Paper towel dispensing apparatus

A system for dispensing paper towels from a continuous roll of paper towel material comprising:

• an enclosure assembly defining an enclosure chamber and an outlet opening and having a door member for allowing selective access to said enclosure chamber;
• a roll support assembly for supporting said roll within said enclosure chamber such that an end of said paper towel material extends through said outlet opening;
• a drum member having a cylindrical surface, said drum member mounted to said enclosure assembly such that said drum member is rotatable relative to said enclosure assembly about a drum axis, said drum member positioned so that said paper towel material passes over said drum member and, when said paper towel material is pulled by a user, said paper towel material frictionally engages said drum member and causes said drum member to rotate about said drum axis, said drum member having an elongated slot along a length of said cylindrical surface;
• tensioning means for holding said sheet material against said drum member, wherein said tensioning means includes at least one tensioning wheel arranged between said roll and said drum member such that said roll is in contact with said at least one tensioning wheel and said at least one tensioning wheel is contact with said drum;
• and
• a cutting assembly attached to said drum member such that said cutting assembly is capable of moving between a retracted position in which said cutting assembly is entirely within said drum member and a cutting position in which said cutting assembly at least partly extends out of said drum member.