Sheet Dispenser Roller System to Reduce Tearing and Jamming
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sheet dispensing machines often tear sheets due to mechanical contact in small areas, leading to tearing and difficulty in removing sheets, especially with materials of low tensile strength, such as thin paper products used for sanitary barriers.
Innovation Solution
A sheet dispensing apparatus with a supply roller and retracting roller system, where the rollers have radiused and truncated portions, and a sensor-activated motor system that ensures controlled dispensing and disengagement of sheets without tearing, using a processor to manage sheet counting and indicator for replenishment needs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a mechanical arm contacts the outermost sheet in a small area to tear it away from the stack, then the sheet can be separated from the remainder of the stack, but the sheet is prone to tearing during dispensing due to concentrated force on low tensile strength material
Solution Approach 1:
The dispensing mechanism is divided into multiple components: a mechanical arm for initial contact, a dispensing roller for controlled separation, and a retracting roller for sheet release. This segmentation allows the sheet to be handled by different mechanisms at different stages, preventing concentrated stress on any single point and reducing tearing of low tensile strength materials.
Solution Approach 2:
The dispensing roller acts as an intermediary between the mechanical arm and the sheet. Instead of the mechanical arm directly tearing the sheet, the roller provides a controlled separation interface that distributes force across a larger area, preventing sheet damage while maintaining effective dispensing.
2Productivity
If a mechanical arm is used to tear away the outermost sheet, then the sheet can be dispensed from the stack, but the mechanical arm may not disengage the outermost sheet after separation, causing difficulty in ultimate removal of the sheet material from the dispenser
Solution Approach 1:
The dispensing system is segmented into a dispensing roller for sheet separation and a retracting roller for sheet release. The retracting roller specifically addresses the disengagement problem by actively pulling the sheet away from the mechanical arm after dispensing, ensuring complete sheet removal without user difficulty.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of relying on the mechanical arm to release the sheet after dispensing, the system uses a retracting roller that actively pulls the sheet in the opposite direction. This inverted approach ensures positive sheet release and prevents the mechanical arm from interfering with sheet removal.
3Productivity
If the supply roller remains in continuous contact with the sheet stack, then sheets can be dispensed continuously, but the sheet material may become jammed between the roller and the stack
Solution Approach 1:
The supply roller operates with periodic contact rather than continuous contact with the sheet stack. It advances into contact with the stack only when a sheet is being dispensed, then retracts. This periodic action maintains continuous dispensing capability while preventing sheets from becoming jammed between the roller and the stack during non-dispensing periods.
Data Source
AI summary
A sheet dispensing apparatus for dispensing sheets from a sheet material card having a plurality of sheets. The sheet dispensing apparatus includes a sensor, a motor including a motor shaft, a supply roller operatively connected to the motor, an indicator, and a controller operatively connected to the proximity sensor and to the indicator. The controller includes a processor and a memory configured to store program instructions. The processor is configured to execute the stored program instructions to: detect a first presence of an object with the sensor; move the supply roller into contact with one sheet of the plurality of sheets in response to the detecting the first presence of the object; rotate the motor shaft a first time to move the supply roller a predetermined angle of rotation to dispense the one sheet; and stop the motor shaft when the predetermined angle of rotation has been completed.