Patent Application
20160302628
The present disclosure relates to a dispenser for a stack of napkins, including a container having a bottom wall extending in a horizontal plane, and side walls extending from the bottom wall in a vertical direction perpendicular thereto and defining a dispensing opening opposite to the bottom wall. The side walls surround a rectangular supporting surface for supporting a stack of interfolded napkins. The dispenser further includes a cover defining a dispensing mouth and having at least an upper position, such that a space for containing a stack of interfolded napkins is defined between the supporting surface and the cover when the cover is in the upper position.
Napkins in the form of sheets of material intended for wiping and for hygienic purposes are common household items that may be provided in the form of stacks of napkins from which individual napkins can be readily extracted when needed. The dispenser for the napkins should be relatively inexpensive, easy to handle, it should protect the napkins prior to use and should be easy to move to a location where the napkins are needed, such as to a table, a counter, etc.
A common type of dispenser for this kind of napkins is an open cardboard box in which the napkins are arranged in a stack standing on an edge of the napkins with a part of the napkins protruding through the opening in the box to provide a gripping portion. This is a simple and inexpensive way of dispensing the napkins. However, the refill of such dispensers is rather complicated. If too few napkins have been inserted into the box, the stack does not fill the width of the container with the result that the stack may buckle inside the dispenser contributing to the deformation of the napkins, and rendering the gripping of the napkins more difficult. If too many napkins have been inserted, the friction force between the napkins will be too high, resulting in the need for an increased pull force from the user, which may damage the napkins that are being dispensed, rendering these napkins unusable.
A further commonly used option is to arrange the napkins in an interfolded stack which is placed standing on a bottom surface inside a container having a dispensing opening at the top of the container. The napkins are then successively removed from the top of the stack through the dispensing opening.
Such dispensers are usually refilled by opening a portion of the dispenser and inserting a new stack of napkins into the inner compartment of the dispenser. However, even with this kind of dispensers, a problem of refilling remains. If too few napkins have been inserted into the dispenser, the stack will not fill the container in the vertical direction, with the result that the stack, resting on the supporting surface of the container, will not reach up to the dispensing opening, thus precluding gripping of the leading end of the uppermost napkin in the stack. If too many napkins have been inserted, the friction force between the napkins will be too high, resulting in a more difficult gripping of the leading end of the uppermost napkin, and in the need for an increased pull force from the user when the napkins are being dispensed, which may damage the napkins that are being dispensed, rendering these napkins unusable.
The stack of napkins may be one out of several conventional alternatives for forming such stacks. Generally it is advantageous to provide the napkins in the form of a stack of folded napkins. The napkins may be folded one by one and positioned on top of each other to form a stack, or they may be interfolded.
Interfolded napkins are sheets of materials arranged in a stack of superposed sheets which are each folded at least once. The sheets are interlinked in such a way that the separate folded sheets of material form a chain of sheets where each sheet has a leading panel and a trailing panel, the trailing panel being at least partly overlapped with the leading panel of the subsequent sheet in the stack. In this manner, the individual sheets are held loosely together by means of frictional forces arising between the overlapping parts. Except for in the first and the last napkin in the stack, each trailing panel of each napkin is connected by interfolding to the leading panel of the next napkin in the stack. The sheets may be dispensed from a dispenser by pulling the leading panel of the first sheet in the stack. In this manner, the first material sheet is extracted at the same time as a predetermined part of the leading panel of a subsequent material sheet is fed into a dispensing position in the dispenser.
The dispenser usually has a cover with a dispensing opening that restricts the width of the dispensed napkin in order to keep the leading panel of the next napkin to be dispensed from falling back into the dispenser.
JP2008162660 describes a tissue-paper holder including a container for holding a stack of napkins, the container defining an upwardly directed dispensing opening, in which a movable cover is placed, the cover forming a weight being supported by the stack. The cover defines a dispensing mouth.
WO2010/132005 describes a dispenser arrangement for interfolding napkins, where the dispenser includes a container for holding a stack of napkins, the container defining a dispensing opening. At least one weight having a projected surface on the bottom wall which is less than or equal to one third of the stack-supporting surface, is placed in the container, and is intended to be supported by the stack.
In prior arrangements, both arrangements including weights supported by the stack, and arrangements with other types of covers, there is a risk that the dispenser is filled with too many napkins, resulting in a deteriorated performance of the dispenser.
It is desired to provide an improved or alternative dispenser for dispensing napkins.
As used herein, the term “dispensing opening” means a portion of a container being open towards the ambient and being used for providing access to the inner space of the container.
As used herein, the term “dispensing mouth” means an opening through which items are dispensed.
As used herein, the expression “in contact with” means that two surfaces are positioned at a distance from each other being as small as possible while being sufficient to enable movement of the surfaces along each other.
As used herein, by the term “adjacent” is meant items being nearest in space or position, immediately adjoining without intervening space, touching; and also items being near or close but not necessarily touching.
As used herein, by the term “magnetic lock” is meant a device for holding pieces of material together by means of magnetism.
The term “magnet” in the context of the present application means a permanent magnet.
The term “corresponding magnetic material” in the context of the present application means a material being attracted to a particular magnet. This material may be another permanent magnet, or it may be a material attracted to the particular magnet such as a soft or a hard ferromagnetic material.
The present disclosure provides a dispenser for interfolded napkins which substantially eliminates the drawbacks of the dispensers discussed above.
As such, there is provided a dispenser for interfolded napkins. The dispenser includes a container having a bottom wall extending in a horizontal plane and being arranged at the lower portion of the dispenser. The container further includes side walls extending from the bottom wall in a vertical direction perpendicular to the horizontal plane of the bottom wall and defining a dispensing opening being opposite to the bottom wall. The side walls surround a rectangular supporting surface for supporting a stack of interfolded napkins.
The dispenser further includes a cover defining a dispensing mouth through which napkins are withdrawn. The cover has at least an upper position, such that a space for containing a stack of interfolded napkins is defined between said supporting surface and said cover when said cover is in said upper position. Hence, a space for containing a stack of interfolded napkins is defined between the supporting surface and the cover when the cover is in the upper position.
The cover may be removable or disconnectable from the side walls, whereby the cover forms an operable lid, or the cover may be integrated with the side walls.
The container is divided along a horizontal plane being parallel with the horizontal plane of the bottom wall so as to define a bottom portion including the bottom wall, and a wall portion including at least a part of the side walls. The bottom portion is releasably attached to the wall portion by means of a magnetic lock for enabling refill of napkins from the bottom side of the dispenser.
The bottom wall of the container may have any suitable circumferential shape such as circular, rectangular with right angles or rounded corners, square, triangular, rhombic or irregular, as long as the bottom wall provides a sufficiently large supporting surface for a stack of interfolded napkins. In particular embodiments, the bottom wall of the container has a generally rectangular shape, corresponding to the shape of the stack of napkins to be introduced into the container. As used herein, the term “rectangular” is to include all four-sided plane figures with four substantially right angles.
The bottom wall of the container may form the outermost bottom surface of the container. This provides a simple and space-saving solution.
However, the dispenser could be provided with an additional outer bottom surface, arranged at a distance from the bottom wall of the container in the vertical direction, if so desired e.g. for reasons of design or for fastening of the dispenser to an underlying surface.
The side walls of the container will extend perpendicular to the plane of the bottom wall of the container, and perpendicular to the supporting surface.
The side walls delimit the container space and the size of the dispensing opening and are arranged to contain and support the stack of interfolded napkins without deforming the napkins. The side walls will hence also provide side support for the stack of napkins, and the weight when the container is in use.
The support surface is to be rectangular, meaning that the support surface shall enable support of a rectangular stack of napkins. To this end, it is desired to have a generally rectangular shape, although slight deviations from the general shape such as rounded corners etc. are conceivable. The support surface can form a generally complete surface, i.e. a wall. However, it is also conceivable to form the support surface using e.g. ribs or ledges for supporting the stack of napkins.
For the stack to be supported in horizontal directions, the side walls should extend vertically so as to surround and support the stack around the rectangular periphery thereof. To this end, it is necessary that the side walls have a certain extension along the periphery of the rectangular support surface. However, it will be understood that the side walls need not form a closed wall surface, but could be provided with openings or slots, if desired. Alternatively, the side walls could be formed by a number of ribs arranged vertically and at a distance from each other. In an alternative, the side walls form closed side walls extending along at least 50% of the rectangular circumference of the supporting surface.
In particular embodiments, the side walls may form the outermost wall structure of the dispenser. This provides a simple and space-saving solution. However, the dispenser could be provided with additional outer walls, surrounding the side walls of the container. This could be desired, if e.g. a dispenser having a rounded outer design is desired.
As mentioned above, the side walls define the dispensing opening arranged at the upper portion of the dispenser. The dispensing opening in the context of embodiments of the present invention is a part of the container being open towards the ambient and providing access to the inner space of the container. The outline of the dispensing opening will generally correspond to the shape of the supporting surface.
In particular embodiments, the size of the dispensing opening essentially corresponds to the size of the supporting surface, in terms of the outer dimensions of the dispensing opening and the supporting surface. Hence, should the cover be removed from the dispenser, the entire top surface of a stack of napkins resting on the supporting surface in the container will be readily accessible via the dispensing opening.
The side walls form upper edges at an upper portion of the dispenser towards the dispensing opening. The shape of the upper edges of the container may vary, for example the upper edges may be straight, or of irregular shape, such as undulating, serrated, semicircular, or the like.
In particular embodiments, the upper edges form a plurality of uppermost edge portions, which may be confined in a horizontal plane being parallel to the plane of the bottom wall. As such, if the dispenser is turned upside-down, it may rest in a stable position on the plurality of uppermost edge portions confined in said horizontal plane. Advantageously, to provide a stable upside-down position, uppermost edge portions on at least two opposing side walls of the container should be confined in a horizontal plane.
In particular embodiments, the uppermost edge portions may form continuous upper edges extending along at least two opposing side walls of the container, and being confined in a plane, (the entire upper edges will then form said uppermost edge portions), preferably a generally horizontal plane, whereby a particularly stable upside-down position of the dispenser is enabled.
Moreover, the bottom portion of the dispenser can be removably attached to the wall portion by means of a magnetic lock.
A magnetic lock will provide a certain holding force, depending on the type, size and number of magnets and corresponding magnetic materials used. Accordingly, the magnetic lock may be adjusted such that it has a holding force being sufficient to ensure that the bottom portion and the wall portion are held together during use of the dispenser, i.e. that the attraction force may resist the action of gravity on the stack of napkins on the supporting surface as well as the bottom wall. Moreover, the magnetic lock may be adjusted such that it will preclude forcing too many napkins into the dispenser. In other words, if too large a stack is positioned inside the container, and an attempt is made to close the bottom portion thus compressing the napkins, the magnetic lock will not close since the spring force from the stack attempting to resume its original shape will exceed the attraction force of the magnetic lock. Accordingly, a magnetic lock may be selected such that it opens when the spring force exceeds a threshold value of the attraction force of the magnetic lock.
Hence, a magnetic lock may be used to form an efficient overfill protection means, in that it is not possible to force the lock to close, and to keep the lock in function, if there are too many napkins in the form of a compressed stack present in the container.
Disadvantages, such as an increased pull force necessary to withdraw a napkin from the dispenser, appearing due to a compressed stack being present in the container which may result in the napkins becoming damaged may be avoided.
The horizontal plane dividing the container into a bottom portion and a wall portion may be positioned at any co-ordinate along the vertical extension of the side walls.
Hence, such a horizontal plane may be arranged dividing the container at the middle point of the vertical extension of the side walls, thus providing a bottom portion and a wall portion having equal vertical extension. In particular embodiments, the horizontal plane is positioned adjacent to the horizontal plane of the bottom wall, such that the bottom portion consists of the bottom wall and the wall portion includes the entire side walls including the lower edges of the side walls.
With such an arrangement, the space available for the stack of napkins corresponds to the entire space to be filled inside the wall portion of the dispenser, which facilitates the refill process.
The magnet lock providing releasable attachment of the bottom portion to the wall portion, enables opening of the lock such that the bottom portion is removed from the wall portion, enabling introduction of new napkins from the bottom end of the wall portion. The bottom portion may be arranged so as to be completely removable from the wall portion, when the magnetic lock is released. Alternatively, the bottom portion may be arranged so as to be tilted away from the bottom end of the wall portion, while remaining attached thereto, when the magnetic lock is released. For example, the bottom portion may remain attached to the wall portion via a hinge.
The magnetic lock may be arranged such that at least one permanent magnet and a corresponding magnetic material are arranged in the bottom portion and the wall portion, respectively. In other words, the bottom portion may include at least one permanent magnet, while the wall portion includes at least one corresponding magnetic material.
Also, the magnetic lock may be arranged such that it includes at least one permanent magnet and a corresponding magnetic material arranged in the wall portion and the bottom portion, respectively, meaning that the wall portion includes at least one permanent magnet, while the bottom portion includes at least one corresponding magnetic material.
It is of course also conceivable to provide each of the wall portion and the bottom portion with both at least one permanent magnet and at least one corresponding magnetic material.
To form a magnetic lock, the magnets and corresponding magnetic materials should be arranged in the wall portion and/or the bottom portion, respectively, in an opposed relationship. The interfacing surfaces formed by the magnets and the corresponding magnetic materials may generally correspond to each other in size and shape. As used herein, by “interfacing surfaces” are meant surfaces facing towards each other, and which are attracted to each other by means of magnetism. The magnets and corresponding magnetic materials may be arranged such that their interfacing surfaces are in direct contact with each other, when the magnetic lock is closed. However, the magnets and corresponding magnetic materials may also be arranged such that their interfacing surfaces are separated e.g. by a piece of other material, as long as the attraction between the interfacing surfaces is still sufficient to close the magnetic lock. This may be the case when the magnets and/or corresponding magnetic materials are embedded in the wall portion and/or the bottom portion.
When the corresponding magnetic material is also a permanent magnet, it should be positioned such that it is attracted to the other permanent magnet, i.e. such that the magnetic poles of the permanent magnet and the corresponding permanent magnet are positioned at a complementary manner, i.e. north towards south.
The number and arrangement of the permanent magnets and the corresponding magnetic material may vary. It is possible to use only one permanent magnet arranged in one of the bottom portion and the wall portion, and one corresponding magnetic material arranged in the other one of the bottom portion and the wall portion. Further it is conceivable to provide the entire perimeter of the bottom portion and the wall portion with permanents magnets and corresponding magnetic material.
The permanent magnets and/or the corresponding magnetic materials may be arranged using material pieces of different shapes and sizes. Thus, the pieces of material suitable for embodiments of the present invention may have an area of 0.25 cm2-150 cm2. The pieces of material may be square, rectangular, circular, oval, star-shaped, or any other shape suitable for the purpose.
The permanent magnets and/or the corresponding magnetic materials may be directly attached, e.g. glued, to the respective portions, in which case the magnet and/or magnetic materials will be visible to a user.
Another possibility is incorporating the magnets and/or magnetic materials in the respective portions, i.e. embedding inside or arranging behind another material. In this case, the magnets and/or magnetic materials will be hidden rather than displayed. Embedding the magnets and/or magnetic materials into the dispenser material has the advantage of providing a more secure magnetic lock, since when the pieces of the magnets and/or corresponding magnetic materials are attached to the dispenser by e.g. gluing, and the attachment site is subjected to repeated stress due to the pull forces exercised by the user when refilling the dispenser, the attachment may be broken rendering the lock unusable.
For example, magnets and/or magnetic materials may be incorporated in a bottom wall manufactured of a plastic material by incorporation of the magnets and/or magnetic materials in the plastic material during casting of the bottom wall.
If desired, connector may be provided between the bottom portion and the wall portion. The use of a connector may facilitate reattachment of the bottom portion to the wall portion, since the relative movements between the portions are restricted by the connector. The purpose of the connector is primarily to ensure that the wall portion and the bottom portion stay connected when the bottom portion is disconnected from the wall portion. The attraction force from the magnetic lock will generally be sufficient to provide necessary guidance of the wall portion and the bottom portion when they are moved towards each other for being locked together. Hence, it is possible, but not necessary, to provide a connector performing also substantial guidance of the movement between the wall portion and the bottom portion, such as a rigid hinge-like connector.
The connector may be a so-called soft-hinge connector, being formed by a soft material such as a plastic or textile material, for example TPE, silicone, polyester, or cotton textile. Such connectors has the advantage that they may be formed to take up very limited space only.
The container may include a frame arranged along the side walls surrounding the supporting surface, wherein the frame may include the container connection. The frame may be positioned adjacent to the bottom wall at the lower edge of the side walls. For example, the frame may be press-fit inside the container at the lower edge of the side walls. The frame may be made of a plastic material, or any other material suitable for the purpose.
A frame as described above may advantageously be used to provide magnets and/or magnetic materials to the wall portion of the container. For example, the magnets and/or magnetic materials may be arranged between the frame and the side walls. Alternatively, or in addition thereto, the frame may be useful to provide a connector, preferably a soft hinge, connecting the wall portion with the bottom portion.
The bottom portion may be provided with a gripping means for facilitating removal of the bottom portion from the wall portion. Advantageously, the gripping means may be in the form of a notch in the bottom portion.
The container may define at least one vertical slot in at least one of the side walls. The horizontal extension of the slot may be sufficient to allow manual access to the napkins in the container via the slot.
Hence, the slot may be useful for grasping the first leading end of a new stack of napkins, which is to be introduced to the dispensing mouth for the initial set-up of the dispenser.
Moreover, such a slot may, in certain embodiments, be useful when refilling the dispenser, as will be described in the below. Additionally, a slot may be useful for providing a visual indication of the need for refilling.
When turning a dispenser upside down for refill thereof, the user may hold any remaining napkins in the dispenser via a longitudinal slot as described in the above, so as to ensure that the remaining napkins do not become folded or otherwise rearranged in the dispenser during the turning thereof. Once the dispenser has assumed an upside-down position, the remaining napkins will be released, and will thereby come to rest on the underside the cover.
However, in other embodiments it is conceivable to perform the turning of the dispenser upside down without necessity of holding back the napkins.
The dispenser further includes a cover, extending between the side walls in at least one horizontal direction and defining a dispensing mouth. The cover may be fixedly or movable arranged in the dispensing opening.
The cover may be a stack-supported cover, including a weight arranged between the side walls. Hence, when a stack of napkins is inserted into the dispenser, the weight will rest on the stack. Accordingly, when the dispenser is completely filled with napkins, the weight will be located adjacent to the dispensing opening of the container, while when the dispenser is nearly empty or empty, the weight will be located adjacent to the supporting surface of the container. The weight is vertically movable inside the container between an upper position adjacent to the dispensing opening of the container, and a lower position adjacent to the supporting surface of the container, in both the upward and the downward directions.
The actual mass of the weight should be sufficient to withstand the pull force from the user withdrawing a napkin from a dispenser, and can be selected to be suitable for a particular dispenser and/or stack of napkins.
The mass of the weight may thus be between 50 and 1000 g, between 50 and 500 g, or between 100 and 200 g.
When a stack-supported cover is used, the magnetic lock should naturally be adapted so as to provide an attracting force sufficient to resist the action of gravity on the supporting surface, resulting both from the stack of napkins and from the stack-supported cover resting on the stack.
To provide a weight having a suitable mass, the weight may include a first and a second material, wherein the second material has a greater density than the first material, so as to provide additional mass to the weight. For example, a first material forming the majority of the weight might be a plastic material, having the advantages of being easy to form to desired shapes, but not being particularly heavy. To increase the mass of the weight, a second material in the form of a metal, such as lead, iron, copper or nickel, or an alloy, such as stainless steel, cast iron, or any other alloys with high density may be added to the first material.
For example, the weight may be formed by two halves of a first material, which are joined together to form the complete weight. Pieces of a second, heavier, material may be added in between the two halves, before joining thereof to a complete weight.
Another option is to form the weight by casting the first material in a mould containing pieces of the second material arranged inside the mould such that the second material becomes embedded in the first material.
In accordance with what is proposed herein, the weight defines an outer rim including at least two opposing rim portions. Further, the weight extends over the entire dispensing opening in at least one horizontal direction between at least two opposing side walls of the container, such that the two opposing rim portions are in contact with the two opposing side walls of the container.
For ensuring that the weight remains in a desired position within the container, i.e. so that the dispensing mouth is properly located therein, it is advantageous if the outer rim includes two opposing rim portions, which are in contact with corresponding portions of two opposing of the side walls of the container. Accordingly, a certain control of the location and movement of the weight in the container is ensured.
Advantageously, the weight may extend over the entire dispensing opening such that the entire inner perimeter of the side walls is in contact with the weight.
It is possible that the weight includes some protruding portions which would extend beyond the inner perimeter of the side walls, e.g. through a vertical slot provided in the side wall. However, in particular embodiments, the weight is confined between the side walls, such that no moving portions of the weight extend outwards of the side walls, thus eliminating the risk of objects positioned adjacent to the dispenser becoming unintentionally caught by the weight when the dispenser is in use. Moreover, the external appearance of the dispenser may be rendered more aesthetically pleasing if no protruding portions are present.
The total horizontal area of the weight including the dispensing mouth may be at least 60% or at least 80% of the area of the supporting surface. Advantageously, the total horizontal area of the weight essentially corresponds to the area of the supporting surface.
The weight will naturally have a vertical extension or vertical height. The vertical height discussed herein is the maximum vertical height of the weight as seen over the entire horizontal surface of the weight. Advantageously, the vertical height of the weight may be adapted so as to contribute to the proper dispensing and presentation of a leading end of the uppermost napkin in a stack arranged in the dispenser. For example, it will be appreciated that a leading end of a certain vertical extension may be able to assume an upright position when extending from the dispensing mouth of the dispenser, whereas if a longer leading end of the napkin extends from the dispensing mouth, the leading end might assume an unwanted drooping position.
The vertical height of the weight will determine the length of the portion of a napkin extending from the topmost surface of the stack to the dispensing mouth, and will accordingly influence the length of the leading end protruding from the dispensing mouth to be presented to a user.
For some useful applications, the vertical height of the weight may be 1-10 cm, 1-5 cm, or 2-5 cm.
The weight may be formed having a uniform vertical height all over its horizontal surface. However, it may also be formed with a generally flat lower surface, i.e. the surface facing the inside of the container when the weight is arranged between the side walls of the container, wherein the lower surface of the weight also comprises protrusions.
The protrusions may be continuous, i.e. running along the entire lower surface of the weight, or intermittent, being arranged at spaced-apart positions across the lower surface of the weight. The intermittent protrusions may be in the form of cylinders, cones, cubes, pyramids or the like. In particular embodiments, the protrusions are continuous protrusions in the form of longitudinally extending ribs. The vertical extension of the protrusions will hence determine the vertical height of the weight.
The protrusions may be arranged at a distance from the dispensing mouth. Accordingly, the protrusions will ensure that there will be a space between the lower surface of the weight immediately surrounding the dispensing mouth, and the top of the stack of napkins introduced in the dispenser. Such a space will ensure that the stack is not clamped against the dispensing mouth, which would complicate the removal of napkins from the stack.
Advantageously, the weight may include a dispensing mouth, i.e. an opening through which items are dispensed, running in the longitudinal direction of the weight, coinciding with the longitudinal direction of the dispenser, and being positioned over the items inside the container, when the weight is positioned over the dispensing opening of the container.
The weight including the dispensing mouth will, when the dispenser is to contain a stack of interfolded napkins, simultaneously present a leading end of the uppermost napkin in the stack through the dispensing mouth, and hold down the remaining part of the stack, such that additional, unwanted napkins are not removed from the stack together with the uppermost napkin. Instead, due to the interfolding of the napkins, removal of the uppermost napkin will result in the leading end of the next napkin being presented in the dispensing mouth.
By means of the weight forming a dispensing mouth, fall-back of the gripping portion of the uppermost napkin in a stack of interfolded napkins is avoided without the risk of the tearing or wrinkling of the napkin being pulled out or of the subsequent napkin. The dispenser arrangement can also ascertain that only one napkin is dispensed at a time. The dispenser can easily be operated with only one hand and has a simple and reliable construction.
If the weight extends over the dispensing opening substantially all the way between at least two opposing side walls of the container, the dispensing mouth may then be arranged such that it extends in a longitudinal direction of the dispenser between the opposing rim portions.
Regardless of whether the cover is formed by a weight as described in the above or not, the dispensing mouth can be elongate and have a maximum length dimension extending in parallel with two opposing side walls.
The dispenser may further include a cover control means to further control the movement and/or location of the cover inside the container, restricting the movement of the cover beyond the upper position thereof. This is advantageous since the dispenser may then be turned upside down to assume an upside down position without necessity of manually holding the cover in place in the upper position. Accordingly, the cover control means will be located inside the dispenser, connecting the cover to the container. Hence, the cover control means will ensure that the cover cannot be completely removed from the container.
Moreover, when the cover is movable between an upper and a lower position, the cover control means will contribute to the control of the movement of the cover inside the dispenser between the upper position and the lower position. Depending on the location and configuration of the cover control means, lateral control of the cover may be enabled.
Also, the cover control means will define an upper position of the cover inside the container. This upper position will determine the maximum size of a stack to be introduced into the dispenser.
Advantageously, the dispenser includes two cover control means interconnecting the cover and the container. The cover control means are then arranged one at each opposing side wall and corresponding rim portion of the cover.
With two cover control means on opposing sides of the dispenser, additional lateral control of the cover may be enabled. Moreover, with two cover control means, the upper position of the cover inside the dispenser will be more clearly defined, as well as the maximum size of a stack to be introduced in the dispenser. The cover control means may be arranged at any position along the inner perimeter of the dispenser, i.e. along any of the side walls running in either longitudinal or transverse direction. When the dispenser includes two cover control means, it is advantageous to arrange the cover control means in an opposing manner in order to achieve an optimal distribution of the pull force from a user extracting an item from the dispenser.
It will be understood that the dispenser can include at least two weight control means, and could be provided with e.g. three or four weight control means. For example, one weight control means could be arranged at each corner of the weight.
It is of importance that the cover control means is flexible enough to allow the movement of the cover control means in the vertical direction between the upper and the lower positions. Advantageously, the cover control means includes a flexible cord, for example in the form of a ribbon or a chain. A suitable ribbon may be of a polyester material.
In use, the leading end of the uppermost napkin in the stack positioned in the dispenser is extending between two opposing side walls. Accordingly, the dispensing mouth will extend longitudinally along the width of the leading end, such that the napkins may be extracted through the dispensing mouth with little or no wrinkling. In particular embodiments, the extension of the dispensing mouth is at least the same as the width of the stack of napkins introduced in the dispenser.
Expressed in relation to the longitudinal extension of the supporting surface of the container, the dispensing mouth may have a longitudinal extension of at least 75%, at least 85%, or at least 90% of the longitudinal extension of the supporting surface extending between the side walls. Also, the longitudinal extension of the dispensing mouth may be 100% of the longitudinal extension of the supporting surface, i.e. the longitudinal extension of the dispensing mouth is equal to the longitudinal extension of the supporting surface.
The dispensing mouth will also have a transverse extension, or a width, in a transverse direction of the weight corresponding to the transverse direction of the dispenser. The width of the dispensing mouth should be sufficient for a napkin to easily pass there through. Moreover, the dispensing mouth may be provided with at least one portion having a greater width than the other portions of the dispensing mouth. For example, such a portion could be arranged at the centre of the dispensing mouth. The portion with a greater width could be designed so as to facilitate gripping of the napkin. Also, a sufficiently great width may be provided to enable gripping of a first leading end of the uppermost napkin in a stack introduced in the dispenser, when the leading end is laying flatly down on the uppermost surface of the stack.
Further, it may still be desired to provide portions of the dispensing mouth with a relatively narrow width, e.g. the portions of the dispensing mouth positioned adjacent to the side walls when the weight is arranged inside the container, since such portions may support a leading end protruding through the dispensing mouth, such that the leading end is presented in an upright position for a user to grasp. Such a narrow width suitable for supporting a leading end in an upright position might for example be about 10-15 mm.
The dispensing mouth may have any suitable shape, such as oval or rectangular, provided that the dispensing mouth does not crease or in other way damage the napkin to be dispensed, and that the dispensing mouth provides sufficient support for the leading end of the napkin, such that the leading end of the napkin is in its upright position prior to use.
When using a stack-supported cover consisting of a weight, the cover control means may be a weight control means, interconnecting the weight and the container, and extending inside the container between a container connection and a weight connection, whereby the movement of the weight beyond the upper position is restricted.
The length of the cover control means between the container connection and the cover connection may essentially correspond to the vertical distance from the container connection to the dispensing opening. Since, as mentioned previously, the dispensing opening is defined by the upper edges of the side walls, the length of the cover control means between the container connection and the cover connection may essentially correspond to the maximum vertical distance from the container connection to the upper edge of the side walls. In cases when the upper edge of the side walls has irregular shape, the length of the cover control means between the container connection and the cover connection may essentially correspond to the vertical distance from the container connection to the highest point of the upper edge of the side walls. Accordingly, essentially the full vertical length of the container from the supporting surface to the dispensing opening will be available for a stack of napkins.
It is also conceivable to position the container connection at any point along the vertical extension of the side walls, e.g. at the middle of the vertical distance between the supporting surface and the dispensing opening.
The container connection and the cover connection may be of any suitable type of connection as known in the art for fastening pieces together.
In certain embodiments, the container connection may be a snap-in connection. In this case, a first snap connection portion may be provided in the container, and a second snap connection portion on an end portion of the cover control means.
The cover connection may be arranged at or adjacent to the rim of the cover. For example, if the cover is formed by two halves being joined together, an end portion of a cover control means may be introduced between the halves and joined to the cover upon joining of the two halves.
Accordingly, the cover control means will run along the side of a stack of napkins disposed in the dispenser.
As mentioned above, the upper edge of the side walls may be confined in a plane, such as a generally horizontal plane, whereby a stable upside-down position of the dispenser is enabled. Accordingly, the dispenser may conveniently be positioned resting on the upper edge of the side walls in an upside down position for refill of the dispenser from the bottom side thereof.
When the dispenser is being used, a stack of napkins is placed on the supporting surface of the bottom wall inside the space defined between the supporting surface and the cover. The stack of napkins may have a rectangular shape with rectangular or square bottom surface formed by a trailing panel of the last napkin in the stack. The stack may have any suitable dimensions such as any suitable height, width and length. The width and length dimensions are defined by the dimensions of the bottom surface of the stack and the height is measured perpendicular to the bottom surface and is determined by the number of napkins in the stack as well as the number of plies and panels in each napkin. The individual napkins may include one or more plies or layers and may have been folded into two or more panels.
The napkins may be any kind of household napkins, wipes, paper towels, etc. The material may be a fibrous material of any suitable kind such as cellulose based paper materials, with or without admixture of man-made fibres, binders and fillers. The napkins may include only man-made fibres. However, it is usually desired that a napkin has some degree of absorbency or that it at least is wettable. If the fibrous material contains a large proportion of fibres of a hydrophobic character implying that the fibres are non-wettable, it may be suitable to treat the material with a wetting agent. Wetting agents and other additives are well known to the person skilled in the art and will not be further discussed herein. The napkins may have any suitable shape and/or size and may be embossed, perforated, printed and dyed if desired. The napkins may be single-ply sheets of material or may include two or more plies of the same or different materials. In the stack, the napkins are folded at least once in order to obtain an interfolded arrangement with interconnected panels. However, the napkins may be additionally folded in order to reduce their planar size to a practical dimension as is well known in the art. Accordingly, any type of interfolding of the napkins may be used, as known in the art. Advantageously, the napkins may be interfolded.
The physical form of the container may be a substantially rigid box.
The container material and the cover material may be any material suitable for the purpose such as plastic, wood, ceramic, metal. The container may be formed e.g. by bending a sheet of material, molding, blow-molding, extrusion, cutting, sawing, etc. The container and the cover may be made by the same material or by different materials. The container and/or the cover may also be made by a combination of different materials. It is noteworthy that the dispenser according to embodiments of the present invention is intended for multiple use. In other words, the dispenser is intended to be refilled, rather than disposed, when empty.
The dispenser arrangement can have a simple construction and may be made from inexpensive and readily available materials. Moreover, the dispenser arrangement has a surprisingly reliable function and will not damage the dispensed napkins.
Further, the dispenser may be manufactured having a tidy and fancy appearance by choosing exclusive materials, such as brushed steel, aluminum or wood. This may be desirable when the dispenser is intended to be used in formal and elegant environments.
Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:
The dispenser 1 further includes a cover in the form of a weight 4 arranged between the side walls 6 so as to form a stack-supported cover of the dispenser 1. The weight 4 defines a dispensing mouth 9 through which napkins are withdrawn. The weight 4 is movable between an upper position adjacent to the dispensing opening 7 of the container 2, and a lower position adjacent to the supporting surface 8 of the container 2.
In the embodiment shown in
As seen in
When the dispenser 1 is assembled, the frame 21 is positioned inside the container 2 at the lower edge 6c of the side walls 6 of the container 2. The bottom wall 5 is attached at the lower edge 6c of the container 2 by means of the magnetic lock 27, such that the container 2 is open towards the ambient only at the dispensing opening 7 of the container. Finally, the weight 4 is attached to the dispenser 1 by means of the container connection 17, as shown in
When the dispenser 1 is to be filled or refilled with items to be dispensed, the dispenser 1 is brought in the upside down position such that the dispenser 1 rests on the upper edges 6b of the side walls 6 of the container 2. When the dispenser 1 is being turned around, it may be advisable to provide a support for the weight 4, such that the weight 4 and the remaining items, if any, inside the container does not uncontrollably fall down under action of gravity, which may cause unduly high and possibly damaging stress on the weight control means, as well as wrinkling, creasing or other rearrangement of the remaining items inside the container, which may damage the items and worsen the dispensing.
When the dispenser 1 is in its upside down position, the bottom wall 5 is removed by gripping the gripping means 28 and opening the lock 27. After the bottom wall 5 has been removed, as shown in
A magnetic lock 27 will provide a certain holding force, depending on the type, size and number of magnets and corresponding magnetic materials used. Accordingly, the magnetic lock is adjusted such that it has a holding force being sufficient to ensure that the bottom portion and the wall portion are held together during use of the dispenser 1, i.e. that the attraction force resists the action of gravity on the stack of napkins on the supporting surface 8 as well as the bottom wall 5. Moreover, the magnetic lock 27 is adjusted such that it will preclude forcing too many napkins into the dispenser. If too large a stack is positioned inside the container 2, and an attempt is made to close the bottom portion thus compressing the napkins, the magnetic lock 27 will not close since the spring force from the stack attempting to resume its original shape will exceed the attraction force of the magnetic lock. Accordingly, a magnetic lock 27 may be selected such that it opens when the spring force exceeds a threshold value of the attraction force of the magnetic lock 27.
Hence, a magnetic lock 27 is used to form an efficient overfill protection means, in that it is not possible to force the lock to close, and to keep the lock in function, if there are too many napkins in the form of a compressed stack present in the container.
The magnets and corresponding magnetic materials of the magnetic lock 27 are arranged in a generally opposing relationship. The interfacing surfaces formed between the magnets and corresponding magnetic materials are, in this embodiment, similar in size and shape.
The magnetic lock 27 depicted in
The dispenser defines a bottom portion, in the embodiment shown in
Hence, refill is possible even though the weight 4 remains in the dispensing opening 7 of the container, attached via the weight control means 15 to the side walls 6 of the container 2.
The frame 21 as described above is used to provide a connection between the bottom portion and the wall portion of the dispenser 1. The bottom portion is removably attached to the wall portion by means of a magnetic lock 27. The advantages of using a magnetic lock have been mentioned above.
The frame 21 depicted in
Moreover, the frame 21 is used to provide a connector 29 between the wall portion and the bottom portion of the dispenser. In the illustrated embodiment, the connector 29 is in the form of a soft-hinge connector. The soft-hinge connector includes a soft material ribbon which is inserted into a corresponding slot in the frame, thereby providing the connector 29.
The bottom wall 5 is provided with a gripping means 28 in the form of a circular notch for facilitating removal of the bottom wall from the wall portion of the dispenser 1.
The container is shown in greater detail in
The side walls 6 define the dispensing opening 7 arranged at the upper portion of the dispenser. The dispensing opening 7 is a part of the container being open towards the ambient and providing access to the inner space of the container 2. The outline of the dispensing opening 7 corresponds to the shape of the bottom wall 5, such that the container 2 depicted in
When the dispenser 1 is completely filled, the weight 4 forms a stack-supported cover of the dispenser 1, meaning that when a stack of napkins is inserted in the dispenser 1, the weight 4 will rest on the stack. Accordingly, when the dispenser 1 is completely filled with napkins, the weight 4 will be in its upper position located adjacent to the dispensing opening 7 of the container.
The weight 4 including the dispensing mouth 9 will simultaneously present a leading end of the uppermost napkin in the stack through the dispensing mouth 9, and hold down the remaining part of the stack, such that additional, unwanted napkins are not removed from the stack together with the uppermost napkin. Instead, due to the interfolding of the napkins, removal of the uppermost napkin will result in the leading end of the next napkin being presented in the dispensing mouth, as mentioned earlier.
By means of the weight 4 forming a dispensing mouth 9, fall-back of the leading end of the uppermost napkin in a stack of interfolded napkins is avoided without the risk of the tearing or wrinkling of the napkin being pulled out or of the subsequent napkin.
The weight depicted in
The weight illustrated in
As depicted in
The dispensing mouth 9 also has a transverse extension, or a width, in a transverse direction of the weight 4 corresponding to the transverse direction y of the dispenser 1. The width of the dispensing mouth should be sufficient for a napkin to easily pass there through. Moreover, the dispensing mouth 9 is provided with a portion 9a having a greater width than the other portions 9b of the dispensing mouth 9. The portion 9a with a greater width is designed so as to facilitate gripping of the napkin. Further, it is still desired to provide portions 9b positioned adjacent to the side walls 6a of the dispensing mouth 9 with a relatively narrow width. Such portions support a leading end protruding through the dispensing mouth 9, such that the leading end is presented in an upright position for a user to grasp.
The dispensing mouth 9 depicted in
The dispenser 1 further includes two weight control means 15, seen in
Moreover, the weight control means 15 will contribute to the control of the movement of the weight 4 inside the dispenser 1 between the upper position and the lower position.
As may be seen in
The length of the weight control means 15 between the container connection 17 and the weight connection 19 essentially correspond to the vertical distance from the container connection 17 to the dispensing opening 7, as seen in
The container 2 depicted in
In use, the leading end of the uppermost napkin in the stack positioned in the dispenser 1 is extending between two opposing side walls 6a. Accordingly, the dispensing mouth 9 extends longitudinally along the width of the leading end of the napkin, such that the napkins may be extracted through the dispensing mouth 9 with minimal or no wrinkling, providing a tidy and appealing napkin both prior to and after dispensing.
As the napkins are being dispensed, the vertical extension of the stack inside the dispenser will decrease. Since the weight is supported by the stack of napkins, the weight will descend towards the supporting surface of the container with the decreasing vertical height of the stack. Hence, when the dispenser is nearly empty or empty, the weight will be located adjacent to the supporting surface of the container. The weight is vertically movable inside the container between an upper position adjacent to the dispensing opening of the container, and a lower position adjacent to the supporting surface of the container, in both the upward and the downward directions, due to the flexible character of the weight supporting means.
Although the present invention has been described with reference to various embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognise that changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. It is intended that the detailed description be regarded as illustrative and that the appended claims including all the equivalents are intended to define the scope of the invention.
This application is a §371 National Stage Application of PCT International Application No. PCT/SE2013/051473 filed Dec. 9, 2013, which is incorporated herein in its entirety.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/SE2013/051473 | 12/9/2013 | WO | 00 |
