Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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A WEB-MATERIAL PACKAGE
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to packages for providing a plurality of web
materials. In particular, the present invention relates to packages for
providing a plurality
of consumer web materials.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Web materials are a ubiquitous part of daily life. Materials such as facial
tissues,
paper toweling, wet wipes, metal and plastic films are all examples of common
web
materials. In some categories of web materials it may be desirable to provide
dissimilar
types of materials in a single package for concurrent use, or for alternative
uses. As an
exainple, it may be desirable to provide wet wipes for a designated cleaning
task together
with dry wipes to remove any residual cleaning agent. Providing wet and dry
substrates in
a single package reduces the number of packages that must be brought to a task
and then
retrieved, as well as reducing the nuinber of packages that must be stored.
Similarly, it
may be desirable to provide lotioned paper tissues together with non-lotioned
tissues. The
provision of this combination may provide the consumer the opportunity to
choose a
lotioned or non-lotioned tissue depending upon the task at hand, without the
necessity of
carrying multiple tissue packages.
The nature of a package that is capable of satisfying the above stated desires
must
be such that the package facilitates the storage and retrieval of the
substrates without
enabling the conuningling of dissimilar substrates or the transfer of any
chemical agent
from a first web material to a second web material.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A web material package in accordance with the present invention, provides
multiple web materials and maintains a separation between the materials. The
package
comprises a first compartment. The first compartment comprises a first wall.
The first
compartinent at least partially encloses a first web material. The package
also comprises a
second compartnient. The second compartment comprises a second wall and is
joined to
the first compartment. A second web material is at least partially enclosed by
the second
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compartment. The package also comprises a divider. The divider is disposed
between,
and separates, the first web material and the second web material.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Fig. 1 schematically illustrates a perspective view of an embodiment of the
invention.
Fig. 1A schematically illustrates a sectional view of the embodiment
illustrated in Fig. 1
taken along cutting plane A-A-A-A.
Fig. 2 schematically illustrates a perspective view of anotller embodiment of
the
invention.
Fig. 3 schematically illustrates a web blank that may be used to form a
package according
to one embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The following description is of a package for the provision of two distinct
web
materials. The package of the invention is not to be construed as being
liinited to the
provision of only two distinct web materials and may comprise additional
compartments
at least partially enclosing additional web materials. The package allows
eacli of the web
materials to be independently dispensed from the package.
The package:
The packages, and respective package elements, of the invention may be
produced
from any packaging materials knowni in the art. Exemplary package materials
include,
without being limiting, paper, paperboard, corrugated cardboard, metal,
polymeric films,
glass and combinations thereof.
According to Figs. 1 and 1A, illustrating one embodiment of the invention, a
package 1 comprises a first compartment 100 and a second compartment 200. The
first
compartment 100 coinprises a first wall 110 and at least partially encloses
first web
material 130. The second compartment 200 comprises a second wall 210 and at
least
partially encloses a second web materia1230. The second compartment 200 is
adjacent to
and joined to the first compartment 100. The second compartment 200 may be
fixedly or
releasably joined to the first compartment 100 by thennal or ultrasonic
bonding, by
sharing a common compartment wall or by other means known in the art. First
web
material 130 is substantially separated from second web material 230 by
divider 300. In
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some embodiments the walls of the first and second compartments 100, 200
completely
enclose the first web material 130 and the second web material 230
respectively.
First compartment 100 may further comprise a second wall 120 and/or a cover
140. The second wall 120 may be planar or curved. In one embodiment, second
wall 120
may comprise a cylindrical wall at least partially enclosing first web
material 130. The
second wall 120 may be joined to the first wall 110. Alternatively, the first
wall 110 may
comprise a portion of the cover 140 and the cover 140 may be joined to the
second wall
120. In other embodiments, at least one of the compartments may comprise
additional
walls.
Cover 140 may be fixedly or releasably attached to package 1. Cover 140 may be
bonded to second wall 120 by any bonding means known in the art as appropriate
for the
materials of cover 140 and second wall 120. By way of example and without
being
limiting, cover 140 may be releasably attached by way of full or partial
threads, by a
compression fit, and/or by a protrusion extending around at least a portion of
the wall 120
matched with an indentation on the inner surface of cover. 140. In another
einbodiment
cover 140 may be releasably attached to package 1 by any means known in the
art. Cover
140 may be fixedly attached to package 1 by thermal, ultrasonic, adhesive
and/or other
bonding means known in the art.
The package 1 may comprise an outer cover 150. Outer cover 150 may cover an
orifice 160 defined by a periphery 162 and extending through first wall 110.
The
periphery 152 of Outer cover 150 may be at least partially coextensive with
the periphery
162 of the orifice 160. In one embodiment, the outer cover 150 may extend
beyond the
periphery 162 of the orifice 160 such that outer cover 150 covers the entirety
of orifice
160 and also covers a portion of first wall 110. Outer cover 150 may be
hingedly
attached to package 1 or outer cover 150 may be removable. Hingedly attached
outer
cover 150 may be joined to the package 1 by the fusion of at least a portion
of the
periphery 152 of the outer cover 150 with at least a portion of the package 1.
Alternatively, outer cover 150 may be attached to package 1 by way of a living
hinge as
is known in the art.
Outer cover 150 may comprise a fastener 155 capable of releasably securing at
least a portion of outer cover 150 to package 1. Fastener 155 may comprise a
portion of a
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hook and loop type fastening system with the corresponding portion 154 of the
fastening
system disposed on the first wall 110 of the first compartment 100. Fastener
155 may
comprise an adhesive or cohesive material capable of releasably adhering to a
portion of
the package 1 corresponding to the position of the fastener 155 when the outer
cover 150
is closed upon the package 1. Removable outer cover 150 may be releasably
attached to
the package 1 as a screw-on, snap-on and/or other removable closure means as
are known
in the art.
In one embodiment, the divider 300 may comprise a single shared wall of both
the
first coinpartment 100 and the second compartment 200. In another embodiment,
the
divider 300 may comprise a portion of the first compartment 100 at least
partially joined
to a portion of the second compartment 200. In each of these embodiments, the
divider
300 may further comprise a barrier film 310 to enhance the capability of the
divider 300
to separate the first web material 130 and the second web materia1230. The
barrier film
may comprise a metal or polymeric film. Nylon is an exemplary barrier film.
The package 1 may comprise indicia associated with the web materials 130 and
230. Indicia 135 may be disposed upon the one or more exterior surfaces of the
first
compartment 100 to provide an indication as to the nature of the web material
130
contained in compartment 100. Similarly, indicia 235 may be disposed upon one
or more
exterior surfaces of compartment 200 to provide an indication as to the nature
of the web
material contained in coinpartment 200. The indicia may comprise an image, or
text, or
combinations thereof. The indicia may also convey an indication as to the web
material
by a particular coloration of the indicia. The coloration of at least one
exterior surface of
a compartment may also be used to provide an indication as to the type of web
material
contained in the compartment. As a non-limiting example, a particular blue
coloration
may be associated with a particular web material and this coloration may be
used for
either the indicia or one or more exterior surfaces of the coinpartment.
In another embodiment illustrated in Fig. 2, first compartment 100 comprises a
periphery 162 that defines a removable orifice cover 165. The orifice cover
165 may be
removed by a consumer to expose the web material 130 such that the web
material may
be removed from the first compartment 100 through the orifice 160 defined by
the
periphery 162. The periphery 162 may be at least partially perforated as is
known in the
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art to facilitate the removal of the orifice cover 165. In one embodiment,
portions of the
orifice cover 165 may be removed to provide finger holes 167, as are known in
the art, to
facilitate the easy removal of the orifice cover 165.
Fig. 3 illustrates a package material blank 600 capable of forming a package 1
according to one embodiment of the invention. The blank 600 may be folded
along line A
to bring panels 300-1 and 300-2 into a face to face relationship. These panels
may then be
joined one to the other using a bonding means appropriate to the material of
the blank
600. By way of example without being limiting, the panels may be thermally,
ultrasonically, adhesively or otherwise joined. First web material 130 may be
placed upon
panel 300-1. Panel 110 may then be folded along line B over web material 130
and
joined, as described above, to pane1300-1 along line C and lines 110-a and 110-
b by any
means appropriate to the material. Fastener 155 may be disposed upon Panel 150
and the
panel may be folded along line C to bring fastener 155 into face to face
contact with panel
110.
Second web material 230 may be placed upon panel 300-2. Panel 210 may then be
folded over web material 230 along line D and joined, as described above, to
panel 300-2
along line E and lines 210-a and 210-b by any means appropriate to the
material of the
blank 600. Fastener 255 may be disposed upon Panel 250 and the panel may be
folded
along line E to bring fastener 255 into face to face contact with pane1210.
Blank 600 may be cut from a continuous roll of material prior to, or during
the
manufacture of the package 1. In one einbodiment, the blanlcs 600 may be cut
and
subsequently processed as discrete units. In an alternative embodiment, the
blanlcs 600
may be portions of a continuous web and may be separated during or after the
formation
of the package 1.
In the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 1 and lA, the package coinprises a
cylinder
open at each end and having a divider 300 separating two coinpartments 100,
200, of the
cylinder. A barrier film 310 is fixedly attached to the divider 300. A roll of
first web
material 130 is inserted in the first compartment 100, and a first cover 140
is attached to
the cylinder to substantially close that compartment. A roll of second web
materia1230 is
inserted into the second compartment 200 and a second cover 240 is attached to
the
cylinder to substantially close that compartment.
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Alternative configurations of the first compartment and second compartments
may
also be provided. As examples, the compartments may form portions of a
cylinder
separated along a chord of the circular cross-section of the cylinder. The
compartments
may form portions of a parallelepiped container separated along a plane
passing through a
diagonal of a cross-section of the container. In these exemplary embodiments,
the web
material may be dispensed from orifices disposed on a single surface of the
container, on
surfaces adjacent to each other, or on opposing surfaces of the container.
In any einbodiment, additional packaging materials may be added to package 1.
Tamper evident seals (not shown) may be provided across the outer covers 150
and 250
and/or around covers 140 and 240. An outer package enclosing the entirety of
package 1
may also be added. The outer package may enclose a single package 1 or a
plurality of
the packages 1. These additional packaging materials are well known in the art
and will
not be further discussed here.
The portions of the preceding description directed to components of the first
compartment 100 will be understood by one of skill in the art to apply as well
to the
corresponding elements of the second coinpartment 200 and the corresponding
components of any additional compartment. These elements include without being
limiting, a second wall 220, periphery 262 defining an orifice 260 and
optionally a
removable orifice cover 265 having optional finger holes 267, a fastener 255
and a
periphery 252 around an outer cover 250.
The invention is not to be construed as being limited to having substantially
identical first and second compartments. The first compartment and any
additional
compartments may comprise substantially identical components or the
compartments may
comprise substantially dissimilar components depending upon the nature of the
first and
second web materials. In other words, each of the first, second, and
additional
coinpartments may comprise some or all of the above described components.
Web materials:
Web materials 130 and 230 may comprise any web materials known in the art.
The web materials may comprise paper tissue web such as facial tissue, bath
tissue or
paper toweling. The web materials may comprise non-woven materials, woven
materials
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cellulosic materials, and combinations of these. The web materials may
comprise metal
and/or polymeric films. The web materials may comprise coinposite films. The
web
materials may be comprised of a single ply or of multiple plies. The web
materials may
comprise indicia substantially similar to indicia placed on the exterior of
the compartment
containing the web material. By substantially similar it is meant that the
indicia are
suggestive each of the other. The substantially similar indicia may be
identical but may
also differ in size and specific appearance.
The web materials may comprise a plurality of discrete pieces of web material.
The plurality of discrete pieces may comprise a stack of discrete pieces. The
pieces may
be stacked without interdependence. Alteniatively, the plurality of pieces may
be stacked
interfolded each with the other such that the removal of the outermost piece
from the
plurality precipitates the beginning of the removal of the subsequent piece in
the plurality.
The discrete web pieces may be formed into a roll. Again the discrete pieces
may be
formed into a roll without any interdependence of the pieces. Alternatively,
the pieces
may be interfolded in the roll to achieve the concurrent dispensing of at
least a portion of
at least two pieces.
In another alternative at least one of the web materials may comprise a single
piece of web material. In this embodiment the single piece of web material may
comprise
lines of weakness generally transverse to one dimension of the web material.
These lines
of weakness may be disposed at regular intervals along the dimension the lines
are
generally transverse to. The lines of weakness may enable the single piece of
web
material to be easily separated into multiple pieces of web material by
separations at the
lines of weakness. The single piece of web material may be convolutedly wound
into a
roll or folded upon itself into a stack.
The above described orifice 160 may be configured to interfere with the
removal
of any portion of a web material to the extent that the subsequent portion of
the web
material is partially, but not completely, dispensed from the package. As an
example, for
a plurality of sheets of interfolded web material, the removal of the
outermost sheet from
the package may precipitate the concurrent removal of a portion of the
subsequent sheet.
An appropriate orifice, as is known in the art, will frictionally interfere
sufficiently with
the combination of the last of the outermost sheet and the first of the
subsequent sheet
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that the outermost sheet is completely removed, the first of the subsequent
sheet is
exposed in the orifice 160, and the remaining portion of the subsequent sheet
is retained
in the package 1. The outer cover 150 may partially or completely cover the
exposed
portion of the subsequent sheet when the outer cover 150 is closed.
As another example, one or more of the web materials may comprise a
convolutely wound roll of web material having lines of perforating spaced
along the
length of the web material, and extending parallel to the winding axis of the
roll such that
the lines of weakness define a series of segments of web material. The orifice
160 may
frictionally interfere sufficiently with the motion of a segment of the web
material
through the orifice that the web material separates at the line of weakness
defining the
end of that segment of web material. This separation may result in the
complete
dispensing of a first segment of web material and the incomplete dispensing of
the next
segment. Outer cover 150 may partially or completely cover the exposed portion
of the
next segment when the outer cover 150 is closed.
Web materials 130 and 230 may be substantially similar in composition and
intended use. Alternatively, the web materials may be substantially
dissimilar. This
dissimilarity may be that one of the web materials further comprises a lotion
that
moistens or wets that substrate and provides an active ingredient for the use
of the
consumer. The lotion may comprise any liquid applied to web substrates as is
known the
art. Cleaning agents, polishing agents, antibacterial agents, softening agents
may all be
applied to one or more of the substrates provided in the package. The lotion
may be
applied by any means known in the art, including without being limiting,
substrate
saturation, spraying, foaining, and printing. In this embodiment, the web
material
substrates may be similar or dissimilar.
In another embodiment, the substrates may be dissimilar and the web materials
may each be dry or at least free of a lotion. In another embodiment, the
substrates may be
dissimilar and at least one of the web materials may comprise a lotion. In yet
another
embodiment the dissimilarity may be that the first web material comprises a
first lotion
and the second web material comprises a second lotion, in this alternative the
base
substrates of the web materials may be similar or dissimilar. Additional non-
limiting
examples of the dissimilarity include substrate size, color, texture, scent
and thickness.
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As an example, a non-woven substrate may be saturated with a gentle
cleaning agent to create what is commonly referred to as a baby wipe. The baby
wipe
may comprise one of the web materials provided in the package. The other web
material
may be a soft and absorbent substrate intended to dry the baby's skin after
the use of the
baby wipe. The second web material may also coinprise softening agents to
enhance the
softness of the substrate.
In another example, the first web material may comprise a basic facial tissue
such
as a Puffs facial tissue, available from the Procter & Gamble Company of
Cincinnati
Ohio. The second web material may comprise a lotioned facial tissue such as
Puffs Plus
facial tissue, also available from the Procter & Gamble Company. In this
example, a
consumer may choose a lotioned or non-lotioned tissue depending upon the
intended use
for the selected tissue.
In another embodiment, the first web material may be provided comprising a
cleaning agent suitable for cleaning windows and other surfaces. The second
web
material in this einbodiment may be suitable for completing the cleaning task
such that
the cleansed surface is substantially free of any residual cleaning agent.
Lotioned web materials and web materials saturated with an active ingredient
containing solution may be furtller enclosed within a sealed container (not
shown). This
container may be disposed within the package 1 or may be provided in
conjunction with
package 1. The container may function to preserve the effectiveness of the
active
ingredient and/or to preserve the saturation level of a solvent and to extend
the shelf life
of the package.
In an embodiment wherein the package 1 comprises removable cover 140,
quantities of the first web material and/or second web material may be
provided to
facilitate the refilling of the package 1. In this embodiment the packaging of
the refill
quantities may comprise indicia substantially similar to the indicia described
above and
associated with the first and second web materials. The provision of refilling
quantities of
the first and second web materials enables the marketer of the package to
provide a
durable or semi-durable package.
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All documents cited in the Detailed Description of the Invention are, are, in
relevant part, incorporated herein by reference; the citation of any document
is not to be
construed as an admission that it is prior art with respect to the present
invention.
While particular embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated
and
described, it would be obvious 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.
