Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to table napkins and in particular to disposable napkins that may be used to wrap a service of cutlery as may be provided for an individual place setting in a restaurant or other catering facility. The disclosure also relates to the use of such a napkin for wrapping cutlery and a method of providing individual place settings.

Background art

[0002] Napkins are used in catering and the home in a variety of different forms. Cloth napkins are generally used for fine dining, whereas disposable napkins tend to be more conventional in higher volume establishments. Amongst the disposable napkins there may also be considerable variation, ranging from high-end cloth-like non-wovens to serviettes dispensed from a bulk dispenser or roll.

[0003] One particular use of the napkin is to wrap cutlery as an individual place setting. Such wraps may be prepared in advance, containing e.g. a knife and fork or a knife, fork and spoon. The waiter or restaurant staff can then quickly provide the requisite number of wraps to a table. Alternatively, diners e.g. in a buffet setting can take their own wrap from a pile or basket.

[0004] Preparing such wraps is a time consuming exercise involving the steps of:

- taking a napkin from a pile;

- taking a set of cutlery and laying it on the napkin;

- wrapping or rolling the napkin around the cutlery; and

- securing the wrap with a clip, band or sticker.

[0005] The final step of securing the connection requires an additional element such as the self-adhesive napkin bands available from Royal Paper Products, Inc. Such an additional element increases the cost of the wrap and adds to the time of production. Additionally, during use, it leads to an additional item of waste that may be present on the table during the meal and is sometimes unsightly.

Summary

[0006] According to the invention there is provided a napkin having an upper side, a lower side and four corners, the napkin being provided with an adhering portion and a releasing portion that can releasably adhere together. The adhering portion is located on the upper side and the releasing portion is located on the lower side at corresponding positions such that the napkin can be stacked with similar napkins with the releasing portion on the lower side of a first napkin aligned and engaged with the adhering portion of a second napkin located beneath the first napkin. The napkin further comprises an engaging location on its lower side such that the napkin can be wrapped around an object and secured by engaging the adhering portion with the engaging location.

[0007] As a result of the defined configuration, the napkins can be easily provided in a stack and used one by one to wrap a service of cutlery. Prior to wrapping, the adhering portion retains the napkin to the stack and on completion of the wrapping operation, the adhering portion secures the wrap and prevents the napkin from opening.

[0008] A suitable location for the adhering portion is at a corner of the napkin. It will be understood that this refers to the napkin in the state in which it is to be stacked. Since napkins will generally be folded, this does not mean that the adhering portion will necessarily be located at a corner of the unfolded napkin. In fact, in particular embodiments, the adhering portion will be located other than at the corner of the unfolded napkin. In the following, in order to avoid ambiguity, reference to the napkin is to the napkin as it is stacked or presented prior to wrapping an item of cutlery. In particular embodiments, the napkin has four corners. For a napkin in its unfolded state, reference is given to a sheet having points.

[0009] If the adhering portion is at a corner of the napkin, then, in particular embodiments, the releasing portion is also at a corner of the napkin. In particular embodiments, the releasing portion will be located directly below the adhering portion . However, the releasing portion may be located beneath a different corner. For example, if the adhering portion is provided on a first corner, then the releasing portion may be located beneath the diagonally opposite corner. In that case, the napkins are stacked alternately. In alternative embodiments, the releasing portion is on an adjacent corner to the adhering portion, in which case, the napkins will rotate through the stack. This rotation may be clockwise or counterclockwise. Also, the rotation may skip the immediately adjacent corner or follow a different pattern.

[0010] The engaging location is in certain embodiments located close to a centre of the napkin, although this will depend at least partially on the way of wrapping and the size of the item to be wrapped. It will be understood that the engaging location may be defined by a particular texture or coating on the napkin, facilitating engagement or release of the adhering portion. In its simplest form, it may also be an area of the lower surface of the napkin, designated to receive the adhering portion. The engagement location may also be decorated or otherwise embellished e.g. to avoid any damage to the napkin on opening the wrap from being perceived by a user.

[0011] The napkin may be a single sheet having a maximum extent defined by the four corners. More usually however, the napkin will include a sheet that has been folded at least once. In one embodiment, the napkin includes a sheet having an inner surface and an outer surface that has been folded at least once with the inner surface inwards. The at least one fold may bisect the sheet or be offset from the center line. In this case, it will be understood that both the adhering portion and the releasing portion will be located on the outer surface. It is noted in this context that certain napkins and the like have in the past been provided with attachment means for sticking to a user's clothing. In that case however, the attachment is provided on the inner surface of the sheet that forms the napkin. This is of course particularly important where there is a clearly defined difference e.g. in quality, pattern or texture between the inner surface and the outer surface.

[0012] In many embodiments, the sheet is twice-folded to form the napkin with the outer surface exposed and the four points of the sheet aligned at a first corner of the napkin. A large class of disposable paper napkins are of this type and of the napkins that are used for making cutlery service wraps, this is by far the most common, since it provides a wrap that is of suitable size to enclose the service and yet can be opened out to four times the area for dining. In further embodiments, the first and/or the second fold may be offset from a line bisecting the sheet. In a particular embodiment, the first fold is offset such that two of the points, in particular the two outer points, are aligned at a first corner and the other two points are aligned at a location interior of the first corner.

[0013] For a twice-folded napkin, there are two corners that are preferred for providing the adhering portion, since they lead to a wrap that is less likely to open. These are the two corners that lie on the second fold of the twice-folded napkin and may be referred to as the "closed" corners. In a first embodiment the adhering portion may be provided adjacent a second corner of the napkin, diagonally opposite to the first corner. This is the corner closest to the centre of the sheet. In this case, the engaging location may be provided between the first corner and a centre of the napkin. An alternative to this arrangement is for the adhering portion to be located at or adjacent a third corner of the napkin with the engaging location being provided between a fourth corner and a centre of the napkin. In this case, the third and fourth corners are the adjacent corners to the first corner, with the third corner being the "closed" corner.

[0014] All of the above, assumes that the napkin is wrapped around the cutlery service along a diagonal of the napkin. It will nevertheless, be understood that other methods of wrapping may be applied e.g. parallel to a side of the napkin. In that case, the adhering portion may be located at a different location and the releasing portion and engaging location will be positioned accordingly.

[0015] In yet further embodiments, the sheet may have three or four folds, with each fold bisecting the sheet or being offset from a bisecting line. The three folded napkin may include two parallel folds and a third perpendicular fold, with the first two folds being C- or Z-folded. Alternatively, the first fold may be the perpendicular fold and the second two folds may be the parallel folds in a C- or Z-fold pattern. Yet further, the three folded napkin may be folded in a manner similar to the twice-folded napkin followed by an additional bisecting or offset fold.

[0016] The sheet that forms the napkin may be manufactured of any suitable material and the skilled person will choose the material according to the quality and intended use required of the napkin. In particular, the sheet may be manufactured of one or several layers or plies of fibrous material, for example cellulose-based absorbent material, such as tissue or air-laid, including dry crepe, wet crepe and structured tissue. It is also possible to use fibrous materials which entirely or partially consist of synthetic single- or multi-component fibres and/or regenerated cellulose fibres, such as fibres including polyamide, polypropylene, polyethene, polyester, viscose, etc. Multi-ply napkins may be laminated in a conventional way by co-embossing of the component plies or by gluing. In one embodiment the sheet is multi-ply tissue having a weight per ply of between 14 g/m2 and 30 g/m2, preferably between 15 g/m2 and 24 g/m2 or even between 16 g/m2 and 18 g/m2. In another embodiment, the napkin is formed by folding a sheet of single-ply air-laid non- woven having a weight of between 25 g/m2 and 80 g/m2, preferably between 30 g/m2 and 70 g/m2 or even between 40 g/m2 and 60 g/m2. In a further embodiment the sheet is single- ply tissue having a weight of between 14 g/m2 and 40 g/m2, preferably between 16 g/m2 and 30 g/m2 or even between 18 g/m2 and 22 g/m2

[0017] The napkin may be any suitable size according to the desired use. With reference to the unfolded size of the sheet, the sheet may have maximum dimensions of between 20 cm and 60 cm, including cocktail size (20 cm x 20 cm), lunch size (30 cm x 30 cm), standard size (40 cm x 40 cm), luxury size (50 cm x 50 cm) or any other intermediate size required. In general, the sheet may be square. In this context, square is intended to cover shapes that the user will perceive as being square even though adjacent sides may not be equal. In certain circumstances, the sheet may be non-square even though the napkin is folded to a square or vice- versa.

[0018] It is also understood that the outer surface of the sheet from which the napkin is formed may be patterned, e.g. printed or embossed, to distinguish it from the inner surface. In this context, we may refer to the fact that the outer surface is the quality surface that is intended to be visible e.g. when the napkin is presented and when it is placed on a user's lap. The embossing may have taken place onto the outer surface, which is sometimes referred to as the female side. The adhering portion may be provided on this outer surface as may be both the releasing portion and the engaging location. For this reason, it may be important to ensure that these portions are of an acceptable visual appearance both before use, when wrapped, and during use.

[0019] The adhering portion may be designed to retain the engaging portion for at least 24h, while at the same time being possible to separate the two portions without destroying one or both of them. It may e.g. be a pressure-sensitive, hot-melt adhesive or a water-based acrylic adhesive. In certain embodiments, the adhering portion may be transparent or may be in itself decorative. It may be circular, square, triangular and of any size suitable for its function. It may be a logo or a print of motif. The same may apply to the releasing portion, which may be the same size as or larger than the adhering portion. The engaging location will generally be significantly larger, since it must allow for variations in wrapping. It is also not excluded that the engaging location extends to and includes the releasing portion. Application of the adhering portion may take place by any suitable means according to the material of the napkin and the type of adhering portion. This may include gravure, spray, roll or slot coating processes or by printing, at any stage in the manufacture of the napkin. The shape of the adhering portion may be dependent upon the process used for its application. In many embodiments, the adhering portion will be applied at a late stage in the procedure, e.g. immediately before, during or after folding. The releasing portion and/or engaging location may be similarly provided. Examples of materials for the releasing portion include silicone sprays, silicon kit and varnishes. [0020] In a still further embodiment, the adhering portion and the releasing portion may be provided on separate elements such as stickers or tape portions that are applied to the napkin during production. The adhering portion may be double sided adhesive tape with a first adhesive side and a second tacky side. The releasing portion may be single sided adhesive with the second side having a repellent portion that releases easily from the tacky adhesive. Both portions may be provided on a single tape element.

[0021] The engaging portion may be arranged to increase the strength properties of the napkin surface and/or between layers via e.g. coating, embossing or lamination. The engaging portion may also be designed to facilitate adhering and releasing between the adhering portion and the engaging portion via e.g. embossing, coating or printing. In one embodiment, the engaging location may include a protective surface facilitating release of the adhering portion without damage to the napkin. The protective surface may be a region in which a shiny or glossy finish is provided to the napkin material. It will be understood that such a surface may be less absorbent than other regions of the napkin and for this reason, it may not be desirable for the engaging location to extend over a large area of the napkin. Alternatively, the protective surface may not affect the comfort and adsorption of the napkin material and in which case, it may extend over a larger portion of the napkin and may even be coextensive with the outer surface of the sheet forming the napkin.

[0022] In another embodiment, the napkin may make use of adhesives or materials that engage to each other but not to other surfaces. Examples of such materials may include the well-known hook and loop fasteners such as VelcroTM, although alternatives exist based on tacky adhesives that only stick to each other. Such adhesives are sometimes referred to as envelope-glue and may be based on two component epoxy adhesive, which only sticks in case of mutual contact, or other types of male-female connections which adhere to each other but not to their environment. In this case, the adhering portion and the engaging location and/or the releasing portion are provided with complementary surfaces that releasably adhere to each other but do not adhere to the napkin material.

[0023] The invention also relates to a stack of napkins as defined above or hereinafter, piled together with the releasing portions on the lower sides of the napkins aligned and releasably engaged with the adhering portion of an adjacent napkin in the stack. Advantageously, because of the relation between the releasing portion and the adhering portion, there is no requirement for a cover paper to be removed from the adhering portion prior to its use and the stack may consist only of napkins. It is of course not excluded that there may be a cover paper of the uppermost adhering portion prior to use and or other wrapping or packaging materials for the stack.

[0024] The disclosure still further relates to a cutlery wrap including one or more items of cutlery, wrapped in a napkin, the wrap being secured by engagement of an adhering portion on the napkin with an engaging location at another position on the napkin. In this manner, a cutlery wrap may be achieved without the use of any additional element such as a ring, clip or sticker to hold the wrap together.

[0025] Furthermore a method of wrapping cutlery to form a cutlery wrap is disclosed, the method including:

- providing a napkin having an adhering portion;

- placing one or more items of cutlery onto the napkin;

- wrapping the cutlery in the napkin; and

- engaging the adhering portion with an engagement location on the napkin to secure the wrap.

[0026] The napkin may be a napkin as described above or hereinafter.

[0027] In a particularly convenient manner of forming the wrap, the napkin is provided in a stack with the upper side of the top napkin exposed and the items of cutlery are placed onto the upper side of the top napkin.

[0028] A napkin is also disclosed, having an upper side, a lower side and four corners, the napkin including a twice-folded sheet and being provided with an adhering portion on the upper side, adjacent to one of the corners and a releasing portion on the lower side at a corresponding position to the adhering portion such that a plurality of napkins may be stacked together with the repelling portion of a first napkin engaging releasably with the adhering portion of a second napkin located beneath the first napkin. Brief description of the drawings

[0029] The features and advantages of the invention will be appreciated upon reference to the following drawings of a number of exemplary embodiments, in which:

[0030] Figure 1 shows a schematic view of a napkin according to a first embodiment;

[0031] Figure 2 shows a schematic view of the napkin according to Figure 1, formed into a cutlery wrap;

[0032] Figure 3 shows a schematic view of a stack of napkins according to Figure 1 ;

[0033] Figure 4 shows a schematic view of the stack of Figure 3, with the uppermost napkin partially folded back; [0034] Figure 5 is a plan view of an unfolded napkin;

[0035] Figure 6 is a plan view of the unfolded napkin of Figure 5, with the adhering portion at a different location;

[0036] Figure 7 is a plan view of an alternative unfolded napkin; and

[0037] Figure 8 is a plan view of a further alternative unfolded napkin.

Description of embodiments

[0038] Figure 1 shows a schematic view of a napkin 1 according to a first embodiment together with a cutlery service S. The napkin 1 has an upper side 2 that is visible in Figure 1 and four corners 4 A-D. The lower side 3 of the napkin 1 is not visible in this view.

[0039] The napkin 1 is a conventional 3-ply paper tissue sheet 6 of having a weight of 45 g/m ² and maximum dimensions of 39 cm x 39 cm unfolded size. As shown in Figure 1, the napkin is in a twice folded state, having dimensions of 19.5 x 19.5 cm. It will be understood that other sizes and constructions may be equally applicable. The points 8 A-D of the tissue sheet are gathered at the first corner 4A. At the diagonally opposite second corner 4B there is provided an adhering portion 10. The adhering portion 10 is a triangular region of 2 cm ² that has been coated with a pressure-sensitive hot melt adhesive, such as Lunatack® PHC 2198 adhesive.

[0040] Figure 2 shows the napkin 1 of Figure 1, rolled around the cutlery service S to form a wrap 20. In this view, the lower side 3 of the napkin 1 is visible, while the upper side 2 of the napkin 1 is turned inwards towards the cutlery service S. The napkin 1 has been rolled, starting from the first corner 4A and the second corner 4B is outermost. In this state, the adhering portion 10 engages over an engaging location 16 on the lower side 3 of the napkin 1 and engages therewith by the action of the adhering portion 10. The engagement between the adhering portion 10 and the engaging location 16 should be sufficient to secure the wrap 20 against spontaneous unwrapping even after handling of wraps 20 during setting of tables or the like. In particular embodiments, it should also be sufficient to remain engaged for a period of at least 24 hours. On the other hand, it should not be so well adhered that the wrap 20 may not be opened without damaging the napkin 1 to the extent that it may be unacceptable to a user.

[0041] Also visible in Figure 2 is a releasing portion 12 located on the lower side 3 at the second corner 4B, such that it directly corresponds to the position of the adhering portion 10. The releasing portion 12 is provided with a coating of a food grade silicone spray, the function of which will be described in further detail below.

[0042] Figure 3 shows a stack 30 of napkins 1 according to Figure 1. All of the napkins 1 in the stack 30 are located with their upper side 2 upwards and the adhering portion 10 of the uppermost napkin 1 is visible.

[0043] Figure 4 shows the stack of Figure 3, with the uppermost napkin 1 partially turned back to reveal its lower side 3 and the upper side 2 of the napkin 1 below. Also visible is the releasing portion 12 on the lower side 3 of the uppermost napkin 1. It will be understood that the engagement between the adhering portion 10 and the releasing portion 12 allows a stable stack 30 of napkins 1 to be maintained and also ensures that suitable release of the uppermost napkin 1 is possible, without damaging the material of the napkin 1. In this sense, operation may be considered similar to the well-known sticky notes although with the particularity that in the case of the stack 30, the adhering portion 10 is provided on the upper side.

[0044] In use, a user may quickly and efficiently form cutlery wraps 20 directly from the stack 30, by placing the cutlery service S onto the stack 30 and wrapping or rolling the uppermost napkin 1 from the first corner 4A towards the second corner 4B to the point at which the engaging location 16 engages the adhering portion 10. At this point, continued rolling of the wrap 20, will release it from the stack 30, which is ready to receive the next cutlery service S.

[0045] Figure 5 is a plan view of the napkin 1 of Figure 1 after unfolding the tissue sheet 6 to reveal its outer surface 32 and its four points 8A-D. The sheet 6 is twice-folded, across fold X and subsequently across fold Y to form the napkin 1. The upper side 2 of the napkin

1 is on the left side of the fold Y, while the lower side 3 of the napkin 1 is the portion on the right side of the fold Y. In this embodiment, the adhering portion 10 and the releasing portion 12 are located adjacent to one another on either side of the fold Y and close to the centre of the tissue sheet 6. The engaging location 16 is located centrally of the upper side

2 and as can be seen in this view, is considerably larger than either the adhering portion 10 or the releasing portion 12. The reason for this is that the wrap 20 may vary considerably in size, depending upon the cutlery service S and the position at which the adhering portion 10 engages with the lower side 3 of the napkin 1 may also be variable.

[0046] Figure 6 is a plan view of a tissue sheet 6 that is otherwise identical to the tissue sheet of Figure 5, with the exception of the location of the adhering portion 10 and the releasing portion 12. In this case, they are located on opposite sides of the fold Y, adjacent to an edge of the tissue sheet 6. Once the tissue sheet 6 is folded twice to form the napkin 1 , the adhering portion 10 and the releasing portion 12 will be found on opposite sides of the third corner 4C. This has the advantage that the adhering portion 10 and the releasing portion 12 are kept away from the central region of the tissue sheet 6, where they might be more visible during use of the napkin.

[0047] Figure 7 is a plan view of an unfolded napkin 101 according to an alternative embodiment. Like numerals preceded by 100 are used to designate similar elements. In this embodiment, the tissue sheet 106 is provided with a tape element 107, carrying the adhering portion 1 10 and the releasing portion 1 12. In this embodiment, both the adhering portion 1 10 and the releasing portion 1 12 are provided on the same tape element 107. It will however be understood that they could also be provided on separate tape elements and could also be spaced from each other. The tape element 107 is permanently adhered to the tissue sheet at the third corner 104C, corresponding to the alternative shown in Figure 6, and is aligned such that the adhering portion 1 10 will attach to the engaging location 1 16. It will be understood that the tape element 107 could have been located at the second corner as in the embodiment of Figure 5. In all other respects, this embodiment operates in a similar manner to the previous embodiment.

[0048] Figure 8 is a plan view of an unfolded napkin 201 according to a still further embodiment. Like numerals preceded by 200 are used to designate similar elements to those of the first embodiment. In this embodiment, the adhering portion 210 is moved away from the third corner 204C in a diagonal direction towards the centre C of the napkin 201. In this embodiment, the releasing portion 212 is located at a corresponding distance from what will become the fourth corner 204D, once the napkin 201 is folded, in the direction of the centre C of the lower side 203 of the napkin. This position of the releasing portion 212 ensures that it can also act as the engaging location if the distance between the adhering portion 210 and the releasing portion 212 corresponds to the wrapping circumference of the cutlery item. In the case of the embodiment of Figure 8, napkins 201 will be stacked alternately with the third corner 204C overlying the fourth corner 204D of the napkin beneath and vice versa. In this way, the releasing portion 212 will overly the adhesive portion 210 of the napkin below.

[0049] Thus, the invention has been described by reference to the embodiments discussed above. It will be recognized that these embodiments are susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms well known to those of skill in the art. In particular, the arrangement of adhering portions and releasing portions may be distinct from the schematically illustrated designs both in position and in shape.

[0050] Many modifications in addition to those described above may be made to the structures and techniques described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, although specific embodiments have been described, these are examples only and are not limiting upon the scope of the invention.