Patent ID: 6854684

Claim:
A hands-free paper towel dispenser, comprising: (a) a housing defining an interior space sufficient to contain at least one paper towel roll, the housing including a front cover that is pivotally attached thereto; (b) a sensor disposed entirely within the housing, the sensor being mounted so that it is not attached to the front cover, the sensor being oriented toward the front cover of the housing to permit detecting of an object adjacent the front cover of the housing, and the sensor being constructed to detect an object without the object contacting the front cover; (c) a dispensing mechanism disposed within the housing for dispensing a length of towel, the dispensing mechanism including a drive roller and a motor in driving engagement with the drive roller; (d) control circuitry controlling operation of the sensor and the motor, the control circuitry includes a length control circuit to control the length of towel that is dispensed in a dispensing cycle, and a delay circuit to prevent a new dispensing cycle until a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the completion of a previous dispensing cycle, wherein the length control circuit senses rotation of the drive roller, and the control circuitry is constructed to turn the motor off if rotation of the drive roller is not sensed within a predetermined time period; and (e) an electric power source for powering operation of the dispenser.