GB2386111A

GB2386111A - A holder for a dispensing container.

Info

Publication number: GB2386111A
Application number: GB0304984A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Jeffrey Harris; Colin Poulter
Original assignee: TERINEX Ltd
Current assignee: TERINEX Ltd
Priority date: 2002-03-05
Filing date: 2003-03-05
Publication date: 2003-09-10
Also published as: GB2387165A; GB0205128D0; GB0304984D0; GB0304983D0

Abstract

A holder 10 for a dispensing container 2 having a web of domestic wrap therein comprises a base portion 11 adapted to prevent motion of the holder and the dispensing container when web material is drawn off the roll having a recess 16 which receives and grips the dispensing container. The holder may be retained in position by a suction cup 13. The recess may be in the form of an open-ended rectangular groove in the upper surface of the base portion which may taper inwardly, so as to provide a friction fit with the dispensing container and may be provided with a projection, such as a spike, bar or flange adapted to pierce and hence retain the dispensing container within the groove. The base portion may be tapered and the lower surface of the recess may be at an angle to the horizontal. In use, a pair of such holders may be employed at opposing ends of dispensing containers for webs of sheet material such as cling film, aluminium or metal foil, greaseproof paper, catering wrap or webs of discreet articles such as plastic bags, facial tissues or the like. Allows a user to dispense sheets or articles from the dispensing container with one hand.

Description

BOX GRIP The present invention relates to means of gripping a box or like container from which container is dispensed sheet material such as cling film, aluminium foil, greaseproof paper and the like or discreet items such as linked plastic bags, facial tissues and the like, both for catering and domestic household purposes. The present invention will be described hereinafter particularly with regard to boxes from which cling film for catering purposes is dispensed, hereinafter referred to as "catering wrap".

Catering wrap is currently supplied in the form of a roll in corrugated cardboard boxes that are either angled or square. Through a slit along its length or out of the top of the box the wrap is dispensed by pulling. A sharp or serrated edge is generally provided along an edge of the box against which the wrap can be drawn for tearing to length.

Some boxes are currently supplied with rubber adhesive pads that are either already applied to the box base or enclosed in the box for the customer to fit, so as to hold the box down to a work surface whilst the wrap is being pulled. This allows either single-handed dispensing of the wrap or double handed pulling of the wrap without the need to hold the box.

Other boxes are supplied that have no feet at all. Two hands are needed for these boxes which can be inconvenient and can result in wrap wastage due to poor or uneven dispensing.

Permanently fixed wrap dispensers, which take the form of large plastic units, are available, whereby refill rolls are put in and the wrap needs to be threaded through an opening before use. Plastic dispensers tend to be bulky, have lots of moving parts, are difficult to clean and often contain metal blades.

The adhesive pads of the temporarily fixed boxes tend to compress after a while and become ineffective usually before the entire wrap has been used. These pads also do not allow the box to be held securely on wet work surfaces.

Some thin boxes do not allow much room for ease of use as the operator's hands are against the wrap.

The present invention seeks to provide a gripping means of the nature of a holder which allows previously hand held boxes to be held securely on both wet and dry work surfaces without the need for adhesive pads.

The present invention provides a holder for gripping a container from which catering wrap can be dispensed by a pulling motion away from the container, which holder comprises: a base portion which includes means for restraining the holder and its gripped container from movement during the pulling motion, a recessed portion attached to the base portion into which the container can be fitted for dispensing, and

gripping means associated with the recessed portion for retaining the container within the recessed portion during the pulling action.

The restraining means for the box portion could simply be the mass of the base portion but preferably is a sucker arrangement of known type on its lower surface which when pressed onto a worksurface holds the base portion onto the worksurface by suction.

The recessed portion could be a'D'shaped holder which is detachable from the base portion, but is preferably integral with the base portion in the form of a depression in the upper surface of the base portion. The recessed portion should be of a size and shape adapted for holding therein the dispensing container. Where the container is in the form of an elongate box, then the recess takes the form of an open ended rectangular groove.

To provide a gripping means to hold the box in the recess, the groove is preferably tapered inwardly so that the box wedges into the groove when pushed into it. The groove sides can be roughened or have at least one projection to assist the gripping action. In one embodiment a single projection in the nature of a spike is provided. The spike is positioned at the rear wall of the groove and is a size and shape to dig into the cardboard side of the box when the box is pushed into the recess so as to retain the box in position in the groove when the box is subjected to a pulling action when the wrap is being dispensed. Any rotary movement of the box is also resisted by the locking action of the spike into the box wall.

For this embodiment of holder a conventional catering wrap box can be used since the spike is arranged to be sharp enough to dig into the cardboard side of the box when the box is pushed into the recess of the holder.

The spike should not be too long otherwise it could project through the box wall and damage the rolled wrap inside. Also it should be positioned sufficiently close to the bottom of the recess so that should it penetrate the box wall it will project into the box near a corner where there is a space between the rolled wrap and the inner surface of the box wall In a second and preferred embodiment of the holder of the present invention the single projection takes the form of a bar or flange which is outstanding from the rear wall of the recess and presents to the box a flat surface, rather than the sharp point of the spike of the first embodiment. In this embodiment the box is specially adapted to fit the holder by the provision of an appropriate slot in the wall thereof into which the bar or flange fits. With this arrangement even if the projection does penetrate the box such that there is contact between the projection and the wrap, the wrap is not damaged because the surface of the projection is flat and smooth.

If a conventional unadapted box is used with the second embodiment of holder then there will be no proper engagement of the box with the holder; the box wall will simply be distorted when the box is pushed into the recess and the box will be easily pulled out of the holder's recess when the wrap is dispensed. Preferably the bar or flange is aligned perpendicular to the rear wall and parallel to the bottom of the recess and is of a

thickness and length sufficient to provide a locking action to retain the box in the recess during the pulling of the wrap out of the box to dispense it, without significant distortion of the bar or flange.

In order to assist proper location of the adapted box into the holder of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, a projection of the nature of a guide can be provided outstanding from the front wall of the recess which engages in a corresponding slot in the box.

Preferably this guide projection is oriented perpendicular to the orientation of the locking bar or flange, i. e. vertically when the holder is in use, and is in the form of a web running between the front wall and bottom of the recess. The corresponding slot in the box will then accordingly lie across one of the corners of the box extending partially into two adjacent of the four walls of the box. By this means the guide web only intrudes into the wrapped box in a corner remote from the wrap roll when the box is in the holder's recess.

In use, the adapted box is lowered into the recess of the holder with the vertically oriented slot located over the guide web. When the box is pushed firmly into place the guide web holds the box in the correct orientation for the snap fitting of the locking bar or flange into its corresponding slot.

A particularly preferred adapted box is described in the applicants'co-pending application entitled"Wrap Box" filed under reference"SJW/37341. GBP".

The upper surface of the holder with its groove are preferably angled away from the user to allow easy

dispensing and cutting of the wrap, thereby enabling a quicker operation within a busy kitchen or catering establishment.

The holder can be of metal or plastics, and can be solid or hollow. It is preferably of a plastics material so as to be dishwasher safe and easy to clean. The holder contains no moving parts and it can be made fire retardant.

The integral sucker grips work surfaces such as worktops and counters releasably so that the holder can be moved and repositioned or can be secured in one place on a work surface as required. In addition, if required the box can be removed from the holder for two handed dispensing in another part of the kitchen.

The holder can be quickly loaded with a box, and refill boxes can be fitted easily with no time-consuming changeover.

Generally two holders are required for a standard width box but a single holder may be adequate for smaller boxes.

Two embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which :- Fig. 1 shows a first holder of the present invention from all aspects, together with a conventional box about to be fitted therein, in which :Fig. la is a side elevation, Fig. Ib is a view from above,

Fig. lc is a view from one end, the front of the holder, Fig. Id is a view from below, and Fig. le is a view from the other end, the rear of the holder, and Fig 2 shows similar views of a second holder of the present invention for use with an adapted box, in which :- Fig 2a is a side elevation, and Fig 2B is a view from above.

The holder 10 is shown in Fig. la about to be fitted with a catering wrap box 1, the dispensing opening of which is indicated by the arrow 2. From the opening 2 the wrap 3 is pulled out and around the box 1 over a cutting blade 4 in the direction of arrow 5. For this illustrated box 1 the wrap opening is arranged to face rearwardly in the holder 10.

The holder 10 has a base portion 11 which has at one end a foot 12 and at the other a rubber sucker 13.

Upstanding from the base portion 11 are front and rear end portions 14 and 15, respectively, between which a recessed rectangular groove 16 is provided into which the box 1 can be fitted. The front and back walls 17,18 of the groove 16 are tapered inwardly so that the box 1 wedges into the groove 16 when pushed into it.

To retain the box 1 in the groove 16 a spike 19 is provided on the rear wall 18 of the groove 16 which digs in a small way into the cardboard material of the box,

but not so deeply as to damage the catering wrap coiled within the box 1. The spike 19 is positioned near the bottom of the groove 16 so that when the box 1 is in position in the groove the spike 19 does not interfere with the dispensing of the wrap 3 from the opening 2.

The groove 16 and its tapered walls 17,18 are angled backwardly so that, when the box 1 is in position, the cutting blade 4 is in an elevated position to facilitate easier dispensing and tearing of the wrap.

The illustrated holder of the present invention is not normally used singularly, but a pair of such holders are positioned on a work surface facing the same direction with their grooves 16 in line and spaced apart by a width slightly less than the overall width of the catering wrap box to be accommodated. The two holders are pushed down onto the work surface so that their respective suckers 13 attach the holders 10 firmly to the work surface and then the box 1 is pushed into the two grooves 16 with its dispensing opening 2 facing towards the rear end portions 15 of the holders. Sufficient pressure is applied to cause the two spikes 19 to dig into the box 1 so as to retain the box 1 firmly within the grooves 16. Catering wrap can now be dispensed from the box 1 through its opening 2 over the cutting blade 4 in the direction of arrow 5, either single handedly or double handedly without the need to hold the box 1, since it is being restrained within the grooves 16 of the holders 10 and the holders 10 are being held down onto the work surface by their suckers 13. Any rotation of the box 1 within the grooves 16 as a result of the pulling action is resisted by the engagement of the spikes 19 in the side of the box 1 near its opening 2.

When empty, the box 1 can be removed from the grooves 16 by pulling upwardly against the locking action of the spikes 19 and the gripping action of the tapered walls 17,18, and a fresh box can be fitted. If required, the suction supplied by the suckers 13 can be released by upward force and the holders 10 moved to a different location or stored as required. Conveniently for storage a pair of holders can be mated so that the front end portion 14 of each holder 10 lies within the groove 16 of the other holder with the holders facing different directions.

In Fig. 2 an example of the second embodiment of the present invention is illustrated, which example is for use with an adapted box but which possesses many features in common with the example illustrated in Fig. 1. For ease of reference common features are shown in Fig. 2 bearing the same reference number as for Fig. 1 but increased by 100. Thus the holder of Fig. 2a is referenced"110", whilst the holder of Fig. la is reference"10".

Referring to the differences between the example of Fig.

1 and Fig. 2, in Fig. 2a the spike 19 of Fig. la has been replaced by a bar 119 projecting outwardly from and integral with the back wall 118 of the recess 116. The bar 119 is rectangular in cross section and is rectangular in plan with its two free corners rounded to facilitate location and entry of the bar into the box.

The outermost portion of the bar 119 is parallel to the surface rear wall 118 and its outermost surface is smooth.

Between front wall 117 and the bottom of the grove 116 a guide web 120 is provided of a triangular shape located centrally and perpendicular both to front wall 117 and the bottom of the grove 116.

In the rear end portion 115 of the holder a recess 121 is provided to accommodate a tip of a thumb or finger in order to assist the manual pushing down of the holder 110 on to a worksurface.

In use with an adapted box of the type described and exemplified in the applicants'co-pending application entitled"Wrap Box"filed under reference"SJW/37341. GBP" the holder 110 is pushed down to the worksurface and then the adapted box is pushed down to the recess 116 with the guide web 120 engaging the corresponding slot in the box until the bar 119 snaps into a corresponding locking slot on the box. The adapted box is now held firmly via the holder 110 onto the worksurface ready for dispensing the contained wrap.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. A holder for gripping a container from which catering wrap can be dispensed by a pulling motion away from the container, which holder comprises: a base portion which includes means for restraining the holder and its gripped container from movement during the pulling motion, a recessed portion attached to the base portion into which the container can be fitted for dispensing, and gripping means associated with the recessed portion for retaining the container within the recessed portion during the pulling action.
2. A holder as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the restraining means is a sucker arrangement on the lower surface of the holder.
3. A holder as claimed in Claim 1 and Claim 2 wherein the recessed portion is an open ended rectangular groove in the upper surface of the base portion.
4. A holder as claimed in Claim 3 wherein the groove tapers inwardly.
5. A holder as claimed in Claim 3 wherein the sides of the grove carry at least one projection.
6. A holder as claimed in Claim 5 wherein a projection of the nature of a spike is outstanding from a groove wall.

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7. A holder as claimed in Claim 5 wherein the projection is a bar or flange outstanding from the wall of the groove.

8. A holder as claimed in any one of Claims 3 to 7 wherein a box guide web is provided connecting a wall and the bottom of the groove, which web is perpendicular to both wall and bottom.
8. A holder as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the base portion is tapered with the upper surface of the holder and its recessed portion being angled away from horizontal when the holder is in use.
9. A holder as claimed in claim 1 substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.