US Patent 7997522 Center-pull paper towel dispenser

A center-pull dispenser for dispensing paper towels from a continuous roll, wherein each individual towel is separated from an adjoining towel by a plurality of perforations. The dispenser comprises a housing having a housing back and a detachable front cover hingedly connected thereto at the lower periphery of said housing back and front cover for opening and closing the housing, a paper support tray removably connected to a lower portion of the housing back and having a centrally located dispensing nozzle, an opening in the lower periphery of the housing through which the towels are dispensed, a detachable wall-mounting member for removably mounting the housing back to a wall, and a locking member for releasably locking the front cover to the housing back and the housing back to the wall-mounting member. In one embodiment, the housing cannot be removed from the wall-mounting member without first unlocking the locking member, and the housing and the housing back are removable from the wall without removing the wall-mounting member from the wall. In another embodiment, the paper support tray comprises locking arms for releasably locking first hinge elements on the lower periphery of said front cover against second hinge elements on the lower periphery of said housing back.