Patent ID: 8220520

Claim:
Apparatus for slidingly supporting a roller tube with a first end, a second end, an axis of rotation and sheet material rolled thereon, said apparatus comprising: a first slide having a first slide bracket and a first slide member adapted to slide within said first slide bracket, said first slide member being adapted to carry a first end of a roller tube; a first spring coupled to said first slide member for applying a first force to the first end of the roller tube; a second slide having a second slide bracket and a second slide member adapted to slide within said second slide bracket, said second slide member being adapted to carry a second end of said roller tube; a second spring coupled to said second slide member for applying a second force to the second end of the roller tube; said first and second slide brackets being mounted at respective opposite ends of a roller tube housing with said roller tube extending from the first end thereof to the second end thereof within said housing between said slide brackets; and a support cradle positioned to support said roller tube and sheet material from beneath the roller tube, said support cradle being a fixed crescent-shaped member supported from said housing and extending below the axis of rotation of said roller tube; wherein said first and second forces are unequal forces and are applied to the first and second ends, respectively, of said roller tube in an upward direction when said roller tube is positioned in said housing to dispense material therefrom in a downward direction.