Sheet material dispenser assembly for selectively dispensing sheet material from a plurality of supplies of rolled sheet material

Abstract

A dispenser assembly facilitating selective dispensing of sheet material from a plurality of supplies of sheet material can be provided. The dispenser assembly can include a drive system that includes a plurality of driven rollers configured to engage and move sheet material from a respective supply of sheet material and a drive mechanism configured to drive the plurality of driven rollers. When the drive mechanism is driven in one direction, one of the plurality of driven rollers is rotated to dispense sheet material from one of the plurality of supplies of sheet material, and when the drive mechanism is driven in the opposite direction, another one of the plurality of driven rollers is rotated to dispense sheet material from another supply of sheet material.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A sheet material dispenser comprising:
 at least one driven roller configured to feed sheet material from one or more supplies of sheet material;   a transmission assembly; and   a motor coupled to the transmission assembly and configured to operate in a first rotation direction to cause the transmission assembly to engage the at least one driven roller to feed the sheet material from a first supply of sheet material along a first discharge path toward a discharge, and operate in a second rotation direction, opposite to the first rotation direction, to cause the transmission assembly to engage the at least one driven roller to feed the sheet material from a second supply of sheet material along a second discharge path toward the discharge; and   a control system in communication with the motor, the control system including programming configured to selectively actuate the motor in the first rotation direction or the second rotation direction for selectively feeding the sheet material from a selected one of the supplies of the sheet material toward the discharge.   
     
     
         2 . The sheet material dispenser of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one driven roller includes a first driven roller configured to feed sheet material from the first supply of sheet material and a second driven roller configured to feed sheet material from the second supply of sheet material. 
     
     
         3 . The sheet material dispenser of  claim 2 , wherein the transmission assembly comprises a plurality of gears configured to transfer power or torque from the motor to one of the first driven roller or the second driven roller. 
     
     
         4 . The sheet material dispenser of  claim 2 , wherein the transmission assembly comprises:
 a drive gear coupled to the motor;   a first roller gear coupled to the first driven roller;   a second roller gear coupled to the second drive roller; and   an intermediate gear configured to be driven by the drive gear and to selectively engage the first roller gear or the second roller gear; and   wherein the driving of the intermediate gear by the drive gear causes a complementary rotation of the first driven roller when the intermediate gear is engaged with the first roller gear, and a complementary rotation of the second driven roller when the intermediate gear is engaged with the second roller gear.   
     
     
         5 . The sheet material dispenser of  claim 4 , wherein the transmission assembly further comprises a transmission guide; and wherein the intermediate gear is movable along the transmission guide between a position in engagement with the first roller gear for driving rotation of the first driven roller, and a position in engagement with the second roller gear for driving rotation of the second driven roller. 
     
     
         6 . The sheet material dispenser of  claim 2 , further comprising a first guide roller positioned adjacent the first driven roller and a second guide roller positioned adjacent the second driven roller; and wherein the first and second guide rollers are urged toward the first and second driven rollers so as to engage the sheet material therebetween. 
     
     
         7 . The sheet material dispenser of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one driven roller comprises a first driven roller and a second driven roller; and wherein each of the first driven roller and the second driven roller includes an integrated clutch assembly configured to enable a selective transfer of power or torque between the motor and the first driven roller and the second driven roller. 
     
     
         8 . A dispenser, comprising:
 a first driven roller configured to feed sheet material from a first supply of sheet material;   a second driven roller configured to feed sheet material from a second supply of sheet material;   a motor configured to operate in a first rotation direction and further configured to operate in a second rotation direction, opposite to the first rotation direction;   a transmission assembly configured to selectively transfer power or torque from the motor to the first driven roller or the second driven roller; and   a control system in communication with the motor and configured to selectively cause the motor to operate in the first rotation direction so as to drive rotation of the first driven roller for feeding the sheet material from the first supply of sheet material, and cause the motor to operate in the second rotation direction so as to drive rotation of the second driven roller for feeding the sheet material from the second supply of sheet material.   
     
     
         9 . The dispenser of  claim 8 , wherein the transmission assembly comprises:
 a plurality of gears configured for transferring power or torque from the motor to the first driven roller or the second driven roller, the plurality of gears comprising:
 a drive gear coupled to the motor; 
 a first roller gear coupled to the first driven roller; 
 a second roller gear coupled to the second driven roller; and 
 an intermediate gear positioned in engagement with the drive gear so as to be rotated by the drive gear as the motor is operated in the first rotation direction and the second rotation direction; and 
 wherein the intermediate gear is configured to move between engagement with the first roller gear and the second roller gear for selectively rotating the first roller gear and the second roller gear. 
   
     
     
         10 . The dispenser of  claim 9 , wherein when the motor is operated in the first rotation direction the intermediate gear is caused to engage with the first roller gear and disengage from the second roller gear to drive rotation of the first driven roller for feeding the sheet material from the first supply of sheet material along a first discharge path; and wherein when the motor is operated in the second rotation direction the intermediate gear is caused to disengage from the first roller gear and engage with the second roller gear to drive rotation of the second driven roller for feeding the sheet material from the second supply of sheet material along a second discharge path. 
     
     
         11 . The dispenser of  claim 8 , wherein each of the first driven roller and the second driven roller includes an integrated clutch assembly configured to enable a selective transfer of power or torque between the motor and the first driven roller and the second driven roller. 
     
     
         12 . The dispenser of  claim 8 , further comprising a sheet material detection sensor in communication with the control system, the sheet material detection sensor configured to provide one or more signals to the control system, including an indication that the sheet material dispensed has been removed from the dispenser, an indication that the sheet material cannot be dispensed from the first or second supplies of sheet material, an indication of a supply level of the sheet material of at least one of the first and second supplies of sheet material, or combinations thereof. 
     
     
         13 . The dispenser of  claim 8 , further comprising a plurality of clutch assemblies, at least one clutch assembly configured to facilitate rotation of the first driven roller and at least one clutch assembly configured to facilitate rotation of the second driven roller;
 wherein, upon operation of the motor in the first rotation direction, the at least one clutch assembly configured to facilitate rotation of the first driven roller is engaged to transfer power or torque to the first driven roller to dispense the sheet material from the first supply of sheet material; and wherein, upon operation of the motor in the second rotation direction, the at least one clutch assembly configured to facilitate rotation of the second driven roller is engaged to transfer power or torque to the second driven roller to dispense the sheet material from the second supply of sheet material.   
     
     
         14 . The dispenser of  claim 8 , further comprising a monitoring system in communication with the control system; wherein the monitoring system includes a series of sensors located adjacent the first and second driven rollers and configured to monitor rotation thereof; and wherein the control system is further configured to determine a remaining amount of sheet material of at least one of the first and second supplies of sheet material based on a monitored number of rotations of the first or second driven rollers and a length of sheet material dispensed during a dispensing operation. 
     
     
         15 . A dispenser for dispensing sheet material, comprising:
 a first supply of sheet material and a second supply of sheet material;   a first driven roller configured to feed the sheet material from the first supply of sheet material;   a second driven roller configured to feed the sheet material from the second supply of sheet material;   a drive mechanism operably coupled to the first and second driven rollers and configured to selectively drive rotation of the first driven roller and the second driven roller;   wherein the drive mechanism comprises:
 a motor configured to operate in a first rotation direction and in a second rotation direction; and 
 a plurality of clutch assemblies, at least one clutch assembly configured to be selectively engaged for driving rotation of the first driven roller, and at least one clutch assembly configured to be selectively engaged for driving rotation of the second driven roller; 
 wherein, when the motor is driven in the first rotation direction, the at least one clutch assembly configured to be selectively engaged for driving rotation of the first driven roller in rotation direction is caused to engage and drive rotation of the first driven roller to dispense the sheet material from the first supply of sheet material while the at least one clutch assembly configured to be selectively engaged for driving rotation of the second driven roller is disengaged; and 
 wherein, when rotation of the motor is driven in the second rotation direction, the at least one clutch assembly configured to be selectively engaged for driving rotation of the second driven roller is caused to engage and drive rotation of the second driven roller to dispense the sheet material from the second supply of sheet material while the at least one clutch assembly configured to be selectively engaged for driving rotation of the first driven roller is disengaged. 
   
     
     
         16 . The dispenser of  claim 15 , further comprising a control system in communication with the drive mechanism, the control system including a control circuitry configured to selectively actuate the motor to operate in the first rotation direction or the second rotation direction to feed the sheet material from a selected one of the first and second supplies of sheet material to a discharge of the dispenser. 
     
     
         17 . The dispenser of  claim 16 , further comprising a monitoring system in communication with the control system; wherein the monitoring system includes a series of sensors located adjacent the first and second driven rollers and configured to monitor rotation thereof; and wherein the control system is further configured to determine a remaining amount of sheet material of at least one of the first and second supplies of sheet material based on a monitored number of rotations of the first or second driven rollers and a length of sheet material dispensed during a dispensing operation. 
     
     
         18 . The dispenser of  claim 16 , further comprising a sheet material detection sensor in communication with the control system and configured to provide one or more signals to the control system; wherein the one or more signals include an indication that the sheet material dispensed has been removed from the dispenser, an indication that the sheet material cannot be dispensed from the first or second supplies of sheet material, an indication of a supply level of the sheet material of at least one of the first and second supplies of sheet material, or combinations thereof. 
     
     
         19 . The dispenser of  claim 15 , wherein the drive mechanism further comprises:
 a first belt gear coupled to the first driven roller;   a second belt gear coupled to the second driven roller;   a first drive gear positioned along a drive shaft of the motor and a second drive gear along the drive shaft of the motor;   a first drive belt configured to engage the first belt gear and the first drive gear for driving the rotation of the first driven roller; and   a second drive belt configured to engage the second belt gear and the second drive gear for driving the rotation of the second driven roller.   
     
     
         20 . The dispenser of  claim 19 , wherein, upon operation of the motor in the first rotation direction, the at least one clutch assembly configured to be selectively engaged for driving rotation of the first driven roller is engaged with the first drive gear to dispense the sheet material from the first supply of sheet material; and wherein, upon operation of the motor in the second rotation direction, the at least one clutch assembly configured to be selectively engaged for driving rotation of the second driven roller is engaged with the second drive gear to drive rotation of the second driven roller to dispense the sheet material from the second supply of sheet material.