The present invention relates to new and useful improvements in dispensers for plastic film wrap. BACKGROUND

In United States Patent 4,779,780 issued October 25, 1988 to James E. Scharf, a co-inventor in this application, there is disclosed a plastic film dispenser in which a roll of film is housed within a box-like container and dispensed through a slot in the container base, adjacent the back of the base. Lengths of film are cut off using a cutter blade on the base, adjacent the front. To prevent film from adhering to the underside of the container, between the slot and the cutter blade, the base is covered with a layer of vinyl plastic, a material that has only limited static attraction properties with respect to the film.

The manufacture of the prior metal container, using a metal housing with a metal base plate covered with a separate vinyl layer is relatively expensive, especially where the product is intended for household use. In addition, the use of a front cover that pivots upwardly about a hinge for roll replacement may be difficult to use, especially where the roll being placed in the container is rather heavy.

The present invention is concerned with one or more improvements in such a dispenser. SUMMARY

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a dispenser comprising a container for housing a roll of plastic film, the container having a base with spaced front and rear sides, a dispensing slot adjacent the rear side of the base and a film cutter adjacent the front side of the base and roil mounting means for mounting a roll of film in the container such that an end of the film may be withdrawn

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from the container through the dispensing slot and drawn across the base of the container for engagement with the cutter wherein the base has a rough textured, discontinuous surface between the dispensing slot and the cutter.

The base may be a unitary, uncovered base plate with ribs and a "sand-blasted", rough texture that provides discontinuous surface to surface contact with the film. This allows the base to be made of a wide variety of materials, regardless of its cling properties. It is preferred to make the base as a single molded thermoplastic unit.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a dispenser for plastic film comprising:

An elongate base unit; roll mounting means for mounting a roll of plastic film for rotation on the base unit; a cover unit having an open bottom for receiving the roll mounting means and a roll supported thereby, the open bottom being engageable with the top of the base unit; and latch means having a first part on the base unit and a second part on the cover unit, the first and second parts being engageable in response to movement of the base unit upwardly into engagement with the open bottom of the cover unit for latching the cover unit and the base unit together.

The roll of film may conveniently be mounted on the base unit, and the unit and film roll raised together into the bottom of the cover, malting the reloading procedure much more convenient than with prior art dispensers.

With a plastic cutter on a reusable dispenser, the cutter may dull over time. Consequently, the apparatus may be equipped with a removable and replaceable cutter.

In preferred embodiments the cutter comprises a channel that is a friction or snap fit onto a flange on the housing. The flange may itself constitute a cutter over which the replacement cutter is installed when the original becomes dull. Cutters can be supplied with rolls of film to ensure that an effective cutter is always at hand. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate an exemplary embodiment of the present invention:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary front elevation of a dispenser according to the present invention;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary plan view of the dispenser;

Figure 3 is an end elevation of the dispenser;

Figure 4 is a transverse cross section of the dispenser;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary bottom view of the dispenser;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary back elevation of the dispenser;

Figure 7 is a fragmentary longitudinal cross section of the dispenser; and

Figure 8 is an end view of a replacement cutter.

DETAΠ-ED DESCRDTΠQN

Referring, to the accompanying drawings, there is illustrated a dispenser 10 for plastic film. The dispenser has a container 12 consisting of a base unit 14 and a cover unit 16. The two meet at a horizontal, peripheral joint 18.

The base unit has a back wall 20 that curves downwardly towards the front. Two end walls 22 at each end are similarly shaped. A short front wall segment 24 is provided at each end of the base unit, adjacent the end wall 22.

Between the front wall segments 24 is a front recess 26 bounded on the back by a rearwardly sloping flat plate 28. At the back of the plate 28 is a film cutter 30 with a flat front face 32, and a back face 34 that slopes downwardly to meet the

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front face 32 at an acute angle. The cutter extends from end to end of the recess 26 and has a series of v-shaped teeth 36 formed along each sharp bottom edge. The cutter teeth terminate slightly above the bottom of end walls 22 and back wall 20. The cutter is continued upwardly from the back edge of the plate 28 to form a vertical front flange 38.

Along the front of the back wall 20 is a vertical flange 40. Similar vertical flanges 42 extend upwardly from the bottom edge of the end walls 22. A base comprising a horizontal base plate 44 is bounded on the front by the flange 38 and on the ends by flanges 42. Between the back of the base plate 44 and the flange 40 is a dispensing opening 46 for dispensing plastic film wrap. Along the back edge of the base plate 44 is a rib 47 that stiffens this edge. This rib is rounded and provides low frictional resistance to the dispensing of wrap.

The bottom surface 48 of the base plate 44 is discontinuous. It includes a series of ribs 50 that extend from end to end of the base plate, parallel to the dispensing slot. The ribs are v-shaped in cross section. The bottom surface 48 is also provided with a rough texture, for example by sandblasting the mold in which it is formed.

Each end wall 22 of the base unit 14 has a rectangular end opening 52. Inside this opening is a vertical tongue 54 that carries, at its upper end, a locking tab 56 which serves to connect the base unit to the cover as will be described in more detail in the following.

As illustrated most particularly in the cross sectional views of Figures 4 and 7, the bottom unit has an inwardly recessed upper flange 58 that engages in an internal recess 60 at the bottom edge of the cover unit, thus properly locating the units with respect to one another when joined.

The cover and base units are held together by latches including the

locking tabs 56 of the base unit tongues 54 engaging in openings 62 in the end walls 64 of the cover unit. The outer faces of the locking, tabs are contoured to match the contours of the upwardly and inwardly curving end walls of the cover unit.

The cover unit has a front wall 66 that curves upwardly to the rear and a back wall 68. The back wall is shaped similarly to the front wall but has a pair of wide ribs 70 that present vertical back faces 71 provided with keyhole mounting slots 72.

The cover unit is completed with a flat top wall 74, with internal recesses 76 distributed over its surface. The recesses 76 may readily be opened to form aperture through the top wall so that fasteners can be passed through the apertures to secure the top of the cover unit to a horizontal surface, for example under a cupboard or the like.

The assembled container carries a roll 78 of plastic film 80. The roll has a tubular core 82 each end of which is mounted on an end plate 84 by a ring of bosses 86 projecting from the end plate. The end plates themselves are seated on edge on the base plate 44 and are retained in place by the pairs of ribs 88 formed on the top surface of the base plate 44 as shown most particularly in Figure 7.

Figure 8 illustrates a replacement cutter for the dispenser. The cutter is in a form of a channel 90 with a front flange extending the full length of the cutter and a rear flange with an upwardly sloping bottom section and a vertical upper section. The channel within the cutter matches the configuration of the original cutter 30 of the dispenser and clips onto the original cutter as shown in Figure 8. The replacement cutter in the illustrated embodiment is a frictional fit on the original cutter 30. In other embodiments of the invention, it may be a snap fit, using beads or other formations for retention purposes.

The dispenser may be mounted on a horizontal surface as described above or on a vertical surface using fasteners through the key hole slots 72 in the back

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wall ribs 70.

When the dispenser is installed, the cover unit 16 is mounted on a wall or under a shelf or cupboard. The roll 78 of plastic film is fitted with the end plates 84 and placed on the base plate 44, where it is supported by the end plates.

Once the roll has been placed on the base unit, the end of the film is with-drawn from the roll and fed through the dispensing opening 46 behind the base plate. The complete base unit and film roll can then be lifted as a whole into the bottom of the cover unit 16. Because of their curved outer faces, the locking tabs 56 are cammed inwardly by engagement with the lower edge of the cover unit and walls. When the base unit is fully engaged, the locking tabs spring outwardly into the locking openings 62 to retain the base unit on the cover unit. The film may then be dispensed by drawing it down through the dispensing opening 46, across the bottom of the base plate 44 to be cut by the cutter 30 at the front of the base plate. The ribs 50 on the base plate and the roughened lower surface of that plate inhibit any clinging of the film to the base plate so that the length of film will normally drop down between the cutter and the front edge of the dispensing opening and will be readily available for grasping the next time that film needs to be drawn from the dispenser. In the case of very high static films, some clinging may occur, but the film will be easily separated from the base plate when desired. In most, if not all, such cases, the film will release by itself in a short time.

When a roll of film is exhausted, the base unit is easily removed from the cover unit by pressing on the locking tabs 56 to release them from the locking openings 62, freeing the base unit to be removed.

In the embodiment described, each of the cover unit and the base unit is integrally molded from a thermoplastic material.

While one embodiment of the present invention has been described in the

foregoing, it is to be understood that other embodiments are possible. The invention is to be considered limited solely by the scope of the appended claims.

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