Sheet Product Dispenser with Thickness-Based Quantity Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional sheet product dispensers are inefficient in dispensing varying numbers of sheet products with different folds and compression levels, often requiring precise adjustments and resulting in waste, and lack controlled and tidy presentation.
Innovation Solution
A dispenser with a movable dispensing member that grips and slides sheet products relative to the stack, allowing for consistent dispensing of a desired number of sheets, and an actuator that enables selection of different dispensing quantities, combined with a support structure for tidy presentation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional dispensers rely on precise picking of a predetermined number of sheets, then the dispensing quantity can be controlled, but the device requires difficult adjustments to vary the predetermined number and cannot tolerate variations in sheet thickness or compression
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the fundamental parameter from counting individual sheets to measuring total stack thickness. The dispensing member travels a predetermined distance corresponding to the thickness of a desired number of sheets, making the system adaptable to variations in individual sheet thickness and compression without requiring adjustments to the counting mechanism itself.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adapts to different sheet conditions by using a thickness-based measurement approach rather than a fixed sheet-count mechanism. The dispensing member's travel distance is set based on the actual physical thickness of the stack, which automatically compensates for variations in sheet compression and thickness.
2Ease of operation
If conventional dispensers use precise sheet picking mechanisms, then the number of sheets dispensed can be controlled, but the device requires difficult adjustments to vary the predetermined number
Solution Approach 1:
The system allows easy variation of dispensing quantity by simply changing the predetermined travel distance parameter of the dispensing member, rather than reconfiguring complex sheet-counting mechanisms. This makes the device easy to operate for different dispensing quantities while maintaining simplicity.
3Productivity
If conventional dispensers allow free access to the stack, then users can easily retrieve sheet products, but users may take more than required causing waste
Solution Approach 1:
The system provides self-service dispensing where the predetermined travel distance of the dispensing member automatically limits the quantity dispensed, eliminating the need for user intervention to control the number of sheets taken while preventing waste through controlled dispensing.
4Ease of operation
If conventional dispensers use friction-based sheet separation, then the mechanism is simple, but the presentation is uncontrolled and untidy
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by pre-setting the dispensing member's travel distance to correspond exactly to the thickness of the desired number of sheets. This preliminary configuration ensures that when dispensing occurs, the sheets are separated cleanly and presented in a controlled, tidy manner without requiring complex separation mechanisms.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables consistent and controlled dispensing of sheet products regardless of fold or compression variations, allowing users to select the number of sheets dispensed and providing a tidy presentation, reducing waste and improving user convenience.
Implementation Method 1
The dispensing member is moveable and adapted for gripping the sheet, whereby movement of the dispensing member causes the gripped sheet to slide relative to an underlying sheet face in the stack to separate a sheet product adjacent the dispensing opening from the stack.
Data Source
AI summary
A dispenser is disclosed that includes a housing defining an interior volume for receiving a stack of sheet products, an actuator, a dispensing member, a roller, and a support structure for engaging a front face of the stack including opposed shelves for supporting opposed sides of the front face. The actuator is operable by a user to activate a dispensing member to dispense a desired number of sheet products. The actuator includes two or more user interfaces that a user can actuate to transmit to the dispensing member an amount of movement corresponding to different numbers of sheet products being dispensed depending upon which of the user interfaces is actuated. The roller is located between the opposed shelves and engages and grips on the front face of the stack. The actuator imparts a predetermined amount of rotation to the roller depending upon which of the user interface ledges is actuated, which causes the roller to separate one or more sheet products at the front face of the stack in a one-at-a-time fashion.