NZ511892A - Rolled plastics film dispenser with tear-off serrations - Google Patents

Abstract

A rolled plastic film carton dispenser is folded from a single sheet of resilient plastic (0.8 mm polypropylene) with a serrated edge 40 and dispensing slot 26.

Description

^ 5 118 9 2 Patent Form No 5 NEW ZEALAND PATENTS ACT 1953 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION DISPENSER FOR ROLLED SHEET MATERIAL We Cartigny Pty Limited, an Australian company of 1 Gibbon Road, Winston Hills, New South Wales, 2153 HEREBY declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be described in and by the following statement:- INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE OF N.Z. 1 0 MAY 2001 received lf\i I EL'-ECT'JAL PROPERTY orncc of N Zi jancelled Date: ' MAY 2001 re ^ ea v r= n \ \ 1 2 Dispenser for rolled sheet material Field of the invention The present invention relates to a dispenser for rolled sheet material. In particular, the present invention relates to a dispenser for polyethylene wrap Background of the invention Rolled sheet material such as polyethylene wrap (cling wrap), aluminium foil, greaseproof paper, and the like, are typically sold in disposable cardboard dispensers. These dispensers comprise an elongate cardboard box with a hinged flap on top that opens to allow access to the roll of sheet material inside. In use the loose end of the roll can be gripped and pulled to obtain a sheet of material of a desired length. The known cardboard dispensers provide a means for cutting the sheet material at the desired length. The known cutting means include, the inclusion of a serrated edge on the cardboard dispenser, usually the serrated edge is adjacent to the free end of the hinged flap, and the provision of a serrated metal strip attached along the periphery of one of the sides of the dispenser. In use the sheet material is pulled against this serrated edge which pierces the sheet and cuts the material Dispenser boxes of this type have a number of disadvantages.

One such disadvantage is the fact that these boxes are made of cardboard or a paper based material and therefore, when they come into contact with water for a period of time they do not afford adequate protection for the dispenser's contents. Under prolonged wet condition the water which has been absorbed by the cardboard, or penetrates the dispenser, will wet the contents of the dispenser and may cause damage to the tubular cardboard core around which the sheet material is rolled An additional problem, in particular for boxes with a cardboard cutting edge, is that when they become wet the serrated cutting edge becomes soft and unable to cut the rolled material. The box itself can even lose strength so that the roll is no longer properly contained within the box.

The relative bluntness of a cardboard cutting surface has other disadvantages, for example, a cardboard cutting edge cannot cut polyethylene film since the serrations in the cardboard cannot be made with a sufficient strength and sharpness to penetrate the film.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE OF N.Z. 1 0 MAY 2001 RECEIVED /07/01 '? O (n (n 8 3 <V/ On the other hand, while some cardboard dispensers having a metal strip for a cutting edge can cut polyethylene film, they have the disadvantage that the metal strip must be very sharp, and as a result the serrations can cut the hand of the person dispensing the rolled material. The addition of a metal 5 strip to a cardboard box also adds expense and complexity to the manufacturing process for producing this type of dispenser.

An additional disadvantage is that known dispensers often allow the loose end of the roll to retract back into the dispenser between uses thereby requiring the user to locate the loose end of the rolled material at each use. 10 Furthermore, typical dispensers are not reusable.

Summary of the Invention According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a dispenser for rolled sheet material, said dispenser comprising a generally elongate housing having at least one side wall, said housing being made from 15 a resilient deformable plastics material and defining an elongate cavity for holding a roll of said sheet material, said at least one side wall including an opening through which said sheet material can be dispensed from said roll, and integral serrated sheet cutting formations outstanding along at least a part of a longitudinal edge of said at least one side wall for cutting off lengths of sheet 20 material from said roll, wherein the dispenser is formed from a generally rectangular single sheet of plastics material having a series of fold lines defined therein which are parallel to the longitudinal edge thereof, whereby the sheet, when folded, defines a generally square box in cross section, and wherein the opening is defined by a cut out slot in said sheet, said slot 25 being located between, and parallel to, two of said fold lines.

Preferably, said sheet cutting formation comprises a Plurality of INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY pointed teeth office of n.z. 1 6 JUL 2001 RECEIVED sharp /07/01 In a preferred embodiment, the dispenser is made from polypropylene of a thickness between 0.6mm and 1mm.

Preferably, the dispenser is made from a 0.8mm thick polypropylene sheet material.

Preferably, the slot is located in the side of said box which is remote from said longitudinal edge. The ends of the slot may be rounded /01 4 The box preferably includes end walls adapted to close off the two ends thereof, the end walls being integrated with the sidewalls. One or both of the end walls may be openable to provide a facility for replacing the roll of sheet material in the dispenser.

Brief description of the drawings The present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 depicts a dispenser according to the present invention; Fig. 2 depicts a blank suitable for constructing a dispenser according to an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 3 depicts a detail of an integral tooth used for cutting lengths of material from a roll housed in the dispenser; and Fig. 4 depicts a dispenser according to the present invention having only partially serrated cutting edge.

Detailed description of the embodiments Fig. 1 shows a dispenser 10 according to the present invention. The dispenser 10 has a generally elongate rectangular body 12 with two generally square ends 14 and 16. The dispenser body 12 has a top panel 18, a base 20, a front face 22 and a rear face 24 The front face 22 has a dispensing slot 26 through which the rolled material housed in the dispenser is dispensed. The front edge 28 of the base 20 is serrated to provide a cutting edge for cutting the dispensed sheet material to length. The teeth 30 of the serrated cutting edge 28 stand proud of the front panel 22 by approximately 2mm. The ends 14, 16 of the dispenser 10 comprises a hinged flap with a tongue which can be opened to allow insertion of a roll of sheet material into the dispenser.

In use, one of the ends 14, 16 is opened and a roll of sheet material is inserted into the dispenser 10. To begin dispensing material from a new roll of sheet material the user deforms the front face 22 of the dispenser by pushing either, the portion of the front face above or below the slot 26 inward and pulling the other portion outward thereby providing a wider opening than slot 26 in its undeformed state, allowing the user to insert their fingers through slot 26-to grasp the free end of the rolled material. The sheet material may then be dispensed by pulling the sheet material out through slot 26 in the conventional way, causing the roll to rotate and the 9/5/01 sheet material to peel away from the roll. In order to aid in the identification of the free end of the roll and aid the user to grasp the free end of the roll, the user may peel a short length of sheet material away from the roll, and fold or crumple this length of material back along itself before putting the new roll of sheet material into the dispenser 10, thereby providing a raised flap or wrinkle to identify and grip through the slot 26 when starting a new roll of material.

The free end of the sheet material can be pulled through slot 26 until the loose end of the sheet material is at the desired length. The material is then wrapped downward across the front face 22 of the dispenser 10 toward the serrated front edge 28 of the base 20. To cut the sheet material the sheet material is pulled against serrated edge 28 forcing the serrations or teeth 30 pierce the sheet material. By applying a prolonged force against the serrations 30 the sheet will be cut at the desired length. In some applications, for example, dispensers intended to be used with sheet material that tears readily across its width, it may only be necessary to have teeth 30 along a portion front edge 28. An example of this type of dispenser is shown in figure 4. In this starter teeth 60 are located at each end of the front edge 28 of the base panel 20. The starter 15 teeth 60 are used to begin a tear at one edge of the sheet material that can be continued either by simply tearing the sheet or by pulling it against a smooth edge 62.

The slot 26 may have rounded ends 27 which will assist in guiding the sheet material as it is dispensed from the box. This avoids the edges of the sheet material snagging on the edges of the slot as in it moves out of the box. 2 o A dispenser of this type is preferably made from a resilient deformable plastics material, such as polypropylene. The dispenser 10 can be made from one sheet of polypropylene cut into a blank as shown in figure 2. It is preferable for the sheet material used to be thick enough to form a rigid but resiliently deformable structure, while being not so thick as to add unnecessary strength or expense to the dispenser. Additionally the sheet material should be thick enough that 2 5 the edges of the sheet will not cut the hand of the user. The inherent flexibility of polypropylene also serves to resist causing injury to the user. A sheet thickness of about 0 8 mm generally provides adequate strength while not being thin enough to cut the hand of a person using the dispenser in a normal manner. As the sheet material used is relatively thick in order to reduce the likelihood of injury to the person using the dispenser, it is necessary to have sharp teeth 30 30 on the cutting edge 28. Each tooth is generally triangular in profile coming to a sharp, unrounded point Although each tooth 30 is sharp the thickness of the sheet material (about 9/5/01 0 8mm) will be such that the edge will not pose a danger to users of the dispenser Figure 3 shows the tooth 30 configuration in detail.

Additionally it is particularly advantageous to use a dispenser made from polypropylene to dispense rolled polyethylene film. The polyethylene wrap and polypropylene sides of the dispenser 10 interact making the polyethylene film cling to the surface of the dispenser. This advantage is utilised by providing a large surface area between the slot 26 through which the wrap is dispensed and the cutting edge 28, thereby providing a flat region to which the polyethylene film may adhere. Thus the loose end of the polyethylene wrap does not retract or fall back into the dispenser after use.

Figure 2 shows the embodiment of the dispenser in disassembled condition. The generally rectangular blank 40 is cut from a sheet of polypropylene of uniform thickness and folded along lines A to H to form an elongated box-shaped dispenser as shown in figure 1. The rectangular sections of the blank as defined by fold lines A to H, correspond to the faces of the box of figure 1 and share like reference numerals.

Assembly of the dispenser 10 is similar to assembly of a common cardboard container.

To assemble the dispenser the blank is folded to a 90 degree angle along each of the lines C to H to form a cylinder with a generally square cross section. Flap 20A is fixed to the inside surface of the base panel 20 to prevent the cylinder from returning to its flat state The flaps 20A, 20 may be sonically welded, glued, crimped or permanently fastened together by , other available means. The flaps 46, 48, 50, 52 are then folded inward and the ends 14, 16 of the dispenser are folded up to close the ends of the box. The ends 14, 16 of the dispenser are each provided with a small tongue 42, 44. When folded the tongues 42, 44 are inserted in the small void left between the flaps 44, 50 and 48, 52 and the top panel 24 of the box and cooperate with the flaps 46, 48, 50, 52 to hold the ends 14, 16 of the box in a closed position. In use one or 2 5 both of the end walls may be opened to provide a facility for replacing the roll in the dispenser. Alternatively any one of the larger rectangular faces of the dispenser may be openable to allow changing of the roll of material in the dispenser.

It will be understood that the invention disclosed and defined, herein extends to all alternative combinations of two or more of the individual features mentioned or evident from 9/5/01 7 1 the text or drawings. All of these different combinations constitute various alternative aspects of the invention The foregoing describes embodiments of the present invention and modifications, obvious to those skilled in the art can be made thereto, without departing from the scope of the 5 present invention The applicant does not concede that the prior art discussed in this specification forms part of the common general knowledge in the art at the priority date of this application /07/01 8

Claims (8)

WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A dispenser for rolled sheet material, said dispenser comprising a generally elongate housing having at least one side wall, said housing being made from a resilient deformable plastics material and defining an elongate cavity for holding a roll of said sheet material, said at least one side wall including an opening through which said sheet material can be dispensed from said roll, and integral serrated sheet cutting formations outstanding along at least a part of a longitudinal edge of said at least one side wall for cutting off lengths of sheet material from said roll, wherein the dispenser is formed from a generally rectangular single sheet of plastics material having a series of fold lines defined therein which are parallel to the longitudinal edge thereof, whereby the sheet, when folded, defines a generally square box in cross section, and wherein the opening is defined by a cut out slot in said sheet, said slot being located between, and parallel to, two of said fold lines.

2. The dispenser for rolled sheet material of claim 1, wherein the sheet cutting formation comprises a plurality of sharp pointed teeth.

3. The dispenser for rolled sheet material of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the dispenser is made from polypropylene of a thickness between 0.6 mm and 1 mm.

4. The dispenser for rolled sheet material of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the dispenser is made from a 0.8 mm thick polypropylene sheet material. intellectual property office of n.z. ' 6 JUL 2001 RECEIVED 10/07/01 9

5. The dispenser for rolled sheet material of claim 1, wherein the slot is located in the side of said box which is remote from said longitudinal edge.

6. The dispenser for rolled sheet material of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the ends of the slot are rounded.

7. The dispenser for rolled sheet material of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the box includes two end walls adapted to close off the two ends thereof, the end walls being integrated with the side walls.

8. The dispenser for rolled sheet material of claim 7, wherein at least one of the two end walls is openable to provide for replacing the roll of sheet material in the dispenser. Dated this 10th day of July, 2001 Cartigny Pty Limited Patent Attorneys for the Applicant PETER MAXWELL & ASSOCIATES intellectual property office of n.z. 1 6 JUL 2001 RECEIVED