Patent Grant
7143906
This invention relates to a dispensing cover for a tissue dispenser. More particularly the invention is concerned with so called ‘sequential dispensers’ for dispensing articles which are provided as individual interleaved or separably connected sheets and can pop-up above the top of the dispenser opening when the preceding article is removed.
Dispensers for articles such as tissues are well known in the art. Such articles may be supplied dry or soaked/impregnated in liquid or lotion e.g. a cleaning agent, a solvent, a skin treating preparation, etc. Typically tissues have a generally rectangular shape and are supplied as separably connected sheets or interleaved, discrete sheets stacked in a variety of different configurations, to facilitate the so-called pop-up effect, where each tissue has a leading portion that is first to pass through the opening, and a trailing portion that later passes through the opening i.e. a leading tissue removed from a package drags a leading edge of a sequential tissue into a standby position so it extends at a convenient removal position.
Most containers for such articles typically are in soft-pack form or in box form, i.e. in the shape of a parallelepiped or cylindrical (e.g. in the case of separably connected tissues in a reel). In a pop-up dispenser, a leading tissue (may also referred to as a first tissue or a standby tissue) usually extends through an opening of the dispenser into an elevation above that of the dispenser. The user grasps the exposed, leading portion of the leading tissue, without the necessity of inserting fingers through the opening.
A common arrangement is to provide a narrow dispensing opening through which the tissues are pulled, one at a time, by the user. The narrow opening has two main purposes:
At an initial position of a tissue package, of any of the above types, the leading edge of the first tissue is disposed within the package and it is necessary to introduce the leading edge through the narrow passage of the dispensing opening. This is also the case where a refill tissue pack is introduced into the package/container and also if for some reason the leading edge of the first tissue detaches from the grabbing dispensing opening and falls back into the package.
One problem frequently encountered in pop-up dispensing packages of the prior art is that the opening through which the tissue is dispensed must be large enough to allow the consumer to reach his or her fingers therethrough to grasp the tissue and begin the pop-up dispensing process. However, as herein above mentioned, the opening must be small enough to constrict the tissues dispensed therethrough, so that a tissue may be separated from succeeding tissues.
According to some arrangements a narrow dispensing opening is provided by means of two or more flaps projecting towards each other, leaving an interstice therebetween, where the surfaces may be deformed to allow a user to introduce his/her fingers there through, so as to pull the leading edge of the first tissue. This however, is inconvenient and may even result in injury of the users fingers.
Other arrangements are disclosed in some U.S. patents, for example:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,516,001 discloses a dispensing opening having a large aperture and an arcuately shaped smaller aperture which are spaced apart and connected by an isthmic connection. Tissues may be easily withdrawn by the user through the large aperture, and fed through the isthmic connection to small aperture. Thereafter, the tissues may be dispensed through the small aperture in a pop-up mode.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,499,626 discloses a dispensing element including at least one larger aperture and a smaller aperture entirely separated from one another. A closure or lid can usefully be incorporated whereby the articles may easily be reached from above the top surface of the dispenser through the larger aperture, and fed through from underneath the top surface to the small aperture. Thereafter, the articles may be dispensed through the small aperture, e.g., in a pop-up mode. The arrangement of the elements is conducive to one-handed dispensing of articles from the dispenser.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,299,017 discloses a dispensing face for a dispensing unit wherein the dispensing face comprises lateral outer edges and longitudinal outer edges and not less than two orifices. The fist orifice and the second orifice are coplanar, the second orifice being independent of the first orifice and being disposed at a distance not greater than 20 millimeters from the first orifice.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,526,291 discloses a lid selectively movable between a first position covering at least a portion of the top and a second position removed from the top. The lid includes a first portion adapted to cover the dispensing opening when the lid is in the first position thereof and a second portion adapted to cover the slit when the lid is in the first position thereof. The second portion of the lid is integrally but flexibly connected to the first portion of the lid, such that when the lid is in the first position thereof the second portion of the lid may be selectively pivoted with respect to the first portion of the lid away from the top, thereby to uncover the slit.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a dispenser for pop-up tissues comprising a small tissue dispensing aperture and a normally closed manipulating aperture whereby a user's fingers may be introduced through said manipulating aperture to have access to the tissues within the package and for introducing a leading edge of the first tissue through the tissue dispensing aperture.
The invention according to one of its embodiments calls for a dispenser for a tissue package, said dispenser comprising a tissue dispensing aperture and a manipulating opening, both opening into a tissue-containing space of the package; said tissue dispensing aperture is sized for dispensing one tissue at a time while separating a duty tissue from a successive tissue; wherein said manipulating opening is normally closed by a flap and is deformable to allow introduction of a user's fingers into the tissue-containing space, and wherein said tissue dispensing aperture and the manipulating opening are coverable.
According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a tissue package (of any type) fitted with a dispenser of the above type, and according to still another aspect of the invention there is provided a tissue package cover fitted with a dispenser of the above referred to type.
The primary object of the invention is to provide a tissue dispenser fitted with a tissue dispensing aperture designed to facilitate dispensing of one tissue at a time, and a manipulating opening which is normally covered/closed by a flap which is easily deformable to facilitate introduction of a user's fingers into the tissues received within the package, so as to grab a leading edge of the duty tissue (i.e. a tissue first to be dispensed in a so called ‘pop-up’ manner) and introduce it through the tissue dispensing aperture. This is required each time a new lot of tissues are placed in the package or incase the duty tissue disengages from the tissue dispensing aperture and drops into the package. However, at a normal state the manipulating is covered to eliminate/reduce evaporation of moisture from the tissues.
A variety of modifications are possible, all of which fall within the scope of the present invention. Examples of such modifications are:
In a preferred embodiment, the flap is hinged to a frame on the dispenser by coaxial hinges, and the dispensing aperture is defined by a first edge movable with said flap, and a second edge which is fixed to the frame, typically provided by a projecting tab. Thus, the open area provided by the aperture is at a minimum when the flap is closed and the first and second edges are in proximity. When the flap is moved to an open position, the first edge is distanced from the second edge, substantially increasing the open area available for enabling the tissue to be manipulated and introduced thereinto.
In order to understand the invention and to see how it may be carried out in practice, some embodiments will now be described, by way of non-limiting examples only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
In
The arrangement with such tissues is that upon pulling a leading edge 16 of a standby tissue (by using the term “standby tissue” is referred to a first tissue in a pack of tissues which is to be removed from the container). The standby tissue is then withdrawn through a dispensing opening of the container whilst it detaches from the sequential tissue which becomes in turn a duty tissue with its leading edge 16 now projecting from a dispensing opening of the container.
Reverting now to the embodiment of
Cover flap 30 is integrally molded with the entire dispenser 24 and is deformable about a so-called ‘integral hinge’ at 33. According to another embodiment (not shown), the hinge may be a non-integral hinge, i.e. a pivot hinge.
A lid 34 is hingedly connected at 36 to the top portion 20 of the container, said lid being displaceable between an open position as in
Opening and closing of the lid 34 may be facilitated, for example, by a depressible locking member 40 engageable with a latch 42 at a for end of the lid 34 whereupon depressing the locking member 40 lid 34 snaps into the open position by means of a biasing member (not shown), as known per se in the art.
It is appreciated that at an initial state, the tissue dispensing aperture 26 and the entire manipulating opening 28 may be further provided with a removable sealing patch to retain moist and liquid within the container and also useful as a temper proof seal and evidence.
In the illustrated embodiments the arrangement is such that at the closed position of lid 34 there is a gap formed between the tissue dispensing aperture 26 and the lid, so as to allow sufficient space for the projecting leading edge 16 of the duty tissue.
At an initial stage upon purchasing a tissue package, the tissues are usually in a sealed package received within the tissue pack or are provided attached thereto or as refill packs, whereby it is required to introduce the leading edge 16 of the duty tissue through the tissue dispensing aperture 26. This procedure would also be required if for some reason the leading edge 16 would disengage from the tissue dispensing aperture 26 and would fall into the space below within the package. In either of these instances, it is thus possible to deform the flap 30 by pulling at tab 32 whereby a user's fingers may be introduced into the manipulating opening 28 as illustrated in
Turning now to
Whilst the arrangement of
Attention is further directed to rip 61 which is illustrated in dashed lines since at the normally closed position of the flap 64 said rip 61 extends under a peripheral edge 66 of the manipulating opening. The rip 61 serves to prevent unintentional deformation of the flap 64 upon pulling a tissue through the tissue dispensing opening 60.
Turning now to
Turning now to
This arrangement however, is more likely to be used in conjunction with a rigid tissue box.
In the embodiments of
A preferred embodiment of the invention, illustrated in
Cover flap 30′ is preferably integrally molded with the entire dispenser 24′ and preferably also with the cover 12′. In other embodiments, the cover 12′ may also be integrally molded with the box 10′. The flap 30′ is pivotable about a pair of so-called ‘integral hinges’ at 33′, allowing the flap 30′ to deform and rotate about the hinges. Alternatively, a pair of ‘film hinges’ is provided at 33′, in which case the thickness of material at the film hinge is a little less (shown at T in
The dispensing aperture 26′ is in the form of a narrow arcuate slit, having an inner edge 50′ defined by a arcuate tab 54′ that projects from an end 29′ of the opening 28′, and is flanked by end edges 57′. The end edges 57′ are adjacent to the hinges 33′, which are mutually aligned co-axially. The outer edge 55′ of the aperture 26′ is comprised on the flap 30′ and the free ends 56′ of the outer edge 55′ meet the end edges 57′ at the hinges 33′. The outer edge 55′ and the inner edge 50′ are preferably arcuate and substantially concentric (when the flap is in the closed position).
When the flap 30′ rotates about hinges 33′ to the open position, the outer, edge 55′ moves together with the flap 30′, while the inner edge 50′ remains in place fixed on the frame. The effective open area provided by the aperture 26′ thus increased dramatically as illustrated in
The arrangement of the aperture 26′ of this embodiment, wherein the effective open area when the flap 30′ is open is much greater than when it is closed means that the aperture 26′ can accommodate two ostensibly conflicting requirements, that of providing a small open area for dispensing tissues, and that of providing a large area for facilitating the manipulation of a leading tissue therethrough at various times such as the beginning of a new tissue pack, for example. Thus, the aperture 26′ can be designed such that the open area thereof when the flap 30′ is closed is very small, providing the required friction to the duty tissue, while in no way making difficulties for the insertion of a leading edge of a tissue therethrough whenever required, when the flap 30′ is open.
Furthermore, the tab 54′ provides a static anchor point over which the leading edge of the duty tissue may be partially wrapped while the flap 30′ is open. In this manner, as the flap 30′ is closed the leading edge of the tissue is held in place over the tab 54′ by friction, and thus preempting the possibility of the leading edge falling back into the box while the flap 30′ is being closed, and without having to hold the leading edge with another band during this operation.
Preferably, the flap 30′ is substantially circular up to the hinges 33′, and comprises a circumferential cylindrical wall 31′ projecting upwardly, such that the edge 38′ thereof is substantially co-planar with the frame 37′ of the opening 28′. Thus, the main body of the flap 30′ is recessed with respect to the frame 37′ when in the closed position, which facilitates the grabbing of tab 32′ by the user. Moreover, this arrangement also provides the hinges 33′ with a 90° bend when in the closed position, and serves to further increase the open area of aperture 26′ when in the open position by further distancing the outer edge 55′ from the tab 54′.
Preferably, the flap 30′ comprises a lock arrangement in the form of a snap 35′ at an end thereof opposed to said outer edge 55′ which cooperates with an underside of said frame 37′ when the flap is in the closed position. The locking arrangement locks the flap in place, preventing the flap from being opened by the pulling force that is normally exerted on the duty tissue. The lock arrangement also dissuades users from using the manipulating opening 28′ rather than the aperture 26′ for removing tissues. The lock arrangement is disengaged by pulling the tab 32′ with sufficient force, which is typically greater than the force required to take a tissue from the aperture 26′.
A lid (not shown) is hingedly connected at 36′ to the top portion 20′ of the container, in a similar manner to that described herein for the embodiment of
Similarly, opening and closing of the lid may be facilitated, for example, by a depressible locking member (not shown) that fits in the recess 42′ and is engageable with a latch (not shown) at a free end of the lid, in a similar manner to that described herein for the embodiment of
Optionally, aperture 26′ may be provided with friction enhancing means, such as for example by serrating the inner edge 50′ and/or the outer edge 55′ of aperture 26′, thereby ensuring improved grip of the leading edge (not shown) which on the one hand improves separation between a duty tissue and a following proceeding tissue and, on the other hand, reduces the likelihood for the leading edge to fall through the tissue dispensing aperture 26′.
Whilst the arrangement of
Whilst some embodiments have been described and illustrated with reference to some drawings, the artisan will appreciate that many variations are possible which do not depart from the general scope of the invention, mutatis, mutandis.
This is a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/700,341 filed on Nov. 4, 2003, the contents of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4526291 | Margulies | Jul 1985 | A |
| 4535912 | Bonk | Aug 1985 | A |
| 5516001 | Muckenfuhs et al. | May 1996 | A |
| 5542568 | Julius | Aug 1996 | A |
| 6206221 | Bando et al. | Mar 2001 | B1 |
| 6299017 | Hill | Oct 2001 | B1 |
| 6394298 | Zaidman | May 2002 | B1 |
| 6499626 | Julius | Dec 2002 | B1 |
| 6729498 | Yelton et al. | May 2004 | B1 |
| 6766919 | Huang et al. | Jul 2004 | B1 |
| 6910579 | Reinke et al. | Jun 2005 | B1 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20050092765 A1 | May 2005 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 10700341 | Nov 2003 | US |
| Child | 10775332 | US |
