Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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A dispenser for cellulose products in sheet form
DESCRIPTION
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present invention concerns dispensers for handkerchiefs, napkins or
oth-
er cellulose products in sheet form. Embodiments disclosed herein in
particular relate
to dispensers for handkerchiefs or other cellulose products in sheet form,
typically
folded or interfolded, having a rectangular prismatic form adapted to contain
a stack
or pack of rectangular sheets, for example interfolded tissues.
BACKGROUND ART
[0002] Disposable napkins or handkerchiefs are often products in packs or
stacks
containing interfolded handkerchiefs, folded so that, once inserted in a
dispenser, it is
possible to extract single napkins or handkerchiefs one at a time through an
opening of
the dispenser. Parallelepiped shaped dispensers, with an upper wall provided
with an
opening through which the handkerchiefs are picked up, are often used to
contain and
dispense the handkerchiefs.
[0003] In the present context, upper and lower are meant as the positions
taken by
the dispenser or by parts thereof in a possible and preferred configuration
for use.
Typically, these dispensers are configured to be used resting on a surface
with a lower
wall or base of its own, opposite which is the upper wall provided with the
dispensing
opening.
[0004] In some current state of the art dispensers the upper wall, provided
with the
opening for picking up the handkerchiefs, consists of a moving plate mounted
so as to
slide inside the dispenser in a vertical direction (when in use) from a top
position,
when the dispenser is full of handkerchiefs, i.e., contains a new stack of
handker-
chiefs, to a bottom position, when the dispenser is empty. The plate is
maintained con-
stantly in contact with the upper face of the pack or stack of napkins
contained in the
dispenser as a result of gravity.
[0005] Devices of this type are described in US 1454180, US 3269593, US
3346141
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and W02015/088401.
[0006] It would be desirable to improve and perfect dispensers of the current
state of
the art to obtain a more functional and low-cost dispenser.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] To completely or partially solve the problems and limits of dispensers
of the
current art, there is provided a dispenser of napkins or other typically
folded and inter-
folded cellulose products in sheet form, comprising a prismatic container
defined by: a
substantially rectangular bottom wall; a first pair of opposite lateral walls;
and a sec-
ond pair of opposite lateral walls. Each lateral wall extends from the bottom
wall to-
ward a respective upper end edge. The upper edges of the lateral walls
surround an
upper opening of the prismatic container, opposite the bottom wall. The
dispenser fur-
ther comprises a substantially rectangular closing plate, comprising an
opening for
picking up handkerchiefs contained in the prismatic container. The closing
plate is
adapted to slide in the prismatic container along the lateral walls.
Characteristically,
each lateral wall of the first pair of lateral walls comprises a respective
cutout extend-
ing in a direction oriented from the upper opening toward the bottom wall. Two
oppo-
site edges of the rectangular plate comprise a respective appendage adapted to
be slid-
ingly engaged along a respective one of said cutouts.
[0008] In the present description, specific reference will be made to
"handkerchiefs".
It must be understood that the dispenser according to the present invention
can also be
used to dispense other types of products in sheet form, typically cellulose
products in
sheet form and in particular folded and interfolded products in sheet form. In
addition
to handkerchiefs, examples of products of this type can also be napkins,
facial wipes
and similar products.
[0009] Each wall of the container is substantially rectangular. In the present
descrip-
tion and in the appended claims "rectangular" is meant as a quadrangular or
square
shape, with right angles, which can nonetheless also have some elements that
differ
from a rectangle in the geometrical sense, such as appendages along one or
more edg-
es, rounded corners or the like.
[0010] The cutouts along the two opposite lateral walls, which in use are
arranged
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s vertically, act as guides for the extensions or appendages of the plate,
which is thus
guided in its vertical movement. The width of each of the two cutouts is
substantially
the same as, or slightly larger than, the dimension of the corresponding
appendage in
the direction of the edge from which said appendage protrudes.
[0011] The cutouts not only have a guiding function, but also allow the inside
of the
container to be viewed, for example in order to view the characteristics of
the pack of
napkins or handkerchiefs contained in the dispenser. For example, through the
cutouts
it is possible to check the type of napkins contained in the dispenser and the
amount of
products still available in the dispenser.
[0012] Each cutout can have a very limited width for example of a few
millimeters,
or even larger involving almost the whole of the width of the respective
lateral wall. In
advantageous embodiments the width of the cutout, and hence the corresponding
di-
mension of the appendage provided on the respective edge of the plate, is from
around
25% to around 50% of the width of the respective lateral wall.
[0013] A larger dimension of the cutouts allows better viewing of the content
of the
dispenser. Moreover, it reduces the amount of polymer material required to
produce
the dispenser and consequently the cost thereof.
[0014] Each cutout can start from a different height with respect to the
bottom wall.
Each cutout ends at the edge of the respective lateral wall, so as to form in
substance a
recess extending from the upper edge to an intermediate position of the
lateral wall,
close to the bottom wall or at the bottom wall. As each cutout ends at the
edge of the
lateral wall, the upper edge of the lateral wall is interrupted and this
facilitates mount-
ing of the upper plate.
[0015] The dispenser and the components thereof can be made of any suitable
mate-
rial. In advantageous embodiments, the container and the plate can be made of
poly-
mer material (plastic). Different materials can also be used for the walls of
the con-
tainer and for the plate, respectively. In some embodiments the material can
be com-
pletely or partly transparent.
[0016] To prevent the plate from being accidentally separated from the
container, for
example during extraction of a handkerchief through the opening of the plate,
one or
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more stops can be provided along one or more upper edges of the lateral walls.
For
example, and preferably, two stops are provided on two edges of opposite
walls, for
example the two lateral walls without cutouts.
[0017] The prismatic container can have a rectangular shaped base with a long
side
and a short side. To obtain an improved guiding effect, in some embodiments
the
walls with the cutouts are those arranged along the short sides of the bottom
wall.
[0018] The opening of the plate is preferably narrow and elongated, in the
manner of
a slot. For example, the length can be at least four or five times the
transverse dimen-
sion of the opening.
[0019] In some embodiments, the opening of the plate can have a rectangular
shape,
preferably with rounded corners.
[0020] In possible embodiments, the lower face of the plate, i.e., the face
that in the
configuration mounted for use is facing the bottom wall of the container, can
have a
rib extending along the opening of the plate. Preferably, the lower face of
the plate has
two substantially parallel ribs, one along each of two opposite edges of the
plate open-
ing. When the plate opening has an elongated, for example rectangular, shape,
the
rib/ribs is/are arranged along the long sides of the opening. The ribs, if
present, have
many advantages and functions. According to some aspects, the ribs can be
adapted to
stiffen the structure of the plate and/or to increase its weight, so as to
facilitate descent
of the plate by gravity onto the upper surface of the pack or stack of tissues
contained
in the prismatic container. Moreover, the rib/ribs reduces/reduce the mutual
contact
surface between the plate and the stack or pack of handkerchiefs, thereby
facilitating
extraction.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0021] The invention will be better understood by following the description
and the
accompanying drawings, which illustrate an exemplifying and non-limiting
embodi-
ment of the invention. More particularly, in the drawings:
Fig.1 shows an axonometric view of the container without the upper closing
plate;
Fig.2 shows an axonometric view from above of the plate of the container;
Fig.3 shows an axonometric view from below of the plate of the container;
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Fig.4 shows an exploded axonometric view of the dispenser with a pack
Fig.5 shows an axonometric view of the dispenser mounted and filled.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF AN EMBODIMENT
[0022] The dispenser, indicated as a whole with 100, comprises a container 1
ap-
proximately cubic or prismatic in shape and with a rectangular base. The
dimension of
the container 1 is such as to accommodate a pack or stack 20 of napkins or
handker-
chiefs (cf. Figs.4 and 5). The container 1 comprises a lower or bottom wall 2
from
which lateral walls extend. More in particular, from the bottom wall 2 there
extend
two opposite lateral walls 3 and 4 and further two opposite lateral walls 5
and 6. In the
illustrated embodiment, the walls 3 and 4 extend from the shorter sides of the
bottom
wall 2 which has an elongated rectangular shape. The walls 5 and 6 extend from
the
longer edges of the bottom wall 2.
[0023] Each of the two opposite walls 3 and 4 has a vertical cutout, i.e.,
orthogonal
to the bottom wall 2. The cutouts are indicated with 10 and 11. Both the
cutouts 10
and 11 extend up to the upper edges 3A, 4A of the respective walls 3, 4. In
other
words, the upper edges 3A, 4A of the walls 3 and 4 are interrupted at the
cutouts 10
and 11.
[0024] Along the upper edges 5A and 6A of the lateral walls 5 and 6 two
protrusions
16, 17 are provided, which form stops for a plate 8 described below.
[0025] The upper edges 3A, 4A, 5A, 6A of the lateral walls 3, 4, 5, 6 define
an emp-
ty wall or upper opening 7 of the container 1. The opening 7 is closed by a
plate 8
when the dispenser 100 is in use. The plate 8 has a rectangular shape
substantially the
same as the shape of the bottom wall 2 and of the upper opening 7 of the
container 1.
A respective appendage 14, 15 is provided along each of the short edges,
indicated
with 12 and 13, of the plate 8. Each of these appendages 14, 15 slidingly
engages a
corresponding one of said cutouts 10, 11. In this way, a guide system of the
plate 8
along the lateral walls 3, 4, 5, 6 of the container 1 is obtained. To
facilitate vertical
sliding of the plate 8 in the inner volume of the container, delimited by the
walls 3, 4,
5 and 6, the width of each cutout 10, 11 is preferably slightly larger than
the length of
the respective appendage 14, 15, i.e., of the dimension of said appendages in
the direc-
tion parallel to the edge of the plate 8 from which they protrude.
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[0026] In advantageous embodiments the plate 8 is very thin, to reduce the
amount
of polymer material required for its production. A perimeter edge, visible in
particular
in Fig.3, can be provided to stiffen the plate 8. Preferably, the perimeter
edge pro-
trudes from the lower face of the plate 8, i.e., from the face that, in use,
is facing the
bottom wall, so as not to be visible.
[0027] The plate 8 has a central opening 9 for removing the handkerchiefs from
the
stack or pack 20. Preferably, the opening 9 has a rectangular and preferably
elongated
shape. In embodiments disclosed herein, as can be seen in particular in Fig.3,
ribs 18,
19 extend along the long sides of the opening 9 of the plate 8. The ribs 18,
19 extend
from the lower face of the plate 8, i.e., from the face that, in use, is
facing the inside of
the container 1 and the bottom wall 2. The ribs 18, 19 are preferably joined
with a
rounded edge to the upper face of the plate 8, as can be seen in Fig.2.
[0028] In mounted configuration, with the pack 20 of handkerchiefs inserted in
the
container 1, the ribs 18, 19 press on the upper surface of the pack 20 of
napkins with a
limited contact surface. On the one hand, this retains the pack of
handkerchiefs and,
on the other, provides a guide effect to facilitate removal of the
handkerchiefs that are
pulled by the user to be removed from the container 1. The purpose of the ribs
18, 19
is also to stiffen the plate 8, which acts as a cover of the container 1,
preventing it
from warping downward.
[0029] The perimeter edge of the plate 8 and the ribs 18, 19 provide the plate
8 with
a structural strength without excessively increasing its weight and
maintaining a re-
duced thickness. In less advantageous embodiments, the plate 8 can have a
uniform
thickness equal to the height of the perimeter edge and/or of the ribs 18, 19.
[0030] To load the pack or stack 20 of handkerchiefs into container 1 the
upper clos-
ing plate 8 can be removed by appropriately tilting it with respect to the
horizontal so
as to move one of its long edges beyond the corresponding stop 16 or 17. After
load-
ing the stack of napkins the plate 8 can be repositioned in the container 2,
with a
movement opposite the one performed for its removal, making the plate 8
descend by
gravity until it is resting on the stack or pack 20 of handkerchiefs. The user
can then
extract single handkerchiefs, picking them up through the opening 9 of the
plate 8. As
the stack 20 is consumed, the plate 8 descends by gravity toward the bottom of
the
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container 1.
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