Dispenser for rolled sheet materials with cutting system

A dispenser that dispenses a flexible, rolled sheet material, comprising:

• a dispenser housing;
• a supply of the sheet material supported within the housing for feeding the sheet material along a path of travel defined through the housing;
• a feed roller rotatably mounted within the housing and arranged along the path of travel of the sheet material, the feed roller comprising a body that engages the sheet material to pull the sheet material from the supply so as to dispense a selected amount of the sheet material therefrom;
• a drive mechanism substantially integrated within the body of the feed roller, the drive mechanism comprising a motor at least partially received within and located along an interior portion of the body of feed roller and a gear assembly that includes one or more gears coupled to the body of the feed roller and to the motor so as to operatively link the motor to the body of the feed roller for driving rotation of the feed roller about the motor to dispense the selected amount of the sheet material;
• one or more pressing rollers positioned adjacent the feed roller and biased toward the body of the feed roller sufficient to engage the sheet material between the one or more pressing rollers and the feed roller;
• a cutting mechanism arranged along the body of the feed roller, the cutting mechanism comprising a cutting blade that is operatively connected to the body of the feed roller and is actuated with rotation thereof to at least partially cut or perforate a selected portion of the sheet material as the sheet material is dispensed;
• a motor housing attached to a portion of the dispenser housing and extending at least partially into the body of the feed roller, the motor housing including a chamber that at least partially receives the motor for mounting the motor within the body of the feed roller, wherein the motor housing includes at least one portion disposed along an exterior surface thereof that is engaged by the cutting mechanism upon rotation of the body of the feed roller to activate the cutting mechanism to selectively cut or perforate the selected portion of the sheet material as it is dispensed;
• and
• wherein the gear assembly is a clutch assembly configured to selectively couple the motor to the feed roller so as to drive rotation of the feed roller upon actuation of the motor, and uncouple the motor and the feed roller for manual rotation of the feed roller.