GB2361907A - Tissue container assembly - Google Patents

Abstract

A tissue container assembly 30 comprises a container body 32, a removable lid 34 and a plurality of tissues 12 arranged in at least one stack 10, each tissue in the at least one stack being staggered relative to its neighbours and at least partially folded, the uppermost corner 22 of a majority of the tissues protruding from the container body when the lid is removed. The tissues may be rectangular, may consist primarily of wood-pulp, may be moisturised and the at least one stack of tissues may comprise tissues that are displaced relative to each other such that the uppermost corners of the tissues lie on a substantially straight line. The container may be cylindrical, may be reduced in width at one end, may be conical or may be oval in cross-section. The container may include retaining means, such as at least one toothed rib arranged on the inside of the container, for resisting removal of the stack of tissues from the container. In use, the tissue container assembly may be inserted into the centre-tube of a roll of household tissue. A second embodiment (figures 7 and 8, not shown) is adapted for insertion into a cup-holder such as those which may be found in a vehicle or a bathroom.

Description

2361907 Tissue Container The present invention relates to containers for

tissues, and relates particularly, but not exclusively, to containers for moisturised tissues adapted to be inserted into the centre tube of a roll of household tissues..

Cylindrical containers for moisturised tissues are known in which a roll of tissues, joined by perforations, is inserted into the cylindrical container and the inner end of the roll is pulled through a hole of restricted size in one end of the container. The act of pulling a tissue through the hole causes the perforations to tear once the edge of the following tissue emerges through the hole, to enable the tissues to be dispensed individually.

Prior art containers of this type suffer from the disadvantage that purely wood pulp based tissues (or other tissues, such as synthetic tissues consisting of mostly short fibre lengths) have insufficient strength to prevent the tissues from tearing at locations other than the perforations. It is therefore necessary to include strengthening fibres, such as cotton or rayon, which consequently makes the tissues significantly stronger than their intended use requires, and makes the manufacture of such tissues significantly more complicated, thus increasing their cost. In any event, only wood pulp tissues may be used in the context of providing tissues for flushable applications.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention seek to overcome the above disadvantages of the prior art.

According to the present invention, there is provided a tissue assembly, the assembly comprising:- a container having a container body and a removable lid; and a plurality of tissues arranged in at least one stack and the tissues within the or each stack successively displaced relative to each other and at least partially folded, wherein the tissues in the or each stack are arranged in said container such that the uppermost corner of a majority of said tissues protrudes from the container body when the lid is removed.

By providing tissues arranged in one or more stacks in which the tissues are successively displaced relative to each other and arranged in the container such that the uppermost corner of a majority of the tissues protrudes from the container body when the lid is removed, this provides the advantage of easy access to the innermost tissue, which can then be pulled away from the other tissues in a direction generally perpendicular to the surface of the tissue. This provides the advantage that the surface tension between the uppermost and next tissues is minimised, so that a single tissue can be removed from the container without removing other tissues.

In a preferred embodiment, said tissues are substantially rectangular.

The tissues are preferably successively displaced relative to each other such that the uppermost corners of the tissues lie on a substantially straight line.

The tissues may consist primarily of wood pulp.

The tissues may be moisturised.

In a preferred embodiment, the container is cylindrical.

In another preferred embodiment, the container is reduced in width at one end.

Providing a cylindrical container with the width at one end reduced has the advantage of facilitating automatic insertion of the container into the centre tube of a roll of household tissues, such as toilet tissue or kitchen roll.

In a preferred embodiment the container has an oval crosssection.

By providing a container having an oval cross-section has the advantage of creating a package which is more suitable for sale separately from a toilet or kitchen roll. Such shaped packaging also makes most efficient use of the space within the container, leaving very little space unfilled.

The inside of the container may be substantially conically shaped.

This provides the advantage of offering better support to the structure of the tissues in the container.

In a preferred embodiment, the container includes retaining means for resisting removal of the stack of tissues from the container.

This provides the advantage of minimising the risk that the entire stack of tissues is removed by the attempted removal of a single tissue.

The retaining means preferably comprises at least one rib having teeth arranged on an inner surface of the container, wherein the teeth are adapted to resist removal of the stack of tissues from the container without significantly impeding insertion of the stack into the container.

Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only and not in any limitative sense, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a clip of tissues; Figure 2 is a perspective view of the clip of tissues of Figure 1 wherein the edges of the tissues are successively displaced relative to each other along one direction; Figure 3 is a perspective view of the clip of tissues of Figure 1 wherein the edges of the tissues are successively displaced relative to each other along two directions; Figure 4 is a schematic elevation view of a tissue container of a first embodiment of the present invention with the lid thereof removed; Figure 5 is an elevation view of the container of Figure 4 with the lid in a closed position; Figure 6 is a schematic elevation view of a clip of tissues being inserted into the container of Figure 4; Figure 7 is a schematic elevation view, corresponding to Figure 4, of tissue container of a second embodiment of the present invention; Figure 8 is an elevation view, corresponding to Figure 5, of the container of Figure 7; Figure 9 is a schematic flow diagram of process steps for manufacturing the containers of Figures 4 to 8; Figure 10 is a schematic diagram showing the insertion of the container of Figures 4 to 8 into the centre tube of a roll of tissue; Figure 11 is a perspective viw of a shingling device for producing the shingled clip of tissues of Figure 3; Figure 12A is a schematic elevation view of a container of a third embodiment of the invention; Figure 12B is a plan view of the container of Figure 12A; and Figure 12C is an enlarged view of retaining ribs of the container of Figure 12A and 12B.

Figure 13 is a plan view of a container of a third embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 14 is a plan view of a container of a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to Figures 1 to 3, a clip 10 of tissues 12 can be formed from tissues 12 being stacked on top of each other as such that the edges 14, 16, 18, 20 of each of the tissues are superimposed on each other as in Figure 1. Alternatively, the tissues can be shingled in the direction of arrow A as in Figure 2, i.e. each of the tissues is displaced in the direction of arrow A relative to the adjacent tissue. As a further alternative, the tissues can be shingled along the directions A and B as shown in Figure 3, such that a corner 22 of each tissue 12 is displaced relative to the adjacent tissue along diagonal axis 24 of the tissues.

Referring now to Figure 4, a containet 30 has an elongate container body 32 of generally circular cross section, and a removable lid 34 having an open end and a closed end of reduced diameter. The container body 32 contains a clip 10 of tissues 12, shingled along two directions as shown in Figure 3 such that successive leading corners 22 lie along.diagonal line 24, and then folded along diagonal line 24 prior to insertion into the container body 32. As a result, the uppermost corner 22 of each of the tissues 12 protrudes from the container body 32 when the lid 34 is removed. The lid 34 is adapted to be a relatively tight fit on the container body 32 to prevent moisturised tissues 12 from drying out, as shown in Figure 5. The clip 10 of tissues 12 is inserted into the container body 32 with the assistance of a shoe 38 of generally circular cross section, as shown in Figure 6. The internal wall 40 of the container body 32 is generally conically shaped to provide support for the clip 10 of tissues 12.

In order to remove a single tissue 12 from the container 30, the lid 34 is removed, and the uppermost corner 22 of the innermost tissue 12 is gripped. The innermost tissue 12 is then pulled in the direction of arrow C in Figure 4, i.e. generally perpendicularly to the surface of the tissue 12. As a result, the surface tension between adjacent tissues 12 is minimised, and the innermost tissue can be removed from the container body 32 without removing other tissues.

Figures 7 and 8, corresponding to Figures 4 and 5 respectively and in which parts common to the embodiment of Figures 4 to 6 are denoted by like reference numerals but increased by 100, show a larger size container 130. The container 130 is larger to contain more tissues, and is therefore suitable for use in a variety of situations, for example sized to fit into a cup holder as commonly found in a vehicle or bathroom.

Figure 9 shows a flow diagram for the process of automated manufacture of the containers of Figures 4 to 8. At step 50, the required number of tissues 12 is formed into a rectangular stack, as shown in Figure 1. At step 52, the stack of tissues 12 is shingled, by means of either single shingling (in which successive edges of the tissues 12 lie in a single plane) or bi-Planar shingling (in which pairs of- edges of successive tissues lie along two planes, as shown in Figure 3), by means of a shingle forming apparatus shown in Figure 11, and which will be described in greater detail below. At optional step 54, clip 10 of tissues 12 is moisturised, and then at step 56 the tissues 12 are folded and inserted into the container body 32,132. At optional step 58 moisturising agent is added to the container, and the lid 34, 134 of the container is placed on the container body 32, 132 at step 60.

Referring now to Figure 10, the container 30 of Figures 4 to 6 is inserted into the centre tube of a roll 70 of toilet tissue or kitchen roll subsequently to production of the roll, and insertion of the container 30 is assisted by the reduced diameter of the end of the lid 34. The roll 70 containing container 30 is then wrapped in packaging material.

Figure 11 shows a bi planar shingle forming device 62 for forming the clip 10 of tissues 12 of Figure 3. The device 62 has a front face 64 connected to a rear face 66 by two sides 68. The device 62 has a sloping lower edge 69 such that when a clip of tissues 12 is inserted into the device 62, the tissues are displaced relative to each other along their diagonal axis 24.

Figure 12A, in which parts common to the embodiment if Figure 4 are denoted by like reference numerals but increased by 200, shows an elevation view of a container 230 of a third embodiment of the invention. The container 230 has a body 232 having a series of longitudinally extending ribs 280 provided at circumferentially spaced apart locations on the inner surface of the container body 232. As shown in Figure 12C, each of the ribs 280 is of generally sawtooth shape, so that a clip of tissues can be inserted into the container without difficulty, but the teeth 281 resist removal of the clip of tissues, especially when moisturised. As a result, the risk of attempted removal of the innermost tissue resulting in removal of the entire clip is minimised.

Referring to figure 13, a plurality of clips 10 of tissues 12 are contained within a single container 30. Alternatively (although not shown in the attached figures) two clips could be located one within the other. Since the height of the clips is restricted by the easy reach of fingers into the container putting one clip inside another provides an increased utilisation of space and an increase in the number of tissues that can be fitted into a single container.

Referring to figure 14, a clip 10 of tissues 12 is contained within a container 30. The container 30 is oval in crosssection, which as can be seen from figure 14, reduces the unutilised space within the container 30 to a minimum. The packaging is also generally regarded as more acceptable in shape, and particularly suitable for putting in a handbag.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the above embodiments have been described by way of example only and not in any limitative sense, and that various alterations and modifications are possible without departure from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

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Claims (12)

1. A tissue assembly, the assembly comprising:- container having a container body and a removable lid; and plurality of tissues arranged in at least one stack and the tissue within the or each stack successively displaced relative to each other and at least partially folded, wherein the tissues in the or each stack are arranged in said container such that the uppermost corner of a majority of said tissues protrudes from the container body when the lid is removed.

2. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein said tissues are substantially rectangular.

3. An assembly according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the tissues are successively displaced relative to each other such that the uppermost corners of the tissues lie on a substantially straight line.

4. An assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the tissues consist primarily of wood pulp.

5. An assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the tissues are moisturised.

6. An assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the container is cylindrical.

7. An assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the container is reduced in width at one end.

8. An assembly according to claim 6, wherein the container is oval in cross-section.

9. An assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the inside of the container is substantially conically shaped.

10. An assembly according to any one of the preceding claims. wherein the container includes retaining means for resisting removal of the stack of tissues from the container.

11. An assembly according to claim 10, wherein said retaining means comprises at least one rib having teeth arranged on an inner surface of the container.

12. A tissue assembly, the assembly substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 4 to 11 of the accompanying drawings.