Coreless Roll Sensing Arrangement for Accurate Depletion Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing dispensers for absorbent paper web materials lack accuracy in detecting the depletion of coreless rolls, leading to significant wastage as a small amount of material is often discarded along with the roll.
Innovation Solution
A sensing arrangement with a roll support that includes roll expanding portions and a sensing portion, where the sensing element can differentiate between the remaining web material at two distinct radii, providing an offset distance for improved accuracy in detecting roll depletion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of substance
If existing sensing arrangements are used to detect roll depletion, then the dispenser can switch between rolls, but a small amount of web material remains on the depleted roll and is discarded, leading to significant waste over time
Solution Approach 1:
The sensing arrangement transitions from a single-point detection method to a two-dimensional sensing approach by implementing multiple sensing portions at different radii (first radius and second radius) along the roll support length. This dimensional expansion allows the system to detect the progressive depletion of web material across different radial positions, enabling more precise determination of actual roll depletion status and reducing premature discarding of usable material.
Solution Approach 2:
The sensing arrangement is divided into multiple sensing portions distributed along the roll support length, with each portion having a specific radial extension. This segmentation allows independent detection at different radial positions, creating a distributed sensing network that can accurately track web material depletion across the entire roll surface, thereby improving measurement precision and reducing material waste.
2Measurement precision
If the sensing element is positioned close to the roll support center, then the structure is simpler, but the sensing offset length is reduced, decreasing measurement accuracy for detecting remaining web material
Solution Approach 1:
The invention resolves the contradiction between sensing precision and structural simplicity by expanding the sensing arrangement into multiple spatial dimensions. Multiple sensing portions are positioned at different radial distances (first radius and second radius) and different longitudinal positions along the roll support length, creating a three-dimensional sensing network that maximizes the sensing offset length without requiring complex mechanical adjustments or additional components.
Solution Approach 2:
The roll support structure is designed to serve multiple functions simultaneously: it provides mechanical support for the roll, defines the sensing portions at different radii, and establishes the sensing offset length. This multi-functionality integrates the sensing geometry directly into the existing roll support structure, achieving enhanced measurement precision without proportionally increasing device complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A sensing arrangement for indicating the depletion of a coreless roll of absorbent paper web material in a dispenser, the sensing arrangement includes a roll support for supporting an inner circumference of the coreless roll, the roll support extending along a longitudinal center axis, the roll support comprising at least one roll expanding portion extending over a part of the roll support length and having a maximum radial extension defining a first radius from the center axis, and at least one sensing portion, extending longitudinally over another part of the roll support length and having a maximum radial extension defining a second radius from the center axis, wherein the first radius is greater than the second radius by a sensing offset length, and a sensing element arranged to sense at the sensing portion the amount of web material remaining on the roll when arranged over the roll support length.