Apparatus and method for dispensing sheet material

• US 20050145745A1
• Filed: 12/31/2003
• Published: 07/07/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kimberly-Clark Worldwide Incorporated (Kimberly-Clark Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kimberly-Clark Worldwide Incorporated (Kimberly-Clark Corporation)
• Inventors: Lewis, Richard Paul, Tramontina, Paul Francis, Clark, Gerald L., Kapiloff, David W., Phelps, Stephen L., Johnson, Darrell R.
• Granted Patent: US 7,726,599 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 242/563
• CPC Class Codes: A47K 10/36 with mechanical dispensing, roll switching or cutting devices
• CPC Class Codes: A47K 10/3612 with drive and pinch rollers
• CPC Class Codes: A47K 10/3625 with electronic control means
• CPC Class Codes: A47K 10/38 the web being rolled up with or without tearing edge A47K10/36 and A47K10/46 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A47K 10/3827 with a distribution opening which is parallel to the rotation axis
• CPC Class Codes: A47K 10/3845 with devices preventing the use of non-authorised paper rolls
• CPC Class Codes: A47K 10/424 dispensing from the bottom part of the dispenser A47K10/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A47K 2010/3226 collecting data of usage
• CPC Class Codes: A47K 2010/3668 Detection of the presence of a user
• CPC Class Codes: A47K 5/06 Dispensers for soap
• CPC Class Codes: A47K 5/1209 with chamber in the form of a cylindrical tube
• CPC Class Codes: A47K 5/1217 Electrical control means for the dispensing mechanism

Abstract

A sheet material dispenser includes a controller for automatically controlling the lengths of sheet materials dispensed from a continuous roll by identifying the type of sheet materials on the roll and dispensing suitable lengths of the identified sheet material. The dispenser desirably has a support for rotatably supporting a roll of sheet material carrying identification relating to the type of sheet material on the roll, and an identifier positioned in or adjacent the dispenser for identifying the type of sheet material on the roll. A processor receives data from the identifier, processes the data and generates an output command, and a controller controls the lengths of sheet material dispensed from the roll in response to the output command. In this way, more absorbent products may be dispensed in shorter lengths and less absorbent products may be dispensed in longer lengths.

Claims

1. An apparatus adapted to dispense a web of sheet material from a continuous roll, the apparatus comprising:

a support configured to rotatably support a roll of sheet material which includes identification relating to a type of sheet material on a roll;

an identifier configured to identify the type of sheet material on the roll from the identification;

a processor configured to receive data relating to the type of the sheet material on the roll, the processor further configured to process the data and generate an output command; and

a controller configured to control the length of sheet material dispensed from the roll in response to the output command.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the identifier comprises a reader for reading data from identification on the roll of sheet material.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the reader is designed to read data from a label, a logo, a bar code, a magnetic strip, an RFID tag, or a hologram on the roll of sheet material.

4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the reader is arranged to read data from identification on a core of the roll of sheet material.

5. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the read is arranged to read data from identification on the sheet material.

6. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the identification on the roll of sheet material is encoded, and the apparatus includes a decoder for decoding the encoded data.

7. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the reader is positioned inside of the dispenser.

8. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the reader is positioned adjacent the dispenser.

9. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the reader is arranged to read data from an RFID tag embedded in or attached to a core of the roll of sheet material.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, including an infrared emitter/detector circuit which is arranged to emit infrared light into a core of the roll of sheet material, and to detect reflection of the light off reflective identification on a core of the roll.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the reflective identification is configured such that the reflectivity is controlled, therefore permitting control of total reflected light.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, including electrical contacts which are arranged to engage identification in the form of a conductor on a core of the sheet material roll.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor is arranged to receive data from the identifier, to process the data, to generate an output command, and to transmit the output command to the controller.

14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor includes an algorithm stored in a chip set embedded on a printed circuit board

15. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor is arranged to receive data from the identifier, to process the data, to generate an output command, and to transmit the output command to the controller.

16. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the support is contained within a dispenser housing.

17. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein an activation switch is provided for activating the identifier when the dispenser housing is opened, thereby to allow identification of a roll of sheet material inserted onto the support.

18. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein a deactivation switch is provided for deactivating the identifier after identification of the sheet material on the roll.

19. The apparatus of claim 16, including a delay switch for providing a delay between successive dispensing operations.

20. The apparatus of claim 17, including a lockout switch for preventing operation of the controller when the dispenser housing is open.

21. The apparatus of claim 1, including an electric motor for automatically dispensing the sheet material.

22. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the controller controls the number of revolutions of the electric motor in response to the output command.

23. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein an external sensor is provided for sensing a user'"'"'s hand, and the electric motor is activated so as to dispense sheet material in response to the sensing of the user'"'"'s hand.

24. A roll of sheet material for use in the apparatus of claim 1, the roll including identification which is identifiable by the identifier so as to allow for the controlled dispensing of sheet materials from the roll.

27. The method of claim 24, wherein the identifier comprises a reader, and the step of identifying the type of sheet material on the roll comprises reading data from identification on the roll of sheet material.

32. The method of claim 27, wherein the step of reading data comprises reading data from an RFID tag embedded in or attached to the core of the roll of sheet material.

34. The method of claim 24, including the step of activating the identifier when the dispenser housing is opened so as to allow for identification of the type of sheet material on a roll inserted onto the support.

35. The method of claim 32, including the step of deactivating the identifier after identification of the sheet material on the roll.

36. The method of claim 24, including the step of providing a delay between successive dispensing operations.

37. The method of claim 24, including the step of dispensing the length of sheet material with an electric motor.

38. The method of claim 35, including the step of dispensing the length of sheet material in response to sensing a user'"'"'s hand adjacent the dispenser housing.

39. A roll of sheet material for use in the method of claim 23, the roll including identification which is identifiable by the identifier so as to allow for the controlled dispensing of sheet materials from the roll.

25. A dispenser for dispensing sheet material from a supply roll including identification relating to the type of sheet material on the roll, the dispenser comprising:

a dispenser housing;

a support for rotatably supporting the supply roll within the dispenser housing;

an identifier on or adjacent the support for identifying the type of sheet material on the roll from the identification;

a processor for receiving identification data from the identifier, processing the data and generating an output command; and

a controller for controlling the length of sheet materials dispensed from the supply roll in response to the output command

28. The method of claim 25, wherein the step of reading data comprises reading data from a label, a logo, a bar code, a magnetic strip, a RFID, or a hologram on the roll of sheet material.

29. The method of claim 25, wherein the step of reading data comprises reading data from identification on a core of the roll of sheet material.

30. The method of claim 25, wherein the step of reading data comprises reading data from identification on the sheet material.

31. The method of claim 25, wherein the step of identifying the type of sheet material on the roll includes decoding encoded identification on the roll of sheet material.

33. The method of claim 25, wherein the step of identifying the type of sheet material on the roll comprises emitting infrared light into the core of the sheet material roll, and detecting reflection of the light off reflective identification on the core of the roll.

26. A method of dispensing a web of sheet material from a continuous roll, the method comprising:

providing a roll of sheet material which includes identification relating to a type of sheet material on the roll;

rotatably supporting the roll of sheet material adjacent an identifier in a dispenser housing;

identifying the type of sheet material on the roll;

processing data relating to the type of sheet material on the roll to generate an output command; and

controlling a length of sheet material dispensed from the roll in response to the output command.

40. An apparatus for dispensing a web of sheet material from a continuous roll, the apparatus comprising:

a support for rotatably supporting a roll of sheet material which includes identification relating to the type of sheet material on the roll;

a microcontroller for controlling the length of sheet material dispensed from the roll;

a first network operating in accordance with a predetermined protocol;

a second network comprising a plurality of said microcontrollers;

a gateway operatively coupled to said first network and to said second network; and

an HTTP server embedded in one of said gateway and said plurality microcontrollers.