WO2006054966A1 - Top-dispensing absorbent sheet dispenser - Google Patents
Top-dispensing absorbent sheet dispenser Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- WO2006054966A1 WO2006054966A1 PCT/US2004/037743 US2004037743W WO2006054966A1 WO 2006054966 A1 WO2006054966 A1 WO 2006054966A1 US 2004037743 W US2004037743 W US 2004037743W WO 2006054966 A1 WO2006054966 A1 WO 2006054966A1
- Authority
- WO
- WIPO (PCT)
- Prior art keywords
- web
- sheet
- dispenser
- dispenser according
- opening
- Prior art date
Links
Classifications
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A47—FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
- A47K—SANITARY EQUIPMENT NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; TOILET ACCESSORIES
- A47K10/00—Body-drying implements; Toilet paper; Holders therefor
- A47K10/24—Towel dispensers, e.g. for piled-up or folded textile towels; Toilet-paper dispensers; Dispensers for piled-up or folded textile towels provided or not with devices for taking-up soiled towels as far as not mechanically driven
- A47K10/32—Dispensers for paper towels or toilet-paper
- A47K10/42—Dispensers for paper towels or toilet-paper dispensing from a store of single sheets, e.g. stacked
- A47K10/421—Dispensers for paper towels or toilet-paper dispensing from a store of single sheets, e.g. stacked dispensing from the top of the dispenser
Definitions
- the invention relates to a dispenser for serially- dispensing folded absorbent sheet products through an upwardly oriented opening, and more preferably relates to an improved top-dispensing paper towel dispenser.
- Paper towel dispensers used in commercial establishments generally are wall-mounted and dispense downwardly. Dispensers in which the towels can be removed from above tend not to be dispensers as such, but rather open trays such as the INSIGHT ® Counter Top Folded Towel Dispenser marketed by Kimberly-Clark. Such open tray dispensers permit users to take more than one towel at a time, and thus do not curtail waste as effectively as a dispenser in which the towels are removed one-at-a- time. Also, with most of the towels being exposed in such trays, there is a danger that a large part of the stack could get wet or otherwise contaminated by a previous user.
- One-at-a-time top-dispensing dispensers are most often used for facial tissues, in which a bolt of discrete, separated tissues is dispensed one-at-a-time, although the one-at-a-time dispensing is not entirely reliable. That is, the tissues have a tendency to fall back down into the dispenser, particularly when there is a relatively small portion of the tissues remaining, such that a tissue suspended from the top opening is draped over a longer distance before resting on the remaining tissues within the dispenser. This gives rise to the disadvantage of a next user having to reach into the dispenser in order to get the tissues coming out again, which is all the more undesirable if the dispenser is in a public place.
- U.S. Patent No. 5,810,200 describes a pop-up dispenser in which a single web of pre-perforated tissues may be dispensed serially, by use of a spring-loaded tab 18 that registers within each line of perforations as a tissue is being withdrawn.
- This patent does not appear to address the above-described fallback problems, and entails a somewhat more complicated structure to deal with the tissues being initially interconnected within the dispenser.
- a dispenser for absorbent sheet products comprising a body that covers a stack of paper products to be disposed within the dispenser, the body comprising an opening on an upper surface thereof, in which the opening has a size and shape such that a stack of absorbent sheet products to be disposed within the dispenser and formed of at least two interfolded webs of perforated absorbent sheet material in which the perforations of one web are not aligned with the perforations of an adjacent web may be withdrawn through the opening one sheet at a time, by a user pulling on a first sheet of the one web protruding through the opening without the user needing to touch a next sheet on the adjacent web or a subsequent sheet on the one web, the next sheet on the adjacent web protruding through the opening each time a first sheet on the one web is withdrawn and detached from the one web, without the adjacent sheet falling downwardly from the opening back into the body.
- the invention is embodied not only in the dispenser itself, but also in the combination of the dispenser filled with a stack of absorbent sheet products housed therein, the absorbent sheet products having a structure and arrangement particularly well suited for serial dispensing in the dispenser of the invention, as will be discussed hereinbelow in the context of several preferred embodiments.
- the invention also relates to the use of a stack of interfolded absorbent sheet products as described hereinbelow, in a dispenser according to the invention.
- Figure 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a dispenser according to the present invention.
- Figure 2 is a view showing how the dispenser of Fig. 1 opens for loading of absorbent sheet products therein;
- Figure 3 is a cross sectional view of the dispenser of Fig. 1 taken along its long side, showing a stack of paper products disposed therein;
- Figures 4 (a) and 4 (b) schematically depicts two preferred interfolded arrangements of a stack of towels for use in combination with the dispenser of the invention, viewed from the short side of the Fig. 1 dispenser;
- Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional view showing a preferred shape of the dispenser top opening.
- the dispenser 1 is generally parallelepiped in shape, comprising four sides and a top, housing as it does a rectangular stack of absorbent sheet products.
- the dispenser need not have a bottom, as the stack of absorbent sheet products could simply rest directly on a countertop; however, that possibility is less preferred to a dispenser that includes its own bottom, as shown in the depicted embodiments.
- the dispenser includes an opening 2 in its top, which in this embodiment is generally circular.
- the shape of the opening is not critical, although circular is preferred.
- the opening could also be of octagonal shape, or of oblong shape, for example.
- the aspect ratio of the opening not exceed about 5:1, that is, that the opening not have a long dimension greater than about five times its shorter dimension.
- the area of the opening contributes to the one-at-a-time operation of the dispenser while preventing fallback of the paper towel stack disposed therein.
- the opening has a surface area in the range from about 0.78 in 2 to about 2.40 in 2 , with a surface area of about 1.10 in 2 being particularly preferred. Tests on prototype dispensers having openings in this range of surface areas, using paper towel stacks as described hereinbelow, confirmed that one-handed serial dispensing could be performed consistently, and without fallback of the towels, even when the stack of towels was nearing the end.
- Aabsorbent sheet products® as used herein embraces not only paper products such as paper towels, but also absorbent nonwoven materials not normally classed as papers or tissues. Such nonwoven materials include pure nonwovens and hybrid nonwoven/pulp webs.
- the dispenser is shown open for receiving a fresh stack of absorbent sheet products therein.
- the dispenser is preferably formed of two main parts, each of which is preferably injection molded plastic.
- the front part 3 includes the top and front side, whereas the rear part 4 includes the bottom and the three other sides .
- the front part is pivotally connected to the rear part via integrally molded pins (not shown) received in corresponding openings 5 on the rear part.
- Integrally molded tabs 6 depend downwardly from the rear of the top side, and snap fit into corresponding openings 7 formed toward the rear of the side walls of the rear part 4, by virtue of the intrinsic resiliency of the plastic material and the thinned webs with which the tabs 6 are connected to the front part 3 ,
- the dispenser not lift off the surface of the countertop when a towel is being withdrawn.
- One way of avoiding this is by gluing or otherwise fastening the container body to the countertop.
- the container will be intrinsically heavy enough not to lift off a countertop surface, when its weight is at least about 24 oz. If the dispenser body does not already have at least that much weight, it can be made heavier, for example, by placing a metal plate in its bottom.
- Fig. 3 the dispenser is shown with a stack of interfolded paper towels disposed therein, according to an embodiment of the dispenser/absorbent sheet combination of the present invention.
- the stack 8 terminates upwardly in a sheet 9 that is projecting outwardly through the opening 2, but which remains attached via tabs to the web of which it forms a part.
- Fig. 4 (a) shows an example of a paper towel stack preferred for use in the present invention.
- each web is a two-ply series of interconnected towels in which each ply has a basis weight of about 131b per 3000 square feet, for an aggregate basis weight of about 261b.
- each web may be a one-ply TAD (through-air dried) web having a basis weight of about 24 Ib.
- the towels for use in combination with the dispenser according to the invention will have a basis weight in the range form about 10 to about 40 Ib per 3000 square feet.
- Fig. 4 (a) like Fig. 4 (b) , is exaggerated to show the interfolding of the dual webs.
- Fig. 4 (a) shows only six absorbent sheets for ease of understanding, in reality a pack of towels having that interfold structure might typically include 144 towels in a 5.5" tall stack.
- the dispenser itself of this embodiment has an interior height of about 6.5", such that there is about a one-inch gap from the opening 2 to the top of the fresh stack 8 of towels loaded therein.
- the length of the panel (short horizontal dimension of the stack 8) in this embodiment is 3%" , with the corresponding interior depth of the dispenser being slightly larger, about 3.625".
- the width of the sheets (long horizontal dimension of the stack 8) is about 9 inches in this embodiment, with the corresponding interior dimension of the dispenser 1 being about 9%" ⁇
- the stack is formed from two interfolded webs 10 and 11.
- Each web is continuous, in the sense that perforations or tabs interconnect all adjacent sheets within a given web.
- the adjacent sheets within each web 10, 11 are shown separately for ease of understanding, but it is understood that the gaps between adjacent sheets on a given web thus merely fall between tabs in the sectional plane of the figure.
- each sheet, e.g. 9a, on a first web 10 overlaps by about 1% panel lengths with the next sheet, e.g. 9b, on the adjacent web, which in turn overlaps about VA panel lengths with the subsequent sheet 9c on the first web.
- the sheets of the adjacent webs 10 and 11 can overlap to a greater or lesser extent, although it is preferred that they overlap by greater than one panel length.
- the sheets in the depicted embodiments are all of the same size on both webs, but it is possible, although less preferred, that the sheets could be of different lengths on different webs, or even of different lengths on a given web. Whatever the sheet lengths, however, the perforations of two consecutive sheets on adjacent webs should not be in alignment with one another.
- the dispenser 1 is loaded with a stack 8 of paper towels or other absorbent sheet product, with the dispenser open as in Fig. 2. Owing to the rather small size of opening 2, it is preferred to feed the first sheet 9 up through the opening 2 with the dispenser open, and then to close it, to achieve the starting condition shown in Fig. 3.
- the sheets may thereafter be withdrawn serially in a one-handed manner.
- Fig. 4 (a) after a first sheet 9a is fed up through the opening 2, the sheet 9a is grasped by a user and pulled upwardly.
- the overlapping relationship between webs 10 and 11 causes the two webs to be pulled up together toward and through the opening, such that the frictional force opposing withdrawal causes the tabs interconnecting sheets 9a and 9c of web 10 to sever only after sheet 9b is projecting a sufficient distance through opening 2 as to be easily grasped by a next user, and as not to fall back down into the housing of the dispenser 1.
- the size and shape of the opening 2 according to the invention ensures that the withdrawal is not so easy that the tabs do not break between sheets 9a and 9c, but not so hard that the tabs break prematurely or that the sheet tears somewhere other than at the tabs.
- Fig. 4 (b) a four-panel towel stack is shown, in which the towels of adjacent webs overlap by two panels.
- FIG. 5 shows a fragmentary cross section of the opening 2.
- Fig. 5 emphasizes that the underside of the opening 2, which is the region of greatest frictional contact between the towels 9 being withdrawn and the dispenser, is preferably formed as a gradually rounded surface so as to minimize resistance to pulling as the towels 9 are withdrawn. A more abrupt corner would not necessarily disable the serial one-handed operation, which is more a function of the area of the opening, but would likely result in a less smooth and pleasing fell to the user as the towels are withdrawn.
Abstract
Description
Claims
Priority Applications (4)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/US2004/037743 WO2006054966A1 (en) | 2004-11-12 | 2004-11-12 | Top-dispensing absorbent sheet dispenser |
CA2586622A CA2586622C (en) | 2004-11-12 | 2004-11-12 | Top-dispensing absorbent sheet dispenser |
MX2007005573A MX2007005573A (en) | 2004-11-12 | 2004-11-12 | Top-dispensing absorbent sheet dispenser. |
US11/227,067 US8757432B2 (en) | 2004-11-12 | 2005-09-16 | Top-dispensing absorbent sheet dispenser |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/US2004/037743 WO2006054966A1 (en) | 2004-11-12 | 2004-11-12 | Top-dispensing absorbent sheet dispenser |
Related Child Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US11/227,067 Continuation US8757432B2 (en) | 2004-11-12 | 2005-09-16 | Top-dispensing absorbent sheet dispenser |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
WO2006054966A1 true WO2006054966A1 (en) | 2006-05-26 |
Family
ID=36407423
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/US2004/037743 WO2006054966A1 (en) | 2004-11-12 | 2004-11-12 | Top-dispensing absorbent sheet dispenser |
Country Status (3)
Country | Link |
---|---|
CA (1) | CA2586622C (en) |
MX (1) | MX2007005573A (en) |
WO (1) | WO2006054966A1 (en) |
Cited By (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US10758096B2 (en) | 2011-07-13 | 2020-09-01 | Essity Hygiene And Health Aktiebolag | Dispenser and stack of sheet products |
Citations (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US5516001A (en) * | 1995-03-07 | 1996-05-14 | The Procter & Gamble Company | Apparatus for sequential dispensing of tissues and process of dispensing tissues using such an apparatus |
US5810200A (en) * | 1996-08-09 | 1998-09-22 | The Procter & Gamble Company | Pop-up tissue package |
-
2004
- 2004-11-12 WO PCT/US2004/037743 patent/WO2006054966A1/en active Application Filing
- 2004-11-12 MX MX2007005573A patent/MX2007005573A/en active IP Right Grant
- 2004-11-12 CA CA2586622A patent/CA2586622C/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
Patent Citations (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US5516001A (en) * | 1995-03-07 | 1996-05-14 | The Procter & Gamble Company | Apparatus for sequential dispensing of tissues and process of dispensing tissues using such an apparatus |
US5810200A (en) * | 1996-08-09 | 1998-09-22 | The Procter & Gamble Company | Pop-up tissue package |
Cited By (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US10758096B2 (en) | 2011-07-13 | 2020-09-01 | Essity Hygiene And Health Aktiebolag | Dispenser and stack of sheet products |
US11812899B2 (en) | 2011-07-13 | 2023-11-14 | Essity Hygiene And Health Aktiebolag | Dispenser and stack of sheet products |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
CA2586622C (en) | 2013-01-08 |
MX2007005573A (en) | 2007-07-09 |
CA2586622A1 (en) | 2006-05-26 |
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