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US 6,892,620 B2Granted
Electro-mechanical roll product dispenser
AssigneeKimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc.
InventorDavid Kapiloff
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An electro-mechanical roll towel dispenser includes a housing with a roll carrier disposed therein to rotationally support a roll of towel material. An electro-mechanical feed mechanism is disposed in the housing to dispense measured sheets of the towel material. The feed mechanism operates in a first mechanical operational mode wherein the towel sheets are dispensed by a user grasping and pulling on a tail of the towel material extending from the housing, and a second electrical operational mode wherein a measured length of a next sheet is automatically and electrically fed out of the housing to define the tail for the next user.
Claims22
An electro-mechanical roll towel dispenser for dispensing measured towel sheets from a roll of the towel material, comprising:
- a housing, and a roll carrier disposed in said housing to rotationally support the roll of towel material, said housing further comprising a dispensing slot defined therein through which measured sheets of the towel material are dispensed;
- an electro-mechanical feed mechanism disposed in said housing to dispense the sheets of towel material therefrom, said feed mechanism having a first mechanical operational state wherein a sheet of towel material is dispensed by a user grasping and pulling on a tail of the towel sheet extending from said dispensing slot, and means for automatically dispensing an additional measured length of the towel material in a second electrical operational state wherein the additional measured length of the towel material is electrically and automatically fed out of said dispensing slot after the sheet of towel material is severed to define a tail of a subsequent sheet of towel material;
- a motor disposed in said housing to drive said feed mechanism in said second electrical operational state.
An electro-mechanical roll towel dispenser for dispensing measured towel sheets from a roll of the towel material, comprising:
- a housing, and a roll carrier disposed in said housing to rotationally support the roll of towel material, said housing further comprising a dispensing slot defined therein through which measured sheets of the towel material are dispensed;
- an electro-mechanical feed mechanism disposed in said housing to dispense the sheets of towel material therefrom, said feed mechanism having a first mechanical operational state wherein a sheet of towel material is dispensed by a user grasping and pulling on a tail of the towel sheet extending from said dispensing slot, and a second electrical operational state wherein a measured length of the towel material is electrically and automatically fed out of said dispensing slot to define a tail of a subsequent sheet of towel material;
- a motor disposed in said housing to drive said feed mechanism in said second electrical operational state;
- and
- further comprising a brake mechanism operably disposed to said feed roller, said brake stopping rotation of said feed roller upon a measured amount of towel material being pulled by a user so that the towel material is then clamped between said feed roller and said pressure roller.
2 more elements
An electro-mechanical roll towel disoenser for dispensing measured towel sheets from a roll of the towel material, comprising;
- a housing, and a roll carrier disposed in said housing to rotationally support the roll of towel material, said housing further comprising a dispensing slot defined therein through which measured sheets of the towel material are dispensed;
- an electro-mechanical feed mechanism disposed in said housing to dispense the sheets of towel material therefrom, said feed mechanism having a first mechanical operational state wherein a sheet of towel material is dispensed by a user grasping and pulling off a tail of the towel sheet extending from said dispensing slot, and a second electrical operational state wherein a measured length of the towel material is electrically and automatically fed out of said dispensing slot to define a tail of a subsequent sheet of towel material;
- a motor disposed in said housing to drive said feed mechanism in said second electrical operational state;
- a power supply for said motor and a motor power switch, said switch being closed to supply power to said motor upon a measured sheet being severed from the towel material by the user, and being opened upon a measured amount of tail being extended from the dispensing slot by said feed mechanism;
- and
- wherein said feed mechanism comprises a feed roller driven by said motor in said second operational state of said feed mechanism and freely rotatable in said first operational state of said feed mechanism, and a pressure roller opposing said feed roller, the towel material passing between said feed roller and said pressure roller, and a control circuit operably configured with said motor and said feed mechanism to automatically switch said feed mechanism between said first and second operational states, wherein said control circuit further comprises a revolution counter operatively configured with said feed roller to provide a trigger signal to open said motor power switch upon the measured amount of tail being extended from said dispensing slot.
3 more elements
An electro-mechanical roll towel dispenser for dispensing measured towel sheets from a roll of the towel material, comprising:
- a housing, and a roll carrier disposed in said housing to rotationally support the roll of towel material, said housing further comprising a dispensing slot defined therein through which measured sheets of the towel material are dispensed;
- an electro-mechanical feed mechanism disposed in said housing to dispense the sheets of towel material therefrom, said feed mechanism having a first mechanical operational state wherein a sheet of towel material is dispensed by a user grasping and pulling on a tail of the towel sheet extending from said dispensing slot, and a second electrical operational state wherein a measured length of the towel material is electrically and automatically fed out of said dispensing slot to define a tail of a subsequent sheet of towel material;
- a motor disposed in said housing to drive said feed mechanism in said second electrical operational state;
- a power supply for said motor and a motor power switch, said switch being closed to supply power to said motor upon a measured sheet being severed from the towel material by the user, and being opened upon a measured amount of tail being extended from the dispensing slot by said feed mechanism;
- wherein said feed mechanism is configured to clamp upon the sheet material upon a measured length of the material being pulled by the user;
- and
- further comprising a tear blade disposed in said housing downstream of said feed mechanism in a running direction of the towel material whereby the user severs the towel material into a measured sheet by pulling the towel material against said tear blade, and a tear blade sensor that detects movement of said tear blade and generates a signal to close said motor power switch.
4 more elements
An electro-mechanical roll towel dispenser for dispensing measured towel sheets from a roll of the towel material, comprising:
- a housing, and a roll carrier disposed in said housing to rotationally support the roll of towel material, said housing further comprising a dispensing slot defined therein through which measured sheets of the towel material are dispensed;
- an electro-mechanical feed mechanism disposed in said housing to dispense the sheets of towel material therefrom, said feed mechanism having a first mechanical operational state wherein towel sheets are dispensed by a user grasping and pulling on a tail of a towel sheet extending from said dispensing slot, and means for automatically dispensing an additional measured length of the towel material in a second electrical operational state wherein a the additional measured length of the towel material is electrically and automatically fed out of said dispensing slot after the sheet of towel material is severed to define a tail of a subsequent sheet of towel material, said feed mechanism including a feed roller driven in said second operational state of said feed mechanism and freely rotatable in said first operational state of said feed mechanism, and a pressure roller opposing said feed roller, the towel material passing between said feed roller and said pressure roller;
- a motor disposed in said housing to drive said feed roller in said second electrical operational state;
- and
- a control circuit including a power supply for said motor and a motor power switch, said switch being closed to supply power to said motor upon a measured sheet being severed from the towel material by the user, and being opened upon a measured amount of tail being extended from the dispensing slot by said feed mechanism.
2 more elements
An electro-mechanical roll towel dispenser for dispensing measured towel sheets from a roll of the towel material, comprising:
- a housing, and a roll carrier disposed in said housing to rotationally support the roll of towel material, said housing further comprising a dispensing slot defined therein through which measured sheets of the towel material are dispensed;
- an electro-mechanical feed mechanism disposed in said housing to dispense the sheets of towel material therefrom, said feed mechanism having a first mechanical operational state wherein towel sheets are dispensed by a user grasping and pulling on a tail of a towel sheet extending from said dispensing slot, and a second electrical operational state wherein a measured length of the towel material is electrically and automatically feed out of said dispensing slot to define a tail of a subsequent sheet of towel material, said feed mechanism including a feed roller driven in said second operational state of said feed mechanism and freely rotatable in said first operational state of said feed mechanism, and a pressure roller opposing said feed roller, the towel material passing between said feed roller and said pressure roller;
- a motor disposed in said housing to drive said feed roller in said second electrical operational state;
- a control circuit including a power supply for said motor and a motor power switch, said switch being closed to supply power to said motor upon a measured sheet being severed from the towel material by the user, and being opened upon a measured amount of tail being extended from the dispensing slot by said feed mechanism;
- and
- wherein said control circuit further comprises a revolution counter configured with said feed roller, said revolution counter providing a signal to open said motor power switch upon the measured amount of tail being extended from said dispensing slot.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.