AUTOMATIC PAPER PRODUCT DISPENSER WITH DATA COLLECTION AND METHOD

• US 20150090832A1
• Filed: 10/01/2013
• Published: 04/02/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/01/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GPCP IP Holdings LLC
• Original Assignee: Georgia-Pacific Consumer Products LP (KOCH Industries Incorporated)
• Inventors: Gennrich, David James, Case, Abby Catherine, Woods, Scott A., Schweitzer, Chad Anthony
• Granted Patent: US 9,604,811 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 242/562
• CPC Class Codes: A47K 10/3612 with drive and pinch rollers
• CPC Class Codes: A47K 10/3618 The drive roller pressing against the paper roll
• CPC Class Codes: A47K 10/3625 with electronic control means
• CPC Class Codes: A47K 10/44 with mechanical dispensing means for prehension of the next sheet to be dispensed
• 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: B65H 16/005 Dispensers, i.e. machines for unwinding only parts of web roll
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2220/02 indicating an entity which is controlled, adjusted or changed by a control process, i.e. output
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2511/11 Length
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2551/10 Command input means
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2553/27 Electro mechanical thermal sensors, e.g. thermocouples, pyroelectric sensors, temperature sensitive sensor
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 26/06 responsive to predetermined lengths of webs
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2701/1924 Napkins or tissues, e.g. dressings, toweling, serviettes, kitchen paper and compresses
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2801/12 Single-function printing machines, typically table-top machines
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 35/10 from or with devices for breaking partially-cut or perforated webs, e.g. bursters
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 45/142 Pocket-type folders
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 11/045 for sheet shaped or pliable articles
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 225/321 Preliminary weakener
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 225/393 Web restrainer

Abstract

Sheet product dispensers and methods are provided. A sheet product dispenser includes a loading station for sheet material, a sheet feeding mechanism configured to feed the sheet material, a presentation station for presenting one or more discrete sheet products to an end user, a sensor downstream of the feeding mechanism and upstream of the presentation station configured to detect a presence of the discrete sheet products, and a controller configured to facilitate dispensing of the one or more discrete sheet products in response to a signal, and to determine and store data associated with the dispensing of the sheet products.

Claims

1. A sheet product dispenser, comprising:

a loading station for loading sheet material;

a sheet feeding mechanism configured to feed the sheet material;

a presentation station for presenting one or more discrete sheet products of the sheet material to an end user;

a sensor downstream of the sheet feeding mechanism and upstream of the presentation station, the sensor being configured to detect a presence of the discrete sheet products; and

a controller configured to facilitate dispensing of the one or more discrete sheet products to the presentation station in response to a signal, the controller also being configured to receive and store data,

wherein the data comprises;

a number of requested discrete sheet products associated with the signal, a number of discrete sheet products detected by the sensor, a time at which the one or more discrete sheet products are detected by the sensor, a time at which the signal is received by the controller, an amount of time between the signal being received by the controller and the one or more discrete sheet products being detected by the sensor, or a combination thereof.

2. The dispenser of claim 1, wherein:

the sheet material comprises a roll of sheet material;

the dispenser further comprises;

a separation mechanism for separating discrete sheet products from the sheet material; and

a sheet product conveying mechanism configured to convey the discrete sheet products to the presentation station; and

the sensor is upstream of the sheet product conveying mechanism.

3. The dispenser of claim 2, wherein the sheet product conveying mechanism comprises a pair of pinch rollers.

4. The dispenser of claim 1, wherein the sensor is an infrared sensor.

5. The dispenser of claim 1, further comprising a user interface configured to transmit the signal to the controller.

6. The dispenser of claim 5, wherein:

the user interface comprises a hand-wave sensor, and

the controller is configured to facilitate dispensing of a predetermined number of discrete sheet products in response to the signal.

7. The dispenser of claim 6, further comprising an internal rotary switch configured to be set to the predetermined number of discrete sheet products to be dispensed in response to the signal.

8. The dispenser of claim 6, wherein the number of requested discrete sheet products associated with the signal is the predetermined number of discrete sheet products to be dispensed in response to the signal.

9. The dispenser of claim 5, wherein:

the user interface comprises one or more buttons, each button being associated with a predetermined number of discrete sheet products to be dispensed in response to the signal, and

the controller is configured to facilitate dispensing of the predetermined number of discrete sheet products associated with a selected button in response to the signal being transmitted from the selected button.

10. The dispenser of claim 9, wherein the number of requested discrete sheet products associated with the signal is the predetermined number of discrete sheet products to be dispensed from the selected button.

11. The dispenser of claim 1, further comprising a second sensor configured to detect an absence of discrete sheet products at the presentation station, and transmit the signal to the controller upon detection of the absence of discrete sheet products at the presentation station, wherein the controller is configured to facilitate dispensing of a predetermined number of discrete sheet products in response to the signal.

12. The dispenser of claim 11, wherein the number of requested discrete sheet products associated with the signal is the predetermined number of discrete sheet products to be dispensed in response to the signal.

13. The dispenser of claim 11, wherein the data further comprises the time between the discrete sheet products entering the presentation station and the absence of discrete sheet products at the presentation station.

14. The dispenser of claim 1, further comprising a motor operably connected to the controller and configured to drive the sheet feeding mechanism in response to the signal, wherein the data further comprises:

a time at which the motor is turned on, a time at which the motor is turned off, a time between the motor bring turned on and the motor bring turned off, or a combination thereof.

15. The dispenser of claim 14, wherein:

the data comprises the number of requested discrete sheet products associated with the signal and the number of discrete sheet products detected by the sensor, and

the controller is configured to compare the number of requested discrete sheet products associated with the signal and the number of discrete sheet products detected by the sensor, and turn off the motor when the number of discrete sheet products detected by the sensor matches the number of requested discrete sheet products associated with the signal.

16. The dispenser of claim 3, further comprising a folding station for folding the discrete sheet products prior to presentation, the folding station comprising a buckle chamber adjacent to the pair of pinch rollers, such that a portion of the sheet material enters the buckle chamber and a fold in the sheet material is forced through the pair of pinch rollers.

17. The dispenser of claim 2, wherein:

the sheet material is perforated, and

the separation mechanism comprises the sheet feeding mechanism being driven at a first speed and the sheet product conveying mechanism being driven at a second speed, the second speed being higher than the first speed.

18. The dispenser of claim 1, wherein the data is stored in a text line item format.

19. The dispenser of claim 1, wherein the sheet material comprises a stack of discrete sheet products.

20. A method of dispensing sheet products, comprising:

feeding a sheet material via a sheet feeding mechanism;

dispensing one or more discrete sheet products to an end user at a presentation station, in response to a signal received by a controller;

detecting a presence of the discrete sheet products via a sensor downstream of the sheet feeding mechanism and upstream of the presentation station; and

collecting and storing data comprising;

a number of requested discrete sheet products associated with the signal, a number of discrete sheet products detected by the sensor, a time at which the one or more discrete sheet products are detected by the sensor, a time at which the signal is received by the controller, an amount of time between the signal being received by the controller and the one or more discrete sheet products being detected by the sensor, or a combination thereof.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein:

the sheet material is fed from a roll;

the method further comprises separating discrete sheet products from the roll;

the one or more discrete sheet products are dispensed via a sheet product conveying mechanism; and

the sensor is upstream of the sheet product conveying mechanism.

22. The method of claim 20, further comprising transmitting the signal to the controller from a user interface.

23. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

detecting an absence of discrete sheet products at the presentation station; and

transmitting the signal to the controller upon detection of the absence of discrete sheet products at the presentation station,

wherein the dispensing comprises dispensing a predetermined number of discrete sheet products in response to the signal.

24. The method of claim 20, further comprising folding the one or more discrete sheet products by feeding a portion of the sheet material to a buckle chamber adjacent to the sheet product conveying mechanism and forcing a fold in the sheet material through the sheet product conveying mechanism, wherein the sheet product conveying mechanism comprises a pair of pinch rollers.

25. A system for dispensing sheet products, comprising:

at least one memory that stores computer-executable instructions; and

at least one controller configured to access the at least one memory, wherein the at least one controller is configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to;

receive, from an interface, a signal indicative of a request for a number of discrete sheet products to be dispensed to an end user at a presentation station;

direct, in response to receipt of the signal, the feeding of a sheet material via a sheet feeding mechanism;

receive, from a sensor downstream of the sheet feeding mechanism and upstream of the presentation station, a detection indicator indicative of detection of a presence of a discrete sheet product by the sensor;

determine data comprising;

a number of requested discrete sheet products associated with the signal, a number of discrete sheet products detected by the sensor, a time at which one or more discrete sheet products are detected by the sensor, a time at which the signal is received by the at least one controller, an amount of time between the signal being received by the at least one controller and the one or more discrete sheet products being detected by the sensor, or a combination thereof; and

direct the storage, in one or more data stores, of at least a portion of the data.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein the one or more data stores comprise at least a portion of the at least one memory.

27. The system of claim 25, wherein the at least one controller is configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to direct the storage, in one or more data stores, of at least a portion of the data in a text line item format.

28. The system of claim 25, wherein the interface comprises a user interface configured to transmit the signal, and the number of requested discrete sheet products associated with the signal is a predetermined number of discrete sheet products to be dispensed in response to the signal.

29. The system of claim 25, wherein:

the interface comprises a second sensor configured to detect an absence of discrete sheet products at the presentation station and transmit the signal to the at least one controller upon detection of the absence of discrete sheet products at the presentation station;

the number of requested discrete sheet products associated with the signal is a predetermined number of discrete sheet products to be dispensed in response to the signal; and

the data further comprises the time between the discrete sheet products entering the presentation station and the absence of discrete sheet products at the presentation station.

30. The system of claim 25, wherein:

the at least one controller is configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to direct a motor operably connected to the at least one controller to drive the sheet feeding mechanism in response to the signal; and

the data further comprises;

a time at which the motor is turned on, a time at which the motor is turned off, a time between the motor bring turned on and the motor bring turned off, or a combination thereof.

31. The system of claim 30, wherein:

the data comprises the number of requested discrete sheet products associated with the signal and the number of discrete sheet products detected by the sensor; and

the at least one controller is configured is configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to compare the number of requested discrete sheet products associated with the signal and the number of discrete sheet products detected by the sensor, and direct stoppage of the motor when the number of discrete sheet products detected by the sensor matches the number of requested discrete sheet products associated with the signal.

32. A method for dispensing sheet products, comprising:

receiving from an interface, by at least one controller configured to access at least one memory, a signal indicative of a request for a number of discrete sheet products to be dispensed to an end user at a presentation station;

directing, by the at least one controller, in response to receipt of the signal, the feeding of a sheet material via a sheet feeding mechanism;

receiving, by the at least one controller, from a sensor downstream of the sheet feeding mechanism and upstream of the presentation station, a detection indicator indicative of detection of a presence of a discrete sheet product by the sensor;

determining, by the at least one controller, data comprising;

a number of requested discrete sheet products associated with the signal, a number of discrete sheet products detected by the sensor, a time at which one or more discrete sheet products are detected by the sensor, a time at which the signal is received by the at least one controller, an amount of time between the signal being received by the at least one controller and the one or more discrete sheet products being detected by the sensor, or a combination thereof; and

directing, by the at least one controller, the storage, in one or more data stores, of at least a portion of the data.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein:

directing the feeding of a sheet material via a sheet feeding mechanism comprises directing a motor operably connected to the at least one controller to drive the sheet feeding mechanism in response to the signal; and

the data further comprises;

a time at which the motor is turned on, a time at which the motor is turned off, a time between the motor bring turned on and the motor bring turned off, or a combination thereof.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein:

the data comprises the number of requested discrete sheet products associated with the signal and the number of discrete sheet products detected by the sensor; and

the method further comprises;

comparing, by the at least one controller, the number of requested discrete sheet products associated with the signal and the number of discrete sheet products detected by the sensor; and

directing stoppage, by the at least one controller, of the motor when the number of discrete sheet products detected by the sensor matches the number of requested discrete sheet products associated with the signal.