on a housing lower wall portion, an upstanding sharp restraining instrument carried by said carton lower wall portion, and a stack of separate leaves of said sheet material in said carton and with the lower part of said stack impaled on said instrument adjacent their rear edges, and said carton having an opening formed in said lower wall portion to allow means to directly and periodically engage the lower surface of the lowermost leaf of the stack to withdraw it from said dispenser and expose the leaf immediately thereabove, after overcoming the restraining action of the instrument.

12. A dispenser as recited in claim 11, wherein there is a weight disposed in the carton above the stack of leaves to assist in directing them to be impaled on said instrument for withdrawal one by one.

13. A dispenser as recited in claim 11, wherein the restraining instrument comprises a strip of steel, portions of which are sandwiched between elements forming the lower wall portion of the carton, with a uniformly-tapered sharp-pointed prong slit from an edge of said strip intermediate its ends and projecting upward into the leaves thereabove.

14. A dispenser for a stack of separate leaves of sheet material, comprising a housing including a front wall and a pair of side walls rigid with respect to each other, and a pair of shelf portions extending in substantially coplanar relationship inwardly from each side wall near the lower end thereof, the shelf portions each including a front free edge which is rearwardly spaced from the front wall to define a slot through which a leaf from a stack of leaves to be supported on the shelf portions can be passed, and each including a side free edge arranged in laterally spaced opposed relationship with the side free edge of the other shelf portion to define an aperture between the shelf portions of an extent suflicient to permit engagement of the lowermost leaf of the stack of leaves by a finger of a user of the dispenser, the lower portion of the front wall being curved downwardly and outwardly about a relatively large radius and through a substantial angle to form a fixed curved lip on which a thumb of the user may rest and under which the finger of the user may move the lowermost leaf of the stack by frictional contact therewith to an extent enabling the leaf to be subsequently grasped between the finger and thumb of the user.

15. A dispenser for sheet material comprising a housing, an upstanding sharp restraining instrument carried by said dispenser, and a stack of separate leaves of said sheet material in said dispenser and with the lower part of said stack impaled on said instrument adjacent their rear edges, and said housing having an opening formed in said lower wall portion to permit a finger to directly and periodically engage the lower surface of the lowermost leaf of the stack to withdraw it from said dispenser and expose the leaf immediately thereabove, for subsequent withdrawal after overcoming the restraining action of the instrument.

16. A dispenser for sheet material comprising a housing formed by a front wall and side walls, shelf portions projecting from the side walls of said housing, a carton enclosed in said housing and supported on said shelf portions, a stack of leaves of sheet material in said carton, a weight on the top of the stack, consisting of two metal parts hinged adjacent a center line and with outer sharp edges remote from said line, and a member disposed between said weight and the top leaf of said stack, said member having upturned edges which prevent the hinged parts from being coplanar by being overlain by the outer edge portions of the respective weight sections, so that said sharp edge portions bitingly engage the walls of the carton to prevent upward movement thereof, but release and slide down with the stack of leaves as the latter are withdrawn from the dispenser, parts of said shelf portions from the side walls having inner edges spaced from one another near the front wall to allow a finger to engage the lower surface of the lowermost leaf of said stack in said carton for individually withdrawing it from said stack, the front wall having its lower portion curved downward and outward about a relatively large radius and through a substantial angle to form a lip on which a thumb may rest and under which a finger may pull said lowermost leaf for extended withdrawal until it may be grasped between finger and thumb.

17. A dispenser for sheet material comprising a housing formed by a front wall and side walls for holding therein a stack of separate leaves of said material, shelf portions projecting from the side walls of said housing for the support of such a stack, parts of said shelf portions from the side walls having inner edges spaced from one another near the front wall to allow a finger to engage the lower surface of the lowermost leaf of a stack thereof in said housing for individually withdrawing it from said stack, the front wall having its lower portion curved downward and outward about a relatively large radius and through a substantial angle to form a lip on which a thumb may rest and under which a finger may pull said lowermost leaf for extended withdrawal until it may be grasped between finger and thumb, a bracket for said housing compring a back wall securable to a vertical supporting surface, the top edge of said back wall being flanged out wardly at right angles and then turning upwardly and backwardly toward said supporting surface, the housing being formed with a flange depending from the inner edge portion of its top wall for hooking over said flange, the lower portion of said back wall being provided with a resilient flange terminating in depending lugs to snap over the outer edges of said shelf portions to hold said housing against said supporting surface and releasible upon upward pressure on said flange.

18. A dispenser for sheet material comprising a housing formed by a front wall and side walls for holding therein a stack of separate leaves of said material, shelf portions projecting from the side walls of said housing for the support of such a stack, parts of said shelf portions from the side walls having inner edges spaced from one another near the front wall to allow a finger to engage the lower surface of the lowermost leaf of a stack thereof in said housing for individually withdrawing it from said stack, the front wall having its lower portion curved downward and outward about a relatively large radius and through a substantial angle to form a lip on which a thumb may rest and under which a finger may pull said lowermost leaf for extended withdrawal until it may be grasped between finger and thumb, a bracket for supporting the housing, said bracket comprising a back wall securable to a vertical supporting surface, the top edge of the back wall being flanged outwardly at right angles and then turned upwardly and inclined rearwardly towards the supporting surface, the housing having a flange depending from the free edge portion of the top wall, the flange being adapted to hook over the flange of the bracket.

19. A dispenser as recited in claim 18, including a latch spring at the lower portion of the back wall which is adapted to engage with the housing to locate the housing against movement relatively to the bracket.

20. A dispenser for sheet material comprising a housing formed by a front wall and side walls for holding therein a carton, a stack of separate leaves of said material disposed within said carton, shelf portions projecting from the side walls of said housing for the support of such a carton, said carton comprising front, rear, side, and top and bottom cardboard walls forming a closure which is rectangular in horizontal section, and in which an aperture for the removal of the leaves from the carton is provided in the lower portion of the front wall and the adjacent portion of the bottom wall, the bottom wall being provided by a panel hinged to the lower edge of the rear wall and comprised by an intermediate and an outer section which are folded upon themselves, the intermediate section of the panel being arranged in underlying relationship to tabs extending inwardly from the lower edges of the side walls, and the outer section being arranged in overlying relationship with the tabs for the tabs to be sandwiched between the intermediate and outer sections, parts of said shelf portions from the side walls having inner edges spaced from one another near the front wall to allow a finger to engage the lower surface of the lowermost leaf of said stack in said carton for individually withdrawing it from said stack, the front wall having its lower portion curved downward and outward about a relatively large radius and through a substantial angle to form a lip on which a thumb may rest and under which a finger may pull said lowermost leaf for extended withdrawal until it may be grasped between finger and thumb.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,176,142 Hoberg Mar. 21, 1916 2,147,086 Bryan Feb. 14, 1939 2,197,859 Freed Apr. 23, 1940 2,802,634 Everett Aug. 13, 1957 2,836,325 Erickson et al May 27, 1958 2,873,082 Gillespie Feb. 10, 1959 2,884,162 Crebbs Apr. 28, 1959 2,950,821 Hoofer Aug. 30, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,201,633 France Ian. 4, 1960

Claims (1)

1. A DISPENSER FOR SHEET MATERIAL COMPRISING A HOUSING FORMED BY A FRONT WALL AND SIDE WALLS RIGID WITH RESPECT TO EACH OTHER FOR HOLDING THEREIN A STACK OF SEPARATE LEAVES OF SAID MATERIAL, SHELF PORTIONS PROJECTING FROM THE SIDE WALLS OF SAID HOUSING FOR THE SUPPORT OF SUCH A STACK, PARTS OF SAID SHELF PORTIONS PROJECTING FROM THE SIDE WALLS HAVING GENERALLY HORIZONTAL UPPER LEAF SUPPORTING SURFACES WITH WALL-REMOTE EDGES LATERALLY SPACED FROM ONE ANOTHER NEAR, BUT REARWARDLY SPACED FROM, THE FRONT WALL TO ALLOW A FINGER TO ENGAGE THE LOWER SURFACE OF THE LOWERMOST LEAF OF A STACK THEREOF IN SAID HOUSING FOR INDIVIDUALLY WITHDRAWING IT FROM SAID STACK, THE FRONT WALL HAVING ITS LOWER PORTION CURVED DOWNWARD AND OUTWARD ABOUT A RELATIVELY LARGE RADIUS AND THROUGH A SUBSTANTIAL ANGLE TO FORM A FIXED LIP ON WHICH A THUMB MAY REST AND UNDER WHICH A FINGER MAY PULL SAID LOWERMOST LEAF FOR EXTENDED WITHDRAWAL UNTIL IT MAY BE GRASPED BETWEEN FINGER AND THUMB.

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