Dispenser for rolled sheet materials with motorized spindle

An electronic dispenser for dispensing a flexible, rolled sheet material, comprising:

• a housing including a support to support a supply of the sheet material, and a discharge through which the sheet material is discharged from the dispenser, wherein a feed path for the sheet material is defined through the housing, along which the sheet material is fed from the supply of the sheet material to the discharge, wherein the supply is at a first position and the discharge is at a second position;
• a driven feed roller assembly arranged along the feed path for 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 with a body having an outer surface to engage the sheet material at a third position between the first position and the second position 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;
• wherein the feed roller and the one or more pressing rollers are configured to engage only unwound sheet material along the feed path without touching the supply of the sheet material;
• and
• a control system having a controller 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 one or more sensors to dispense the sheet material from the housing,
• wherein the drive mechanism further comprises a gear assembly configured to transfer power between the motor and the feed roller, wherein the gear assembly comprises an involute spline gear assembly, wherein the involute spline gear assembly includes a first gear connected to a driveshaft of the motor, and a second gear connected to an interior surface of the body of the feed roller, the first gear being at least partially received within a cavity defined by the second gear.