DISPENSER FOR ROLLED SHEET MATERIALS WITH MOTORIZED SPINDLE

摘要

An electronic dispenser for dispensing flexible sheet material may include a driven feed roller assembly that is operable to dispense the sheet material though a discharge chute of a housing of the dispenser. The feed roller assembly can comprise a feed roller rotatably mounted within the dispenser housing that includes a body having an outer surface against which the sheet material is engaged to feed the sheet material toward the discharge chute, as well as a drive mechanism that is substantially integrated within the body of the feed roller and operable to drive the feed roller. The dispenser also may include one or more pressing rollers biased toward the body of the feed roller so as to engage the sheet material therebetween, and a control system linked to the drive mechanism to control the operation thereof.

主权项

1. An electronic dispenser for dispensing a flexible, rolled sheet material, comprising:
a housing including a support at least partially supporting a supply of the sheet material, and a discharge through which the sheet material is discharged from the dispenser, wherein a feed path is defined through the housing, along which the sheet material is fed from the supply to the discharge; a driven feed roller assembly arranged along the feed path of the sheet material and operable to dispense a selected amount of the sheet material though the discharge, the driven feed roller assembly comprising a feed roller rotatably mounted within the housing and including a body having an outer surface against which the sheet material is engaged to feed the sheet material toward the discharge as the feed roller is driven, and at least one drive mechanism including a motor substantially integrated within the body of the feed roller and operable to drive rotation of the feed roller; one or more pressing rollers positioned along the feed path for the sheet material and adjacent the feed roller so as to engage the sheet material therebetween; and a control system linked to the at least one drive mechanism of the driven feed roller assembly and including one or more sensors located about the housing, wherein the control system controls the operation of the at least one drive mechanism so as to rotate the feed roller in response to a signal from at least one of the sensors to dispense the sheet material from the housing.