APPARATUS FOR DISPENSING SHEET MATERIAL
0 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
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.
-
Citations
49 Claims
-
1-25. -25. (canceled)
-
26. 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 an identification relating to absorbent characteristics of sheet material on the roll; electrical contacts arranged to engage the identification in the form of a conductor on a core of the roll of sheet material; an identifier configured to identify the absorbent characteristics of sheet material on the roll from the identification; a processor configured to receive data relating to the absorbent characteristics 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. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46)
-
-
47. A dispenser for dispensing sheet material from a supply roll including an identification relating to absorbent characteristics of sheet material on the roll, the dispenser comprising:
-
a dispenser housing; a support for rotatably supporting the supply roll within the dispenser housing; electrical contacts arranged to engage the identification in the form of a conductor on a core of the roll of sheet material; an identifier on or adjacent the support for identifying the absorbent characteristics 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.
-
-
48. 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 absorbent characteristics of sheet material on the roll; electrical contacts arranged to engage the identification in the form of a conductor on a core of the roll of sheet material; a first network operating in accordance with a predetermined protocol; a second network comprising a plurality of 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.
-
-
49. 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; electrical contacts arranged to engage the identification in the form of a conductor on a core of the roll of sheet material; 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.
-
Specification