Container for stack of interfolded tissue sheets with gripping means for first sheet

Abstract: The invention pertains to a stack (2) of interfolded tissue-sheets (3) packed in a container (1). The container (1) has a generally planar bottom wall (4) and a top wall (5) and side walls (6-9) connecting the bottom wall (4) with the top wall (5). An opening (14) is provided in at least the top wall (5) for the removal of the tissue-sheets (3) from the container (1). The stack (2) of interfolded tissue-sheets (3) are placed in the container (1) with a lowermost tissue-sheet (11) placed on the bottom wall (4) and an uppermost tissue-sheet (12) placed at the top wall (5) and generally parallel to said top wall (5) and in direct connection with the opening (14) in the top wall (5). The uppermost tissue-sheet (12) of the stack (2) of interfolded tissue-sheets (3) comprises a gripping member (21), which is grippable through the opening (14) in the top wall (5).

Description: TECHNICAL AREA: The invention pertains to a stack of interfolded tissue-sheets according to the preamble of claim 1 (see WO-A-9 617 794). BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION: Soft tissue sheets such as facial tissue sheets are commonly offered as a stack of tissue sheets packed in a dispensing box. The dispensing box has an opening through which the user pulls the tissue sheets. In order to facilitate the removal of the tissue sheets from the dispensing box, the tissue sheets are interfolded, which means that the tissue sheets are folded into one-another, so that they form a chain of tissue sheets being interconnected by folded portions. In this manner, when removing one tissue sheet from the stack of tissue sheets and pulling the tissue sheet completely through the dispensing opening in the dispensing box, the pulled-out tissue sheet will automatically bring a portion of the next tissue sheet in the stack out through the opening thereby making it readily available for gripping and removing from the dispensing box. The praxis of interfolding tissue sheets in this manner is a convenient way of ascertaining that all of the tissue sheets can be easily removed from the container. However, a problem arises when trying to remove the first tissue sheet from the stack of tissue sheets. After opening the dispensing box, which basically means exposing the opening in the box, the user must try and get a grip on the first tissue sheet. This is very difficult since the surface of the first tissue-sheet which is exposed through the opening in the dispensing box is very smooth and hard to grip. The edge of the first tissue-sheet is often hidden beneath the top wall of the box and the first tissue-sheet is pressed hard against the top wall when the box is full. Moreover, the tissue material is soft, flimsy and fragile and will easily break if subjected to tearing forces. Accordingly, the risk of damaging or completely destroying the uppermost sheet in the stack of tissue sheets is considerable. In fact, it is not unusual that several tissue sheets in the stack are damaged in the process of removing the first sheet of tissue. Hence, there exists a great need of improving the dispensing of a first tissue sheet from a stack of tissue sheets which are packed in a dispensing box. The present invention offers a simple and expedient means of solving the problem of removing a first tissue sheet from a stack of interfolded tissue sheets which are packed in a container having a dispensing opening. By the provision of a gripping member according to claim 1, the first tissue sheet can easily be gripped and removed from the box without causing tearing, severe wrinkling or other damage to the tissue sheet. In accordance with the invention, the uppermost tissue-sheet of the stack of interfolded tissue-sheets comprises a gripping member, which is exposed through the opening in the top wall of the container as defined in claim 1. The uppermost tissue-sheet is placed at the top wall of the dispensing box and in direct connection with the opening in the top wall. This does not mean that the uppermost tissue-sheet has to be in contact with the top wall. Hence, it is only necessary that the uppermost tissue-sheet is placed at the top wall in a manner which will permit the gripping member to be directly accessible through the opening in the top wall. This implies that no components which would block the access of the gripping member through the opening in the top wall are present between the uppermost tissue-sheet and the top wall. Accordingly, the invention encompasses embodiments in which the dispensing box is completely filled with tissue-sheets, as well as embodiments wherein the dispensing box initially is only partially filled with tissue-sheets. The gripping member is a separate component and is in the form of a tape tab having an anchoring portion which is adhesively attached to said uppermost tissue-sheet and a gripping portion freely extending from said anchoring portion. Accordingly, the tape tab is formed from a rectangular piece of tape of plastic film, nonwoven material, tissue, or the like. The anchoring portion is attached by means of adhesive. The gripping portion extends from the anchoring portion and is preferably sufficiently rigid in order to be readily separable from the surface of the uppermost tissue-sheet. However, the gripping member should not substantially affect the overall flexibility and drapability of the tissue-sheet and should not severely impair the function of the tissue-sheet. Accordingly, it is an advantage if at least the anchoring portion of the gripping member is flexible and/or has a fairly small surface. Moreover, in order to avoid chafing caused by the gripping member when using the uppermost tissue-sheet for wiping sensitive surfaces such as facial skin, the gripping member should preferably not present any sharp edges or corners. A way of ascertaining that the gripping portion will be readily grippable, the gripping portion can be formed from a folded portion of a tape strip. The tape tab has two anchoring portions and the folded gripping portion is arranged between the two anchoring portions. A gripping member having a folded portion can easily be produced from a piece of tape having an adhesive surface and a non-adhesive surface by double-folding the tape leaving one adhesive anchoring portion at each side of the folded gripping tab. It is, of course, possible to use non-adhesive tapes and to provide only the anchoring portions with some attachment means. The gripping portion of the gripping member can have any desired shape such as square, rounded, polygonal, flower-shaped, etc. However, a tapering shape, such as a triangular shape is expedient for packaging purposes. Filling of a disposable dispensing box is usually made by introducing a compressed stack of tissue-sheets through a short end of the dispensing box. A tapering shape of the gripping portion will ascertain that the gripping portion will fold smoothly against the surface of the uppermost tissue-sheet in the stack when the gripping member contacts the upper wall of the dispensing box during the insertion step. When opening a box of tissue-sheets, it can be difficult to visually distinguish the gripping member from the surface of the uppermost tissue-sheet. Accordingly, it can be advantageous that the gripping member has a colour which contrasts with the colour of said uppermost tissue-sheet. This allows the user to immediately recognise the gripping member, and saves time in trying to identify the gripping member. Moreover, a contrasting colour will serve as a signal of the presence of a gripping member. The presence and intended use of the gripping member can further be drawn to the attention of the user by providing the gripping member with a printed marker to visually indicate its grippability. Such a marker could, for instance, be an arrow or text such as "pull", or the like. Moreover, a visual indication of the presence of a gripping member can be made by making the gripping member of a material having a physically contrasting surface, such as an embossed surface, a glossy surface, etc. In accordance with a further embodiment of the invention, the dispensing box has a protective cover which is arranged over the opening in the top wall. The gripping member is attached to the cover, which means that when the cover is removed, the gripping member will be pulled or raised into a more readily grippable position. In such an embodiment, the bond between the cover and the gripping member has to be comparatively weak, so that the pulling force acting on the bond will cause it to break before the uppermost tissue-sheet is pulled out of the dispensing box. Alternatively, the bond between the gripping member and the cover can be of a more permanent character and be sufficiently strong so as to withstand the pulling force when the cover is removed. In such a case, the removal of the cover will cause the uppermost tissue-sheet to be pulled out of the dispensing box. By removal of the cover is meant that the cover is removed from the opening, so that the opening is exposed. It does not necessarily imply that the cover has to be completely removed from the dispensing box, since the cover may, for instance, be in the form of a lid which is permanently attached to the box and which is removed from the opening by folding along a fold line or a hinge. Usually the protective cover is made of the same material as the box itself, and is simply a portion of the top wall, which can be torn away along a perforated line in the top wall. However, other protective devices such as separate pieces of paper, paperboard, plastic film, and the like can be used. Moreover, the box can be provided with a permanently attached or removable regular lid which is opened to expose the opening in the top wall 5 and which, optionally, can be reclosed. SHORT DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES: The invention will in the following be described in greater detail, with reference to the figures which are shown on the appended drawings. In the drawings: Fig. 1 shows a box of packaged tissue-sheets with a gripping member in accordance with the invention. Figs. 2a-2c show different embodiments of gripping members in accordance with the invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Fig. 1 shows a generally rectangular paperboard dispensing box 1 containing a stack 2 of interfolded tissue-sheets 3. By interfolding, all the tissue-sheets 3 in the stack 2 are mechanically attached to each other in a continuous, loosely connected band of individual tissue-sheets 3. The tissue-sheets may be provided as non-folded sheets before interfolding, or may be more complicated structures such as pre-shaped tissue-sheets or tissue-sheets which have been folded one or more times before interfolding. The paperboard box 1 has a bottom wall 4, a top wall 5, two long side walls 6,7 and two short side walls 8,9. The stack 2 of tissue-sheets 3 rests with a lower-most tissue-sheet 10 on the inner surface 11 of the bottom wall 4 and has a height which substantially corresponds to the height of the box 1, that is, to the height of the side walls 6-9. It is to be understood, that the height of the stack 2 of tissue-sheets is to a certain degree determined by the height of the box. The interfolded tissue-sheets 3 are highly compressible and are usually compressed before being placed in the box, so that a sufficient amount of tissue-sheets can be accommodated in the box. Moreover, the compressed stack 2 of tissue-sheets will normally effect an expanding pressure on the box, pressing the uppermost tissue-sheet 12 against the inner surface 11 of the top wall 5. This arrangement is advantageous, since, as the tissue-sheets 3 are successively removed from the box 1, the pressure from the expanding stack 2 of tissue-sheets will aid in pushing a new tissue-sheet towards the top wall 5. However, even if it is preferred that the stack 2 of tissue-sheets are packed in the box 1 in a compressed state, this is not a necessary feature of the invention. Accordingly, a box having a stack of interfolded tissue-sheets that are only partially filling the box are also within the scope of the invention. The box 1 is provided with an opening 14 in the top wall 5. The opening 14 is arranged generally centrally in the top wall 5 and extends parallel to the long side walls 6,7. The opening 14 has a generally oval shape with rounded ends 15 and slightly outwardly curved side edges 16, so that the opening 14 is wider at a central portion than at the ends. Before use of the box of tissue-sheets, the opening 14 is commonly protected by a cover. Usually the protective cover is made of the same paperboard material as the box itself, and is simply a portion of the top wall 5 which can be torn away along a perforated line in the top wall 5. However other protective devices such as separate pieces of paper, paperboard, plastic film, and the like can be envisaged. Moreover, the box can be provided with a permanently attached or removable regular lid which is opened to expose the opening in the top wall 5 and which, optionally, can be reclosed. Moreover, the opening 14 can be partially covered with a flexible material, such as a plastic film or similar, which shields the tissue-sheets 3 from the edges of the opening in the top wall 5 when the tissue-sheets are being pulled out of the box. A flexible material arranged around the edges of the opening does also serve to diminish the area of the opening 14 and prohibits a tissue-sheet 3 which is partially pulled out of the dispensing box 1 from falling back down into the box again. In accordance with the invention, a gripping member 21 is attached to the uppermost tissue-sheet 12 in the stack 2. The gripping member 21 is in the form of an adhesive tape with a non-adhesive surface 22 and an adhesive surface 23. The tape has been folded at a central portion so as to form a gripping tab 24 comprising two thicknesses of the tape base material and being kept in the folded state by the adhesive. On either side of the gripping tab 24, the gripping member 21 has an attachment surface 25 which is firmly attached to the uppermost tissue-sheet 12 in the stack 2 by means of the adhesive. The gripping member 21 is applied centrally on the uppermost tissue-sheet 12, parallel to the short side walls 8,9 and protrudes through the opening 14 when the box is open, i.e. when any lid or cover is removed from the opening. The gripping member 21 need not be in the shown orientation, but can be arranged parallel to the long side walls 10,11 or diagonally, etc. Moreover, the gripping member 21 may be offset from the central position. The gripping member 21 can be attached to the cover or lid, so that removal or opening of the cover or lid will simultaneously cause the gripping member 21 to be pulled into a more readily grippable position as shown in the Figs. In such an embodiment, the bond between the cover and the gripping member 21 has to be comparatively weak, so that the pulling force acting on the bond will cause it to break before the uppermost tissue-sheet is pulled out of the dispensing box. Alternatively, the bond between the gripping member and the cover can be of a more permanent character and be sufficiently strong so as to withstand the pulling force when the cover is removed. In such a case, the removal of the cover will cause the uppermost tissue-sheet 12 to be pulled out of the dispensing box. The tape base material can be any suitable sheet material such as nonwoven, tissue, paper, plastic film or the like. Preferably, the base material is relatively soft and flexible so that it can be folded without producing hard or sharp edges or corners. In order not to negatively affect the function of the uppermost tissue-sheet 12, it is also preferred that the gripping member 21 is comparatively small so that it only occupies minor portion of the surface of the uppermost tissue-sheet. A small gripping member 21 will minimally affect the softness and flexibility of the uppermost tissue-sheet, thus leaving it fully usable. Although the gripping member 21 has been described as being produced from a self-adhesive tape, it is alternatively possible to fold a non-adhesive band or tape in the manner shown in Fig. 1 and to attach the folded band or tape to the uppermost tissue-sheet, for instance by means of adhesive, by welding, or the like. The provision of a gripping member 21 allows the uppermost tissue-sheet 12 to be removed through the opening 14 in the top wall 5 of the dispensing box 1. The user simply grips the gripping tab 24 and pulls out the uppermost tissue-sheet 12. Due to the interfolding of the tissue-sheets 3 in the stack 2, the removal of the uppermost tissue-sheet 12 will automatically cause a portion of the next tissue-sheet 12 in the stack to be pulled out through the opening 14. Once the uppermost tissue-sheet 12 has been completely pulled out of the box 1, the interconnecting folded portions of the uppermost tissue-sheet 12 and the next tissue-sheet 3 in the stack 2 will be released. This means that the partly pulled-out next tissue-sheet 3 will protrude through the opening 14 and can then serve as a gripping member for removing the next tissue-sheet 3 from the box. It can be difficult for the user to immediately recognise the presence and the intended function of a gripping member in accordance with the invention. For this reason, it can be expedient if the gripping member or at least a part of the gripping member has a different colour or a different pattern than the uppermost tissue-sheet 12. The presence of the gripping member can be further drawn to the attention of the user by printing a symbol or a text on the gripping member. Hence, an arrow or the text "pull" would indicate to the user that the gripping member should be used for pulling the uppermost tissue-sheet out of the dispensing box. Fig. 2a-2c shows a few examples of gripping members having different shape and being designed to convey identification information to the user. Hence, Fig. 2a shows a gripping member 21 having a rounded outer gripping portion 24 and a rectangular attachment portion 25. The rounded contour of the gripping portion 24 is advantageous since no sharp corners are exposed to the user. The gripping portion 24 is provided with an attention-drawing means 28 in the form of an arrow which is printed on the gripping portion 24. Fig. 2b shows a gripping member 21 having a triangular outer gripping portion 24 and a rectangular attachment portion 25. An attention-drawing means 28 in the form of the instructive text "pull" is printed on the gripping portion 24. In addition, a triangular shape of the outer gripping portion 24 is advantageous since it facilitates packaging of a stack of tissue-sheets in a dispensing box. Filling of a disposable dispensing box is usually made by introducing the stack of tissue-sheets through a short end of the dispensing box. A triangular shape of the gripping portion 24 will ascertain that the gripping portion 24 will fold smoothly against the surface of the uppermost tissue-sheet in the stack when the gripping member contacts the upper wall of the dispensing box during the insertion step. Fig. 2c shows yet another example of a means of making the user aware of the presence of a gripping member 21. Hence, the gripping portion 24 in Fig. 2c has a particular, decorative shape which will aid in identifying the gripping member. The gripping members 21 in Fig. 2 are shown as having only a single attachment portion 25. However, the use of different shapes and different markers can also be applied to the embodiment in Fig. 1 where the gripping member 21 has two attachment portions 25. The invention has been described with reference to a rectangular dispensing box. However, it should be understood that dispensing boxes having other shapes could also be used. Accordingly, cube-shaped boxes, oval boxes, boxes with irregular or polygonal shapes, etc. could be used. The material of the dispensing box need not be paperboard. Hence, plastic boxes, wooden boxes etc, could be used. Similarly, the shape of the gripping portion 24 of the gripping member 21 may be other than what is shown in the figures. Accordingly, polygonal shapes, flower shapes, heart shapes and the like may be used. Moreover, the opening in the top wall 5 need not have the described oval shape. Hence, rectangular openings, circular openings or openings having irregular shapes are contemplated within the scope of the invention. In addition, the opening need not be arranged only in the top wall but could extend into one or two side walls.

Claims: A stack (2) of interfolded tissue-sheets (3) packed in a container (1), said container (1) having a generally planar bottom wall (4) and a top wall (5) and side walls (6-9) connecting said bottom wall (4) with said top wall (5) and an opening (14) provided in at least said top wall (5) for the removal of said tissue-sheets (3) from the container (1), said stack (2) of interfolded tissue-sheets (3) being placed in said container (1) with a lowermost tissue-sheet (11) placed on said bottom wall (4) and an uppermost tissue-sheet (12) placed at said top wall (5) and generally parallel to said top wall (5) and in direct connection with said opening (14) in said top wall (5), characterized in that the uppermost tissue-sheet (12) of said stack (2) of interfolded tissue-sheets (3) comprises a gripping member (21), which is separate from the container and is exposed through said opening (14) in said top wall (5), , wherein said gripping member (21) comprises a folded portion of a tape tab having a pair of attachment portions (25) which are adhesively attached to said uppermost tissue-sheet (12) and a gripping portion (24) arranged between and freely extending from said attachment portions (25). A stack of interfolded tissue-sheets in accordance with one of claim 1, wherein said gripping portion (24) has a tapering shape. A stack of interfolded tissue-sheets in accordance with claim 2, wherein said gripping portion (24) is has a triangular shape. A stack of interfolded tissue-sheets in accordance with any one of the preceding claims, wherein said gripping member (21) has a printed marker to visually indicate its grippability. A stack of interfolded tissue-sheets in accordance with any one of the preceding claims, wherein said gripping member (21) has a surface which physically contrasts with the surface of the uppermost tissue-sheet. A stack of interfolded tissue-sheets in accordance with any one of the preceding claims, wherein said dispensing box (1) has a protective cover which is arranged over the opening (14) in the top wall (5).

Inventors: MORIN EMANUELLE, WIDLUND URBAN, MORIN, EMANUELLE, WIDLUND, URBAN
Applicants: SCA HYGIENE PROD GMBH, SCA HYGIENE PRODUCTS GMBH
Application year: 2000
Main classification: B65D83
IPC codes: B65D83