Receptacle for Roll of Sheet Material

This invention relates generally to receptacles for rolls of sheet material having a hollow core such as various forms of paper although other materials such as gauze are also contemplated.

A principal object of the present invention is to provide a receptacle for rolls of sheet material to allow portability and yet provide protection from damage which might render all or a portion of the roll unusable.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a receptacle for rolls of sheet material which also allows easy unrolling or dispensing of the contained material.

Another object of the invention is to provide a receptacle for rolls of sheet material which is water proof.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a simple design of easy manufacture, is rugged, easy to use and has few moving parts none of which can rust, corrode or jam in moist conditions.

These and other objects will be readily evident upon a study of the following specification and the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the present invention showing the cap removably attached to the open end of the cylindrical receptacle.

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view of the present invention showing the cap removed and the retainers disengaged from the guide members.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the retainer for the sliding guide.

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of the receptacle showing the retainers in place, the sliding guide member fully extended and a roll of sheet material inserted over the sliding guide member and in position for dispensing.

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of an alternate embodiment of the receptacle of this invention showing the cap removed and the retainer disengaged from the guide member.

FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view of an alternate embodiment of the receptacle of this invention showing the retainer in place, a roll of sheet material inserted over the guide member in position for dispensing, and the cap removed so that the sheet material can be dispensed.

Refering now to the drawings in detail, FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of this invention, namely a cylindrical receptacle shown generally at 10 comprising a cylindrical portion 11 and a cap 12 removably attached to the open end of said cylindrical portion.

FIG. 2 shows the cylindrical portion 11 having a closed end 11a and an open end. The closed end 11a has a fixed longitudinal guide member 15 centrally positioned and attached to said closed end. A sliding guide member 18 is adapted and arranged to slide longitudinally over the longitudinal guide member. A retainer 16 having an engaging means such as barbs 17 is inserted in a cavity in guide member 15 and keeps the sliding guide member from disengaging from the fixed guide member by means of a lip or ridge 18a on the inside of sliding guide member 18. Alternatively, the sliding guide member can be kept from disengaging from the fixed guide member by other retaining means such as a ridge (not shown) on fixed guide member 15 which is slightly larger that the lip or ridge on sliding guide member 18. A second retainer means 19 is provided which has threads 21 to allow removable attachment to the sliding guide member 18 by means of threads 20 on the inside of said sliding guide member. A lip 19a is provided on retainer 19 which is larger than the diameter of sliding guide member 18 and larger than the hollow core of the roll of sheet material. Cap 12 can be removably attached to cylindrical receptacle 11 by means of threads 14 on said cap which engage with threads 13 near the open end of the cylindrical receptacle. The cap can be prevented from being lost when detached from the cylindrical receptacle by means of a cord 22 through an attachment hole, the other end of said cord being attached to the cylindrical receptacle by any convenient means such as a hole in a lip or an eylet on the closed end of the receptacle.

FIG. 3 shows retainer 16 with a better view of the portion thereof which engages the lip of sliding guide member 18. The cross sectional view of the barbs which engage the cavity of the fixed guide member 15 are also shown.

FIG. 4 shows much the same view as FIG. 2 except that the sliding guide member 15 is shown fully extended from the cylindrical receptacle 11 and a roll of sheet material 23 with a hollow core, in this case, toilet tissue is shown installed on sliding guide member 18 with some sections 24 of the outer layer shown unrolled. This figure also shows that lip 19a of retainer means 19 is larger than the diameter of the hollow core to keep the roll of sheet material from sliding off from sliding guide member 18. This figure also shows that cap 12, attached to cylindrical receptacle 11 by cord 22 could be wrapped around or tied to a tree branch or other support to hold this device for easy dispensing of the roll of sheet material.

FIG. 5 shows the cylindrical portion 51 having a closed end 51a and an open end. A cap 52 is removably attached to cylindrical portion 51 by threads 53 on the inside of the cylindrical wall of the open end of cylindrical portion 51 and threads 54 on the outside of a cylindrical portion of cap 52. Cap 52 has fixed longitudinal guide member 55 centrally positioned and attached to the inside of said cap. A retainer 59 such as the second retainer means 19 of FIG. 2 is provided which has threads 61 to allow removable attachment to the guide member 55 by means of threads 60 on the inside of said guide memer 55. A lip 59a is provided on retainer 59 which is larger that the diameter of guide member 55 and larger than the hollow core of the roll of sheet material. The cap and cylindrical portion can be prevented from getting separated by means of a cord 22 through an attachment hole 22b on the top of cap 52, the other end of said cord being attached to the cylindrical receptacle by any convenient means such as a hole 22a in a lip or an eylet on the closed end of the receptacle.

FIG. 6 shows much the same view as FIG. 5 except that a roll of sheet material 23 with a hollow core, in this case, toilet tissue is shown installed on the fixed guide member 55 with some sections 24 of the outer layer shown unrolled. This figure also shows that lip 59a of retainer means 59 is larger than the diameter of the hollow core to keep the roll of sheet material from sliding off from fixed guide member 55. This figure also shows that cylindrical receptacle 51, attached to cap 52 by cord 22 could be wrapped around or tied to a tree branch or other support to hold this device for easy dispensing for the roll of sheet material.

The embodiment of this invention shown in FIGS. 5 & 6 has the advantage over the embodiment shown if FIGS. 2 & 4 in that it has three instead of five parts which could reduce the cost of production. However, due to the need for fixed guide member 55 to be longer than the combined length of fixed guide member 15 and sliding guide member 18 so that the roll of sheet material 23 may be dispensed without interference from the cylindrical portion of cap 52 having threads 54, the length of cylindrical receptacle 51 must be longer that cylindrical receptacle 11. This can increase tooling costs for the molding dies.

Various changes and alterations may be made in the detailed construction of this invention such as different retaining means for both the sliding member and the roll of sheet material, reversing the location of the male and female threads of the second retaining means and the cap and cylindrical receptacle body or using ridges and lips instead of threads or barbs for the two different retaining means and the cap and receptacle body. It is understood that such changes and alterations will be within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.