Apparatus and methods usable in connection with dispensing flexible sheet material from a roll
First Claim
1. A dispenser for dispensing flexible sheet material, comprising:
- a support for rotatably supporting a roll of sheet material;
a feed mechanism for advancing the sheet material out of the dispenser;
a drive member for driving the feed mechanism, said drive member being movably mounted for movement into and out of engagement with said feed mechanism; and
a hold mechanism for holding said drive member in engagement with said feed mechanism, said hold mechanism being manually releasable to permit said drive member to be moved out of engagement with said feed mechanism.
7 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A powered dispenser for dispensing individual sheet segments from a continuous roll of sheet material provided with spaced tear lines comprises a powered feed mechanism, a releasable, powered drive mechanism, a powered transfer mechanism, a pair of web sensing sensors, a capacitive sensing system providing automatic sensitivity adjustment, and control circuitry. A dual power supply system provides a mechanical lock-out functionality, and the control system is protected from electrostatic build-up on the surface of the feed roller. The web sensor, and an antenna plate of the capacitive sensing system, are provided on respective printed circuit boards mounted in overlying relation. Utilizing signals received from the pair of web sensors and the capacitive sensing system, the control circuitry senses the presence of a user to activate the powered drive mechanism, and prevents further dispensing of the sheet material until a previously dispensed segment is separated from the roll. The web sensors detection of a leading edge of the sheet material initiates a predetermined interval of sheet material advancement providing a proper placement of successive tear lines. Various approaches may be utilized to accommodate inadvertent sheet “tabbing” scenarios. The web sensors, together with the control circuitry, are also used to detect the depletion, or absence, of a working roll of sheet material, whereupon the control circuitry controls the powered transfer mechanism to automatically transfer the web feed supply from a depleted working roll to a reserve roll. The powered transfer mechanism may include a motor driven transfer bar, or provide motor driven release of a spring biased transfer bar. Another arrangement allows for ready release of a roll core, and drop of the same into an open dispenser cover for removal.
154 Citations
87 Claims
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1. A dispenser for dispensing flexible sheet material, comprising:
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a support for rotatably supporting a roll of sheet material;
a feed mechanism for advancing the sheet material out of the dispenser;
a drive member for driving the feed mechanism, said drive member being movably mounted for movement into and out of engagement with said feed mechanism; and
a hold mechanism for holding said drive member in engagement with said feed mechanism, said hold mechanism being manually releasable to permit said drive member to be moved out of engagement with said feed mechanism. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A drive mechanism assembly for selectively engaging with and driving a feed mechanism of a flexible sheet material dispenser, said drive mechanism assembly comprising:
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a motor having a drive shaft;
a drive member attached to said drive shaft, for drivingly engaging a said feed mechanism in an engagement position; and
a carrier retaining therein said motor and drive member, said carrier including a rotatable mounting member for rotatably mounting said motor and drive member to a dispenser chassis for rotation as a unit into and out of said engagement position. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A method of removing a jam from a dispenser for dispensing flexible sheet material, the method comprising:
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detecting a sheet material jam;
disengaging a drive mechanism of said dispenser from a feed mechanism of said dispenser;
clearing said jam from the path of the feed mechanism by rotating said feed mechanism while it is disengaged from said drive mechanism; and
reengaging said drive mechanism with said feed mechanism. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31)
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32. A dispenser for dispensing flexible sheet material, comprising:
- a feed mechanism;
a drive mechanism for selectively driving said feed mechanism;
a control device for controlling said drive mechanism;
a battery container for removably holding at least one battery for powering at least one of said drive mechanism and said control device; and
a power line input port to which a power line may be connected to supply power to at least one of said drive mechanism and said control device in lieu of battery power, said power line input port being arranged in relation to said battery container such that (1) when said battery container is loaded with said at least one battery to supply power to at least one of said drive mechanism and said control device, said line input port is prevented from being connected to a said power line; and
(2) when said battery container is unloaded said power line input port is readily accessible for connection of a said power line. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34)
- a feed mechanism;
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35. A dispenser for dispensing flexible sheet material, comprising:
- a support for rotatably supporting a roll of sheet material;
a feed mechanism for advancing the sheet material from said roll;
a motor for driving the feed mechanism;
a structure defining a discharge chute of the dispenser downstream of said feed mechanism;
a sensor for detecting the presence and absence of sheet material in said discharge chute and outputting respective first signals indicative thereof;
a proximity sensing system including an RF antenna, for detecting the presence of a user'"'"'s hand in close proximity to the dispenser and outputting a second signal indicative thereof; and
a control device for receiving said respective first signals and second signal and controlling said motor to selectively drive said feed mechanism in response thereto;
wherein, said sensor is mounted on a first printed circuit board mounted on said structure adjacent to said discharge slot, and said antenna is mounted on a second printed circuit board mounted on said structure and positioned in overlying relation to the first printed circuit board. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
- a support for rotatably supporting a roll of sheet material;
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41. A dispenser for dispensing flexible sheet material, comprising:
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a support for rotatably supporting a roll of sheet material;
a feed mechanism for advancing the sheet material from said roll;
a motor for driving the feed mechanism;
a structure defining a discharge chute of the dispenser downstream of said feed mechanism;
a transfer mechanism for contacting a leading segment of sheet material extending from a roll and moving said sheet material into a feed nip of said feed mechanism;
a sensor for detecting the presence and absence of sheet material in said discharge chute and outputting respective signals indicative thereof; and
a control device for receiving said respective signals, and controlling said motor to selectively drive said feed mechanism in response thereto to dispense a predetermined length of the sheet material from the point at which a leading edge portion is detected by one of said plurality of sensors, said control device further determining, based upon said signals, a condition wherein a working roll of sheet material is either absent or depleted, and in response to said determination controlling said transfer mechanism to attempt a transfer of feed to a new roll of sheet material. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43, 44, 45, 46)
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47. A dispenser for dispensing flexible sheet material, comprising:
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a support for rotatably supporting a roll of sheet material;
a feed mechanism for advancing the sheet material from said roll;
a motor for driving the feed mechanism;
a plurality of sensors spaced along a width of said sheet material for detecting respective leading edge portions of said sheet material and outputting respective signals indicative thereof; and
a control device for receiving said respective signals and controlling said motor to drive said feed mechanism to dispense a predetermined length of the sheet material from the point at which a leading edge portion is first detected by one of said plurality of sensors. - View Dependent Claims (48, 49, 50, 51)
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52. A dispenser for dispensing flexible sheet material, comprising:
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a support for rotatably supporting a roll of sheet material;
a feed mechanism for advancing the sheet material from said roll;
a motor for driving the feed mechanism;
a sensor for detecting a leading edge portion of said sheet material and outputting a signal indicative thereof;
a measurement device for measuring a first interval of advancement of said feed mechanism terminating with a detection of a leading edge portion by said sensor; and
a control device for receiving signals from said sensor and said measurement device and for controlling said motor to drive said feed mechanism to dispense a predetermined length of the sheet material from a determined initialization point, said control device comprising;
a storage device for storing a nominal measure of said first interval of advancement;
a comparator for comparing a measurement of said measurement device with said nominal value; and
determination means for determining said initialization point for a given dispense cycle based upon an output of said comparator. - View Dependent Claims (53, 54, 55, 56)
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57. A dispenser comprising:
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a housing having a discharge opening;
a support within the housing for supporting a continuous strip of sheet material having a plurality of spaced tear lines defining leading and trailing edges of individual removable segments, with an outer segment having a free leading edge and inner segments which in turn become outer segments as adjoining outer segments are removed;
a feed mechanism for repeatedly moving the sheet material in advancement and retraction intervals, said advancement intervals serving to advance successive outer ones of said segments through the discharge opening and out of the housing, said retraction interval serving to initialize the sheet material for said advancement interval;
a sensor for repeatedly detecting arrival of a said leading edge of retracting sheet material at a first position defining the end of said retraction interval and the beginning of said advancement interval, as sheet material is repeatedly retracted back into the discharge opening; and
a control device for receiving a signal from the sensor indicating a said arrival of a said leading edge at said first position, and for initiating said advancement interval from said first position, said advancement interval terminating when said leading edge of the sheet material has advanced from said first position a predetermined amount, to repeatedly place said spaced tear lines at a second position that is variable downstream of said first position in relation to variations in the lengths of said segments, said second position defining the beginning of a said retraction interval for a next adjacent segment, when it is in turn initialized for said advancement interval.
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58. A dispenser for dispensing flexible sheet material from a roll, comprising:
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a chassis defining a web discharge opening and a feed mechanism for advancing the sheet material to the discharge opening;
a detection system for detecting an absence of sheet material within said feed mechanism;
a transfer mechanism for contacting a leading segment of sheet material extending from a roll and moving said sheet material into a feed nip of said feed mechanism, said transfer mechanism comprising;
a transfer member biased toward said feed nip and into contact with said leading segment of sheet material;
a transfer link movable between a first position wherein said transfer link retains said transfer bar away from said feed nip, against said bias, and a release position wherein said transfer link permits said transfer member to move toward said feed nip under said bias and into contact with said leading segment of sheet material; and
an actuator for driving said transfer link from said first position to said release position; and
control means for electrically activating said actuator to drive said transfer link from said first position to said release position in response to said detection system detecting an absence of sheet material within said feed mechanism. - View Dependent Claims (59, 60, 61, 62, 63)
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64. A dispenser for dispensing flexible sheet material, comprising:
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a chassis defining a gap for passage of a sheet material roll core therethrough;
at least one finger-operable, releasable support mechanism connected to said chassis for rotatably supporting the core above said gap, said support being movable from a core retention position to a core release position for releasing said core into said gap; and
a dispenser cover movably mounted to said chassis for movement between a closed position and an open position, said cover being situated, when in said open position, to receive a said core dropped through said gap. - View Dependent Claims (65, 66, 67, 68)
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69. A proximity sensor circuit, comprising:
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an antenna having a baseline stray capacitance;
an oscillator circuit coupled to the antenna and generating an oscillation signal having a predetermined oscillation amplitude corresponding to the baseline stray capacitance of the antenna, the oscillation amplitude of the oscillation signal increasing in response to an increase in stray capacitance from the baseline stray capacitance of the antenna and decreasing in response to a decrease in stray capacitance from the baseline stray capacitance of the antenna; and
an automatic sensitivity control circuit coupled to the oscillator circuit and detecting a change in the oscillation amplitude of the oscillator signal, the automatic sensitivity control circuit controlling the amplitude of the oscillator signal to counteract a change in stray capacitance from the baseline stray capacitance of the antenna and maintaining the oscillation amplitude of the oscillator signal at the predetermined oscillation amplitude to provide a substantially constant sensitivity to changes in stray capacitance from the baseline stray capacitance of the antenna. - View Dependent Claims (70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75)
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76. A method for providing substantially constant sensitivity for sensing changes in a baseline stray capacitance to an antenna, the method comprising steps of:
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generating an oscillation signal coupled to the antenna and having a predetermined oscillation amplitude corresponding to the baseline stray capacitance of the antenna, the oscillation amplitude of the oscillation signal increasing in response to an increase in stray capacitance from the baseline stray capacitance of the antenna and decreasing in response to a decrease in stray capacitance from the baseline stray capacitance of the antenna;
detecting a change in the oscillation amplitude of the oscillator signal;
controlling the amplitude of the oscillator signal to counteract the detected change in stray capacitance from the baseline stray capacitance of the antenna; and
maintaining the oscillation amplitude of the oscillator signal at the predetermined oscillation amplitude to provide a substantially constant sensitivity to changes in stray capacitance from the baseline stray capacitance of the antenna. - View Dependent Claims (77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82)
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83. A dispenser for dispensing flexible sheet material from a roll, comprising:
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a support for rotatably supporting a roll of sheet material having a plurality of spaced apart tear lines defining individual segments of sheet material;
a feed mechanism for advancing sheet material from said roll;
a motor for driving the feed mechanism;
a transfer mechanism for transferring a leading portion of a leading segment of said sheet material into said feed mechanism, such that said leading portion is folded over during said transfer to form a folded-over edge portion;
a sensor for detecting a leading edge of said sheet material;
control means for controlling application of power to said motor to drive said feed mechanism so as to carry out dispensing operations wherein predetermined lengths of sheet material are dispensed from leading edges of said sheet material detected by said first sensor, said control means further controlling operation of said transfer mechanism;
wherein, in a first dispensing operation carried out by said control device following an operation of said transfer mechanism, said control device controls said motor so as to carry out an initial dispensing operation wherein a first predetermined length of sheet material is dispensed from the point at which the leading edge is detected by said sensor, and to carry out subsequent dispensing operations wherein a second predetermined length of sheet material larger than said first predetermined length is dispensed from the point at which subsequent leading edges are detected by said sensor, the difference between said first predetermined length and said second predetermined length corresponding approximately to a length of said folded-over portion, such that a said tear line between said first segment of sheet material and a second segment of sheet material is, following the initial dispensing operation, positioned between said feed mechanism and said first sensor, and subsequent tear lines between subsequent segments of the sheet material are positioned between said feed mechanism and said first sensor, following subsequent dispensing operations. - View Dependent Claims (84)
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85. A dispenser for dispensing flexible sheet material, comprising:
- a chassis;
a support for rotatably supporting a roll of sheet material within said chassis;
a feed mechanism for advancing the sheet material;
a motor for driving the feed mechanism;
a dispenser cover movably mounted with respect to said chassis for movement between a closed position and an open position, said cover having a surface defining a dispensing slot, said surface moving into overlying registry with a discharge slot-defining portion of said chassis when said cover is moved into said closed position, such that a leading segment of sheet material extending from said discharge slot when said cover is in said open position may become lodged between said cover and said chassis when said cover is moved to said closed position;
a sensor for sensing when said cover is in said open position and when said cover is in said closed position, and outputting a signal indicative thereof;
a control device for controlling said motor to drive said feed mechanism so as to dispense a predetermined length of the sheet material in response to said sensor indicating that said cover has been moved to said closed position, said predetermined length of sheet material being sufficient to cause a said leading segment of sheet material lodged between said chassis and said cover to loop out of the dispensing slot formed in said cover. - View Dependent Claims (86, 87)
- a chassis;
Specification