CLOSING DEVICE FOR TOWEL-DISPENSING CONTAINERS

DISPOSITIF DE FERMETURE POUR DISTRIBUTEURS DE LINGETTES

English Abstract

A closure device comprising a cover (1) having a lip (4) for releasably
fitting onto a mouth of a container (5) to place towels (9) into the container
and an opening (7) for removing the towels (9) that is covered by a hinged
closure (2). The closure (2) and cover (1) are formed in two separate pieces
and thereafter connected by a hinge (3) with an end stop (16) to stabilize the
open position of the closure (2). The opening (7) in the cover (1) is
sufficiently wide to permit a hand to be inserted into the container (5) to
remove the towels when the closure is in the open position.

French Abstract

Cette invention concerne un dispositif de fermeture, lequel comprend un cache (1) qui possède une lèvre (4) afin d'être monté amovible sur l'embouchure d'un contenant (5) de manière à pouvoir placer des lingettes (9) à l'intérieur de ce dernier. Une ouverture (7) permettant de retirer les lingettes (9) est recouverte par un volet (2) monté sur des charnières. Le volet (2) et le cache (1) consistent en deux éléments distincts qui sont connectés par une charnière (3), un arrêtoir d'extrémité (16) permettant de stabiliser le volet (2) en position ouverte. L'ouverture (7) du cache (1) est suffisamment large pour qu'une main puisse pénétrer dans le contenant (5) afin d'en retirer des lingettes lorsque le volet est en position ouverte.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:
1. Closing device for towel-dispensing containers,
comprising two parts, one of them (1) in the form of a cover
which slots into the mouth of the container (5) and can be
detached from same in order to put in the towels (9), this
cover (1) being provided with a wide opening (7) for removal
of the towels (9), the other part being a raising/lowering
closure (2) incorporated into the cover (1), destined to
close the opening (7) to keep the contents isolated and
which can be opened to permit removal of the towels (9),
characterized in that the opening (7) of the cover (1) has
a sufficiently wide outline (8) to permit the hand to be
inserted into the container (5), while the edge which forms
the outline (8) is rounded.
2. Closing device for towel-dispensing containers,
according to claim 1, characterized in that the cover (1)
and the closure (2) are two separate pieces from origin,
articulated to each other by means of one hinge, at least,
with end-stop means (16) to stabilize the open position of
the closure (2).
3. Closing device for towel-dispensing containers,
according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the
opening (7) of the cover (1) has an oblong outline with two
longer straight sides parallel to each other and two curved
shorter sides.
4. Closing device for towel-dispensing containers,
according to claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the
opening of the cover (1) is situated in a flat depression
(6) provided with a rim (10) around it which forms a channel
(11) surrounding the depression (6), while the closure has
a lip (12) around it which fits into the channel (11) when
it is closed down onto the cover (1).
5. Closing device for towel-dispensing containers,
according to claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the

channel (11) situated in the depression (6) of the cover (1)
has some claws (15) onto which the lip (12) of the closure
(2) is secured under pressure in the closed down position.
6. Closing device for towel-dispensing containers,
according to claims 1 to 5, characterized in that from the
front part of the closure there projects a tab (13) for
grasping with the hand, while the cover (1) is provided with
an inlet (14) in a position complementary to that of the tab
(13) in order to facilitate grasping of the tab (13)
described.

Description

CA 02245698 1998-08-05
-- W097/29025 PCT~S97/01851
CLOSING DEVICE FOR TOWEL-DISPENSING CONTAINERS
Derived from the Spanish utility model U 9600309 filed
08.02.1996 in the name of ARBORA HOLDING, S. A.

CA 0224~698 Isss-os-o~
-~ W097/29025 PCT~S97/01851
The present application relates to a closing device
for towel-dispensing containers for towels impregnated with
a cleaning product, placed inside the container folded in a
manner that they can be removed one by one.
Known in the art are closing devices for l~m' ~r
articles, such as impregnated towels, which comprise two
parts or components, one of them in the form of a cover
which slots into the mouth of the container and can be
detached from same in order to put in the l~mi n~r articles.
Thls cover is provided with a wide opening for removal of
the l~m' n~r articles. The other component is a
raising/lowering closure which forms a single body with the
cover, destined to close the opening to keep the contents
isolated and which can be opened to permit removal of the
l~m' n~r articles.
These known devices present several limitations.
Some embodiments present a towel outlet opening which is too
narrow in relation to the dimensions of the towel when
folded inside the container. This makes it difficult or
impossible for the user s hand to get to the bottom of the
container and remove the towels comfortably when very few of
same remain inside.
Other know embodiments of this type of closing
devlce have a very wide opening, which has the disadvantage
that the removal of one towel causes the next towel to be
drawn out with it. Another disadvantage is that, the larger
the opening is the greater the possibility there is of the
contents of the container coming into contact with the
exterior environment and being contaminated.
There is another widespread type of problem in known
embodiments of closing devices, deriving from the fact that
the cover and the raising/lowering closure form a one-piece
moulded body, while they connected to each other by a
flexible strip of the material itself which functions as a
hinge. This embodiment calls for a complicated mould to make

CA 02245698 1998-08-05
-- WO 97/29025 PCT/US97/018!j1
the two-component unit of the device. Moreover, the
articulated piece which forms the flexible strip between the
two components is defective in that it prevents stable
positioning of the closing part when same is totally open.
The closing device for towel containers of the
present application has been designed in order to solve the
disadvantages outlined.
The device is essentially characterized in that the
opening of the cover has a sufficiently wide outline to
permit the hand to be inserted into the container, while the
edge which forms the outline is rounded so that it does not
scrape the hand of the user when a hand is inserted into the
container ~hrough the opening.
The cover and the closure are two separate pieces
~rom origin, articulated to each other by means of a hinge
with end-stop means to stabillze the open position of the
closure.
The opening of the cover is situated in a flat
depression provided with a rim around it which forms a
channel surrounding the depression, while the closure has a
lip around it which fits into the channel when it is closed
down onto the cover.
In the channel situated in the depression of the
cover there are some teeth onto which the lip of the closing
component are secured under pressure in the closed down
posltion.
From the front part of the closing component there
projects a tab for grasping, while the cover is provided
with an inlet in a position complementary to that of the tab
in order to facilitate grasping of the tab described.
For a better underst~n~;ng of all that is set out in
this specification some drawings are attached which show,
solely by way of example, a practical embodiment of the
closing device for towel-dispensing containers.
- In said drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of

CA 0224~698 Igss-os-o~
- W097/29025 PCT~S97/01851
the device with the closing device open, and Figure 2 is a
longitudinal section detail of the cover.
In the drawings, the device comprises two bodies l
and 2 which are independent at origin and connected to each
other by means of hinges 3, once assembled.
The body l presents an external lip 4 for fitting of
same as a cover onto the mouth o~ the receptacle 5. A large
part of the cover l presents a flat depression 6 provided in
the middle with a wide opening 7 with a rounded edge 8
running all around it, in order to prevent scraping against
the hand of the user when the hand is inserted through the
opening in order to reach the last towels 9 left inside the
container 5.
The opening 7 is sufficiently wide to allow a hand
to pass through it, but is smaller than the folded towels 9,
so that during removal of one of the towels folded in zig-
zag manner with the towel immediately following it, the
second towel is not dragged out and two towels removed at
the same time. Moreover, as the width of the opening i9 kept
to the minimum possible for insertion of a hand, the towels
9 inside the container 5 have greater protection against
possible contamination.
The depression 6 (Figure 2) is provided with a
projecting rim lO having an outline similar to that of the
opening itself, in such a way that it forms a channel ll
into which there fits a lip 12 of the closure or component
2 when same is in the closed down position on the component
or cover l.
The closure or component 2 has a frontal tab 13 to
facilitate opening and closing thereof. To correspond with
this tab, the cover l has an lnlet 14 to facilitate grasping
o~ the tab when the closure is in the closed down position.
Furthermore, the cover l has a pair of claws 15 against
which the front part of the lip 12 of the component 2 rests
under pressure when in closed down position, in order to

CA 02245698 1998-08-05
-- W O 97/29025 PCT~US97/018Sl
keep the closed position stable.
The hinges 3 which articulate the components 1, 2
with each other facilitate easy swivelling of the component
2. It further has a projection which rests against an end
stop 16 in order to stabilize the open position of the
component 2.
In summary, the closing device described facilitates
one-by-one removal of the towels inside the container. At
the same time it prevents contamination o~ the towels and
allows the last towels to be removed easily. Moreover, the
closure 2 has means for stabilizing its upright position
without hindering removal o~ the towels. The device is
further provided with means to keep the closed down position
o~ the closure stable.
Independent of the object of the invention are the
materials used for manufacturing of the components of the
device, the shapes and ~im~n~ions of same and all the
accessory details which might be presented, as long as they
do not af~ect its essential nature.

Representative Drawing