Apparatus for dispensing toilet tissue from coreless rolls

Apparatus for dispensing toilet tissue from a coreless roll of toilet tissue comprising:

• a dispenser having spaced end walls, mounting elements located at said end walls, a cover selectively movable between two positions for alternately selectively individually exposing rolls of toilet tissue mounted between said end walls, and a partition defining a partition opening, said partition being affixed to said cover and movable with said cover when said cover moves between said two positions;
• a pair of coreless roll spindles, each of the coreless roll spindles for supporting a coreless roll, each of said spindles including a first end and a second end;
• and
• spindle mounting means mounting said coreless roll spindles in substantial axial alignment on said mounting elements, said first end of each of said coreless roll spindles being rigidly cantilevered from said mounting elements such that said second end of each said spindle is disposed immediately adjacent to said partition opening;
• and
• said partition opening being dimensioned to alternately pass over said coreless roll spindles when said cover moves between said two positions, said partition opening being able to pass over said coreless roll spindles when no coreless roll of toilet tissue is mounted thereon and prevented from passing thereover when the coreless roll of toilet tissue is mounted thereon.

A coreless roll spindle for rotatably supporting a coreless paper roll, said coreless roll spindle comprising:

• a spindle shaft having a base and a distal end spaced from said base;
• a mounting member attached to said spindle shaft at said base for mounting said spindle shaft at a selected location;
• at least one roll engagement element rotatably mounted on said spindle shaft between said base and said distal end for positioning between said spindle shaft and a coreless paper roll, said at least one roll engagement element having a shaft opening and an axis of rotation about said shaft opening, said axis of rotation being offset from a center of said roll engagement element, and
• said at least one roll engagement element being constructed of resilient material and urged into constrictive frictional engagement with said spindle shaft by the coreless paper roll such that the coreless paper roll resists rotation relative to said spindle shaft when it surrounds and is in engagement with said at least one roll engagement element.

Apparatus for dispensing tissue from a coreless roll comprising:

• a dispenser having spaced end walls;
• and
• at least one coreless roll spindle mounted in said dispenser for supporting a coreless roll of tissue, said spindle including a first end and a second end;
• wherein said coreless roll spindle includes a spindle shaft, having a base and a distal end spaced from said base, and at least one roll engagement element disposed between said distal end and said base, said roll engagement element being rotatable independently about said spindle shaft for engaging in innermost convolution of the coreless tissue mounted on the coreless roll spindle, said roll engagement element being urged into constrictive frictional engagement with said spindle shaft such that rotation of the coreless roll of tissue relative to said spindle shaft is substantially prevented when the coreless roll of tissue surrounds and is in engagement with said roll engagement element.