US3456844A - Tissue dispensing package - Google Patents

Description

July 22, 1969 T. H PLANNER TISSUE-DISPENSING PACKAGE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 5, 1968 July 22, 1969 T. H. PLANNER 3,456,844

TISSUE-DISPENSING PACKAGE Filed April 5. 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 nite tats t 3,456,844 TESSUE DISPENSING PACKAGE Thomas H. Planner, Appleton, Wis, assignor to Kimberly- Clark Corporation, Neenah, Wis, a corporation of Delaware Filed Apr. 5, 1968, Ser. No. 718,991 Int. Cl. B6511 1/04 U.S. Cl. 221-63 12 Ciaims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A dispensing package for disposible tissues in which a flat tissue stack is packaged in a rectangular carton in which the top wall and sides are transversely and medially divided by a line of perforations which permit the carton to be broken in half and folded back on itself to form the tissue stack into an inverted Uconfiguration. An H-shapecl insert with a central aperture is disposed inside the carton on top of the tissue stack. The ends of the H are folded down and disposed along each side of the stack. When the carton is folded back on itself the insert automatically moves out of the opened carton with the tissues to form simultaneously an arcuate cover over the inverted U-shaped tissue stack. The tissues may then be dispensed through the central aperture of the insert. In an alternate embodiment, the top wall of the carton may also be provided with a central aperture whereby the user has the option of dispensing tissues from the flat carton or from the broken open carton.

Background of the invention Disposable tissues have traditionally been packaged in the form of a flat stack of tissues disposed in a rectangular paperboard carton. The top wall of the carton is provided with a precut aperture, Or a manually removable perforated section which when removed forms an aperture, through which the tissues may be sequentially or individually withdrawn.

One recent variation from such traditional packages, has been to fold a tissue stack transversely in half forming the stack into an inverted U-configuration, and packaging the folded stack in a compact carton to better utilize space.

In another variation, the traditional flat carton is used, but the carton is provided with transverse perforations extending across the top wall and adjacent side walls. These perforations permit the carton to be broken open and folded back on itself to exposed the tissues and also a tion which the tissue stack assumes when the carton is opened and folded back, is positively supported by the folded bottom wall of the carton, and the tissues are withdrawn from the upwardly disposed closed end of the U-shaped stack.

One disadvantage of the latter type package is, that, after it is opened, a major portion of the surface of the top tissue remains exposed until used. Another disadvantage is that the ends of the tissue stack often slip out of the open sections of the folded-over carton when the package is first opened, especially those tissues near the top of the stack. When this happens the opened package has an unsightly appearance, and a smooth uninterrupted dispensing action is not possible because of the resulting loose ends, especially when interleaved tissues are involved, since it is well known that interleaved tissues usually dispense better when they are subjected to some slight restraint during withdrawal.

3,456,844 Patented July 22, 1969 The present invention is particularly directed to improvements in the latter type package.

Accordingly, it is a principal object of this invention to provide an improved break-open dispensing carton for disposable tissues.

Another object is to provide a break-open dispensing carton for interleaved disposable tissues which has an improved appearance and more efficient dispensing action.

Another object is to provide a break-open dispensing carton for tissues in which the inverted U-shaped tissue stack, formed when the carton is broken open and folded back, is protectively covered by a dispensing aid, and the relationship between cover and the top tissue is adjustable.

Summary of the invention This invention relates to a dispensing package for disposable tissues comprising a flat stack of tissues disposed in a rectangular carton which normally is broken open and folded back on itself to prepare the carton for dispensing. Preferably, the tissues are interfolded, but noninterfolded tissues may also be used. The top wall of the carton is divided by a medial line of weakening extending into and across both of the adjacent side walls. This line of weakening permits the carton to be broken-open medially and folded back on itself. An H-shaped insert of flexible sheet material is disposed between the top of the stack and the top wall of the carton. The transverse panel of the H-shaped insert is of such dimension that it covers the main transverse area of at least the central top portion of the tissue stack. The top and bottom legs, or extensions, of the H form tabs, or flaps, of a length which permits them to be folded downwardly for disposition between the side edges of the stack and the side walls of the carton. The main transverse panel of the H is also provided with a central aperture.

To prepare the package for dispensing, the carton is broken open along the transverse perforations and folded back on itself until the folded portions of the bottom carton panel are in juxtaposition. Means are then provided to hold the folded back panel portions in juxtaposition. The folding operation causes the tissue stack and the overlying insert to move outward and to assume an inverted U-configuration with the legs of the U disposed in the open ends of the broken open carton, and the closed end of the U facing upward. The folding operation also causes the legs of the H-shaped insert, when unattached, to slide up along the side walls of the broken open carton adjacent the open ends of the U. These legs are preferably in the form of flaps depending from the side ends of the insert and serve to hold the insert in an arcuate U-configuration directly above the stack, in close, nested association with the top tissue sheet. The top tissue sheet is then easily grasped and dispensed through the central aperture in the main transverse portion of the H-shaped insert. The degree of contact between the arcuate or bowed portion of the insert and the tissue stack is easily controlled by sliding the unattached flap-like legs of the insert up and down between the side of the stack of the carton walls in the open portion of the carton. The above-described package construction provides the opened carton with means to cover and protect the surface of the top tissue, as well as enabling the user to obtain better control over the dispensing action by adjusting the relationship between cover and stack. The open ends also give a visual indication of the number of tissues remaining in the stack.

In another embodiment, the top panel of the carton itself may also be provided with a pre-cut opening, or a removable perforated section which provides such opening when removed. This opening, of course, should be congruent with the opening in the insert. The provision of such an opening enables the user to optionally dispense tissues from the flat carton or from the brokenopen and folded-back carton.

In still another embodiment, the flaps formed by the legs of the insert may be fastened to the sides of the carton. In this embodiment, the insert is transversely corrugated or otherwise foreshortened by gathering of some sort to permit unrestrained expansion when the carton is opened.

The above and other features, objects and advantages attendant the improved package of this invention will become apparent by reference to the following specification and accompanying drawings.

Brief description of the drawing In the drawing, in which like numbers represent like parts:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the top of a carton package made in accordance with one embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the bottom of the carton package of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of one form of the insert used in the carton.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 1, but having one end of the carton cut away to show the disposition of the FIG. 3 insert within the package between the tissue stack and the carton walls.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the carton of FIG. 4 after it has been broken open and folded back on itself ready for dispensing.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective partially cut-open view of another embodiment in which the insert flaps are fastened to the sides of the carton.

FIG. 8 is a perspective partially cut-open view of still another embodiment varying somewhat from FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the package of FIG. 8 broken open and folded back on itself ready for dispensing.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of another embodiment of the insert with the right hand portion shown in its expanded form.

Description of the preferred embodiments FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate in perspective, the outer appearance of one embodiment of the package of this invention.

In the FIG. 1 view of rectangular carton 12, there may be seen top wall 13, one side wall 14 and one end wall 15. A transverse line of weakening is provided by a line of perforations 16 extending across the mid-point of top wall 13 and both side walls, as shown in the extension of the line 16 through side wall 14.

In the FIG. 2 view, the carton of FIG. 1 is turned over end for end, and there may then be seen bottom wall 17, the other side wall 18 and the other end wall 19. The extension of line of weakening 16 may be seen here dividing the other side wall 18 into equal halves. Bottom wall 17, instead of being provided with a line of perforations, rather has a medial transverse score line 20 to facilitate folding thereon when the carton is broken open on line 16. Bottom wall 17 may also be provided with a pair of adhesive strips 21 and 22 which are so located as to come into contact with each other when the carton is broken open and folded on line 20. Two strips are required, as shown, when the adhesive is of a cohesive nature, i.e., one that sticks only to itself. Such types of adhesive do not need a protective cover sheet. The adhesive may also be of a pressure sensitive type, in which case only one strip is needed and should, of course, be covered with a protective sheet of the well-known peelable types. Interlocking tabs may also be used.

FIG. 3 is a plan view, illustrating in fiat form an insert of flexible sheet material, which is disposed on top of the tissue stack and underneath top wall of the carton in the finished package as seen in FIG. 4. This insert comprises an H-shaped panel 23 in which the H is of squat configuration with a wide transverse section 24, and short, flap-like top and bottom extensions or legs 25, 26, 27 and 28. In this embodiment, the wide transverse section 24, forming the main body of the H, has the approximate shape and dimensions of the top of tissue stack 34 (FIG. 4). The short legs of the H, identified by numerals 25, 26, 27 and 28 are separated from the main body 24 of the insert by score lines 29, 3t), 31, and 32 respectively to facilitate folding thereon to form the legs into depending flaps. Transverse section 24 of the H also has a centrally disposed aperture 33 provided therein.

In FIG. 4, insert 23 is shown partially exposed and partially by broken lines, in its proper position within carton 12. Central transverse section 24 of the H is disposed immediately underneath top wall 13 of the carton and on top of tissue stack 34. Short legs 26 and 27 of the H are folded down in the form of rectangular flaps disposed between tissue stack 34 and side wall 14. Short legs 25 and 28 of the H are also folded down in the form of rectangular flaps disposed between tissue stack 34 and side wall 18, not shown. Aperture 3.3 is disposed underneath the central portion of wall 13 and the line of weakening 16, and, in the cut-away section of FIG. 4 the top tissue 34a may be seen therethrough.

FIG. 5 shows the package of FIG. 4 after it has been broken open and folded back on itself with the folded sections of bottom wall 12 in contact and affixed in that position by suitable means, such as by adhesive strips 21 and 22 shown in FIG. 2. It will be noted that, after the carton is broken open and folded back on itself, both the tissue stack 34 and the main section 24 of the H- shaped insert assume an inverted U-configuration. Top tissue 34a of the stack is shown partially drawn through aperture 33 of the arcuately bowed insert ready for withdrawal. When the sheets in the stack are interleaved, sequential drawing will pull the next tissue through the opening where it will take up a configuration similar to that shown for tissue 34a. Front legs 26 and 27 of the H in the form of flaps as shown by the broken lines, and rear legs 25 and 28, not shown, serve to hold the ends of the arcuately bowed insert within the open sections of the carton and maintain the arcuate shape. Since the flaps are not attached to the sidewalls in this embodiment, this arrangement also permits the insert to be moved up and down with respect to the tissue stack, enabling the user to readily adjust the amount of frictional contact between the tissues and inner surface of the arcuately bowed insert, as well as between aperture 33 and leading tissue 34a. This adjustment feature aids in maintaining efiicient functioning of the dispensing action. For example, as the supply of tissues are used up, the insert may be pushed farther down into the open carton to provide continuous contact and better frictional engagement between the tissues and insert. When the package is first opened and the tissues are tightly packed, the insert may be moved upward to relieve excessive pressure on the tissues.

In FIG. 6, an alternate embodiment of the invention is shown which permits the user to dispense tissues from the carton while the carton remains in its original flat configuration. As shown in this embodiment, there may be seen top wall 130, one side wall 14a, and one end wall 15a. Transverse line of weakening 16a extends medially of top wall 13:: and across both side walls. The central portion of top wall 13a is provided with an aperture 35 which is congruent with aperture 33 in the main panel 24 of the insert, the latter being visible through aperture 35 and being shown by broken lines in other areas. In this arrangement, tissues 34a may be pulled through aperture 33 for regular style dispensing from the flat package without breaking open the carton along line 16a. Also, at any time while the package is in use, it may be broken open along line of weakening 16a, whereupon the dispensing arrangement will be as shown in FIG. 5. It will also be seen that at the option of the user, the carton may again be flattened at any time to reassume the shape and function shown in FIG. 6.

Aperture 35 in top wall 13a of the carton may be precut and open initially, or it may be formed by removing a tear-out section of the wall defined by conventional perforations or a line of weakening. When a removable tear-out section is provided, line 1611 should also extend through the removable section so that the carton could be broken open without removing that section first, if desired.

In FIG. 7, another embodiment of the invention is shown in which the flaps formed by the legs of the II- shaped insert are fastened to the sides of the carton, and the central portion of the insert is foreshortened by corrugations to allow for expansion of the insert when the carton is opened.

In this embodiment, legs 26b and 27b (and the opposing legs on the other side of the carton) are attached to their associated carton side wall 14b near the center of the carton. The central portion of the insert 24b is corrugated sufiiciently, as at 37, to permit expansion of the insert when the carton is opened by breaking along perforations 16b. Enough expansion length should be built into the corrugations so that the insert does not exert excessive pressure on the tissues when opened.

In FIG. 8, still another embodiment is shown in which the legs of the insert are fastened to the carton sides.

In this embodiment legs 26c and 270 (and the opposing legs on the other side of the carton) are attached to their associated carton side wall 14b near the side wall ends. A larger portion of the central portion of the insert 240 is corrugated, as at 37c, to permit less restrictive expansion when the carton is opened. Since the legs of this insert are fastened near the ends of their respective side walls, the central portion of the H-shaped insert must necessarily be longer than in the other embodiments to allow for sufiicient expansion when the carton is opened. If the insert is too short, it will press down too tightly on the tissue stack making dispensing of the first sheets difficult and may even cause tearing. When the insert is fastened to the carton sides, care again should be taken to make this dimension of the insert long enough to prevent excessive pressure on the tissues.

In FIG. 9, the package of FIG. 8 is shown after it has been broken open and is folded back on itself to ready the package for dispensing. It will be noted that the configuration is similar to that of FIG. 5. The only differences are that since the flaps formed by legs 26c and 270 are attached to the side wall near the ends of the carton, the central portion of the insert must expand instead of sliding upward with the stack. Accordingly, the insert, instead of forming a smooth semi-circle as in FIG. 5, expands its corrugated portion 370 to form a corrugated semi-circle over the U-shaped tissue stack. The corrugations do not expand to a fully flat configuration and therefore still retain some expansion potential so that they press rather gently against the tissues, offering only sufficient restraint to permit the top tissue 340 to be dispensed properly. The natural resilience of the corrugated portion also allows it to adjust itself downwardly as the tissues are used up, thus continuing to offer the slight frictional resistance desired for good dispensing action.

While FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 show that the foreshortening of the insert is done by transverse corrugations, it will be seen that other means of transverse gathering may be used. Flat folds, or pleating near the vicinity of the legs in the H may be used, for example. Creeping of the sheet material is also indicated as useful, another possibility is to provide the sheet with a plurality of spaced parallel slits which would enable the sheet to expand in much the same manner as expanded metal sheeting or steel mesh. The latter embodiment is illustrated in FIG. 10 where an insert sheet is shown having a section, shown generally at 41, provided with a plurality of spaced and parallel offset slits. This slit section, upon breaking open the carton, will expand to resemble expanded steel mesh as shown generally at 42.

This invention is designed primarily for use with interfolded or interleaved tissues, but it will be seen that with enlargement of the opening in the central panel of the insert, it may be adapted for use with tissues which are not interleaved.

The most common, and presently the most economical, material for use in constructing the carton and insert is llghtweight, paperboard. However, other flexible, formsustaining materials with similar properties, such as semirigid plastic sheeting, may also be used for carton and insert. In other embodiments the end portions of the H including the legs could be of semi-rigid material with the interior portions comprising thin plastic film or foils. Many other combinations are possible.

In addition to cohesive and pressure sensitive adhesives for maintaining the carton in its open position, other means may be used for that purpose. For example, an elastic band may be used to encircle the two halfs of the opened carton, or flat clothes-pin-like holders may be inserted adjacent the fold line between the folded tissue stack and side wall. A mechanical tab-locking device may also be built into the carton. Another method might call for a U-shaped or box-like holder in which the opened carton could be inserted.

The aperture in both outer carton and insert may also be of varying shapes.

Since this package involves using the standard type rectangular outer carton for packaging the tissues, it will be seen that it is readily adaptable for use with conventional automatic equipment presently used for cartoning operations.

While only a limited number of embodiments of the invention have been described above, it is understood that other suitable changes, modifications and variations may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in'the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A dispening package for tissue sheets comprising a generally rectangular carton, a flat stack of tissues disposed therein, and an H-shaped insert disposed between said tissues and said carton; said carton having top and bottom walls, a pair of side walls, and a pair of end walls; a transverse line of weakening extending transversely and medially of said top wall, and extending into and across each of said sidewalls; the transverse central portion of said insert being disposed between the top of said stack and said top wall and having a centrally disposed aperture therein; the legs of said insert being folded downward to form flaps depending therefrom; said flaps being disposed between the sides of said stack and the associated side walls of said carton.

2. The package of claim 1 in which the bottom wall has an adhesive coating on a portion thereof.

3. The package of claim 2 in which said adhesive is pressure sensitive and covered by a peelable protective strip.

4. The package of claim 2 in which said adhesive is of a cohesive type and is disposed thereon as a pair of strips so arranged that when the carton is broken open on said line of weakening and folded back on itself, said strips will adhere to each other.

5. The package of claim 1 in which said bottom wall has a medial score line extending transversely thereof.

6. The package of claim 1 in which said flaps are attached to their associated side-wall and at least part of the transverse central portion of said insert is expandable 7. The package of claim 6 in which said expandable part comprises transverse corrugations.

8. The package of claim 6 in which said expandable part comprises transverse pleats.

9. The package of claim 6 in which said expandable part comprises an area having transversely-spaced paral lel slits, which upon expansion will cause said area to resemble expanded steel mesh.

10. The package of claim 1 in which the top wall of said carton has a pre-cut centrally disposed aperture therein.

11. The package of claim 1 in which the top wall of said carton has a manually removable centrally disposed panel therein defined by a continuous line of weakening, which upon removal will leave a centrally disposed aperture in said wall.

12. The package of claim 1 in which said tissues are interleaved.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Kingsley 221-59 Spaldo 22147 X Gluck 221-63 X Bodette 22l62 X Drees 22134 X Easton et al. 22145 Silver 22159 Krake 22148 SAMUEL F. COLEMAN, Primary Examiner

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