AU2004100318A4 - Wrapping material dispenser - Google Patents

Description

30/04/2084 16:21 +613-9699-gggD HNS SOC AE 51 D SHANKS ASSOCS PAGE 05/17 WRAPPING MATERIAL DISPENSER FIELD OF THE INNOVATION This innovation relates to an improved device for dispensing wrapping material such as dling film for foodstuffs and the like.

BACKGROUND

It is a common requirement to dispense wrapping materials from rolls.

One particular example of this requirement is th~e dispensing of cling film to wrap pre-prepared and unsold foodstuffs in, the restaurant, hotel and food retailing trades. Cling film is a material that by Its nature can be difficult to handle.

Rolls of cling film are available commercially in various sizes and are typically supplied in cardboard cartons (not shown) with an attached serrated cutting edge for cutting off lengths of film unrolled from the roll. For commercial (as opposed to domestic) use with lamge rolls, cartons are an inconvenient way to dispense the wrap. They tend to slide and overturn on smooth surfaces, particularly when the roll of material is almost empty, may distort and so become unusable, and are inconvenient to clean. (indeed they are not intended to be cleaned.) Movement: of a carton during dispensing can lead to difficulties in handling the film.

One improvement has been the development of separate film cutters that can be clipped to a wall of a carton as an alternative to Integral cutting edges. These have a rigid elongate slotted member along the slot of which a blade can be slid by a user to cut the film and greatly enhance the safety, ease and reliability of use. The problem of buckling and distortion of cartons is reduced by the fact that the cutter is rigid. The cutter can be transferred from an emptied carton to a new one. Cutters of this type are disclosed in the published specifications of US Patents 4,960,022 to Chuang, and 5,758,559 to Capitao, Jr., for example.

However, such cutters so not of themselves are only a partial solution to the dispensing of wrapping materials and cling film in particular. It is an COMS 10 No: SMBI-00728977 Received by IP Australia: Time 15:27 Date 2004-04-30 30/04/2004 16:21 -'613-9899-926D HNS SOC AE 61 D SHANKS ASSOCS PAGE 06/17 2 object of the present innovation to provide a dispenser that can use a film cutter of the type mentioned and that Is stable when used on horizontal surfaces and easy and convenient to use.

SUMMARY OF THE INNOVATION According to the innovation there is provide d a wrapping material dispenser including: a mandrel for supporting a roll of wrapping material; a base adapted to be placed for use on a horizontal flat surface and to support said mandrel and a roll of wrapping material on said mandrel; and an elongate film cutter adapted to be dipped on to an upstanding waill of said base.

wherein said film cutter when clipped to said wall of said base is positioned to extend substantially parallel to said mandrel, and to cut along a defined cutting line wrapping material pulled from said roll over said film cutter, and said base when in use on said horizontal flat surface contacts said surface at at least one point on each side of a vertical plane that includes a front edge of said film cutter.

The combination of a clip-on film cutter and a base that provides stability against overturning has been found to provide a particularly acceptable dispenser.

Preferably, said base includes a first part and a second part in use secured to said first part, said first part including said upstanding wall and supporting said mandrel and, in use of said' dispenser on a horizontal surface, said second part contacts said horizontal surface on a side of said vertical plane opposite to said mandrel and said first part is substantially wholly on the same side of said vertical plane as said mandrel. This arrangement has the important advantage that the dispenser can be packed for transport (including to a point of initial sale) In a substantially smaller container or-space than would be required in it's absence.

It is particularly preferred that said second part is adapted to releasably clip to said first part ,for use. However, this is not to preclude the possibility of instead providing one or more deployable feet that are (for example) COMS ID No: SMBI-00728977 Received by IP Australia: Time (I-tm) 15:27 Date 2004-04-30 30/04/2004 16:21 +613-9699-9826 DSAK SOSPG 71 D SHANKS ASSOCS PAGE 07/17 3 hingeably secured to the said wall of the first part of the base, and able to be swung to a stowed position against the wall for storage and transport.

It is preferred that the film cutter includes: an elongate member having a slot therealong within which is slideable a cutting blade; a supporting board depending from said elongate member, and a plurality of clip members that In use hold said supporting board against said wall of said base. Such film cutters are known and described In, for example, the published specifications of US Patents 4,960,022 to Chuang, and 5,758,559 to Capitao. Jr. Such film cutters are commercially available.

In order that the innovation may be better understood, it will now be described non-limitingly by reference to preferred embodiments as shown in the attached rig ures, of which; Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of a wrapping material dispenser according to the innovation; Figure 2 is a further exploded perspective view of the dispenser shown In Figure 1; Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view the dispenser shown in Figure 1 taken at longitudinal position "AX In Figure 1; Figure 4 is a perspective view from below of a foot component of the dispenser shown in. Figure 1.

DETAI LED DESCRIPION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The Figures show a wrapping material dispenser I according to the innovation. Dispens er l ie intended to enable convenient dispensing of clingfilm plastic wrapping material (or other wrapping material) from a roll 2. In the following description, reference will for convenience be made only to cling-film wrap, but it is not intended that this limit the scope of the innovation. It is to be understood that other materials available in roll form such as kraft wrapping paper could as easily be dispensed by a dispenser such as dispenser 1.

Dispenser 1 has three main components, namely a mandrel 3 onto which the roil 2 is placed, a base 4 that supports the mandrel, and a film cutting device, 5 of the known type mentioned above. To make clear how cutter device 5 can be conveniently mounted to base 4, Figures 1 and 2 are COMS ID No: SMBI-00728977 Received by II' Australia: Time 15:27 Date 2004-04-30 30/04/2004 16:21 +613-9699-9886 HNSSASOSPG 81 D SHANKS ASSOCS PAGE 06/17 4 exploded views showing cutter device 5 separated from base 4, while Figure 3 shows the cutter device 5 in place on the base 4.

Cutter device 5 will not be descuibedin detail. For detailed descriptions of typical cutting devices of the type in question, see the published specifications of US'Patents 4,960,022 and 5,758,559, both of which are Incorporated into this description by reference. It Is not intended to limit the scope of the present innovation by reference to these patents only. What Is common about cutter devices of the type suitable for the present Innovation is that they have, first, an elongate channel member 6 along which a user can slide a cutting blade (not shown, because it is for safety held within slot 5O of the member 6) by gripping and moving a slider button 7 to cut a film 8 positioned over the member 6 and, second, a board 9 depending from the member 6 that Is able to be held against an upstanding wall 10 of base 4 (or in its usual application a carton wall) by resilient, integral clips 11I spaced along board 9.

A first part 12 of base 4 is made from suitable sheet material (preferably stainless steel in commercial versions of the innovation) and, in addition to front wall 10, has end walls 13 and 14 and floor 15. Floor I5 is substantially cut away so that along the lower edge of front wall 10, floor consists of two flanges 16 extending back from wall 10. The cutting away of floor 15 and of a lower central part of front wall 10 provides a large opening 36 that is convenient for grasping the roll 2 from below should this be required (for example if an end Is lost), saves some weight, and conveniently allows for notches 17 to be provided on the periphery of opening 36 whereby dispenser 1 can be hung from a vertical wall provided with two protruding supports (not shown). (A suitable wall-mountable rack (not shown) with such protruding supports engageabie In notches 17 may be provided instead, so that the dispenser I can be hung therefrom rather than hung directly from a wall.) Along part of. its upper edge, front wall 10 is bent back to form a land 18S. Land 18 is in turn bent upward along Its rear edge to form a wall 19.

Extending backward from the upper edge of wall 19 is a plate 20 with upper surface 21. As best seen In Figure 3, the elongate channel member 6 of cutter device 5 is positioned immediately above land 18 adjacent to wall 19, and surface 21 of plate 20 is co-planar with an upper surface 22 of member 6.

COMS ID No: SMBI-00728977 Received by IP Australia: Time (I-tm) 15:27 Date 2004-04-30 30/04/2004 18:21 +613-9699-98886 HNS&ASUSPG 91 D SHANKS ASSOCS PAGE 09/17 Cutter device 5 is readily secured to wall 10 by being slid downwards so that clips 11 are positioned against the rear of wall 1080o as to hold board 9 against the front surface of wall 10. As cutter device 5 is thus slid into position on wall 10, the clips I I pass through notches 23 in land 18.

As best seen in Figure 3, when roll 2 is positioned on mandrel 3, cling film 24 can be unwound from roll 2 and pass over surfaces 21 and 22, through the plane 25 traced out by the cutter blade and thence forwardly over &r past a front edge 28 of member 6. When slider button 7 Is then moved along member 6, mhat part 24a of film 24 in front of plane 25 is severed for use.

Behind plane 25, film 24 tends to cling to surfaces 21 and 22 and so is held ready for further dispensing.

Particularly where film 24 is wide, a significant tension force can be developed In film 24 as It Is pulled forwards before being cut, tending to overturn and or slide forwardly the dispenser 1 when it is in use on a horizontal surface 27. Rubber feet 28 help resist such sliding. To enhance the tendency to overturn, deployable feet 29 are provided. In use, feet 29 protrude forwardly of wall 10 and front edge 26 of member 6.

As can be seen in Figure 4, each foot 29 clips to one of flanges 16.

Foot 29 has a lower plate 30 that abuts the lower surface of flange 18 and upper plates 31 that abut the upper surface of flange 16. Upper plates 31 have depending pegs 32 that are received in mating holes 33 in flange 16.

Plates 30 and 31 are connected by a wall 39. Foot 29 is made in a resilient material (eg a suitable plastic) to obtain its ability to clip to flange 16, i.e. to be slid over flange 16 until pegs 32 lodge in holes 33 and are retained there. Any overturning of dispenser 1 in response to tension in film part 24a must be about front edges 34 of feet 29 rather than about points close to the the base of wall lot thus enhancing stability against tipping. The fact that feet 29 are able to be detached from first part 12 of base 4 means that for transporting and storing of dispenser 1, feet 29 can be detached to enhance compactness.

Dispenser 1 also enables simple replacement of rolls 2 when required.

Mandrel 3 is captive in a hole 40 in end wall 13 of base 4 and Is urged longitudinally in a direction along its length) towards end wall 13 by a coil spring 43 between end wall 13 and a flange 41 on mandrel 3. At its other end, mandrel 3 is received in a slot 42 in end wall 14 so shaped as to wasist any COMS ID No: SMBI-00728977 Received by IP Australia: Time (Him) 15:27 Date 2004-04-30 30/04/2004 16:21 +613-9699-9886 D SHANKS ASMCS PAGE 10/17 6 tendency of mandrel 3 to fall clear of slot 42. Further, mandrel 3 has a short reduced-diameter section (not shown) that, when mandrel 3 is pulled lengthwise to further compress spring 43, can be positioned in the plane of end wall 14,.thus easing withdrawal of mandrel 3 from slot 42 for replacement of roll 2.

Many variations may of course be made without going beyond the scope of the Innovation as claimed in the appended claims.

COMS ID No: SMBI-00728977 Received by IP Australia: Time 15:27 Date 2004-04-30

Claims (4)

1. A wrapping material dispenser including: a mandrel for supporting a roll of wrapping material; a base adapt ed to be placed for use on a horizontal fiat surface and to support said mandrel and a roll of wrapping material on said mandrel;, and an elongate film cutter adapted to be clipped on to an upstanding wall of said base,I wherein said film cutter when clipped to said wall of said base is positioned to extend substantially parallel to said mandrel, and to cut along a defined cutting line wrapping material pulled from said roll over said film cutter, and said base when in use on said horizontal fiat surface contacts said surface at at least one point on each side of a vertical plane that includes a front edge of said film cutter.

2. A wrapping material dispenser according to claim I wherein said base Includes a first part and a second part in use secured to said first part, said first part including said upstanding wall and supporting said mandrel and wherein, In use of said dispenser on a horizontal surface, said second part contacts said horizontal surface on a side of said vertical plane opposite to said mandrel and said first part is substantially wholly on the same side of said vertical plane as said mandrel.

3. A wrapping material dispenser according to claim 2 wherein said second part is adapted to releasably clip to said first part for use.

4. A wrapping material dispenser according to any one of claims I to 3 wherein the film cutter includes: an elongate member having a slot therealorig within which is slideable a cutting blade; a supporting board depending from said elongate member; and COMS ID No: SMBI-00728977 Received by IP Australia: Time 15:27 Date 2004-04-30 30/04/2004 16:21 +613-9699-9886 D SHANKS ASSOCS PASE 12/17 8 A wrapping material dispenser substantially as described herein by reference to Figures 1 to 4. DATED this 28 day of April 2004 Daniel Doherty By his Patent Attorneys DAVID SHANKS ASSOCIATES COMS ID No: SMBI-00728977 Received by IP Australia: Time 15:27 Date 2004-04-30