Rolled web material feed assembly
AssigneeSan Jamar, Inc.
InventorsJarod Sulik, Bernie Ziebart, Tim Larson, Michael Young
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A feed assembly for dispensing rolled web material from a bulk roll of material and that includes a feed drum and a pair of pinch rollers that cooperate with the feed drum. The feed drum and pinch rollers are oriented and constructed to mitigate jamming and/or undesired displacement of the web material as it progresses through the feed assembly. Preferably, a drum guard is disposed between the pinch rollers and is constructed to further mitigate undesired translation of the web material relative to the feed assembly during dispense operations.
Claims12
A feed assembly for use in a rolled web material dispenser, the feed assembly comprising:
- a first support and a second support that are each constructed to be supported by an enclosure of a rolled web material dispenser;
- a feed drum extending between the first support and the second support such that the feed drum is rotational relative thereto;
- a first pinch roller oriented forward of the feed drum and biased toward an exterior surface thereof;
- a second pinch roller oriented generally below the feed drum such that an axis of rotation of the second pinch roller is radially offset from an axis of rotation defined by the first pinch roller and such that an exterior surface of the second pinch roller is translated toward the exterior surface of the feed drum in response to web material passing therebetween;
- a drum guard oriented to extend along a radial portion of a circumference of the feed drum and disposed between the first pinch roller and the second pinch roller;
- and
- a toothed surface formed along a portion of the drum guard oriented toward the second pinch roller.
A method of forming a rolled web material feed assembly, the method comprising:
- providing a feed drum that is rotationally supported between a first mount arm and a second mount arm;
- constructing the first mount arm and the second mount arm to cooperate with a rolled web material dispenser housing;
- providing a first pinch roller and a second pinch roller that are disposed about the feed drum;
- providing a compressible layer on at least one of the first pinch roller and the second pinch roller;
- providing a drum guard that defines at least one radially extending material guide that extends across a radial footprint of the feed drum and is disposed between the first pinch roller and the second pinch roller;
- and
- forming a toothed surface on an edge of the drum guard that is nearer the second pinch roller.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.