Method and apparatus for controlling a dispenser to conserve towel dispensed therefrom
First Claim
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1. A method for controlling operation of an automatic towel dispenser to conserve the overall amount of towel dispensed comprising:
- dispensing from the dispenser a full length of towel responsive to a first user request;
if a further user request occurs within a preset time, dispensing from the dispenser a partial length of towel; and
if the further user request occurs after the preset time, dispensing from the dispenser a full length of towel,whereby the difference between the partial length of towel actually dispensed and the full length of towel represents conserved towel.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Towel dispensing methods and automatic towel dispensers permitting conservation of the overall amount of towel dispensed. The towel dispensing methods and towel dispensers limit the amount of towel dispensed in dispense cycles which occur shortly after an initial dispense cycle. The user is provided with sufficient towel to meet the user'"'"'s needs while reducing overall towel usage and limiting towel waste.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for controlling operation of an automatic towel dispenser to conserve the overall amount of towel dispensed comprising:
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dispensing from the dispenser a full length of towel responsive to a first user request; if a further user request occurs within a preset time, dispensing from the dispenser a partial length of towel; and if the further user request occurs after the preset time, dispensing from the dispenser a full length of towel, whereby the difference between the partial length of towel actually dispensed and the full length of towel represents conserved towel. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. An automatic towel dispenser comprising:
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a housing adapted to receive a roll of towel; an electrically-powered dispensing mechanism adapted to dispense the towel from the dispenser; and a controller operable to control the dispensing mechanism to; dispense a full length of towel responsive to a first user request; dispense a partial length of towel responsive to a further user request if the further user request is made within a preset time; and dispense a full length of towel responsive to the further user request if the further user request is made after the preset time, whereby the dispenser conserves the towel dispensed by limiting the length of towel dispensed responsive to a user request made within the preset time. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A towel dispenser comprising:
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a dispenser housing adapted to receive a roll of towel; an electrically-powered dispensing mechanism adapted to dispense the towel from the dispenser; and a processing device programmed with instructions that, when executed, perform a method for dispensing the towel from the dispenser to conserve an overall length of towel dispensed from the dispenser, the method comprising; operating the dispensing mechanism to dispense a full length of towel responsive to a first user request; if a further user request occurs within a preset time, operating the dispensing mechanism to dispense a partial length of towel; and if the further user request occurs after the preset time, operating the dispensing mechanism to dispense a full length of towel. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification