Automatic paper product dispenser with data collection and method
AssigneeGPCP IP Holdings LLC
InventorsAbby Catherine Case, David James Gennrich, Scott A. Woods, Chad Anthony Schweitzer
Life of this patent
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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.
Claims20
A dispensing system, comprising:
- a sheet feeding mechanism configured to feed sheet material from a roll of sheet material;
- a separation mechanism for separating one or more discrete sheet products from the roll of sheet material;
- a presentation station for presenting the one or more discrete sheet products to an end user;
- a sheet product conveying mechanism configured to convey the one or more discrete sheet products to the presentation station;
- a sensor downstream of the sheet feeding mechanism and upstream of the sheet product conveying mechanism, the sensor being configured to detect a presence of the sheet material;
- and
- a controller configured to facilitate dispensing of the one or more discrete sheet products to the presentation station in response to a signal, wherein the signal is initiated at a cash register, a display, a keypad, a keyboard, a pointing device, a touch screen display, a control panel, or a microphone.
A method of dispensing sheet products, comprising:
- feeding sheet material from a roll via a sheet feeding mechanism;
- separating one or more discrete sheet products from the roll via a separation mechanism;
- dispensing the one or more discrete sheet products at a presentation station via a sheet product conveying mechanism, in response to a signal received by a controller from a cash register, a display, a keypad, a keyboard, a pointing device, a touch screen display, a control panel, or a microphone;
- and
- detecting a presence of the sheet material via a sensor downstream of the sheet feeding mechanism and upstream of the sheet product conveying mechanism.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.