EP0930243A1

EP0930243A1 - Package with dispenser for tissues

Info

Publication number: EP0930243A1
Application number: EP99300360A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Shlomit Chasid
Original assignee: Albaad Massuot Yitzhak Ltd
Current assignee: Albaad Massuot Yitzhak Ltd
Priority date: 1998-01-20
Filing date: 1999-01-19
Publication date: 1999-07-21
Also published as: IL123003A; IL123003A0

Abstract

A dispenser (1) for dispensing individual tissues contained in a package, the dispenser comprising a base member (3) for attaching on a surface of the package and being formed with an opening (5) fitted for surrounding an opening formed in the package, and a lid (7) fitted for re-closing the opening of the base member. The base member is fitted with one or two firm but resilient flaps (9) extending into the opening and lying substantially in the plane thereof, and a tissue-dispensing opening adapted for extracting therethrough only a single tissues at a time.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to the field of tissue packages comprising a dispenser. Specifically, the present invention is concerned with a dispenser for sequential dispensing of wet tissues that project above the top of the dispenser when the preceding tissue is removed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Tissues, as known in the art, may be supplied in a dry form, blotted with lotion or in a moistened form. Such tissues are typically formed of a fabric sheet such as a non-woven fabric and may further be impregnated with a chemical or a combination of chemical agents. Tissues are used for various purposes, e.g. cleaning purposes. freshening one's face and the like.
The terms "wet tissues", "damp tissues" and "soaked tissues" may be interchangeably used to denote tissues blotted with a liquid chemical agent such as perfume, cleaning agents, etc., provided in a moistened form.
The containing vessels typically used for tissues, and especially for moistened or wet tissues, may be divided into one of two types. The first type is a rigid or semi-rigid container, made of molded plastic or of carton and containing folded or rolled tissues. A second type is a flexible bag made of an airtight film. These packets are usually provided with a dispenser comprising an opening through which tissues are removed individually by the user. However, in some cases, no dispenser is provided.
U.S. 3,021,002 as well as other patents, discloses an early type of dispensers, being of "reach-in" type. These dispensers required that the user inserts his/her fingers through the dispense opening, and pull a tissue therethrough.
The next type of dispensers was the sequential dispenser, also known as "pop-up" dispensers. These dispensers allow the user to hold and pull an exposed portion of the tissue which extends through and above an opening in the dispenser, without having to insert his/her fingers through that opening. Pulling a tissue through this type of a dispenser leads also to the pulling of a portion of the next tissue through that opening. This portion, in turn, is used as the leading edge for pulling the next tissue.
Tissues in a package comprising this type of a dispenser, are folded against one another in a variety of configurations, or sequentially attached to one another by perforated attachment, allowing that the withdrawal of one tissue will result in pulling a portion of the subsequent one. An example of a tissue-dispensing package that is provided with an opening that constricts the tissues as they are withdrawn through that opening is described in U.S. 5,520,308.
Ever since the introduction of this type of dispensers, various modifications have been suggested in the art. Examples of such modifications include among others, attachment of the tissues to the removable top of the container, whereby the first tissue is pulled through the dispensing opening when the box is opened. Other lines of modifications relate to the bag type vessels that are made of a laminate. These bags contain an opening in the laminate to allow the pulling of tissues through.
In order to prevent exposing these tissues to the ambient, e.g. to prevent the blotted chemicals of wet tissues from evaporating, rendering them non-effective, the bag type vessel is provided with an adhesive, sealingly mounted onto its opening.
Furthermore, a dispenser for this type of a vessel usually comprises a pick-up port adapted to cooperate with the vessel's opening and a sealing lid to ensure that even after removing the adhesive from the vessel, thereby exposing the packet of tissues to ambient, still the packet will be sealed when not in use.
Several attempts were made to improve such devices, among which is a packet having a lid formed of an airtight film stuck on a pre-cut portion for covering it by means of adhesive applied on the back surface of the lid. Thus, when the lid is pulled up upon unsealing, the pre-cut portion is pulled up together with the lid, to be separated from the pick-up portion and to open this portion. However, since this lid a repeatedly opened and closed, the adhesive surface performance deteriorates rapidly by accumulating dust and dirt thereon.
U.S. 5,582,294, in an attempt to overcome the above disadvantages, disclosed a packet suitable for use with wet tissues, which comprises a bag formed of airtight film, and a lid unit mounted during the bag film manufacturing process on an opening in the bag. The lid unit includes a pick-up port enabling pop-up of a wet tissue, and a lid body capable of sealing the pick-up port. The pick-up port described in this patent comprises a center opening, two end openings and two narrow passages connecting the center opening with the end openings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One object of the invention is to provide an improved device for dispensing wet tissues from a package.
Another object of the invention is to provide a dispenser that can be mounted on a sealed packet containing a stack of tissues, and allows a convenient way of opening that packet.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a dispenser that allows an efficient way of withdrawing an individual tissue from a package of tissues.
A further object of the invention is to provide an improved and convenient-to-use packet of tissues.
Other objects of the present invention will become apparent as the description proceeds.
In accordance with the present invention there is provided a dispenser for dispensing individual tissues contained in a package, the dispenser comprising a base member for attaching on a surface of the package and being formed with an opening fitted for surrounding a opening formed in the package, and a lid fitted for reclosing the opening of the base member;
the dispenser characterized in that the base member is fitted with one or two firm but resilient flaps extending into the opening lying substantially in the plane thereof, and a tissue-dispensing opening adapted for extracting therethrough only a single tissues at a time.
By one preferred embodiment, the base member comprises two flaps and wherein the dispensing opening is a gap formed between facing edges of the flaps. Preferably, the one or two flaps are formed in the shape of a trapeze attached to the dispenser at a wide base of the trapeze. Alternatively, the one or two flaps are formed in the shape of a portion of a circle attached to the base member along a straight line.
In accordance with another embodiment, the base member comprises a single flap and wherein the dispensing opening is a gap formed between the edge of the single flap and a corresponding opposite edge of the base member.
By still another embodiment, the base member comprises a single flap and wherein the dispensing opening is a groove formed in said flap.
In accordance with any of the embodiments of the present invention, the tissues are stacked within the package in a pop-up type arrangement. Typically, the tissues are soaked with a liquid.
In order to ensure that a single tissue is extracted at each time on the one hand and, on the other hand, to prevent extracting the moisture from the wet tissues during extraction thereof, the flaps are made of an essentially rigid material and comprise a fold-line imparting them some resiliency.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention there is provided a package holding soaked tissues stacked in a pop-up arrangement, the package comprising:
an airtight container; and
a dispenser comprising a base member for attaching on a surface of the container and being formed with an opening fitted for surrounding an opening formed in the container, and a lid fitted for re-closing the opening of the base member; said base member being fitted with one or two firm but resilient flaps extending into the opening lying substantially in the plane thereof, and a tissue-dispensing opening adapted for extracting therethrough only a single tissues at a time.
As was previously mentioned, the lid of the dispenser is adapted to close the opening of the base member. This lid may either be attached to the base member; be integral therewith or be a loose lid that is fitted to engage with the base member. The present invention thus encompasses any method for achieving a sealing closure of the base member opening by the lid, e.g. by fitting engagement and the like, as known in the art per se. According to a preferred embodiment of the invention the lid is hingedly connected to the base member.
The vessel may be of any type known in the art as suitable for use with wet tissues, e.g. plastic made containers, sealed carton made boxes, laminated bags, etc. Preferably, the airtight vessel is a bag formed of an airtight sheet. In order to avoid damages to the tissues, or evaporation of the chemical agents blotted in wet tissues, the opening of the bag is usually sealed by an adhesive patch. Another option to obtain this desired result is to use a bag that does not comprise originally an opening. Only when the package is to be used, the bag is cut to prepare the required opening, e.g. along 3 line of perforations. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the pair of resilient flaps of the dispenser are adapted to allow the removal of the adhesive patch through the opening of the base, or to allow cutting the bag to prepare an opening therein for withdrawal of tissues therethrough; e.g. while upwardly folding the innermost portions of these resilient flaps.
As may be appreciated, another advantage of such a package comprising the dispenser of the invention is in the extraction of single tissues therefrom. When a wet tissue is extracted from the package of the invention, it is first withdrawn through the opening in the bag containing the stack of tissues, and then through the gap existing between the two resilient flaps. This arrangement of having practically two separating means, enables extraction of single tissues from the package, and overcomes the disadvantages characterizing the dispensers known in the art, wherein two or more tissues were extracted together from the package containing them.
By a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the pair of resilient flaps of the dispenser are adapted to allow the user to insert his/her fingers through the opening in the dispenser base member, and reach conveniently the bag's top surface plane, or the tissues contained in the bag. This feature allows a convenient removal of the adhesive patch or cutting an opening in a bag, when the package is sealed as was previously explained, or pulling a leading portion of the top tissue through the opening of the base member when said lid is in open position.
The fact that the flaps are firm bur resilient and allow comfortable access presents further advantage of the present invention. Packages known in the art have a problem that once a tissue or a portion thereof is pulled through their dispenser, it cannot be returned into the relatively sealed space where the rest of tissues are held. However, since the flaps of the dispenser of the present invention are firm but resilient and mounted as described above, a tissue or a portion of a tissue, may be returned to the relatively sealed space following its withdrawal through the dispenser.
Also, another advantage of the present invention is that the space defined by the base member and the lid which is in closed position, in a package comprising the dispenser described hereinbefore, can be made sufficiently large to accommodate the leading portion of a tissue withdrawn through.
According to still another embodiment of the invention, the dispenser is adapted for a multiple use, being removable from one package to be mounted on another package. Remounting the dispenser can be done for example by applying adhesive at the bottom of the base member, attaching a two-side adhesive tape to the base member, or by any other method known per se in the art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For better understanding, the invention will now be described by way of example only. It should be understood that the examples are provided for demonstrating the invention, but in no way is the invention limited to these specific embodiments.
Fig. 1 is an isometric view of a dispensing device in accordance with the first embodiment in the present invention, the dispenser shown in its open position;
Fig. 2 is an isometric view of the dispensing device of Fig. 1, in its closed position;
Fig. 3 is an isometric view of a dispensing device in accordance with the present invention mounted on a tissue package prior to use;
Fig. 4 illustrates the dispenser of Fig. 3 in use;
Fig. 5 is an isometric view of another embodiment of a dispenser in accordance with the present invention comprising two flaps;
Fig. 6 is an isometric view of a dispenser in accordance with the present invention comprising a single flap; and
Fig. 7 is an isometric view of another embodiment of a dispenser in accordance with the present invention comprising a single flap.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Turning now to Figs. 1 and 2, there is presented a dispenser 1 for dispensing individual wet tissues from a package (shown in Fig. 3). The dispenser comprises a base member 3 having an opening 5 adapted to surround an opening of the package when the base member is fitted thereon (not shown in this figure), and a lid 7 adapted to close the opening of base member 3. Fig. 1 illustrates the dispenser with lid 7 in open position, whereas Fig. 2 presents that device when lid 7 is in closed position. Opening 5 of base member 3 is provided at opposite sides thereof with a pair of firm but resilient flaps 9 extending into opening 5 substantially in the plane thereof, the innermost edges 11 of the flaps facing each other so as to define between them a gap 13 for extraction of a single tissue from a package. Typically, resiliency of flaps 9 is obtained by forming one or more fold lines on the flaps (not shown).
Lid 7 as presented in Fig. 1 is provided integrally with the base member 3 through hinge 15 in such a manner as to be rockable about hinge 15. As may be seen in this figure, lid 7 is provided with a fitting portion 17 to tightly fit with the fitting receptive portion 19 of the base member 3, thus the required sealing of opening 5 by lid 7 is achieved, and the lid does not open spontaneously.
Fig. 3 presents another aspect of the invention, by which a package of wet tissues 20 comprising a bag 22 formed of an airtight sheet material comprising an opening 25 for withdrawing tissues therethrough, a dispenser 21 as referred to in connection with Figs. 1 and 2, and a stack of wet tissues (not seen in this figure) contained in bag 22.
In order to avoid evaporation of the chemical agents blotted in wet tissues, the opening 25 of the bag 24 is sealed by an adhesive patch 28. The resilient flaps 9 of the base member 3 are adapted to allow the removal of the adhesive patch 28 through the opening of the base, e.g. while upwardly folding the innermost portions of these resilient flaps.
Fig. 4 presents the withdrawal of a tissue 34 from the package 30 fitted with the dispenser 21. As was previously explained, tissue 34 is first withdrawn through the opening 35 of bag 22, and then through gap 13 existing between the two resilient flaps 9.
Further attention is now directed to Figs. 5 to 7 illustrating different embodiments of a dispenser in accordance with the present invention. In Fig. 5, the dispenser 50 comprises a base 52 and a lid 54 similar to the embodiment of the previous figures. However, flaps 56 each have the shape of a trapeze with the smaller base thereof facing each other forming therebetween a gap 58. Flaps 56 are attached to base 52 along their wider bases and resiliency of these flaps is obtained by providing a fold line 59, whereby the flaps 56 may be upwardly folded for access to the opening of the package as explained in connection with Figs. 3 and 4.
Referring now to Fig. 6, there is illustrated a dispenser generally designated 60 in which base 62 is formed with a single flap 64 having the shape of a circular portion with a gap 66 formed between an edge 68 of base 62 and a circular edge of flap 64. However, it will be appreciated that a single flap 64 may have a different shape, e.g. the shape of a rectangle or a trapeze as illustrated in Fig. 5.
In the present embodiment, flap 64 is connected to base 62 via fold line 69 to impart the flap some resiliency.
Lid 70 is integrally formed with base 62 and is foldable along hinge line 71. However, it would be appreciated that in accordance with any of the embodiments illustrated in the present invention, the lid may also be an independent element.
Turning now to Fig. 7, there is illustrated a dispenser 76 comprising a base 78 formed with a hinged lid 80 and a single flap 82 connected along a fold line 84. In accordance with the embodiment of Fig. 7, the dispensing opening is a groove 86 formed within flap 82 through which the tissues are extracted.
It will be appreciated that the above descriptions are intended only to serve as examples, and that many other modifications are possible within the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Claims

A dispenser 1 for dispensing individual tissues 34 contained in a package 23, the dispenser 1 comprising a base member 3 for attaching on a surface of the package 22 and being formed with an opening 5 fitted for surrounding an opening formed in the package 22, and a lid 7 fitted for re-closing the opening of the base member 3;

the dispenser 1 characterized in that the base member 3 is fitted with one or two firm but resilient flaps 9 extending into the opening and lying substantially in the plane thereof, and a tissue-dispensing opening 13 adapted for extracting therethrough only a single tissues at a time.
A dispenser according to Claim 1, wherein the base member 3 comprises two flaps 9 and wherein the dispensing opening is a gap 13 formed between facing edges of the flaps.
A dispenser 60 according to Claim 1, wherein the base 62 member comprises a single flap 64 and wherein the dispensing opening is a gap 66 formed between an edge of the single flap 64 and a corresponding opposite edge 68 of the base member 62.
A dispenser 76 according to Claim 1, wherein the base member 78 comprises a single flap 82 and wherein the dispensing opening is a groove 86 formed in said flap.
A dispenser according to Claim 1, wherein the tissues 34 are stacked within the package in a pop-up type arrangement.
A dispenser according to Claim 5, wherein the tissues 34 are soaked with a liquid.
A dispenser according to Claim 1, wherein the one or two flaps 9;56;64;82 are made of an essentially rigid material and comprise a fold-line 59;69;84 imparting them resiliency.
A dispenser according to Claim 1, adapted for multiple use and being removable from one package to be mounted on another package.
A dispenser according to Claim 1, wherein prior to use the opening of the package is sealed by a removable sealing member 24.
A dispenser according to Claim 9, wherein the sealing member is an adhesive patch 24.
A dispenser according to Claim 1, wherein the one or two flaps 9;56;64;82 are deformable so as to allow access of a user's fingers to the opening of the package.
A dispenser according to Claim 1, wherein the dispenser is attached to the package by hot-melt adhering.
A dispenser according to one of Claims 2 or 3, wherein the one or two flaps 56 are formed in the shape of a trapeze attached to the dispenser at a wide base 59 of the trapeze.
A dispenser according to one of Claims 2 or 3, wherein the one or two flaps 64 are formed in the shape of a portion of a circle attached to the base member along at least a portion of the circular shape base.
A dispenser according to Claim 1, wherein the lid 7 is hingedly attached 15 to the base member.
A package holding soaked tissues stacked in a pop-up arrangement, the package comprising:

an airtight container 22; and

a dispenser 1 comprising a base member 3 for attaching on a surface of the container 22 and being formed with an opening 5 fitted for surrounding an opening formed in the container, and a lid 7 fitted for re-closing the opening of the base member 3; said base member being fitted with one or two firm but resilient flaps 9 extending into the opening lying substantially in the plane thereof, and a tissue-dispensing opening 13 adapted for extracting therethrough only a single tissues at a time.
A package according to Claim 16, wherein the one or two flaps are adapted to allow access to the opening of the container, when the lid is at an open position.
A dispenser according to Claim 16, wherein the container is made of a flexible material.