Paper holder device

Abstract

A paper holder device to simplify the structure and reduce the cost and size of a paper holder device in which paper is fed from a paper roll and cut automatically by electrically-driven means. The paper holder device includes a paper supporting mechanism, a paper feeding mechanism, a paper receiving part, and a paper cutting mechanism for cutting paper, and the paper feeding mechanism and the paper cutting mechanism are configured to be alternatively driven by a single driving gear mechanism.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD[0001]The present invention relates to a paper holder device which holds a paper roll made by rolling toilet paper, and can feed the paper from the paper roll and fold and cut the paper automatically in response to a request from a user.BACKGROUND ART[0002]A variety of technologies for assisting and supporting the daily activities of elderly people has been proposed based on the awareness of welfare growing with the progress of the aging society. For example, a technology for making it easier to take paper out of a paper holder device for a toilet paper has been proposed (refer to Patent Literatures 1 and 2).[0003]A paper holder device disclosed in Patent Literature 1 is configured such that paper is pinched and pulled from a paper roll supported on a mandrel by a pair of feed rollers, folded sequentially, and cut by a cutter disposed between the folding part and the pinching part. In this case, a motor for driving the feed rollers and a motor for driving the cutter a...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0016]The present invention provides the following effects.

[0017](a) According to the paper holder device according to the first invention of the present invention, in a paper holder device, including a paper supporting mechanism 5 for unrollably supporting a paper roll 10, a paper feeding mechanism 6 for unrolling paper 10a from the paper roll10 and feeding the paper 10a, a paper receiving part 3 for folding the paper 10a fed out of the paper feeding mechanism 6 in a zigzag fashion sequentially and holding the paper 10a, and a paper cutting mechanism 7 for cutting the paper 10a between the paper feeding mechanism 6 and the paper receiving part 3, the paper feeding mechanism 6 and the paper cutting mechanism 7 are alternatively driven by a single driving gear mechanism 9. Thus, a decrease in external size and a cost reduction can be achieved and simplification of the driving mechanism can be promoted because of the reduction in the number of motors compared to the conventional paper holder devices having a two-motor type driving mechanism as disclosed in Patent Literatures described above.

[0018](b) The paper holder device according to the second aspect of the present invention provides, in addition to the effect described in above (a), a particular effect as described below. In the paper holder device of this invention, the driving gear mechanism 9 includes a reversibly rotatable motor 61, and a driving gear 64 which receives the driving force from the motor 61 and is driven to rotate selectively in a forward direction or a reverse direction and which is swung between a first position and a second position by the driving force, and the driving gear 64 is in mesh with a feeding gear unit 68 of the paper feeding mechanism 6 and drives the paper feeding mechanism 6 to rotate when set in the first position, and is in mesh with a cutting drive gear 59 of the paper cutting mechanism 7 and drives the paper cutting mechanism 7 to rotate when set in the second position. Thus, the object of driving by the motor 61 can be switched automatically only by switching the direction in which the motor 61 is rotated. Therefore, simplification and reduction in cost of the control system for the paper feeding mechanism 6 and the paper cutting mechanism 7 can be promoted, and the reliability of the operation in switching the object of driving can be improved compared to the configuration in which the paper feeding mechanism 6 and the paper cutting mechanism 7 are driven by separate motors and the operations of the motors are controlled separately, for example.

[0019](c) The paper holder device according to the third aspect of the present invention provides, in addition to the effect described in above (a), a particular effect as described below. The paper holder device of this invention further includes a first sensor 101 for detecting the presence or absence of the approach of a human hand, and a second sensor 102 for detecting whether or not a paper 10a is present in the paper receiving part 3, and the driving gear mechanism 9 is configured to be activated when the first sensor 101 detects the approach of a human hand and the second sensor 102 detects the absence of the paper 10a. Thus, a situation in which an operation to form a paper 10a is started in spite of the fact that there is no one who wants to use a paper 10a or a paper 10a in a folded state is present in the paper receiving part 3, for example, is reliably prevented from occurring, and the convenience and reliability in use of the paper holder device 1 can be improved accordingly.

[0020](d) The paper holder device according to the fourth aspect of the present invention includes a holder main body 2 having a generally rectangular box-like appearance and attached to a vertical wall W in a toilet space, a paper supporting mechanism 5 for unrollably supporting a paper roll 10, a paper feeding mechanism 6 for unrolling paper 10a from the paper roll 10 and feeding the paper 10a, a paper receiving part 3 for folding the paper 10a fed out of the paper feeding mechanism 6 in a zigzag fashion sequentially and holding the paper in such a manner that the paper can be taken out of an outlet portion 34, and a paper cutting mechanism 7 for cutting the paper 10a between the paper feeding mechanism 6 and the paper receiving part 3 which are housed in the holder main body 2, and an access cover 4 provided as one side wall 2a of four side walls 2a to 2d of the holder main body 2 and configured to open vertically, and is configured such that the three side walls 2b to 2d of the four side walls 2a to 2d of the holder main body 2 except the side wall 2a as the access cover 4 can be selectively used as a mating surface to the vertical wall W. Thus, the orientation in which the paper holder device is attached to the vertical wall W can be selectively set in view of the location of the toilet bowl in the toilet space in which the paper holder device will be installed (the orientation of the toilet bowl with respect to the vertical wall W in the toilet space or the distance from the toilet bowl to side walls, for example) or the convenience of a person seated on the toilet seat in taking the paper 10a out of the paper holder device. This significantly improves the convenience in use of the paper holder device and contributes to the enhancement of the marketability of the paper holder device accordingly compared to the case where the orientation in which the paper holder device can be attached to the vertical wall W is fixed, for example.

[0021](e) The paper holder device according to the fifth aspect provides, in addition to the effect described in above (d), a particular effect as described below. In the paper holder device of this invention, the outlet portion 34 is provided in a part corresponding to any one side wall 2a, each of any two side walls 2a and 2b, each of any three side walls 2a, 2b and 2c or each of all the side walls 2a to 2d of the four side walls 2a to 2d of the holder main body 2. Thus, because the user of the paper holder device can take the paper 10a out of an outlet portion 34 at a location that is most convenient for him or her, the convenience of the user in using the paper holder device can be further improved.

Problems solved by technology

In addition, the cutter is constituted of a stationary cutter that is fixedly disposed and a movable cutter that is reciprocated horizontally by a crank mechanism, and the oscillating mechanism for the movable cutter is complicated.

The cutter is constituted of a stationary blade and a movable blade that is swung into contact with and away from the stationary blade, and the oscillating mechanism for the movable blade is complicated.

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