Tabletop folded sheet dispenser

1 . A method for loading a stack of sheet material into a dispenser for dispensing said sheet material, the method comprising:

moving a lid of the dispenser from a closed use position into an open refilling position;

the dispenser comprising:

a body having four side walls,

a base,

an opening in a top of the body, the lid being for covering the opening in use and enabling access to the opening for refilling, wherein the lid has a dispensing opening therein to enable sheet material to be dispensed therefrom,

a platform for supporting a plurality of sheet material from below, wherein the platform is movable from a lowermost position when the dispenser is filled with sheet material to an uppermost position adjacent the lid when the dispenser is more nearly empty of sheet material,

a spring for urging the platform towards the lid, the spring being attached between a central region of the base and a central region of the platform,

a releasable locking mechanism for holding the platform in a locking position in the lowermost position, the releasable locking mechanism comprising:

a first pair of first arms movably attached to one of the side walls and extending in a direction from the top towards the base of the body, wherein one first arm of the first pair of the first arms has a first top end and a first base end, and another first arm of the first pair of the first arms has a second top end and a second base end,

a second pair of second arms movably attached to the base and extending in a direction from the side wall to which the first pair of the first arms is attached towards a center of the base, wherein one second arm of the second pair of the second arms has a first side wall end and a first locking end, and another second arm of the second pair of the second arms has a second side wall end and a second locking end,

wherein the first side wall end is configured to cooperate with the first base end and the second side wall end is configured to cooperate with the second base end such that a movement of the one first arm and the another first arm respectively causes a movement of the one second arm and the another second arm, the first locking end and the second locking end being configured to releasably interlock respectively with first and second locking portions arranged at the platform to thereby hold the platform in the locking position,

wherein the first and second locking portions of the platform are located closer to the central region of the platform than to an edge portion of the platform,

wherein the lid has first and second engaging portions at a lower surface thereof,

wherein the first and second engaging portions are configured to engage, respectively, with the first top end of the one first arm and the second top end of the another first arm upon closing the lid to thereby release the platform from the locking position;

placing the stack of sheet material via the opening with a trailing face of the stack of sheet material on a supporting surface of the platform;

exerting a force on a leading face of the stack of sheet material opposite to the trailing face to thereby push the platform into the body, in the locking position;

pivoting the lid from the open refilling position into the closed use position to thereby release the platform from the locking position; and

extracting a portion of a leading sheet material from the leading face of the stack of sheet material through the dispensing opening of the lid, to thereby dispense the leading sheet material.

2 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the first and second locking portions are arranged at a lower side of the platform.

3 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the first and second engaging portions protrude from the lower surface of the lid, wherein each of the first and second engaging portions has a length of 1/20 to ⅕ of the length of each of the first pair of the first arms.

4 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the body has a box shape with two long side walls and two short side walls respectively opposing each other, wherein the lid is attached to one of the short side walls and the first pair of the first arms is provided on the other one of the short side walls.

5 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein each of the first pair of the first arms is rotatably attached to the side wall about a respective first axis of rotation and each of the second pair of the second arms is rotatably attached to the base about a respective second axis of rotation.

6 . The method according to claim 5 , wherein at least one of the first pair of the first arms and the second pair of the second arms is rotatably attached with a spring-loaded mechanism, wherein the spring-loaded mechanism is configured such that the at least one of the first pair of the first arms and the second pair of the second arms rotates about the first or second axis of rotation, respectively, against a biasing force of the spring-loaded mechanism upon bringing the platform in the locking position and/or upon closing the lid.

7 . The method according to claim 5 , wherein each of the first and second engaging portions has a slanted surface matching with a corresponding slanted surface provided on the top end of the respective first arm.

8 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the dispenser has a spring-loaded latch for releasably locking the lid to the body.

9 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the lid is moveably attached to at least one of the side walls of the body via a hinge.

10 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the lid is configured to be reversibly removable and attachable to the body.

11 . A method for loading a stack of sheet material into a dispenser for dispensing said sheet material, the method comprising:

moving a lid of the dispenser from a closed use position into an open refilling position;

the dispenser comprising:

a body having four side walls,

a base,

an opening in a top of the body, the lid being for covering the opening in use and enabling access to the opening for refilling, wherein the lid has a dispensing opening therein to enable sheet material to be dispensed therefrom,

a platform for supporting a plurality of sheet material from below, wherein the platform is movable from a lowermost position when the dispenser is filled with sheet material to an uppermost position adjacent the lid when the dispenser is more nearly empty of sheet material,

a spring for urging the platform towards the lid,

a releasable locking mechanism for holding the platform in a locking position in the lowermost position, the releasable locking mechanism comprising:

a first pair of first arms movably attached to one of the side walls and extending in a direction from the top towards the base of the body, wherein one first arm of the first pair of the first arms has a first top end and a first base end, and another first arm of the first pair of the first arms has a second top end a second base end,

a second pair of second arms movably attached to the base and extending in a direction from the side wall to which the first pair of the first arms is attached towards a center of the base, wherein one second arm of the second pair of the second arms has a first side wall end and a first locking end, and another second arm of the second pair of the second arms has a second side wall end and a second locking end,

wherein the first side wall end is configured to cooperate with the first base end and the second side wall end is configured to cooperate with the second base end such that a movement of the one first arm and the another first arm respectively causes a movement of the one second arm and the another second arm, the first locking end and the second locking end being configured to releasably interlock respectively with first and second locking portions arranged at the platform to thereby hold the platform in the locking position,

wherein the lid has first and second engaging portions at a lower surface thereof,

wherein the first and second engaging portions are configured to engage, respectively, with the first top end of the one first arm and the second top end of the another first arm upon closing the lid to thereby release the platform from the locking position;

placing the stack of sheet material via the opening with a trailing face of the stack of sheet material on a supporting surface of the platform;

exerting a force on a leading face of the stack of sheet material opposite to the trailing face to thereby push the platform into the body, in the locking position;

pivoting the lid from the open refilling position into the closed use position to thereby release the platform from the locking position; and

extracting a portion of a leading sheet material from the leading face of the stack of sheet material through the dispensing opening of the lid, to thereby dispense the leading sheet material,

wherein the locking portions of the platform are symmetrically arranged with respect to a longitudinal axis or a transversal axis of the platform,

wherein the first pair of the first arms is symmetrically arranged with respect to a central axis of the one of the side walls, the central axis of the one of the side walls extending in a direction from the top to the base and dividing the one of the side walls into two halves,

wherein the second pair of the second arms is symmetrically arranged with respect to a central axis of the base, the central axis of the base extending in a direction from the side wall at which the first pair of the first arms is arranged towards the opposite side wall and dividing the base into two halves.

12 . A method for loading a stack of sheet material into a dispenser for dispensing said sheet material, the method comprising:

moving a lid of the dispenser from a closed use position into an open refilling position;

the dispenser comprising:

a body having four side walls,

a base,

an opening in a top of the body, the lid being configured to cover the opening in use and enabling access to the opening for refilling, wherein the lid has a dispensing opening therein to enable sheet material to be dispensed therefrom,

a platform for supporting a plurality of sheet material from below, wherein the platform is movable from a lowermost position when the dispenser is filled with sheet material to an uppermost position adjacent the lid when the dispenser is more nearly empty of sheet material,

a spring for urging the platform towards the lid, the spring being attached between a central region of the base and a central region of the platform, and

a releasable locking mechanism for holding the platform in a locking position in the lowermost position, the releasable locking mechanism comprising:

a first pair of first arms movably attached to one of the side walls and extending in a direction from the top towards the base of the body, wherein one first arm of the first pair of the first arms has a first top end and a first base end, and another first arm of the first pair of the first arms has a second top end and a second base end,

a second pair of second arms movably attached to the base and extending in a direction from the side wall to which the first pair of the first arms is attached towards a center of the base, wherein one second arm of the second pair of the second arms has a first side wall end and a first locking end, and another second arm of the second pair of the second arms has a second side wall end and a second locking end,

wherein the first side wall end is configured to cooperate with the first base end and the second side wall end is configured to cooperate with the second base end such that a movement of the one first arm and the another first arm respectively causes a movement of the one second arm and the another second arm, the first locking end and the second locking end being configured to releasably interlock respectively with first and second locking portions arranged at the platform to thereby hold the platform in the locking position,

wherein the first and second locking portions of the platform are located closer to the central region of the platform than to an edge portion of the platform,

wherein at least one of the side walls is a double-walled side wall comprising an inner wall and an outer wall, a space being defined between the inner wall and the outer wall, and

wherein at least part of the inner wall is pivotable around a pivot axis to the inside of the body,

wherein the inner wall is fixed to the outer wall via releasable latches;

placing the stack of sheet material via the opening with a trailing face of the stack of sheet material on a supporting surface of the platform;

exerting a force on a leading face of the stack of sheet material opposite to the trailing face to thereby push the platform into the body, in the locking position;

pivoting the lid from the open refilling position into the closed use position to thereby release the platform from the locking position; and

extracting a portion of a leading sheet material from the leading face of the stack of sheet material through the dispensing opening of the lid, to thereby dispense the leading sheet material.

13 . The method according to claim 12 , wherein the pivot axis extends in parallel to the base.

14 . The method according to claim 12 , wherein the pivot axis is arranged at a lower end of the double walled side wall adjacent the base.

15 . The method according to claim 12 , wherein the outer wall is at least partially transparent.

16 . The method according to claim 12 , wherein at least two of the side walls are double-walled side walls, and wherein both inner walls of the respective side walls are pivotable around respective pivot axes to the inside of the body.

17 . The method according to claim 16 , wherein two opposing side walls are double-walled side walls.

18 . The method according to claim 12 , wherein the body has a rectangular shape when seen in a plan view with two long side walls and two short side walls respectively opposing each other, wherein the at least one double-walled side wall is arranged on one of the long side walls.

19 . The method according to claim 12 , wherein the inner wall comprises at least one recess arranged at the upper end thereof.

20 . The method according to claim 12 ,

wherein the method further comprises the steps of:

pivoting the inner wall around the pivot axis to the inside of the body;

inserting a sheet into the space being defined between the inner wall and the outer wall; and

pivoting the inner wall around the pivot axis to the outer wall of the body.

21 . The method according to claim 12 , wherein the lid is moveably attached to at least one of the side walls of the body via a hinge.

22 . The method according to claim 12 , wherein the lid is configured to be reversibly removable and attachable to the body.