US 2017/0290471 A1 · SHEET PRODUCT DISPENSER

Abstract

Some example product dispensers that accommodate two full paper towel rolls are provided herein. The product dispenser may employ separate dispensing mechanisms for each product roll and may include roll holders that articulate out from the housing to facilitate easy loading and access to replacement and loading of the other product roll. A roll partition may be utilized to separate the web paths of the two product rolls and enable rotation of front roll holders. Example funnel covers and nip covers can aid with intuitive installation. Example roll holders with retention mechanisms help prevent unintentional dropping of the installed product roll. Other beneficial features include utilizing motor operation sensing to dispense a desired sheet length, automatic/assisted loading into the dispensing mechanism, automatic switching between dispensing of product rolls, and always dispensing from the smaller product roll first. Many other features/structures of example product dispensers are also described herein.

Claims33

Dependent claims

A sheet product dispenser comprising:

a first roll holder configured to support a first product roll;
a second roll holder configured to support a second product roll;
a housing including a base portion and a cover, wherein the cover is movable relative to the base portion to define an open position and a closed position, wherein the housing is sized such that a full size first product roll and a full size second product roll fit within the housing when the cover is in the closed position;
a first dispensing mechanism configured to receive sheet product of the first product roll and dispense a portion of the sheet product of the first product roll;
a second dispensing mechanism configured to receive sheet product of the second product roll and dispense a portion of the sheet product of the second product roll;
and
wherein the second roll holder is movable between a first position and a second position spaced from the first position, wherein the second roll holder is configured to move separately from the cover.

4 more elements

A sheet product dispenser comprising:

a first roll holder configured to support a first product roll;
a second roll holder configured to support a second product roll, a housing including a base portion and a cover, wherein the cover is movable relative to the base portion to define an open position and a closed position, wherein the housing is sized such that a full size first product roll and a full size second product roll fit within the housing when the cover is in the closed position;
a first dispensing mechanism configured to receive sheet product of the first product roll and dispense a portion of the sheet product of the first product roll;
a second dispensing mechanism configured to receive sheet product of the second product roll and dispense a portion of the sheet product of the second product roll;
and
wherein the second roll holder is movable between a first position and a second position spaced from the first position, wherein the second roll holder is configured to enable a user to load the sheet product of the second product roll into the second dispensing mechanism when in the first position, and wherein the second roll holder is configured to enable the user to load the sheet product of the first product roll into the first dispensing mechanism when in the second position.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Sheet product dispenser

Life of this patent

Sheet product dispenser

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims33