WO2015179951A1

WO2015179951A1 - Refillable wipes dispenser

Info

Publication number: WO2015179951A1
Application number: PCT/CA2015/000343
Authority: WO
Inventors: Beata SMOLUCH
Original assignee: Smoluch Beata
Priority date: 2014-05-27
Filing date: 2015-05-27
Publication date: 2015-12-03

Abstract

A wipes dispenser for storing personal care products configured to be refillable via an elongate primary opening with a resealable closure. The dispenser allows access to individual wipes via a secondary opening. The secondary opening is provided with a second resealable closure. The dispenser is generally flexible to allow it to adapt to the height of a stack of wipes disposed therein.

Description

REFILLABLE WIPES DISPENSER

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is in the technical field of dispensers for personal care products. More particularly, the present invention is in the technical field of travel dispensers for sheeted personal care products including wet wipes, facial tissues and the like

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There are a wide variety of dispensers for moist wipes available for sale. Often, there is a consumer need for a portable wipes dispenser. A number of existing travel dispensers which allow for refilling of moist wipes are hard plastic cases, tubs or containers. These dispensers have a fixed internal volume regardless of the amount of wipes contained within the dispenser. They are bulky and not convenient for travel. Since, these dispensers do not adapt to the quantity of wipes present within the container, the wipes often loose moisture as the stack of wipes is depleted and more air is present in the container. In addition, since the dispenser's internal volume does not adapt to the quantity of wipes, another issue that arises is fallback. As the stack of wipes is depleted and individual wipes are removed from the dispenser, the wipes have a tendency to fall-back into the container. This requires that in order for the user to retrieve a wipe, they must open the dispenser to adjust the wipes which is undesirable.

Also, many of the travel dispensers currently available require that the dispenser be unfolded into two parts to access the wipes, which creates a bulky, thick shape which is inconvenient for storage and occupies significant space. Additionally, many of the travel dispensers are prone to opening inadvertently. This can result in the wipes being dropped and ruined or the moisture from the wipes or contained in the container being spilled which can ruin other items stored in the same location as the wipes dispenser.

Many of the soft sided travel wipes dispensers do not allow for refilling of moist wipes as they are permanently sealed with only one small orifice available to access individual wipes. Once the full stack of moist wipes is depleted the dispenser must be disposed of and a new dispenser containing wipes must be purchased. Many of these soft sided dispensers have gussets which cause the dispenser to become misshapen as wipes are used and creates free space in the dispenser which can result in moisture evaporation from the wipes.

Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a travel dispenser for personal care products, such as moist wipes that can be refilled, reduces chance of fall-back, reduces moisture evaporation, can be safely secured, allows easy access to individual wipes for use and adapts in size to the amount of wipes required by the consumer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention pertains to a refillable wipes dispenser for the storage and dispensing of wipes comprising a first wall and a second wall joined to one another along the edges thereof to define an interior pocket to hold wipes, an elongate primary opening sized to allow for the loading of wipes into the pocket between the first wall and the second wall, and a secondary opening sized to allow for the removal of individual wipes. There is a primary closure disposed at the primary opening to provide reclosure of the primary opening, and a secondary closure disposed at the secondary opening to provide reclosure of the secondary opening. The first wall and second wall are generally parallel when pocket is empty. In another embodiment of the invention the primary opening and said secondary open are spaced from each other.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the pocket is biased towards a generally flat position. In yet another aspect of the invention, the first wall and the second wall each have 4 edges and are joined along at least 3 edges with flat seams. In a further aspect of the invention, the primary opening is located along an edge of the joined front wall and back wall and the secondary opening is positioned on the front wall.

In yet a further aspect of the invention, the secondary opening is located centrally on the front wall of the dispenser.

In yet a further aspect of the invention, the primary closure is a groove and projection closure. In yet a further aspect of the invention, the secondary closure is a flip top lid.

In yet a further aspect of the invention, the secondary closure is a flap sized larger than the secondary opening and having non-hardening contact adhesive applied thereto.

In yet a further aspect of the invention, the pocket is made of flexible plastic.

In yet a further aspect of the invention, the pocket is made of nylon. In yet a further aspect of the invention, the pocket pouch is made of polyester.

In yet a further aspect of the invention, the primary opening and the secondary opening are connected. In yet a further aspect of the invention, the first wall and the second wall each have four edges and are joined along at least three sides with flat seams.

Another aspect of the invention pertains to a refillable package of moist wipes comprising a generally flat, flexible pocket having an elongate primary opening sized to allow for the loading of wipes into the pocket, and a secondary opening sized to allow for the removal of individual wipes. There is at least one liquid impregnated wipe disposed within said pocket. The dispenser further includes a primary closure disposed at the primary opening to provide reclosure of the primary opening, a secondary closure disposed at the secondary opening to provide reclosure of the secondary opening and wherein the pocket is sized larger than the wipe and is biased towards a flat position to maintain contact with the at least one liquid impregnated wipe.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred embodiments of the invention are shown in the drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a front perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the empty moist wipes dispenser of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a front view of the moist wipes dispenser being loaded through the primary opening with a stack of wipes; Figure 3 depicts the primary opening of the dispenser.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the moist wipes dispenser showing the secondary opening;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the moist wipes dispenser showing the dispensing of a single wipe from the secondary opening; Figure 6 is a side view of the empty moist wipes dispenser;

Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view of the moist wipes dispenser with a larger number of wipes loaded therein;

Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view of the moist wipes with fewer wipes loaded therein; and Fig. 9 is a front perspective view of the moist wipes dispenser when loaded with wipes. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The invention pertains to a dispenser 2 of personal care products such as moist wipes, tissues or towelettes. The example dispenser 2 shown in the figures and described below contains moist wipes; however any suitable personal care product could be enclosed within the dispenser.

The dispenser 2 has a front wall 4 and a back wall 6 which are coupled together along their edges to create a storage pocket there between. The dispenser 2 has two recloseable openings, a primary opening 8, and a secondary opening 10. The primary opening 8 is large enough to allow for convenient loading of a plurality of personal care products, such as a stack of wipes 12, as shown in Figure 2. The dispenser 2 further includes a secondary opening 10 which is smaller than the primary opening and sized to allow for the removal of a single personal care products for individual use, as shown in figure 8. The existence of two openings allows the dispenser to be refilled through the primary opening 8 and therefore reused while also allowing for easy access to individual wipes for use through the secondary opening 10.

Referring now to the invention in more detail, in figure 1 there is shown a travel wipes dispenser 2. The dispenser 2 includes a primary opening 8, shown in figure 3, which is used to refill the dispenser with personal care products such as moist wipes 12. The primary opening 8 is elongate and large enough to insert a stack of personal care products such as moist wipes 12 or to generally access the wipes.

In the preferred embodiment shown in the figures, the primary opening 8 is spaced downwardly from the top edge 14 of the dispenser 2 with the opening on the front wall 4 of the dispenser. Alternatively, the primary opening could be along the top edge 14 or on the back wall 6 of the dispenser spaced from the top edge 14. The primary opening 8 is bound by a primary closure 16, which allows the primary opening 8 to be opened and closed. This primary opening 8 can be securely closed in the form of a zipper, plastic hook and loop, a mating groove and projection closure or any other suitable closure. In figure 3, a mating groove and projection closure is shown as the primary closure 16. The primary opening 8 is sized to accommodate loading the personal care product. As such, during loading air is able to enter the container. Therefore, the primary opening 8 is preferred to be used only for refilling product, but could also be used to retrieve a plurality of personal care products at once. Figure 4 shows a secondary opening 10 in the front wall of the dispenser. This secondary opening 10 is used to access wipes for individual use. The secondary opening 10 is significantly smaller than the primary opening 8, which limits the air exposure to the personal care product. Accessing the wipes through the secondary opening 10 as opposed to the primary opening 8 aids in keeping the moist wipes moist. In a preferred embodiment, the secondary opening 10 is large enough to remove a single moist wipe however small enough that not more than one wipe is removed at a time, as shown in figure 5. In the embodiment shown in the figures, the secondary opening 10 is oval in shape, however any suitable opening shape could be used. The secondary opening 10 can be securely closed using the secondary closure 18. The secondary closure 18 is preferably in the form of a flip top lid, but could also be a flap sized larger than said secondary opening with a non-hardening contact adhesive applied thereto or any other suitable closure known in the art. The example in the figures shows a plastic flip top lid as the secondary closure 18. In one embodiment the secondary opening is in communication with the primary opening. In this embodiment, the primary opening would be located centrally across the front wall in this embodiment, with the secondary opening located along the primary opening.

Figure 6 shows the side view of the wipe dispenser with no wipes stored within. The dispenser is slim and made of a flexible material. The dispenser has a front wall 4 and a back wall 6. When the dispenser 2 is empty, the front wall and back wall are generally flat against each other and are parallel. The front wall 4 is joined to the back wall 6 at a first side edge 20, a second side edge 22 and along a bottom edge 24, and along the top edge 14, as shown in figure 1. The joins can be made by any suitable method, including but not limited to heat sealing or ultrasonic sealing to create a seam. Alternatively, the front wall 4 and back wall 6 may be integrally connected and any one of the first side edge 20, the second side edge 22, the bottom edge 24, or the top edge of 26, may be formed by a fold in the wall material. As illustrated in Figure 4, the pocket of dispenser 2 is oversized in comparison to the size of the wipes or the size of the wipe when the wipe is in a semi-folded position. The semi-folded position is generally the configuration of the wipe when removed from the original packaging. This allows for the wipes to be easily inserted to the dispenser 2.

The dispenser 2 is made from a material that is slightly biased toward a flat position. The oversized pocket design, along with the bias and flexible nature of the dispenser material allows for the internal volume of the dispenser 2 to adapt to accommodate a variety of wipe stack sizes. Figures 7 and 8 illustrate cross sections of the dispenser 2 with wipes contained within. In this state, the front wall 14 and back wall 16 are held apart at their centres by the height of the wipe stack. As shown in figure 7, a border portion 26 of the back wall 6 dispenser 2 surrounding the wipe stack, angles upward from the edges of the wipe stack to the edges of the dispenser 2, to accommodate the volume of the stack, while a border portion 28 of the front wall 4 angles downward from the edge of the wipe stack to the edges of the dispenser 2. This is made possible by the oversized nature of the dispenser 2. Figure 7 depicts the dispenser when a large number of wipes are present within it, while figure 8 depicts the dispenser with fewer wipes contained within. The dispenser 2 of figure 8 is slimmer than the dispenser of figure 5 because the height of the wipe stack has decreased. However, the front wall 4 and the back wall 6 still maintain contact with the top and bottom wipe of the stack due to the bias of the dispenser toward a flat position. In this state the border portions 26 and 28 are less angled as the height of the stack of wipes has been reduced. The dispenser 2 can be made from a variety of materials including soft plastic; polyester; nylon; or any other suitable material known in the art.

Having the dispenser 2 made of a flexible material which is slightly biased to a flat position allows the dispenser 2 to automatically adapt to the quantity of wipes without creating excessive free space. The bias to a flat position keeps the front wall 4 and back wall 6 in contact with the stack of wipes 12, thus reducing the chance of wipes 12 falling back into the dispenser. The bias also helps to keep excess air out of the dispenser 2 which aids in keeping the wipes moist even when very few wipes are contained in the dispenser 2.

The advantages of the present invention include, without limitation, keeping the moist wipes moist even with very few wipes remaining in the dispenser 2, and limiting the chance of wipes falling back into the dispenser 2 because the dispenser 2 adapts in size to the quantity of wipes. The present invention allows the dispenser 2 to be as slim or thick as the user wants dependent on the amount of wipes inserted into the dispenser 2. The present invention allows for a secure closure preventing leaking and moist wipes can be both easily refilled and easily accessed for individual use. The design does not require that the dispenser 2 be unfolded into two parts and therefore maintains a compact size.

In broad embodiment, the present invention is a travel dispenser with at least two orifices which can both be securely closed. The dispenser 2 can be decorated to make it more attractive. A variety of different patterns a can be used to suit a wide range of users' tastes.

The scope of the claims should not be limited by the preferred embodiments set forth in the examples, but should be given the broadest interpretation consistent with the description as a whole.

Claims

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. A refillable wipes dispenser for the storage and dispensing of wipes comprising;

a first wall, a second wall joined to one another along the edges thereof to define an interior pocket to hold wipes, an elongate primary opening sized to allow for the loading of wipes into the pocket between said first wall and said second wall, and a secondary opening sized to allow for the removal of individual wipes,

a primary closure disposed at said primary opening to provide reclosure of said primary opening, and

a secondary closure disposed at said secondary opening to provide reclosure of said secondary opening; and wherein said first wall and second wall are generally parallel when pocket is empty.

2. A refillable wipes dispenser as claimed in claim 1 wherein said primary opening and said secondary open are spaced from each other.

3. A refillable wipes dispenser as claimed in claim 2 wherein said pocket is biased towards a generally flat position.

4. A refillable wipes dispenser as claimed in claim 3 wherein said first wall and said second wall each have 4 edges and are joined along at least three edges with flat seams.

5. A refillable wipes dispenser as claimed in claim 4 wherein said primary opening is located along an edge of said joined front wall and back wall and said secondary opening is positioned on said front wall.

6. A refillable wipes dispenser as claimed in claim 5 wherein said secondary opening is located centrally on the front wall of said dispenser.

7. A refillable wipes dispenser as claimed in claim 6 wherein said primary closure is a groove and projection closure.

8. A refillable wipes dispenser as claimed in claims 7 wherein said secondary closure is a flip top lid.

9. A refillable wipes dispenser as claimed in claim 7 wherein said secondary closure is a flap sized larger than said secondary opening and having non-hardening contact adhesive applied thereto.

10. A refillable wipes dispenser as claimed in claim 8 wherein said pocket is made of flexible plastic.

11. A refillable wipes dispenser as claimed in claim 8 wherein said pocket is made of nylon.

12. A refillable wipes dispenser as claimed in claim 8 wherein said pocket is made of polyester.

13. A refillable wipes dispenser as claimed in claim 1 wherein said primary opening and said secondary opening are connected.

14. A refillable wipes dispenser as claimed in claim 13 wherein said first wall and said second wall each have four edges and are joined along at least three sides with flat seams.

15. A refillable package of moist wipes comprising;

a generally flat, flexible pocket having an elongate primary opening sized to allow for the loading of wipes into the pocket, and a secondary opening sized to allow for the removal of individual wipes,

at least one liquid impregnated wipe disposed within said pocket,

a primary closure disposed at said primary opening to provide reclosure of said primary opening,

a secondary closure disposed at said secondary opening to provide reclosure of said secondary opening;

wherein said pocket is sized larger than said wipe and is biased towards a flat position to maintain contact with said at least one liquid impregnated wipe.