GB2429699A

GB2429699A - Light weight dispenser for dispensing sheet material

Info

Publication number: GB2429699A
Application number: GB0517972A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Douglas Hutt
Original assignee: Kimberly Clark Worldwide Inc; Kimberly Clark Corp
Current assignee: Kimberly Clark Worldwide Inc; Kimberly Clark Corp
Priority date: 2005-09-02
Filing date: 2005-09-02
Publication date: 2007-03-07
Also published as: WO2007026132A1; GB0517972D0

Abstract

A dispenser (12) for sheet material comprises a housing formed to include an internal compartment which is configured to hold sheet material (56). The housing has an exit port (30) and is formed from a light weight water-resistant material. The housing can be flattened and unflattened, and when unflattened the housing will return to its previous configuration without substantial deformation. The housing may be folded from a blank of flexible, corrugated plastic material such as polyethylene.

Description

LIGHT WEIGHT DISPENSER FOR DISPENSING SHEET MATERIAL

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Various types of dispensers for paper products have been developed to provide ready availability of the paper products to users. Such dispensers are often provided in public places such as restaurants or rest rooms where customers remove from the dispenser a desired amount of paper products for personal use. In some settings, such as health care, and so forth, it may be desirable to carry a portable dispenser for hygienic purposes. An inexpensive, attractive dispenser may also be desirable for use at festivals, concerts, and the like.

Most dispensers of sheet material products are made from paperboard or cardboard. Such a dispenser is not useful if it gets wet. When this occurs, the dispenser allows the sheet material products therein to be exposed to water, and the sheet material products become ruined. Paperboard and/or cardboard provide inexpensive dispensers, but such dispensers become disfigured, deformed and/or ragged is used several times. Further, as noted, cardboard or paperboard dispensers do not protect the sheet matenal product from wetness.

Further, such dispensers are not readily cleanable because water and/or liquids cannot be used to clean them without causing damage to the dispenser and/or the sheet material products therein. Paperboard and cardboard dispensers are usually made as one-use dispensers, due to their fragility and deterioration from use.

There is a need for a dispenser which is inexpensive, which can be reloaded and used for a period of time, such as three to six months, without deterioration. Such a dispenser is desirably water resistant, and will protect the sheet material products from damage if water or other liquid is spilled on the dispenser. Further, such a dispenser desirably will be readily cleanable by water and/or such liquid. The dispenser also will desirably be resilient and flexible, and not readily deformed if dropped or flattened.

DEFINITIONS

As used herein, the term "sheet material" means a material that is thin in comparison to its length and breadth. Generally speaking, sheet materials should exhibit a relatively flat planar configuration and be flexible to permit folding, rolling, stacking, and the like. Exemplary sheet materials include, but are not limited to, paper tissue, paper towels, label rolls, or other fibrous, film, polymers, or filamentary products.

As used herein, the term exit port" or "dispensing port" is the opening in a housing of a dispenser for the passage of sheet material out of the dispenser.

As used herein, the term "fasteners" means devices that fasten, join, connect, secure, hold, or clamp components together. Fasteners include, but are not limited to, screws, nuts and bolts, rivets, snap-fits, tacks, nails, loop fasteners, and interlocking male/female connectors, such as fishhook connectors a fish hook connector includes a male portion with a protrusion on its circumference. Inserting the male portion into the female portion substantially permanently locks the two portions together.

As used herein, the term "couple" includes, but is not limited to, joining, connecting, fastening, linking, or associating two things integrally or interstitially together.

As used herein, the term "configure" or "configuration" means to design, arrange, set up, or shape with a view to specific applications or uses. For example: a military vehicle that was configured for rough terrain; configured the computer by setting the system's parameters.

As used herein, the term "hinge" refers to a jointed or flexible device that connects and permits pivoting or turning of a part to a stationary component.

Hinges include, but are not limited to, metal pivotable connectors, such as those used to fasten a door to frame, and living hinges. Living hinges may be constructed from plastic and formed integrally between two members. A living hinge permits pivotable movement of one member in relation to another connected member.

As used herein, the term "substantially" refers to something which is done to a great extent or degree; a significant or great amount; for example, as used herein "substantially" as applied to "substantially" covered means that a thing is at least 95% covered.

As used herein, the term "alignment" refers to the spatial property possessed by an arrangement or position of things in a straight line or in parallel lines.

As used herein, the terms "orientation" or "position" used interchangeably herein refer to the spatial property of a place where or way in which something is situated; for example, "the position of the hands on the clock." As used herein, the term "about" refers to an amount that is plus or minus 10 percent of the numeral or a stated at each end of a given range.

As used herein, the term "memory" refers to the capacity of a material, such as, for example, a plastic or metal, to return to a previous shape after deformation.

These terms may be defined with additional language in the remaining

portions of the specification.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In response to the difficulties and problems discussed above, a dispenser for dispensing sheet material is provided. The dispenser comprises a housing formed to include an internal compartment which is configured to hold sheet material. The housing has an exit port. The housing is formed from a light weight water-resistant material. The housing can be flattened and unflattened, and when unflattened, the housing will return to its previous configuration without substantial deformation.

In another alternative, a system is provided, which includes the dispenser described above and sheet material disposed therein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the blank of the present invention which provides a dispenser; Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of the dispenser of the present invention in an opened loading position and a stack of sheet material positioned to be loaded into the dispenser; Figure 3 is a perspective view of the dispenser of Figure 2 having a cut- away section, the dispenser positioned in a closed dispensing position and the cut-away section showing a stack of sheet material in the internal compartment of the dispenser; and Figure 4 an enlarged sectional view of Figure 1 taken along lines 4-4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to one or more embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the drawings. Each example and embodiment is provided by way of explanation of the invention, and is not meant as a limitation of the invention. For example, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment may be used with another embodiment to yield still a further embodiment. It is intended that the invention include these and other modifications and variations as coming within the scope and spirit of the invention.

The present invention provides an apparatus for dispensing sheet material, and desirably, but not bay way of limitation, sheet material which is folded, interleaved, tabbed, festooned, rolled, and so forth. Exemplary sheet materials for which the present invention is suitable include, but are not limited to, absorbent sheet materials such as towels, wipers, tissue, and so forth, Suitable sheet materials are disclosed, by way of non-limiting examples only, in U.S. Patents 5,048,589 to Cook et al., 5, 399,412 to Sudall et al., 5,674,590 to Anderson et al., 5,772,845 to Farrington, Jr. et al., 5,904,971 to Anderson et al., 6,248,212 to Anderson et al., and 6,273,996 to Hollenberg et aL, the entire contents of which are herein incorporated by reference.

The sheet material for which the present invention is suitable desirably may have regularly spaced zones of weakness extending substantially across the width of the sheet material. The zones of weakness are used to separate the sheet material into individual sheets and may be, for example, defined by a series of perforations, a zone of much lower basis weight, and so forth. The sheet material having regularly spaced zones of weakness substantially extending across its width may desirably have inner and outer layers of sheet material. Desirably, but not by way of limitation, the zones of weakness for the inner and outer layers are offset as is taught in U.S. Patent 3,770,172 to Nystrand, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. Sheet material having offset zones of weakness allows the sheet material to tear within the dispenser while still providing a tail of sheet material extending from the dispenser to be grasped by the next patron or user.

Referring to Figures 1-4 in general, a blank 10 is shown in Figure 1 which provides a dispenser 12. The blank is formed of a flexible corrugated plastic material such as a corrugated polymer, such as, for example, but not by way of limitation, a corrugated polyethelene. The flexible corrugated plastic material includes a plurality of corrugations 14 as illustrated in Figure 4. The plurality of corrugations 14 provides additional material into the same planar dimension (i.e., for example, a horizontal surface) as compared to a flat material (not shown).

The plurality of corrugations provides convex areas 16 and concave areas 18 which are believed to provide strength, flexibility and memory.

The flexible corrugated plastic material desirably has a thickness in a range of about 0.5 millimeter to about 7 millimeters. The flexible corrugated plastic material may more desirably have a thickness in a range of about 1 millimeter to about 5 millimeters. Even more desirably, the flexible corrugated plastic material may have a thickness of about 1. 5 millimeters to about 4 millimeters.

Desirably, the blank 10 shown in Figure 1 includes component portions which will provide the structure for the dispenser 12. These component portions include elongated spaced apart side walls 20, 22 and shortened spaced-apart side walls 24, 26 which a intersect lower wall 28. The lower wall 22 includes a generally, but not by way of limitation, ellipticalshaped opening which provides an exit port 30 for the dispenser 12. Coupled to the elongated side wall 20 is an upper wall 32. The elongated side walls 20, 22 include a pair of flaps 34 positioned at each end 36 of the side walls 20, 22 which are used to assist in forming the dispenser 12. Similarly, the shortened side walls 24, 26 include a flap 38 at each free end 40. In addition, the upper wall 42 also includes a closure flap 42.

One wall, in this instance side wall 20, may include one or more apertures 44 which permit the dispenser 12 to be mounted to a surface or sidewall. The position of the one or more apertures 44 is intended as non-limiting. The dispenser 12 may be mounted by use of fasteners, hooks, hook and loop materials, adhesives, suction cups, and so forth. The component portions of the blank 10 are also intended as non-limiting; any configuration of component portions of the blank may be used so long as the blank 10 functions to provide a dispenser 12 of any configuration so long as it which operates as shown and/or described herein.

The corrugations 14 (Figure 4) of the flexible corrugated plastic material desirably are provided so that they are oriented in a direction 46 (Figure 1 and 3).

In this instance, when the dispenser 12 is formed from the blank 10, the direction 46 ensures that at least the elongated side walls 20, 22 are formed to include substantially vertically-oriented corrugations 14.

Figures 2 and 3 illustrates the dispenser 12 formed from the blank 10.

The flaps 34 on each end 36 of the elongated side walls 20, 22 overlap a portion of each shortened side wall 24, 26. The flaps 38 of the shortened side walls 24, 26 overlap a portion of each flap 34 as well. The flaps 34 and 38 may be secured in their desired position, by way of non-limiting example, via adhesives, staples, heat sealing, ultrasonic sealing, and so forth.

The walls 20, 22, 24, 26, 28 and 32 cooperate to provide a generally rectangularly-shaped housing 48. The housing 48 includes an outer surface 50 and an inner surface 52 which is configured to provide an internal compartment 54 sized to hold sheet material 56 therein. The upper wall 32 may be opened to provide an opening 58 into the dispenser 12 sO that sheet material 56 may be loaded into the internal compartment 54, thereby placing the dispenser 12 in an open loading position. The upper wall 32 is desirably moved into a closed position when the dispenser 12 is positioned in a dispensing position. To provide a closure, the upper waIl 32 is desirably folded over and the closure flap 42 secured by tucking the flap 42 against the side wall 22.

The dispenser 12 is desirably, but not by way of limitation, oriented as a gravity-feed dispenser. That is, the dispenser 12 is desirably oriented so that the sheet material 56 is dispensed from a lower end 60 of the dispenser 12, so that gravity moves the sheet material 56 to lie adjacent the exit port 30. The exit port is desirably, but not by way of limitation, oriented downward so that the sheet material 56 dispenses downward through the exit port 30.

The dispenser 12 is desirably sized to make it portable. That is, the dispenser is substantially small enough to be easily carried in one hand, if desired. The flexible corrugated plastic material permits the dispenser to be substantially water and/or liquid resistant when water or other liquid is splashed on it. Further, the dispenser is readily cleaned by water or other appropriate liquid.

The dispenser 12 is configured to be an inexpensive dispenser for dispensing sheet material with a "short term expected life." The term "short term expected life" as used herein with the dispenser 12 is about 3 to 6 months.

Further, the dispenser housing 48, when formed, can be substantially or flattened or deformed and when it is unflattened it will return to its formed shape as a dispenser housing 48 without any substantial damage, such as creasing, deformation, and so forth.

This resiliency is permitted both by the use of a flexible plastic material, and by the use of a flexible corrugated plastic material, which permits the dispenser to both retain strength and the memory of its formed shape. While the inventor does not wish to be limited by any particular theory, it is believed that the vertical orientation of the plurality of corrugations in at least the elongated side walls 20, 22 assist significantly in permitting the dispenser 12 to retain is strength and the memory of its preformed shape. In this manner, when a dispenser 12 which is substantially empty or substantially filled with sheet material is deformed or flattened, the housing 48 of the dispenser 12 quickly and easily returns to its previous configuration or formed shape with little or no substantial deformation which would spoil its appearance or its configuration.

In a method of use, as shown in Figures 1-3, the dispenser 12 is formed as described previously herein. Sheet material 56 is loaded into the dispenser housing 48 through the opening 58 in an upper end 62 while the upper wall 32 is positioned in an opened loading position, as shown in Figure 2. The sheet material 56 is desirably positioned in the housing 48 for dispensing through the exit port 30. The upper wall 32 of the dispenser housing 48 is then closed, as illustrated in Figure 3. The dispenser 12 may be sit on a surface, mounted on a surface, or it may be carried by a user.

While the present invention has been described in connection with certain preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the subject matter encompassed by way of the present invention is not to be limited to those specific embodiments. On the contrary, it is intended for the subject matter of the invention to include all alternatives, modifications and equivalents as can be included within the spirit and scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. A dispenser for dispensing sheet material, the dispenser comprising: a housing formed to include an internal compartment configured to hold sheet material, the housing having an exit port, wherein the housing is formed from a light weight water-resistant material, and wherein the housing can be flattened and the housing will unflatten and return to its previous configuration without substantial deformation.

2. A dispenser for dispensing sheet material, the dispenser comprising: a housing including at least three side walls which cooperate with a lower end and an upper end to provide the housing, the housing formed to include an internal compartment configured to hold sheet material, the housing having an exit port, wherein the housing is formed from a flexible corrugated plastic material having a plurality of corrugations such that at least two of the side walls are configured to have vertically-oriented corrugations, and wherein the housing can be flattened and the housing will unflatten and return to its previous configuration without substantial deformation.

3. A dispensing system, comprising: a housing formed to include an internal compartment configured to hold sheet material, the housing having an exit port; and sheet material disposed in the internal compartment of the housing, wherein the housing is formed from a light weight water-resistant material, and wherein the housing can be flattened and the housing will unflatten and return to its previous configuration without substantial deformation.

4. The dispenser and system of claim 1 cr3, wherein the light weight water resistance material includes a flexible corrugated plastic material.

5. The dispenser of claim 2, wherein the housing is formed from the flexible corrugated plastic material.

6. The dispenser and system of claim 4 or 5, wherein the flexible corrugated plastic material includes a polymer.

7. The dispenser and system of claim 6, wherein the polymer includes polyethylene.

8. The dispenser and system of claims 4 or 5, wherein the material has a thickness in a range of about 0.5 millimeter to about 7 millimeters.

9. The dispenser and system of claim 8, wherein the material has a thickness in a range of about 1 millimeter to about 5 millimeters.

10. The dispenser and system of claim 9, wherein the material has a thickness in a range of about 1.5 millimeters to about 4 millimeters.

11. The dispenser and system of claims 1,2 or 3, wherein the housing includes two elongated side walls and two shortened side walls which intersect a lower wall to provide the housing, and the internal compartment.

12. The dispenser and system of claim 11, wherein the an upperwall is provided adjacent a portion of one side wall to provide an upper end access to the internal compartment and a closure for the housing.

13. The dispenser and system of claims 4 or 5, wherein the housing includes two elongated side walls and two shortened side walls which intersect a lower wall to provide the housing and the internal compartment.

14. The dispenser and system of claims 4 or 5, wherein at least the two elongated side walls include vertically oriented corrugations.

15. The dispenser and system of claim 14, wherein the flexible corrugated plastic material includes a polymer.

16. The dispenser and system of claim 15, wherein the polymer includes polyethylene.

17. The dispenser and system of claims 13 or 14 wherein the flexible corrugated plastic material retains its strength and memory of its previous configuration after being flattened.

18. The dispenser and system of claims 1, 2 or 3, wherein the dispenser is a gravity-feed dispenser.

19. The dispenser and system of claim 18, wherein the dispenser is configured to have a life of 3 to 6 months.