Printed receipt severing

A fuel dispenser including a printed receipt dispensing and cutting apparatus comprising:

• a. apparatus for dispensing fuel and metering apparatus to monitor the amount of fuel dispensed,
• b. a roll of paper to be printed with information, said paper being unperforated at locations to be cut and having a curl in the same sense as its residence on the roll so that the paper has an inside face inside the curl,
• c. a printer to print information related to the amount of fuel dispensed and including a positive drive mechanism to project said paper along a guide path to an exit chute in a housing, said positive drive mechanism operating in a manner that does not negate said curl, said guide path being defined at least in part by a curved plate so that the projection of the paper will encounter said curved plate and be guided to said exit chute to exit said housing,
• d. a cutting mechanism adjacent said guide path including a blade with a centrally peaked ridge substantially parallel to said guide path and angled to said exit chute, said blade facing said inside face of said paper, and
• e. said guide path and said exit chute being angled to one another, and the curl of the paper being in the same sense as said angle between said guide path and said exit chute,
• whereby paper projected along said guide path by said positive drive mechanism passes over said blade and through said exit chute to exit said housing in an untensioned condition and a subsequent application of tension to the projected paper exposes the tensioned paper to said blade to cut the paper.

A paper cutting apparatus for cutting elongated paper comprising:

• a. a roll of paper from which the paper is dispensed so that the paper is unperforated at locations to be cut and has a curl in the same sense as its residence on the roll, the paper has an inside face inside the curl, and the paper is dispensed in a manner that does not negate said curl,
• b. an elongated paper guide path,
• c. a blade adjacent to and generally parallel to said guide path having an edge along a line that is not a straight line and is located on a surface substantially equidistant from a paper pinch point upstream of said edge, said blade facing said inside face of said paper,
• whereby paper projected along said guide path passes against said blade in an untensioned condition and a subsequent application of tension to the projected paper tensions said paper to said blade edge to cut the paper with substantially straight cut.

A method of dispensing and cutting paper comprising:

• a. passing curled paper having an inside face inside its curl to be dispensed and cut
• 1) along a guide path in a manner that does not negate said curl;
• 2) past a blade that faces the inside face of the curl, said blade being generally parallel to the guide path and having an edge along a line that is not a straight line and that is located on a surface substantially equidistant from a paper pinch point upstream of the edge
• 3) to an exit downstream of the guide path, and
• b. applying tension to the paper at the exit to tension the paper against the edge to cut the paper at an unperforated location with a substantially straight cut.