Patent ID: 7341170

Claim:
A dispenser for dispensing flexible sheet material from a roll, comprising: a chassis defining a web discharge opening and a feed mechanism for advancing the sheet material to the discharge opening; a detection system for detecting an absence of sheet material within said feed mechanism; a transfer mechanism for contacting a leading segment of sheet material extending from a roll and moving said sheet material into a feed nip of said feed mechanism, said transfer mechanism comprising: a transfer member biased toward said feed nip and into contact with said leading segment of sheet material; a transfer link movable between a first position wherein said transfer link retains said transfer member away from said feed nip, against said bias, and a release position wherein said transfer link permits said transfer member to move toward said feed nip under said bias and into contact with said leading segment of sheet material; and an actuator for driving said transfer link from said first position to said release position; and control means for electrically activating said actuator to drive said transfer link from said first position to said release position in response to said detection system detecting an absence of sheet material within said feed mechanism.