AU781536B2 - Sheet dispenser - Google Patents

Description

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AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

ORIGINAL

V. V

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S S Name of Applicant/s: Actual Inventor/s: Address for Service: Invention Title: Hanna Match (Australia) Pty. Limited Charles Alfred Stuart Hanna BALDWIN SHELSTON WATERS 60 MARGARET STREET SYDNEY NSW 2000 'SHEET DISPENSER' Details of Associated Provisional Application No. PQ5376 dated 19 Nov 1999 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us:- File: 25978AUP03 Field of the Invention The present invention relates to dispensers for flexible sheet material.

The invention will be described with particular reference to dispensers for sheets of non-stick baking and cooking paper, however, it will be appreciated that the invention is not restricted to this particular application.

Background of the Invention It has long been known to use sheets of paper to line baking trays. Disposable non-stick baking and cooking paper has functional and hygienic advantages over unlined baking trays. However, to remain effective, the sheets of cooking paper must not be oo.* creased so that each sheet can lie flat on the base of the baking tray. In light of this, sheets of cooking paper are packed and stored in a flat configuration. Accordingly, the S" paper takes up a significant amount of shelf space or bench space.

A continuous length of cooking paper can be stored on a roll in order to occupy S"less space in the kitchen. However, estimating the length of paper that needs to be cut .ooo•) from the roll for a particular baking tray can be inconvenient and an inefficient use of paper. This is particularly so in commercial situations where the use of sheets cut to size can significantly improve the production time and costs associated with high volume baking operations.

Summary of the Invention It is an object of the present invention to overcome or ameliorate at least one of the disadvantages of the prior art, or to provide a useful alternative.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a dispenser for flexible sheet material, the dispenser including: a casing for storing a plurality of flexible sheets, folded into two or more folded portions such that the sheets nest within each other; an aperture in the casing to permit sequential removal of the sheets; and at least one spacer formed separately from the casing and adapted to be nonfixedly positioned within the casing between the folded portions of the nested sheets for maintaining a predetermined minimum spacing between the folded portions such that the sheet curvature at each fold does not significantly hamper each sheet being drawn around the, or each, fold in order to remove it through the aperture.

In a preferred form, the stored sheets are folded substantially in half and the spacer is a planar insert having a length and width generally corresponding to the folded portions, and a thickness corresponding to the predetermined minimum spacing. In a further preferred form, the aperture is positioned adjacent an edge of the sheet parallel to the fold, the aperture being sized such that a user can lift the edge of the exposed sheet from the remaining sheets and draw it through the aperture.

15 In some embodiments, the dispenser is formed from corrugated fibre board. In this embodiment the casing and the insert may be conveniently formed from respective *Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments see.

Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of 20 example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: e •Figure 1 is a perspective view ofa dispenser according to the present invention; Figure 2 is a cross sectional view taken along line 2-2 of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a plan view of a corrugated fibre board blank of a carton for use in a dispenser according to the present invention; and, Figure 4 is a plan view of a corrugated fibre board blank for an insert suitable for use with a dispenser according to the present invention.

Referring to the figures, the dispenser shown has an outer casing 1 for the storage of a number of separate sheets of cooking paper 2. The sheets 2 are folded in half such that they nest within each other to form two overlying folded portions 3 and 4. Aperture is positioned in the casing 1 adjacent an edge 6 of the sheets parallel to the fold 7 so that the edge of the exposed sheet 8 may be lifted from the remaining sheets and drawn out of the casing 1. The planar insert 9 is positioned in the casing 1 such that it acts as a spacer to maintain a minimum spacing between the folded portions 3 and 4. The minimum spacing is determined such that the sheet curvature at the fold 7 is not small enough to significantly hamper the sequential removal of sheets through the aperture Of course, it will be appreciated that the sheets could be folded more than once in which case two or more inserts would be required to appropriately space the folded portions. However, the more folds in the sheets, the more torturous is the paper path which tends to increase the force necessary to draw a sheet out through the aperture.

Increasing the thickness of the inserts can compensate for this to some degree by oeoo• maintaining a large sheet curvature at the folds. However, it will be appreciated that this can lead to an unnecessarily large dispenser.

The casing 1 may be conveniently formed from a corrugated fibre board blank as shown in Figure 3. Similarly, the insert 9 may be produced from the corrugated fibre board blank shown in Figure 4. By careful positioning of the fold lines in these blanks, it is possible to accurately control the relationship between the thickness of the insert and the depth of the casing such that the relative dimensions of each are suitable for the type of sheet material to be dispensed.

Dispensers in accordance with the present invention are particularly suitable for use with sheets such as baking and cooking paper in commercial environments. In these situations, it is highly desirable to use pre-cut sheets of paper to line the baking trays instead of taking the time to cut the paper to length from a roll. The present invention allows separate sheets to be dispensed from a folded configuration by virtue of the spacer which does not allow the sheet curvature at the fold to be small enough to prevent convenient removal through the aperture. Of course, storing the sheets in a folded configuration allows the dispenser to use much less shelf or bench space which is usually ooeoo at a premium in a commercial setting.

Although the invention has been described herein by way of example only, the ordinary worker in this field will readily recognise many variations and modifications falling within the spirit and scope of the broad inventive concept.

Claims (7)

1. A dispenser for flexible sheet material, the dispenser including: a casing for storing a plurality of flexible sheets, folded into two or more folded portions such that the sheets nest within each other; an aperture in the casing to permit sequential removal of the sheets; and at least one spacer formed separately from the casing and adapted to be non- fixedly positioned within the casing between the folded portions of the nested sheets for maintaining a predetermined minimum spacing between the folded portions such that the sheet curvature at each fold does not significantly hamper each sheet being drawn around the, or each, fold in order to remove it through the aperture.

S2. A dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the stored sheets are folded substantially in half and the spacer is a planar insert having a length and width generally corresponding to the folded portions, and a thickness corresponding to the predetermined Sominimum spacing.

3. A dispenser according to claims 1 or 2, wherein the aperture is positioned adjacent an edge of the sheets parallel to the fold, the aperture being sized such that a user can lift 20 the edge of the exposed sheet from the remaining sheets and drawn through the aperture. oooo

4. A dispenser according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the insert is formed from corrugated fibre board and the casing is a corrugated fibre board carton.

5. A corrugated fibre board blank for forming a casing suitable for use in a dispenser according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. A corrugated fibre board blank for forming a spacer suitable for use in a dispenser according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

7. A dispenser substantially as herein described with reference to any one of the accompanying drawings. Dated this 15th Day ofNovember, 2000 HANNA MATCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LIMITED Attorney: KENNETH W. BOLTON Registered Patent and Trade Mark Attorney of Australia of BALDWIN SHELSTON WATERS