US1945911A - Napkin dispensing cabinet - Google Patents

Description

Fb 5, 1934- c. o. PARMLEY NAPKIN DISPENSING CABINET 2 Sheets-Sheet l `/qllorney Feb. 6, 1934.

C. O. PARMLEY NAPKIN DISPENSING CABINET Filed April 12, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Bymwzn.

`/qllorney Patentedy Feb. 6, 19.34

UNITED STATES s'PENslNG CANNET' Cecil Pa'rxnlev,V Bremerton', Wash. Application April 12, 1933. Serial No. 665,806

This inventionl relates to a paper napkin hold-v er of the dispensing cabinet type used in lunch-l rooms, restaurants, andV similar service establish ments.

Broadly stated, napkin holders of this type now generally in use, are in the form' of properly proportioned vertically elongated ornamental cabinet-like casings having one or more open sides through which the napkms are selectively withdrawn by the customer, means being provided on the interior to facilitate vdispensing by feeding the stack of napkins toward the hand opening.l

Fundamentally, my invention is of the same general character and is regarded as lan im provement in that it embodies the following structural reiinements and characteristics.

First, opposed sides of the cabinet-like casing are provided with hingedly mounted plates or doors held in closed position by suitable retaining means, eachdoor being formed with a sub stantially circular hand hole beaded around its perimeter to facilitate withdrawal and to avoid tearing of napkins.

Secondly, novelty is predicatedupon a simple and economical suspension rod on the interior on which spring pressed follower' plates are slidably hung and automatically actuated by the spring means in a direction towards the hand holes to render the napkins readily accessible for withdrawal purposes.

Third, novelty is predicated upon the upper end construction of the four walls or sides of the cabinet, each of which is formed with channellike retention guides to accommodate advertising and menu cards, etc., a special spring-retained l-id being provided for'co-operation with these features to hold the cards in place and to facilitate periodical exchange thereof.

Other features and advantages will become more readily apparent from the following description 'and drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is what may be designated asy a front elevational view showing one' of the hinged1 closures with la substantially circular hand hole covered by an interiorly arranged follower plate,v the napkins being omitted. I

Figure 2 is a central vertical sectional view through the assembly shown. in Figure l, with the napkins in dispensing or withdrawal position.

Figure 3 is a section at rightl angles to Figure 2*, the section being taken approximately on the plane of theline 3 3 of Figure 2.

(Ci. S12-61') Figure 4 is a fragmentary side. elevational view' of the upper portion of the structure.-

Figure 5 is a horizontal section takenapproxi? mately on the plane of the line 5*-45 o f Figure l;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary detail sectional view 60'. taken approximately on the plane of the line of Figure 1, showing the manner in' v which the lid isshifted over to facilitate'application and r'emovaliof a display or menu card.l

Attention is iirst invited to Figure 2, wherein it 66 will be observed that the cabinet is of s'ubstanl` tially rectangular vertically elongated form, of appropriate' dimensions and preferably con# structed of light-weight metal. It comprises al pai-roi front and rear walls '7 and Shaving' their" 70 major lower portions cut away to permit access to be had to the interior.V As sho-wnin Figure 1, the' open lower portions of the front and rear walls are surrounded byv three marginal flanges 9 kand 10 which serve as stop elements for the' hingedly mounted closing plates or doors 11` and 12.- E'achvdoor is of duplicate construction and formed with ay substantially circula-r hand holeA surrounded by ay marginal rounded bead 13 de= signed to facilitate withdrawal of the napl'c-risV 80 one-b y-one, and to prevent injury or cutting of tliepatrons hands. Incidently, the handv h'ole V13i iS- Suici'ently large to permit the napkinfto be pulled out easily but not so large as' to per`A mit several napkins to be. accidently withdrawn as* is the case when relatively large rectangular Withdrawal or hand openings are provided-.-

VAs shown in Figu're l, the upper' endportion of the closing plates are provided with clearance notches'-14 which clear adjacent itx'irtioiisl of the 00A anges 9. Also, the upper iianged edge" portion of the' plate isreduced as indicated at l5 to provide what may be designated as an' attaching ear, this" being pivoted as at 16- to the-side walls" 117 of the casing".

The lower free swingable end portions" of th doors are provided withresilient retainingvv latches 17 constructed with detents 18 which snap into keeper openings formed in the bottom 19 as shown1 in Figurel 2. This serves to hold' the two 100 doors in closed position. It also permits th'e doors to'be swung outwardly to permit'access tbe had to theinterior for placing the paper napkins 20 in` place.

V It is further shown in Figure 2 that the walls 105 7 and 8 are provided with countersunk recesses 21` which serve to accommodate the end portions of a centralized horizontally disposed suspension rod: 22; Y

The numeral 23 in Figure `2 designates a verlil.

fro'

its'

461 of the top 29.

tical napkin follower and presser plate whose upper end portions are apertured and slidably suspended from the rod 22. These plates are of an area commensurate with the proportions of the walls 7 and 8 with which they co-operate. They serve to uniformly back up the stack of napkins 20 to force them outwardly within con-V venient reach of the hand holes 13. The follower plates are pressed outwardly through the instrumentality of a properly arranged and tensioned coil spring 24 whose end coils are fastened as at 25 to the follower plate. e

I next call attention to the advertising card, menu, and display means, intended to add greater utility and ornamentation to the structure. This means is located at the upper portion of the cabinet above the hinged ends of the doors. The means on each face or side of the cabinet Vis exactly the same, and a description of one will sumce for all. The means Vmay be said to comprise three inbent flanges 26 of cross sectional shape as shown in Figure 5, which iianges serve to function as channel-shaped guides or receptacles for the removable menu card or the like 27 a depending pinV or stud 30 which extends downv through the opening into the interior of the f =cabinet., It is provided on its lower end with a.

washer 3 1 held in place by a nut and the washer serves to hold the coiled closing spring e 32 in position. The spring obviously surrounds the pin and bears at its upper end against the underside Y 4The cap plate is provided around its four edges with depending flanges 33 which -more or less match the aforesaid flanges 26. In other words,

these flanges 26 and 33 co-operate in forming a display panel surrounded by a marginal channel-v shaped frame. The capcan be lifted upwardly in the direction of the arrow A in Figure 1 and then of the arrow B as shown in Figure 6 to'uncover the lupper open ends of the vertical guide channels 26 to permit withdrawal and insertion of the cards 27. Y

Specifically summarized, it will beV observed that the principal feature of construction is predicated upon the horizontal suspensionrod 22 yon the interior of the cabinet carrying the rectangular spring-pressed follower'` plate 23 co-operating withV the hinged plates or doors 12 to force lthe napkins Vout against the doors and within convenient reach, access being had through the hand hole 13. o

fAn equal degree of novelty is thought to reside in the centrally apertured fiat top 29, the correspondingly shaped square plate form-ingV the body of the lid or cap 28 wherein said plate hasl marginal depending lianges 33 to engage and hold the cards 27 securely in place in the. channels 26. Stated more explicitly, emphasis is placed on the depending pin 30 carried by the lid and extending down through the central opening in the top 29 with the associated washer and spring 31 and 32 l providing spring retaining means for holding the arrangement as to permit the entire cap to be raised up and then shifted over laterally as shown in Figure 6 so as to unco-ver the channel-shaped guides 26 and to allow insertion and removal of display cards. This arrangement is not only useful, but believed to be ornamental.

A careful consideration of the foregoing description in conjunction with the illustrativev drawings will enable the reader to obtain a clear understanding of the purpose, features andadvantages, the explicit construction, and the invention as hereinafter claimed.

It is to be understood that minor changes in shape, size, relative proportions, and materials may be resorted to in practice without departing one wallof said container embodying an opening permitting access tobe had tothe interior for Y placing the napkins in position for subsequent Withdrawal, said opening being surrounded by inturned'marginal stop flanges, a hinged door for closing said opening, said door comprising a plate hingedly connected at its upper end portion toV the exterior of the casing Aand having its lower swingable end portion movable outwardly and upwardly, said'lower end portion being provided with ani inturned resilient retaining latch, .the bottom of the casing having an opening constituting Aa keeper for said latch, said door plate havinga circular hand hole surrounded by a protective marginal bead, and means on therinterior ofthe casing for automatically feeding the napkins into 'easily grasped position, said means comprising a `horizontal suspension rod, a follower-plate sldably mounted on said rod, andV spring means for exerting pressure against said plate to press the napkins against the inner side of the aforesaid door. ..1

2. In a napkin holding and dispensing device of the class described, a vertically elongated substantially rectangular box-like casing, the front raised sufliciently and shifted over in the direction'A and rear' Walls thereof having them lower end portions vformed with openings permitting access to be had to the interior for placing the napkins therein for subsequent withdrawal purposes, said openings being surrounded by marginal stop flanges, a pair of duplicate closing doors for said openings, each door comprising a plate of a size commensurate with the openings, the plate having longitudinal side iianges swingable into overlapping relationship with the side walls of the casing, the upper end por-tions of the plates beingV notched and formed with attaching ears pivotally connected with the side walls, the notches bridging .the adjacent portions of the stop flanges to provide for clearance and to permit free swinging of the hinged ends ofthe plates, each plate being formed at its lower end with an inturned resilient Vretaining latch cooperable withy the bottom of the casing, eachvplate being further formed with a relatively small centralized circular hole through which the napkin is withdrawn, said hole being surrounded by a marginal reinforcing andfprotective bead, a horizontal suspension rod on the interior of the casing, a pair of duplicate follower and' napkin presser plates slidably -suspended from said rod to press the napkins against the inner sides of the doors, and a coil spring interposed between said follower plates and connected thereto for the purpose described.

3. A napkin holder and dispensing device comprising a casing constituting a container for a stack of napkins, at least one wall of said container embodying an opening permitting access to be had to the interior for placing thenapkins in position for subsequent withdrawal, said opening being surrounded by inturned marginal stop anges, a door for closing said opening, said door comprising a plate hingedly connected at its upper end portion to the exterior of the casing and having its lower swingable end portion movable outwardly and upwardly, said lower end portion being provided with a retaining latch, the bottom-

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