Dispenser with material-recognition apparatus and material-recognition method

A method of sheet material recognition enabling operation of a sheet material dispenser with sheet material from an authorized source comprising:

• loading a roll of sheet material in the dispenser, the sheet material roll including a code associated therewith indicating that the sheet material from the authorized source;
• sensing the code;
• generating a code signal associated with the code;
• receiving the code signal with a control circuit operatively connected to the sensor;
• comparing the code represented by said code signal to at least one code in a code database to determine that the roll is from the authorized source;
• and
• setting a dispenser-enabled state corresponding to agreement between the codes, said agreement indicating that the roll is from the authorized source, and a dispenser-disabled state when no such agreement exists.

A sheet material dispenser including material-recognition apparatus enabling operation of the dispenser with sheet material from an authorized source, comprising:

• a dispenser housing;
• a sheet material support adapted to rotatably mount a sheet material roll within the housing, said sheet material roll including sheet material wound about a core having an inner surface and a bar code located on the core inner surface;
• a tension roller rotatably mounted with respect to the housing;
• a drive roller rotatably mounted with respect to the housing and tension roller, said drive and tension rollers forming a nip therebetween;
• drive apparatus in power-transmission relationship with the drive roller, said drive apparatus rotatably powering the drive roller such that the sheet material moves through the nip for discharge from the dispenser;
• a sensor mounted on the sheet material support, said sensor being positioned to read the bar code when the core is mounted on the sheet material support and generate a code signal corresponding to a code embodied in the bar code;
• a control circuit operatively connected to the sensor, said control circuit including a microcontroller adapted to (a) receive the code signal, (b) compare the code represented by said code signal to at least one code in a code database, and (c) set a dispenser-enabled state in which the dispenser is enabled corresponding to agreement between the codes and a dispenser-disabled state in which the dispenser is disabled when no such agreement exists;
• and
• power supply apparatus adapted to supply electrical energy to the sensor and control circuit.

A dispenser apparatus for dispensing sheet material from a roll of the type including a housing, a roll support supporting the roll for rotation within the housing, a discharge apparatus and a drive apparatus powering the discharge apparatus to dispense the sheet material from the dispenser, the improvement comprising:

• a sensor mounted in the housing, said sensor being positioned to read a code associated with the roll and generate a code signal corresponding to the code;
• a control circuit operatively connected to the sensor, said control circuit being adapted to (a) receive the code signal, (b) validate the code represented by said code signal, and (c) allow sheet material dispensing if the code is valid or not allow sheet material dispensing if the code is invalid;
• and
• power supply apparatus adapted to supply electrical energy to the sensor and control circuit.

A method of controlling operation of a sheet material dispenser comprising:

• loading a roll of sheet material in the dispenser, the sheet material roll including a code associated therewith;
• sensing the code;
• validating the code;
• and
• controlling dispenser operation by allowing sheet material dispensing if the code is valid or not allowing sheet material dispensing if the code is invalid.

A sheet material dispenser comprising:

• a housing adapted to receive sheet material, said sheet material having a machine-readable code associated therewith;
• a sensor mounted with respect to the housing, said sensor being adapted to read the code and generate a code signal corresponding to the code;
• a control circuit operatively connected to the sensor, said control circuit being adapted to (a) receive the code signal, (b) validate the code represented by said code signal, and (c) allow sheet material dispensing if the code is valid or not allow sheet material dispensing if the code is invalid;
• and
• a power source adapted to supply electrical energy to the dispenser.