EP3318506A1 - Dispensing container - Google Patents

Dispensing container Download PDF

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Publication number
EP3318506A1
EP3318506A1 EP16817958.8A EP16817958A EP3318506A1 EP 3318506 A1 EP3318506 A1 EP 3318506A1 EP 16817958 A EP16817958 A EP 16817958A EP 3318506 A1 EP3318506 A1 EP 3318506A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
dispensing
opening part
opening
lateral direction
upper lid
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Granted
Application number
EP16817958.8A
Other languages
German (de)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP3318506B1 (en
EP3318506A4 (en
Inventor
Takeshi Bando
Yusuke Nakamura
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Unicharm Corp
Original Assignee
Unicharm Corp
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Unicharm Corp filed Critical Unicharm Corp
Publication of EP3318506A1 publication Critical patent/EP3318506A1/en
Publication of EP3318506A4 publication Critical patent/EP3318506A4/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP3318506B1 publication Critical patent/EP3318506B1/en
Not-in-force legal-status Critical Current
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical

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Classifications

    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65DCONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
    • B65D83/00Containers or packages with special means for dispensing contents
    • B65D83/08Containers or packages with special means for dispensing contents for dispensing thin flat articles in succession
    • B65D83/0805Containers or packages with special means for dispensing contents for dispensing thin flat articles in succession through an aperture in a wall
    • B65D83/0811Containers or packages with special means for dispensing contents for dispensing thin flat articles in succession through an aperture in a wall with means for assisting dispensing
    • B65D83/0835Containers or packages with special means for dispensing contents for dispensing thin flat articles in succession through an aperture in a wall with means for assisting dispensing the articles being pulled out of the container
    • AHUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47KSANITARY EQUIPMENT NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; TOILET ACCESSORIES
    • A47K10/00Body-drying implements; Toilet paper; Holders therefor
    • A47K10/24Towel 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
    • A47K10/32Dispensers for paper towels or toilet-paper
    • A47K10/42Dispensers for paper towels or toilet-paper dispensing from a store of single sheets, e.g. stacked
    • A47K10/421Dispensers for paper towels or toilet-paper dispensing from a store of single sheets, e.g. stacked dispensing from the top of the dispenser
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65DCONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
    • B65D43/00Lids or covers for rigid or semi-rigid containers
    • B65D43/14Non-removable lids or covers
    • B65D43/16Non-removable lids or covers hinged for upward or downward movement
    • B65D43/163Non-removable lids or covers hinged for upward or downward movement the container and the lid being made separately
    • B65D43/164Non-removable lids or covers hinged for upward or downward movement the container and the lid being made separately and connected by interfitting hinge elements integrally with the container and the lid formed respectively
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65DCONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
    • B65D47/00Closures with filling and discharging, or with discharging, devices
    • B65D47/04Closures with discharging devices other than pumps
    • B65D47/06Closures with discharging devices other than pumps with pouring spouts or tubes; with discharge nozzles or passages
    • B65D47/08Closures with discharging devices other than pumps with pouring spouts or tubes; with discharge nozzles or passages having articulated or hinged closures
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65DCONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
    • B65D83/00Containers or packages with special means for dispensing contents
    • B65D83/08Containers or packages with special means for dispensing contents for dispensing thin flat articles in succession
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65DCONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
    • B65D83/00Containers or packages with special means for dispensing contents
    • B65D83/08Containers or packages with special means for dispensing contents for dispensing thin flat articles in succession
    • B65D83/0805Containers or packages with special means for dispensing contents for dispensing thin flat articles in succession through an aperture in a wall
    • AHUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47KSANITARY EQUIPMENT NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; TOILET ACCESSORIES
    • A47K10/00Body-drying implements; Toilet paper; Holders therefor
    • A47K10/24Towel 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
    • A47K10/32Dispensers for paper towels or toilet-paper
    • A47K2010/3233Details of the housing, e.g. hinges, connection to the wall
    • AHUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47KSANITARY EQUIPMENT NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; TOILET ACCESSORIES
    • A47K10/00Body-drying implements; Toilet paper; Holders therefor
    • A47K10/24Towel 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
    • A47K10/32Dispensers for paper towels or toilet-paper
    • A47K2010/3266Wet wipes
    • AHUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A47FURNITURE; DOMESTIC ARTICLES OR APPLIANCES; COFFEE MILLS; SPICE MILLS; SUCTION CLEANERS IN GENERAL
    • A47KSANITARY EQUIPMENT NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; TOILET ACCESSORIES
    • A47K10/00Body-drying implements; Toilet paper; Holders therefor
    • A47K10/24Towel 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
    • A47K10/32Dispensers for paper towels or toilet-paper
    • A47K10/42Dispensers for paper towels or toilet-paper dispensing from a store of single sheets, e.g. stacked
    • A47K2010/428Details of the folds or interfolds of the sheets

Definitions

  • the present disclosure relates to a dispensing container.
  • Patent Literature 1 discloses a dispensing container having an opening provided with a flexible sheet having a slit.
  • Sheet materials in such a container are taken out through the slit.
  • the sheet materials receive resistance upon passing through the slit to be prevented from being continuously taken out through the opening.
  • Patent Literature 1 it may be difficult for the user to insert the fingers into the container through the opening for taking out the first sheet material, when the resistance received by sheet materials passing through the slit is set to be large to more effectively reduce a possibility of the sheet materials being continuously taken out.
  • sheet materials when the resistance of the slit is set to be lower so that the first sheet material may be easily taken out with the fingers, sheet materials may be continuously taken out when the second sheet material and after are taken out.
  • the present invention is directed to an improvement in the conventional dispensing container, and an object of the present invention is to provide a dispensing container that enables the first sheet material to be easily taken out while preventing the sheet materials to be continuously taken out when the second sheet material and after are taken out.
  • a dispensing container has a longitudinal direction and a lateral direction, and includes a container main body configured to contain stacked sheet materials, a dispensing structure positioned in a top wall of the container main body, the dispensing structure having a dispensing opening through which the stacked sheet materials are taken out in a pop-up style, and an upper lid with which the dispensing opening is airtightly closed, the upper lid having a proximal edge and a distal edge, the upper lid being pivotally mounted to the container main body adjacently to the proximal edge via a hinge.
  • the dispensing opening is defined by a first opening part and a second opening part, the first opening part being positioned adjacently to the proximal edge and expanding in the longitudinal direction and the lateral direction, the second opening part continuing from an approximately center part of the first opening part in the lateral direction and extending toward the distal edge, the first opening part having a length at least in the lateral direction longer than a length of the second opening part in the lateral direction.
  • the dispensing opening includes the first opening part and the second opening part.
  • the first opening part has the length in the lateral direction longer than the length of the second opening part in the lateral direction. This configuration enables a user to take out the first sheet material by inserting his or her fingers through the first opening part, while preventing the sheet materials from being continuously taken out when the second sheet material and after are taken out through the second opening part.
  • the upper lid 12 is attached to an upper surface of the container main body 11 via a hinge 38 (see Fig. 7 ).
  • a package of wet tissues may be set in the container main body 11 with a detachable bottom lid 13 detached.
  • Double-headed arrows A, B, and C in Fig. 1 respectively indicate an upper and lower direction A, a lateral direction B, and a front and back direction C of the dispensing container 10.
  • Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II, in Fig. 1 , equally dividing the length of the bottom lid 13 of the dispensing container 10 in the front and back direction C.
  • the container main body 11 includes a top wall 14 and a circumference wall 34 opposed to each other in the upper and lower direction A.
  • the detachable bottom lid 13 is fit to the bottom of the container main body 11.
  • the container main body 11 contains the package 8 of a plurality of stacked wet tissues 9.
  • the wet tissues 9 are rectangular fibrous nonwoven fabrics each folded in two at a folding line extending in the lateral direction, and are stacked one on top of the other in the upper and lower direction A in such a manner that the folding lines are alternately arranged to be on one end and the other end in the front and back direction C.
  • the wet tissues 9 come into contact with a second opening 24b upon passing through a dispensing opening 24, so that the next wet tissue 9 is prevented from being continuously taken out.
  • the top wall 14 has a center part having a recessed surface 15.
  • the recessed surface 15 is formed of a supporting surface 18 and a circumference edge 19.
  • the supporting surface 18 has a center part having a circular opening 25 (see Fig. 3 ) for taking out the wet tissues 9.
  • the dispensing structure 17 is disposed on the recessed surface 15.
  • the container main body 11 and the bottom lid 16 may be made by injection molding for example, and are made of hard materials such as thermoset synthetic resins, examples of which include polypropylene and
  • Fig. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the upper surface of the container main body 11 having the supporting surface 18 exposed with the dispensing structure 17 detached.
  • the circular opening 25 is positioned substantially at the center part of the supporting surface 18.
  • Engagement claws 55 are disposed close to and on the outer side of the circumference edge 19.
  • the engagement claws 55 each include a pair of first and second claws 56 and 57 with a gap 58 provided therebetween.
  • the engagement claws 55 are made of thermoset synthetic resins so that the first claw 56 and the second claw 57 may elastically deform to come into contact with each other upon receiving external force.
  • the claws 56 and 57 respectively include heads 56a and 57a and necks 56b and 57b (see Fig. 6 ).
  • Fig. 4 is an upper perspective view of the dispensing structure 17.
  • Fig. 5 is a lower perspective view of the dispensing structure 17.
  • the dispensing structure 17 includes a rigid flange 20 positioned on the outer circumference, an elastic circumference wall 22 continuing from an inner side of the flange 20, a rigid inner lid 23 continuing from an inner circumference of the circumference wall 22, and an elastic flap 26 continuing from the inner circumference of the inner lid 23 and defining the dispensing opening 24.
  • the circumference wall 22 has atop edge 32 including both annular side edges 32b and an annular groove 32a positioned between both side edges 32b, and has a packing function for the upper lid 12.
  • An annular protrusion 32d protruding downward is positioned between the circumference wall 22 and an outer circumference edge of the inner lid 23.
  • the annular protrusion 32d is in contact with a distal end 35a of an annular supporting protrusion 35 of the supporting surface 18 in a state where the dispensing structure 17 is attached to the container main body 11 (see Fig. 6(b) ).
  • the dispensing opening 24 includes a first opening part 24a and a second opening part 24b.
  • the first opening part 24a is positioned at part of the upper lid 12 closer to the hinge 38 (proximal edge side) (see Fig. 7 ).
  • the second opening part 24b is positioned at part of the upper lid 12 closer to a latch 46 (distal edge side) .
  • the first opening part 24a and the second opening part 24b respectively are contoured by a top part and a stem part of a generally mushroom shape. More specifically, the first opening part 24a has a convex shape.
  • the second opening part 24b has a generally slot shape with a cervix curved from both sides of the first opening part.
  • the flange 20 may be made of hard thermoset synthetic resins.
  • the circumference wall 22 is made of soft elastic materials, such as silicone rubber or thermoset elastomer, to be easily elastically deformable, and has lower rigidity than the flange 20 and the inner lid 23.
  • the flange 20, the circumference wall 22, the inner lid 23, and the flap 26 may be molded with a technique known as double mold, which is one of the injection molding techniques.
  • the flange 20 has four engagement holes 60 disposed more on the outer side than the circumference wall 22 around the dispensing opening 24.
  • the engagement holes 60 each include a circular large diameter part 60a positioned on the upper side and a circular small diameter part60b positioned on the lower side (see Fig. 6 ).
  • Fig. 6 (a) is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state before the dispensing structure 17 is mounted to the container main body 11 using a mounting unit 59 including the engagement claws 55 and the engagement holes 60.
  • the mounting is performed as follows. First of all, the dispensing structure 17 is placed on the recessed surface 15 so that the positions of the four engagement holes 60 and the positions of four engagement claws 55 may respectively match with one another in the lateral direction B and in the front and back direction C.
  • a length f1 of the small diameter part60b of the engagement hole 60 in a radial direction is larger than a length d1 of an outer circumference surface of heads 56a and 57a of first and the second claws 56 and 57 in the end of each of the engagement claws 55.
  • the end of the engagement claw 55 is inserted in the small diameter part 60b of the engagement hole 60.
  • the length f1 of the small diameter part 60b of the engagement hole 60 in the radial direction is smaller than a length d2 of an outermost circumference surface of the heads 56a and 57a of the engagement claw 55 in the radial direction.
  • the protrusion 32d of the dispensing structure 17 comes into contact with the protrusion 35 of the recessed surface 15.
  • the protrusion 35 of the recessed surface 15 has higher rigidity than the protrusion 32d of the dispensing structure 17.
  • the dispensing structure 17 is mounted to the container main body 11, while being prevented from detaching from the container main body 11.
  • the dispensing structure 17 is mounted to the container main body 11 with the protrusion 32d of the dispensing structure 17 pressed against the protrusion 35 of the recessed surface 15, whereby the mounting unit 59 ensures sealing between the container main body 11 and the dispensing structure 17.
  • Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VII-VII in Fig. 1 .
  • Line VII-VII equally divides the length of the bottom lid 13 of the dispensing container 10 in the lateral direction B.
  • the upper lid 12 may be made of hard thermoset synthetic resins.
  • the upper lid 12 has higher rigidity than the circumference wall 22 and the flap 26.
  • the upper lid 12 with such a configuration fits the inner circumference of the recessed surface 15 openably.
  • the upper lid 12 includes an outer surface 28 forming a part of the outer surface of the dispensing container 10 and an inner surface 29 facing the recessed surface 15.
  • An annular rib 30 is positioned on the inner surface 29, linearly extends toward the recessed surface 15, and comes into contact with the top edge32 of the circumference wall 22.
  • the annular rib 30 comes into contact with a recessed edge 32a between both side edges 32b of the top edge 32.
  • the circumference wall 22 and the annular rib 30 in contact with each other as described above collectively form a circumference wall 72 surrounding the openings 24 and 25. This ensures sealing between the upper lid 12 and the dispensing structure 17.
  • the inner surface 29 of the upper lid 12 forms a ceiling 73 facing the openings 24 and 25 in an area surrounded by the circumference wall 72.
  • An airtight space 74 is defined, above the openings 24 and 25, by the circumference wall 72 and the ceiling 73.
  • Projections 33 are provided at four corners of the bottom lid 13 to prevent the package 8 contained in the container 10 from moving out of place.
  • the upper lid 12 in a state as a result of pivoting upward/clockwise is illustrated with a dotted line.
  • the upper lid 12 has a shaft 36 formed on the right side in Fig. 7 , rotatably inserted in a bearing 37 formed in the recessed surface 15.
  • the upper lid 12 may pivot back and forth in the upper and lower direction A, as indicated by a double-headed arrow E, so that the openings 24 and 25 for taking out the wet tissues 9 may be opened and closed.
  • the shaft 36 and the bearing 37 form the hinge 38 of the dispensing container 10.
  • a spring 40 is provided between the supporting surface 18 of the recessed surface 15 and the upper lid 12 in the vicinity of the shaft 36 to bias the upper lid 12 in the opening direction.
  • the spring 40 in the illustrated example is an elastic strip-shaped piece made of synthetic rubber or natural rubber.
  • the spring 40 is in a loaded state with the elastic strip-shaped piece, folded by a predetermined number of times, having one end 41 in the longitudinal direction of the elastic strip-shaped piece fixed to the supporting surface 18 of the recessed surface 15 and the other end 42 fixed to the upper lid 12.
  • the one end 41 is clamped by the supporting surface 18 and the flange 20 to be fixed, and the other end 42 is fixed to a protrusion 44 formed in the inner surface 29 of the upper lid 12 via a holder 43.
  • a general spring material such as a coil spring may be used as the spring 40 instead of that illustrated in the figure.
  • the latch 46 extends downward from the inner surface 29 of the upper lid 12 in the closed state on the left side in Fig. 7 .
  • the latch 46 has a distal end provided with an engagement protrusion 47 extending toward a latch receiver 51 described later.
  • the container main body 11 has a front part48 (see, also Fig. 1 ) provided with a recess 49 that continues to the recessed surface 15, and incorporates the latch receiver 51 configured to receive the latch 46 of the upper lid 12 in the closed state.
  • the recess 49 is covered with the upper lid 12 so as not to be exposed to the outside from the dispensing container 10.
  • the latch receiver 51 serving as a receiving portion engaging with the latch 46 has an upper side in contact with a forward extending part 52 of the flange 20 so as not to be detached upward from the recess 49.
  • the dispensing container 10 is one type of containers having the upper lid 12 known as a push lock/push open lock mechanism.
  • the upper lid 12 that has been closed relative to the dispensing container 10 is opened relative to the dispensing container 10 by being pressed.
  • Fig. 8 illustrates the package 8 to be contained in the dispensing container 10.
  • the package 8 includes the wet tissues 9 serving as sheet materials, a cover sheet 8a covering the wet tissues 9, a package opening 8b formed in an upper surface of the cover sheet 8a, and an unillustrated sealing tape attached to the upper surface of the cover sheet 8a to close the package opening 8b.
  • the cover sheet 8a is liquid impermeable, so that the liquid in the wet sheets beneath the cover sheet 8a may be prevented from evaporating.
  • Fig. 9 is a plan view illustrating the package opening 8b of the package 8 and the dispensing opening 24 of the dispensing structure 17.
  • the package opening 8b has a length e6 in the lateral direction B longer than a length e5 in the front and back direction C.
  • the package opening 8b has a length e7 of the dispensing opening 24 in the front and back direction C longer than the length e5 in the front and back direction C.
  • the package 8 is set in the dispensing container 10 as follows : Specifically, the sealing tape is peeled off from the cover sheet 8a so that the package opening 8b is exposed, and then the package 8 is placed on the bottom lid 13.
  • the package opening 8b has a length e4 of the second opening part 24b in the lateral direction B smaller than the length e6 in the lateral direction B.
  • the package opening 8b is overlapped with the second opening part 24b but is not overlapped with the first opening part 24a in plan view.
  • the wet tissues 9 are initially used as follows: First of all, the package 8 is placed on the bottom lid 13, the bottom lid 13 is attached to the container main body 11, and the upper lid 12 is opened. Then, the topmost one of the wet tissues 9 is pinched by a user' s fingers inserted through the first opening part 24a of the dispensing opening 24, and is taken out through the second opening part 24b. The first wet tissue 9 is be taken out with the fingers inserted through the first opening part 24a having the long length e3 in the lateral direction B.
  • the flap 26 positioned in the circumference edge of the dispensing opening 24 has flexibility/elasticity, and has lower rigidity than the inner lid 23. Thus, the fingers may be prevented from hitting the inner lid 23 with high rigidity when taking out the first wet tissue 9.
  • the length e4 of the second opening part 24b in the lateral direction B is smaller than the length e6 of the package opening 8b in the lateral direction B. This ensures the first wet tissue 9 to be taken out while preventing the second wet tissue 9 and after are from being continuously taken out.
  • the dispensing container 10 has the dispensing opening 24 formed to extend in the front and back direction C, and has the first opening part 24a through which the fingers are inserted to take out the first wet tissue 9 and the second opening part 24b preventing the wet tissues 9 from being continuously taken out. This ensures the first wet tissue 9 to be easily taken out with a lower possibility of the next wet tissue 9 being continuously taken out.
  • the first opening part 24a is positioned closer to the hinge 38, and the second opening part 24b is positioned on the opposite side of the hinge 38 in the front and back direction C (closer to the latch 46).
  • the package opening 8b and the first opening part 24a do not overlap with each other in plan view. This ensures that the wet tissues 9 passing through the dispensing opening 24 pass through the second opening part 24b.
  • the flange 20 with high rigidity is positioned in longitudinally and laterally outer circumference edges of the dispensing structure 17.
  • the outer circumference edges of the dispensing structure 17 may be prevented from deforming.
  • the container main body 11 in the illustrated example may have the flange 20 and the supporting surface 18 integrated by being mechanically fit to each other, by using a fastener of an appropriate shape by being joined to each other through welding, ultrasonic joining, or the like, or by using adhesives such as hotmelt adhesives.
  • the wet tissues 9 are described as an example of the sheet materials.
  • the present invention is not limited to this, and a nonwoven fabric including liquid such as water or alcohol may be used as the sheet materials.
  • the top wall 14 does not necessarily need to be provided with the recessed surface 15.
  • Figs. 10 and 11 are schematic views illustrating a stacked state of the wet tissues 9. It should be noted here, however, that the wet tissues 9 are actually stacked to be in contact with each other in the upper and lower direction A.
  • the wet tissues 9, each folded in two in one of the lateral direction B and the front and back direction C to be in a V-shape may be stacked in the upper and lower direction A.
  • Fig. 10 (a) the wet tissues 9, each folded in two in one of the lateral direction B and the front and back direction C to be in a V-shape may be stacked in the upper and lower direction A.
  • Fig. 10 (a) the wet tissues 9, each folded in two in one of the lateral direction B and the front and back direction C to be in a V-shape may be stacked in the upper and lower direction A.
  • Fig. 10 (a) the wet tissues 9, each folded in two in one of the lateral direction B and the front and back direction C to be in a V-
  • the wet tissues 9 each folded in three in one of the lateral direction B and the front and back direction C to be in a Z-shape may be stacked in the upper and lower direction A.
  • the wet tissues 9 each folded in three in one of the lateral direction B and the front and back direction C to be in a Z-shape may be stacked while being shifted from each other in one of the lateral direction B and the front and back direction C.
  • the wet tissues 9 each folded in two in one of the lateral direction B and the front and back direction C to be in a V-shape, and the wet tissues 9 each folded in three in one of the lateral direction B and the front and back direction C to be in a Z-shape may be alternately stacked in the upper and lower direction A.
  • the wet tissue 9 positioned on the upper side has a folded end portion 9a in contact with an end of the underlaying fibrous nonwoven fabric.
  • the wet tissue 9 positioned on the upper side has an intermediate part 9c in contact with an end of the underlaying wet tissue 9 in a direction orthogonal to a folding line 9b of the wet tissues 9.
  • the reference numeral P indicates the center line that equally divides the length of the wet tissues 9 in the front and back direction C. It is a matter of course that the plurality of wet tissues 9 may be stacked in the upper and lower direction A in manners different from those described above.
  • the wet tissues 9, contained in the dispensing container 10 may be made of a fibrous nonwoven fabric and may be perforated along the lateral direction B. Such a fibrous nonwoven fabric web partially comes into contact with the second opening part 24b when passing through the dispensing opening 24, so that one wet tissue 9 is separated from the fibrous nonwoven fabric web. Thus, the next wet tissue 9 may be prevented from being continuously taken out.
  • the dispensing container 10 including the supporting surface 18 having the opening 25 and the dispensing structure 17 having the dispensing opening 24 is described as an example.
  • the supporting surface 18 and the dispensing structure 17 may be integrally formed with the opening 25 not formed and only the dispensing opening 24 may be formed.
  • a dispensing container has a longitudinal direction and a lateral direction defined, and includes a container main body configured to contain stacked sheet materials, a dispensing structure positioned in a top wall of the container main body, the dispensing structure having a dispensing opening through which the stacked sheet materials may be taken out in a pop-up style, and an upper lid with which the dispensing opening may be airtightly closed, the upper lid having a proximal edge and a distal edge, the upper lid being pivotally mounted to the container main body adjacently to the proximal edge via a hinge.
  • the dispensing opening is formed of a first opening part and a second opening part, the first opening part being positioned adjacently to the proximal edge and expanding in the longitudinal direction and the lateral direction, the second opening part continuing from an approximately center part of the first opening part in the lateral direction and extending toward the distal edge, the first opening part having a length at least in the lateral direction longer than a length of the second opening part in the lateral direction.
  • the present disclosure described above may at least include the embodiments described below, which may be taken in isolation or in combination with one another.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Public Health (AREA)
  • Containers And Packaging Bodies Having A Special Means To Remove Contents (AREA)
  • Closures For Containers (AREA)
  • Packages (AREA)

Abstract

A first sheet material is easily taken out while sheet materials are prevented from being continuously taken out when a second sheet material and after are taken out. A dispensing container (10) configured to maintain a sealed state has a longitudinal direction (front and back direction) (C) and a lateral direction (B), and includes a container main body (11) having an upper surface provided with a dispensing opening (24) for taking out sheet materials (9) contained and an upper lid (12) mounted to the upper surface of the container main body (11) via a hinge (38). The dispensing opening (24) includes a first opening part (24a) positioned on the side of the hinge (38) and a second opening part (24b) continuing from the first opening part (24a) extends toward the opposite side of the hinge (38) in the lateral direction (B), and enables the sheet material (9) to pass through. The first opening part (24a) has a length (e3) in the lateral direction (X) longer than a length (e4) of the second opening part (24b) in the lateral direction (X).

Description

    [Technical Field]
  • The present disclosure relates to a dispensing container.
  • [Background Art]
  • Conventionally known dispensing containers that maintain a sealed state include a top surface and a lid attached thereto with a hinge . The top surface has a dispensing opening for taking out sheet materials in the container such as tissue paper in a pop-up style. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a dispensing container having an opening provided with a flexible sheet having a slit.
  • Sheet materials in such a container are taken out through the slit. The sheet materials receive resistance upon passing through the slit to be prevented from being continuously taken out through the opening.
  • [Citation List] [Patent Literature]
  • PTL 1: Japanese Translation of PCT Application Publication No. JP-T-2003-529505
  • [Summary of Invention] [Technical Problem]
  • For the invention disclosed in Patent Literature 1, it may be difficult for the user to insert the fingers into the container through the opening for taking out the first sheet material, when the resistance received by sheet materials passing through the slit is set to be large to more effectively reduce a possibility of the sheet materials being continuously taken out.
  • In this context, when the resistance of the slit is set to be lower so that the first sheet material may be easily taken out with the fingers, sheet materials may be continuously taken out when the second sheet material and after are taken out.
  • The present invention is directed to an improvement in the conventional dispensing container, and an object of the present invention is to provide a dispensing container that enables the first sheet material to be easily taken out while preventing the sheet materials to be continuously taken out when the second sheet material and after are taken out.
  • [Solution to Problem]
  • A dispensing container according to the present invention has a longitudinal direction and a lateral direction, and includes a container main body configured to contain stacked sheet materials, a dispensing structure positioned in a top wall of the container main body, the dispensing structure having a dispensing opening through which the stacked sheet materials are taken out in a pop-up style, and an upper lid with which the dispensing opening is airtightly closed, the upper lid having a proximal edge and a distal edge, the upper lid being pivotally mounted to the container main body adjacently to the proximal edge via a hinge. The dispensing opening is defined by a first opening part and a second opening part, the first opening part being positioned adjacently to the proximal edge and expanding in the longitudinal direction and the lateral direction, the second opening part continuing from an approximately center part of the first opening part in the lateral direction and extending toward the distal edge, the first opening part having a length at least in the lateral direction longer than a length of the second opening part in the lateral direction.
  • [Advantageous Effects of Invention]
  • In the dispensing container according to one or more embodiments of the present invention, the dispensing opening includes the first opening part and the second opening part. The first opening part has the length in the lateral direction longer than the length of the second opening part in the lateral direction. This configuration enables a user to take out the first sheet material by inserting his or her fingers through the first opening part, while preventing the sheet materials from being continuously taken out when the second sheet material and after are taken out through the second opening part.
  • [Brief Description of Drawings]
  • The drawings illustrate specific embodiments of the present invention, including optional and preferred embodiments as well as essential features of the invention.
    • [Fig. 1] Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a dispensing container according to the present invention.
    • [Fig. 2] Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along ling II-II in Fig. 1.
    • [Fig. 3] Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a top surface of a container main body with a dispensing structure removed.
    • [Fig. 4] Fig. 4 is an upper perspective view of the dispensing structure.
    • [Fig. 5] Fig. 5 is a lower perspective view of the dispensing structure.
    • [Fig. 6] Fig. 6 (a) is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state before the dispensing structure is attached to the container main body. Fig. 6(b) is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state after the dispensing structure is attached to the container main body.
    • [Fig. 7] Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VII-VII in Fig. 1.
    • [Fig. 8] Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a package.
    • [Fig. 9] Fig. 9 is a plan view illustrating a dispensing opening of the dispensing structure and a package opening of the package .
    • [Fig. 10] Fig. 10(a) is a schematic view illustrating an example of a stacked state of wet tissues. Fig. 10(b) is a schematic view illustrating another example of a stacked state of the wet tissues.
    • [Fig. 11] Fig. 11(a) is a schematic view illustrating still another example of a stacked state of the wet tissues. Fig. 11 (b) is a schematic view illustrating yet still another example of a stacked state of the wet tissues.
    [Description of Embodiments]
  • The following describes details of the present invention on the basis of the embodiments including a dispensing container of wet tissues, serving as sheet materials, as an example of a dispensing container according to the present invention with reference to the attached drawings. The embodiments described below include both option and preferred embodiments as well as those features which are essential features of the present invention.
  • A dispensing container 10, illustrated in Fig. 1 that is a perspective view, includes a container main body 11 containing wet tissues and an upper lid 12. The upper lid 12 is attached to an upper surface of the container main body 11 via a hinge 38 (see Fig. 7). A package of wet tissues may be set in the container main body 11 with a detachable bottom lid 13 detached. Double-headed arrows A, B, and C in Fig. 1 respectively indicate an upper and lower direction A, a lateral direction B, and a front and back direction C of the dispensing container 10.
  • Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II, in Fig. 1, equally dividing the length of the bottom lid 13 of the dispensing container 10 in the front and back direction C. The container main body 11 includes a top wall 14 and a circumference wall 34 opposed to each other in the upper and lower direction A. The detachable bottom lid 13 is fit to the bottom of the container main body 11. The container main body 11 contains the package 8 of a plurality of stacked wet tissues 9. The wet tissues 9 are rectangular fibrous nonwoven fabrics each folded in two at a folding line extending in the lateral direction, and are stacked one on top of the other in the upper and lower direction A in such a manner that the folding lines are alternately arranged to be on one end and the other end in the front and back direction C. The wet tissues 9 come into contact with a second opening 24b upon passing through a dispensing opening 24, so that the next wet tissue 9 is prevented from being continuously taken out. The top wall 14 has a center part having a recessed surface 15. The recessed surface 15 is formed of a supporting surface 18 and a circumference edge 19. The supporting surface 18 has a center part having a circular opening 25 (see Fig. 3) for taking out the wet tissues 9. The dispensing structure 17 is disposed on the recessed surface 15. The container main body 11 and the bottom lid 16 may be made by injection molding for example, and are made of hard materials such as thermoset synthetic resins, examples of which include polypropylene and polyethylene.
  • Fig. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the upper surface of the container main body 11 having the supporting surface 18 exposed with the dispensing structure 17 detached. The circular opening 25 is positioned substantially at the center part of the supporting surface 18. Engagement claws 55 are disposed close to and on the outer side of the circumference edge 19. The engagement claws 55 each include a pair of first and second claws 56 and 57 with a gap 58 provided therebetween. The engagement claws 55 are made of thermoset synthetic resins so that the first claw 56 and the second claw 57 may elastically deform to come into contact with each other upon receiving external force. The claws 56 and 57 respectively include heads 56a and 57a and necks 56b and 57b (see Fig. 6).
  • Fig. 4 is an upper perspective view of the dispensing structure 17. Fig. 5 is a lower perspective view of the dispensing structure 17. The dispensing structure 17 includes a rigid flange 20 positioned on the outer circumference, an elastic circumference wall 22 continuing from an inner side of the flange 20, a rigid inner lid 23 continuing from an inner circumference of the circumference wall 22, and an elastic flap 26 continuing from the inner circumference of the inner lid 23 and defining the dispensing opening 24. As illustrated in Figs . 6(a) and 6(b), the circumference wall 22 has atop edge 32 including both annular side edges 32b and an annular groove 32a positioned between both side edges 32b, and has a packing function for the upper lid 12. An annular rib 30, positioned on an inner surface of the upper lid 12, tightly fits the groove 32a. An annular protrusion 32d protruding downward is positioned between the circumference wall 22 and an outer circumference edge of the inner lid 23. The annular protrusion 32d is in contact with a distal end 35a of an annular supporting protrusion 35 of the supporting surface 18 in a state where the dispensing structure 17 is attached to the container main body 11 (see Fig. 6(b)).
  • As illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, the dispensing opening 24 includes a first opening part 24a and a second opening part 24b. The first opening part 24a is positioned at part of the upper lid 12 closer to the hinge 38 (proximal edge side) (see Fig. 7). The second opening part 24b is positioned at part of the upper lid 12 closer to a latch 46 (distal edge side) . The first opening part 24a and the second opening part 24b respectively are contoured by a top part and a stem part of a generally mushroom shape. More specifically, the first opening part 24a has a convex shape. The second opening part 24b has a generally slot shape with a cervix curved from both sides of the first opening part.
  • For example, the flange 20 may be made of hard thermoset synthetic resins. The circumference wall 22 is made of soft elastic materials, such as silicone rubber or thermoset elastomer, to be easily elastically deformable, and has lower rigidity than the flange 20 and the inner lid 23. The flange 20, the circumference wall 22, the inner lid 23, and the flap 26 may be molded with a technique known as double mold, which is one of the injection molding techniques. The flange 20 has four engagement holes 60 disposed more on the outer side than the circumference wall 22 around the dispensing opening 24. The engagement holes 60 each include a circular large diameter part 60a positioned on the upper side and a circular small diameter part60b positioned on the lower side (see Fig. 6).
  • Fig. 6 (a) is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state before the dispensing structure 17 is mounted to the container main body 11 using a mounting unit 59 including the engagement claws 55 and the engagement holes 60. The mounting is performed as follows. First of all, the dispensing structure 17 is placed on the recessed surface 15 so that the positions of the four engagement holes 60 and the positions of four engagement claws 55 may respectively match with one another in the lateral direction B and in the front and back direction C. A length f1 of the small diameter part60b of the engagement hole 60 in a radial direction is larger than a length d1 of an outer circumference surface of heads 56a and 57a of first and the second claws 56 and 57 in the end of each of the engagement claws 55. Thus, when the dispensing structure 17 is pressed against the supporting surface 18, the end of the engagement claw 55 is inserted in the small diameter part 60b of the engagement hole 60.
  • The length f1 of the small diameter part 60b of the engagement hole 60 in the radial direction is smaller than a length d2 of an outermost circumference surface of the heads 56a and 57a of the engagement claw 55 in the radial direction. Thus, when the dispensing structure 17 is pressed against the container, the outer circumference surface of the heads 56a and 57a of the engagement claw 55 comes into contact with the inner circumference surface of the small diameter part60b of the engagement hole 60. When the dispensing structure 17 is further pressed, the circumference edge of the small diameter part 60b presses the outer circumference surface of the heads 56a and 57a, and thus the first claw 56 and the second claw 57 move toward each other. Then, when the dispensing structure 17 is further pressed, the protrusion 32d of the dispensing structure 17 comes into contact with the protrusion 35 of the recessed surface 15. The protrusion 35 of the recessed surface 15 has higher rigidity than the protrusion 32d of the dispensing structure 17. Thus, when the dispensing structure 17 is further pressed, the protrusion 32d of the dispensing structure 17 deforms but the protrusion 35 of the recessed surface 15 does not deform.
  • Then, when the dispensing structure 17 is further pressed, as illustrated in Fig. 6(b), the small diameter part 60b of the engagement hole 60 comes into contact with the necks 56b and 57b, and the outer circumference surface of the heads 56a and 57a comes into contact with the large diameter part 60a of the engagement hole 60. Thus, with the mounting unit 59, the dispensing structure 17 is mounted to the container main body 11, while being prevented from detaching from the container main body 11. The dispensing structure 17 is mounted to the container main body 11 with the protrusion 32d of the dispensing structure 17 pressed against the protrusion 35 of the recessed surface 15, whereby the mounting unit 59 ensures sealing between the container main body 11 and the dispensing structure 17.
  • Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VII-VII in Fig. 1. Line VII-VII equally divides the length of the bottom lid 13 of the dispensing container 10 in the lateral direction B. For example, the upper lid 12 may be made of hard thermoset synthetic resins. The upper lid 12 has higher rigidity than the circumference wall 22 and the flap 26. The upper lid 12 with such a configuration fits the inner circumference of the recessed surface 15 openably. The upper lid 12 includes an outer surface 28 forming a part of the outer surface of the dispensing container 10 and an inner surface 29 facing the recessed surface 15. An annular rib 30 is positioned on the inner surface 29, linearly extends toward the recessed surface 15, and comes into contact with the top edge32 of the circumference wall 22. The annular rib 30 comes into contact with a recessed edge 32a between both side edges 32b of the top edge 32. The circumference wall 22 and the annular rib 30 in contact with each other as described above collectively form a circumference wall 72 surrounding the openings 24 and 25. This ensures sealing between the upper lid 12 and the dispensing structure 17. The inner surface 29 of the upper lid 12 forms a ceiling 73 facing the openings 24 and 25 in an area surrounded by the circumference wall 72. An airtight space 74 is defined, above the openings 24 and 25, by the circumference wall 72 and the ceiling 73. Thus, liquid in the wet tissues 9 may be prevented from evaporating.
  • Projections 33 are provided at four corners of the bottom lid 13 to prevent the package 8 contained in the container 10 from moving out of place.
  • In Fig. 7, the upper lid 12 in a state as a result of pivoting upward/clockwise is illustrated with a dotted line. The upper lid 12 has a shaft 36 formed on the right side in Fig. 7, rotatably inserted in a bearing 37 formed in the recessed surface 15. Thus, the upper lid 12 may pivot back and forth in the upper and lower direction A, as indicated by a double-headed arrow E, so that the openings 24 and 25 for taking out the wet tissues 9 may be opened and closed. The shaft 36 and the bearing 37 form the hinge 38 of the dispensing container 10. A spring 40 is provided between the supporting surface 18 of the recessed surface 15 and the upper lid 12 in the vicinity of the shaft 36 to bias the upper lid 12 in the opening direction. The spring 40 in the illustrated example is an elastic strip-shaped piece made of synthetic rubber or natural rubber. The spring 40 is in a loaded state with the elastic strip-shaped piece, folded by a predetermined number of times, having one end 41 in the longitudinal direction of the elastic strip-shaped piece fixed to the supporting surface 18 of the recessed surface 15 and the other end 42 fixed to the upper lid 12. The one end 41 is clamped by the supporting surface 18 and the flange 20 to be fixed, and the other end 42 is fixed to a protrusion 44 formed in the inner surface 29 of the upper lid 12 via a holder 43. A general spring material such as a coil spring may be used as the spring 40 instead of that illustrated in the figure.
  • The latch 46 extends downward from the inner surface 29 of the upper lid 12 in the closed state on the left side in Fig. 7. The latch 46 has a distal end provided with an engagement protrusion 47 extending toward a latch receiver 51 described later. The container main body 11 has a front part48 (see, also Fig. 1) provided with a recess 49 that continues to the recessed surface 15, and incorporates the latch receiver 51 configured to receive the latch 46 of the upper lid 12 in the closed state. When the upper lid 12 is in the closed state, the recess 49 is covered with the upper lid 12 so as not to be exposed to the outside from the dispensing container 10. Thus, the upper lid 12 is not visible in the outer view of the dispensing container 10, and thus has no negative impact on the outer appearance of the dispensing container 10. The latch receiver 51 serving as a receiving portion engaging with the latch 46 has an upper side in contact with a forward extending part 52 of the flange 20 so as not to be detached upward from the recess 49.
  • The dispensing container 10 is one type of containers having the upper lid 12 known as a push lock/push open lock mechanism. Thus, the upper lid 12 that has been closed relative to the dispensing container 10 is opened relative to the dispensing container 10 by being pressed.
  • Fig. 8 illustrates the package 8 to be contained in the dispensing container 10. The package 8 includes the wet tissues 9 serving as sheet materials, a cover sheet 8a covering the wet tissues 9, a package opening 8b formed in an upper surface of the cover sheet 8a, and an unillustrated sealing tape attached to the upper surface of the cover sheet 8a to close the package opening 8b. The cover sheet 8a is liquid impermeable, so that the liquid in the wet sheets beneath the cover sheet 8a may be prevented from evaporating.
  • Fig. 9 is a plan view illustrating the package opening 8b of the package 8 and the dispensing opening 24 of the dispensing structure 17. The package opening 8b has a length e6 in the lateral direction B longer than a length e5 in the front and back direction C. The package opening 8b has a length e7 of the dispensing opening 24 in the front and back direction C longer than the length e5 in the front and back direction C. The package 8 is set in the dispensing container 10 as follows : Specifically, the sealing tape is peeled off from the cover sheet 8a so that the package opening 8b is exposed, and then the package 8 is placed on the bottom lid 13. The package opening 8b has a length e4 of the second opening part 24b in the lateral direction B smaller than the length e6 in the lateral direction B. The package opening 8b is overlapped with the second opening part 24b but is not overlapped with the first opening part 24a in plan view.
  • The wet tissues 9 are initially used as follows: First of all, the package 8 is placed on the bottom lid 13, the bottom lid 13 is attached to the container main body 11, and the upper lid 12 is opened. Then, the topmost one of the wet tissues 9 is pinched by a user' s fingers inserted through the first opening part 24a of the dispensing opening 24, and is taken out through the second opening part 24b. The first wet tissue 9 is be taken out with the fingers inserted through the first opening part 24a having the long length e3 in the lateral direction B. The flap 26 positioned in the circumference edge of the dispensing opening 24 has flexibility/elasticity, and has lower rigidity than the inner lid 23. Thus, the fingers may be prevented from hitting the inner lid 23 with high rigidity when taking out the first wet tissue 9. The length e4 of the second opening part 24b in the lateral direction B is smaller than the length e6 of the package opening 8b in the lateral direction B. This ensures the first wet tissue 9 to be taken out while preventing the second wet tissue 9 and after are from being continuously taken out.
  • The dispensing container 10 has the dispensing opening 24 formed to extend in the front and back direction C, and has the first opening part 24a through which the fingers are inserted to take out the first wet tissue 9 and the second opening part 24b preventing the wet tissues 9 from being continuously taken out. This ensures the first wet tissue 9 to be easily taken out with a lower possibility of the next wet tissue 9 being continuously taken out.
  • The first opening part 24a is positioned closer to the hinge 38, and the second opening part 24b is positioned on the opposite side of the hinge 38 in the front and back direction C (closer to the latch 46). The package opening 8b and the first opening part 24a do not overlap with each other in plan view. This ensures that the wet tissues 9 passing through the dispensing opening 24 pass through the second opening part 24b.
  • The flange 20 with high rigidity is positioned in longitudinally and laterally outer circumference edges of the dispensing structure 17. Thus, the outer circumference edges of the dispensing structure 17 may be prevented from deforming.
  • The container main body 11 in the illustrated example may have the flange 20 and the supporting surface 18 integrated by being mechanically fit to each other, by using a fastener of an appropriate shape by being joined to each other through welding, ultrasonic joining, or the like, or by using adhesives such as hotmelt adhesives.
  • In the embodiment described above, the wet tissues 9 are described as an example of the sheet materials. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a nonwoven fabric including liquid such as water or alcohol may be used as the sheet materials. The top wall 14 does not necessarily need to be provided with the recessed surface 15.
  • The stacked state of the wet tissues 9 contained in the package 8 is not limited to that described above. Figs. 10 and 11 are schematic views illustrating a stacked state of the wet tissues 9. It should be noted here, however, that the wet tissues 9 are actually stacked to be in contact with each other in the upper and lower direction A. For example, as illustrated in Fig. 10 (a), the wet tissues 9, each folded in two in one of the lateral direction B and the front and back direction C to be in a V-shape may be stacked in the upper and lower direction A. Alternatively, as illustrated in Fig. 10 (b) the wet tissues 9 each folded in three in one of the lateral direction B and the front and back direction C to be in a Z-shape may be stacked in the upper and lower direction A. Furthermore, as illustrated in Fig. 11(a), the wet tissues 9 each folded in three in one of the lateral direction B and the front and back direction C to be in a Z-shape may be stacked while being shifted from each other in one of the lateral direction B and the front and back direction C. Furthermore, as illustrated in Fig. 11(b), the wet tissues 9 each folded in two in one of the lateral direction B and the front and back direction C to be in a V-shape, and the wet tissues 9 each folded in three in one of the lateral direction B and the front and back direction C to be in a Z-shape may be alternately stacked in the upper and lower direction A. In the stacked states of the wet tissues 9 illustrated in Figs. 10 (a) and 10 (b) and in Fig. 11 (b), the wet tissue 9 positioned on the upper side has a folded end portion 9a in contact with an end of the underlaying fibrous nonwoven fabric. In the stacked state of the wet tissues 9 illustrated in Fig. 11(a), the wet tissue 9 positioned on the upper side has an intermediate part 9c in contact with an end of the underlaying wet tissue 9 in a direction orthogonal to a folding line 9b of the wet tissues 9. In Figs. 10 and 11, the reference numeral P indicates the center line that equally divides the length of the wet tissues 9 in the front and back direction C. It is a matter of course that the plurality of wet tissues 9 may be stacked in the upper and lower direction A in manners different from those described above.
  • In the embodiment described above, the wet tissues 9, contained in the dispensing container 10 may be made of a fibrous nonwoven fabric and may be perforated along the lateral direction B. Such a fibrous nonwoven fabric web partially comes into contact with the second opening part 24b when passing through the dispensing opening 24, so that one wet tissue 9 is separated from the fibrous nonwoven fabric web. Thus, the next wet tissue 9 may be prevented from being continuously taken out.
  • In the embodiment described above, the dispensing container 10 including the supporting surface 18 having the opening 25 and the dispensing structure 17 having the dispensing opening 24 is described as an example. Alternatively, the supporting surface 18 and the dispensing structure 17 may be integrally formed with the opening 25 not formed and only the dispensing opening 24 may be formed.
  • The embodiments of the present invention according to the present disclosure described above may be arranged as follows.
  • A dispensing container has a longitudinal direction and a lateral direction defined, and includes a container main body configured to contain stacked sheet materials, a dispensing structure positioned in a top wall of the container main body, the dispensing structure having a dispensing opening through which the stacked sheet materials may be taken out in a pop-up style, and an upper lid with which the dispensing opening may be airtightly closed, the upper lid having a proximal edge and a distal edge, the upper lid being pivotally mounted to the container main body adjacently to the proximal edge via a hinge. The dispensing opening is formed of a first opening part and a second opening part, the first opening part being positioned adjacently to the proximal edge and expanding in the longitudinal direction and the lateral direction, the second opening part continuing from an approximately center part of the first opening part in the lateral direction and extending toward the distal edge, the first opening part having a length at least in the lateral direction longer than a length of the second opening part in the lateral direction.
  • The present disclosure described above may at least include the embodiments described below, which may be taken in isolation or in combination with one another.
    1. (1) The first opening part has a convex shape, and the second opening part has a generally slot shape with a cervix curved from both sides of the first opening part.
    2. (2) The dispensing structure includes an elastic flap and a rigid inner lid, the elastic flap surrounding and defining the dispensing opening, the rigid inner lid surrounding the flap.
    3. (3) A rigid flange is integrally formed with an outer circumference of the inner lid via an elastic circumference wall having a packing function.
    4. (4) The circumference wall has a top part including an annular groove that comes into airtight contact with an annular protruding edge positioned on an inner surface of the upper lid.
    [Reference Signs List]
  • 8
    package
    8a
    cover sheet
    8b
    package opening
    9
    wet tissue
    9a
    end
    9b
    folding line
    9c
    intermediate part
    10
    dispensing container
    11
    container main body
    12
    upper lid
    23
    inner lid
    24
    dispensing opening
    24a
    first opening part
    24b
    second opening part
    26
    flap
    38
    hinge
    46
    latch
    A
    upper and lower direction
    B
    lateral direction
    C
    front and back direction (longitudinal direction)
    e3
    length of first opening part in lateral direction
    e4
    length of second opening part in lateral direction
    e6
    length of package opening in lateral direction

Claims (5)

  1. A dispensing container having a longitudinal direction and a lateral direction, the dispensing container comprising:
    a container main body configured to contain stacked sheet materials;
    a dispensing structure positioned in a top wall of the container main body, the dispensing structure having a dispensing opening through which the stacked sheet materials are taken out in a pop-up style; and
    an upper lid with which the dispensing opening is airtightly closed, the upper lid having a proximal edge and a distal edge, the upper lid being pivotally mounted to the container main body adjacently to the proximal edge via a hinge,
    the dispensing opening is formed of a first opening part and a second opening part, the first opening part being positioned adjacently to the proximal edge and expanding in the longitudinal direction and the lateral direction, the second opening part continuing from an approximately center part of the first opening part in the lateral direction and extending toward the distal edge, the first opening part having a length at least in the lateral direction longer than a length of the second opening part in the lateral direction.
  2. The dispensing container according to claim 1, wherein the first opening part has a convex shape, and the second opening part has a generally slot shape with a cervix curved from both sides of the first opening part.
  3. The dispensing container according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the dispensing structure includes an elastic flap and a rigid inner lid, the elastic flap surrounding and defining the dispensing opening, the rigid inner lid surrounding the flap.
  4. The dispensing container according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a rigid flange is integrally formed with an outer circumference of the inner lid via an elastic circumference wall having a packing function.
  5. The dispensing container according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the circumference wall has a top part including an annular groove that comes into airtight contact with an annular protruding edge positioned on an inner surface of the upper lid.
EP16817958.8A 2015-06-30 2016-06-29 Dispensing container Not-in-force EP3318506B1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
JP2015132227A JP6478839B2 (en) 2015-06-30 2015-06-30 Structure
PCT/JP2016/069259 WO2017002850A1 (en) 2015-06-30 2016-06-29 Dispensing container

Publications (3)

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EP3318506A1 true EP3318506A1 (en) 2018-05-09
EP3318506A4 EP3318506A4 (en) 2018-05-09
EP3318506B1 EP3318506B1 (en) 2020-10-14

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ID=57608362

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Country Status (10)

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US (1) US20180184859A1 (en)
EP (1) EP3318506B1 (en)
JP (1) JP6478839B2 (en)
KR (1) KR102687617B1 (en)
CN (1) CN107635888B (en)
CA (1) CA2987021A1 (en)
MY (1) MY187197A (en)
PH (1) PH12017550140A1 (en)
TW (1) TWI680922B (en)
WO (1) WO2017002850A1 (en)

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Also Published As

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KR20180022678A (en) 2018-03-06
MY187197A (en) 2021-09-09
WO2017002850A1 (en) 2017-01-05
JP2017013854A (en) 2017-01-19
CA2987021A1 (en) 2017-01-05
TWI680922B (en) 2020-01-01
JP6478839B2 (en) 2019-03-06
PH12017550140A1 (en) 2018-05-21
EP3318506B1 (en) 2020-10-14
TW201713578A (en) 2017-04-16
US20180184859A1 (en) 2018-07-05
CN107635888B (en) 2021-04-27
KR102687617B1 (en) 2024-07-24
EP3318506A4 (en) 2018-05-09
CN107635888A (en) 2018-01-26

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