Apparatus for automatically dispensing and cutting selected lengths of strip material

Claim 1

A DISPENSER FOR DISPENSING MATERIAL IN THE FORM OF STRIPS OF PRESELECTED LENGTH, SAID DISPENSER COMPRISING: MEANS SUPPORTING A ROLL OF THE MATERIAL TO BE DISPENSED, MEANS FOR DRAWING MATERIAL OFF OF THE ROLL ON SAID SUPPORTING MEANS, MEANS OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO SAID DRAWING MEANS FOR SENSING THE REMOVAL OF INCREMENTAL LENGTHS OF MATERIAL OFF THE ROLL AND FOR GENERATING A SIGNAL COMMENSURATE WITH EACH INCREMENT, COUNTER MEANS RESPONSIVE TO THE SIGNALS GENERATED BY SAID SENSING MEANS FOR TOALING SAID SIGNALS, MEANS RESPONSIVE TO SAID COUNTER MEANS FOR PROVIDING SIGNALS INDICATIVE OF COINCIDENCE BETWEEN SAID TOTALIZED NUMBER OF INCREMENTS AND SAID PRESELECTED LENGTH, MEANS RESPONSIVE TO SAID COUNTER MEANS FOR TERMINATING OPERATION OF SAID DRAWING MEANS, CUTTER MEANS FOR TRANSVERSELY SEVERING SAID MATERIAL, MEANS FOR APPLYING A FIRST COINCIDENCE SIGNAL TO SAID CUTTER MEANS TO ACTUATE SAID CUTTER MEANS IN A FIRST DIRECTION TO CUT SAID MATERIAL, AND MEANS RESPONSIVE TO THE COMPLETE TRAVERSAL OF THE MATERIAL BY SAID CUTTER MEANS IN A FIRST DIRECTION FOR DEENERGIZING THE CUTTER MEANS AND ALTERING ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS THERETO WHEREBY SAID CUTTER MEANS WILL TRAVERSE THE FILM IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION IN RESPONSE TO ANOTHER COINCIDENCE SIGNAL.