Patent Application
20170183144
1. Technical Field
The present application relates generally to packaging suitable for packaging liquid-containing or pre-moistened towelettes or wet wipes.
2. Background Information
Pre-moistened towelettes or wet wipes are well known consumer products that have been commercially available for years in many packaging formats. Wet wipes have been made from a variety of materials that are commonly moistened with a wide variety of solutions for a variety of uses such as cleaning surfaces, and applying topical lotions. Wet wipes may also be used for cleaning, applying liquids, applying protectants, removing contaminates from, and/or disinfecting, areas including e.g. articles, structures, walls, furniture, fixtures, vehicular surfaces, a person's skin or nails, etc. Convenient and disposable, they provide simple point of use ease, can be used for immovable objects or to obviate the need to transport spillable liquids or utilize more complicated methods and devices for cleaning or applying solutions. They are sometimes used when access to a washroom is unavailable, or may be used in a washroom due the convenience of being pre-moistened and disposable. Wet wipes are packaged to prevent contamination and for ease of transport and use without excessive evaporation or leakage of the moisturizing ingredients. Wet wipes are often found in two different packaging formats. The first format dispenses individual sheets from a stack of folded towelette sheets arranged e.g. in c-fold, z-fold or quarter-fold configuration as is well known in the art. The second format dispenses sheets from a roll of a plurality of sheets, each sheet being separable along a line of perforations.
In the continuous roll type configuration of the second format, a continuous web of material is wound into rolls and packaged in plastic containers. The web in each roll is perforated with at least one line of perforations across the roll width at pre-determined intervals to provide a mechanism for separation of individual wet wipes from the roll stock by a user. The present invention is drawn to this continuous roll type configuration.
Containers associated with the continuous roll type wet wipe typically comprise a hollow, plastic cylindrical bottle dispenser. Such containers are commonly rigid or semi-rigid and manufactured by blow molding thermoplastics such as polyethylene or polypropylene. These rigid containers typically have a dispensing top with a hinged lid or cover. The top may be attached to the container body by screw threads or a mechanical resilient snap fit mechanism. The wipes are removed by opening the cover and pulling a wipe out often through a dispensing port formed within the rigid top. The dispensing port permits removal and separation of a wipe from the roll without requiring complete removal or separation of the top or cover from the container body. The container including top is preferably designed to provide an airtight storage container for wet wipes so they do not dry out during storage. The container and top may be recycled, but are often disposed of in landfills when the wet wipes are used up. The rigidity of this type container takes up landfill space with trapped air and also creates inefficiencies in transportation and/or storage of empty containers before use. The rigid containers also require molded or fixed dimensions which are not easily modified to provide products of different roll lengths or widths.
Thus, there remains a need for more economical wet wipe packages that are easy to use, which utilize less material to make and which permit one handed dispensing as well as permit the consumer to realize many of the existing advantages associated with prior art packaging.
A novel bottom dispensing wet wipe container is disclosed having (a) a plastic container body which is preferably a flexible thermoplastic pouch; (b) a rigid dispensing cap having a passageway therethrough, preferably equipped with a resilient valve which may be made with an elastomeric polymer such as a silicone elastomer and an optional passageway cover closure; (c) a plurality of wipes; and (d) liquid, preferably at least 100 grams of water, alcohol, an oil, or a mixture thereof; and wherein the wipes and liquid are held within the body and cap with the body being attached to the cap. A reservoir may be provided in the cap to act as a catch basin to hold excess liquid removed by the dispensing process, to separate the dispensing port or aperture from internal liquid, or to provide a supply for liquid to moisturize or re-moisturize wipes by wicking. In addition, hanger or support means may be provided to hold the container in a fixed cap down position where one handed opening and wet wipe retrieval and separation from the container is possible.
This novel bottom dispensing container avoids the problem of “wipe drop” by harnessing the force of gravity to maintain a leading edge of the wet wipe outside of a dispensing aperture where it may be grasped by hand for use. It also facilitates one handed use which is highly advantageous for certain situations, for example in diaper changing where a baby may need to be restrained upon a changing table, or where a mechanic or workman is holding a part by hand.
In conventional designs, a container holds a plurality of wipes which are connected by spaced apart lines of perforations with the method of use being upward removal of one or more wipes followed by separation along a line of perforations with a trailing wipe remaining attached to the wipe supply (typically a roll) for subsequent retrieval and use. The conventional dispensing container is configured with a dispensing cap on top of a container body which holds the supply of wet wipes. It is intended that a leading edge of the next wipe for use from the supply be held above an opening in the cap in position to be grasped by hand. The weight of the wipe supply and gravity operates to frequently cause this leading edge to drop back into the container body away from the dispenser cap opening on the opposite side of the cap aperture. Also, premature separation of adjacent wipes inside the container body occurs due to the need to pull upward against the wet wipe supply weight and the force of gravity. The weight force of the wipe supply changes over time because as wipes are dispensed the removal of wet wipes from the supply decreases its weight. This force variability may contribute to wipe drop. It is also believed that frictional forces may cause the wipe supply to partially lift from the container body bottom and then fall back causing a reverse force which may pull the wipe leading edge back into the body out of reach for subsequent use. Once “wipe drop” occurs, a leading edge falls into the body and necessitates accessing its wet interior, fishing for the leading edge and re-feeding it through the aperture which is a nuisance to the user especially when involved in certain activities such as changing a baby's nappy or diaper, or while holding a workpiece or hobby part.
In the present invention, the novel design uses the force of gravity to assist in maintaining presentation of the leading wipe edge outside the dispensing cap aperture and avoiding wipe drop. In addition, the weight of the wet wipe supply is not pulling away from the cap aperture, but instead presses toward it with the cap itself acts to provide a restraining force upon the wipe supply thereby leading to more uniform forces in the dispensing operation without the undesirable variable forces caused by supply raising and lowering and it is believed that the effect of wipe supply weight reduction is reduced. The present invention to carry out its novel approach addresses possible liquid leakage problems, undesirable dripping, one handed operation, removal of excess liquid by its various design features more fully discussed below. In addition, in certain embodiments advantages may be realized in the manufacturing and packaging processes as well as in efficiency increases in usage of materials, shipping volumes, weights, etc.
The invention in another aspect provides a kit of dispensing cap and container body or body material which may be provided to a manufacturer for assembly in the packaging/manufacturing process. In addition, novel dispensing cap designs are provided for use in the present invention as well as novel containers for containing and dispensing from both towelette rolls and fanfold supplies. In an especially advantageous embodiment, a resilient valve is used. Such valves may be self-closing valve and have an elongated single slot of up to 3 inches or more or may be relatively small e.g. circular in design having at least two intersecting slits where the slits create a valve aperture having a minimum area of 8 mm2 when the valve is wide open. Catch means such as a roughened surface, a hooking projection, a notch, or a plurality of prongs may also be employed to facilitate wipe separation as desired.
A kit of thermoplastic film, preferably in the form of rollstock, in combination with a plurality of dispensing caps having a passageway equipped with a resilient valve, preferably made of an elastomeric material such as silicone elastomer, a compartment to hold a leading edge of a wipe, and a cap cover may be provide to a wet wipe assembler where the film is formed into a pouch, connected to the cap, filled with a pre-measured amount of liquid and a plurality of towelettes and sealed to form a leak resistant bottom dispensing wet wipe container. Preferably, the container will be equipped with means for positioning the container in a cap down configuration e.g. by proving holder means on the cap for attachment to a stand or by forming a pouch having hanger means such as a flap with one or more holes for holding by hand or hanging by a hook.
Many types of liquid-containing products may be produced in a fanfold format and/or a coreless roll format. For example, commercial and consumer pre-moistened towelettes or wet wipes may be distributed and dispensed in roll format utilizing a variety of roll web materials including any suitable material, for example, paper or nonwoven materials such as cellulosic and non-cellulosic polymeric wet laid or dry laid or spunbonded materials and like products. The same materials may also be provided as a fanfolded web. Individual wipes may be separated from the web along a perforated line.
The liquids delivered by the towelettes or wet wipes may include: water, alcohol, solvents, surfactants, chelating agents, dispersants, colorants, fragrances, dispersants, anti-bacterial agents, anti-mycotics, disinfectants, solubilizing agents, and chemicals for cleaning, conditioning, coloring, polishing, abrading, disinfecting, moisturizing, attracting, repelling, anti-static, and other functional compositions or combinations thereof for such uses as baby wipes, skin lotions, hair shampoos, conditioners, shower gels, cosmetic or polish removers, facial cleaners and conditioners, dryer sheets, shop wipes, automotive care wipes, shopping cart towelettes, gym wipes, furniture and wood work finishing, disposable cloths e.g. for polishing, deodorizing, and all manners of cleaning and disinfecting wipes, etc. This invention contemplates the packaging of each of these as roll or fanfold products but it is especially desirable for dispensing a continuous web of pre-moistened towelettes or wet wipes for cleaning a baby's bottom or a person's hands or for other uses where one handed dispensing is desired.
The invention is best exemplified by reference to embodiments and features as illustrated in the drawings. Following are examples given to illustrate the invention, but these examples should not be taken as limiting the scope. Referring to the drawings, in all of the figures it will be appreciated that dimensions and relative sizes are not to scale but are chosen to illustrate the invention and its various aspects and features. Referring now to the drawings,
A lower perimeter opening of the bag 11 is held by removable fastening means (See
Distally located opposite the cap end of dispenser 10 is bag closure end 31, which may optionally be equipped with hanger means such as one or more apertures 32a, 32b, or a handle slot 33 which may also be designed with hanger notch 34 to facilitate balanced hanging of the dispenser 10 from a hook or other hanging means. Advantageously, the hanging means and/or handle may be die cut or punched into a sealed flap 35 formed by sealing together front panel closure end 36 and rear panel closure end 37 which together with gusset seals to the first side panel 20 and second side panel 21 provide a hermetic closure after insertion of a plurality of connected towelettes e.g. in a roll (See
While the configuration depicted shows a parallelepipedal package having six sides in the form of a rectangular prism, many other shapes are possible. For example, a horizontal cross-section of the cap and/or container may be a trapezoid, parallelogram, triangle, hexagon, or polygon of various designs as well as include one or more curved walls e.g. an oval or circular shape. In one advantageous embodiment a circular dispensing cap is coupled with a bag that tapers to a sealed end having a linear cross-directional seal thus forming a bag having a pinched frusto-conical shape. Furthermore, although more challenging to make and fill, the wet wipe dispenser may approximate an hourglass shape or have indented curved, or stepped in portions. Advantageously, in preferred embodiments, it is desired that the container shape maximize packing for shipping cartons and display. The dispensing cap bottom should enable the dispenser package to sit stable upon a flat shelf and be self-supporting without leaning on any adjacent external display support member or wall. Typically, the dispenser cap with its closed cover will be flat, but the dispenser package may also be designed to rest upon its bag closure bottom e.g. in the style of a stand up pouch. The quad-seal bag is also well adapted for stacking or positioning with either end being the bottom for resting upon a flat table or display surface. The bag closure end may also have a recessed panel with a rim having a supporting edge which lies within a plane to permit stable support on a flat surface. Although less critical for the top end of the dispenser package, a flat top is preferred to maximize product delivery in case lots, and to provide support for stacking multiple layers of wet wipe dispensers in a shipping carton or on a display shelf. Alternatively, the wet wipe container top may be peaked, curved, at an angle, or other than flat, to provide consumer interest, or for ease of manufacture or package filling, etc.
It will also be appreciated that the towelette product may be printed with a design and the bag may have a portion which forms a transparent window or be entirely clear to provide visual access to a design or message printed on the contained towelettes and/or for determination of whether the end of the roll or contents is near and replacement purchases or restocking may be nigh. The wipes may be printed with indicia to provide any desired information including e.g. artistic or pleasing designs, end of roll reminders, instructions, warnings, or branding, etc.
For stability, whether the dispenser package is placed upon its dispensing cap base or upon its bag closure end, if so designed (e.g. as a capped stand up pouch (SUP) or flat bottom bag), it is preferred that the ratio of the base depth and width to the dispenser package height be at least 0.2, and preferably from 0.20 to 0.40 or higher.
The quad-seals are formed by sealing together: (i) the front panel 18 first side edge 23 to the first side panel 20 at first side panel first side edge 47 to form longitudinal sealed edge 22a; (ii) the rear panel 19 first side edge 24 to the first side panel 20 at first side panel second side edge 48 to form longitudinal sealed edge 22b; (iii) the front panel 18 second side edge 25 to the second side panel 21 at second side panel first side edge 51 to form longitudinal sealed edge 22c; and (iv) the rear panel 19 second side edge 26 to the second side panel 21 at second side panel second side edge 52 to form longitudinal sealed edge 22d. First side panel 20 has an inward fold line or crease 53 and second side panel 21 has an inward fold line or crease 54. Creases 53 and 54 depend inward towards each other and the center axis of a rectangular tube formed by the panels 18, 19, 20 and 21 sealed together by longitudinal seals 22a, b, c, and d. Panel edges 42, 46, 44, and 50 form a bag tube perimeter opening which is fixed in an open position by attachment means to a dispenser cap as described below. At the opposing bag closure end 31, after filling the bag tube with product e.g. a roll of wet wipes, the creases 53 and 54 are plowed in toward the center axis as front and rear panel edges 41 and 43 are brought together to form a top seal having opposing side gussets which create a flattened closure top which is best seen in
Each bag tube panel 18, 19, 20, and 21 is made from a flexible thermoplastic film web having one or more layers. The rigid dispensing cap 12 may also be made of one or more polymers e.g. by various conventional molding processes. The film and/or cap may be of either a monolayer or multilayer construction of a wide variety of polymers, but preferably a polyolefin homopolymer or copolymers or blends thereof e.g. polypropylene may be employed or preferably a polyethylene such as HDPE, LLDPE, LDPE, EVA or blends thereof.
“Polyolefin” is used herein broadly to include polymers such as polyethylene, ethylene-alpha olefin copolymers (EAO), polypropylene, polybutene, ethylene copolymers having a majority amount by weight of ethylene polymerized with a lesser amount of a comonomer such as vinyl acetate, and other polymeric resins falling in the “olefin” family classification. Polyolefins may be made by a variety of processes well known in the art including batch and continuous processes using single, staged or sequential reactors, slurry, solution and fluidized bed processes and one or more catalysts including for example, heterogeneous and homogeneous systems and Ziegler, Phillips, metallocene, single site and constrained geometry catalysts to produce polymers having different combinations of properties. Such polymers may be highly branched or substantially linear and the branching, dispersity and average molecular weight may vary depending upon the parameters and processes chosen for their manufacture in accordance with the teachings of the polymer arts.
“Polyethylene” is the name for a polymer whose basic structure is characterized by the chain —(CH2—CH2—)n. Polyethylene homopolymer is generally described as being a solid at room temperature (RT) (˜23° C.) and which has a partially amorphous phase and partially crystalline phase with a density of between 0.915 to 0.970 g/cm3.
People skilled in the art generally refer to several broad categories of polymers and copolymers as “polyethylene.” Placement of a particular polymer into one of these categories of “polyethylene” is frequently based upon the density of the “polyethylene” and often by additional reference to the process by which it was made since the process often determines the degree of branching, crystallinity and density. In general, the nomenclature used is nonspecific to a compound but refers instead to a range of compositions. This range often includes both homopolymers and copolymers. The relative crystallinity of polyethylene is known to affect its physical properties. The amorphous phase imparts flexibility and high impact strength while the crystalline phase imparts a high softening temperature and rigidity.
For example, “high density” polyethylene (HDPE) is ordinarily used in the art to refer to both (a) homopolymers of densities between about 0.960 to 0.970 g/cm3 and (b) copolymers of ethylene and an α-olefin (usually 1-butene or 1-hexene) which have densities between 0.940 and 0.958 g/cm3. HDPE includes polymers made with Ziegler or Phillips type catalysts and is also said to include high molecular weight “polyethylenes.” In contrast to HDPE, whose polymer chain has some branching, are “ultra-high molecular weight polyethylenes” which are essentially unbranched specialty polymers having a much higher molecular weight than the high molecular weight HDPE.
Hereinafter, the term “polyethylene” will be used (unless indicated otherwise) to refer to ethylene homopolymers as well as copolymers of ethylene with α-olefins and the term will be used without regard to the presence or absence of substituent branch groups.
Another broad grouping of polyethylene is “high pressure, low density polyethylene” (LDPE). LDPE is used to denominate branched homopolymers having densities between 0.915 and 0.930 g/cm3. LDPEs typically contain long branches off the main chain (often termed “backbone”) with alkyl substituents of 2 to 8 carbon atoms.
Linear Low Density Polyethylene (LLDPE) are copolymers of ethylene with alpha-olefins having densities from 0.915 to 0.940 g/cm3. The α-olefin utilized is usually 1-butene, 1-hexene, or 1-octene and Ziegler-type catalysts are usually employed (although Phillips catalysts are also used to produce LLDPE having densities at the higher end of the range, and metallocene and other types of catalysts are also employed to produce other well-known variations of LLDPEs). An LLDPE produced with a metallocene or constrained geometry catalyst is often referred to as “mLLDPE”.
Very Low Density Polyethylene (VLDPE) which is also called “Ultra Low Density Polyethylene” (ULDPE) comprise copolymers of ethylene with α-olefins, usually 1-butene, 1-hexene or 1-octene and are recognized by those skilled in the art as having a high degree of linearity of structure with short branching rather than the long side branches characteristic of LDPE. However, VLDPEs have lower densities than LLDPEs. The densities of VLDPEs are recognized by those skilled in the art to range between 0.860 and 0.915 g/cm3. Sometimes VLDPEs having a density less than 0.900 g/cm3 are referred to as “plastomers”.
Ethylene α-olefin copolymers are copolymers having an ethylene as a major component copolymerized with one or more alpha olefins such as octene-1, hexene-, or butene-1 as a minor component. EAOs include polymers known as LLDPE, VLDPE, ULDPE, and plastomers and may be made using a variety of processes and catalysts including metallocene, single-site and constrained geometry catalysts as well as Ziegler-Natta and Phillips catalysts.
“Polypropylene” is the name for a polymer whose basic structure is characterized by the chain (C3H5)n with several stereochemical configurations e.g. isotactic, syndiotactic and atactic in varying amounts. Polypropylene homopolymer is generally described as being a translucent solid at room temperature (RT) (˜23° C.) with a density of between 0.90 to 0.91 g/cm3. The relative crystallinity of polypropylene is known to affect its physical properties. The term “polypropylene” includes homopolymer as well as random and block copolymers. Copolymers of propylene have a propylene(propene) content of 60 wt. % or more, and often >80%, and most often >90% propylene. Polypropylene copolymers are typically copolymerized with ethylene, and have been produced with increased clarity, toughness and flexibility and a generally lower melting point. Randomly polymerized ethylene monomer may be added to polypropylene homopolymer to decrease polymer crystallinity and make a more transparent polymer.
As used herein, the term “modified” refers to a chemical derivative e.g. one having any form of anhydride functionality, such as anhydride of maleic acid, crotonic acid, citraconic acid, itaconic acid, fumaric acid, etc., whether grafted onto a polymer, copolymerized with a polymer, or otherwise functionally associated with one or more polymers, and is also inclusive of derivatives of such functionalities, such as acids, esters, and metal salts derived therefrom. Another example of a common modification is acrylate modified polyolefins.
The term “polyamide” means a high molecular weight polymer having amide linkages (—CONH—)n which occur along the molecular chain, and includes “nylon” resins which are well known polymers having a multitude of uses including utility as packaging films, bags, and pouches.
The term “nylon” as used herein refers more specifically to synthetic polyamides, either aliphatic or aromatic, either in crystalline, semi-crystalline, or amorphous form characterized by the presence of the amide group —CONH. It is intended to refer to both polyamides and co-polyamides.
As used herein, “EVOH” refers to ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer. EVOH is otherwise known as saponified or hydrolyzed ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer, and refers to a vinyl alcohol copolymer having an ethylene comonomer. EVOH is prepared by the hydrolysis (or saponification) of an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer. The degree of hydrolysis is preferably from about 50 to 100 mole percent, more preferably, from about 85 to 100 mole percent, and most preferably at least 97%. It is well known that to be a highly effective oxygen barrier, the hydrolysis-saponification must be nearly complete, i.e. to the extent of at least 97%. EVOH is commercially available in resin form with various percentages of ethylene and there is a direct relationship between ethylene content and melting point. For example, EVOH having an ethylene content of 38 mole % has a melting point of about 173-175° C. With increasing ethylene content the melting point is lowered, and conversely with decreasing ethylene content the melting point is raised. Also, EVOH polymers having increasing mole percentages of ethylene have greater gas permeabilities, while EVOH polymers having decreasing mole percentages of ethylene have lower gas permeabilities. A melting point of about 158° C. corresponds to an ethylene content of 48 mole %. A melting point of about 188° C. corresponds to an ethylene content of 29 mole %. EVOH copolymers having lower or higher ethylene contents may also be employed. It is expected that processability and orientation would be facilitated at higher contents; however, gas permeabilities, particularly with respect to oxygen, may become undesirably high for certain packaging applications which are sensitive to microbial growth in the presence of oxygen. Conversely lower contents may have lower gas permeabilities, but processability and orientation may be more difficult.
The term “ethylene norbornene copolymer” means an amorphous, transparent copolymer of ethylene with norbornene made by polymerization with a metallocene catalyst. It is a cyclic olefin copolymer (COC) and is commercially available from Topas in a variety of grades with varying properties. These commercially available COCs reportedly have high transparency and gloss, excellent moisture barrier and aroma barrier properties, a variable glass transition point between 65 to 178° C., high stiffness, high strength, excellent biocompatibility and inertness and are easy to extrude and thermoform.
As used herein, the term “polyester” refers to synthetic homopolymers and copolymers having ester linkages between monomer units which may be formed by condensation polymerization methods. Polymers of this type are preferable aromatic polyesters and more preferable, homopolymers and copolymers of poly(ethylene terephthalate), poly(ethylene isophthalate), poly(butylene terephthalate), poly(ethylene naphthalate) and blends thereof. Suitable aromatic polyesters may have an intrinsic viscosity between 0.60 to 1.0, preferably between 0.60 to 0.80. Processing conditions strongly influence the degree of crystallinity with limited crystallinity and small crystallites yielding excellent transparency. Crystallized PET (CPET) is opaque white in appearance due to higher crystallinity and larger crystallites.
Amorphous polyethylene terephthalate (APET) typically uses an additional comonomer such as a diacid (e.g. isophthalate) or diglycol to minimize crystallinity. APET is transparent and used in a multitude of packaging formats including flexible bags, SUPs, thermoformed trays and rigid boxes.
Glycol modified PET (PETg) utilizes a glycol comonomer such as cyclohexane dimethanol to produce a copolymerized amorphous PET having good toughness, chemical resistance, and optical properties such as high clarity, and gloss.
Oriented PET (OPET) film, sheet or articles are typically manufactured by extrusion, quenching, reheating and biaxial stretching followed by annealing to produce a stable film, sheet or article having excellent toughness and clarity as is well known in the art.
As used herein, terms identifying polymers, such as e.g. “polyamide” or “polypropylene,” are inclusive of not only polymers comprising repeating units derived from monomers known to polymerize to form a polymer of the named type, but are also inclusive of comonomers, as well as both unmodified and modified polymers made by e.g. derivitization of a polymer after its polymerization to add functional groups or moieties along the polymeric chain. Furthermore, terms identifying polymers are also inclusive of “blends” of such polymers. Thus, the terms “polyamide polymer” and “nylon polymer” may refer to a polyamide-containing homopolymer, a polyamide-containing copolymer or mixtures thereof.
The term “adhesive layer,” or “tie layer,” refers to a layer or material placed on one or more layers to promote the adhesion of that layer to another surface. Preferably, adhesive layers are positioned between two layers of a multilayer film to maintain the two layers in position relative to each other and prevent undesirable delamination. Unless otherwise indicated, an adhesive layer can have any suitable composition that provides a desired level of adhesion with the one or more surfaces in contact with the adhesive layer material. Optionally, an adhesive layer placed between a first layer and a second layer in a multilayer film may comprise components of both the first layer and the second layer to promote simultaneous adhesion of the adhesive layer to both the first layer and the second layer to opposite sides of the adhesive layer.
Various polymers including e.g. polyethylenes may be used alone, in blends and/or with copolymers in both monolayer and multilayer caps and films for packaging applications.
Reported properties for the bags and dispensing caps described herein are based on the following test methods or substantially similar test methods unless noted otherwise.
Melt Index (M.I.): ASTM D-1238, Condition E (190° C.) (except for propene-based (>50% C3 content) polymers tested at Condition TL(230° C.))
Melting point (m.p.): ASTM D-3418, DSC with 5° C./min heating rate
Glass transition temperature Tg ASTM D3418
Gloss: ASTM D-2457, 60° angle
As used herein the term “rigid” means materials having a Gurley Stiffness of at least 1 gram. Rigid materials having a Gurley stiffness greater than 10 grams are preferred.
The terms “bag” and “pouch” are used interchangeably. A variety of known thermoplastic bag constructions may be used with the present invention depending upon the nature of the product, including the liquid, to be packaged and the functional requirements for the intended product and use.
The packaging films for the bag construction will suitably have a total thickness of at least one mil and typically less than about 10 mils. For example, the entire bag film can have any suitable thicknesses, including 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, or 12 mils, or any increment of 0.1 or 0.01 mil therebetween. Thinner films, especially below 1 mil in thickness, may not provide the desired combination of abuse resistance and moisture barrier, while film sheet thicknesses greater than 10 or 12 mil are workable, they become stiffer, more rigid and may become more “bottle” like, using more material with an attendant greater cost with the sacrifice of certain advantages such as cost savings, collapsible transport and disposal. However, in certain embodiments it may be desirable to use thick films of 8-10 mil or higher for a “billboard” effect in graphical representation of artwork. Beneficially, a total thickness of from about 1.0 to 10 mils (25-250 microns (μ)) produces pouches having a desirable combination of cost savings and functional properties. Certain preferred embodiments may have a thickness from about 2 to 5 mils. Although suitable bag films for packaging as thick as 10 mils (254 microns) or higher, or as thin as 1 mil (25.4 microns) or less may be made, it is expected that the most common films will be between about 2.5-5 mil (63.5-127 microns). Such films may have good abuse resistance and machinability and moisture barrier properties.
One or more functional properties may be contributed by one or more layers including desired levels of heat sealability, optical properties e.g. transparency, gloss, haze, abrasion resistance, coefficient of friction, tensile strength, flex crack resistance, puncture resistance, controlled rupture, abrasion resistance, printability, colorfastness, flexibility, dimensional stability, barrier properties to gases such as oxygen, or to moisture, light of broad or narrow spectrum including e.g. uv resistance, etc.
The bag may be a monolayer or a multilayer construction. Films of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 or more layers are contemplated for the bag. For some products, a monolayer film of e.g. a polyolefin such as polyethylene or polypropylene, LLDPE, or a blend of polyolefins may be used. For other products, performance requirements may be satisfied by a two or three layer film e.g. by coupling PET with a heat sealable layer of polyolefin, or by placing an oxygen and moisture barrier polymer such as PVDC between a heat seal layer of polyolefin and an abuse resistant layer of another polyolefin. In applications for which higher performance or specific properties are desired even more layers may be used. If multilayer, one or more layers may be employed in the bag construction to provide the indicated functionality. Alternatively or additionally, polymers may be selected and blended to provide a layer with multiple functions in either monolayer or multilayer embodiments. Often multiple layers are utilized to provide specific functionality to the bag, although any single layer may have adequate properties for multiple functionalities.
Thus the inventive package may use films that may include additional layers or polymers to add or modify various properties of the desired film such as heat sealability; interlayer adhesion; wrinkle resistance; flexibility; stiffness; puncture resistance; printability; toughness; aroma, gas and/or water barrier properties; abrasion resistance; and optical properties such as clarity, transparency, haze, gloss, freedom from lines, streaks or gels. These layers may be formed by any suitable method including extrusion, coextrusion, extrusion coating and lamination. Various types of exemplary functions and layers are described below.
Every bag will have an article contact layer. This layer also is often designed to be heat sealable since heat sealing is a convenient and secure way of forming and sealing a hermetic package. Other means of sealing such as by use of adhesives or mechanical means e.g. snap fit springs, clips, zippers, slider zippers, etc., may be used instead of heat sealing or in addition thereto. A variety of article contact/heat seal layers may be employed with the present invention and these may include, without limitation, polyolefins such as polypropylene or polyethylene, PVC, polychlorotrifluoroethylene coated PVC, acrylonitrile polymers, etc. In certain embodiments where anti-scalping properties are desired, it is preferable that the article contact layer contain a chemically inert material having anti-scalping properties such as PET, polyacrylonitrile, or a cyclic olefin copolymer (COC) such as ethylene norbornene copolymer. The contact layer may also function as a heat sealing or heat sealable layer to facilitate formation of hermetically sealed packages.
A primary function of packaging is to provide a barrier against various undesirable physical, chemical or biological contaminants or forces. Often specialized layers are provided for enhanced effectiveness against particular deleterious phenomena. Thus, a specialized barrier layer may function both as a highly effective moisture barrier layer, and as a gas barrier layer, although these functions may be provided by separate layers.
In accordance with the present invention, the inventive packaging film may utilize a moisture barrier layer such as aluminum foil, polyvinylidene chloride copolymers such as saran, or polyolefin materials such as HDPE which impede moisture vapor permeation.
A water or moisture barrier is preferably selected to provide a moisture permeability sufficiently diminished to protect the packaged article from undesirable deterioration and/or retain liquid articles without alteration of composition or loss of moisture or water content. Moisture barriers are also used to protect the functionality of other packaging materials which may be water sensitive. For example, a film may comprise a water barrier having a moisture permeability that is low enough to prevent weight loss of water by permeation through the film. It may also act to protect a material such as EVOH which is often used as an oxygen barrier but whose oxygen properties deteriorate in the presence of water. It is desirable that the films of the present invention have a water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) of less than 0.5 g/100 inch2 per 24 hours at 100° F. and 90% relative humidity (R.H.).
In accordance with the present invention, the inventive packaging film may utilize a gas barrier layer such as aluminum foil, polyvinylidene chloride copolymers such as saran, or ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymers which provide high barriers to gas permeability and which may also act as aroma barriers.
A gas barrier layer is typically an oxygen barrier layer since oxygen often has detrimental effects on shelf life and for certain items may also affect odor. Frequently, an oxygen or aroma barrier is a core layer positioned between and protected by surface layers. For example, the oxygen barrier layer can be in contact with a first surface layer and an adhesive layer or may be sandwiched between two tie layers and/or two surface layers.
An oxygen or aroma barrier may be selected to provide an oxygen and/or aroma permeability sufficiently diminished to protect the packaged article from undesirable deterioration or oxidative processes and thereby increase shelf life before use as well as confine aromas to the package interior or minimize unwanted leakage of aromas until desired. A reduced oxygen permeability helps prevent or delay oxidation of oxygen sensitive articles and substances to be packaged in the film. For packaging oxygen sensitive products and to reduce aroma leakage, it is desirable that the films of the present invention have an oxygen barrier transmission rate (O2TR) of less than or equal to 20 (more desirably ≦10) cm3/100 in2 per 24 hours at 1 atmosphere, 23° C. and 0% relative humidity (RH).
The oxygen and moisture barrier layer(s) may comprise any suitable material. A common oxygen and moisture barrier that is suitable for the present invention is metal foil such as aluminum foil which is a very effective barrier against transmission of both oxygen and moisture. An oxygen or aroma barrier layer can comprise EVOH, polyvinylidene chloride, polyamide, polyester, polyalkylene carbonate, polyacrylonitrile, etc., as known to those of skill in the art. Suitable moisture barrier layers include polyolefins such as LDPE or LLDPE, as well as PCTFE, and PVDC.
The pouch may also be free of metal foils such as aluminum or may use metal foils only on a limited portion of the packaging bag for decorative or functional purposes in order to provide a portion of the inventive container with visual access to a portion of the bag contents.
It is desirable that the thickness of the barrier layer(s) be selected to provide the desired combination of the performance properties sought e.g. with respect to oxygen permeability, and water barrier properties.
For packaging of oxygen sensitive articles, the thickness of the O2 barrier layer may be varied and beneficially may be from about 0.05 to about 0.60 mils (1.3-15.2 microns). Thinner or thicker oxygen barrier layers or multiple layers may be used as well to achieve the desired barrier properties.
In many embodiments of the present invention, suitable barrier properties may have values of WVTR less than or equal to 0.25, often ≦0.05, preferably ≦0.03 g/100 in2/24 hours at 1 atmosphere and Room Temperature (RT) (23° C.). Preferred barrier property values are WVTR ≦0.001 g/100 in2/24 hours (≦0.0155 g/meter2124 hours) at 1 atmosphere and RT, and/or O2TR values of less than or equal to 0.01 (and more preferably ≦0.001) cm3/100 in2/24 hours at 1 atmosphere and RT. The relative humidity may be set at a value that reflects conditions relevant for a particular product to be packaged, typically 50 to 90%.
A bulk layer may be provided for additional functionality such as stiffness or heat sealability or to improve machinability, cost, flexibility, barrier properties, etc. Preferred bulk layers comprise one or more polyolefins such as polyethylene, ethylene-alpha olefin copolymers (EAO), polypropylene, polybutene, ethylene copolymers having a majority amount by weight of ethylene polymerized with a lesser amount of a comonomer such as vinyl acetate, and other polymeric resins falling in the “olefin” family classification. The bulk layer may be of any suitable thickness from 0.1 to 7 mils or may even be omitted for use in certain applications, but is preferably present to improve especially stiffness/flexibility properties and heat sealability.
The outer layer of the bag should provide abrasion and puncture resistance, and for these reasons it is often termed the abuse-resistant layer. As the exterior surface layer of the film, this layer is also the exterior layer of a bag or other container made from the film, and is therefore subject to handling and abuse e.g. from equipment during packaging, and from rubbing against other packages and shipping box interior walls, not only in the packaging process, but also during transport, storage, display and use. Surface contact with abrasive forces, stresses and pressures may abrade the film, causing defects which may diminish optical characteristics or cause punctures or breaches in the integrity of the package. Therefore the exterior surface layer is made from materials chosen to be resistant to abrasive and puncture forces and other stresses and abuse which the packaging may encounter during packaging, shipping, and use. The exterior surface layer should be easy to machine (i.e. be easy to feed through and be manipulated by machines e.g. for conveying, packaging, printing or as part of the film or bag manufacturing process). Suitable stiffness, flexibility, flex crack resistance, modulus, tensile strength, coefficient of friction, printability, and optical properties are also designed into exterior layers by suitable choice of materials. This layer may also be chosen to have characteristics suitable for creating desired heat seals which may be heat resistance to burn through e.g. by impulse sealers or may be used as a heat sealing surface in certain package embodiments e.g. using overlap seals. A preferred exterior layer comprises an amorphous polyester such as OPET, APET or PETG.
The exterior surface layer thickness is typically 0.5 to 2.0 mils. Thinner layers may be less effective for abuse resistance, however thicker layers, though more expensive, may advantageously be used to produce films having unique highly desirable abuse resistance properties.
An intermediate layer is any layer between the exterior layer and the interior layer of the bag film and may include specialized barrier layers; tie layers; or layers having functional attributes useful for the film structure or its intended uses. Intermediate layers may be used to improve, impart or otherwise modify a multitude of characteristics: e.g. printability for trap printed structures, machinability, tensile properties, flexibility, stiffness, modulus, designed delamination, tear properties, strength, elongation, optical, moisture barrier, oxygen or other gas barrier, radiation selection or barrier e.g. to ultraviolet (UV) wavelengths, etc. Suitable intermediate layers may include: adhesives, adhesive polymers, polyolefin, oriented polyester, amorphous polyester, polyamide, nylon, or copolymers, blends or derivatives thereof. Suitable polyolefins may include: polyethylene, ethylene-alpha olefin copolymers (EAO), polypropylene, ethylene copolymers having a majority amount by weight of ethylene polymerized with a lesser amount of a comonomer such as vinyl acetate, and other polymeric resins falling in the “olefin” family classification, LDPE, HDPE, LLDPE, EAO, ionomer, EMA, EAA, modified polyolefins e.g. anhydride grafted ethylene polymers, etc.
One type of intermediate layer is an adhesive layer, also known in the art as “tie layer,” which can be selected to promote the adherence of adjacent layers to one another in a multilayer film and prevent undesirable delamination. A multifunctional tie layer may be formulated to aid in the adherence of one layer to another layer without the need of using separate specialty adhesives by virtue of the compatibility of the materials in the tie layer to the adjacent “tied” first and second layers. In some embodiments, adhesive tie layers comprise materials found in both the first and second tied layers. In other embodiments, specialty adhesive resins, such as anhydride modified polyolefins, are required either alone or in blends with other polymers. The adhesive layer may suitably be less than 10% and preferably between 2% and 10% of the overall thickness of the multilayer film. Adhesive resins are often more expensive than other polymers so the tie layer thickness is usually kept to a minimum consistent with the desired effect. In one embodiment, a multilayer film comprises a structure having a first adhesive layer positioned between and in direct contact with the exterior layer and a core oxygen barrier layer, and preferably and optionally has a second tie layer between and in direct contact with the opposite side of the same core oxygen barrier layer and the interior layer to produce a five layer film. Adhesive layers may include modified e.g. anhydride modified polymers e.g. polyolefins such as polyethylenes or ethylene copolymers such as EVA and may also be primers or specialty adhesive resins.
Multilayer films can comprise any suitable number of tie or adhesive layers of any suitable composition. Various adhesive layers are formulated and positioned to provide a desired level of adhesion between specific layers of the film according to the composition of the layers contacted by the tie layers.
Adhesives useful in the present invention include permanent adhesives, modified polymer adhesives and polymer resins commonly available from many commercial sources. It is contemplated that acrylic and anhydride modified polymers may be employed as well as many adhesives which may be selected depending upon other material selections for other functional layers such as the oxygen and/or moisture barrier layer(s) as well as the exterior abuse resistant or protecting layer as well as heat sealing layer(s).
The exterior, interior, intermediate or tie layers of the bag film may be formed of any suitable thermoplastic materials, for example, polyolefins, and in particular members of the polyethylene family such as LLDPE, VLDPE, HDPE, LDPE, ethylene vinyl ester copolymer or ethylene alkyl acrylate copolymer, polypropylenes, ethylene-propylene copolymers, ionomers, polybutylenes, alpha-olefin polymers, polyamides, nylons, polystyrenes, styrenic copolymers e.g. styrene-butadiene copolymer, polyesters, polyurethanes, polyacrylamides, anhydride-modified polymers, acrylate-modified polymers, polylactic acid polymers, or various blends of two or more of these materials.
Additives and processing aides; natural and synthetic colorants, pigments and dyes; anti-mycotic agents may be incorporated into or coated on one or more layers of the multilayer films of the present invention.
These and other various additives may be included in the polymers utilized in one or more of the exterior, interior and intermediate or tie layers of packaging comprising the same. For example, a layer may be coated with an anti-block powder. Also, conventional anti-oxidants, antiblock additives, polymeric plasticizers, slip agents, colorants, dyes, pigments, and mixtures thereof may be added to one or more film layers of the film or it may be free from such added ingredients. Processing aides are typically used in amounts less than 10%, less than 7% and preferably less than 5% of the layer weight. A processing aid for use in the outer layer of the film may include one or more of fluoroelastomers, stearamides, erucamides, and silicates. Preferred films may also provide a beneficial combination of one or more or all of the properties including gloss, printability, transparency, good machinability, good mechanical strength and good barrier properties including high barriers to oxygen and water permeability.
Unless specifically noted the polymers defined herein are “unmodified” by any intentional grafting or copolymerization with modifying moieties such as dienes, rubber moieties or acrylic acids. However, the polymers may contain chemicals or additives in small amounts (typically under 1% by weight based on the weight of the polymer) which are present as by-products of the polymer manufacturing process or otherwise added by polymer manufacturers including e.g. catalyst residues, antioxidants, stabilizers, antiblock materials and the like.
Suitable pouch film structures for use in the present invention include monolayer polyolefin films e.g. of HDPE and multilayer structures. Examples of suitable multilayer bag film structures include: EVA/HDPE/EVA; EAO/nylon/EVOH/nylon/EAO; OPET/adhesive/HDPE/EVA:mVLDPE; and LLDPE/adhesive/Al foil/adhesive/PET.
The films according to the present invention may be fabricated by any extrusion method known to a person of ordinary skill in the art. Typically the resins and any desired additives are mixed and introduced to an extruder where the resins are melt plastified by heating and then transferred to an extrusion (or coextrusion) die. Extruder and die temperatures will generally depend upon the particular resin or resin containing mixtures being processed and suitable temperature ranges for commercially available resins are generally known in the art, or are provided in technical bulletins made available by resin manufacturers. Processing temperatures may vary depending upon other processing parameters chosen.
Thus, bag film may be made by conventional processes. These processes to produce flexible films may include e.g. cast or blown film processes, coating lamination, adhesive lamination and conventional forming, sealing and/or cutting operations. Such films may be made as tubes, but typically whether made as sheet webs or tubes the films are slit into sheet webs and wound on rolls to produce rollstock for subsequent formation into bag tube stock and/or pouches.
In the present invention a rigid dispensing cap and optional rigid frame may be provided. The cap may be made by a forming process including e.g. thermoforming, injection molding, etc. This cap is attached to a moisture barrier bag.
The cap may be a monolayer or a multilayer construction. Caps of 1, 2, 3 or more layers are contemplated for the cap construction, however for most uses a monolayer cap, e.g. of a polypropylene or polyethylene e.g. HDPE, may be used and is preferred. In another embodiment, the cap can comprise or consist essentially of any suitable polymer e.g. any polyolefin, PET, APET, RPET, nylon, etc. or blends thereof.
The dispensing cap wet wipe container construction will suitably have a wall thickness of at least about 10 mils, and beneficially a total thickness of from about 25 to 100 mils (0.64-2.54 millimeters (mm)). Preferred embodiments may have a thickness from about 39 to 79 mils (1-2 mm). Thinner caps may have undesirable physical properties whereas thicker caps may undesirably increase material expense.
It is essential that the cap have a passageway, preferably spaced apart from a top aperture to an exit port or exit aperture. This exit aperture may be of any desired shape including polygonal, a closed curve, circular opening, star slot, etc., and which preferably is a star having 4-6 nodes. It may also have a roughed portion especially on an outer edge by which a towelette may be caught or gripped when pulled at an angle to facilitate separation of two towelettes along a line of perforations.
It one aspect the invention may comprise: (a) a rigid dispensing cap having a passageway therethrough equipped with a resilient valve (preferably of a self-closing construction and made from an elastomer such as silicone elastomer), and a passageway cover closure; (b) a plastic container body; (c) a plurality of wipes; and (d) a liquid e.g. selected from water, alcohol, an oil, or a mixture thereof, preferably in an amount of at least 100 grams liquid; wherein the wipes and liquid are held within the body and cap with the body being attached to said cap to form a wet wipe container, preferably having means for hanging or attaching the container in a cap down position for bottom dispensing of wet wipes. The valve and passageway are each adapted and dimensioned for passage therethrough of towelettes. The invention may be provided as a kit including a plurality of dispensing caps, preferably each having a resilient valve, and a plurality of container bodies or most preferably a plastic film roll for making into container bodies such as pouches. Stock towelettes may also be provided as part of the kit on a roll, either pre-perforated or not as desired. The kit may be used to assembly individual wet wipe containers by a provision or formation of a container body (e.g. pouch) and attaching the body to the cap with addition of perforated wipes as e.g. a roll or fanfold supply along with liquid having suitable functional properties for the untended use and sealing the body and cap together with the moistened wipes inside.
In another aspect the invention may comprise: a wet wipe dispensing cap with a passageway spaced apart from a top aperture equipped with a resilient valve to an exit port or exit aperture having means for gripping a towelette pulled at an angle which means are adapted for separation of towelettes at a separation point located from the exit aperture to a point away from the valve i.e. the separation point is not between the valve and exit aperture, but rather either at the exit aperture or preferably beyond the exit aperture away from the valve.
Suitable wet wipe containers will have a stable dispensing cap base capable of standing upon a flat shelf and have a rigid self-supporting wall connected to a flexible plastic film pouch adapted to hold a supply of wet wipes. The flexible pouch wall may be in the form of a continuous curve established by a defined set or variable distance from one or more vertical axes and may have, for example, a rectangular, square, polygonal, circular or oval cross-section or be hourglass shaped or the like. The bag or pouch will also have a top surface which may have a wide variety of shapes including for example a flat panel which is either parallel to the base or at an angle thereto, or an inverted “V” like the peak of a house, or a variety of curved surfaces such as an inverted “U”, or a variety of flat surfaces which are either parallel to the base or angled with respect thereto but which have a perimeter defined by the upstanding wall including circular, oval, lens, triangular, square, rectangular or polygonal in shape. A preferred container shape will be a parallelepipedal six sided box.
Also, a multilayer film construction for the pouch may be provided whether by coextrusion, lamination, or a combination thereof. By using a multilayer film various functionalities and film performance may be tuned to meet desired parameters and cost efficiencies including: chemical resistance to the contained product e.g. against delamination or scalping of fragrances; moisture barrier properties; tear resistance; tensile strength; stiffness, flexibility; optical properties such as transparency, clarity, haze, gloss; printability; abuse resistance, release or adhesive characteristics, machinability; etc. It will be appreciated that a variety of film compositions and structures may be employed in the present invention. In any case, the film web will have an interior surface which is the product contact surface and may be designed with desirable properties for contact with itself or with the product to be packaged, e.g. inertness, barrier, heat sealability, etc., and the exterior surface, may also have suitable properties of abrasion resistance, barrier, heat sealability, etc. Other functional layers may be present as intermediate layers and may beneficially include liquid, gas or aroma barriers e.g. oxygen barrier properties may be provided by use of metal foil, EVOH or PVDC containing layers. Polyethylene containing layers including surface layers as well as intermediate layers may all provide water barrier properties. Materials may provide multiple functionalities e.g. metal foils such as aluminum foil have an excellent combination of both moisture and gas barrier properties. Each layer may also be designed for good adherence to adjacent layers and layers may contain special adhesive polymers either alone or blended therein to enhance delamination resistance or to ensure layer to layer adhesion.
The rigid and flexible members of the invention may be permanently connected by ultrasonic weld, heat seal, clips, snap-fit, adhesives, or other fastening means including sealing processes or mechanisms known to those skilled in the art.
Assembly of pouch, dispensing cap and towelettes may be performed by various methods including e.g. the following:
In the present invention, means connecting the flexible bag to a dispensing cap must be provided. Such means may be any suitable means for providing a permanent or removable connection e.g. adhesive, heat seals, mechanical means, etc. A convenient and advantageous method of connection is the use of mechanical snap fit members which permit the dispensing cap to be easily connected or disconnected while also providing a suitable seal against undesirable moisture leakage from the bag interior to the package exterior.
After use, the bag may conveniently be separated from the dispensing cap and each component may enter a recycling and/or waste stream or the materials chosen for the bag and box may be selected for single stream recycling. Advantageously, the bag collapses flat to take up less space for waste disposal.
Referring again to the drawings,
Referring now to
Referring now to
In forming the wet wipe container package, the interior surface of the flexible film bag tube 40 of
Referring now to
Referring now to
Optionally, in other suitable embodiments different designs including e.g. a star or slot aperture in both wall 74 and valve 77 may be used. The valve may be attached to the frustum by any suitable attachment means including e.g. mechanically attached by a snap ring. Suitable materials for making the resilient valve include silicone rubbers, elastomers and thermoplastics, and many valve designs are known in the art which may be adapted for use in the present invention e.g. as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,439,143; and 6,273,305; and U.S. Patent Publication No. 2005/0211735 each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. The valve aperture should be dimensioned to permit a towelette to be pulled through with a slight wiping or squeegeeing action to remove excess liquid from the towelette as it passes through the valve aperture with the interior of the container retaining the excess liquid. The amount of liquid to be allowed through the passageway will depend upon many factors including the absorption capacity of the towelette substrate, the pressure, size, and design of the valve and valve opening, the viscosity and character of the towelette liquid, and of course the amount desired to be allowed to flow through the valve aperture.
Suitable embodiments of the resilient valve may have an aperture which in a fully open position has a minimum open area of 8 mm2. Valve aperture opening areas in a fully open position of at least 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 or higher up to 1290 mm2 in increments of 1 mm are contemplated. Conversely, in some preferred embodiments the valve may have an aperture which in a fully open position has a maximum open area of 2 square inches (1290 mm2) or less. In many embodiments, the valve aperture area is too small to put one or more fingers through to grab a wipe. Certain advantageous embodiments of the invention with have valve aperture opening areas in a fully open position of from 8 to 18 mm2 are preferred. Apertures which are generally circular or a regular polygon or which have a maximum length less than twice the minimum width in a fully open position will typically have a maximum open area of ≦0.2 square inches (129 mm2). Alternatively, apertures such as slots, which have a maximum length at least twice the minimum width in a fully open position, will typically have a maximum open area of ≦2 square inches (1290 mm2).
Once desired design specification parameters are selected, the remaining parameters may be determined and adjusted without undue experimentation. The dispenser cap 12 may also be integrally molded with a cap cover 27 which is connected by an integrally molded hinge 79.
To assemble the wet wipe container, the bag frame 55 with bag tube 40 positioned thereover with its end over the rib 59 is inserted into the dispensing cap 12 so that the rib 59 engages the dispenser rib receiving recess 67 in a snap fit whereby the bag tube film wall is mechanically trapped between rib 59 and recess 67 with the bag tube film held between the frame exterior perimeter surface 60 and the dispenser interior perimeter surface 68 to provide a leak resistant seal between the bag tube and dispenser cap. Other attachment means are also contemplated and various embodiments may employ other mechanical attachment mechanisms, and the bag tube film may also be heat sealed or fused ultrasonically or by other means to the cap or an adhesive may be used, etc. The presently described arrangement advantageously provides a simple snap fit which may also manually be reversed to pull apart the bag and cap by gripping the frame through the bag tube with one hand and gripping the cap with the other hand, pulling apart the two components. This may be useful in many ways. For example, replacement packages of wet wipes may be provided which utilize a single cap saving material, reducing waste and cost. Also, if the leading edge of a towelette roll is inadvertently pushed into the bag interior or otherwise becomes disengaged from exterior presentation, then the cap and bag may be separated to gain access to a wipe supply contained therein to permit a leading edge of the wipe roll to be pushed through the valve aperture and then the cap and bag easily snapped back together for use. The snap fit nature of the cap and bag is facilitated by selection of a rigid cap material which has a degree of resilient flexibility or stretchability to permit expansion of the cap perimeter sides over the frame rib. Separation of one or more towelettes from their connected roll or supply is generally accomplished by pulling or jerking the towelette(s) at an angle from a dispenser exit opening (e.g. aperture 88) which causes frictional resistance along the aperture edge 89 and/or the receiving ring structure 85. This exit aperture 88 may have a simple circular edge that is coextensive with an inner perimeter surface 90 of the ring 85 or it may have a narrower opening and/or non-circular design. The ease of towelette removal and ability to separate one or more wipes from a stock or roll may be adjusted by the exit aperture 88 size and configuration and it is contemplated that star patterns, especially six pointed elongated stars such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,554,156, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, may advantageously be employed as well as slot patterns and combinations thereof. The surrounding structure of this exit aperture 88 may also be split hinged in the middle or end hinged to provide a temporary opening of a sufficient size to facilitate retrieval of a towelette leading edge and re-feed it through the exit aperture.
Referring now to
Referring to
Referring now to
Referring now to
Referring now to
Referring now to
Referring now to
Alternatively, aperture 123 may be configured with valve means for regulating or controlling moisture egress while a separate towelette gripping means such as an aperture having one or multiple notches, slots, fingers or nodes e.g. in a “H” or star shape located downstream from aperture 123 e.g. at an exit aperture 141 which may be circumscribed by an inner base perimeter 134 at a dispensing wall base 135.
The reservoir 126 is a vessel for retaining and collecting liquid 136 within the dispensing cap in its normal cap down position. The reservoir has: (i) a continuous side wall 129 comprising the dispensing cap side wall 130 and/or frame sidewall 131; a base 132 having (a) an outer perimeter 133 connected to the continuous side wall 129 and (b) an inner perimeter 134 connected to a base 135 of dispensing wall 125. Therefore it is seen that wall 125 is (i) a tube or passageway 125a through which wipes pass from the container interior to the exterior for use; and (ii) a reservoir wall which cooperates with a connected base 132 and continuous outer side wall 129 to form a vessel for collecting, holding, and/or supplying liquid 136 to and/or from the contained roll 120 of towelettes. The dispensing cap 112 has an integral cover 113 connected to cap 112 by a hinge 137. The cover 113 has a circular sealing ring 138 that reclosably seals by a press fit against dispenser ring 128 to prevent the leading wipe from drying out due to prolonged air contact. This cover also assists in prevention of the wipe supply becoming dried out. The dispenser ring 128 and cap cover 113 form a compartment 150 in which a portion of the leading towelette 121 may be held with the cover and cap engaged in a closed position. This preserves the moistness of the towelette until its use is desired. Then it is a simple operation to disengage the cover sealing ring 138 from dispensing ring 128. This is done by grabbing tab 139 with one hand and pulling to pivot the cover 113, by hinge 137, away from the compartment 127 revealing towelette 121. The revealed towelette is dispensed by grabbing the towelette edge and pulling the entire towelette through the aperture 123 with its wiping means (e.g. resilient valve) removing excess liquid. The excess liquid, if any, is collected by flowing down an outer surface of the tubular wall 125 into the reservoir 126. The leading towelette is then separated from an adjacent trailing towelette to which it is connected through a line of perforations by pulling a leading portion of the trailing towelette through the aperture 123 and its resilient valve and frictionally catching or engaging it with separating means provided by a peripheral edge 140 of ring 128 (which may be roughened or shaped to facilitate that purpose) and/or a separating slot of an exit aperture 141 which is preferably similar in design to the exit aperture 88 having edge 89 of
Bag 111 is depicted as being mechanically connected to dispensing cap 112 by a spring fit between frame 142 and cap sidewall 130 as best shown in
For display, the wet wipe container may be positioned with its bottom dispenser cap wall resting down upon a display shelve with the towelette bag positioned uppermost relative to a potential purchaser or user and a bag front wall panel facing a store aisle for display of any product information and/or designs thereon. The bag may optionally have a transparent wall portion to allow the potential customer or user to see the product, its appearance, color, and printed designs and/or texture (if any), as well as its remaining volume within the closed package. Advantageously, in use the amount of product remaining may be easily determined.
Bags are typically made from a flexible polymeric thermoplastic film web which may optionally contain a metal foil layer or cellulosic or nonwoven layers for function or appearance. The invention may also utilize rigid dispensing caps in a variety of shapes. Although a circular or square shape is preferred, a horizontal cross-section of the cap may be a trapezoid, parallelogram, triangle, hexagon, or polygon of various designs as well as include one or more curved walls e.g. an oval, or lens shape. Furthermore, although more challenging to make and fill the bag may approximate an hourglass shape or have indented, curved, or tapered, portions. Advantageously, in preferred embodiments it is desired that the shape maximize (i) packing for shipping cartons and/or (ii) display. The cap bottom with its cover closed should enable the wet wipe container to sit stable upon a flat shelf and be self-supporting without leaning on any adjacent external display support member or wall. Typically the bottom of the cap with closed cover will be flat, but it may also have one or more recessed panels or portions e.g. with a bottom rim having a supporting edge which lies within a plane to permit stable support on a flat surface. Although less critical for the top, a flat top panel is preferred to maximize product delivery in case lots and to provide support for stacking multiple layers of boxes in a shipping carton or on a display shelf. A quad-seal type package may provide such flat top advantages and a hanger and/or handle top tab area may easily be folded flat during shipping, stacking, etc. Alternatively, the top panel may be peaked, curved, at an angle, or other than flat, to provide consumer interest, use less material, simplify construction or fabrication, etc.
Referring now to
Referring now to
The present invention may also be advantageously used in place of non-collapsible rigid or semi-rigid containers e.g. thermoformed tubs, bottles, metal and rigid plastic cans, and the like. These prior art containers are bulky to ship and store prior to filling with contents. In contrast, in the present invention, the wet wipe dispenser package components may be conveniently shipped and stored flat and at the towelette manufacturing site assembled to hold a roll of wet wipes in a stable upright filled state.
The inventive design provides a wet wipe container which may be made with less material than a conventional bottle, canister, or a tub. The quad-seal embodiment may also facilitate stackability for shipping and retail display. Advantageously, the bag and cap may be made separable with the cap (which typically has the majority of the package weight) being recyclable. The separated bag and cap each easily collapse flat to reduce space required for disposal and/or recycling. The cap may be made reusable so that it may be removed from an empty bag and cap wipe container and inserted onto a new full bag containing a fresh supply of wipes. This replacement package would take up less space in shipping, on store shelves and on site for storage by a user.
1. A rigid dispensing cap comprising:
a base having an outer perimeter and an inner perimeter with an upstanding outer wall and inner wall, respectively, connected thereto, the base, outer wall and inner wall having an exterior surface, and an interior surface, with the inner wall forming a passageway through the base, the passageway having a top wall aperture with a perimeter dimensioned for retaining a wet wipe roll of at least ⅝ inch diameter within the cap outer perimeter, the passageway adapted for and dimensioned for manual frictional dispensing therethrough of a wet wipe sheet of less than 20 mils thickness, wherein the inner wall forms an interiorly disposed weir surrounding the passageway, the inner wall, base, and outer wall cooperating to form a liquid reservoir; and
(c) means for fastening the cap to a pouch, the means being proximate the cap perimeter;
wherein the cap is adapted to dispense wet wipes through the cap aperture.
2. A rigid dispensing cap comprising:
a base having an outer perimeter with an upstanding outer wall; a reservoir formed at least in part by the base and outer wall and having a capacity of at least 2 ml; a passageway from an interior space of the cap to an exterior space through at least one of the base and the outer wall at a position exterior to at least 2 ml of the reservoir capacity, the passageway having a first entrance aperture from the cap interior and a resilient valve disposed across the passageway and catch means for separation of towelettes; and wherein the cap is adapted to dispense wet wipes through the cap first aperture, valve and passageway.
3. A wet wipe container comprising:
(a) a plastic container body;
(b) a rigid dispensing cap having a passageway therethrough equipped with a resilient valve and a passageway cover closure;
(c) a plurality of wipes; and
(d) at least 100 grams of a liquid selected from water, alcohol, an oil, or a mixture thereof in an amount of (i) at least 50 grams, at least 100 grams and/or at least 4 grams per wipe; wherein the wipes and liquid are held within the body and cap with the body being attached to the cap.
4. A wet wipe dispensing container comprising:
(a) a flexible thermoplastic pouch having an opening;
(b) a rigid dispensing cap having
a base having an outer perimeter and an inner perimeter with an upstanding outer wall and inner wall, respectively, connected thereto, the base, outer wall and inner wall having an exterior surface, and an interior surface, with the inner wall forming a passageway through the base, the passageway having a top wall aperture with a perimeter dimensioned for retention of a wet wipe roll of at least ⅝ inch diameter within the pouch and cap, the passageway adapted for and dimensioned for manual frictional dispensing therethrough of a wet wipe sheet of less than 20 mils thickness, wherein the inner wall forms an interiorly disposed weir surrounding the passageway, the inner wall, base, and outer wall cooperating to form a liquid reservoir; and
(c) means for fastening the cap to the pouch opening, the means being proximate the cap perimeter and the pouch opening;
wherein the container is adapted to hold a plurality of detachable wet wipes within the pouch and dispense the wipes from the pouch through the cap aperture.
5. A kit for making wet wipe containers comprising:
(1) thermoplastic film; and
(2) a plurality of rigid caps, wherein each cap has a base having an outer perimeter with an upstanding outer wall; a reservoir formed at least in part by the base and outer wall; a passageway from an interior space of the cap to an exterior space through at least one of the base or outer wall at a position outside of the reservoir, the passageway having a first entrance aperture from the cap interior and a resilient valve disposed across the passageway followed by catch means for separation of towelettes, the catch means proximate the cap exterior and located at a point of at least 0.25 inches from the resilient valve; and wherein the cap is adapted to dispense wet wipes through the cap first aperture, valve and passageway.
6. A kit for making bottom dispensing wet wipe containers comprising:
(1) thermoplastic film; and
(2) a plurality of rigid caps, wherein each cap has a base having an outer perimeter and an inner perimeter with an upstanding outer wall and inner wall, respectively, connected thereto, the base, outer wall and inner wall having an exterior surface, and an interior surface, with the inner wall forming a passageway through the base, the passageway having a top wall aperture with a perimeter dimensioned for retention of a wet wipe roll of at least ⅝ inch diameter within the pouch and cap, the passageway adapted for and dimensioned for manual frictional dispensing therethrough of a wet wipe sheet of less than 20 mils thickness, wherein the inner wall forms an interiorly disposed weir surrounding the passageway, the inner wall, base, and outer wall cooperating to form a liquid reservoir.
7. A cap, container or kit, as defined in embodiments 2 and 5, wherein the base further comprises an inner wall, the inner wall having a first surface, and an opposing second surface wherein the first surface of the inner wall forms a portion of the reservoir and the second surface is proximate the passageway.
8. A cap, container or kit, as defined in embodiments 1-7, wherein the passageway has a spaced apart exit aperture with the exit aperture having catch means proximate thereto.
9. A cap, container or kit, as defined in embodiments 2, 5, 7, and 8, wherein the catch means comprises at least one of a roughened surface, a hooking projection, a notch, or a plurality of prongs.
10. A cap, container or kit, as defined in embodiments 2, 3, 5-9, further comprising means for fastening the cap to a pouch, the means being proximate the cap perimeter.
11. A cap, container or kit, as defined in embodiments 1-10, further comprising a cap cover for enclosing the passageway at a cap exterior space.
12. A cap, container or kit, as defined in embodiments 2, 3, 5, 7-11, wherein the catch means are proximate the cap exterior and located at a point at least 0.25 inches from the resilient valve.
13. A cap, container or kit, as defined in embodiments 1, 4, 6, further comprising a resilient valve fixed within the passageway.
14. A cap, container or kit, as defined in embodiments 1, 2, 4-6, 7-13, further comprising a displaceable cover attached to the cap; the cover adapted for removably covering and uncovering the passageway by manual force.
15. A cap, container or kit, as defined in embodiments 1-14, wherein the cap is adapted for stable support of the container upon the exterior surface of the cap base.
16. A cap, container or kit, as defined in embodiments 1-15, further comprising an exit aperture disposed in the passageway proximate an inner wall base; wherein the aperture has 4 to 8 nodes forming slot recesses adapted for (i) permitting passage of a towelette travelling perpendicular to a plane defining the supporting exterior surface of the cap base and (ii) permitting gripping of a towelette pulled at a 45° angle to the perpendicular passage.
17. A cap, container or kit, as defined in embodiments 1-16, wherein the reservoir has a capacity of at least 1 to 250 ml of liquid.
18. A cap, container or kit, as defined in embodiments 1, 4-6, 13-17, 41, wherein (i) the pouch or (ii) a pouch made from film is provided and comprises a quad-seal bag.
19 A cap, container or kit, as defined in embodiments 1, 4-6, 13-17, 41, wherein (i) the pouch or (ii) a pouch made from film is provided and has a pinched frusto-conical shape.
20. A cap, container or kit, as defined in embodiments 1, 4-6, 13-19, 41, wherein the container further comprises hanger means for positioning the pouch above the cap with bottom access for removing wipes from the container.
21. A cap, container or kit, as defined in embodiments 1, 4-6, 13-20, 41, wherein the pouch further comprises a transverse seal area distal from the cap, and the seal area has at least one hole therethrough adapted for hanging the container from a hook.
22. A cap, container or kit, as defined in embodiments 1, 4-6, 13-21, 41, wherein the pouch further comprises an apertured handle formed from the pouch proximate a pouch area distal from the cap, and the handle is adapted for manually holding the container by hand or hook.
23. A cap, container or kit, as defined in embodiments 1, 4-6, 13-22, 41, wherein the container further comprises a rigid pouch frame.
24. A cap, container or kit, as defined in embodiment 23, wherein the fastening means comprises at least one rib and a mating recess, each of the rib and recess fixed to at least one of (i) the exterior surface of the outer wall of the cap and (ii) the recess formed in an exterior surface of the frame whereby the cap and frame are adapted for fastening together.
25. A cap, container or kit, as defined in embodiments 3, 4, 13-24, further comprising a roll of towelettes.
26. A cap, container or kit, as defined in embodiments 3, 4, 13-25, further comprising (i) a supply of towelettes and (ii) liquid.
27. A cap, container or kit, as defined in embodiments 3, 26, wherein the liquid is present in a total amount of: (i) at least 4 ml per wipe; (ii) at least 50 ml; or (iii) at least 100 to 300 ml held within the container including liquid absorbed in the towelette supply.
28. A cap, container or kit, as defined in embodiments 3, 4, 13-25, wherein at least a portion of the pouch is transparent proving visual access to the towelettes.
29. A cap, container or kit, as defined in embodiments 2, 3, 13-28, wherein the valve has an aperture which in a fully open position has a minimum open area of 8 mm.
30. A cap, container or kit, as defined in embodiments 2, 3, 13-29, wherein the valve has an aperture which in a fully open position has a maximum open area of: (i) 0.2 square inches (129 mm2) or less; or 2 square inches (1290 mm2) or less for apertures having a maximum open length “A” and maximum open width “B” with said maximum length being at least twice said maximum open width (A≧2B).
31. A cap, container or kit, as defined in embodiments 1, 4-6, 13-31, 41, wherein the pouch has from 1 to 15 layers.
32. A cap, container or kit, as defined in embodiments 1, 4-6, 13-31, 41, wherein the pouch has a WVTR of less than 0.03 g/100 in2/24 hours at Room Temperature(RT) (23° C.) and 1 atmosphere.
33. A cap, container or kit, as defined in embodiments 1, 4-6, 13-31, 41, wherein the pouch has a WVTR of less than 0.05 g/100 inches2 per 24 hours at Room Temperature(RT) (23° C.) and 1 atmosphere.
34. A cap, container or kit, as defined in embodiments 1, 4-6, 13-33, 41, wherein the pouch comprises at least five layers including a heat sealable layer, and a layer of aluminum foil.
35. A cap, container or kit, as defined in embodiments 1, 4-6, 13-34, 41, wherein the pouch has an O2TR value of less than or equal to 10 cm3/100 in2/24 hours at 1 atmosphere, 23° C. and 0% RH.
36. A cap, container or kit, as defined in embodiments 1, 4-6, 13-35, 41, wherein the pouch comprises polyethylene.
37. A cap, container or kit, as defined in embodiments 1-6, wherein the passageway has a spaced apart second exit aperture with the exit aperture having the catch means proximate thereto; the catch means comprising at least one of a roughened surface, a hooking projection, a notch, or a plurality of prongs; and further comprising: (a) means for fastening the cap to a pouch, the means being proximate the cap perimeter; and (b) a cap cover for enclosing the passageway at the cap exterior space.
38. A kit for making wet wipe containers, as defined in embodiments 5-10, 12-37, wherein the thermoplastic film has from 1 to 15 layers and includes at least one layer comprising a polyethylene and the film has a WVTR of less than 0.05 g/100 in2/24 hours at Room Temperature(RT) (23° C.) and 1 atmosphere.
39. A cap, container or kit for making wet wipe containers, as defined in embodiments 2, 3, 5, 7-38, 41, wherein the passageway and valve are adapted for and dimensioned for manual frictional dispensing therethrough of a wet wipe sheet of less than 20 mils thickness.
40. A kit, as defined in embodiments 5, 6, 37-39, wherein the kit further comprises means for fastening the cap to a pouch opening of a pouch formed from the thermoplastic film, the fastening means adapted for connection proximate the cap outer wall and the pouch opening.
41. A wet wipe container, as defined in embodiment 3, wherein the body comprises a flexible thermoplastic pouch or a rigid polymeric container body.
42. A cap, container or kit, as defined in embodiments 2, 3, 5, 7-41, wherein the resilient valve comprises a non-silicone elastomeric polymer or a silicone elastomer.
43. A cap, container or kit, as defined in embodiments 2, 3, 5, 7-42, wherein the resilient valve comprises a self-closing valve having at least two intersecting slits.
44. A cap, container or kit, as defined in embodiments 2, 3, 5, 7-42, wherein the resilient valve comprises a valve having an arcuate surface containing at least one slit adapted for dispensing a pre-moistened towelette therethrough.
Various embodiments have been described above. Although the invention has been described with reference to these specific embodiments, the descriptions are intended to be illustrative and are not intended to be limiting. Various modifications and applications may occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/US14/48357 | 7/28/2014 | WO | 00 |
