Apparatus for the cutting and simultaneous dispensing of a web of roll material

An apparatus for successively cutting and simultaneously distributing sections from a web of roll material, the apparatus having a casing, a carrier for a roll of material mounted in the casing, a rotatable drum in said casing, said carrier being urged towards said drum such that the roll of material is frictionally engaged with the drum to cause the drum to be driven in rotation by manual traction applied to a free end of the material extending from the casing, said drum having opposite ends, a profiled pawl supported at one of the ends of the drum, elastic means positioned to engage said pawl for braking the rotation of said drum and halting the drum after one revolution thereof, an eccentric lever mounted at the other end of said drum for rotation therewith, energy storage means engaging said lever for resisting rotation of the drum during an initial period of rotation thereof while storing energy and then driving the drum in rotation by the stored energy, and cutting means for cutting the material on said drum, an improvement wherein said drum is hollow, said cutting means comprising a cutting member pivotably mounted in said drum for movement between operative and inoperative positions, cam means for pivotably moving the cutting member to its operative position by the drive of the drum, said drum having a slot therein, said cutting member being retracted in said drum in said inoperative position and projecting from said slot in said operative position, said cutting member being displaced by said cam means under the drive of the drum along a trajectory in the same direction of rotation of the drum to reach said operative position and cut the material to free a section thereof for release under the manual traction in the course of rotation of the drum.