JP5200295B2 - Convenience swipe - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a convenience wipe.

  As used herein, the term “convenience swipe” refers to whether it is made of paper or made of other materials, whether it is absorbent, and usually in a dry state. Regardless of whether it is shown, wet, or wet, it is not necessarily just for products that are essentially disposable in nature for cleaning or sanitary functions And thus would include, for example, tissue paper, kitchen paper, toilet paper, hand towels, face towels, cleaning wipes, and baby wet tissues. The term is also intended to cover products such as disposable bib and note paper.

  The present invention provides a convenience wipe as defined herein in the form of an elongated web of material comprising a large number of individual parts connected together in series. A portion is shaped to have an area that is less than the product of its total width across the web multiplied by its length along the web, and an adjacent individual portion is its width across the web Are connected to each other by a fragile area of material that is small compared to the total width of the web so that individual parts must be separated from their neighbors during metering.

  By way of example, embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 2 depicts a convenience wipe according to the present invention. 1 depicts one method of folding the web of FIG. 1 to overlap. 1 depicts one method of folding the web of FIG. 1 to overlap. 1 depicts one method of forming four of the webs illustrated in FIG. 1 at a time. 1 depicts a schematic form of a convenience wipe according to the present invention. 1 depicts a schematic form of a convenience wipe according to the present invention. 5 depicts a web metering device type similar to the web illustrated in FIG. Fig. 2 depicts an alternative web folding method and a dispensing device for the stack illustrated in Fig. 1; Fig. 2 depicts an alternative web folding method and a dispensing device for the stack illustrated in Fig. 1; Fig. 6 shows yet another alternative method of folding the web shown in Fig. 1 and a dispensing device for the stack. Fig. 6 shows yet another alternative method of folding the web shown in Fig. 1 and a dispensing device for the stack. Fig. 6 shows yet another alternative method of folding the web shown in Fig. 1 and a dispensing device for the stack. Various forms of metering devices are shown. Various forms of metering devices are shown. Various forms of metering devices are shown. Various forms of metering devices are shown. Various forms of metering devices are shown. Various forms of metering devices are shown. Fig. 5 illustrates an alternative form of convenience swipe.

  The convenience swipe of FIG. 1 is formed of a continuous length of material, ie web 10. The material itself may be any suitable composite, but is typically based on paper and consists of a single pile or multiple piles. As can be seen in FIG. 1, the web 10 is shaped to comprise a large number of generally circular individual parts 11 joined in series. Each individual part 11 is connected to each of its adjacent parts immediately before and after by a thin strip of material 12. Because these strips of material 12 are fragile, they are designed to be considerably reduced in width when compared to the total width across the web. The fragile strip 12 thus serves as a controlled break point for when each individual portion 11 must be separated from its neighbors during metering.

  Here, the width of the fragile strip 12 is approximately one-sixth of the total width across the web 10. Of course, this may vary depending on factors such as the particular material used. The individual portions may also be connected to each other by two or more fragile strips that form a fragile region to each other. The presence of fragile strips removes the need for any perforation across the web, an old way of helping to separate between successive individual parts of a traditional paper towel roll. Will be understood.

  It may be possible to manufacture the web in the particular shape illustrated in FIG. 1, for example, so that it is actually formed while it is on the wire of a paper machine. Alternatively, the shape may be achieved by a cutting action on a normally formed web. In that case, the cut wear height can be easily recycled and returned to the web forming process at the time of manufacture.

  FIG. 4 shows how four webs 10 can be formed at one time across the web. This illustration also shows how a saving of about 20% of material can be achieved compared to a conventional rectangular roll.

  It has been observed that the effective working area is only the circular part of the center of the paper towel, and that the corner area of the conventional square or rectangular paper towel is often unused. Thus, by making a circular shaped paper towel, it is best utilized with a minimum amount of material and without sacrificing its effectiveness. The shape is not only environmentally friendly, but also aesthetically pleasing and cost effective.

  For example, it would be possible to store the web 10 seen in FIG. 1 in a roll that is metered in the same way as conventional kitchen paper. FIG. 7 shows a convenient portable form of a dispensing device 70 for including a convenience wipe 71 which here has a generally elliptical individual portion 72. As each individual portion 72 is withdrawn from the dispensing device 70, it pulls out the next individual portion half before the fragile strip 73 breaks.

  Alternatively, the web 10 may be folded and stacked. The simplest form of folding arrangement is to fold each successive individual portion 11 in the past by simply folding the fragile strips 12 that join them together, ie along each fold A in FIG. You will need to attach it on top of things. This will result in a stack of discrete parts of generally circular cross section. Such a stack 80 is depicted in FIG.

  FIG. 9 shows a dispensing device 90 suitable for including the stack 80 illustrated in FIG. 8, which takes the form of a generally circular case. The case is convenient because it can contain the stack in a wet or wet condition for use as a wipe.

  A more detailed folding arrangement would require the additional folding of each individual portion 11 further around its diameter extending across the web 10, ie along crease B in FIG. This will result in a stack of discrete portions of generally semicircular cross section.

  An even more precise folding arrangement would require each individual portion 11 to be folded along three diametrically extending folds. As can be seen in FIG. 1, one of these is a crease B that extends across the web. The other two, creases C and D, are each offset by about 45 ° with respect to crease B. As can be seen in FIG. 2, each individual portion 11 is folded down around its fold B and folded up around its two other folds C and D. As a result, each individual portion 11 is folded into a flat multi-layer configuration in the shape of a quarter circle. When this folding operation is applied sequentially to each individual portion 11, the result is a stack of folded individual portions having generally quadrant-shaped portions as can be seen in FIG.

  Figures 5 and 6 depict possible alternative contours for the shape of individual portions of the web. In FIG. 5, the individual portions 11b of the web 10b are diamond-shaped, whereas in FIG. 5, the portions 11a of the web 10a have an oval shape. In each case, as in the method of the embodiment of FIG. 1, the individual parts are joined together in series by fragile strips 12a, 12b. If desired, the webs 10a, 10b illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6 could be folded in a manner similar to that described above with respect to the embodiment of FIG.

  An alternative web folding method illustrated in FIG. 1 is illustrated in FIG. Here, in addition to the folds A, B, C and D illustrated in FIG. 1, an additional crease E is used, which extends along the longitudinal axis of the web. The folding method requires first folding on each individual part 11 around the crease B. The individual portions 11 are then folded up and down alternately around the folds C, D and E in the manner of a fan as can be seen in FIG. The individual sections thus folded in a sector are then stacked on top of each other, folding the fragile strip 12 around crease A to form a generally triangular stack. FIG. 12 shows a triangular dispensing device 120 in which the upper access opening 121 is suitable for containing a folded stack in this way.

  Depending on exactly how the web is shaped and folded, it is suitable for distribution in many other different ways. For example, the metering device 130 illustrated in FIG. 13 is suitable for metering paper towels in the form of the stack 13 illustrated in FIG. The dispensing device could be attached to the corner or could stand.

  FIG. 14 shows the post of the dispensing device 140, which is semicircular in cross section, with two lidded compartments 141, 142 for containing two separate supplies of paper towels in the form of the stack 13 shown in FIG. Draws the shape of standing in This dispensing device is convenient because it can be used to place a dry paper towel in one compartment and a wet or wet paper towel in the other.

  The dispensing device 150 of FIG. 15 is circular in cross section and comprises four compartments for holding four separate supplies of paper towels in the form of the stack 13 shown in FIG. This metering device may be wall mounted and may be effectively combined with an integrated soap metering device 151 supplied from the tank 152 via a passage 153 down the center of the metering device. The dispensing device may include a single opening 154 for accessing individual portions through its housing, and when each stack is exhausted, an indexing mechanism for aligning the next successive compartment with the opening. Is provided.

  The dispensing device 160 of FIG. 16 stands independently, with two separate stacks of paper towels 13 springing towards the central access opening 161.

  The dispensing device 170 of FIG. 17 takes the form of a rotatable, partially spherical drum that is shaped to receive a stack of towels about its axis for dispensing through the slot 171. . This dispensing device is suitable for storing paper towel supplies in the form of stacks shown in FIG.

  In the dispensing device 180 of FIG. 18, the stack of paper towels is stored in a generally ring-shaped housing, and the paper towels are deflected toward the access opening 181 by spring-loaded paddles 182.

  In all of these metering devices, the design idea is to put the stack in a way that presents the user with the following individual parts: Since the two are connected by a fragile strip, when a user pulls an individual part from the dispensing device, this causes the next successive individual part to be pulled from the dispensing device. However, the fragile strip is designed to break before the next individual part is fully pulled out, leaving a sufficient amount of that part exposed to be ready for the next user. To. If individual parts are folded and metered from the stack, those particular folding methods may be useful in this process.

  FIG. 19 shows an alternative form of convenience wipe, here a disposable bib stack 190. Each individual portion 191 of the web is a disposable bib, which is all connected to each other by a series of frangible strips as described above. The individual portion 191 now has a central access hole 192 so that a bib can be placed over the baby's head as depicted.

  It will be appreciated that the techniques and shapes described herein can be used to produce convenience wipes for many different purposes, not necessarily for cleaning or hygiene. For example, the convenience wipe may be made of plain paper and may be in the form of memo paper. In that case, like a traditional “post-it” note, the adhesive is applied to a fragile strip that separates each individual part that can be used to secure it after it has been detached from the stack. It may be possible to add layers.

Claims (1)

A convenience wipe defined in the form of an elongated web (10) of absorbent material consisting of a plurality of individual wipe portions connected together in series, each individual wipe portion (11 ) Is formed such that the area is smaller than the product of the total width of the web and the length of the web, and adjacent individual wipe portions are fragile having a small width compared to the full width of the web Connected to each other by region (12), thereby serving as a controlled break point for when one individual wipe portion has to be separated from an adjacent individual wipe portion during dispensing,
The webs are folded in the form of a stack of individual wipe portions for storage and distribution so that the individual wipe portions are continuously connected together in series, and each individual Each individual wipe portion is stretched radially, with the individual wipe portions integrally connected to the adjacent wipe portions, so that a typical wipe portion is generally circular and can create a stack with a substantially quadrant shape. Folded by folds (B, C, D)
The web is folded in the frangible area between adjacent individual wipes,
Each of the individual portions is circular and is folded around a plurality of radially extending folds to create a stack of generally quadrant-shaped portions;
A first fold (B) of the radially extending folds is provided to extend in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal axis of the web across the center of each individual wipe portion, and Of the extending folds, the second fold (C) and the third fold (D) are offset by 45 degrees with respect to both sides of the first fold (B) of each individual wipe portion. ,
A convenience wipe wherein each individual wipe portion is folded in the opposite direction with respect to the first fold and is folded in the same direction with respect to the second and third folds.

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