JPH0411205B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (a) Technical Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a towel dispensing device that can be used by manually pulling out towels continuously, and more particularly, the present invention relates to a towel dispensing device that can be used by manually pulling out towels continuously. The present invention relates to a towel end detection device that detects the passing of a towel end when the towel end passes and enables the towel end to be rolled up.

(b) Prior art and its drawbacks Conventionally, commonly used towel dispensers are:
An unused towel roll wrapped with unused towels,
A supply roller that manually pulls out unused towels from this unused towel roll and supplies the unused towels to a use position; It consists of a take-up roller that winds the roll. Sprockets are attached to the ends of the supply roller and take-up roller, and a chain is wound around both sprockets. Therefore, when the towel is pulled out, the supply roller rotates, and this rotation is transmitted to the take-up roller through the chain, rotating the take-up roller, and the used towel roll is freely rolled on the take-up roller. Because of this arrangement, the used towel roll rotates following the rotation of the take-up roller and winds up the used towel.

However, with just this structure,
When an unused towel roll is lost someday, the towel end will be pulled out and left hanging below the towel dispenser for public viewing. This exposed state of the towel terminal is extremely unsightly, and there have been many requests for improvement.

(c) Object of the invention Therefore, the first object of the present invention is to check the passing of the towel terminal as a first step in order to automatically wind up the towel terminal onto a used towel roll. An object of the present invention is to provide a towel end detection device in a towel dispenser that can be used in a towel dispensing device.

A second object of the present invention is to be able to check the passage of a towel end with little modification to existing manual towel dispensers by replacing the pinch rollers of conventional devices with conductive sensing rollers. An object of the present invention is to provide a towel end detection device in a towel dispenser.

(d) Structure of the Invention In order to achieve the above object, the towel end detection device in the towel dispenser according to the present invention feeds the unused towel from the supply roller to the use position and detects the towel end having conductivity at least on the surface. The roller includes a conductive rocking plate that comes into contact with the detection roller through the unused towel in a normal state in which the towel end does not pass through, and when the towel end of the unused towel slips out from the detection roller. The detection roller and the oscillating plate are configured to be in contact and electrically conductive to detect the end of the towel.

(e) Embodiments Below, embodiments of the towel end winding device in the towel dispenser according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a partially assembled perspective view of the towel dispenser, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A--A. In the figure, reference numeral 2 denotes an unused towel roll in which unused towels are wound into a cylindrical shape, and unused towels 4 are transferred from this unused towel roll 2 via a supply roller 6 and a detection roller 8 as shown by a two-dot chain line. It is wound around a used towel roll 10 while forming a towel loop 9. The unused towel roll 2 is placed in a towel tray 12 so as to be able to roll freely, and the used towel roll 10 is wound with a used towel around a used roll shaft 10a, and then wound on both ends 10b, 1 of the roll shaft 10a.
0b into the grooves 14a, 16a of both side plates 14, 16
It is inserted and placed as shown in the figure.

The outer periphery of the supply roller 6 is formed into a sandpaper-like rough surface 6a, and a supply sprocket 18 is fixed to the end of the supply roller 6 with a bolt 18a. The supply sprocket 18 has an insertion hole 1
A plurality of holes 8b are bored. Further, the used towel roll 10 is in circumscribed contact with a take-up roller 20, and the outer peripheral surface of this take-up roller 20 is also formed into a sandpaper-like rough surface 20a. Take-up roller 2
A winding sprocket 22 is attached to the bolt 2 at the end of the
2a, and a plurality of insertion holes 22b are bored in required parts of the sprocket 22. The supply sprocket 18 and the take-up sprocket 22 are rotated by a chain 24 and are configured to interlock with each other.

The detection roller 8 functions as a so-called pinch roller, and is used to pinch the unused towel 4 between itself and the supply roller 6 to smoothly supply the towel. Details of the detection roller 8 are shown in FIGS. 6 and 7.
As shown in the figure, a conductive roller 8a made of metal, protruding shafts 8b and 8c protruding from both ends,
It consists of insulating caps 8d and 8e fitted onto these protruding shafts 8b and 8c. The conductive roller 8a only needs to have at least a conductive surface, and various structures such as a metal plate wound around the surface of a resin rod can be adopted.

The detection roller 8 is inserted into and supported by the support holes 25a and 25b formed in the side plates 14 and 16 mentioned above, and as clearly shown in FIG.
The protrusions 8f and 8g of d and 8e contact the side plates 14 and 16, and the conductive roller 8a and the metal side plates 14 and 1
6 are maintained in an insulated state. An insulating block 26 is glued onto the side plate 14, and an intermediate metal plate 28 is attached to this block 26. The protruding shaft 8b protrudes outward from the protruding portion 8f of the cap 8d, and is in contact with the intermediate metal plate 28 for electrical conduction. If the intermediate metal plate 28 is given elasticity in the direction of contact with the protruding shaft 8b, the above-mentioned conduction can be ensured.

Near the detection roller 8, a metal rocking plate 30 is pivotally supported by both side plates 14, 16 at fulcrums 30a, 30b so as to be swingable. Since the side plates 14 and 16 are metal plates, the swing plate 30 is attached to the fulcrums 30a and 30b.
It is electrically connected to the side plates 14 and 16 at. Therefore, in the state shown in FIG. 2, the swing plate 30 and the detection roller 8 are not in contact with each other due to the unused towel 4, and are not electrically connected. When pulled out, the unused towel roll 2, chain 24, and used towel roll 10 move in the direction of the arrow.

In FIG. 1, 32 is a connecting member, and arm portions 32a, 32 protruding from one side of this connecting member 32 are shown.
a is the insertion hole 18b, 1 of the supply sprocket 18
8b. Engagement pieces 32b, 32b are provided on the other side of the connecting member 32 in a protruding manner, and are engaged with a rotation output section of the mechanism section 34, which will be described later. The mechanism part 34 is integrally screwed into a screw hole 38 formed in the side plate 14 by a bolt 36.

The mechanism 34 is shown in detail in FIGS. 3 to 5, and its structural parts are disposed within a mechanism case 36. A worm gear 40 is attached to the tip of the rotating shaft 38a of the motor 38, and the rotation of the worm gear 40 is caused by the rotation of the worm wheel 42 and the gear 4.
4 and 46, the signal is transmitted to the main gear 48 while being controlled in speed. The main gear 48 has a gear hole 48a.
A ratchet pawl 50 and a spring 52 that constantly biases the pawl 50 inward are fixed on the main surface of the gear 48 by screws 54.
One end of the spring 52 is secured to a screw 56 in order to impart elasticity to the spring 52. The other end of the spring is bent as shown in the figure so as to always elastically bias the back surface of the ratchet pawl 50.

The output shaft 5 is located in the gear hole 48a of the main gear 48.
8 is loosely fitted around the shaft 58 with an annular gap therearound, and a ratchet wheel 60 is fixed to this shaft 58 by being screwed into a screw hole 58a with a screw 62. Case 3
6 is provided with a through hole 36a, and the output end 58b of the output shaft 58 is inserted into the through hole 36a.
It is provided so as to protrude outward from the case 36. Further, a rotary plate 62 is screwed onto the end surface of the output end 58b of the output shaft 58 by bolts 64, forming a rotary output portion 66. A groove 62b is carved in the output surface 62a of the rotating plate 62. This groove 6
2b includes the engagement piece 32b of the connection member 32 described above,
32b is inserted, and the arm portions 32a, 32a are fitted into the insertion holes 18b, 18b of the sprocket 18. Further, the motor 38 is connected to a control unit 70 containing a timer TM, and when the swing plate 30 and the detection roller 8 are electrically contacted and conductive, the timer TM is activated to drive the motor 38. Control. 4 and 5 show a plan view and a sectional view, respectively, of FIG. 3, and clearly show the details of the structure described above.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be explained. FIGS. 8A and 8B are explanatory diagrams of the operation in an intermediate state in which the towel terminal has not yet appeared. When the unused towel 4 is pulled out in the direction of arrow a, the supply roller 6 rotates in the direction of arrow b, and the rotation of the supply sprocket 18 causes the connection member 32 with the arm portion 32a fitted into the insertion hole 18b to rotate.
force rotation. The rotation of the connecting member 32 rotates the ratchet wheel 60 integrated with the rotating plate 62 in the direction of arrow c, and since the ratchet pawl 50 is in a free state, the main gear 48 remains stationary. That is, as described above, the output shaft 58 is loosely fitted into the main gear 48, and there is a certain annular gap between them, so that the rotation of the output shaft 58 is not transmitted to the main gear 48. Further, at this stage, the swing plate 30 and the detection roller 8 are electrically out of contact with each other due to the unused towel 4 running between them, so there is no conduction, and the control unit 70 does not operate at all.

9A and 9B show the final state in which a person pulls out the towel terminal 4a. When the towel terminal 4a is pulled out, the swing plate 30 and the detection roller 8 come into electrical surface contact as shown in the figure, and are electrically connected. This conduction activates a timer TM in the control unit 70, which keeps the motor 38 stationary for a period of time T1, allowing time for the person to wipe his hands and face with a hanging towel. When the time T1 ends, the motor 38 is rotated for a time T2. As a result, the main gear 48 is rotationally driven in the direction of arrow d, and the tip of the ratchet pawl 50 engages with the stepped portion of the ratchet wheel 60.
0 is forcibly rotated in the direction of arrow e. This rotation is transmitted to the supply sprocket 18 via the output shaft 58, rotary plate 62, and connecting member 32, and forcibly drives the take-up roller 20 to rotate during the time T2, removing all the hanging used towels. The towel ends up being wound around the used towel roll 10. The operating sequence is shown in block diagram form in FIG.

In this embodiment, the connecting member 32 is molded separately from the rotary plate 62. This is because even if there is variation in the machining accuracy of the insertion holes 18b, 18b of the supply sprocket 18, the engaging pieces 32b, 32b and the groove 62b of the rotary plate 62 can absorb the variation. That is, the engagement piece 32
b, 32b can freely move in the direction of the groove 62b, so that the rotating plate 62 and the insertion hole 18b, 1
This makes it possible to absorb variations in the corresponding positional relationship with 8b. In addition, if the machining accuracy is increased, the connecting member 32
may be molded integrally with the rotating plate 62. That is, if the engaging pieces 32b, 32b and the groove 62b of the rotary plate are eliminated, the connecting member and the rotary plate are integrally molded, and this is made into the rotational output part of the mechanism, the arm parts 32a, A towel end winding device can be provided by simply fitting the end portion 32a into the insertion holes 18b, 18b of the supply sprocket. Furthermore, it goes without saying that even if the connecting member is fitted into the insertion holes 22b, 22b of the winding sprocket, it functions as a terminal winding device.

Furthermore, in the present invention, since the detection roller 8 is also used as a pinch roller, there is no need to separately provide a sensor other than the essential parts, and the swing plate 30 and the detection roller 8 are electrically connected when the towel terminal passes. Since contact is made and the electric conduction is used to control the motor 38 with a timer, the towel terminal can be reliably detected and controlled.

Furthermore, in the embodiment described above, the detection roller 8 was brought into contact with the intermediate metal plate 28 via the protruding shaft 8b, and this intermediate metal plate 28 was used as one end of the input circuit of the timer TM. The detection roller 8 may be directly connected to one end of the input circuit of the timer TM. The rocking plate 30 was electrically connected from the fulcrum 30a to the metal side plate 14, and from this side plate 14 was connected to the other end of the input circuit of the timer TM. A wire may be connected from the board 30 to the other end of the input circuit.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, but includes within its technical scope various modifications and design changes without departing from the technical idea of the present invention.

(f) Effects of the Invention As detailed above, the present invention is capable of reliably detecting the passing of a towel end, and also replaces the pinch roller of the conventional device with a conductive detection roller. It is possible to provide a towel end detection device for a towel dispenser that can check the passage of a towel end without making any improvements to the manual towel dispenser.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a partially assembled perspective view of a towel dispenser equipped with a towel end winding device according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is an assembly of the mechanism section. 4 is a plan view of the same, FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view of the same, FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the detection roller, FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the same, and FIGS. 8 A and B are of the towel terminal. 9A and 9B are diagrams illustrating the operation when the towel end is detected, and FIG. 10 is a block diagram for winding up the towel end. 2... Unused towel roll, 4... Unused towel, 4a... Towel terminal, 6... Supply roller, 8
...Detection roller, 10...Used towel roll,
20... Winding roller, 30... Rocking plate.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 An unused towel roll 2, a supply roller 6 that manually supplies unused towels 4 from this unused towel roll, and a used towel roll 10 that is wound up by a take-up roller 20 after the unused towel is used. In the towel dispenser configured,
The unused towel from the supply roller 6 is sent to the user's position, and the unused towel comes into contact with the sensing roller 8, which has conductivity at least on the surface, through the unused towel in a normal state in which the towel end 4a does not pass through. a conductive rocking plate 30;
Towel end detection in a towel dispenser, characterized in that when the towel end 4a of the unused towel slips out from the detection roller 8, the detection roller 8 and the swing plate 30 are brought into contact with each other to detect the towel end. Device.