Rolled material or screen mesh dispenser

Abstract

A rolled material dispenser; including a roll supporting structure that supports a plurality of rolls of material, each roll of material having a width and a long axis, the roll supporting structure supporting the rolls of material with the long axes parallel and with a free end of the rolled material extending downwardly from each of the of rolls. The dispenser includes a pinch roller assembly located beneath the roll supporting structure. The pinch roller assembly is movable in a direction perpendicular to the long axes of the rolls of material and the pinch rollers have a second long axis oriented parallel to the first long axis. A conveyor is positioned below the pinch roller assembly and a material cutter assembly facilitates cutting the rolled material.

1 . A rolled material dispenser; comprising:
 a roll supporting structure configured to support a plurality of rolls of rolled material, each roll of material having a width and a long axis, the roll supporting structure being configured to support the rolls of material with the long axes parallel and with a free end of the rolled material extending downwardly from at least some of the plurality of rolls;   a pinch roller assembly located beneath the roll supporting structure, the pinch roller assembly being movable in a direction perpendicular to the long axes of the rolls of material and including pinch rollers having a second long axis oriented parallel to the first long axis;   wherein the pinch rollers are operable to pinch the free end of the rolled material upon receipt of control commands and to turn to dispense a selected length of rolled material;   a conveyor positioned below the pinch roller assembly; and   a material cutter assembly.   
     
     
         2 . The rolled material dispenser as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the roll supporting structure further comprises a plurality of roll supporting positions, each roll supporting position including a pair of long rollers configured to support one of the rolls of material or each roll supporting position including a core support configured to pass through a core of one of the plurality of rolls of material. 
     
     
         3 . The rolled material dispenser as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the pinch roller assembly further comprises a gantry supporting the pinch rollers, the gantry being movably supported on gantry tracks that extend a length of the roll supporting structure that is perpendicular to the first long axis. 
     
     
         4 . The rolled material dispenser as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the pinch roller assembly further comprises a pinch actuator and a vertical actuator; the pinch actuator being configured to shift the pinch rollers between pinched and unpinched configurations upon receipt of control commands and the vertical actuator being configured to shift the pinch rollers between raised and lowered positions of the pinch rollers upon receipt of control commands. 
     
     
         5 . The rolled material dispenser as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the material cutter assembly further comprises a blade support and a cutter track, the blade support being longitudinally movable upon the cutter track by operation of a cutter actuator. 
     
     
         6 . The rolled material dispenser as claimed in  claim 5 , wherein the blade support is configured to removably receive a replaceable cutting blade. 
     
     
         7 . The rolled material dispenser as claimed in  claim 5 , wherein the material cutting assembly further comprises a plunge knife having a plunge knife blade oriented perpendicular to the cutter track and operable to cut excess material width from the rolled material. 
     
     
         8 . The rolled material dispenser as claimed in  claim 7 , wherein at least one of the replaceable cutting blade and the plunge knife blade comprises a standard utility knife blade. 
     
     
         9 . The rolled material dispenser as claimed in  claim 1 , further comprising a conveyor and a discharge tray at an end of the conveyor. 
     
     
         10 . The rolled material dispenser as claimed in  claim 2 , wherein each roll supporting position further includes short rollers positioned at remote ends of each roll supporting position. 
     
     
         11 . A method of dispensing rolled mesh or fabric material, comprising:
 supporting a plurality of rolls of mesh or fabric material on a roll supporting structure configured to support the plurality of rolls of material, each roll of material having a width and a long axis, the roll supporting structure being configured to support the rolls of material with the long axes parallel and with a free end of the rolled material extending downwardly from each of the plurality of rolls;   moving a pinch roller assembly in a direction perpendicular to the long axes of the rolls of material, the pinch roller assembly including pinch rollers having a second long axis oriented parallel to the first long axis;   engaging the pinch roller assembly located beneath the roll supporting structure to pinch and grip the free end of at one of the plurality of rolls of mesh or fabric material and to unroll a selected length of the mesh or fabric material from the one of the plurality of rolls of mesh or fabric material;   severing a desired portion of the mesh or fabric material from the roll of mesh or fabric material; and   depositing the desired portion of the mesh or fabric material below the pinch roller assembly on a conveyor.   
     
     
         12 . The method as claimed in  claim 11 , further comprising placing at least one of the plurality of rolls of mesh or fabric material on a pair of long rollers configured to support one of the rolls of material or further comprising placing at least one of the plurality of rolls of mesh or fabric material on a core support shaft configured to receive a core of the at least one of the plurality of rolls of mesh or fabric material. 
     
     
         13 . The method as claimed in  claim 11 , further comprising moving the pinch roller assembly horizontally supported on a gantry traveling on gantry tracks that run a length of the roll supporting structure perpendicular to the long axes of the rolls of material. 
     
     
         14 . The method as claimed in  claim 11 , further comprising, pinching and unpinching the pinch roller assembly by operation of a pinch actuator and vertically shifting the pinch roller assembly by operation of a vertical actuator to raise and lower the pinch rollers upon receipt of control commands. 
     
     
         15 . The method as claimed in  claim 11 , further comprising severing the mesh or fabric material by operation of a material cutter assembly which further comprises a blade support and a cutter track and moving the blade support being longitudinally upon the cutter track by operation of a cutter actuator. 
     
     
         16 . The method as claimed in  claim 11 , further comprising supplying the blade support with a replaceable cutting blade. 
     
     
         17 . The method as claimed in  claim 16 , further comprising cutting excess width from the rolled material by operation of a plunge knife having a plunge knife blade oriented perpendicular to the cutter track. 
     
     
         18 . The method as claimed in  claim 17 , further comprising utilizing a standard utility knife as the replaceable cutting blade or as the plunge knife blade. 
     
     
         19 . The method as claimed in  claim 11 , further comprising conveying the desired portion of the mesh or fabric material to a discharge tray at an end of a conveyor. 
     
     
         20 . The rolled material dispenser as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the pinch rollers and the conveyer are controlled by the control commands such that the conveyor moves at a first rate consistent with a second rate of dispensing of screen mesh material thereby layering the screen mesh material over a screen frame moving on the conveyor. 
     
     
         21 . The rolled material dispenser as claimed in  claim 1 , further comprising the pinch rollers being linked to the conveyor such that the pinch rollers and the conveyor move at a mutually proportional rate. 
     
     
         22 . The method as claimed in  claim 11 , further comprising unrolling the selected length of the mesh or fabric material at a rate proportional to movement of the conveyor. 
     
     
         23 . The method as claimed in  claim 11 , further comprising controlling the conveyor such that the conveyor moves at a first rate consistent with a second rate of dispensing of screen mesh material thereby layering the screen mesh material over a screen frame moving on the conveyor. 
     
     
         24 . The method as claimed in  claim 11 , further comprising linking the pinch rollers to the conveyor such that the pinch rollers and the conveyor move at a mutually proportional rate. 
     
     
         25 . The method as claimed in  claim 11 , further comprising driving and computer controlling the pinch roller and the conveyor to dispense the screen mesh or fabric material at a rate consistent with driven movement of the conveyor.