Absorbent Tissue Paper

Abstract

A tissue paper product, such as a paper towel, having at least six sides that has at least 30% less surface area compared to a rectangular product having the same height and width.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Absorbent tissue paper products, such as paper towels, wipes, and napkins, have historically been manufactured in rectangular shapes of various dimensions. These products are manufactured by cutting individual rolls, side-by-side, from a longer plane of material also known as a parent roll or log. Some products are perforated to create individual sheets. Some products are continuous, without perforations, awaiting to be dispensed in a machine and individually cut or torn at the time of use. Regardless of having perforations or being individually dispensed, each product results in creating rectangular shaped sheets or towels approximately 12×12 inches or similar dimensions.

For common tasks such as drying hands and wiping up spills with a paper towel, the centripetal drying motion by a user typically leaves the 4 corners of the rectangular towel dry, and thus unused before being discarded. This is highly wasteful and disadvantageous because the unused corners make up more than 35% of the surface area of a standard rectangular shaped paper towel.

While demand for disposable products is high, the consumer is increasingly conscious of the environmental impact and waste that results from the use of such products. Manufacturers are continuously striving to reduce the environmental impact of operations while creating a sustainable and cost-effective product for their customers.

For example, manufacturers have offered reduced sized paper towels (e.g., 6×6 inch sheets). However, this leads to consumers taking more than one towel and producing potentially more waste. In another example, manufacturers have introduced selectable sizes (i.e., separation of a half or a quarter sheet). However, this does not address the un-used corners and can also be an arduous multi-step process for the end user. In yet another example, manufacturers have offered towels formed from more sustainable materials, such as bamboo or recycled materials. Unfortunately, this also does not address the un-used corners. With more than 35% of a common paper towel not being used, it is clear that present designs and manufacturing are wasteful.

To quantify the actual impact of this waste, one should consider the market data of the $15 billion paper towel industry alone. At the present United States population of approximately 330 million people and 130 million households, there are approximately 8 billion rolls of paper towels sold in the United States every year. At 0.65 pounds per roll, that is approximately 5 billion pounds of material. Current rectangular paper towel sheets waste approximately 35% due to the unused areas in the corners, which translates to approximately $5 billion in wasted material each year.

There is a need to create and manufacture a paper towel that reduces the waste and environmental impact found in the present industry.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention in general terms relates to a tissue paper product and related methods of manufacturing and preparation, and in particular a paper towel product that can be manufactured with substantially greater drying efficiency per roll by reducing or eliminating the commonly unused portions of the towel in the manufacturing process, and increasing the number of individual rolls that can be produced from raw material. Specifically, the present invention contemplates a paper product that can be rolled, stacked, or bundled individually, and that can be manufactured with various shapes, such as a hexagon, that allows for increased output with minimal impact on the drying capacity for the end user.

In one embodiment, the present invention comprises a tissue paper product, such as a paper towel, having at least six sides. The paper towel has a length and a width that define a surface area that has at least 30% less surface area than a rectangle have the same length and width. If the product is a hexagon, the sum of the interior angles equals 720 degrees. The product can be of various dimensions, and in one example the length and width are at least 10 inches.

Related manufacturing steps are also contemplated by the present invention. In one example, a plane of tissue paper product material, such as a plane of paper towel material, is provided and then cut into strips according to the dimensions and shapes of the present invention. These shapes allow for tessellation and therefore more strips can be created for a given width compared to current methods and rectangular strips. The strips according to the present invention can be further cut into individual paper products, such as individual paper towels, napkins, or the like.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a tissue paper product according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a plurality of tissue paper product strips according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a close up plan view of a plurality of tissue paper product strips shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a tissue paper product manufacturing process according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a tissue paper product manufacturing process according to another embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Various embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals represent like parts and assemblies throughout the several views and figures. Reference to various embodiments does not limit the scope of the claims attached hereto. Additionally, any examples set forth in this specification are not intended to be limiting and merely set forth some of the many possible embodiments for the appended claims.

FIG. 1 shows a tissue paper product 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention. Tissue paper products describes a multitude of products that can be manufactured from virgin pulp or recycled mix from wood or bamboo sources, of various thickness, softness, absorbency. This includes but not limited to paper towels, napkins, wipes, and similar products, which are all contemplated by the present invention.

The tissue paper product 10 has a first side 12, second side 14, third side 16, fourth side 18, fifth side 20, and sixth side 22. The sides create vertices 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, and 34, and interior angles 40, 42, 44, 46, 48, and 50. The tissue product 10 in FIG. 1 is shown with 6 sides because this is a hexagon shape that is capable of tessellation, meaning this shape can be repeated in a pattern to fill a plane with little or no gaps. Tessellation is possible with shapes with interior angles that divide equally into 360 degrees, such as hexagons, triangles, and other shapes, including without limitation hexagons with rounded edges. In tissue paper product 10, the interior angles 40, 42, 44, 46, 48, and 50 are each greater than 90 degrees, such as 120 degrees.

The tissue paper product 10 has first width 60, second width 62, and height 61. The first width 60 in one embodiment is equal to the first side 12 and fourth side 18, and in one embodiment all sides 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, and 22 are the same length, known as an equal hexagon. The first width 60 can also vary independently of the second width 62 to change the overall shape of the tissue paper product 10. In one embodiment, the first width 60 is at least about 30% less than the second width 62, and in another embodiment the first width 60 is at least about 50% less than the second width.

FIG. 2 shows a plurality of tissue paper products 10 into individual strips 90, 92, 94, 96, 98, 100, and 102. Together the strips form a tessellation 72 that creates efficiencies in manufacturing by creating seven strips as shown compared to the five strips of traditional rectangular tissue paper products shown collectively as 70 and the individual strips 74, 76, 78, 80, and 82. In particular, current manufacturing processes create individual rolls of product, such as paper towels, in a side-by-side arrangement on a horizontal plane. However, these processes create rectangular or square shaped towels that leave unused corners (i.e., corners that do not come into contact with the object to be dried and therefore remain unused and wasted materials) that account for approximately 30% or more of the total paper towel or other tissue paper product surface area. In the present invention, however, each adjacent strip utilizes the area that would have been the corners of a traditional rectangular shaped towel, allowing tessellation yet with a substantially more effective product and efficient manufacturing thereof.

Accordingly, due to the novel and unique shapes and manufacturing steps of the present invention, more rolls of paper products can be manufactured according to the present invention over traditional manufacturing and shapes, without losing drying capabilities in the paper products. In particular, the present invention creates 20%-40% more output from the same raw material as rectangular towels.

More specifically, the tissue paper product 10 of the present invention removes approximately 30%-35% of the surface area of a rectangular shape of the same overall dimensions, namely by removing the corner areas that are typically not used when drying a user's hands, etc. More specifically, the area of the tissue paper product 10 is approximately 30%-35% of a rectangular sheet having the a height equal to height 61 and a width equal to the second width 62. The area of the tissue paper product 10 is determined by the first width 60, height 61, and second width 62. These dimensions also determine how many strips can be tessellated on a given plane. While the dimensions of the tissue paper product 10 can vary to meet a user's needs, such as a napkin having a height 61 and second width of 62 of 4″×6″, respectively, or a paper towel having a height 61 and second width 62 of 12″. respectively, the intention of the present invention is to provide a tessellating shape, such as a hexagon, that removes the typically unused portion of a rectangular shaped product to increase efficiency production and use while saving cost.

FIG. 3 shows a plurality of tissue paper products 10 as they would be positioned prior to cutting or separating according to one embodiment of the present invention. For ease of explanation and example, paper towels 104, 106, 108, 110, and 112 are positioned adjacent one another whereby the sixth side 22 of towel 108 and the third side 16 of towel 110 are created by cutting, such as by a die cutting machine or stamping machine, between vertices 24 and 34 of towel 110 and/or vertices 28 and 30 of towel 108. FIG. 3 also shows how strips can be formed in manufacturing, such as by cutting a parent roll or log into a strip containing paper towels 110, 112, and 104, and another strip containing paper towels 108 and 106.

Considering one of these strips, for example a strip 200 comprising towels 110, 112, and 104. The strip 200 could be considered to have a first side, comprising the fifth side 20 and sixth side 22 of each of towels 110, 112, and 104; and a second side, comprising the second side 14 and third side 16 of each of towels 110, 112, and 104. The first side and second side are not parallel to one another. Instead, the first side and second side are spaced apart by a first distance equal o the first width 60, and a second distance equal to the second width 62. As describe, herein, the first width 60 is at approximately 30% less than the second width 62, and can be at least about 50% in at least one embodiment of the present invention.

In addition, strip 200 has a first edge comprising the fifth side 20 of towel 110, and a second edge comprising the sixth side 22 of towel 110, and repeating for subsequent towels 112 and 104 in the strip. The first edge and second edge define the interior vertice 50, which has an angle of greater than 90 degrees. Similarly, an exterior vertice 208 is formed by the fifth side 20 of towel 110 and the sixth side 22 of towel 112, and this exterior vertice 208 has the same angle as the interior vertice 50 according to one embodiment of the present invention.

According to one embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the strips could be rolled up on a tube and inserted into a dispensing machine to be unrolled by a user to dry the user's hands. In one embodiment, the strip towels 110, 112, and 104 is a solid, one piece roll of paper. Alternatively, perforations 109 can be added between vertices 46 and 48 of towel 110, creating a weakened area that could be more easily torn through a user, such as when pulling the strip from a dispensing machine. While perforation, dispensing machines, and paper towel rolls are known in the art, the advantageous shapes of the present invention eliminate the wasted portions of traditional tissue paper products, such as paper towels, without compromising drying capability of products. Each product or paper towel is used more thoroughly, and through the manufacturing process and tessellation advantages described herein, more product can be made for a given amount of raw materials.

FIG. 4 describes a flow chart for manufacturing strips of tissue paper products according to the present invention. According to one embodiment, a parent roll 400 is provided and then cut into strips 402. As described herein, a strip will include a plurality of connected tissue paper products 10, such as products like the paper towels 110, 112, and 104, which are in turn connected to many more (not shown) paper towels or sheets in a continuous fashion. If needed, such as what is found in common household paper towel product, a perforation step 404 and 406 can be added to create a weak point between the towels 110, 112, and 104 via the perforation line 109. Once the strips are separated from adjacent strips, they can be rolled on a tube 408 and ready for use.

FIG. 5 described an alternative manufacturing process that is particularly advantageous when individual tissue paper products 10 are desired to be dispensed, such as similar to how a tissue paper like a Kleenex brand tissue paper is dispensed out of a box for use by the consumer. According to one embodiment, a parent sheet is provided 500, and the parent sheet is then cut, such as by a die cutting machine, into distinct individual tissues 502, such as the tissue paper product 10. Preferably, multiple sheets 500 are provided, and a die cut machine is provided to cut the sheets into the individual tissue paper products. The tissue paper products 10 are then separated, stacked, and otherwise combined 504. In one embodiment, the tissue paper products 10 are folded 506 by a multi fold folding machine known in the art. In this way, as a tissue paper product 10 is dispensed out of a dispensing machine by a user, the following tissue paper product is easy to grab by the user.

Claims

1. A tissue paper product having at least 6 sides, comprising: a length and a width, and a surface area having at least 30% less surface area than a rectangle having a length and width equal to the length and width of the paper towel.

2. A tissue paper product according to claim 1, wherein the tissue paper product has 6 vertices that define interior angles, and wherein the sum of the interior angles equals 720 degrees.

3. A tissue paper product according to claim 1, wherein the tissue paper product has 6 vertices that define interior angles, and wherein each interior angle is 120 degrees.

4. A tissue paper product according to claim 1, wherein the length and width are each at least 10 inches.

5. A tissue paper product according to claim 1, wherein the product is a paper towel.

6. A tissue paper product strip, comprising: a first side and a second side, the first side and the second side being spaced apart by a first distance and a second distance, the first distance being at least 30% less than the second distance; anda first edge and a second edge, the first edge and the second edge defining a first vertice that has an interior angle of greater than 90 degree

7. The tissue paper product strip of claim 6, where the first distance is at least 50% less than the second distance.

8. The tissue paper product strip of claim 6, wherein the interior angle of the first vertice is 120 degrees.

9. The tissue paper product strip of claim 6, wherein the strip defines a plurality of perforations between the first side and the second side equal to the length of the first distance.

10. The tissue paper product strip of claim 6, further comprising a third edge and a fourth edge spaced away from the first edge and second edge, the third edge and fourth edge defining and vertice that has an interior angle equal to the interior angle of the first

11. The tissue paper product strip of claim 6, wherein the tissue paper product is a paper towel.

12. A method manufacturing a tissue paper product, comprising: providing a plane of tissue paper product material;cutting the plane into a plurality of tissue paper product strips, wherein each strip includes a first side and a second side, the first side and the second side being spaced apart by a first distance and a second distance, the first distance being at least 30% less than the second distance, and wherein each strip includes a first edge and a second edge, the first edge and the second edge defining a first vertice that has an interior angle of greater than 90 degrees.

13. A method according to claim 12, further comprising perforating at least one of the tissue paper product strips between the first side and the second side of the at least one of the tissue paper product strips equal to the length of the first distance.

14. A method according to claim 12, further comprising cutting at least one of the plurality of tissue paper product strips to form a plurality of distinct tissue paper products each having at least six sides.

15. A method according to claim 12, further comprising cutting at least one of the plurality of tissue paper product strips to form a plurality of distinct tissue paper products, each tissue paper product defining six vertices that form six interior angles wherein the sum of the six interior angles equals 720 degrees.

16. A method according to claim 12, wherein the cutting step includes cutting the plane into a plurality of tissue paper product strips, wherein the first distance is at least 50% less than the second distance.

17. A method according to claim 12, wherein the cutting step includes cutting the plane into a plurality of tissue paper product strips, wherein the first edge and the second edge define a first vertice that has an interior angle of 120 degrees.

18. A method according to claim 12, wherein the providing step includes providing a plane of tissue paper product material for paper towels.