The present invention is in the field of closure mechanisms for cartons, boxes and suchlike. More specifically, the invention is in the field of closures for cartons containing rolls of thin material such as aluminium foil, baking parchment, or cling film.

Films and other sheet materials, such as aluminium cooking foil, greaseproof paper and suchlike, are usually produced in the form of a continuous roll of material and are then sold in a disposable vending carton. The cartons provided with food wrap films tend to be of the form of a cardboard carton with modifications to facilitate the vending of the film. To this end, disposable cartons are provided with toothed blades, usually metallic, plastic, or laminated cardboard, on which the consumer can cut the film off to a desired length.

The toothed blade is usually located adjacent to, and/or protruding from, one edge or corner of the carton. The toothed blade may be supplied already attached to the carton, either by gluing or by other known methods of attachment, alternatively, and more commonly with catering packs, the toothed blade is supplied loose in the carton and simply fits loosely over a carton edge which is exposed after opening.

Boxes of the general type described above are not at all easy to use and suffer from several major drawbacks which are outlined below.

Firstly, the toothed blades are invariably located along one edge or corner of the carton in order to provide an exposed position for cutting the film. This introduces a very obvious risk of injury to the consumer, since the blade must, out of necessity, be sharp enough to cut the film being dispensed, it is also invariably sharp enough to cut the consumer. The injuries inflicted in such a manner tend not to be severe, but can be irritating and genuinely painful; in addition, they also introduce the risk of the film, carton, and subsequent users becoming contaminated with blood and are thereafter become unusable in certain environments (catering establishments and suchlike).

The second main disadvantage of standard foil/film dispensing relates to their ease of use and is more relevant to plastic cling film than to foil or other kitchen wrap

materials. After a length of cling film has been cut from the roll and the carton returned to its drawer, there is a strong tendency for the loose end of the film to wrap itself back around the roll, making it very difficult and time consuming to locate the free end the next time the film is to be used. This problem is most pronounced with plastic cling films, as they tend to suffer from static electricity build ups and many contain "cling agents" (such as poly-iso-butylene) which encourage the film to stick to itself.

A third problem is that when in use, it is difficult if not impossible to restrain the roll of film whilst attempting to cut a sheet of material therefrom. There is a tendency for the roll to continue unwinding as the material is being severed from it, the outcome being a trapezoid sheet of material rather than the rectangular sheet which consumer's desire. This may be looked upon as merely an irritation, however, it raises two issues, firstly, there is an increased level of waste, since more film than was required is torn from the roll, secondly, the leading edge presented next time a consumer wishes to use the film is no longer a straight edge making the film less convenient to use.

There is no specific closure mechanism on a traditional foil/film dispenser carton, indeed some are destroyed when first removing the product, meaning the roll of foil or film can often be found in the bottom of the drawer, no longer contained within the dispenser. This exacerbates the wrap around problem introduces a further hygiene risk through foreign body pick-up, and also causes annoyance through added inconvenience of finding a suitable cutting method for further use.

A final problem with traditional cardboard cartons is that the edge of the box with the toothed blade has a tendency to tear over time; this makes the carton virtually unusable with regards to successfully vending film.

A number of past attempts have been made to alleviate the above problems, the most pertinent of which are outlined below.

US 5,222,644 (MORENO) describes a dispenser for rolls of sheet material, said dispenser comprising a hinged section and a fixed section, each roughly defining two sides of the dispenser. The hinged section carries a serrated cutting blade along

the edge distal the hinge member. In a closed position, the serrated blade is concealed within the dispenser by a rubber gasket attached along the open edge of the fixed portion of the dispenser. This device largely obviates the problem of injuries occurring due to users coming into contact with the cutting blade and also partially addresses the issues of restraining the film whilst a portion is being removed for use. However; the device is not disposable and is therefore unsuitable for retail sale of film/foil products, furthermore, the blade is still exposed during refilling of the dispenser allowing plenty of opportunity for a user to cut themselves.

US 4,417,495 (GORDON) describes another refillable dispenser. In this instance the cutting blade is concealed in a sprung sheath, the sheath preventing any possibility of injury by the blade. When in use, the sheath retracts upon abutment with another portion of the dispenser, allowing the blade to cut the film. This dispenser addresses all of the issues surrounding foil/film dispensers, however, the mechanism is complex and therefore expensive to produce and the device could in no way be considered disposable and therefore would not find favour in the retail environment.

EP 508,021 (HUANG) describes an alternative dispenser with a concealed cutting blade. Again there are fixed and hinged portions of the dispenser, the fixed portion housing the blade concealed within a channel. The hinged portion also has a channel along the length of its leading edge. Upon closure of the lid, the channel on the hinged member forces the film into the channel on the fixed member and also onto the blade, thereby cutting the film. Again this dispenser is not a disposable device, containing several moving parts and springs. This would be outside the scope of a one use dispenser of the type foil or film rolls are retailed in.

WO 03/099693 (BENEDETTI) describes a multi part dispenser for foil or film, said dispenser comprising a housing and a film presentation means, each being extruded from plastics material. Further to these portions, there are described plastic mouldings to act as end caps for the dispenser. Again, the major issues are addressed and the device is constantly referred to as being low cost, however, it is readily apparent that a multi-component plastic system is not as readily disposable as a traditional carton, and will be considerably more expensive to produce.

US 4,196,647 (FISH) describes a very similar device to that disclosed by HUANG, the main difference being that the two channels are additional members attached to a largely standard carton. This will reduce the cost somewhat, however, this cost reduction is largely offset by the addition of plastic end cap members which both maintain the shape of the dispenser and carry spring members to bias the carton into an open position.

The HUANG and FISH documents are the closest prior art to the present disclosure, however, neither address all of the problems outlined above, predominantly the lack of a satisfactory closure mechanism, with both describing a dispenser which is biased towards an open position. Furthermore, both describe devices which would be far too costly to find use as disposable carton dispensers for the retail sale of foil/film.

It is an intention of the present invention to overcome all of the above problems, providing a dispenser for rolls of sheet material, such as Aluminium foil, greaseproof paper or cling film, comprising a disposable carton constructed from flat or sheet material by a process of cutting, folding, gluing and/or welding, such materials being typically but not exclusively cardboard, corrugated cardboard or polypropylene.

Said carton whilst itself being an integral unit, comprising a lid portion to allow dispensing access and to form a reusable closure, and a box portion which containing the product to be dispensed, said lid and box portions being hinged to one another along substantially the whole length of the carton, said lid member further comprising a first closure member attached to the edge distal the hinge and said box portion comprising a second closure member attached to an open edge, characterised in that one of said closure members further comprises a cutting blade, and the members when connected enable closure of the carton via an interference fit between them.

Preferably said first and second closure members are each one piece mouldings or sections of extrusion profile, preferably formed from a durable plastics material.

Preferably said cutting blade is integrally formed with one of said first and second closure members, forming part of a single moulding or extrusion profile.

Preferably said closure members are formed from different plastics materials giving one closure member a greater affinity for foil/film than the other, alternatively the same functionality may be induced by utilising the same basic material for both members, but the properties of which have been modified differently in each closure member by the inclusion of property modifying agents.

One of said closure members may comprise "cling agents" such as those commonly used in the manufacture of polyethylene film (e.g. polyisobutylene or atactic polypropylene), thereby increasing the tendency for a film product to cling to that closure member.

One of said closure members may comprise slip agents (e.g. oleamides and erucamides) such as those commonly used in the manufacture of polyethylene mouldings, thereby reducing the tendency for a film product to cling to that closure member.

One of said closure members may comprise an anti-static additive, such as those commonly used in the manufacture of Crystalline Polystyrene and ABS mouldings, such that a film will have a greater affinity for said other closure member.

Preferably the said cutting blade is a toothed cutting blade; more preferably, the external face of said teeth are angled towards the carton, the tips of which do not substantially project outwards in an exposed or unprotected manner, such that it is difficult for a user to accidentally injure themselves thereupon.

The closure member comprising the cutting blade may further comprise one or more sprung members, biased such that when the carton is opened, film is urged away from the cutting blade, thereby allowing the consumer easier access to its leading edge.

One or both of said first and second closure members may be attached to the carton via a plurality of gripping tabs with locating projections spaced along the edge proximal the lid and box portions respectively. Said first and second closure members positively attach to said lid and box portions of said carton via the

projections which locate into holes provided in the surface of the carton lid and body which results in a positive interference fit, said lid and box portions' leading edges then being retained between said gripping tabs and the main body of said closure members.

Optionally, one or both of said first and second closure members may be attached to said lid or box potions by other conventional means, such as gluing or welding.

Figure 1 shows an open cling film carton according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 shows a closed film carton according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3 shows an enlarged view of one embodiment of the closure members of the present invention.

The foregoing description is merely one possible embodiment of the present invention and is in no way limiting with regards to the scope thereof.

Referring initially to Figures 1 & 2, there is shown a dispenser, comprising a cardboard carton 1 for a roll 2 of sheet material 3. The carton 1 comprises a lid portion 4 and a box portion 5, said lid and box portions 4,5 being interconnected via a hinged region 6, the hinge 6 being formed by a fold in the cardboard. The lid portion 4 further comprises a first closure member 7 and the box portion further comprises a second closure member 8.

Referring also now to Figure 3, said first closure member 7 comprises a downwardly protruding member 9 and an outwardly protruding flange 10, whereas said second closure member 8 comprises a longitudinal channel 11, said member 9 formed so as to have an interference fit with said channel 11, a toothed cutting blade 12 and one or more sprung members 13, biased such that when the carton 1 is opened, film is urged away from the cutting blade 12. Said member 9 further comprises one or more lateral protrusions spaced along its length, said channel 11 having one or more sprung portions spaced substantially adjacent said lateral protrusions, the sprung portions and the lateral protrusions forming a snap fit closure.

To use a carton of film incorporating the present closure mechanism is very simple and convenient for the consumer. Initially, a user opens the carton 1 by applying pressure to the underside of flange 10, thus releasing the snap fit closure (not shown). Film 3 is then drawn manually out of the carton 1 to a desired length, the lid 4 is returned to a closed position, by application of pressure to the upper face of the flange 10, re-instigating the snap fit closure. This action also urges protruding member 9 into an interference fit with channel 10, a portion of film 3 being urged into channel 10 by protrusion 9. The film 3 is now firmly held in between protrusion 9 and channel 10, with the desired portion of film being external of the carton 1. Holding the carton in one hand, the user simply has to pull down on the desired portion of film, as protrusion 9 is forcing the film 3 against the toothed cutting blade 12. After the desired portion of film has been removed, the carton is left in a closed position, ready for easy storage, with the product protected and hygiene maintained, furthermore, the film is retained within the closure mechanism and the loose portion is not allowed to fall back into the box to become wrapped around the parent roll.

Upon re-use of the roll of film, the carton 1 is opened as previously described. The previously cut edge of the film is urged upwards and away from the toothed cutting blade 12, by the sprung members 13. This action is encouraged by the inclusion of cling agents in the first closure member 7 and slip agents in the second closure member 8. Alternatively, the action can be encouraged by the inclusion of anti¬ static agents in the second closure member 8. Irrespective of whether the loose end of the film is presented on either the lid or carton closure members, it is still prevented from becoming rewound on the parent roll, thus providing quicker and more convenient vending.

The preceding embodiment is in no way intended to restrict the scope of the present invention, and it will be readily apparent to a person skilled in the art that any number of trivial modifications would fall within the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.