Folded sheet product and dispenser therefor

A generally rectangular sheet is folded upon itself along a first crease that is parallel with two edges of the sheet. The position of the fold is located to create a structure having a region of double thickness but in which one of the edges is offset from the other. The folded structure is folded upon itself along a second crease that is parallel with the first crease to provide a first flap of double thickness that lies upon one surface of the structure. The structure also is folded upon itself along a third crease that is parallel with the first and second edges and within the region of double thickness to provide a second flap lying upon the one surface. In the totally folded sheet, the one of the edges is closer to the center of the sheet than the other edge. A unique dispenser is provided which allows the user to grasp only the one edge so that the sheet product unfolds completely when pulled from the dispenser.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to folded sheet products, such as towels and 
facial tissue; and more particularly to such products which are folded for 
storage in a dispenser. 
A wide variety of folded towels, napkins, facial tissue and the like are 
known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,256,334; 3,007,605 and 
5,023,126 disclose different types of such products. 
One form of a folded towel in commercial use is commonly referred to as a 
C-fold towel and is shown in FIG. 1. Such towels comprise a sheet of 
absorbant paper which is folded on itself along a center line so that two 
opposite edges 12 and 13 are aligned. This forms a two-ply structure. The 
two edges 12 and 13 are folded together onto one surface 14 of the towel. 
The folded edge 11 also is folded over onto the one surface 14 so that it 
is spaced from edges 12 and 13. This creates a multiple ply towel and the 
generally C-shape. 
C-fold towels are usually stacked in a dispenser from which users withdraw 
them. The C-fold towel is particularly adapted for housing in a dispenser 
since its folded structure allows a large sheet of paper to be housed in a 
relatively smaller dispenser. When the towels are placed into the 
dispenser, edges 11, 12 and 13 are placed downward so that the lower most 
towel in the stack lies against the bottom wall of the dispenser. That 
wall has an elongated opening which exposes edges 11, 12 and 13 to the 
user. In withdrawing a towel from the dispenser, the user grasps either 
folded edge 11 or both edges 12 and 13 and pulls the towel through the 
opening in the dispenser. Regardless of which edge is grasped by the user, 
the towel unfolds into a two-ply sheet as it is withdrawn from the 
dispenser. Should the user wish a larger towel area, the withdrawn towel 
then must be unfolded into a single ply sheet. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
A general object of the present invention is to provide a sheet product 
which is folded in a manner so that when it is withdrawn from a dispenser, 
the product unfolds into a single-ply sheet without requiring further 
unfolding steps once the product is withdrawn from the dispenser. 
This objective is accomplished by folding a sheet of absorbent material 
upon itself along a first line which is parallel with first and second 
edges of the sheet and which is removed from a center line between the 
first and second edges. This forms a structure having a region of double 
thickness that terminates at the first edge which is disposed inwardly of 
the second edge. The structure then is folded upon itself along a second 
line parallel with the first line and within the region of double 
thickness. This second folding provides a first flap of double thickness 
that lies upon one surface of the structure. The structure also is folded 
upon itself along a third line that is parallel with the first and second 
edges and within the region of double thickness. This third fold provides 
a second flap of double thickness that lies upon the one surface wherein 
the second edge is closer to the one surface than the first edge which is 
spaced by one ply of the material from that surface. 
When the sheet product of this folded construction is placed within a 
dispenser, the user is able to grasp the second edge in order to pull the 
towel from the dispenser. That pulling operation automatically causes the 
towel to unfold into a single sheet as it is withdrawn from the dispenser. 
In the preferred usage of the present invention, a special dispenser is 
provided which allows the user access only to the second edge forcing the 
user to grasp only that edge and properly withdraw the towel from the 
dispenser.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
With initial reference to FIG. 2, a towel 20 is formed from a generally 
rectangular sheet of absorbant material, such as paper or cloth, which has 
a predefined thickness. The sheet 22 is folded upon itself along a first 
line or crease that is parallel to first and second edges 26 and 28, 
respectively, thus forming a folded edge 24 along the first line. The 
first fold operation creates a structure having a region of double 
thickness which terminates at the first edge 26 that is disposed inwardly 
of the second edge 28 at that intermediate stage of the fabrication 
process. 
The structure then is folded upon itself along a second line or crease 30 
that is parallel with the first crease and within the region of double 
thickness. This second folding operation provides a first flap 32 which 
lies upon one surface 34 of the folded structure. 
The structure also is folded upon itself along a third line or crease 36 
that is parallel with the first and second edges and within the region of 
double thickness. This third fold provides a second flap 38 which lies 
upon the one surface 34 of the folded structure. Because the first folding 
operation did not align the first and second edges 26 and 28, these edges 
are spaced from one another on the second flap 38. The first edge 26 in 
the completely folded towel is spaced further from the center line of the 
folded towel than the second edge 28. Thus, the second flap has an outer 
section 37 double thickness and an inward section 39 of single ply 
thickness. The spacing between the first and second edges 26 and 28 is key 
to the towel's ability to unfold into a single sheet. 
With reference to FIG. 3, a plurality of towels 20 are stacked on top of 
one another within a dispenser 40. The towels are placed with the edges 
24, 26 and 28 facing downward toward an end of the dispenser which has an 
opening 42 through which the towels can be extracted. The opening 42 is 
offset from the midpoint between the vertical walls 43 and 44 of the 
dispenser. Specifically, the end wall is formed by first partition 46 and 
a second partition 48. The first partition 46 extends from the first 
vertical wall 44 toward the other vertical wall 43, to entirely support 
and conceal the first flap 32 of the bottom towel so that the user is 
unable to grasp the edge 24 of that flap. The shorter second partition 48 
extends from the second vertical wall 43 of the dispenser 40, a distance 
which is approximately equal to the width of outer section 37 of the 
second flap 38. Because the second edge 28 of the towel projects beyond 
the first edge 26, the second edge 28 extends beyond the second partition 
48 and drops into the opening 42 formed between the two end wall 
partitions 46 and 48 of the dispenser 40. 
Thus, only the second edge 28 of the towel is presented to the user when 
attempting to withdraw a towel 20 from the dispenser 40. Edges 24 and 26 
of the towel 20 are concealed from being grasped by the user. Therefore, 
the user is drawn to grasp the second edge 28 in order to remove a towel 
from the dispenser. As the user, grasping the second edge 28, pulls the 
towel from the dispenser, a first ply 50 of the towel is withdrawn while 
the second ply 52 remains within the dispenser. The first ply is 
withdrawn, unfolding the towel about the third fold line 36 and then the 
first fold edge 24. Once the first ply 50 has been extracted from the 
dispenser 40, the second ply 52 begins to be pulled therefrom in an 
unfolded manner so that the towel will be unfolded completely into a 
single sheet when it is fully withdrawn from the dispenser. The user does 
not have to perform any further unfolding of the towel 20 in order to have 
a single ply sheet of towel to use. 
Although the present invention has been described in the context of a 
towel, the present invention also can be used to fold other types of sheet 
products, such as facial tissues and napkins. Furthermore, while the towel 
was described as being rectangular, it may have rounded corners and curved 
edges.