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US 4,487,378 AGranted
Coreless toilet paper roll and method for manufacture thereof
OwnerMasashi Kobayashiinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A coreless toilet paper roll having a center hole with alternate radial corners and inwardly bulged portions is manufactured by winding toilet paper on a winding shaft having a polygonal or gear-shaped section to form a roll on the winding shaft and then extracting the winding shaft from the rod. The center hole produced in this way is rigid and safe from collapse. The corners or gear teeth of the winding shaft may be arranged helically on the winding shaft to avoid noise during the winding. The toilet paper may be moistened at the outset of winding to provide a more rigid center hole.
Claims22
A coreless paper roll, comprising:
- a roll of paper wherein the innermost plies of said roll of paper define a substantially rigidified, non-collapsible aperture, having a substantially polygonal cross-sectional configuration, capable of removably accommodating a paper holder which can rotatably support said coreless paper roll, and wherein further, all of said paper of said paper roll, including said innermost plies of said roll of paper which define said paper roll aperture, is capable of being readily unrolled for a predetermined paper use,
- said substantially polygonally shaped, substantially rigidified, non-collapsible aperture being defined by means of circumferentially arranged, alternatively disposed, radially outwardly extending constrictions, and radially inwardly extending bulged portions which have been partially collapsed radially inwardly to a predetermined final extent.
A method for manufacturing a coreless paper roll comprising the steps of:
- mounting a winding shaft, having a polygonally shaped cross-sectional configuration defined by alternative apex and side-surface portions, upon a winding machine;
- engaging a free end of said paper upon said winding shaft;
- rotating said winding shaft so as to coil said paper over and about said apex and side-surface portions of said winding shaft and thereby form a coreless roll of paper wherein all of said paper of said coreless paper roll, including the innermost plies of said paper roll, is capable of being readily unrolled for a predetermined paper use;
- and
- removing said winding shaft from said roll of paper so as to permit those portions of said paper roll initially in engagement with said side-surface portions of said winding shaft to partially collapse radially inwardly under the influence of centripetal force through means of a predetermined final extent and thereby form radially inwardly extending bulged portions, while those portions of said paper initially in engagement with said apex portions of said winding shaft simultaneously form radially outwardly extending constrictions, whereby a substantially rigidified, non-collapsible central aperture of said coreless paper roll is defined by said innermost plies of said paper roll so as to be capable of removably accommodating a paper roll holder.
2 more elements
A method for manufacturing a coreless paper roll comprising the steps of:
- mounting a winding shaft, having a gear-shaped cross-sectional configuration defined by alternative teeth and groove portions, upon a winding machine;
- engaging a free end of said paper upon said winding shaft;
- rotating said winding shaft so as to coil said paper over and about said teeth and groove portions of said winding shaft and thereby form a coreless roll of paper wherein all of said paper of said coreless paper roll, including the innermost plies of said paper roll, is capable of being readily unrolled for a predetermined paper use;
- and
- removing said winding shaft from said roll of paper so as to permit those portions of said paper roll initially in engagement with said groove portions of said winding shaft to partially collapse radially inwardly under the influence of centripetal force through means of a predetermined final extent and thereby form radially inwardly extending bulged portions, while those portions of said paper initially in engagement with said teeth portions of said winding shaft simultaneously form radially outwardly extending constrictions, whereby a substantially rigidified, non-collapsible central aperture of said coreless paper roll is defined by said innermost plies of said paper roll so as to be capable of removably accommodating a paper roll holder.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.