TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention pertains to packaging for paper products, and in particular to a friction closing plastic dispenser package having a roll of tissue paper inside.

BACKGROUND ART

Toilet paper and thin wrapping papers are usually sold in rolled form for insertion into dispensers having axles that fit through the cores of the papers. Dispensers for tissue papers are shown in a variety of patents.

U.S. Patent No. 851,835 shows a dispenser having a closed metal cylindrical retainer with an axle which passes through the core of the paper roll . The paper passes off the roll and out of the dispenser through a narrow slot where it is torn off against a cutter. A finger opening is provided adjacent the cutter for reaching the end of the paper above the cutter and drawing it out.

U.S. Patent No. 2,978,156 illustrates a closed cylindrical dispenser for a roll of paper on an axle. A washer on one end of the axle and the wall of the dispenser on the other keep the roll from freely rotating inside and unrolling on its own. The paper passes out of the dispenser through a narrow slot bordered by a lip having a finger opening for gripping the end of the paper. The paper is torn off the roll against the lip.

U.S. Patent Nos. 5,172,966 and 5,490,625 illustrate a cylindrical dispenser for paper towels or toilet paper featuring a closing flap and hook and loop fastener means such as sold under the trademark Velcro for closing the dispenser. The roll is placed on an axle. The dispenser is used by opening the flap and pulling out the end of the roll and tearing it off across a serrated cutting blade. The flap is then closed.

U.S. Design Patent No. 201,298 shows a rectangular dispenser for paper towels. The paper towels are apparently in rolled form and rest on the rear bottom of the dispenser. The end of the roll is passed through a narrow slot in the bottom front where it is torn off toward the rear against serrations on a lower lip or is torn off by pulling up against serrations on an upper lip.

U.S. Design Patent No. 223,049 is a dispenser for rolled paper towel. The paper towel roll sits in the bottom of a half cylinder section and is torn off the roll against a lip on the front.

U.S. Design Patent No. 235,832 shows a portable dispenser for sheet material on a roll . The curved appearance and overall construction of the dispenser suggests that it is made of two halves of vacuum formed clear sheet plastic material . The end of the paper roll passes out of the dispenser through a thin relief in the bottom lip which forms a slot with the smooth similar sized top lip. Finger openings in both lips permit the user to grasp the end of the roll after it has been torn off against the edge of either the top or bottom lip. No visual provision is made for holding the top and bottom halves of the dispenser together which suggests that they are laminated or glued together except in the area of the slot.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

The present invention provides for an improved friction closing plastic dispenser package having a roll of tissue paper inside. The dispenser is fabricated from a single flat sheet of plastic by vacuum forming with a hinge in the middle allowing the two sides to fold onto each other. Each side has a portion of a cylinder. Around the perimeter of the cylinder portion on one side is a relief forming a female seal. Around the perimeter of the cylinder portion on the other side is a protrusion forming a male seal. When the two sides are pressed together, the male seal engages the female seal causing the two sides to be held together by friction. A slot is formed by providing a relief in the flange on one side and the flat surface of the flange on the other side.

At the factory, a protective label is inserted into the cylindrical cavity of the dispenser with the ends of the label passing onto the flanges. A roll of the paper product is then placed on the label and the dispenser is closed using the friction closure to completely protect the roll inside with the ends of the label filling the slot. The dispenser is shipped to the retail store in this protected condition and the buyer buys and keeps it closed until it is needed for immediate use. Only then does the buyer pull the two flanges apart rotating the two sides around the hinge, remove the protective label, lay the free end of the roll on one of the flange and outside the dispenser, and close the sides together with the roll inside. The buyer then pulls out as much of the free end of the roll as he wants and tears it off against the flange.

In accordance with an important feature of the invention, one of the flanges is cut away partially in the middle creating a finger hole for grasping the free end of the paper remaining inside the dispenser after the paper has been torn off against the other flange.

In accordance with another important feature of the

invention, the plastic is clear plastic allowing the user to see how much paper is left on the roll.

In accordance with an important aspect of the invention, the lip adjacent the slot opposite the finger opening has a aperture for hanging the dispenser for display and also allowing another access for a finger to grasp the end of the rolled paper.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the dispenser is formed from two separate sheets of plastic which are pressed together.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top front right side perspective view of the dispenser package for flat, rolled paper products in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an end elevational view of the roll 22;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the open dispenser;

FIG. 4 is a right side elevational view of the open dispenser; FIG. 5 is a right side elevational view of the closed dispenser;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view along line 6 - 6 of FIG. 1 of the closed dispenser with a roll inside;

FIG. 7 is a rear elevational view showing the hinge; FIG. 8 is a front elevational view showing the end of the paper in the slot;

FIG. 9 is a top front right side perspective view with a label around the roll similar to FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view along line 10 - 10 of FIG. 9 of the closed dispenser with the roll and label inside; and,

FIG. 11 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 6 of a second embodiment having separate sides.

MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Referring initially to FIG. 1, a top front right side perspective view of a dispenser package having a roll of paper inside is shown in accordance with the present invention, generally designated as 20. The roll 22 of toilet paper, tissue paper, or other thin paper such as toilet seat covers exits the dispenser 24 through a slot 26 where the free end 28 of the roll is easily torn off against the bottom flange 30 of the dispenser. A new supply of paper is started from the roll by reaching into the finger hole 32 in the top flange 34 and pushing or pulling the paper out of the dispenser 24. Only a small portion of the paper is exposed where it can get dirty. FIG. 2 is an end elevational view of the roll 22. The roll is rolled without a core in order to maximize the amount of rolled paper inside the dispenser 24. The dispenser and roll package is designed to be as small as possible while holding a reasonable amount of paper. One use of the dispenser package 20 is with standard toilet paper which has a width of 11.5 cm. When the paper is rolled without a core, a length of 4.5 m. to 7.6 m. is produced when a diameter of 4 cm. is reached depending upon the thickness of the paper. FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the open dispenser 24. The dispenser is fabricated from a single flat sheet of plastic by vacuum forming with a hinge 36 in the middle allowing the two sides 38 and 40 to fold onto each other. Vacuum forming equipment suitable for this purpose is available from Brown & Co., Detroit, Michigan. The plastic is preferably a clear plastic such as poly vinyl chloride which is available from many sources including Gulf Pacific Co., Los Angeles, California. However, the package can be made from any other plastic suitable for vacuum forming such as PETG or vinyl. Each side 38 and 40 has cylinder portion 42 and 44, respectively, formed in it. Around the perimeter of the cylinder portion 42 on one side 38 is a protrusion forming a male seal 48. Around the

perimeter of the cylinder portion 44 on the other side 40 is a relief forming a female seal 46. For a dispenser fabricated of .25 mm. to .30 mm. thick plastic for a 4 cm. roll of toilet paper, the male seal is typically 7 mm. high and 5 mm. wide and the female seal is 4 mm. deep and 6 mm. wide. When the two sides 38 and 40 are pressed together, the male seal 48 engages the female seal 46 causing the two sides 38 and 40 to be securely held together by friction. A flange relief 50 in the bottom flange 30 together with the flat surface of the top flange 34 form the narrow slot 26 through which the paper passes. A notch 52 in the male seal 48 (12.5 cm. long and 6 mm. deep in the above example) and a depression 53 in the lower flange 30 (12 cm. long and 5 mm. deep in the above example) adjacent the slot 26 facilitate the passage of the paper through the male and female seals and into the slot. The finger hole 32 in top flange 34 allows the fingers to reach the paper after it has been torn off as described above. A delta shaped hanger hole 54 in the bottom flange 30 also permits the fingers to reach the paper and allows the dispenser package 20 to be hung up for display in a store.

FIG. 4 is a right side elevational view of the open dispenser 24 showing the nature of the female and male seals 46 and 48. The female seal 46 is a recess below the parting plane of the two sides around the perimeter of the cylinder portion 44 in lower side 40. The male seal 48 is a protrusion above the parting plane of the two sides around the perimeter of the cylindrical portion 42 on the upper side 38. The two seals match each other to hold the two sides 38 and 40 together by friction. The hinge 36 is a standard hinge configuration molded into the plastic sheet between the two cylindrical portions 42 and 44 so they exactly rotate into each other around the hinge.

FIG. 5 is a right side elevational view of the closed dispenser 24. The two sides 38 and 40 have been rotated around hinge 36 to cause male seal 48 to enter female seal 46 holding the two cylinder portions 42 and 44 together.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view along line 6 - 6 of FIG. 1

of the closed dispenser 24 with a roll 22 inside. The free end 28 of the roll passes through the narrow slot 26 formed by the relief 50 in the bottom flange 30 together with the flat surface of the top flange 34. The narrowness of the slot 26 engages the paper at many points creating friction between the paper and the dispenser 24 so that the free end 28 of the paper will have less of a tendency to pull back inside the dispenser once it is torn off due to the roll 22 settling in the bottom of the cylinder portion 44. FIG. 7 is a rear elevational view of the dispenser package 20 showing the hinge 36 passing along the back of the dispenser 24. FIG. 8 is a front elevational view of the dispenser package 20 showing the end of the paper in the slot 26. FIG. 9 is a top front right side perspective view with a label 56 around the roll 22 similar to FIG. 1. FIG. 9 shows how the dispenser package 20 comes from the manufacturer and is sold in the retail store. The free end of the roll 22 is still wrapped on the roll where it cannot get dirty. The label 56 is wrapped around the roll further protecting it with the two ends 58 and 60 passing along the exit path through the slot 26 which the free end will later take. The label thereby blocks up the slot so that no dirt can enter the dispenser 24. The protection of the paper roll 22 from dirt and damage is important because the dispenser package 20 may be around for months in a purse, drawer, glove box, or travel bag before it is needed. The paper will be of limited use if it is dirty, unrolled, and folded as is the case when an unprotected roll of tissue paper such as toilet paper is stored in an unprotected condition in such an environment.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view along line 10 - 10 of FIG. 9 of the closed dispenser 24 with the roll 22 and label inside 56. The free end 28 of the paper is wrapped tightly against the roll 22. The label 56 passes from end 58 through the slot 26 around the roll 22 back up through the slot to end 60 thereby completely sealing the roll inside the dispenser.

In order to make the dispenser package 20 ready for use when it comes from the manufacturer and retail store, the customer opens the dispenser 24 as shown in FIG. 3, takes out the label 56 with the roll 22 inside, removes the label entirely and throws it away, frees the free end 26 of the paper from the roll, lays the roll 22 down inside the bottom cylinder portion 44 with the free end 28 passing along the path to the outside through the slot 26, and closes the two cylindrical portions 42 and 44 until the female and male seals 46 and 48 engage locking the roll inside with the free end available in the slot 26.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 6 of a second embodiment of the dispenser package, generally designated, 70 having two separate sides 72 and 74. All features of the second embodiment of the dispenser package 70 are the same as for the first embodiment 20 except for the elimination of the hinge 36. The male and female seals 76 and 78 hold the sides 72 and 74 together with the roll 80 safely protected inside. The preferred embodiments of the invention described herein are exemplary and numerous modifications, dimensional variations, and rearrangements can be readily envisioned to achieve an equivalent result, all of which are intended to be embraced within the scope of the appended claims.