Patent ID: 8146471

Claim:
A sheet material dispenser comprising: a housing; a sheet material roll holder within the housing; drive and tension rollers supported within the housing and forming a nip therebetween, the drive roller having a circumference, a rotational axis, ends, and a generally cylindrical body having a blade-extending opening between the ends, the body being positioned such that sheet material passes through the nip and wraps partially around the body during sheet material pulling and movement of the sheet material rotates the drive roller; a blade having a length, a base, a knife with a serrated edge, and a transition between the base and knife along the length, the transition including a stiffening compound bend comprising, at least two bends and at least one planar section between the bends; a blade carrier having ends, a first surface abutting and supporting the base and a second surface abutting and supporting at least a portion of the at least one planar section, the blade carrier being pivotably mounted within the drive roller along a pivot axis proximate the drive roller circumference and adjacent the blade-extending opening for pivoting movement between a cutting position in which the knife serrated edge is extended through the opening to sever the sheet material and a non-cutting position; a pair of cam follower arms, each arm being secured to one carrier end and having a cam follower spaced from the carrier; and a pair of stationary cam tracks, each cam track being associated with an opposed housing wall and receiving one of the cam followers, said cam tracks being configured such that the cam followers move along a respective cam track during drive roller rotation and urge the carrier and blade to move between the cutting and non-cutting positions during a dispense cycle.