Claims
- 1. A dispenser for dispensing flexible sheet material, comprising:
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.
- 2. The dispenser of claim 1, wherein said support mechanism includes a finger-operable release handle extending through a wall of said chassis.
- 3. The dispenser of claim 2, wherein said release handle is attached to said chassis through a spring arm that is biased to place said releasable support mechanism in said core retention position.
- 4. The dispenser of claim 3, wherein said spring arm is attached to said chassis at one end and has attached proximate an opposite end said release handle and a mounting hub for supporting a said core.
- 5. The dispenser of claim 1, wherein said cover has a surface that is, in said open position of the cover, inclined for encouraging a core dropped thereon to roll into a forward portion of said cover.
- 6. A dispenser for dispensing flexible sheet material from a roll, comprising:
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.
- 7. The dispenser according to claim 6, further comprising a second support for rotatably supporting a second roll of sheet material having a plurality of spaced apart tear lines defining individual segments of sheet material, and wherein said control means controls said transfer mechanism to transfer feed from said first roll to said second roll upon a detected depletion of the first roll.
- 8. 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.
- 9. The dispenser of claim 8, wherein said cover is pivotally mounted to said chassis.
- 10. The dispenser of claim 8, wherein said predetermined length of sheet material equals a length of material dispensed by said dispenser in subsequent dispensing operations.
Parent Case Info
[0001] This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/092,350, filed on Mar. 7, 2002.
Divisions (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
10092350 |
Mar 2002 |
US |
Child |
10211333 |
Aug 2002 |
US |