US2861751A - Toilet tissue roll holder - Google Patents

Description

' Nov. 25, 1958 s. SARRO TOILET TISSUE ROLL HOLDER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 25, 1956 INVENTOR. SARRO HTTDRNE'Y Nov. 25, 1958 s. SARRQ TOILET TISSUE ROLL HOLDER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 25. 1956 INVENTOR.

SARRO United States Patent TOILET TISSUE ROLL HOLDER Silvio Sarro, New York, N. Y. Application April 25, 1956, Serial No. 580,594 N I 2 Claims. 01. 242-553 This invention relates to holders for rolls of toilet tissue, and more particularly has reference to a holder adapted to provide, upon a single support, means for carrying a pair of rolls, either of which can berotated independently of the other, thus to eliminate the need for frequent replacement of rolls for the purpose of maintaining an adequate supply of available'tissue.

Summarized briefly, the invention comprises a support formed from a single length of flat bar material folded upon itself in such a manner as to provide a mounting bracket, an elongated support arm, and a sleeve receiving the midlength portion of a roll support shaft the opposite ends of which carry the rolls in sideb'yside relation. The shaft is formed from a single piece of rod material, having radial fingers at its ends providing stops engaging the rolls against movement in an axial direction off the rod. Thebracket-forming arm, extending; between the rolls, provides an abutment common to both rolls, limiting the same against axial movement in an opposite directionj The rnain object of the present invention is to provide, in a single device adapted for supporting a pair of rolls of tissue, a particularly inexpensive construction whereby the device can be made quite cheaply, particularly for use in commercial establishments where a large number of the roll holders is needed.

, A more specific object of the invention is to soy form the device that the single length of bar material can be readily shaped to provide the requisite strength for resisting bending of the same.

Another object is to form the device in such a manner that the r'oll -support shaft or rod, and the associated support arm, can be swiftly and easily assembled with one another.

Yet another object, in a second form of the invention,

is to permit manufacture of the device at low cost, not exceeding that required for the first form of the invention, while providing a particularly elfective means for facilitating the replacement of exhausted rolls with new ones.

For further comprehension of the invention, and of the objects and advantages thereof, reference will be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, and to the appended claims in which the various novel features of the invention are more particularly set forth.

In the accompanying drawings forming a material part of this disclosure:

Fig. l is a perspective view of a roll holder according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view on line 22 of Fig. 1, a supported roll being shown fragmentarily, in dotted outline.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view, partly broken away, of a modified construction.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged side elevational view of the modified construction in open position.

Referring to the drawings in detail, in Figs. 1 and 2 the device includes a support arm formed from a single length of flat bar material shaped medially between its ends with a transversely extending, horizontal sleeve 12. The length of material is folded upon itself, with the sleeve being disposed at the transverse bend line of said length, and located inwardly from the sleeve is a ninety degree, axial twist of the support arm designated at 14.

The folding of the length of material in the manner described provides, between the twist 14 and sleeve 12, outer armportions 16, 18 disposed in horizontal planes, in ,face-to-face contact with one another. Between the twist and the wall-attached end of the support arm, said arm portions merge into inner arm portions 20, 22 respectively, also in face-to-face contact. These in turn merge, at the ends of the length of material, into oppositely, outwardly projecting ears 24, 26, respectively having apertures 28, 30 adapted to receive screws 32 or equivalent fastening elements whereby the device is attachedto the wall W.

Extending through the, sleeve is a roll support shaft 34, formed from a length of rod material and having at its ends integral, radially extending stop fingers 36 adapted to engage the outer ends of rolls R supported upon. the end portions of the, shaft 34.

In use of the device, a roll may be positioned on either end portion by tilting the same so that itscardboard core C is out of' axial alignment with the body portion of the shaft 34. This permits the core to fit over the adjacent finger 36, and when the. core has been shifted inwardly past the finger, the roll will be loosely supported for free rotation upon rod'34. In these circumstances, the fingers 36 will provide abutments holding the rolls against axial movement oif'the rod 34;

In the form of the invention shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the single, length of bar material forming the support arrn,10 is shaped to include. a sleeve 12 defined by bending said length intermediate its ends in the same manner as in the first form of the invention. The sleeve merges into outer end portions 16%, 18 disposed in face-to-face contact with one another in horizontal planes and these in turn merge into ninety degree twist portions l4 which then merge into elongated inner arm portions 20%, 22 disposed in faceto-face contact in sideby-side vertical planes.

The inner arm portion 22 at the end thereof remote from the twisted portions, is bent to merge into an'ear 26 and said ear is folded upon itself with one of the fold portions of the car being extended to form a second ear 24 Screw receiving openings 28*, 30 are formed in the ears 24 26 respectively for attaching the device to the wall W.

The inner arm portion 20*, at the end thereof adjacent car 24, is rounded, and adjacent the rounded extremity of arm portion 20 said portion is formed with an outwardly projecting handle 38.

The material of which the support arm 10 is formed is resilient, and as a result, the integrally connected portions 16*, 20 constituting one arm section the other of which is constituted by the portions 18 22 can be swung upwardly as shown in Fig. 4 against the restraint of the spring tension inherent in the sleeve 12 This is done by grasping the handle 38 and exerting upward pressure thereagainst.

As a result, the sleeve 12 is opened, and the roll support shaft 34 having at its ends radial extensions 36*, is freed for removal from the sleeve.

The sleeve 12 normally grips the roll support shaft 34 and prevents it from turning.

The adaptability of the device for quick removal and insertion of a roll support shaft 34 is designed to perrnit interchange of various roll support shafts, which may differ in length from each other. For example, one roll support shaft may be designed to hold even more than two rolls, and a longer shaft of this type can be assembled with a support bracket that is also adapted to support shorter shafts. In other words the manufacture is simplified considerably, in that a single form 'of support bracket can hold any of various support shafts differing from one another in length or type. Further, even after the support bracket is mounted upon the wall W, one shaft can be removed and another shaft of different type or length can be swiftly substituted therefor. For example, the sleeve 12 could be enlarged, to receive a tubular roller support shaft having removable plugs in its ends, and such a shaft can be readily substituted for the rod type shaft shown in the several figures of the drawing.

In both forms of the invention, of course, the construction is very inexpensive, permitting the device to be made from two pieces of material, one a length of bar material and the other a length of rod material, both of which are readily obtainable at a minimum of cost.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the precise constructions herein disclosed and that various changes and modifications may be made within the scope. of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent 1. A toilet tissue roll holder comprising a support arm formed from a single length of bar material folded on itself intermediate its ends and including a sleeve at the location at which the length is folded, said length of material at one end thereof being integrally formed with ears projecting laterally outwardly of the arm in opposite directions and apertured to receive fastening elements for attaching the arm to a support surface, and a roll support shaft extending intermediate its ends through the sleeve, thus to rotatably support a pair of rolls upon the shaft at opposite sides of the arm, said arm providing a stop extending between and common to both rolls for limiting movement of the rolls axially of the shaft toward each other, the shaft being formed at its ends with radial stop fingers limiting movement of the rolls axially of the shaft in a direction away from each other, the fold providing a pair of outer contacting arm portions and a pair of inner arm portions integral with the outer arm portions and merging into said ears, said arm portions being axially twisted intermediate their ends through ninety degrees, the outer arm portions normally lying in horizontal planes and the inner arm portions normally being disposed in vertical planes, said ears normally being disposed in a common vertical plane perpendicular to the vertical planes of the inner arm portions.

2. A toilet issue roll holder comprising a support arm formed from a single length of bar material folded on itself intermediate its ends and including a sleeve at the location at which the length is folded, said length of material at one end thereof being integrally formed with ears projecting laterally outwardly of the arm in opposite directions and apertured to receive fastening elements for attaching the arm to a support surface, and a roll support shaft extending intermediate its ends through the sleeve, thus to rotatably support a pair of rolls upon the shaft at opposite sides of the arm, said arm providing a stop extending between and common to both rolls for limiting movement of the rolls axially of the shaft toward each other, the shaft being formed at its ends with radial stop fingers limiting movement of the rolls axially of the shaft in a direction away from each other, the fold providing a pair of outer contacting arm portions and a pair of inner arm portions respectively integral with the outer arm portions, one of the inner arm portions merging into said ears and the other inner arm portion being free of connection to and terminating adjacent the ears, said length of material having an inherent springiness, for swinging the disconnected inner arm portion and outer arm portion connected thereto away from the other inner arm portion and connected outer arm portion about an axis defined by said sleve, to open the sleeve for insertion and removal of the shaft, said disconnected inner arm portion having a laterally outwardly projecting handle adjacent the free end thereof, the sections being axially twisted intermediate their ends through ninety degrees, the outer arm portions of the arm lying in face-to-face contact in the horizontal planes constituting a stop limiting swinging movement of said other arm portion in a sleeve-closing direction beyond a position in which said arm portions are in face-to-face contact wit one another. l 1

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,662,140 Whitesides Mar. 13, 1928 2,485,838 Nicol Oct. 25, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS 609,552 Great Britain Oct. 4, 1948

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