Dispenser for interfolded napkins

Abstract

A dispenser for interfolded napkins, having an upper portion and a lower portion, a longitudinal direction and a transverse direction is disclosed. The dispenser includes a container having a bottom wall extending in a horizontal plane and being arranged at the lower portion of the dispenser, and side walls having upper edges and lower edges and extending from the bottom wall in a vertical direction perpendicular thereto; a dispensing opening arranged at the upper portion of the dispenser opposite to the bottom wall; a weight arranged between the side walls so as to form a stack-supported lid of the dispenser that is movable between an upper position adjacent to the dispensing opening, and a lower position adjacent to the bottom wall; and a weight control means interconnecting the weight and the container, and extending inside the container between a container connection arranged at the lower portion of the dispenser and a weight connection arranged at the upper portion of the dispenser. The weight control means restricts the movement of the weight in a vertical direction along the side walls so as to determine the location of the upper position of the weight.

Claims

1. A dispenser for interfolded napkins, comprising: a container having: a bottom portion comprising a bottom wall extending in a horizontal plane, and side walls extending from the bottom wall in a vertical direction perpendicular thereto, a wall portion comprising at least a part of the side walls, and a dispensing opening opposite to the bottom wall, the side walls surrounding a rectangular supporting surface formed by said bottom wall, for supporting a stack of interfolded napkins, wherein said bottom portion is removably attached to the wall portion for refill of napkins from the bottom of the dispenser; a weight arranged between said side walls so as to form a stack-supported lid of the dispenser, the weight defining a dispensing mouth and being movable between an upper position adjacent to the dispensing opening of the container, and a lower position adjacent to the supporting surface of the container; and a weight control means interconnecting the weight and the container, and extending inside the container between a container connection and a weight connection, said weight control means restricting the movement of the weight in a vertical direction along said side walls so as to determine a location of said upper position of said weight.

2. The dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the weight comprises an outer rim comprising at least two opposing rim portions.

3. The dispenser according to claim 2, wherein the weight extends over the entire dispensing opening in at least one horizontal direction between at least two opposing side walls of the container, such that said two opposing rim portions are in contact with corresponding portions of two opposing side walls of the container.

4. The dispenser according to claim 3, wherein the container connection is situated at one of said opposing side walls and adjacent to the supporting surface of the container, and the weight connection is situated adjacent to the corresponding one of said opposing rim portions.

5. The dispenser according to claim 3, wherein the dispenser comprises two weight control means interconnecting the weight and the container, the weight control means being arranged one at each opposing side wall and corresponding rim portion.

6. The dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the weight control means comprises a flexible cord.

7. The dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the container connection is located adjacent the support surface.

8. The dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the container connection comprises a snap-in connection.

9. The dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the container further comprises a frame arranged along the side walls surrounding the supporting surface, said frame comprising the container connection.

10. The dispenser according to claim 1, wherein a length of the weight control means between the container connection and the weight connection essentially corresponds to a vertical distance from the container connection to the dispensing opening.

11. The dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the container connection is arranged adjacent the supporting surface, and a length of the weight control means approximately corresponds to a vertical distance from the supporting surface to the dispensing opening.

12. The dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the weight is confined between said side walls.

13. The dispenser according to claim 1, wherein an outline of the dispensing opening essentially corresponds to an outline of the supporting surface.

14. The dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the side walls comprise at least two opposing side walls, and wherein the dispensing mouth is elongate and has a maximum length dimension extending in parallel with two opposing side walls.

15. The dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the side walls comprise at least two opposing side walls, and wherein the dispensing mouth has a maximum length of at least 75% of the length of the supporting surface extending between said two opposing side walls.

16. The dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the total horizontal area of the weight including the dispensing mouth is at least 60% of the area of the supporting surface.

17. The dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the weight has a vertical extension being 1-10 cm.

18. The dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the weight has a substantially flat lower surface facing towards the stack of napkins, the lower surface comprising spacing protrusions.

19. The dispenser according to claim 18, wherein said protrusions are arranged at a distance from the dispensing mouth.

20. The dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the weight comprises a first material and a second material, the second material having a greater density than the first material, so as to provide additional mass to the weight.

21. The dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the weight has a mass of between 50 and 1000g.

22. The dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the container comprises at least one vertical slot in at least one of said side walls, a horizontal extension of the slot being sufficient to allow manual access to the napkins in the container via said slot.

23. The dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the bottom portion consists of said bottom wall.

24. The dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the bottom portion is removably attached to the wall portion by a magnetic lock.

25. The dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the side walls comprise upper edges at the dispensing opening of the container, said upper edges form a plurality of uppermost edge portions, which are confined in a generally horizontal plane.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

(2) FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a dispenser according to an embodiment of the present invention standing in upright position;

(3) FIG. 1A depicts an exploded view of the dispenser illustrated in FIG. 1;

(4) FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the container of the dispenser of FIG. 1;

(5) FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of the weight of the dispenser of FIG. 1 having two weight control means;

(6) FIG. 4 depicts a bottom perspective view of the weight of the dispenser of FIG. 1;

(7) FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of a frame and a bottom wall of the dispenser of FIG. 1;

(8) FIG. 6 illustrates a bottom perspective view of the dispenser depicted in FIG. 1;

(9) FIG. 7 illustrates a perspective view of the dispenser of FIG. 1 including napkins to be dispensed;

(10) FIG. 8 illustrates a perspective view of the dispenser depicted in FIG. 1 including napkins to be dispensed in a nearly empty state.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(11) FIG. 1 illustrates a dispenser 1 for interfolded napkins. The dispenser 1 includes a container 2 having a bottom wall 5 extending in a horizontal plane of the dispenser 1. The container 2 further includes side walls 6 extending from the bottom wall 5 in a vertical direction perpendicular to the horizontal plane of the bottom wall 5 and defining a dispensing opening 7 arranged at the upper portion 1a of the dispenser 1 and being opposite to the bottom wall 5. The side walls 6 surround a supporting surface 8 for supporting a stack of interfolded napkins.

(12) The dispenser 1 further includes a weight 4 arranged between the side walls 6 so as to form a stack-supported lid of the dispenser 1. The weight 4 defines a dispensing mouth 9 through which napkins are withdrawn. The weight 4 is movable between an upper position adjacent to the dispensing opening 7 of the container 2, and a lower position adjacent to the supporting surface 8 of the container 2.

(13) In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 1A, the bottom wall 5 of the container 2 forms the outermost bottom surface of the dispenser. This provides a simple and space-saving solution.

(14) The container is shown in greater detail in FIG. 2. The side walls 6 of the container 2 are perpendicular to the plane of the bottom wall 5 of the container 2. The side walls 6 delimit the container space and the size of the dispensing opening 7 and are arranged to contain and support the stack of interfolded napkins without deforming the napkins.

(15) The side walls 6 define the dispensing opening 7 arranged at an upper portion of the dispenser. The dispensing opening 7 is a part of the container being open towards the ambient and providing access to the inner space of the container 2. The outline of the dispensing opening 7 corresponds to the shape of the bottom wall 5, such that the container 2 depicted in FIG. 2 is symmetrical.

(16) The upper edges 6b of the side walls 6 are entirely positioned in a horizontal plane being parallel to the plane of the bottom wall 5, whereby a stable upside-down position of the dispenser 1 is enabled, as will be discussed later.

(17) FIG. 3 illustrates the weight 4 in the dispenser illustrated in FIG. 1. The weight 4 defines an outer rim 13 including at least two opposing rim portions 13a. Further, as may be seen in FIG. 1, the weight 4 extends over the entire dispensing opening 7 in the horizontal plane between the side walls 6 of the container 2, such that the outer rim 13 is in contact with the side walls 6 of the container 2. As mentioned previously, in contact, as used herein, means that there is a minimal space between the rim 13 and the side walls 6 sufficient to allow movement of the rim 13 along the side wall 6.

(18) The weight depicted in FIG. 3 includes a dispensing mouth 9, i.e. an opening through which items are dispensed, running in the longitudinal direction x of the weight 4, coinciding with the longitudinal direction x of the dispenser 1.

(19) The weight illustrated in FIG. 3 includes two protrusions 23 in the form of continuous longitudinally extending ribs arranged at a distance from the dispensing mouth 9, which is seen in greater detail in FIG. 4. Accordingly, the protrusions ensure that there is a space between the lower surface of the weight 4 immediately surrounding the dispensing mouth 9, and the top of the stack of napkins introduced in the dispenser. Such a space will ensure that the stack is not clamped against the dispensing mouth 9, which would complicate removal of napkins from the stack.

(20) As depicted in FIG. 1, the weight 4 extends over the dispensing opening 7 substantially all the way between two opposing side walls 6a of the container 2, and the dispensing mouth 9 is arranged such that it extends in a longitudinal direction x of the dispenser 1 between the opposing rim portions 13a over substantially the entire longitudinal extension of the weight 4.

(21) The dispensing mouth 9 also has a transverse extension, or a width, in a transverse direction of the weight 4 perpendicular to the length extension of the mouth. The width of the dispensing mouth should be sufficient for a napkin to easily pass there through. Moreover, the dispensing mouth 9 is provided with a portion 9a having a greater width than the other portions 9b of the dispensing mouth 9. The portion 9a with a greater width is designed so as to facilitate gripping of the napkin. Further, it is still desired to provide portions 9b positioned adjacent to the side walls 6a of the dispensing mouth 9 with a relatively narrow width. Such portions support a leading end protruding through the dispensing mouth 9, such that the leading end is presented in an upright position for a user to grasp.

(22) The dispensing mouth 9 depicted in FIG. 3 is substantially rectangular with rounded corners, such that the outline of the dispensing mouth 9 corresponds to the outline of the weight 4, which is aesthetically appealing.

(23) The dispenser 1 further includes two weight control means 15, seen in FIGS. 3 and 4. The weight control means 15 interconnect the weight 4 and the container 2 and is located inside the dispenser 1 when the dispenser 1 is assembled, and extend inside the container 2 between a container connection 17 arranged at the lower portion 1b of the dispenser 1 and a weight connection 19. The weight control means 15 restrict the movement of the weight 4 in a vertical direction along the side walls 6 so as to determine the location of the upper position of the weight 4, thus determining the maximum size of a stack to be introduced into the dispenser. Further, the weight control means 15 will ensure that the weight 4 cannot be completely removed from the container 2.

(24) Moreover, the weight control means 15 will contribute to the control of the movement of the weight 4 inside the dispenser 1 between the upper position and the lower position.

(25) As may be seen in FIG. 4, two weight control means 15 are arranged in a diagonally opposing manner in order to achieve an optimal distribution of the pull force from a user extracting an item from the dispenser.

(26) The length of the weight control means 15 between the container connection 17 and the weight connection 19 essentially corresponds to the vertical distance from the container connection 17 to the dispensing opening 7, as seen in FIG. 1A. Accordingly, essentially the full vertical length of the container 2 from the supporting surface 8 to the dispensing opening 7 will be available for a stack of napkins. The weight connection 19 depicted in FIG. 4 is arranged at the rim 13 of the weight 4.

(27) Further, the dispenser 1 includes a frame 21, depicted in FIG. 5 and arranged along the side walls 6 surrounding the supporting surface 8 as shown in FIG. 1. The frame 21 includes the mating part 17 of the container connection 17 and is positioned adjacent to the bottom wall 5 at the lower edge 6b of the side walls 6.

(28) The container 2 depicted in FIG. 2 define one vertical slot 25 in each of the longitudinal side walls 6. The horizontal extension of the vertical slot 25 is sufficient to allow manual access to the napkins in the container 2 via the slot 25.

(29) The dispenser defines a bottom portion, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1A being constituted by the bottom wall 5, and a wall portion including a part of the side walls 6 including the lower edge 6c of the side walls 6, and the frame 21. The bottom portion is removably attached to the wall portion. Accordingly, the bottom portion may be removed from the wall portion for refill of napkins from the bottom end of the dispenser.

(30) Hence, refill is possible even though the weight 4 remains in the dispensing opening 7 of the container, attached via the weight control means 15 to the side walls 6 of the container 2.

(31) The frame 21 as described above is used to provide a connection between the bottom portion and the wall portion of the dispenser 1. The bottom portion is removably attached to the wall portion by means of a magnetic lock 27. The advantages of using a magnetic lock have been mentioned above.

(32) The magnets and corresponding magnetic materials of the magnetic lock 27 are arranged in a generally opposing relationship. The interfacing surfaces formed between the magnets and corresponding magnetic materials are, in this embodiment, similar in size and shape.

(33) The frame 21 depicted in FIG. 5 is used to provide magnets to the wall portion of the dispenser. Corresponding magnetic material pieces are provided in the bottom wall, as shown in FIG. 5.

(34) Moreover, the frame 21 is used to provide a connector 29 between the wall portion and the bottom portion of the dispenser. In the illustrated embodiment, the connector 29 is in the form of a soft-hinge connector. The soft-hinge connector includes a soft material ribbon which is inserted into a corresponding slot in the frame, thereby providing the connector 29.

(35) The bottom wall 5 is provided with a gripping means 28 in the form of a circular notch for facilitating removal of the bottom wall from the wall portion of the dispenser 1.

(36) As seen in FIGS. 1 and 1A, the upper edge 6b of the side walls 6 is confined in a horizontal plane, whereby a stable upside-down position of the dispenser 1 is enabled, as shown in FIG. 6. Accordingly, the dispenser 1 may conveniently be positioned resting on the upper edge 6b of the side walls 6 in an upside down position for refill of the dispenser 1 from the bottom side thereof.

(37) When the dispenser 1 is assembled, the frame 21 is positioned inside the container 2 at the lower edge 6c of the side walls 6 of the container 2. The bottom wall 5 is attached at the lower edge 6c of the container 2 by means of the magnetic lock 27, such that the container 2 is open towards the ambient only at the dispensing opening 7 of the container. Finally, the weight 4 is attached to the dispenser 1 by means of the container connection 17. When the dispenser 1 is empty or nearly empty, the weight 4 will be in its lower position adjacent to the supporting surface 8 of the container 2.

(38) When the dispenser 1 is to be filled or refilled with items to be dispensed, the dispenser 1 is brought in the upside down position such that the dispenser 1 rests on the upper edges 6b of the side walls 6 of the container 2. When the dispenser 1 is being turned around, it may be advisable to provide a support for the weight 4, such that the weight 4 and the remaining items, if any, inside the container does not uncontrollably fall down under action of gravity, which may cause unduly high and possibly damaging stress on the weight control means, as well as wrinkling, creasing or other rearrangement of the remaining items inside the container, which may damage the items and worsen the dispensing.

(39) To this end, the user may utilise the vertical slot 25 provided in the side walls 6 of the dispenser, so as to hold the weight and any remaining napkins towards the support surface during turning of the dispenser.

(40) When the dispenser 1 is in its upside down position, the bottom wall 5 is disconnected from the side walls 6 by gripping the gripping means 28 and opening the lock 27. After the bottom wall 5 has been disconnected, a stack of interfolded napkins is inserted into the dispenser 1, and the bottom wall 5 is reattached to the dispenser 1. Finally, the dispenser 1 is turned around once more, bringing it to the upright position, and the leading end of the uppermost napkin is extracted through the dispensing mouth such that the dispenser 1 becomes ready for use.

(41) When the dispenser 1 is completely filled, the weight 4 forms a stack-supported lid of the dispenser 1, meaning that when a stack of napkins is inserted in the dispenser 1, the weight 4 will rest on the stack. Accordingly, when the dispenser 1 is completely filled with napkins, the weight 4 will be in its upper position located adjacent to the dispensing opening 7 of the container.

(42) The weight 4 including the dispensing mouth 9 will simultaneously present a leading end of the uppermost napkin in the stack through the dispensing mouth 9, and hold down the remaining part of the stack, such that additional, unwanted napkins are not removed from the stack together with the uppermost napkin. Instead, due to the interfolding of the napkins, removal of the uppermost napkin will result in the leading end of the next napkin being presented in the dispensing mouth, as mentioned earlier.

(43) By means of the weight 4 forming a dispensing mouth 9, fall-back of the leading end of the uppermost napkin in a stack of interfolded napkins is avoided without the risk of the tearing or wrinkling of the napkin being pulled out or of the subsequent napkin.

(44) In use, the leading end of the uppermost napkin in the stack positioned in the dispenser 1 is extending between two opposing side walls 6a. Accordingly, the dispensing mouth 9 extends longitudinally along the width of the leading end of the napkin, such that the napkins may be extracted through the dispensing mouth 9 with minimal or no wrinkling, providing a tidy and appealing napkin both prior to and after dispensing.

(45) As the napkins are being dispensed, the vertical extension of the stack inside the dispenser will decrease. Since the weight is supported by the stack of napkins, the weight will descend towards the supporting surface of the container with the decreasing vertical height of the stack. Hence, when the dispenser is nearly empty or empty, the weight will be located adjacent to the supporting surface of the container. The weight is vertically movable inside the container between an upper position adjacent to the dispensing opening of the container, and a lower position adjacent to the supporting surface of the container, in both the upward and the downward directions, due to the flexible character of the weight supporting means.

(46) Although the present invention has been described with reference to various embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognise that changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. It is intended that the detailed description be regarded as illustrative and that the appended claims including all the equivalents are intended to define the scope of the invention.