DISPENSER FOR DISPENSING GLOVES CUFF-FIRST

Abstract

A dispenser for disposable gloves includes a box having a plurality of faces, and two stacks of unfolded gloves disposed in the box and a static internal separator positioned between each stack of gloves. The box has 5 perforated lines on at least two opposing faces. The perforated lines are tearable providing a respective dispensing aperture on each opposing face. Each stack of gloves is orientated in the box so that the cuff of the gloves is positioned adjacent to the dispensing aperture for dispensing cuff-first through said dispensing aperture.

Claims

1. A dispenser for gloves comprising: a box having a plurality of faces, wherein said box is comprised of a set of perforated lines on two opposing faces, and wherein said perforated lines are tearable providing a respective dispensing aperture on each opposing face; two stacks of unfolded gloves disposed in said box, wherein each stack of gloves is orientated in the box so that the cuff of the gloves are positioned adjacent to the dispensing aperture for dispensing cuff-first through said dispensing aperture; and a static internal separator positioned between the stacks of gloves.

2. The dispenser for gloves of claim 1, wherein said static internal separator is comprised of a single sheet element having end tabs used to support the separator within the box.

3. The dispenser for gloves of claim 2, wherein said sheet element comprises a gradient portion between the end tabs.

4. The dispenser for gloves of claim 3, wherein said sheet element further comprises a flat portion for placement of the cuff of the gloves, the flat portion disposed between the gradient portion and each end tab.

5. The dispenser for gloves of claim 4, wherein said sheet element comprises fold lines between the gradient portion and the flat portions.

6. The dispenser for gloves of claim 2, wherein the end tabs of the sheet element are bent in opposing directions.

7. The dispenser for gloves of claim 2, wherein the end tabs of the sheet element are positioned parallel to the front face and back face.

8. The dispenser for gloves of claim 2, wherein said box further comprises a set of tearable perforated lines adjoining said set of perforated lines to extend the aperture to an adjoining face.

9. The dispenser for gloves of claim 2, wherein said sets of perforated lines define a flap have a closed position and an open position to close or open said dispensing aperture.

10. The dispenser for gloves of claim 1, wherein said static internal separator is comprised of two sheet elements, each sheet element being comprised of a flat portion for receiving a respective one of said stacks of gloves, and side tabs used to support the sheet elements within the box.

11. The dispenser for gloves of claim 10, wherein the flat portions are disposed on one another.

12. The dispenser for gloves of claim 9, wherein the side tabs of the separator are positioned parallel to the side faces of the box.

13. The dispenser for gloves of claim 9, wherein said aperture is covered by a film having a slit for each glove to pass through.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

[0037] FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a dispenser for dispensing gloves showing a static internal separator and a box having a flap defined by perforations on the front face and back face of the box such that, when opened by tearing, a dispensing aperture is provided.

[0038] FIG. 1B is a perspective view of a dispenser for dispensing gloves showing a static internal separator and a box having a flap defined by perforations on the upper face and lower face of the box such that, when opened by tearing, a dispensing aperture is provided.

[0039] FIG. 2A is a top plan view of a static internal separator when laid flat.

[0040] FIG. 2B is a top plan view of a static internal separator when laid flat, in another embodiment.

[0041] FIG. 3A is a sectional view showing the position of the static internal separator when aligned on a gradient.

[0042] FIG. 3B is a sectional view showing the position of the static internal separators when aligned flat.

[0043] FIG. 4A is a sectional view similar to FIG. 1A, but showing the position of the static internal separator when aligned on a gradient and is fully loaded with gloves positioned on the static internal separator.

[0044] FIG. 4B is a sectional view similar to FIG. 1B, but showing the position of the static internal separator when aligned flat and is fully loaded with gloves positioned on the static internal separator.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0045] FIGS. 1A and 1B shows a dispenser for dispensing gloves in the form of a box 10 with an upper face 11, lower face 12, front face 13, back face 14 and side faces 15. The width of the box 10 corresponds broadly to the width of a glove laid flat in the box 10 measured from the thumb to the little finger. The length of the box corresponds broadly to the length of a glove laid flat in the box 10 measured from the cuff to the middle finger. The height of the box 10 corresponds broadly to the total height of the gloves in the box 10 measured on its cuff side. Therefore, the side faces 15 have a length greater than the width of the front and back faces 13, 14. Also, in this embodiment, the width of the front and back faces 13, 14 is greater than the height of the box.

[0046] In FIG. 1A, the box 10 has a first set of perforated lines 110, 120. Perforated lines 110 are positioned on the front face 13. The perforated lines 110 are straight and begin from the edge of the front face 13 that is perpendicular to the upper face 11 towards the middle of the front face 13. Perforated lines 120 are positioned on the back face 14. The perforated lines 120 are straight and begin from the edge of the back face 14 that is perpendicular to the lower face 12 towards the middle of the back face 14.

[0047] When the perforated lines are torn, flaps 130, 140 are formed and dispensing apertures 150, 160 are provided. A portion of the front face 13 and back face 14 conveniently becomes a hinge.

[0048] Also in FIG. 1A, and according to another embodiment, the box 10 has a second set of perforated lines 111, 121.

[0049] Perforated lines 111 are positioned on the upper face 11. The perforated lines 111 are straight and begin from the edge of the upper face 11 that is perpendicular to the front face 13 towards the middle of the upper face 11. Perforated lines 121 are positioned on the lower face 12. The perforated lines 121 are straight and begin from the edge of the lower face 12 that is perpendicular to the back face 14 towards the middle of the lower face 12.

[0050] When the perforated lines are torn, flaps 131, 141 are formed and additional dispensing apertures 151, 161 are provided. A portion of the upper face 11 and lower face 12 conveniently becomes a hinge.

[0051] The dispensing apertures 150, 160, 151, 161 are desirably sized and configured to permit one-at-a-time dispensing of a plurality of gloves. Therefore, the dispensing apertures 150, 160, 151, 161 are positioned on the box 10 to permit reasonably easy access to a user without causing excessive dispensing. It will be understood that the dispensing apertures 150, 160, 151, 161 may assume any other suitable configuration that meet these requirements.

[0052] The flaps 130, 140, 131, 141 are used as a means for shielding the dispensing apertures 150, 160, 151, 161 from the entry of contaminants from the surrounding environment. The flaps 40, 41 have a closed position and an open position. In the open position (as shown), the flaps 130, 140, 131, 141 allow a glove to be removed by a user from the box 10 through the dispensing apertures 30, 31.

[0053] The problem of unwanted space in the box 10 caused by a stack of gloves may be greatly reduced or eliminated when two stacks of gloves are provided, one stack positioned on each side of a separator. The separator is static. Desirably, a separator allows for separate dispensing through the dispensing apertures 150, 160, 151, 161 associated with each stack.

[0054] In FIG. 2A, the separator is a single sheet element 170 having inner fold lines 173 and outer fold lines 174.

[0055] In FIG. 3A, the sheet element 170 is bent about the outer fold lines 174, end tabs 171 form at each end of the sheet element 170. Each end tab 171 can be bent up and down. The flat portion 172 between inner fold lines 173 and outer fold lines 174 is used to support the cuffs of the gloves. In a preferred embodiment, one tab is bent upwards while the other tab is bent downwards. The end tabs 171 prevent from upward or downward movement of the internal separator. The height of the end tab 171 when bent about the outer fold lines 174 must be at least of the height as the cuff end of a stack of gloves.

[0056] In a preferred embodiment, the end tabs 171 are positioned touching the inside surface of the front and back face 13, 14, forming an inclined slope. To allow for an inclined slope, the total length of the sheet element 170 in FIG. 2A is longer compared to that of the length of the sheet 270 in FIG. 2B. The gradient positioning of the separator 170 ensures that the gloves slide cuff out first and also prevents the gloves from moving backwards when a glove is withdrawn. Such a configuration is also used to avoid asymmetry. That is, the cuff of each glove is often thicker.

[0057] The separator 170 may couple to the box 10 via any known manner, such as, by way of non-limiting example, heat sealing, stapling, adhering via adhesives and so forth. In a preferred embodiment, the separator is not coupled to the box 10 where the separator 170 is simply placed in the box 10 in a snug-fit manner. This reduces manufacturing costs as no coupling components are required.

[0058] In FIG. 4A, a first stack of gloves 60 is placed in the box 10. The first stack 60 is oriented so that the gloves are stacked cuff-to-cuff (or wrist-to-wrist). The cuffs are positioned adjacent to the dispensing aperture 150 of the front face 13. The second stack 61 is also oriented so that the gloves are stacked cuff-to-cuff (or wrist-to-wrist). Each stack of gloves is aligned cuff-to-cuff (or wrist-to-wrist), with the cuffs of each stack is on opposing ends. This is to ensure that the overall thickness of the gloves in the box is symmetrical. The cuffs are positioned adjacent to the dispensing aperture 160 of the back face 14. The single sheet element 170 is positioned between the first and second stacks of gloves 60, 61.

[0059] In an embodiment as shown in FIG. 1B, the box 10 includes perforated lines 211 which are positioned on the upper face 11 and perforated lines 221 which are positioned on the lower face 12. When the perforated lines 211, 221 are torn, a dispensing aperture 251, 261 is provided. The perforated lines 211, 221 form a generally oval shape aperture.

[0060] In a preferred embodiment, a film 280 having a slit is used as a means for shielding the dispensing apertures 251, 261 from the entry of contaminants from the surrounding environment.

[0061] The dispensing apertures 251, 261 is desirably sized and configured to permit one-at-a-time dispensing of a plurality of gloves through the slit. Therefore, the dispensing aperture 251, 261 is positioned on the box 10 to permit reasonably easy access to a user without causing excessive dispensing. It will be understood that the dispensing aperture 30 may assume any other suitable configuration that meet these requirements.

[0062] The problem of unwanted space in the box 10 caused by a stack of gloves may be greatly reduced or eliminated when two stacks of gloves are provided, one stack positioned on each side of a separator. Desirably, the separator allows for separate dispensing through the dispensing aperture 251, 261 associated with each stack.

[0063] In FIG. 2B, the separator is static and consists of two sheet elements 270, each sheet element having outer fold lines 274.

[0064] In FIG. 3B, each sheet element 270 is bent about the outer fold lines 274, side tabs 271 form on each side of the sheet. Preferably, each sheet element 270 is bent about the outer fold lines 274 in the same direction. The side tabs 271 are positioned touching the inside surface of the side faces 15. The side tabs 271 prevent from upward or downward movement of the she sheets 270. The height of the side tab 271 when bent about the outer fold lines 274 must be at least of the height as the cuff end of a stack of gloves. The flat portions 272 of the sheet elements 270 are placed on top of each other.

[0065] The sheet elements 270 may couple to the box 10 via any known manner, such as, by way of non-limiting example, heat sealing, stapling, adhering via adhesives and so forth. In a preferred embodiment, the separator is not coupled to the box 10 where the sheet elements 270 are simply placed in the box 10 in a snug-fit manner. This reduces manufacturing costs as no coupling components are required.

[0066] In FIG. 4B, a first stack of gloves 60 is placed in the box 10. The first stack 60 is oriented so that the gloves are stacked cuff-to-cuff (or wrist-to-wrist). The cuffs are positioned adjacent to the dispensing aperture 251 of the upper face 11. The second stack 61 is also oriented so that the gloves are stacked cuff-to-cuff (or wrist-to-wrist). The cuffs are positioned adjacent to the dispensing aperture 261 of the lower face 12. Each stack of gloves is aligned cuff-to-cuff (or wrist-to-wrist), with the cuffs of each stack is on opposing ends. This is to ensure that the overall thickness of the gloves in the box is symmetrical. The sheets 270 are positioned between the first and second stack of gloves 60, 61.

[0067] In an embodiment, each stack of gloves 60, 61 comprises of fifty gloves. In another embodiment, each stack of gloves 60, 61 comprises of one hundred gloves.

[0068] In an exemplary usage of the dispenser in accordance with the invention, gloves are dispensed from one aperture at a time. Once all the gloves have been dispensed from an aperture, the box 10 is turned upside down so that the gloves may be dispensed from the opposing aperture.

[0069] The box 10 and the separators 170, 270 may be constructed from any material or combination of materials which permit it to operate as shown and/or described herein. Such materials may include, for example, but not by way of limitation, cardboard, paperboard, plastic, metal, polymer film, and so forth.

[0070] It will be understood that the invention may be embodied in ways other than those specifically described without departure from its scope as defined by the claims.