US20140033557A1

US20140033557A1 - Customized disposable hand towel and method

Info

Publication number: US20140033557A1
Application number: US13/751,703
Authority: US
Inventors: Belinda Jefferson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2012-01-27
Filing date: 2013-01-28
Publication date: 2014-02-06

Abstract

A disposable hand towel that can be customized for multiple sensory stimulation. That hand towel comprises a short fabric, cloth-like element for individual hand drying, said cloth-like element having at least two distinct color components, a first main component for a substantial body of the cloth-like element and a second accent component for covering only portions of the cloth-like element, each element further including a plurality of raised regions and recesses for providing each element with a three-dimensional feel. A plurality of such cloth-like elements are adjoined end to end on an elongated sheet and wound onto a central having at least one of: a scent dispensing element and a motion detector sound chip.

Description

RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a perfection of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/632,615, filed on Jan. 27, 2012 and entitled “All colors paper roll towel throw away, (to match terrie cloth wash cloth, hand towel, bath towel, bath mats. To look pretty in bath room. And kitchen with dish towel”, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a disposable hand towel made from absorbent paper. More particularly, it relates to a mass produced, disposable hand drying product that can be customized for aesthetics and for other sensory stimulation, both smell and touch, with optional audial stimulation. A method for dispensing such hand towels is also disclosed.

BACKGROUND

Absorbent paper products, such as facial tissue and kitchen paper towels, are commonly provided with a variety of aesthetic and functional features. Facial tissues, for example, come in a variety of colors, scents, styles (e.g., 2-ply, 3-ply, 5-ply with or without lotion, etc.), quantities and packaging styles. They may include floral or other graphic designs on the individual tissues or packaging therefor. In general, however, such features are only available in a limited number of combinations. For instance, a facial tissue carton bearing a particular floral design might only be available with scents, or tissues of a particular color, or in a specific quantity. While a wide variety of aesthetic and functional features exist, a consumer must still choose from a relatively limited number of available feature combinations, and select a particular absorbent paper product whose combination of features most closely matches their preferences or needs.
As recognized by this inventor, what is needed is means by which consumers can select the color, scent, touch (and possibly sound) features they desire in an absorbent hand towel product that can be easily and proudly displayed for showing off its color coordinating capabilities and then readily dispensed from that display in individual and/or multiple quantities.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

To best solve these and other needs, the inventor has designed a hand towel product that can be color customized to match/compliment the non-disposable hand, body and bath towel drying products in one's kitchen, bathroom or powder room. With this invention, the end consumer may select or specify certain optional features in scent and touch, possibly sound. The consumer may choose from a wide variety of colors and color combinations, scents, individual sheet/panel sizes, as well as the texture, printing or other graphic designs on each disposable product. In this manner, consumers may purchase custom absorbent paper products which depict slogans, company logos, cartoon (including Disney character) themes and/or local school, college and professional sports teams. Such paper products may be “made to order” at a point of purchase or ordered for shipping from a common, remote location.
Because of this invention's ability to customize disposable hand towels with the kitchen/bath towel colors and/or more permanent consumer color choices in room tile, cabinets, countertops, etc., it is understood that one can more easily coordinate their disposable adsorbent paper product selections, known as ColorUP's™ with the rest of a room's given surroundings and, in doing so stimulate three, maybe even four, of the five known human senses: sight, smell and touch together with sound additions thereto.
Using disposable hand towels is significantly more hygienic than using, washing and reusing terrycloth towels. The germs that are dried away from the user's hands are disposed of rather than being submitted for the same person or others' re-contamination. Yet, this invention accomplishes improved cleanliness while keeping key washing areas of a household, the kitchen, bath and powder rooms looking pretty and staying color coordinated to better decorate such rooms with the other thematic, more permanent accent colors and color combinations in one's house. This disposable variety of hand towels hereby retains some attractive, decorative qualities. When made from recyclable paper materials, there is an even greater “greening” benefit realized.
According to one aspect of the invention, a consumer may customize his/her roll of absorbent hand towel product by selecting from an existing color palate (with or without the benefit of knowing ones specific permanent towel, tile, wallpaper and/or wall paint choices). Then, that same consumer can choose from a variety of pre-made sheet/panel textures to be three-dimensionally imprinted or embossed on each disposable hand drying sheet, or design and submit their own pattern for imprinting/imparting onto individual sheet panels. Next, the consumer can down select from a variety of scents to be custom added to the central dispensing roll for a given set of hand drying sheets . . . sometimes, selecting natural scents, fruit scents and/or common flower smells for an individual color preference (such as lemon scented sheets that are yellow in tone). Alternately, and especially for bolder kitchen applications, color and scent choices may be coordinated based on various pleasant food smells. For instances, a lighter cocoa-paneled sheet set can be combined with a central roller insert that emits a pleasing coffee aroma to its immediate surroundings.
There is also the possibility of morphing together certain combinations of colors with the hand towels of this invention. Varying “tie dye” combinations of colors may be achieved for display in the consumer's kitchen, bath and/or powder rooms.
A fourth sense stimulation can be added for particular applications of disposable roll products having common musical connections. Particularly, when the sheets are colorized to those of one's favorite high school, college or professional sports team, the dispensing roll may be further customized with a motion-sensitive computer chip that plays one's alma mater or their team's well known fight songs (under appropriate licenses, of course) every time one or more panels are pulled from and torn away at the perforations on the custom colored (and possibly scented) roll of disposable hand towels.
One particular variety of sound stimulants is holiday-related. With the use of graphics for a given holiday, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, July 4^thand possibly even birthday and anniversary themes, corresponding musical clips for those hand towel rolls may be used in conjunction with those color-coordinated disposable hand towels. Yet another theme may be to use soothing, mind-relaxing meditation music (waterfalls/rain/casual blowing wind, etc.) . . . along with incense-smelling chip emitters.
Sadly, the fifth sense will remain un-stimulated until it becomes practically feasible to make disposable adsorbent sheet product from materials that are also edible. Only then can the sense of ‘taste’ be safely added to the mix.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the particulars that follow.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Further features, objectives and advantages of this invention will be made clearer from the following detailed description made with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of three representative roll scent and color schemes suggested preferred embodiments: a two tone yellow combination, basic blue combination and red/pink combination vertically arranged side-by-side; and

FIG. 2 is a side-by-side comparison of preferred sheet sizes according to one embodiment of this invention.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The architectural or home decor style of a kitchen, bathroom or powder room may be based on time periods in which designs and styles originated, as well as geographical region or countries of origin.
The design may be applied to the towel element by printing, embossing or cutting into its fibrous structure. As used herein, “design” shall include, without limitation, computer scanned images, drawings, photographs, cartoon character strips, product and/or store logos, team mascots and school initials, single or multi-color (including black and white) designs, fabrics, woven in shapes, embossments, deformations, print, and combinations thereof. In another embodiment, each towel element may include a three-dimensional geometric shape. Still another embodiment considers the use of braille printing, in a three-dimensional mode, for imparting greeting or other soothing methods to the visually challenged visitor(s).
Consumers want their home or work decor to be visually pleasing and well coordinated from a design standpoint. Consumer's natural desire to coordinate items within a room into one or more common design themes requires them to learn more about home decor and design principles. However, consumers are very busy with work, children, and activities. A simple and highly visual presentation of information of these principles would be helpful. Moreover, the combination of home decor tips, illustrations, and patterns on a consumable product package that can be placed in room and viewed/analyzed over time provides an added level of confidence to the consumer that a change to a new style of decor will be appealing to herself and others who will be using the room on a regular basis.
Therefore, the present invention may comprise providing decor information selected from the group consisting of paint colors, wallpaper patterns, candle scents, wall and/or floor tile information, style group identifying information, and combinations thereof.
Painting information may include sources of paint suppliers for color palettes that coordinate with the style group and/or the colors and graphics on the tissue product packaging, photographs of paint colors or color palettes that coordinate with the design or the style group, paint color numbers of paint colors that coordinate with the design or style group, etc. Wallpaper information may include sources of wallpaper suppliers, brand and styles numbers of wallpaper that will coordinate with the designs for each style group, websites (e.g. url) for online ordering or information, photographs or graphic renditions of wall paper that coordinate with the design or style group, etc.
FIG. 1 shows three representative color combinations of disposable towels, each having a lighter color in the same family and a darker or deeper variant combined therewith. Note that for each set, there may be patterns embossed into the respective hand towel panels. For instance, the two colored stripes as shown may be raised from OR recessed partially into the paper surfaces of each panel. Alternately, other patterns (flowers, diamonds, etc.) may be substituted therefor or used to supplement the main towel patterns.
In FIG. 1, there is also a suggested, color-based scent additive per the respective center rolls. For instance, a lemony scent can be emitted from the yellow colored towels on the left edge of FIG. 1. In the middle column, blue colored towels are provided with a representative Fresh Breeze smell. Finally, the red and pink color combination along the right edge of FIG. 1 can be supplied with the fragrance of apples.
There are numerous alternative combinations as well. For instance, the natural scents of daisies or fruity banana smells may be used for yellow colored towels; blue sheets may be supplemented with the smell of blueberries and red colored towels can be cherry scented or one of many flower fragrances like roses.
To the extent this invention correlates to school allegiances, the colors and/or color combinations can be coordinated to reflect the color schemes of local and/or regional high schools and colleges. It is not unheard of to make a set of disposable hand towels in the rich red and navy blue colors of McKeesport High School, near Pittsburgh, Pa. and add a raised M from each panel. Alternately, the school's Tiger mascot logo may be added to respective hand towel panels.
Should high school and college “toweling” seem extreme, there is always the likelihood of going Black and Gold for local professional teams, the Pittsburgh Pirates, Steelers and/or Penguins, with team logos added thereto under the appropriate licenses with Major League Baseball, the NFL and NHL.
For colleges, there is an excellent likelihood of rekindling alumni loyalties by adding a sound chip to the center roll of a towel set bearing the school's colors, with or without mascots. That sound chip should play a pre-recorded set of notes from the school's fight song, alma mater, or both (in an alternating manner).
In FIG. 2, a preferred size comparison of the present invention is shown versus the standard size roll and towels currently known to consumers. Such towels already on consumer shelves roll from a standardized 11 inch wide roll and typically run a width of 5 inches per panel. The present invention is intended to keep that general panel size, by unrolling 12 inch wide panels from a 9 inch wide roll (though other size rolls and panels are also anticipated hereby).
There are an infinite variety of possible geometries, shapes, and arrangements formed in the paper therefrom. Examples of these shapes include, but are not limited to those described as a bow-tie pattern or snowflake pattern. Further examples of these shapes include, but are not limited to, circles, ovals, diamonds, triangles, hexagons, and various quadrilaterals.
The absorbent paper product may include, for example, the individual product count (e.g., the number of facial tissues contained in a single package, such as six, twelve, one hundred, etc.), the style of the product (e.g., two-ply, three-ply and five-ply, with or without lotion, etc.), the color of the product (preferably single colors or color pairs, groups of colors, multi-colored options including tie-dyed variations, and limited color with various logos and/or cartoon characterizations, where applicable), the scent of the product and/or product packaging (including an unscented option along with a variety of scents and aromas), the three-dimensional graphic design of the product (preferably including several predefined textural design options, a no text design option, and a graphic design provided by the consumer). The consumer is provided options for numerous and as many product features as possible, including those noted above, thereby allowing the consumer to design a potentially unique combination of such features which meets their individual tastes or needs.
It may be desirable to pre-produce absorbent paper products with each possible combination of features so these products are immediately available for delivery to a consumer.
As used herein, “graphic design” shall include computer scanned images, drawings, photographs, promotional logos (like the Target store “bull's eye”), words, phrases and any combination thereof, as well as single color graphic designs, multi-color (including black and white) graphic designs, and any combination thereof.
Additionally, the product of this invention includes a scent emitter or “fragrancer” insert desired by the consumer. For added sensory stimulation, a sound chip may be added for playing a song, jingle or pre-recorded message each time the central roll is moved with the removal of one or more disposable towels therefrom.
Furthermore, hand towel products may be chosen by consumers to reflect their decor preferences. Such products are placed in locations in the home of consumers so that they are readily available for use, especially by visitors. Since these products are generally sitting out on countertops or in plain view in bathroom, powder room or kitchen areas, many consumers consider that these products are also decor accessories. As such, these products have the potential to be a focal point of the room or to add decor interest to the room in which they are displayed and used. Consumers, hence, want the color palette and the design patterns of their tissue products to match the decor of their home and to reflect their home decor tastes and preferences.
While particular embodiments have been illustrated and described, various other changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is therefore intended to cover in the appended claims all such changes and modifications that are within the scope of this invention.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A disposable hand towel that can be customized for multiple sensory stimulation, said hand towel comprising:

a short fabric, cloth-like element for individual hand drying, said cloth-like element having at least two distinct color components, a first main component for a substantial body of the cloth-like element and a second accent component for covering only portions of the cloth-like element, and a three-dimensional pattern, a plurality of said cloth-like elements being adjoined end to end on an elongated sheet;

said elongated sheet being intended for winding onto a central roll and continuously onto itself about said central roll;

said central roll having a scent dispensing element inserted into one roll end for emitting a scent analogous to one of the two distinct color components.

2. The disposable hand towel of claim 1 wherein said three-dimensional pattern includes a plurality of raised regions, recesses or both.

3. The disposable hand towel of claim 1 wherein said scent is selected from one associated with a smell found in nature.

4. The disposable hand towel of claim 3 wherein said nature smell is from a fruit or a flower.

5. The disposable hand towel of claim 1 wherein said scent is selected from one associated with a pleasant food smell.

6. The disposable hand towel of claim 1 wherein a plurality of adjacent cloth-like elements includes a school logo or emblem.

7. The disposable hand towel of claim 1 wherein a plurality of adjacent cloth-like elements includes a logo or emblem from a professional sports team.

8. The disposable hand towel of claim 1 wherein said central roll further includes a motion detector sound chip.

9. The disposable hand towel of claim 1, which includes graphics, smells and/or sounds consistent with a holiday theme.

10. A disposable hand towel that can be customized for multiple sensory stimulation, said hand towel comprising:

a short fabric, cloth-like element for individual hand drying, said cloth-like element having at least two distinct color components, a first main component for a substantial body of the cloth-like element and a second accent component for covering only portions of the cloth-like element, each element further including a plurality of raised regions and recesses for providing each element with a three-dimensional feel in a pre-set pattern; and

a plurality of said cloth-like elements being adjoined end to end on an elongated sheet;

said elongated sheet being wound onto a central roll and then repeatedly onto itself about said central roll;

said central roll including at least one of: a scent-dispensing element for emitting a scent analogous to at least one of the color components and a sound-dispensing chip.

11. The disposable hand towel of claim 10 wherein said scent is selected from one associated with a smell found in nature.

12. The disposable hand towel of claim 11 wherein said nature smell is from a fruit or flower.

13. The disposable hand towel of claim 10 wherein said scent is one pleasantly affiliated with a food product.

14. The disposable hand towel of claim 10 wherein a plurality of adjacent cloth-like elements includes a school logo or emblem.

15. The disposable hand towel of claim 10 wherein a plurality of adjacent cloth-like elements includes a logo or emblem from a professional sports team.

16. The disposable hand towel of claim 10, which includes graphics, smells and/or sounds consistent with a holiday theme.

17. A method for dispensing disposable hand towels having multiple sensory stimulation, said method comprising:

providing a plurality of short fabric, cloth-like elements for individual hand drying, each cloth-like element having at least two distinct color components, a first main component for a substantial body of the cloth-like element and a second accent component for covering only portions of the cloth-like element, each element further including a plurality of raised regions and recesses for providing each element with a three-dimensional feel in a pre-set pattern, said cloth-like elements being adjoined end to end on an elongated continuous sheet;

providing a central roll about which the elongated sheet of cloth-like elements are wrapped, said roll including at least one of: a scent dispensing element inserted into one roll end for emitting a scent analogous to one of the two distinct color components and a motion detector sound chip; and

providing a stand onto which the central roll can be positioned for users to dispense one or more sheets of cloth-like elements by manual rotation of the central roll about the stand.

18. The dispensing method of claim 17 wherein said scent is selected from one associated with a smell found in nature.

19. The dispensing method of claim 17 wherein a plurality of adjacent cloth-like elements includes a school logo or emblem.

20. The dispensing method of claim 17 wherein a plurality of adjacent cloth-like elements includes a logo or emblem from a professional sports team.