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EP-3982803-B1 - LOADING AND TRANSFER SYSTEM/ASSEMBLY FOR SHEET MATERIAL DISPENSERS

EP3982803B1EP 3982803 B1EP3982803 B1EP 3982803B1EP-3982803-B1

Inventors

  • OSBORNE, CHARLES AGNEW, JR.

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20200605

Claims (14)

  1. A sheet material dispenser (10), comprising: a dispenser housing (14) within which a plurality of supplies of sheet material (12) are received, and which includes a discharge (48) from which sheet material (12) from the plurality of sheet material (12) is dispensed; a feed roller (40) rotatably connected to the dispenser housing (14) and having a feed roller body (42) configured to engage and feed the sheet material (12) from the plurality of supplies sheet material (12) along a feed path (46) and towards the discharge (48) of the dispenser housing (14); a sheet material loading assembly (100) including a cover (102) rotatably connected to at least a portion of the dispenser housing (14) at a first end and movable between a closed position (106) and an open position (108) to facilitate loading of the plurality of supplies of sheet material (12) into the dispenser housing (14), and at least one roller (140) that is rotatably connected to a second end of the cover (102), the at least one roller (140) being configured to receive at least a portion of sheet material (12) from at least one supply of the plurality of supplies of sheet material (12) thereabout with the cover (102) in its open position (108), and to urge the portion of sheet material (12) toward engagement with the feed roller body (42), with the cover in its closed position (106), to initiate feeding of the sheet material (12) from the at least one supply for dispensing from the dispenser (10); and a transfer mechanism (200) configured to transfer feeding between the plurality of supplies of sheet material (12) and operatively connected to the roller (140) of the cover assembly (102), such that when sheet material (12) from the at least one supply of the plurality of supplies of sheet material (12) has been substantially dispensed, the transfer mechanism (200) facilitates movement of the roller (140) of the cover assembly (102) toward engagement with the feed roller body (42) to initiate dispensing of sheet material (12) from a different supply of the plurality of supplies of sheet material (12).
  2. The sheet material dispenser (10) of claim 1, wherein the sheet material loading assembly (100) includes one or more biasing members (142) coupled to the cover (102) and operatively connected to the at least one roller (40) so as to bias the at least one roller (140) toward engagement with the feed roller body (42) when the cover (102) is in its closed position (106).
  3. The sheet material dispenser (10) of claim 1, wherein the at least one roller (140) further includes sheet material retention portions (170) that are configured to couple the portion of the sheet material (12) to the at least one roller (140).
  4. The sheet material dispenser (10) of claim 1, wherein the plurality of supplies of sheet material (12) include at least first (26) and second (28) supplies of sheet material, and wherein the transfer assembly (200) includes a transfer arm (202) operatively connected to the at least one roller (140) of the sheet material loading assembly (100) and is movable between a plurality of feeding positions to facilitate transfer of feeding of sheet material (12) between the first (26) and second (28) supplies of sheet material, the plurality of feeding positions including a first feeding position (204) in which the transfer arm (202) holds the at least one roller (140) of the sheet material loading assembly (100) away from the feed roller body (42), and a second feeding position (206) in which the transfer arm (202) enables engagement between the at least one roller (140) of the sheet material loading assembly (100) and the feed roller body (42) such that the portion of sheet material from the first supply (26) is pressed against the feed roller body (42) to initiate dispensing of the sheet material from the first supply (26).
  5. The sheet material dispenser (10) of claim 4, wherein the transfer assembly (200) further includes at least one guide roller (212) that is configured to engage sheet material from second (28) supply of sheet material, and at least one fixed support (214) positioned substantially adjacent to the transfer arm (202) and configured to engage the sheet material (29) from the second (28) supply of sheet material between the at least one guide roller (212) and the at least one fixed support (214) with the transfer arm (202) in its first feeding position (204), wherein the at least one guide roller (212) and the at least one fixed support (214) are configured to intermesh when the sheet material (29) from the second supply (28) of sheet material is substantially dispensed to facilitate movement of the transfer arm (202) from its first position (204) towards its second position (206).
  6. The sheet material dispenser (10) of claim 1, further comprising one or more pressing rollers (54) mounted along the discharge (48) so as to engage and direct the sheet material (12) along the feed path (46) as the sheet material (12) is fed from the discharge (48).
  7. The sheet material dispenser (10) of claim 1, further comprising an engagement portion (52) that is operatively connected to the feed roller (40) and configured to be actuated by a user to drive rotation of the feed roller (40) and control dispensing of the sheet material (12) from the dispenser assembly (10).
  8. The sheet material dispenser (10) of claim 1, further comprising a biasing assembly (450) configured to assist rotation of the feed roller (40), the biasing assembly (450) including at least one biasing member (452) connected to the feed roller body (42), and at least one linkage (456) connected to the at least one biasing member (452) and at least one portion that does not rotate with the feed roller body (42).
  9. The sheet material dispenser (10) of claim 1, wherein the sheet material loading assembly (100) includes one or more biasing members connected to the cover (102) and biasing the cover (102) toward its open position (108), and one or more locking features configured to secure the cover (102) in its closed position (106).
  10. The sheet material dispenser (10) of claim 1, further comprising a cutting assembly (320) that is integrated with the feed roller (40) and includes one or more cutting portions that are extensible through one or more openings defined in the feed roller body (42).
  11. The sheet dispenser (10) of claim 1, wherein the transfer mechanism (200) comprises a transfer arm (202) operatively connected to the at least one guide roller (212) and movable between a plurality of feeding positions (204, 206) for transfer of the feeding of sheet material (12) between the plurality of supplies of sheet material (12), the plurality of feeding positions (204, 206) including a first feeding position (204) in which the transfer arm (202) holds the at least one guide roller (212) away from the feed roller body (42), and a second feeding position (206) in which the transfer arm (202) is moved to a position to enable engagement between the at least one roller (140) and feed roller body (42) such that at least a portion of the sheet material (12) from a different one of the plurality of supplies of sheet material (12) is pressed against the feed roller body (42) to initiate dispensing of the sheet material (29) from the second supply (28).
  12. The sheet dispenser (10) claim 11, wherein the transfer mechanism (200) further includes at least one guide roller (212) that is configured to engage the sheet material (27) from a first supply (26) of sheet material of the plurality of supplies of sheet material (12), and at least one fixed support (214) positioned substantially adjacent to the transfer arm (202) and configured to engage the sheet material (27) from first supply (26) such that it is engaged between the at least one guide roller (212) and the at least one fixed support (214) with the transfer arm (202) in its first feeding position (204).
  13. The sheet dispenser (10) of claim 12, wherein one or more portions of the at least one guide roller (212) are received within one or more spaces defined along the at least one fixed support (214) and/or one or more portions of the at least one fixed support (214) are positioned into one or more spaces defined along the at least one guide roller (212) when the sheet material (27) from the first supply (26) is substantially dispensed and no longer present between the at least one fixed support (214) and the at least one guide roller (212).
  14. The sheet dispenser (10) of claim 13, further comprising a cutting assembly (320) that is integrated with the feed roller (40) and includes one or more cutting portions that are extensible into and out from one or more openings defined in the feed roller body (42).

Description

Technical Field The present disclosure is directed to dispensers for flexible sheet materials, and in particular, in one aspect, dispensers with a loading and/or transfer assemblies, mechanisms, or systems. Other aspects also are described. Background Dispensers for sheet materials, such as for dispensing paper towels, tissue paper, or other paper products, are commonly used in hospitals, restrooms, and other facilities. By way of example, PCT publication WO2013/044385A1, US Patent No. 6,581,500, and EP Patent No. EP0805642B1 disclose dispensers for dispensing paper materials. Loading sheet materials in such dispensers often can prove to be a difficult task. For example, personnel loading the dispensers may have to navigate the sheet material through relatively close or tight clearances between the operative elements, supports and other elements within the dispensers. This can take considerable time and sometimes results in tearing or ripping of the sheet material. Improper loading of the sheet material also is common and can cause jamming of the sheet material in the dispenser, thus resulting in significant down time for the sheet material dispenser. Additionally, some dispensers can have more than one supply of sheet material, e.g., multiple rolls of sheet material, for dispensing/feeding from the dispensers, and when one of the supply rolls is running low or has been fully dispensed, transfer of the feeding of sheet material to a new supply generally must be manually performed. For example, US Patent No. 6,460,798 and No. 5,924,617 disclose a dispenser apparatus with a transfer mechanism. With some dispensers, when a supply of sheet material is running low, feeding/dispensing is modified such that sheet material from multiple supplies may be dispensed or fed at the same time, i.e., double sheets may be dispensed simultaneously-potentially leading to waste of significant amounts of sheet material. Accordingly, it can be seen that a need exists for a systems and methods dispenser that addresses the foregoing and other related, and unrelated, problems in the art. Summary Briefly described, the present disclosure is generally directed to a dispenser or dispenser assembly for rolled sheet materials, such as paper products including paper towels, tissue paper, etc. and/or other paper products according to claim 1. The dispenser assembly includes a dispenser housing, with one or more support assemblies for supporting one or more supplies of sheet material disposed in or along the dispenser housing. In one embodiment, the one or more supplies of sheet material can include a first supply roll and second supply roll of sheet material. The first or second supply of sheet material can include new, undispensed rolls of sheet material, partially dispensed rolls of sheet material, and/or stub rolls of sheet material. A stub roll of sheet material generally includes a supply roll that has been substantially dispensed, e.g., a supply roll with less than about 50% to about 30% or less of its initial amount of sheet material remaining. The dispenser assembly further includes a feed roller assembly including one or more feed rollers configured to engage and drive the sheet materials from the one or more supplies of sheet material. The feed roller(s) drive the sheet material along a discharge or feed path from the supply toward and through a discharge of the dispenser housing. The feed roller(s) can be automatically driven, e.g., by one or more powered drive mechanisms, such as a motor or other suitable actuator, or the feed roller(s) can be manually activated, such as by a rotatable knob, handle, or other suitable engagement and/or drive mechanism that can be engaged or rotated by an operator or user. The dispenser assembly further includes a sheet material loading mechanism/assembly. The sheet material loading mechanism/assembly can include a cover assembly that is movably connected to the dispenser housing. In one example, the cover assembly can include a cover body rotatably or pivotably coupled to a front portion of the dispenser housing, e.g., at a first end of the cover body, and being movable between a closed position and an open position. In the closed position, the cover body at least partially surrounds and/or enclose the feed roller. In its open position, the cover body will be substantially spaced away from the feed roller, e.g., with the cover body extending out and away from the front portion of the dispenser. The sheet material loading mechanism/assembly further includes a plurality of locking features or locking mechanisms (e.g., biased locking switches or other suitable locking mechanism/features) configured to lock or secure the cover assembly in its closed position. The locking features/mechanisms can be movable or actuatable to release the cover assembly and allow for the cover assembly to be moved to the opening position. In one embodiment, the cover assembly can be biased towards its open position. For