Ligature-resistant folded-sheet paper towel dispenser with hidden outlet slot

A method of dispensing folded-sheet paper towels, while preventing formation or support of a ligature at the location of the dispensing, the method comprising:

• mounting a rear housing of a ligature-resistant paper towel dispenser to a wall by securing a mounting plane surface provided at a rear face of the rear housing;
• opening a front cover rotatably attached to the rear housing;
• installing a stack of folded-sheet paper towels within the ligature-resistant paper towel dispenser between the front cover and the rear housing;
• securing the front cover to the rear housing and over the stack of folded-sheet paper towels with a locking mechanism;
• and
• dispensing paper towels from the stack of folded-sheet paper towels through a paper outlet formed by a combination of the front cover and the rear housing by feeding the paper towels through a paper path terminating in an outlet slot disposed at a bottom of the towel dispenser for dispensing paper towels from a stack of folded-sheet paper towels, wherein the paper path is inclined so that an exit of the outlet slot is directed toward the rear face of the housing to prevent upward insertion of a ligature, wherein the front cover and the rear housing form the outlet slot, wherein the paper path includes an overlap of the front cover and the rear housing to direct the exit of the outlet slot toward rear face of the housing, so that the outlet slot is not visible from the front or beneath the ligature-resistant towel dispenser, wherein the rear housing has a rear shelf portion for receiving the stack of folded-sheet paper towels, wherein the installing installs the stack of folded-sheet paper towels by setting the stack of folded-sheet paper towels on the rear shelf portion, wherein a horizontal extent of the front shelf portion and the rear shelf portion share a horizontal plane, wherein a front edge of the rear shelf portion and a bottom inner edge of the front cover form the outlet slot, and wherein the bottom inner edge of the front cover terminates in a projection that overlaps and extends behind and below a front bottom edge of the rear shelf portion to direct the exit of the outlet slot toward the rear face of the housing.

A ligature-resistant paper towel dispenser for dispensing folded-sheet paper towels comprising:

• a rear housing having a mounting plane surface on a rear face thereof for securing the ligature-resistant paper towel dispenser to a wall;
• a front cover rotatably coupled to the rear housing;
• a paper outlet formed by a combination of the front cover and the rear housing fed by a paper path terminating in an outlet slot disposed at a bottom of the towel dispenser for dispensing paper towels from a stack of folded-sheet paper towels, wherein the paper path is inclined so that an exit of the outlet slot is directed toward the rear face of the housing to prevent upward insertion of a ligature, wherein the stack of folded-sheet paper towels provides the towels from alternating directions for alternating sheets of the paper towels with respect to the forward and rearward directions of the housing, and wherein the paper path and the outlet slot are conformed to a thickness of the alternating sheets of the paper towels to admit only a first sheet of the paper towels being extracted and a next sheet of the paper towels being drawn through the outlet slot by the first sheet during extraction of the first sheet of the paper towels;
• and
• a locking mechanism for securing the front cover to the rear housing.