Patent Application
20200367681
This application relates to table napkins and, more particularly, to disposable napkins that may be used to wrap a service of cutlery as may be provided for an individual place setting in a restaurant or other catering facility. This application also relates to the use of such a napkin for wrapping cutlery and a method of providing individual place settings.
Napkins are used in catering and the home in a variety of different forms. Cloth napkins are generally used for fine dining, whereas disposable napkins tend to be more conventional in higher volume establishments. Amongst the disposable napkins there may also be considerable variation, ranging from high-end cloth-like non-wovens to serviettes dispensed from a bulk dispenser or roll.
One particular use of the napkin is to wrap cutlery as an individual place setting. Such wraps may be prepared in advance, containing e.g. a knife and fork or a knife, fork and spoon. The waiter or restaurant staff can then quickly provide the requisite number of wraps to a table. Alternatively, diners e.g. in a buffet setting can take their own wrap from a pile or basket.
Preparing such wraps is a time consuming exercise involving the steps of:
The final step of securing the connection requires an additional element such as the self-adhesive napkin bands available from AmerCareRoyal, LLC of Baltimore, Md. Such an additional element increases the cost of the wrap and adds to the time of production. Additionally, during use, it leads to an additional item of waste that may be present on the table during the meal and is sometimes unsightly.
It would be desirable, therefore, to provide a napkin that can be used to wrap cutlery to form individual place settings without necessitating the use of a separate clip, band or sticker as is typical in the conventional designs summarized above.
To address the problems with conventional napkins and cutlery wrappings, a napkin is provided according to one embodiment of the invention such that the napkin includes a napkin material and having an upper side, a lower side and four corners, the napkin being provided with an adhering portion and an engaging location. The adhering portion is located on the upper side and the engaging location is located on the lower side at corresponding positions such that the napkin can be wrapped around an object and secured by engaging the adhering portion with the engaging location. The adhering portion and the engaging location being provided with a mutually adhesive material that allows that the adhering portion and the engaging location to releasably adhere to each other but which mutually adhesive material does not adhere to the napkin material. Preferably, the adhesive material only adheres to the adhesive material itself, i.e. with the adhesive material or a surface provided with the adhesive material. This means that the adhesive material preferably does not adhere with anything else other than the adhesive material.
Where reference is made herein to the upper side or lower side of the napkin, this means the effective surfaces of the napkin, i.e. the first side and the second side (also, interchangeably referred to as front and back surface) of the napkin.
A suitable location for the adhering portion is at a corner of the napkin. It will be understood that this refers to the napkin in the state prior to wrapping. Since napkins will generally be folded, this does not mean that the adhering portion will necessarily be located at a corner of the unfolded napkin. In fact, in particular embodiments, the adhering portion will be located other than at the corner of the unfolded napkin. In the following, in order to avoid ambiguity, reference to the napkin is to the napkin as it is stacked or presented prior to wrapping an item of cutlery. In particular embodiments, the napkin has four corners. For a napkin in its unfolded state, reference is given to a sheet having points.
The engaging location is in certain embodiments located close to a center of the napkin, although this will depend at least partially on the way of wrapping and the size of the item to be wrapped. The center of the napkin can be defined as the location where the two diagonals of the napkin cross each other. In some embodiments the engaging location is located close to a center of the napkin with the corners on the lower side being devoid of mutually adhesive material.
If the adhering portion is at a corner of the napkin, then in particular embodiments the engaging location is located between the corner diagonally opposite to the corner provided with the adhering portion and the center of the napkin.
In some embodiments, the engaging location extends over a zone extending substantially from a corner to the corner diagonally opposite to this corner, preferably from the corner provided with the adhering portion to the corner diagonally opposite to the corner provided with the adhering portion. The zone extending substantially from a corner to the corner diagonally opposite to this corner preferably crosses the center of the napkin.
The napkin can be provided with a releasing portion located on the lower side at a position corresponding with the adhering portion such that the napkin can be stacked with similar napkins with the releasing portion on the lower side of a first napkin aligned and engaged with the adhering portion of a second napkin located beneath the first napkin. As a result, the napkin provided with a releasing portion can be easily provided in a stack and used one by one to wrap a service cutlery. Prior to wrapping, the adhering portion retains the napkin to the stack and on completion of the wrapping operation, the adhering portion secures the wrap and prevents the napkin from opening. It will be understood that for an adhesive portion that is mutually adherent to the engaging location, the releasing portion should be similarly provided with a similar mutually adhesive material that can adhere to and release from the adhesive portion.
In particular embodiments, the napkin is not provided with a releasing portion. In such embodiments stacking of the napkins may take place without mutual adhesion. In other words, the engaging location comprising material that is mutually adhesive to the adhering portion is provided only at a location or locations that do not align with the adhering portion of an adjacent napkin when napkins are stacked one above the other. For an adhesive portion provided close to a corner of the napkin, the engaging location will not be located at a corner. It may comprise a location close to the center of the napkin.
The napkin may be a single sheet having a maximum extent defined by the four corners. More usually however, the napkin will include a sheet that has been folded at least once. In one embodiment, the napkin includes a sheet having an inner surface and an outer surface that has been folded at least once with the inner surface inwards. The at least one fold may bisect the sheet or be offset from the center line. In this case, it will be understood that both the adhering portion and the engaging location will be located on the outer surface. It is noted in this context that certain napkins and the like have in the past been provided with attachment means or elements for sticking to a user's clothing. In that case however, the attachment is provided on the inner surface of the sheet that forms the napkin. This is of course particularly important where there is a clearly defined difference e.g. in quality, pattern or texture between the inner surface and the outer surface.
In many embodiments, the sheet is twice-folded to form the napkin with the outer surface exposed and the four points of the sheet aligned at a first corner of the napkin. A large class of disposable paper napkins are of this type and of the napkins that are used for making cutlery service wraps, this is by far the most common, since it provides a wrap that is of suitable size to enclose the service and yet can be opened out to four times the area for dining. In further embodiments, the first and/or the second fold may be offset from a line bisecting the sheet. In a particular embodiment, the first fold is offset such that two of the points, in particular the two outer points, are aligned at a first corner and the other two points are aligned at a location interior of the first corner.
For a twice-folded napkin, there are two corners that are preferred for providing the adhering portion, since they lead to a wrap that is less likely to open. These are the two corners that lie on the second fold of the twice-folded napkin and may be referred to as the “closed” corners. In a first embodiment the adhering portion may be provided adjacent a second corner of the napkin, diagonally opposite to the first corner. This is the corner closest to the center of the sheet. In this case, the engaging location may be provided between the second corner and a center of the napkin. An alternative to this arrangement is for the adhering portion to be located at or adjacent a third corner of the napkin with the engaging location being provided between a third corner and a center of the napkin. In this case, the third and fourth corners are the adjacent corners to the first corner, with the third corner being the “closed” corner.
In further alternative embodiments, the adhering portion may be provided at or adjacent a second corner of the napkin, diagonally opposite to the first corner and the engaging location may comprise a zone extending substantially from the first corner to the second corner thereby crossing the center of the napkin.
Alternatively, the adhering portion may be provided at or adjacent a third corner of the napkin and the engaging location may comprise a zone extending substantially from the third corner to a corner diagonally opposite to the third corner thereby crossing the center of the napkin.
All of the above assumes that the napkin is wrapped around the cutlery service along a diagonal of the napkin. It will nevertheless, be understood that other methods of wrapping may be applied, e.g., parallel to a side of the napkin. In that case, the adhering portion may be located at a different location and engaging location will be positioned accordingly.
In yet further embodiments, the sheet may have three or four folds, with each fold bisecting the sheet or being offset from a bisecting line. The three folded napkin may include two parallel folds and a third perpendicular fold, with the first two folds being C- or Z-folded. Alternatively, the first fold may be the perpendicular fold and the second two folds may be the parallel folds in a C- or Z-fold pattern. Yet further, the three folded napkin may be folded in a manner similar to the twice-folded napkin followed by an additional bisecting or offset fold.
The sheet that forms the napkin may be manufactured of any suitable material and the skilled person will choose the material according to the quality and intended use required of the napkin. In particular, the sheet may be manufactured of one or several layers or plies of fibrous material, for example cellulose-based absorbent material, such as tissue or air-laid, including dry crepe, wet crepe and structured tissue. It is also possible to use fibrous materials which entirely or partially consist of synthetic single- or multi-component fibres and/or regenerated cellulose fibres, such as fibres including polyamide, polypropylene, polyethylene, polyester, viscose, etc. Multi-ply napkins may be laminated in a conventional way by co-embossing of the component plies or by gluing. In one embodiment the sheet is multi-ply tissue having a weight per ply of between 14 g/m2 and 30 g/m2, preferably between 15 g/m2 and 24 g/m2 or even between 16 g/m2 and 18 g/m2. In another embodiment, the napkin is formed by folding a sheet of single-ply air-laid non-woven having a weight of between 25 g/m2 and 80 g/m2, preferably between 30 g/m2 and 70 g/m2 or even between 40 g/m2 and 60 g/m2. In a further embodiment the sheet is single-ply tissue having a weight of between 14 g/m2 and 40 g/m2, preferably between 16 g/m2 and 30 g/m2 or even between 18 g/m2 and 22 g/m2
The napkin may be any suitable size according to the desired use. With reference to the unfolded size of the sheet, the sheet may have maximum dimensions of between 20 cm and 60 cm, including cocktail size (20 cm×20 cm), lunch size (30 cm×30 cm), standard size (40 cm×40 cm), luxury size (50 cm×50 cm) or any other intermediate size desired. In general, the sheet may be square. In this context, square is intended to cover shapes that the user will perceive as being square even though adjacent sides may not be equal. In certain circumstances, the sheet may be non-square even though the napkin is folded to a square or vice-versa.
It is also understood that the outer surface of the sheet from which the napkin is formed may be patterned, e.g. printed or embossed, to distinguish it from the inner surface. In this context, we may refer to the fact that the outer surface is the quality surface that is intended to be visible e.g. when the napkin is presented and when it is placed on a user's lap. The embossing may have taken place onto the outer surface, which is sometimes referred to as the female side. The adhering portion may be provided on this outer surface as may be the engaging location. For this reason, it may be important to ensure that these portions are of an acceptable visual appearance both before use, when wrapped, and during use.
The adhering portion and the engaging location are provided with a mutually adhesive material that allows the adhering portion and the engaging location to releasably adhere to each other but which mutually adhesive material does not adhere to the napkin material. Preferably, the adhesive material only adheres to itself. Examples of such mutually adhesive materials may include adhesives that only stick to each other. Such adhesives are sometimes referred to as envelope-glue and may comprise water based adhesives for example water based acrylic adhesives and pressure sensitive adhesives, such as pressure sensitive hot melts or cold seal adhesives, which only sticks in case of mutual contact, or other types of male-male or male-female connections which adhere to each other but not to their environment. In this case, the adhering portion and the engaging location and optionally the releasing portion are provided with complementary surfaces that releasably adhere to each other but do not adhere to the napkin material. In some embodiments the mutually adhesive material of the adhering portion and of the engaging location comprises a cold seal adhesive. A cold seal adhesive can be defined as an adhesive that bond when exposed to pressure only. A cold seal adhesive has no tack or minimal tack to surfaces not provided with a cold seal adhesive. By using cold seal adhesives the adhering portion and the engaging location can be sealed and unsealed without damaging, for example tearing, the napkin material. Cold seal adhesives are distinguished from heat seal adhesives which require a source of heat and pressure to make the bond. Cold seal adhesives are different from pressure-sensitive adhesives which are permanently tacky and require a release paper cover to prevent adhering to anything until the final use. Cold seal adhesives are for example selected from the group consisting of natural rubber, synthetic rubbers and copolymers thereof. Synthetic rubbers may be preferred as natural rubbers may cause allergic reactions. Synthetic rubbers comprise for example chloroprene rubber or isoprene rubber.
The mutually adhesive material of the adhering portion and of the engaging location may be designed to retain the engaging portion for at least 24 hours, while at the same time being possible to separate the two portions without destroying one or both of them. In certain embodiments, the mutually adhesive material may be transparent or may be in itself decorative.
The adhering portion may be circular, square, triangular and of any size suitable for its function. It may be a logo or a print of motif. The same may apply to the engaging location and; if a releasing portion is present, to the releasing portion. The engaging location will generally be significantly larger, since it is configured to allow for variations in wrapping. It will be understood that the surface of the engaging location may be less absorbent than other regions of the napkin and for this reason, it may not be desirable for the engaging location to extend over a large area of the napkin. In one particular embodiment, the outer surface of the sheet from which the napkin is formed is uniform over its whole surface except for the adhesive portion an the engaging location. Only these regions may be provided with the mutually adhesive material allowing as much of the outer surface as possible to be available to perform its function as a napkin.
If a releasing portion is present, the releasing portion may have the same size or a larger size than the adhering portion. It is also not excluded that the engaging location extends to and includes the releasing portion.
The mutually adhesive material can be applied by any technique known in the art. This may include gravure, spray, roll or slot coating processes or printing, at any stage in the manufacture of the napkin. The shape of the adhering portion, the engaging location and optionally the releasing portion may be dependent upon the process used for its application. In many embodiments, the mutually adhesive material of the adhering portion as well as of the engaging location and optionally of the releasing portion will be applied during the manufacturing process of the napkin, often referred to as the conversion process and preferably at a late stage in the process, e.g. immediately before, during or after folding.
In a still further embodiment, the mutually adhesive material of the adhering portion, the engaging location and optionally the releasing portion may be provided on separate elements such as stickers or tape portions that are applied to the napkin during production. These elements may be double sided adhesive tape with a first adhesive side and a second tacky side.
The adhering portion and/or the engaging location and/or the releasing portion, if present, may be arranged to increase the strength properties of the napkin surface and/or between layers via e.g. coating, embossing or lamination.
Further embodiments of the invention also relate to a stack of napkins as defined above or hereinafter. In case the napkins are provided with a releasing portion, the napkins are preferably piled together with the releasing portions on the lower sides of the napkins aligned and releasably engaged with the adhering portion of an adjacent napkin in the stack.
Another embodiment of the invention provides a cutlery wrap including one or more items of cutlery, wrapped in a napkin, the wrap being secured by engagement of an adhering portion on the napkin with an engaging location at another position on the napkin. In this manner, a cutlery wrap may be achieved without the use of any additional element such as a ring, clip or sticker to hold the wrap together.
Furthermore, a method of wrapping cutlery to form a cutlery wrap is provided in still further embodiments of the invention, the method including:
The napkin may be a napkin as described above or hereinafter.
In a particularly convenient manner of forming the wrap, the napkin is provided in a stack with the upper side of the top napkin exposed and the items of cutlery are placed onto the upper side of the top napkin.
A napkin is also described, having an upper side, a lower side and four corners, the napkin including a twice-folded sheet and being provided with an adhering portion on the upper side, adjacent to one of the corners and an engaging location on the lower side at a corresponding position to the adhering portion such that the napkin can be wrapped around an object and secured by engaging the adhering portion with the engaging location. The adhering portion and the engaging location are provided with a mutually adhesive material that allows the adhering portion and the engaging portion to releasably adhere to each other but which mutually adhesive material does not adhere to the napkin material. The embodiments described may be combined in any sub-combination or combination without departing from the scope of this invention.
The features and advantages of the invention will be appreciated upon reference to the following drawings. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate one or more embodiments of the invention and, together with the general description given above and the detailed description given below, explain the one or more embodiments of the invention.
The napkin 1 is a conventional 3-ply paper tissue sheet 6 having a weight of 45 g/m2 and maximum dimensions of 39 cm×39 cm unfolded size. As shown in
The napkin may or may not be provided with a releasing portion 12. In the embodiment shown in
In use, a user may quickly and efficiently form cutlery wraps 20 directly from the stack 30, by placing the cutlery service 5 onto the stack 30 and wrapping or rolling the uppermost napkin 1 from the first corner 4A towards the second corner 4B to the point at which the engaging location 16 engages the adhering portion 10. At this point, continued rolling of the wrap 20, will release it from the stack 30, which is ready to receive the next cutlery service 5.
Thus, the invention has been described by reference to the embodiments discussed above. It will be recognized that these embodiments are susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms well known to those of skill in the art. In particular, the arrangement of adhering portions and engaging locations may be distinct from the schematically illustrated designs both in position and in shape.
Many modifications in addition to those described above may be made to the structures and techniques described herein without departing from the invention. Accordingly, although specific embodiments have been described, these are examples only and are not limiting upon the scope of the invention.
This application is a national phase entry of, and claims priority to, International Application No. PCT/EP2017/083816, filed Dec. 20, 2017. The above-mentioned patent application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/EP2017/083816 | 12/20/2017 | WO | 00 |
