RU2634237C2 - Refillable flexible dispenser for dispensing wet wipes containing offset dispensing hole - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: packaging industry.

SUBSTANCE: refillable dispenser includes a flexible bag comprising an upper and a lower part remote from each other in the width size direction. The lower part ends in the lower edge. The bag comprises a front wall, a rear wall and an inner space located between them. The dispenser includes a dispensing hole formed in the front wall. The dispensing hole has a width extending in the width size direction, and the dispensing hole limits the middle point along its width. The dispenser includes a seam extending generally in the length direction and generally located at the upper part of the bag. The seam can be opened to an open position and re-sealed to a closed position to connect the front wall to the rear wall. The seam has an inner edge of the seam and an outer edge of the seam. The middle point of the dispensing hole is located closer to the lower edge than to the inner edge of the seam.

EFFECT: increased convenience.

9 cl, 7 dwg, 1 tbl

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The market offers a variety of containers for storage and distribution, in particular for the storage and distribution of products like napkins. Products like napkins or napkins are made from various materials that may be dry or wet during use. Wet wipes can be moistened with a variety of cleaning solutions. Typically, wet wipes are stacked in a container in a folded or unfolded configuration. For example, wet wipe containers are available in which each of the wet wipes stacked in a container is in a folded configuration, such as folded in the shape of the letter c, folded in the shape of the letter Z or folded in four, as is well known to specialists in this field . Sometimes, each folded wet wipe is embedded in wet wipes located directly above and below it in a stack of wipes. In an alternative configuration, the wet wipes are placed in a container in the form of a continuous web of material containing perforated holes adapted to allow wet wipes to be separated one from the web by pulling force. Such wet wipes are used as wipes for babies, hand wipes, sanitary napkins, wipes for cleaning the house, wipes for industrial purposes, etc.

Conventional dispensers for dispensing napkins can be divided into two categories: (1) relatively solid, durable boxes having a relatively large size, designed to be refilled, and not changing their volume as the napkins are removed; and (2) rigid hinged-top packaging made of a plastic film with great flexibility and decreasing in volume as the wipes are removed, but not being refillable. In the art, a dispenser for dispensing napkins is necessary, which in certain embodiments does not have the large dimensions and resistance inherent in conventional boxes with napkins for babies; is rechargeable; decreases in volume as wipes are removed; effectively distributes napkins.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one embodiment of the invention, the rechargeable dispenser for pre-wetted wipes has a size in length and a size in width. The dispenser includes a flexible bag comprising an upper portion and a lower portion spaced apart from each other in a width dimension direction. The lower part ends with a lower edge. The package includes a front wall, a rear wall and an interior space between the front wall and the rear wall. The dispensing device includes a dispensing hole made in the front wall. The dispensing opening has a dispensing opening width extending in a width dimension direction, and the dispensing opening defines a midpoint along its width. The dispenser further includes a movable cover adapted to cover the dispensing opening. The dispenser includes a seam extending generally in the length direction and located generally at the top of the bag. The seam can be opened in the open position and re-tightly closed in the closed position to connect the front wall to the rear wall. The open position is configured to limit the holes for refilling. The seam has an inner edge of the seam and an outer edge of the seam. The midpoint of the dispensing hole is closer to the bottom edge than to the inner edge of the seam.

In certain embodiments, the dispenser further includes a stack of pre-moistened wipes. Napkins determine the width of the stack extending in the direction of the width dimension. The inner space defines the width of the inner space extending from the inner edge of the seam to the lower edge. The width of the stack is X% of the width of the inner space, where X is not more than 90. The middle point of the dispensing hole is closer to the lower edge than the inner edge of the seam, approximately equal to (100-x)% of the width of the inner space.

In certain embodiments, each of the front wall and the rear wall is made of a flexible material having a bending resistance of from about 40 milligrams of force to 150 milligrams of force, and the flexible material has a thickness of from about 8 mils to about 15 mils.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF GRAPHIC MATERIALS

In FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of one embodiment of a dispenser according to the present invention.

In FIG. 2 is a front view of one embodiment of a dispenser of the present invention, with no cover assembly.

In FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view of the dispenser of FIG. 2, taken along line 2A-2A, with the refill hole shown in the closed position.

In FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view of the dispenser of FIG. 2 taken along line 2A-2A, but the refill hole is shown in the open position.

In FIG. 3 is a front view of an alternative embodiment of a dispenser of the present invention, with the missing lid assembly.

In FIG. 4 is a front view of another alternative embodiment of a dispenser of the present invention, with no cover assembly.

In FIG. 5 is a front view of yet another alternative embodiment of a dispenser of the present invention, with the missing lid assembly.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS

In certain embodiments, the replenishing dispenser 20 accommodates a stack of 22 pre-moistened or wet wipes, such as swaddling wipes, toilet wipes, feminine sanitary napkins, or other wipes known in the art. The dispenser has a size of 21 lengths and a size of 23 widths. The dispenser 20 comprises a flexible bag 30 having an upper portion 27 and a lower portion 29 spaced apart from each other in the direction of the size dimension 23. The upper part 27 ends with the upper edge 33, and the lower part 29 ends with the lower edge 35. The package 30 has a front wall 32, a rear wall 34 and an inner space 36 between the front wall 32 and the rear wall 34.

The dispensing device further includes a dispensing hole 40 formed in the front wall 32. The dispensing hole 40 may be a hole (Figs. 1-3), a slot (Figs. 4-5), or another hole through which a wet towel can be dispensed suitably. In certain embodiments, the dispensing hole 40 has a dispensing hole width 42 extending in the direction of the width dimension 23. As illustrated in FIG. 3-5, the width 42 of the dispensing hole is defined as the distance in the direction of the size 23 of the width between the first imaginary line 41 passing through the point of the dispensing hole 40 closest to the upper part 27 and the second imaginary line 43 passing through the point of the dispensing hole 40, the most closer to the lower part 29. The dispensing hole 40 has a midpoint 44 located halfway along its width 42.

The dispenser 20 in certain embodiments further includes a movable lid 50 adapted to cover the dispensing opening 40 to help keep wet wipes from drying between uses. In certain embodiments, the dispensing hole 40 is surrounded by a rigid ring 46 and the cap 50 is pivotally attached to the ring 46 by a hinge 48.

The dispenser includes a seam 60 extending generally in the length dimension 21 direction. The seam is generally located at the top of the 32 pack. The seam 60 can be opened to the open position 62 and re-sealed to the closed position 64. In the closed position 64, the seam 60 connects the front wall 32 to the rear wall 34, directly or indirectly, using intermediate materials. The open position 62 is configured to limit the refill port 66. The refill hole 66 allows the user to replenish the supply of napkins located in the inner space 36. The seam 60 has an inner edge 61 of the seam remote from the upper edge 33 and the seam has an outer edge 63 of the seam close to the upper edge 33. Although the seam 60 may include one or more strips or tracks along which the front wall 32 is connected to the rear wall, the seam 60 as a whole has only one inner edge of the seam (namely, the seam edge closest to the center, relatively remote from the upper edge 33) and there is only one outer edge of the seam (namely, the edge of the seam furthest from the center, relatively close to the upper edge 33). In certain embodiments, the seam 60 is a sealed seam with a push closure and / or may include a movable zipper. In certain embodiments, the carrying handle 68 may be attached to the bag 30, for example, to the top of the bag 27.

In certain embodiments, each of the front wall 32 and the rear wall 34 is made of a flexible material having a bending resistance of 21.0 milligrams of force to about 300 milligrams of force. In the context of this application, “bending resistance” means bending resistance, measured according to the protocol described below. In certain embodiments, the flexible material has a bending resistance of from 21.0 milligrams of force to 150 milligrams of force, more precisely from about 40 milligrams of force to 150 milligrams of force, more precisely from about 40 milligrams of force to 125 milligrams of force, more precisely from about 40 milligrams of force to 100 grams, more precisely from about 60 milligrams of force to about 100 milligrams of force, and more precisely from about 60 milligrams of force to about 90 milligrams of force. It was found that when constructing the front wall 32 and the rear wall 34 from such materials, the bag 30 is durable, considered high-quality, can be processed efficiently, has a reasonable cost, in certain embodiments it demonstrates minimal “rustling” sound when handling it and is sufficient flexible for folding so that it fits in a woman’s handbag, diaper bag or similar container, and, in addition, will become thinner / smaller in volume as it decreases stock of napkins.

In certain embodiments, each of the front wall 32 and the rear wall 34 is made of a flexible material having a thickness of at least 5.0 mils (0.127 mm), more specifically at least about 8 mils (0.203 mm), and more specifically from about 8 mils (0.203 mm) to about 15 mils (0.381 mm). In the context of this application, “thickness” means a thickness measured according to the protocol described below. Materials having the bending resistance and thickness characteristics described above are described below in the Examples section.

In conventional dispensing devices for dispensing wet wipes, the dispensing opening is located in the center of the interior of the container or package in both the length direction and the width direction. During the development of certain aspects of the present invention, it was found that in a bag whose size corresponds to a stack of napkins having a predetermined length and width, if the stack of napkins was too close to the seam 60, the front wall 32 and the rear wall 34 clamped the stack of napkins and thereby negatively influenced the distribution. It was found that by shifting the dispensing hole to the lower edge 35 of the bag 30, this clamping problem could be minimized.

Accordingly, in certain embodiments, the midpoint 44 of the dispensing hole 40 is located closer to the lower edge 35 than to the inner edge 61 of the seam. In certain embodiments, the midpoint 44 of the dispensing hole 40 is located at least 5 millimeters closer, more precisely at least 10 millimeters closer, and even more accurately at least 15 millimeters closer to the bottom edge 35 than to the inner edge 61 of the seam.

As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 2A, in certain embodiments, the dispenser includes a stack of 22 pre-moistened wipes. The stack has a width of 25 stacks extending in the direction of the size 23 of the width. The inner space 36 has a width 37 of the inner space extending from the inner edge 61 of the seam to the lower edge 35. (To facilitate measurement, the width 37 of the inner space is intentionally described and depicted as including the thickness of the bottom wall 80 and should be measured as such for the purposes indicated here .) In certain embodiments, the stack width 25 is X% of the width 37 of the inner space, where X is not more than 90, and the midpoint 44 of the dispensing hole 40 is closer to the lower edge 35 than to the inner edge 61 of the seam, an amount of approximately (100)% of the width 37 of the inner space. For example, if the width 37 of the inner space is 10 centimeters and the width of the stack is 8 centimeters, the width 25 of the stack is 80% of the width 37 of the inner space, and the midpoint 44 of the dispensing hole 40 is closer to the lower edge 35 than to the inner edge 61 of the seam, 20% of the width 37 of the inner space, that is, approximately 2 centimeters. Thus, the midpoint 44 of the hole 40 in this example would be located at a distance of 4 centimeters from the bottom edge 35 and 6 centimeters from the inner edge 61 of the seam.

In certain embodiments of the package 30, the front wall 32 comprises an upper edge and first and second side edges 74 extending perpendicularly from opposite ends of the upper edge of the front wall. Similarly, the rear wall 34 comprises an upper edge 76 and first and second side edges 78 extending perpendicularly from opposite ends of the upper edge 76 of the rear wall. In certain embodiments, the front wall 32 is attached to the rear wall 34 via a first side seam 75 connecting the first side edge of the front wall to the first side edge of the rear wall, and also by a second side seam 79 connecting the second side edge 74 of the front wall to the second side edge 78 back wall. The front wall 32 is additionally attached to the rear wall 34 by means of a lower corner wall 80, which can extend between the front wall 32 and the rear wall 34. For example, in one embodiment, the front wall 32, the rear wall 34, and the lower corner wall 80 are made integrally from one sheet of flexible material folded in the shape of the letter M. A sheet folded in the shape of the letter M forms three lines 81, 82, 83 folds extending in the length dimension 21 direction. A sheet folded in the shape of the letter M is constantly held in place at the first side seam 75 and the second side seam 79.

Test Procedures and Comparative Samples

In general, the resistance of a material is its resistance to deflection or deformation (for example, bending) when exposed to an applied force. The resistance of the materials of the dispenser in this application is established relative to the bending moment formed by the force directed perpendicular to the plane essentially defined along the length and width of the test component. In the context of this application, “bending resistance” means resistance measured by a Gerley resistance test as described in the TAPPI T 543 om-11 Test (paper bending resistance (Gerley meter)) and expressed in milligrams of force. A suitable instrumentation is the Gerley Digital Resistance Meter, Model 4171-D, manufactured by Teledyne Gurley, with offices in Troy, New York, USA. The sample was cut from a tissue dispenser and tested according to the above TAPPI test. Although the length and width dimensions of the cut and examined specimen can be adjusted to match the size and nature of the specimen, as described in section 6 of the procedure, the force measurement for any given specimen size is normalized to fit a 50.8 mm (2 in.) 63.5 mm (2.5 in), as set out in the TAPPI T 543 om-11 Test, including the use of the correct conversion factor, depending on the test parameters used.

To distinguish certain aspects of the invention from certain aspects of conventional dispensers, the bending resistance of several prototype materials of the dispenser, as well as various commercially available dispensers, was measured. For the comparative examples of Table 1, samples of size 25.4 mm x 25.4 mm (1 inch x 1 inch) were cut from the wall section of each flexible dispenser (encoded samples 1-6 and 9-13) without seams, adhesions or other objects that interfere with the test. The “normalized test length” for these encoded samples was 12.7 mm (0.5 in.). For dispensers with high rigidity and a “solid body” (encoded samples 7-8), 12.7 mm x 63.5 mm (0.5 in. X 2.5 in.) Samples were cut from the section of each dispenser that did not contain seams, corners, reinforcing boards or other objects that interfere with the test. The “normalized test length” for these encoded samples was 50.8 mm (2 inches). “Normalized test length” means the clearance from the clamping jaws to the upper edge of the swingarm blade of the test apparatus. Five samples were prepared and measured for each encoded sample.

The orientation of the material relative to the Gerley resistance testing equipment may, in the case of some materials, affect the measured bending resistance. This is because some materials may have microscopic structural differences in different sizes (e.g., length versus width) originating from certain manufacturing processes (e.g., machine processing direction versus direction perpendicular to machine processing direction). In the context of the present description and claims, in addition to the above, “bending resistance” means the bending resistance of a plane of a material having a size of 21 lengths and a size of 23 widths, regardless of the orientation in which the sample is cut or placed in the test apparatus.

To distinguish certain aspects of the invention from certain aspects of conventional dispensers, the thickness of several prototype materials of the dispenser was measured, as well as various commercially available dispensers. Thwing-Albert Thickness Gauge Model 89-100 (available from Thwing-Albert Instrument Co., with offices in West Berlin, New Jersey, USA) or a comparable machine was used to measure the thickness of each material. For the comparative examples of Table 1, samples of 3 inches by 2 inches were cut from the wall section of each dispenser without seams, adhesions, or other objects that interfere with the test. Five samples were prepared and measured for each encoded sample. The upper round presser foot has a diameter of 28.7 mm for an area of 645 square meters. mm (1 square inch). The lower presser foot should have a diameter equal to or greater than the diameter of the upper presser foot. The total static load applied to the test samples is 235 gf (~ 3.57 kPa). Thickness should be measured after a holding period of approximately three (3) seconds.

Table 1 shows the bending resistance and thickness for various materials, as well as the weight, installation position, sample size and conversion coefficient used to measure the bending resistance for each material according to the TAPPI T 543 om-11 Test as described above. Coded samples 1-8 are materials from the walls of dispensers obtained from commercially available dispensers for dispensing wet wipes. Coded samples 9-13 are examples that implement the principles of the present invention. Coded Samples 9–11 are examples using high-density polyethylene films available from Berry Plastics, based in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, USA. Encoded Sample 12 is an example of 100% ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) material, and Encoded Sample 13 is an example of 80% ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) and 20% polyethylene, both of which are available from Promotion Services Group, Chicago, Illinois, USA.

TABLE 1

As shown in Table 1, all encoded samples 9-13 had bending resistances greater than the bending resistances of encoded samples 1-6 (traditional flexible bags for wet wipes), but which are significantly less than the bending resistances of encoded samples 7-8 (traditional solid containers for wet napkins). In addition, all encoded samples 9–13 had thicknesses greater than the thicknesses of encoded samples 1–6 (traditional flexible bags for wet wipes), but which were significantly less than the thicknesses of the encoded samples 7–8 (traditional hard containers for wet wipes).

It should be appreciated that the features of the above embodiments, given for illustrative purposes, are not meant to limit the scope of the present invention. Although only a few illustrative embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, those skilled in the art will quickly realize that many modifications are possible in the illustrative embodiments without substantially deviating from the new idea and advantages of the present invention. Accordingly, all such modifications and all their equivalents, which are assumed to be included in the scope of the present invention, as defined in the following claims. It is also believed that many embodiments can be offered in which all the advantages of some embodiments, especially preferred embodiments, are not achieved, while the absence of a specific advantage does not necessarily imply that such an embodiment is outside the scope of the present invention.

Claims (18)

1. Refillable dispenser (20) for pre-moistened wipes, while the dispenser has a size (21) in length and a size (23) in width, the dispenser comprises a flexible bag (30) comprising an upper part (27) and a lower part (29) spaced apart from each other in the direction of the width dimension, the lower part ends with a lower edge (35), the package contains a front wall (32), a rear wall (34) and an inner space (36) between the front wall and the rear wall, the dispensing device contains a dispensing hole (40) made in the front wall, the dispensing hole has a width (42) of the dispensing hole extending in the direction of the width size, the dispensing hole has a midpoint (44) along its width, the dispensing device further comprises a movable cover (50 ) adapted to close the dispensing opening, the dispenser comprises a seam (60) extending generally in the length direction and located generally in the upper part of the bag, wherein the seam can open in the open position (62) and reseal in the closed position (64) for connection the front wall with the rear wall, the open position is configured to limit the holes (66) for refilling, the seam has an inner edge (61) of the seam and an outer edge (63) of the seam, characterized in that the front wall comprises an upper edge and first and second side edges (74) extending perpendicularly from opposite ends of the upper edge of the front wall, and the rear wall comprises an upper edge (76) and first and second side edges (78) extending perpendicular from opposite ends of the upper edge of the rear wall, the front wall is attached to the rear wall by means of the first side seam (75) connecting the first side edge of the front wall to the first side edge of the rear wall, by the second side seam (79) connecting the second side edge of the front wall to the second side edge of the rear wall, and by the lower corner wall (80) passing between the front wall and the rear wall and is integral with them, and the fact that the midpoint of the dispensing hole is closer to the lower edge than to the inner edge of the seam. 2. A rechargeable dispensing device (20) according to claim 1, characterized in that each of the front wall (32) and the rear wall (34) is made of a flexible material having a bending resistance from 21.0 milligrams of force to 300 milligrams of force. 3. A rechargeable dispenser (20) according to claim 1, characterized in that the flexible material has a bending resistance of 40 milligrams of force to 150 milligrams of force. 4. A rechargeable dispensing device (20) according to claim 1, characterized in that the flexible material has a thickness of 8 mils (0.203 mm) to 15 mils (0.381 mm). 5. A rechargeable dispensing device (20) according to claim 1, characterized in that the dispensing hole (40) is surrounded by a rigid ring (46), while the cap (50) is pivotally attached to the ring. 6. Refillable dispenser (20) according to claim 1, characterized in that the midpoint (44) of the dispensing hole (40) is located at least 10 millimeters closer to the bottom edge (35) than to the inner edge (61) of the seam . 7. A rechargeable dispenser (20) according to claim 1, characterized in that the flexible material has a bending resistance of 60 milligrams of force to 100 milligrams of force. 8. A rechargeable dispenser (20) according to claim 1, characterized in that the front wall (32), the rear wall (34) and the lower corner wall (80) are made as a single unit of one sheet of flexible material folded in the form of a letter M, the sheet folded in the shape of the letter M has three fold lines (81, 82, 83) extending in the direction of the size (21) of the length, while the sheet folded in the shape of the letter M is constantly held in place at the first side a seam (75) and a second side seam (79). 9. A rechargeable dispenser (20) according to claim 1, characterized in that the dispenser further includes a stack (20) of pre-moistened wipes, where the wipes determine the width (25) of the stack extending in the size direction (23) of the width, while the inner space (36) determines the width (37) of the inner space passing from the inner edge (61) of the seam to the lower edge (35), the width of the stack is X% of the width of the inner space, where X is not more than 90, and the middle point (44) of the dispensing hole (40) is located closer to the lower edge than to the inner edge of the seam, approximately equal to ( 100's)% of the width of the inner space.

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