Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
SHEET DISPENSER
Thi~ ~nven~on relates to ~ ~heet dispenser for
dispen~ing predetermined leng~hs of ~heet material. The
dispenser may be u~ed for man,y dlfferent mster1als such a~
thin fllm known as cling f~lm, collagen fllm for wrapping
food, or any other film-like ~heet whioh need~ to be
dispensed ~n predeterminPd le!ngths ~nd to be cut from a
roll.
An objec~ of the lnvention iR to provide a compnct
and efficient film di~penser which will accurately
dispense predetermined lengths of film~ nnd w~ll cut them
accurately and neatly.
In accordance with the present invention the sheet
material dispen~er, particularly for collagen ~heet,
comprlses motor driven means to extract ~ predetermlned
length of sheet material from a roll of material located
in the cabinet, and means to sever the dispensed sheet
from the roll.
Preferably the means to sever the dispensed sheet
from the roll compri~es an electrically heated wire~
The wire may be supported transversely of the
cabinet and there may be two tension rollers, carried by a
tension head one above ~nd one below th~ wire and mean to
press the sheet against the rollers duri~g severing. The
mean~ to press the sheet again~t the roller may eomprise a
transver~e bar with means to move the bar towards the wlre
80 that the bar contacts the tension roller~ and move the
ten~ion head again~t sprlng pre~sure ~o that the sheet
contacts and i8 cut by the stationary hot wire.
Alternatlvely the di~pensed sheet may simply be
gripped and tenslon applied to it by roller~ or tension
blocks and then the wire moved through the sheet 80 ~B to
cut ~. The roll of ma~erial mny simply be supportsd on
either rol:Lers and be driven by motor driven roller~ which
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are in contact with the sheet and pull it off the roller.
If a cutter bar i~ used lt i8 preferably supported
on pivoted lever~ whlch are operable by ~oleno~ds.
The whole operation may be made automatic ~o that
after a predetermined length of ~he~t has b~en di~pen~ed
the cutting operatio~ i~ automatically ef~ected and the
hot wire, if u~ed, 1~ automatically held in contact wlth
the sheet for a predetermine~d time such a~ to sever the
~heet without danger of burn~n~ or meltlng lt.
In ~he accompanying dr,awing~:-
Figure 1 is a slde elevation of a sheet dispenser in
for form o~ a collagen film di~penser, the ~ide panel of
the d~spenser bei~g removed to ~how the internal work~ngs;
Figure 2 i~ a front elevation of the dispen~er with
the cover and a cutter bar a~sembly removed to enable
other parts to be 6een;
Figure 3 i8 a plan of the machine with the cover
removed;
Flgures 4a, b, c and d show one form of cuttlng
head, and illustrate the stages in the use of the cutting
head to sever a dispensed length of collagen film;
Figure 5a, b, c and d is a similar ~llustration of
use of a different type of cutting head known as a beak
:~ cutting head;
:: 25 Figures 6a, b, c and d show the u~e o another for~
of cutter known a~ a feed roll ten~lon b~r cutter and show
the different ~tage~ ln operation o this cutter; and
Figures 7a ~nd b illu~trate yet another form of
cutter known as ~ twin fe~d roll tension head and
: 30 illustrate 8tage3 in the use of this form of the
invention.
The ~heet dlspenser whlch i8 about to be described
; i~ particularly adApted for dispenslng pred~termined
; length~ of collagen film from a roll. A~ seen
particularly ln Figure~ 1, 2 and 3 the dispenser i~
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contained in a cablnet 8 ln which i~ placed a collagen
film roll lO ~upported by a roll carrier 12 wh~ch has
idler roll~ 14 and 16 cvntact:ing the ba~e roll ll which
carries the collagen filmO The collsgen fil~ roll ~lmply
rest~ on the ldler rolls a~d i~ not drlven by them.
The collag~n fllm 18 l~j extracted fro~ the ilm roll
by feed rolls 20 and 22, rol]L 20 belng driven (as seen ~n
Figure 2) by a motor 6Q driving through a gear box 58.
After pa~s~g a hot wlre cutter 2~ the ilm i~
dlspensed through the aperture 23 in the lower part of the
casing 8.
: The hot wire cutter i8 supported a~ ~hown in Figure
~ between electrical connections 52 and 54 1~ held in
tension by spring 56.
Above and below the hot wlre cutter in the
arrangement shown ln Flgure l; thexe are tension head
rollers 30 and 32 supported in a ten6ion head 26 whlch ~ 5
b~ased towards the right a~ seen in F~gure 1 by 6pring 28.
A cutt~r bar 34 i~ carrled, as shown ln Figure 3, by
two levers 44 and 46 pivoted re~pectively of 43 and 45 and
': linked to the cutter b~r 34 by pins 48 and 50.
The levers 44 and 46 are movable by mean~ of
respective arms 40 and 42 operated by solenoids 36 and
38. By operating both solenoid~ si~ul~aneously the cu~er
bar may be moved from right to left a~ seen ln Figure 1 so
as to contact rollers 30 and 32 and to push the ten810n
head to the left against pres~ure of spring 28. Thus
bring~ng the collagen film 18 into contact w~th the hot
wire 24 50 that a predetermlned le~gth 18 se~ered.
In u~e of the machine a~ shown ln Figures 1, 2 and 3
: ~he operator ~et3 up a predetermlned length of collagen
film which i~ to be di~pen~ed ~nd ~wltches the mach~ne
on. The settlng he ha~ ~elected renult3 ln the motor 60
operating Eor a predetermlned tlme 80 a~ to pa~s ~
predetermined length of film out of the oasing 8. When
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the predetermined amount has been dispensed the solenoids
36 and 38 automatically operate so as to move the levers
44 and 46 to bring the cutter bar 34 into contact with the
tension head rollers 30 and 32 thus forcing the tension
- 5 head back against the pressure spring 28 and bringing the
collagen film into contact with the hot wire cutter. This
causes the film to be severedl and the predetermined cut
length of collagen film falls out of the bottom of the
casing 8 and may be collectecl in a suitable tray or other
receptacle.
In Figures 4 and 5 two different types of cutting
head are illustrated, the roller cutting head which has
already been described and il'ustrated in Figure 1 and a
beak cutting head 26a shown in Figure 5. The beak cutting
head does not employ rollers such as 30 and 32 but simply
has a ~haped pair of ~aws 25 which together form a beak
against which the hot wire is held by the cutter bar 34
when the cutting action takes place.
` In operation of both of these cutting heads the
operator first sets the sheet length required on a
potentiometer dial 15a and then presses a push button
marked start 16a. The two motor driven rolls feed the
film into a catch tray, not shown. When the selected
length is reached the rolls stop.
The control circuit then applies current to the
cutting wire. After a delay the cutter bar indexes
forward tensioning the film over the tension head. As the
film is tensioned the tension head i~ pushed back by the
cutter bar bringing the film into contact with the hot
wire thus cutting the film. The cutter bar then retracts
to its rest position allowing the tension head to return.
This action separates the cut sheet of ~ilm which drops
into a catch tray. The dispenser is then ready for use
again. These operations are illustrated in series in
Figures 4a, b, c and d and in Figures 5a, b, c, and d.
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An alternat~ve method of cuttlng i~ ~hown in Figure~
6a, b, c and d. Here the collagen fllm 18 i~ again pulled
off the roll 10 by driven xoller~ 20 and 22 and the hot
wire cutter simllar to that show~ in Figure 1 i~ employed.
Below the hot wire cu1:ter are l~cated tension blocks
62 and 64. In thi~ method of cutting collagen fllm the
same principles are u~ed as in the twin feed roll ten6ion
head. Prior to cutting the tension block 62,64 grip the
film 18 and tension i appliLed ~n a downw~rd dlrection.
The hot wire is then pa~sed through the film, the ten~ion
: block separate the film after cutting and the film i~
dispensed lnto the catch tray as the ten~lon blocks
separate and return to the start position. These
operations are illustrated sequent~ally in Figure~ 6a, b,
~: 15 c and d.
`; Ye~ another arrangement ln which there is no tenslon
head or cutter bar employed merely using a hot wire i~
illustra~ed in Figures 7a and b. Once agaln a roll 10 has
collagen film 18 which 1s pulled off the roll by driven
feed rolls 20 and 22. The film is maintained in tension
by driven tension rolls 25 and 27. This method of cutting
collagen film i8 in principle the same a~ the roller
cutting head and the beak cutting head again by tensioning
the film prior to cutting with a hot wire. In this
:' 25 instance the film remains stationary after the feed
measuring cycle and th~ hot wire~ pa85 through the film.
The ten~ion roll~ then continue to tur~ ~nd dispen~e the
film into the catch tray.
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