WO2014128694A1

WO2014128694A1 - A reusable closure for wet wipes

Info

Publication number: WO2014128694A1
Application number: PCT/IL2014/050166
Authority: WO
Inventors: Erez NIZAHON
Original assignee: AVIDAN, Nir
Priority date: 2013-02-20
Filing date: 2014-02-17
Publication date: 2014-08-28

Abstract

A reusable closure element for a package of wet wipes having an edge, for maintaining the moistness of the wet wipes The reusable closure element comprises a flexible bottom section and a rigid top section, which can be disassembled and transferred to another package and reassembled, as many times as needed. The bottom section has an aperture rim and disposed on each side of it is a V-shaped wing each extending outwardly therefrom and defining a gap in which there is disposed a tab, so that wing and tab structure provides a clamp-type arrangement designed to engage the edge of the package. The closure element further provides for individually dispensed wipes by having a sharp point positioned on the edge of the clamping tabs which causes a wipe being pulled out of the package to become separated from the next wipe.

Description

A REUSABLE CLOSURE FOR WET WIPES

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the field of wet wipes, and more particularly to preserving their moisture.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A wet wipe is a moistened cloth that is used for numerous purposes, such as cleaning hands, counter tops, removing make-up and most of all wiping babies' bottoms.

The wipes are moistened with water or other liquids like isopropyl alcohol depending on the applications. The wipes are typically sold in plastic tubs with an adhesive lid for the purpose of maintaining the wipes moist and allowing for easy dispensing.

However, when using a large package containing many wet wipes intended to last longer than just a couple of days, since the adhesive lid does not provide an appropriate seal for maintaining appropriate moistness, the wipes dry up and are no longer useful.

One of the solutions for maintaining the moistness of the wet wipes is to use a plastic box for placing the wet-wipes package in it, and closing the box lid tightly over it, thus maintaining moistness. However, the size of the box and its rigidity does not allow for it to be easily mobile, or put into a purse or a stroller bag, in which such wet wipes are often carried.

Another solution for the problem is a package with a built-in plastic lid, which is tightly sealed and therefore preserves the moistness of the wipes even for a long period of time. The problem is that these packages are much more expensive than the regular adhesive lid packages, and for frequent users of wet wipes this can make a big difference in expenses.

Therefore, there is a need for a tightly sealed lid for packages of wet wipes, which can be reusable and transferrable from one package to the other. A reusable lid has a further advantage of minimizing plastic waste, thereby protecting the environment. In addition, a source of frustration related to wet wipes is that very often when a wipe is being pulled out by a user, it will come out attached to another wipe or even several other wipes, instead of being pulled out individually. There is a need for an individually-dispensed wipe dispenser.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to overcome the limitations of prior art devices by providing a tightly sealed lid for packages of wet wipes, which can be reusable and transferrable from one package to the other.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a reusable closure element for a package of wet wipes having an edge, for maintaining the moistness of the wet wipes, said element comprising:

a flexible bottom section; and

a rigid top section;

wherein said bottom section has an aperture rim and disposed on each side of said aperture rim is a V-shaped wing each extending outwardly therefrom and defining a gap in which there is disposed a tab, wherein said wing and tab structure provides a clamp-type arrangement designed to engage said edge, thereby maintaining said flexible bottom section in its position on said edge,

wherein said rigid top section has a lid for repeatedly opening and closing, and

wherein said rigid top section is attached onto said flexible bottom section, thereby locking said bottom section into its position, and

wherein said closure element can be disassembled and transferred to another package and reassembled, as many times as needed.

In a preferred embodiment the lid has a lifting tab, which can be opened and closed repeatedly, for the purpose of maintaining the moistness of the wipes.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the bottom section acquires its flexibility from notches and grooves formed on its aperture rim and wall, to allow the bottom section to be folded and engage the edge of the wet- wipe package. Additionally, the bottom section of the inventive closure element includes slots and apertures which connect to anchoring tabs and locking tabs of the top section, and locking the bottom section into its position and maintaining the moisture of the wet wipes.

The present invention offers a solution for a known problem and source of frustration when using wet wipes, the problem of non-separation of individual wipes as they are pulled out from the package, since the wipes are interleaved with each other. To solve this problem the present invention also includes a sharp point positioned on the bottom side of the clamping tabs so that when a wipe is being pulled out of a package, it bends around the sharp point which interferes with its motion so that it causes it to become separated from the next wipe, thus providing for individually dispensed wipes.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method for reusing a reusable closure element for maintaining the moistness of wet wipes, said method comprising:

inserting a flexible bottom section of said reusable closure element into a package of wet wipes having an edge, wherein said bottom section comprises an aperture rim and disposed on each side of said aperture rim is a V-shaped wing each extending outwardly therefrom and defining a gap in which there is disposed a tab, wherein said wing and tab structure provides a clamp-type arrangement designed to engage said edge, thereby maintaining said flexible bottom section in its position on said edge, and

attaching a rigid top section of said reusable closure element on top of said bottom section, thereby locking it in position,

wherein said closure element can be disassembled and reassembled as many times as needed, and inserted into any wet wipe package.

Additional features and advantages will become apparent from the following drawings and description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the invention with regard to the embodiments thereof, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals designate corresponding elements or sections throughout, and in which:

Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of preferred embodiment of the present invention featuring a package of wet wipes with a closure element in a closed position attached over the dispensing aperture;

Fig. 2 shows the two sections of the closure element before assembly;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the package of Fig. 1 with the closure element in the open position;

Fig. 4 shows a top view of Fig. 1 ;

Fig. 5 shows a top view of Fig. 3, showing the open closure element;

Figs. 6a-b show a perspective view of a) a bottom flexible section of the closure element and b) the closure element in the closed position;

Fig. 7 shows a top view of the bottom flexible section of the closure element;

Fig. 8 shows a bottom view of the assembled closure element;

Fig. 9 shows a side view of the bottom flexible section of the closure element;

Fig. 10 shows a side view of the rigid top section in an open configuration;

Fig. 11 shows a side view of the reusable closure element in a closed position;

Figs. 12-13 illustrate the insertion of the bottom flexible section into the dispensing aperture;

Fig. 14 shows the bottom flexible section inserted into the dispensing aperture;

Fig. 15 shows a cross-sectional side view of a wet wipe package having the closure element, taken along section lines A- A;

Figs. 16A-E shows wet wipes being pulled out of their package, individually.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

It is a principal object of the present invention to provide a solution for maintaining moistness of wet wipes by providing a reusable closure element for use as a dispensing aperture of a wet wipe package.

Referring now to Fig. 1 , there is shown a perspective view of a package of wet wipes 28 with the inventive reusable closure element 30 in a closed position. Referring now to Fig. 2, in a preferred embodiment, closure element 30 comprises two sections, a flexible bottom section 40, and a top section 50. Flexible bottom section 40 is inserted into wet wipe package 28 at a dispensing aperture 32 site, provided as the opening of the package. Clamping tabs 42a, 42b and V-shaped wings 44a, 44b (see Fig. 6a) are arranged to clamp bottom section 40 to the dispensing aperture 32. V-shaped wings 44a, 44b are not visible since they are beneath the edge 60 (see Fig. 12) of package 28. Top section 50 is shown above the inserted bottom section 40, ready to be connected over it.

Referring now to Fig. 3, there is shown a perspective view of the wet wipes package 28 of Fig. 1, showing the reusable closure element 30, after installation, in an open position. Lid 58 and lifting tab 62 are situated on the edge of lid 58 for grasping it for the purpose of opening and closing.

Referring now to Fig. 4, there is shown a top view of package 28 of Fig. 1.

Referring now to Fig. 5, there is shown a top view of package 28 of Fig. 3, showing the closure element 30, with the lid 58 in an open position

Referring now to Fig. 6a, there is shown flexible bottom section 40 of reusable closure element 30, comprising an aperture having an aperture wall 43 and an aperture rim 41, which is positioned on top of dispensing aperture 32 of wet wipe package 28 (see Fig. 12), which is an opening for dispensing the wet wipes. A notch 45 is formed on two opposite sides (only one side is shown) of the bottom of aperture wall 43, and a groove 47 is formed on aperture rim 41 situated above each notch 45, thereby resulting in a weak point 49 having increased flexibility, in between them on a narrow portion of aperture wall 43. Thus, notch 45 and groove 47 both provide flexibility to bottom section 40, allowing it to bend without breaking while inserting it into aperture 32 of wet wipe package 28 (see Fig. 12). Disposed on each side of aperture wall 43 is a V-shaped wing 44a, 44b, each extending outwardly therefrom, and each defining a gap in which there are disposed clamping tabs 42a, 42b, respectively, each of which is also connected to aperture wall 43. The wing and tab structure provides a clamp-type arrangement designed to engage the edge 60 of aperture 32 (see Figs. 12, 15) of wet wipe package 28 (item 48 is described in Fig. 7 below).

Referring now to Fig. 6b, there is shown reusable closure element 30 in a closed position, illustrating rigid top section 50 closed upon flexible bottom section 40 when the edges of V-shaped wings 44a-b are visible from beneath top section 50. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, that the top section 50 may be designed in various shapes and contours, including the mechanism of the anchoring tabs, slots and apertures.

Referring now to Fig. 7, there is shown a top view of flexible bottom section 40, comprising dispensing aperture rim 41, having disposed on either side thereof V- shaped wings 44a, 44b and, clamping tabs 42a, 42b, as described hereinabove. Each of clamping tabs 42a, b comprises a respective slot 46a, b which is closely adjacent to dispensing aperture rim 41. On the distal end of each V-shaped wing 44a, b there is an aperture 48a, b. Both slots 46a, b and apertures 48a, b are for the purpose of connecting rigid top section 50 to flexible bottom section 40 (described further herein).

Referring now to Fig. 8, there is shown a bottom view of reusable closure element 30, showing bottom section 40 with top section 50 connected to it. Disposed on each side of aperture rim 41 is a V-shaped wing 44a, 44b, each extending outwardly therefrom, and defining a gap in which there are disposed clamping tabs 42a, 42b, respectively, which are each also connected to aperture rim 41. On the distal side of V-shaped wings 44a-b, there are formed apertures 48a, 48b, respectively, for the anchoring of top section 50 to bottom section 40 via anchoring tabs 56a-b, and on clamping tabs 42a-b there are formed slots 46a-b also for the anchoring of top section 50, via locking tabs 54a-b.

Referring now to Fig. 9, there is shown a side view of flexible bottom section 40, as viewed in the direction of arrow D (see Fig. 6a), showing dispensing aperture wall 43, dispensing aperture rim 41, notch 45, groove 47, V-shaped wings 44a-b and clamping tabs 42a-b.

Referring now to Fig. 10, there is shown rigid top section 50 in an open position. Rigid top section 50 comprises a lid 58 connected by a bendable area thereby forming hinge 61, to the rest of top section 50. Rigid top section 50 also comprises top aperture rim 52 which covers bottom section aperture rim 41, both situated over dispensing aperture 32. Locking tabs 54a-b are situated under rim 52 and connect with slots 46a-b of bottom section 40, respectively. Anchoring tabs 56a-b are situated on the periphery of top section 50 and connect with apertures 48a-b of bottom section 40, respectively.

Referring now to Fig. 11 , there is shown a side view of the assembled reusable closure element 30 in a closed configuration, viewed in the direction of arrow E (see Fig. 6b) showing anchoring tabs 56a-b inserted into apertures 48a-b, respectively, with edge 60 of aperture 32 (not shown) located in between them. Once rigid top section 50 is connected over and onto flexible bottom section 40, they become locked into position on edge 60, and the entire closure element 30 becomes rigid, so it cannot move and be released from its position.

Referring now to Figs. 12-14, there is shown an illustration of the insertion of flexible bottom section 40 into dispensing aperture 32. V-shaped wings 44a-b are bent downwards toward each other, and due to their flexibility, wings 44a-b enter into dispensing aperture 32 of package 28, thereby slipping edge 60 of aperture 32 in between V-shaped wings 44a-b and clamping tabs 42a-b, respectively. Thus, flexible bottom section 40 is fastened to package 28, when V-shaped wings 44a-b are no longer visible since they are beneath the edge 60 (not shown) of package 28, as illustrated by the broken lines in the top view of Fig. 14.

Reusable closure element 30 can be disassembled into separate top section 50 and bottom section 40 and re-assembled as many times as needed. Also, bottom section 40 can be inserted into and released from wet wipe package 28 as many times as needed, thus serving its purpose as being reusable in other wet wipe packages 28.

Reusable closure element 30 can fit into any wet wipe package, having dispensing apertures in varied sizes, due to the flexibility of bottom section 40.

Referring now to Fig. 15, there is shown a cross-sectional view of wet wipe package 28 taken along section lines A-A (see Fig. 4), showing edge 60 of wet wipe package 28 clamped between V-shaped wings 44a-b and clamping tabs 42a-b.

In use, to dispense a wet wipe, the lid 58 of top section 50 of reusable closure element 30 is lifted via lifting tab 62, and a wet wipe is pulled from within the aperture 32. When no other wipes are needed, lid 58 is closed, thus maintaining the moistness of the wipes for the next use. The wipes in a wet wipes package are interleaved with each other. A source of frustration related to wet wipes is that very often when a wipe is pulled out by a user, it comes out attached to another wipe or even several other wipes, instead of being pulled out individually.

Therefore, a special feature of the present invention is designed to solve this problem, as shown next in Figs. 16A-E;

Referring now to Figs. 16A-E, there is shown sharp point 51a, 51b positioned on the bottom of clamping tabs 42a, 42b, respectively. As shown in Fig. 16C, single wipe 27a is being pulled through aperture rim 52, and due to their moistness, next wipe 27b clings to wipe 27a as it is being pulled. The direction of movement of the wipes is horizontal at first, and then as the motion turns vertical, the wipes bend around sharp point 51 which interferes with the motion of the wipes so that clinging wipe 27b becomes separated from wipe 27a and is prevented from exiting aperture rim 52, thus providing for individually dispensed wipes.

Although particular embodiments of the invention have been described and illustrated herein, it is recognized that modifications and variations may readily occur to those skilled in the art and consequently, it is intended that the claims be interpreted to cover such modifications and equivalents.

Claims

I claim:

1. A reusable closure element for a package of wet wipes having an edge, for maintaining the moistness of the wet wipes, said element comprising:

a flexible bottom section; and

a rigid top section;

2. The closure element of claim 1, wherein said rigid top section comprises a lid.

3. The closure element of claim 2, wherein said lid comprises a lifting tab.

4. The closure element of claim 1, wherein said aperture rim comprises an aperture wall, wherein said aperture wall comprises a notch formed on two opposite sides of bottom of said aperture wall, for increased flexibility of said bottom section.

5. The closure element of claim 4, wherein said aperture rim comprises a groove above each said notch of said aperture wall, thereby resulting in a weak point having increased flexibility situated in between said notch and said groove.

6. The closure element of claim 1, wherein each of said tabs comprises a slot closely adjacent to said aperture rim, and each of said V-shaped wings comprises an aperture, wherein each of said slot and aperture connects to said rigid top section.

7. The closure element of claim 6, wherein said rigid top section comprises anchoring tabs connecting to said apertures of said v-shaped wings.

8. The closure element of claim 6, wherein said rigid top section comprises locking tabs connecting to said slots of said bottom section.

9. The closure element of claim 1, wherein said bottom section further comprises a sharp point positioned on the edge of said clamping tabs, proximate to said aperture wall, wherein when a wipe is being pulled out of a package containing wet wipes interleaved with each other, said wipe is moved in a horizontal motion while clinging to the next wipe in said package, and then as the motion turns vertical, said wipes bend around said sharp point which interferes with said vertical motion so that it forces said pulled wipe to become separated from said clinging next wipe in said package, thus providing for individually dispensed wipes.

10. A method for reusing a reusable closure element for maintaining the moistness of wet wipes, said method comprising:

11. The method of claim 10, wherein said bottom section further comprises a a sharp point positioned on the edge of said clamping tabs, wherein said method further comprises pulling a wipe out of a package containing wet wipes interleaved with each other, said wipe is moved in a horizontal motion while clinging to the next wipe in said package, and then as the motion turns vertical, said wipes bend around said sharp point which interferes with said vertical motion so that it forces said pulled wipe to become separated from said clinging next wipe in said package, thus providing for individually dispensed wipes.