Rolled sheet material dispenser with protected sheet cutting means

A portable dispenser from which sheet material may be dispensed from a supply of the sheet material in a roll having an axis and axially spaced end surfaces, said dispenser comprising:

• a frame including a bridging portion having opposite ends and an edge extending between said ends, said bridging portion being adapted to extend along a portion of the periphery of the roll to position said ends at the end surfaces of the roll, said frame further including end wall portions fixed to the ends of said bridging portion and adapted to extend along the opposite end surfaces of the roll of sheet material;
• said dispenser including means for journaling the roll of sheet material for rotation about the axis of the roll on said end wall portions to position the end surfaces of the roll adjacent said end walls with said bridging portion extending along the periphery of the roll;
• an elongate blade having opposite major surfaces extending between opposite first and second elongate edges of the blade, with a portion of said blade defining a sharp cutting edge along said first elongate edge of the blade adapted for transversely cutting the sheet material, said blade being fixed to said bridging portion of the frame adjacent said edge of the bridging portion with said cutting edge transverse to said path and with a major part of said bridging portion on the side of said blade opposite said edge of the bridging portion, with said portion of said blade defining said cutting edge adjacent the axis of the roll, and with the major surface of said blade adjacent said major part of said bridging portion disposed at an angle of more than about 110 degrees with respect to a plane passing through the axis of the roll and generally through said cutting edge to restrict contact with said cutting edge by a person using the dispenser;
• and
• a strip of resiliently compressible material extending along the major surface of said blade adjacent said major part of said bridging portion, said strip of resiliently compressible material having a contact surface normally extending along said sharp cutting edge, and said strip being resiliently compressible by pulling said sheet material toward said cutting edge to allow said cutting edge to transversely sever the sheet material being dispensed from the dispenser.