Patent ID: 6487780
Filing Date: 2002-12-03
Classification: A01D

Abstract:
A dispenser with fully automated length control, comprising:a spool adapted to be mounted to a rotary drive element for rotation therewith; a sleeve surrounding the spool and stationary relative thereto; an exit rotor rotatably mounted to the sleeve and having a retaining hole with an insertion notch therein; a coil of consumable filament wound on the spool and having an extended portion that extends through the retaining hole in the exit rotor, wherein, the extended portion is substantially tangent to the spool during rotation, the extended portion having a length with a free end that defines a circular swath having a swath radius measured from the spool to the free end, wherein the extended portion maintains a linear orientation from the spool to the free end prior to contact with a target; and wherein as the extended portion of the filament is consumed during rotation due to contact with the target such that the length of the extended portion is reduced to less than the swath radius, additional filament is automatically dispensed from the spool by centrifugal force until aerodynamic drag acting on the extended portion counterbalances the centrifugal force.