Sheet dispenser

Abstract

A dispensing system 1 and a dispenser 100 for dispensing single sheets 5 from a roll of a continuous web of plastic cushioning material 4, containing transversal lines of perforations 9 defining the single sheets, horizontally mounted on a support 2 and comprising a slotted bar 10 wherein positioning of the plastic material through the slot 16 facilitates the removal of discrete sheets of said material.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The invention relates to a dispensing system for dispensing single sheets from a roll of a continuous web of plastic cushioning material containing transversal lines of perforations defining the single sheets, horizontally mounted on a support. In particular the invention relates to a system comprising a slotted bar wherein positioning of the plastic material through the slot facilitates the single-hand removal of discrete sheets of said material. BACKGROUND [0002] Plastic cushioning materials, such as thin sheets of expanded plastic materials or Bubble Wrap® cushioning, are routinely used for the protection of fragile products in particular during shipping. Plastic cushioning materials are generally supplied in the form of rolls of continuous webs so that individual sheets of any length can be cut on demand. However some applications require the use of sheets having a fixed length. In these cases the most common form of supply is a box containing discrete pre...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0016] mounting a roll of pre-perforated plastic cushioning material on a horizontal shaft held by a dispenser in such a way that the roll can freely rotate about its longitudinal axis;

[0018] pulling the web through the slot until the perforated line defining a sheet has passed the slot and then pulling said web downwardly thus separating the sheet along the perforation line without tearing the web longitudinally.

Problems solved by technology

So far the replacement of boxes of single pre-cut sheets with rolls of continuous webs of materials having single sheets separated by perforations has been hampered by the difficulty of reliably removing single sheets from a roll mounted on a stand in a fast and effortless manner.

This is extremely inconvenient, in particular when the user has its hands wet or occupied.

Both solutions are specifically directed to the single-hand removal of paper towels and are ill suited for the use with plastic cushioning materials due to the excessive friction that the devices described in the aforementioned documents would exert on a plastic cushioning material being unwound.

Depending on the direction of the applied force during the sheet removal operation plastic cushioning materials may tear along the length of the roll rather than across the perforation line causing losses of time and material.

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