Patent ID: 8714428

Claim:
A sheet product dispenser, comprising: a housing to partially enclose a roll of sheet product, the housing comprising: at least one end-opening defined at a longitudinal end of the housing to load said roll within the housing, the at least one end-opening having a diameter at least larger than a diameter of said roll, a longitudinal slit along a length of the housing to allow a leading edge of said sheet product to be unrolled through said longitudinal slit, a length of the longitudinal slit corresponding to a width of the sheet product, an upper lip defining an upper portion of the longitudinal slit, a lower lip defining a lower portion of the longitudinal slit and projecting outward from the longitudinal slit to support the leading edge of the sheet product, a cutting edge disposed at an end of the lower lip to cut a section of unrolled sheet product, a deforming projection disposed on a portion of the lower lip projecting outward from the longitudinal slit to deform the sheet product during a cutting operation to prevent roll-back of the sheet product, wherein a height of the longitudinal slit corresponds to a gap between the lower and upper lips, and a height of the deforming projection is greater than the height of the gap in an area of the longitudinal slit corresponding to the deforming projection; wherein the gap defining the longitudinal slit is smaller at a center portion of the longitudinal slit corresponding to the deforming projection; and at least one end plug to cover the at least one end-opening and to support the roll of sheet material within the housing.