US2927714A - Dispensing carton - Google Patents

Description

March 8, 1960 H. N. NELSON` 2,927,714

DIsPx-:NsING CARTON Filed Sept. 6. 1955 @y www@ esf United States Patent O" DISPENSING CARTON Howard N. Nelson, Neenah, Wis., asslgnor to Kimberly- Clark Corporation, Neenah, Wis., a corporation of Delaware Application September 6, 1955, vSerial No. 532,481

2 Claims. (Cl. 22148) vThe present invention relates to a dispensing carton for sheet material which is arranged in a stack so as to be self-feeding, as the sheets are withdrawn from the stack, and it has especial utility in connection with interfolded tissues of the type generally referred to as facial or cleansing tissues. More particularly, this application is directed to the dispensing carton described in my pending application Serial No. 511,560, tiled May 27, 1955, and to improvements therein, and the present application is a continuation-in-part of such earlier application which has been abandoned in favor of the present application.

In the packaging of sheet material which is to be dispensed one at a time, it is desirable to use a carton which is provided with a relatively narrow sheet dispensing opening and to have the sheets arranged in a stack within the carton so that as each sheet is withdrawn it causes the succeeding sheet to follow and remain partially extendingrthrough the dispensing opening. Restricting the area of the sheet dispensing opening is important for sanitary reasons, it being undesirable to have any great portion of the stack of sheets exposed to collect dirt etc. The feature of having a self-feeding arrangement forthe several sheets in the stack is an obvious convenience.

One difliculty that is encountered in the packaging of sheets of the type referred to above, particularly with larger packs of tissues and the like, is the satisfactory accommodation of bulk variation of the tissues. The amount of moisture in the surrounding atmosphere plays an important part in determining the bulk of a package of sheets, and this bulk may vary quite widely. Consequently, it is desirable to provide a carton whichcan accommodate this bulk variation in a given number of sheets, without having the pack too loose in the carton when the bulk is low and yet will permit proper withdrawalof the sheets, one at a time, when the bulk is high and the pack presses against the top of the carton.

Still another problem which arises with dispensing cartons is the tendency of such cartons to rupture or tear along the dispensing opening, particularly at the ends thereof.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide an improved carton for dispensing tissue sheets and the like, which affords a solution to the above stated problems through the provision of a novel form of dispensing opening. More particularly, it is an object of this invention to provide a carton having a novel form of dispensing opening, which is particularly effective in relieving the pressure on the top of vthe opened carton when the bulk of the sheets is high, and which resists the tendency of the carton to tear in the region of the dispensing opening.

The selected embodiment of the invention is illustrated taken along the line 3-3 in Fig. 2;

'v taining less than the specied number of sheets.

2,927,714 Patented Mar. 8 1960 ICC Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 4-4 in Fig. 2; and

Fig. 5 is a plan view of a blank for forming the carton shown in the preceding figures.

The present invention is particularly advantageous and concerned with use with relatively large size packages of tissues, i.e. those containing a relatively large number of folded sheets of cleansing tissues and the like, which are subject to considerable variation in bulk due to atmospheric conditions and handling. The invention also has special utility in packages ofsheet material, wherein the sheets are interfolded or otherwise arranged for sequential self-feeding with each sheet being made accessible through the dispensing opening by movement of th preceding sheet.` Consequently, the invention is described with respect tol a relatively large package containing interfolded tissue sheets. It should be noted, however, that certain of the disclosed features are of more general utility and may be used advantageously in other types of cartons and with other types of sheet material.

With products such as cleansing or facial tissuesfthe atmospheric conditions, particularly humidity,'and the method of handling the product in its formation and packaging greatly affect its bulk. Consequently, `a stack of tissues containing, for example 200 double-ply sheets provide a carton on the basis of the greatest expected bulk, in `view of the wide variation, since the minimum size package will then be too loose in the carton and will convey to the customer the impression of con- It is desirable and customary, therefore, to provide cartons of a size which accommodate average bulk tissue.

When high bulk tissue is made, and a substantial amount of all tissue is in this classification, the cartons are very tightly filled, and it is very difficult to open the ,carton without damaging it and to withdraw `the upper tissues without tearing them. This problem increases with the number of tissues in the package, since the pressure exerted by the tissues on the top of the carton increases accordingly and makes it more difficult to separate and remove the top few tissues.

The packaged tissues are desirably interfolded so as to make possible sequential, one-at-a-time feeding` of the tissues from the carton. In one of the more popular types of interfolding, each individual tissue, which is usually of duplex construction, is folded intermediate its length in contact with a second tissue, in such-relationship that the fold `in one tissue essentially coincides with the severance line in the other tissue. By this arrangement, the withdrawal of one tissue Vmoves a portion of the next adjacent tissue through the dispensing lopening in the carton and makes possible the desired convenient, one-at-a-time feeding. The sequential feeding of the sheets is additionally assured, in one instance, by providing avery light bond between thc tissues. This bond aids in pulling the succeeding sheet from the carton, but it is easily broken to separate the uppermost sheet from the stack. v i

It is difficult, however, in utilizing known typesV of dispensing cartons to maintain sequential feeding when the tissues gettlow vin the tbox, particularly with stacks having greater than about to 200 double ply, single folded sheets, that is, 300 to 400 single sheets in a stack. In the known types of cartons, there is a tendency for the tissues to fall back into the box after theV top sheet has been Separatedffmm the' PaCk, and' in4 the r 3- boxes it is difficult to reach the tissues near the bottom of the box once they have dropped back into the box.

The present invention overcomes both of the abovementioned difficulties and provides a carton which can snugly accomodate either high bulk or low bulk tissue Without hampering the withdrawal of the initial sheets, while maintaining the proper sequential feeding of the tissues throughout the entire pack. Further, the present invention facilitates the opening of the carton and provides better access to the tissue stack, if such becomes necessary for any reason, without exposing any great area of the stack when the carton is in its open condition.

With reference nowv to the drawings, wherein the selected embodiment of the invention is illustrated, it is seen that there is provided a carton having a dispensing opening 12 defined in the top of the carton. More particularly, as seen in Figure 5, the carton is formed from a generally rectangularly-shaped, paperboard blank 14 having fold or crease lines 16 therein defining the bottom 18, top 20, and a pair of side walls or panels 22 and 24. Each of these walls include tab portions at opposite ends thereof for forming the ends of the carton, and there is also provided a narrow strip 28 adjacent the free side of the bottom-delining wall 1810i the blank to atord means for securing the bottom to the side wall 24.

The access opening 12 is shown as being formed by perforate lines inthe top panel 20, which define a removable section of parallelogram configuration, and a pair of generally parallel lines 32 and .34, form an extension ofthe opposite ends of the removable section '30* to complete the dispensing opening. In the illustrated form the lines 32 and 34 extend in the general direction of the opposite corners of the top panel and terminate short of the ends of the carton adjacent those diagonally opposite corners, as illustrated, but do not extend to the corners. In this respect, it is desirable that the angles deiined along the edges of the dispensing opening be greater than 90 degrees, so as to avoid sharp comers which might resist easy withdrawal of the tissues or tear the sheets. Further, it is desirable that the dispensing opening be arranged in a geometrically balanced form with respect to both the longitudinal and transverse axes of the carton top with one half of the dispensing opening being identical in configuration with the other half of the opening but being disposed in the reverse manner f with respect to the longitudinal axis of the carton top. In this Way the withdrawal of a tissue exerts a balanced force on the carton top and, consequently, does not tend to tip over the carton.

The ends of the lines 32 and 34 extend into the adjoining end flaps 26, as indicated at and 42 respectively, and these end extensions of the dispensing opening 12 attord considerable advantages, both with respect to the prevention of any tearing of the carton and in affording llexibility of the carton to relieve the pressures thereon due to the tissue bulk.

The end cuts 40 and 42 may be disposed at any position along the ends of the carton, but are preferably not placed at thel corners of the carton. Of course, the opening deining lines 32 and 34 are placed accordingly, so that the cuts 40 and 42 are a continuation of such lines. Furthermore, it is believed most desirable for the cuts 40 and 42 to extend in inclined relation to the end edge 44 of the carton, although these cuts may be normal to the edge 44 and still be advantageous. The

inclined disposition of the cuts 40 and 42 offers betterr flexing of the carton after it has been opened. And, in this latter respect, it should be noted that with the use of the end cuts 40 and 42 it is possible to achieve adequate flexing of the carton to accommodate high bulk tissue and permit normal withdrawal of the top sheets, while retaining the dispensing opening in fairly close and generally parallel relation to the longitudinal axis of the carton. This is desirable in that it provides .cleansing tissues and the like, it is customary to have the bers in the paperboard extending transversely of the length of the box, otherwise the carton will not have a well defined shape and be sufficiently rigid. This necessary arrangement of the bers, however, makes the paperboard relatively weak in the direction of the fibers. Consequently, there is a tendency for the carton to tear along the direction of the fibers, when the carton is opened and/or during use of the carton as a tissue dispenser. The greatest source of diiculty in this respect is at the endsr of the dispensing opening, where there frequently occurs a transverse tearing of the paperboard carton. This tendency to tear is virtually eliminated in the illustrated opening by the provision of the end cuts 40 and 42 which, partially through their permitting more liexing of the carton top 20 and partially through their disposition in the end panels 26 transversely of the liber direction, are most effective in confining the carton opening to the line dened by the cut 30 and in preventing any tearing of the carton top.

It is also to be noted that, in the formation of a carton from the blank shown in Fig. 5, the tabs 45, which extend from opposite ends of the side walls 22 and 24, have their upper edges immediately beneath the end folds 44 (Figs. 1 and 2) of the carton top 20. Consequently, these tab edges provide a support or bearing along the end fold lines 44 and prevent much of the downward pressure which may be exerted on the carton top 20 from being directed along the dispensing opening to the end panels 26. This feature, in conjunction with the ilexibility aflorded by the end cuts 40 and 42 and the disposition of the latter transversely of the ber direction, helps to preserve the carton intact through the opening of the carton and the subsequent repeated usage of the carton as a tissue dispenser.

In opening the box, the perforate lines in the top panel 20 are broken and the section 30 removed to permit access to the top tissue. If a starter sheet of heavier paper is used, such starter sheet isl disposed with one edge underlying the removable section 30 so that it may be readily grasped and withdrawn to pull the top sheet from the box. It will be noted that, although the removable section 30 is of less length than the box, the top panel 20 is broken across its entire lengthv by virtue of the lines 32 and 34 and the end cuts 40 and 42 forming the remainder of the dispensing opening 12. This is an important feature of the carton for the reason that it is automatically effective, on the opening of the carton, to relieve the top 20 of a considerable amount of the pressure exerted by they tissue pack. At the same time it exposes only a very small area of the pack.

With the foregoing arrangement, the top of the carton is essentially divided lengthwise, into two relatively narrow sections which are quite flexible, particularly because of the end cuts 40 and 42, and which yield more readily to the pressure of the tissue pack. This further aids in 'making it easier to withdraw the top tissues without tearing.

As the top tissue is withdrawn from the carton, it is drawn not only through the elongated, slotted opening 31, formed by removal of the section 30, but also through the cuts deued by the lines 32 and 34. Since the latter are formed by single line performations, the adjoining edges of the top panel remain in substantial These abutting edges are quite tlexible and permit free withdrawal of the tissue. When the tension on the sheet is released, however, they return to a generally coplanar disposition and grasp the projecting sheet between their abutting edges, as seen in Figures 2 and 3. This featureis important in preventing the sheet which is to be used next from falling back'into the box, and `is particularly advantageous where a'relatively deep'ca'rton is employed.

It is also important to note that the angular disposition of the lines 32 and 34, with respect to the access opening 30, is elective in providing a curve in the upstanding portion of the tissue which projects beyond the dispensing and access opening. This adds rigidity to the sheet which helps maintain it in the extended form seen in Figure 2. Thus the sheet is maintained readily accessible at all times and does not tend to lay across the top of the box, as is the natural tendency of the limp sheets ordinarily used for cleansing tissues and the like.

It is seen, therefore, that there is provided bythe present invention a novel form of carton which is particularly advantageous in the dispensing of separable sheet material, such as cleansing tissues and the like, which is interfolded or otherwise arranged for sequential feeding. The disclosed arrangement for a dispensing opening permits exing of the carton to relieve the pressure on the tissues so that they may be easily withdrawn without tearing, while maintaining a maximum amount of permanent coverage for the packaged tissues. Furthermore, the disclosed form of opening provides a disposition of the sheets, generally along the longitudinal center line of the carton, which aids appreciably in keeping the upper tissue in extended relation to the box, where it can be readily grasped and withdrawn for use. It is also seen that the arrangement of the cuts 40 and 4Z. at the ends of the dispensing openingV 12 is of considerable advantage in preventing any tearing of the carton along the opening, other than along the lines defining such opening, and in improving the llexibility of the carton to accommodate high bulk and relieve the pressure on the top panelV once the carton is opened. As indicated above, the cuts 40 and 42 are disposed transversely of the direction of the fibers in the paperboard and, therefore, provide for exing of the top panel in a manner utilizing the maximum strength of the carton to resist the normal tendency of the dispensing'opening to tear beyond its dei-ined limits when subjected to pressure.

The invention is not limited in its application to any particular manner of providing for self-feeding of the sheets or any particular type of interfolding and can be used to advantage with any of the known arrangements.

Although shown and described with respect to a particular embodiment, it will be apparent that other modications might readily be made to secure the advantages of the invention without departing from the principles thereof. It should also be understood that the top panel referred to in the disclosure is the panel from which the tissue is dispensed and, therefore, ymay be what might otherwise be considered a bottom, side or end panel in a particular arrangement. Further, while certain advantages are gained by providing a perforated line for the dispensing opening, a complete cut or another form of partial severance may also be used. In this respect, it is preferred that the ends 40 and 42 of the dispensing opening be in the form of a cut extending across the line of the fold and may be either normal to or inclined with respect to the direction of fibers in the paperboard carton. While the cuts 40 and 42 may be disposed anywhere intermediate the end corners of the carton, it is believed generally desirable to place it in the middle one-third of the end, in order to thereby avoid extending the dispensing opening too far olf the center line of the carton. It is also desirable to avoid scoring or pre-creasing of the carton blank in the path of the end cuts 40 and 42.

It will be apparent that ing openings may readily be made which incorporate one or Vmore Vof the features discussed with -respect to the illustrated embodiment, without departing from the principles of this invention. For example,` it should be understood that, Whereas the present invention `is particularly directed to the feature of extending the access opening into the adjoining panels along a line transversely of the fiber lay in the paperboard carton, this invention is not dependent upon a particular form of dispensing opening'. A singley cut may readily be employed which extends across one panel and a relatively short distance into each of the two adjoining panels, without providing a removable portion for the dispensing opening, and still gain certain of the advantages of this invention.

l claim:

1. In combination with a stack of sheets which are inter-folded to provide sequential feeding of each of the sheetsfrom the stack in response to movement of the immediately overlying sheet away from the stack, a'dispensng carton comprising means defining the wal-ls of a generally rectangularly-shaped box having top, bottom, side and end panels, and means defining the outline of a Vdispensing opening in the top panel of said carton, said opening defining means-including a removable portion of the top panel for providing ay longitudinally extending parallelogram opening generally centrally located in said top panel and having its ends spaced inwardly a substantial distance from the end edges of said top panel, means forming a single line perforation which extends from one end of said longitudinal opening in the direction Vof one of the corners of said top panel, and means forming a second single line perforation which extends from the other end of said longitudinal opening in the direction of a diagonally opposite corner of said top panel with respect to said one corner, whereby displacement of said removable portion from the box and the opening of said linear perforations affords flexing of said top panel and provides means for sequential feeding of said sheets from the box in a manner such that, when the leading one of said sheets is pulled through said longitudinally extending opening and is separated from the stack, the perforated cuts in said top panel are eifective to hold the succeeding sheet in fixed, extende relation to the box. f

V2. In combination with a stack of sheets which are inter-folded to provide sequential feeding of each of the sheets from the stack in response to movement of the immediately overlying sheet away from the stack, a dispensing carton comprising means dening the walls of a generally rectangularly-shaped box having top, bottom, side and end panels, and means defining the outline of a dispensing opening in the top panel of said carton, said opening defining `means including a removable portion of the top panel for providing a longitudinally extending parallelogram opening generally centrally located in said top panel and having its ends spaced inwardly a substantial distance from the end edges of said top panel, means forming a single line perforation vwhich extends from one end of said longitudinal opening in the direction of one of the corners of said top panelV and which extends within the adjacent end panel, and means forming a second single line perforation which extends from the other end of said longitudinal opening in the direction of a diagonally opposite corner of said top panel with respect to said one corner and which extends within the adjacent end panel, whereby displacement of said removable portion from the box and the opening of said linear perforations affords flexing of said top panel and provides means for sequential feeding of said sheets other'forms of dispens-l box.

the succeeding sheet in fixed, extended relation to the References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Thompson Mar. 24, 1931 Hope Sept. 20, 1932 8 Hofmaster et al. Apr. 11, 1944 Buttery Sept. 17,1946 Weiss Ian. 1, 1952 Baxter Mar. 16, 1954 Nudell Sept. 14, 1954 Nelson June 24, 1958 Nelson June 24, 1958

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