Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CR115/~ CA 02159927 2000-02-08
RESEALAHLE PACK
This invention relates to a resealable pack.
It is particularly intended for use in the packaging of
wet wipes, but it is to be understood that the invention
is also applicable to the packaging of other articles.
As is well known, wet wipes are articles in
the form of small sheets which are impregnated with a
skin- cleansing liquid and which are intended to be
disposed of after a single use. Wet wipes are
sometimes packaged individually, in which case the
packaging is thrown away after it has been opened and
the wet wipe removed therefrom. However it is also
known to produce a pack containing a plurality of wet
wipes. In that case, the pack must be provided with a
resealable opening, since the skin-cleansing liquid with
which the wipes are impregnated evaporates readily, and
the wipes will therefore dry out unless the pack can be
properly resealed after each wipe is removed.
Where a large number of wet wipes, say 40 to
200, is to be held in a pack, a rigid tub of cylindrical
cross- section is conventionally used for this purpose.
However, this is not always convenient from the point of
view of the user, particularly where the pack is to be
carried around in, for example, a handbag, and under
such circumstances it would be preferable for the pack
to be relatively flat and, preferably, at least slightly
flexible. It is an object of an aspect of_ the present invention too
CA 02159927 2000-02-08
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provide a pack which is a practical alternative to the
rigid tubs conventionally used.
According to the present invention there is
provided a pack having a body portion formed
substantially of flexible sheet material and defining an
article-receiving cavity, the body portion having a face
in which is defined a dispensing opening; a resealable
sealing member secured to the body portion and, in a
closing position, covering the said opening and being in
sealing contact with the body portion around the
periphery of the said opening; and a plurality of sheet-
form articles disposed within said cavity in the form of
a flattenable roll, with one end of the roll being
capable of extending through the said opening.
The body portion preferably has a thickness
which is less than its length and is less than its width,
and it is preferably in the general shape of a
parallelepiped. The body portion is preferably made of a
flexible, sheet plastics material, and the sealing member
is likewise preferably made of a flexible, sheet plastics
material.
According to one embodiment of the invention, a
pack having a body portion formed substantially of
flexible sheet material and defining an article-receiving
cavity, the body portion comprising a first end defined
by an end wall and tapering to a second end spaced apart
from the first end, the body portion also comprising a
face in which is defined a dispensing opening; a
resealable sealing member secured to the body portion
and, in a closing position, covering the opening and
being in sealing contact with the body portion around the
periphery of the opening; and a plurality of sheet-form
CA 02159927 2000-02-08
2a
articles disposed within the cavity in the form of a
flattenable roll, with one end of the roll being capable
of extending through the opening.
According to another embodiment of the
invention, a pack for dispensing removable sheet-form
articles, the pack having a body portion formed
substantially of flexible sheet material and defining an
article-receiving cavity, the body portion comprising:
a first end defining an end wall and tapering
to a second end spaced apart from the first end, thereby
forming the article receiving cavity to have opposing,
converging side faces;
a dispensing opening disposed on one of the
converging side faces;
a resealable sealing member secured to the body
portion and, in a closing position, covering the
dispensing opening and being in sealing contact with the
body portion around the periphery of the dispensing
opening; and
a plurality of sheet-form articles disposed
within the cavity in the form of a flattenable roll, with
one end of the roll being capable of being pulled through
the dispensing opening, such that the flattenable roll is
urged against the converging side faces when the one end
of the roll is pulled through the dispensing opening.
According to another embodiment of the
invention, a pack having a body portion formed
substantially of flexible sheet material and defining an
article-receiving cavity, the body portion comprising a
face in which is defined a dispensing opening, the
dispensing opening having a main opening portion and at
least one smaller opening portion connected to the main
CA 02159927 2000-02-08
2b
opening portion by a slit; resealable sealing member
secured to the body portion and, in a closing position,
covering the opening and being in sealing contact. with
the body portion around the periphery of the opening; and
a plurality of sheet-form articles disposed within the
cavity in the form of a flattenable roll, with one end of
the roll being capable of extending through the opening
and the slit.
An embodiment of the invention is shown
diagrammatically in the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 is a plan view showing the side of the
pack in which the dispensing opening is provided, the
closing member being in its closed position;
Figure 2 is a perspective view of the pack;
3
Figure 3 is a plan view of the pack of Figure
2, again in its closed position;
Figure 4 is an edge view of the pack of Figure
2, again in its closed position;
Figure 5 is a view corresponding to Figure 2,
but with the closing member shown partially opened;
Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 3, but
with the closing member opened to a greater extent than
in Figure 5;
Figure 7 is a perspective view, with the
closing member in approximately the same position as in
Figure 6, and with the end of a wet wipe protruding from
the dispensing opening;
Figure 8 shows, by way of example, six
possible shapes for the dispensing opening;
Figure 9 is a cross-section through the pack;
and
Figures l0a and lOb show diagrammatically a
method of producing the pack according to the invention.
The illustrated pack is intended to hold from
about 40 to about 200 wet wipes each approximately 230 x
160 mm, and each impregnated with a skin-cleansing
liquid. The pack comprises a body portion 1 which is
formed of a flexible sheet plastics material, for
example a polyethylene film, a polypropylene film or a
laminate consisting of, for example, polyethylene and
polypropylene layers, optionally with a layer of paper
between them. In the illustrated embodiment, the body
2I~99~~
4
portion is formed wholly of flexible sheet plastics
material. Alternatively, however, the base of the body
portion, that which is at the lower end as viewed in
Figure 1, can be formed of a rigid material, for example
a rigid plastics material. The body portion is
generally parallelepiped in form, though not precisely
so. One end of the body portion is provided by an end
wall 2, and the other end of the body portion is
provided by a flat seam 3. The edges of the body
portion are provided by flat seams 4 and 5. The body
portion has major faces 6 and 7, and a dispensing
opening 8 is provided in face 6.
The dispensing opening 8 can have a variety of
forms, and some of these are illustrated by way of
example in Figure 8. Each of them comprises a main
opening portion 8a connected by a slit 8b to a much
smaller opening portion 8c or, in the case of example D
of Figure 8, by two slits 8b to two small opening
portions 8c. Having two opening portions 8c in theory
permits the user to pull wet wipes from the pack on
either one of two directions. However, since the
opening portion 8c further from the tab 9a may in
practice be difficult to use, that opening portion may
be omitted, whilst retaining the adjoining slit 8b.
Figures 1 to 7 show the use of example E. The reason
for using dispensing openings of the form shown in
Figure 8 will be apparent from the description given
below of the use of the pack.
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_ 5
The dispensing opening 8 is covered by a
sealing member 9 which, in its closing position, is
sealed to the adjacent face 6 around the entire
periphery of the dispensing opening. The sealing
member 9 is made of a flexible sheet plastics material,
for example a polypropylene film or a laminate of
paper/polyethylene, paper/polypropylene or
polyethylene/polypropylene. The member 9 is, however,
provided with a tab 9a which is not sealed to the face
6, and which can be grasped by a user. The adhesive
used to seal the member 9 to the face 6 is such that the
sealing member 9 can be repeatedly unsealed and
resealed, to expose and close the opening. For example
an acrylic-based or rubber-based adhesive may be used.
If desired, when the main opening portion 8a is formed
in the face 6, the cut formed for this purpose may be
deliberately made not completely continuous, with the
result that the portion of the face 6 which would
otherwise' would have been severed therefrom remains
attached to it at the end which, as viewed in Figure 6,
is at the left-hand end, by a small bridge of material.
This portion is partly visible in Figures 5, 6 and 7,
where it is denoted by reference numeral 10.
As can be seen most clearly in Figure 1, at
its left-hand end the sealing member 9 has two slits 11
formed therein. Each of these is in the form of an
L-shaped slit which has a hook-shaped portion at one end
and which extends to the edge of the sealing member 9 at
21~992~
6
its other end. The purpose of these slits will become
apparent from the following description of the use of
the pack.
As can be seen from Figure 9, the body portion
1 defines a cavity 12 within which is received a roll 13
consisting of wet wipes joined end-to-end by perforated
regions (not shown). The longitudinal axis of the roll
extends generally parallel to the length of the said
body portion. The roll has inner and outer free ends,
and the inner free end 14 is pulled lengthwise of the
roll, during manufacture of the pack, so that it extends
slightly from the end of the rest of the roll, whilst
not extending through the dispensing opening 8. When
the roll 13 is loaded into the body portion during
manufacture it is substantially cylindrical, but during
use the flexibility of the body portion tends to permit
the roll to become flattened, an effect which is
advantageous since the pack is then less bulky. If the
base of the body portion is rigid, it must not extend so
far as to prevent flattening taking place.
The way in which the above-described pack is
used is as follows. When the user desires to remove a
wet wipe from the pack, he grasps the tab 9a and uses it
to pull the sealing member 9 away from the dispensing
opening 8. In so doing, the portion 10 remains adhered
to the reverse side of the closing member, as can be
seen in Figures 5, 6 and 7. A stage is reached at
which the part of the closing member which remains
21 ~99~~'
adhered to the adjacent face 6 of the body portion is
that to the left of the line A-A shown in Figure 1.
Continued pulling on the tab 9a has the effect that the
portion of the member 9 between the slits 11 ceases to
be adhered to the face 6, while the portions outwardly
of the slits 11 remain adhered to the face 6. However,
when the non-adhered portion reaches the line B-B, i.e.
the left-hand of the slits 11, the user experiences a
greatly increased resistance to continued peeling of the
closing member 9 from the face 6. Indeed, further
peeling is virtually impossible without tearing the
sealing member. As a result, under all but exceptional
circumstances the user will cease pulling on the tab at
this point and the portion of the sealing member 9 to
the left of line B-B will remain adhered to the face 6.
The user then grasps the exposed end of the
roll of wet wipes and pulls on it at such an angle as to
emerge through the opening portion 8c. Once a complete
wet wipe has emerged, continued pulling, to which the
opening portion 8c presents considerable resistance,
causes the wet wipe grasped by the user to be separated
from the rest of the roll along a perforation line, and
leaves a portion of the next wet wipe extending
therethrough. This can be seen in Figure 7.
The user then tucks the exposed end portion of
the next wet wipe back through the opening 8, where it
is ready to be grasped the next time the pack is used,
and reseals the sealing member 9 to the face 6.
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The body portion of the pack according to the
invention can be produced starting from a plastics sheet
as indicated in Figure 10a. Assume that a face which is
visible in the drawing is that which is to provide the
exterior of the body portion. The sheet is folded along
the fold lines F so that the end portions E both move
downwardly as considered with reference to the plane of
the paper. The sheet is also folded along the fold line
G by depressing the portion of the sheet between the
lines F into the plane of the paper. As a result, the
sheet assumes a configuration which, as viewed from the
edge, has the appearance of a flattened "W". The
adjacent portions of the sheet are then sealed together
over the areas indicated by shading.
Figure lOb illustrates stages (i) to (vii) in
going from the empty body portion to the final pack, as
follows:
(i) The empty body portion.
(ii) A cutter 20 cuts out the opening 8.
(iii) A sealing member 9 is applied over the opening
8 from a strip to which a plurality of sealing members
are removably adhered.
(iv) The body portion plus sealing member.
(v) A roll of wet wipes 13 is inserted in the body
member, after a longer roll 21 thereof has been
impregnated with wet wipe liquid by a spray device 22
and severed into a number of shorter rolls.
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(vi) The body portion plus sealing member plus roll
of wet wipes.
(vii) The open end of the body portion is closed by
a sealing device 23.
It should be noted, however, that the order of
steps (i) and (ii) can be reversed, and indeed
preferably is, i.e. the openings 8 are cut in the
material which is to form the body portion of the bag
before the material is made into the body portion. This
avoid any possibility of cutting through both sides of
the bag. Optionally, the area where opening 8 is to be
formed may have a reinforcing layer applied to the
reverse side thereof, with the cutter cutting through
both the bag materials and the reinforcing layer. This
makes it possible to use thinner material as the bag
material.
