Patent Application
20130126380
The present disclosure relates to containers having a reduced environmental impact and/or footprint. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to containers suitable for dispensing stacked and interleaved facial tissue products contained therein where the removable portion of the container providing access to the product has a use that reduces the environmental impact and/or footprint normally associated with disposal of the removable portion.
Containers and dispensers for sheet materials, such as facial tissue, are often provided with the sheet materials contained within the container or dispenser in an interfolded or interleaved manner with adjacent sheets. Typically, the withdrawal of one sheet partially exposes the subsequent sheet in the dispensing opening of the container. Partially exposing the next sheet enables a person needing a facial tissue to easily grab the exposed end to quickly dispense the sheet. Frequently, this type of dispensing is referred to as pop-up dispensing. To prevent debris from entering the container, to reduce multiple sheets from dispensing, or to assist with retaining the partially exposed sheet within the dispensing opening, a dispensing window constructed from a clear film or plastic material is provided. A slit or other restricted opening is present in the dispensing window to retain the partially exposed sheet within the opening.
In any regard, the container or dispenser opening is usually provided with a cover present within the material forming the carton which, when removed, provides the user with access to the dispensing window and the product container therein. Other typical containers that dispense (e.g., the ubiquitous dispensing soda twelve-pack container or beer “suitcase” container) comprise a six-sided container having a removable section in one portion of the outer wall that enables access to the product or individual containers disposed within.
In use, these containers require the disposal of the removable portion into a trash receptacle. These removable portions are them eventually dumped into a landfill. Thus, it would be clearly advantageous to find a use for this material that either prevents or at a minimum reduces the amount of material sent to a landfill. This results in a facial tissue container (or other container) that is more eco-friendly and still provides the dispensing that one has come to expect from containers and dispensers having products disposed therein, such as those used for sheet materials such as facial tissues. It would be even more advantageous if the removable portion is provided with a use that assists the reduction of these dreaded landfill materials.
A first embodiment of the present disclosure provides a multi-walled container. The container has a top, bottom, and a side wall, and a removable portion defined by a perforated tear outline disposed in at least one of the top, bottom, and side wall. The container provides containment of a product within an inner portion thereof. The removable portion has indicia imprinted thereupon, the indicia being disposed upon the removable portion disposed within said inner portion to face the product. The removable portion and the indicia reduce the environmental impact of disposal of the removable portion when the removable portion is removed from the multi-walled container.
Another embodiment of the present disclosure provides a multi-walled container. The container has a top, bottom, and a side wall, and a removable portion defined by a perforated tear outline disposed in at least one of the top, bottom, and side wall. The container provides containment of a stack of interfolded sheets within an inner portion thereof. The removable portion has indicia imprinted thereupon, the indicia being disposed upon the removable portion to face the product. Removal of the removable portion facilitates dispensing of each sheet of the stack of interfolded sheets through the opening formed therefrom. The removable portion and the indicia reduce the environmental impact of disposal of the removable portion when the removable portion is removed from the multi-walled container.
Still another embodiment of the present disclosure provides a multi-walled container having a reduced environmental impact. The container has a top, bottom, and a side wall, and a removable portion defined by a perforated tear outline in at least one of the top, bottom, and side wall. The container provides containment of a product within an inner portion thereof. The removable portion has a secondary device attached thereupon. The secondary device is attached to the removable portion so the secondary device is disposed within said inner portion of the container to face the product. Removal of the removable portion from the multi-walled container having the secondary device attached thereto from the multi-walled container reduces the environmental impact of disposal of the removable portion.
In general, the present disclosure is directed to a container for products that may also include general pop-up dispensing. Such pop-up dispensing is suitable for products such as a stack of interfolded disposable sheets such as facial tissues and wipes. As one of skill in the art will readily appreciate, such pop-up dispensing may also include containers suitable for use for containing multiple items such as hardware, soft drinks, and other products that can be generally dispensed on a one-at-a-time basis. Such alternative structures may include the infamous Coca-Cola twelve-pack dispensing package, beer ‘suitcases’, containers for holding hardware, as well as other items. In any regard, the materials suitable for disposition within the container in the form of disposable sheets can be, for instance, facial tissues, paper toweling, bath tissues, industrial wipes, laboratory wipes, wet wipes, and the like.
A dispensing container in line with the present disclosure preferably includes a removable portion within a panel forming the container that, once removed, uncovers the dispensing opening for withdrawing the sheets, or other contained product for that matter, from the container. If the product contained within the disclosed container is a facial tissue or wipe, the products preferably dispense in a pop-up fashion. Particularly suitable dispensing openings include slits or similarly shaped narrow openings with or without a penetrable plastic film that may otherwise cover the larger opening created by the absence of the removable panel.
In some circumstances, the removable panel portion may either be adhesively attached or provided as a region of the package panel(s) that is provided with perforations, serrations, or the like that enable removal of the removable panel. One of skill in the art should readily recognize that removal of the panel forms the opening in the container that enables the product disposed within the container to be removable therefrom.
The dispensing container 10 typically is provided with a pair of sides or walls 16 that are contiguous with another pair of sides or walls 18. A bottom wall 14 is present and is in contact with the walls 16 and 18. The product contained within the dispensing container 10, such as interfolded sheets, may generally rest upon the bottom wall 14 internal to dispensing container 10 in this embodiment. Also contiguous with the walls 16 and 18 is a dispensing wall or top wall 20. The top wall 20 includes a removable panel 22. The removable panel 22 may be any shape and may be flanked by a pair of finger openings 26 that enable the user to easily grab and remove the removable panel 22 by tearing along exemplary lateral perforations 24. The dispensing container 10 may be provided with as few as three side walls, bottom wall 14, and top wall 20. It should be understood by one of skill in the art that in any regard, the number of side walls forming dispensing container 10 should not be construed as limiting since the dispensing container 10 may have any number of sides to form any polygon, or may have one continuous side wall forming a circle or ellipse. Furthermore, the sidewalls, bottom wall 14, and top wall 20 may have any geometry desired to form the final form desired for dispensing container 10. However, for simplicity and illustrative purposes only, the present disclosure, although not limiting, will reference a conventional parallelepiped container having four side walls 16, 18, a bottom wall 14, and a top wall 20.
In general, the dispensing container 10 can be made from various materials. For instance, the container 10 can be made from paperboard or cardboard. Alternatively, the container 10 can be made from plastic films, such as thermoplastic films, metal film, metal sheeting, combinations thereof, and the like. Materials used to form the walls 14, 16, 18, and 20 of the container 10 can be rigid or flexible. One of skill in the art will recognize that virtually any material can be used to form dispensing container 10.
Removable panel 22, when removed from the dispensing container 10 by pulling, may expose in one non-limiting embodiment, a dispensing slit (not shown) within a plastic film (not shown) that covers the opening created by removal of the removable panel 22. As previously mentioned, the dispensing slit (not shown) may facilitate pop-up dispensing of the sheets or other dispensing of the product contained within dispensing container 10 one at a time. Alternatively, removable panel 22, when removed from the dispensing container 10 by pulling, may expose in another non-limiting embodiment, a complete opening that facilitates the ‘reach-in’ dispensing of the product contained within dispensing container 10. In other words, there is no intermediary barrier disposed between removable panel 22 and the product disposed within dispensing container 10 after removal of the removable panel 22.
As shown in
The removable panel 22 may be provided to have any form of geometry desired and/or necessary to complete the task at hand. This can include polygons, parallelograms, ellipses, circles, and other curvilinear shapes. For example, as shown in
As shown in
Surprisingly, it was found that a majority of the material forming the removable panel 22 from exemplary dispensing container 10, such as those described herein, generally find their way into a trash container or other refuse holder for eventual landfill disposal. Consistent with the goals of providing a more ecologically friendly use for this otherwise wasted portion of the dispensing container 10, it was found that providing indicia 30E-H upon removable panel 22, such as shown in
For example, as shown in
Alternatively, as shown in
Still further, as shown in
As shown in
Returning to
As may also be required, a product such as adhesive, magnets, hook-and-loop materials, and other materials can be provided upon the internal surface of removable portion 22 of dispensing container 10 that would facilitate attachment of the dispensing container 10 to external surfaces, such as walls, countertops, doors, and the like.
Additionally, products may be attached to the removable portion 22 of dispensing container 10. Such attachments may include clips or pins that may facilitate the consumer attachment of the removable portion 22 to a secondary surface. Further, exemplary sample products of current or future interest to a consumer can be attached to the surface of removable portion 22 of dispensing container 10. Alternatively, technology products, such as CDs, flash drives, memory cards, or other future technology offerings can be attached to removable portion 22 of dispensing container 10. It is also envisioned that chips or other devices that emit a tone, such as mobile sound technology, can be attached to removable portion 22 of dispensing container 10. In yet another envisioned embodiment, a material that would facilitate the removable portion 22 of dispensing container 10 to be utilized as a bag or pouch can be provided thereto. In yet another alternative embodiment, a material or structure that could ostensibly serve as a stand can facilitate the removable portion 22 of dispensing container 10 to be displayed in an upright position. In any regard, one of skill in the art will understand that the removable portion 22 of dispensing container 10 can be provided with a plurality of uses and is clearly not limited to indicia 30E-H and/or other product offerings.
The blank 40 is shown in the drawing with the “unfinished” side up, the opposite side being of a “finished” surface and imprinted with any desirable lettering and/or pictures either black and white, colored, or both. The unfinished side of the blank 40 having removable portion 22A can be imprinted with indicia 30 or provided with attached products as described supra.
The container 10a of
The side panel 36 and panel 38 are then folded inwardly at crease line 50 so that panel 36 falls flat upon panel 38 and panel 36 falls flat upon panel 39. Panel 32 is then folded inwardly so that the interface of panel 32 falls upon the outer face of panel 32. The glue portion on the inside marginal edges of panel 32 adheres to the outer face of panel 32. By slight pressure upon the opposite edges 46′ and 50′ of the folded blank 40, the blank 40 is set up in its third dimension and a stack of folded tissue can be properly inserted internally therefor. The flaps 42, 42′, 44, and 44′ are then folded inwardly and then flaps 33, 33′ are folded inwardly upon the outer surfaces of flaps 42, 42′ and 44, 44′. Outer flaps 34, 34′ are then folded inwardly upon the outer face of flaps 33, 33′, thus completing the container. Any glued portions mentioned heretofore can suitably hold the resulting container together.
While a facial tissue box has been shown for illustrative purposes only, the same principles may be applied to any shape or size of container used for any desirable purpose. The container need not necessarily be a completely glued container, as described herein, but may be applied to an ordinary box with a removable cover. It should also be noted that blank 40A shown in
The dimensions and values disclosed herein are not to be understood as being strictly limited to the exact numerical values recited. Instead, unless otherwise specified, each such dimension is intended to mean both the recited value and a functionally equivalent range surrounding that value. For example, a dimension disclosed as “40 mm” is intended to mean “about 40 mm.”
Every document cited herein, including any cross referenced or related patent or application, is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety unless expressly excluded or otherwise limited. The citation of any document is not an admission that it is prior art with respect to any invention disclosed or claimed herein or that it alone, or in any combination with any other reference or references, teaches, suggests or discloses any such invention. Further, to the extent that any meaning or definition of a term in this document conflicts with any meaning or definition of the same term in a document incorporated by reference, the meaning or definition assigned to that term in this document shall govern.
While particular embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described, it would be understood to those skilled in the art that various other changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is therefore intended to cover in the appended claims all such changes and modifications that are within the scope of this invention.
