Patent Abstract:
A dispenser plate includes a plate member having an orifice centrally arranged in the plate member, the orifice including a central portion, a first channel portion having a first channel length extending radially from the central portion, and a second channel having a second channel length extending radially from the central portion, wherein the first channel length is greater than the second channel length.

Full Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The subject matter disclosed herein relates to dispensers for sheet products. 
         [0002]    Sheet products may be formed into cylindrical rolls having an inner core. The inner core may be removed, and the sheet product may be dispensed in segments. The segments may be drawn by the user from the center of the sheet product roll. 
         [0003]    Drawing segments from the center of a sheet product roll allows a user to easily remove sheet products from a roll while the roll remains stationary. 
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    According to one aspect of the invention, a dispenser plate includes a plate member having an orifice centrally arranged in the plate member, the orifice including a central portion, a first channel portion having a first channel length extending radially from the central portion, and a second channel having a second channel length extending radially from the central portion, wherein the first channel length is greater than the second channel length. 
         [0005]    According to another aspect of the invention, a dispenser includes a containment portion configured to house a cylindrical roll of sheet product, and a dispenser plate retained by the containment portion, the dispenser plate comprising a plate member having an orifice centrally arranged in the plate member, the orifice including a central portion, a first channel portion having a first channel length extending radially from the central portion, and a second channel having a second channel length extending radially from the central portion, wherein the first channel length is greater than the second channel length. 
         [0006]    These and other advantages and features will become more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]    The subject matter, which is regarded as the invention, is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion of the specification. The foregoing and other features, and advantages of the invention are apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: 
           [0008]      FIG. 1  illustrates a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a sheet product dispenser. 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  illustrates another perspective view of the roll and the dispenser plate of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0010]      FIGS. 3 and 4  illustrate a top view of the roll and the dispenser plate of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0011]      FIG. 5  illustrates another top view of the dispenser plate of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0012]      FIGS. 6-13  illustrate top views of alternate exemplary embodiments of dispenser plates. 
       
    
    
       [0013]    The detailed description explains embodiments of the invention, together with advantages and features, by way of example with reference to the drawings. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0014]    The term “sheet products” as used herein is inclusive of natural and/or synthetic cloth or paper sheets. Sheet products may include both woven and non-woven articles. There are a wide variety of nonwoven processes and they can be either wetlaid or drylaid. Some examples include hydroentagled (sometimes called spunlace), DRC (double re-creped), airlaid, spunbond, carded, paper towel, and meltblown sheet products. Further, sheet products may contain fibrous cellulosic materials that may be derived from natural sources, such as wood pulp fibers, as well as other fibrous material characterized by having hydroxyl groups attached to the polymer backbone. These include glass fibers and synthetic fibers modified with hydroxyl groups. Examples of sheet products include, but are not limited to, wipers, napkins, tissues, rolls, towels or other fibrous, film, polymer, or filamentary products. 
         [0015]    In general sheet products are thin in comparison to their length and breadth and exhibit a relatively flat planar configuration and are flexible to permit folding, rolling, stacking, and the like. The sheet product may have perforations extending in lines across its width to separate individual sheets and facilitate separation or tearing of individual sheets from a roll or folded arrangement at discrete intervals. Individual sheets may be sized as desired to accommodate the many uses of the sheet products. For example, perforation lines may be formed every 10 inches, or other defined interval, to define a universally sized sheet. Multiple perforation lines may be provided to allow the user to select the size of sheet depending on the particular need. 
         [0016]      FIG. 1  illustrates a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a dispenser  10 . In the illustrated embodiment, a roll  102  is cylindrically shaped and has a diameter (d r ). The roll  102  is formed around a core  104  that may include, for example, a rigid or semi-rigid tubular segment formed from a paper, plastic, or metallic material. The core  104  has a diameter (d c ). 
         [0017]    The dispenser plate  100  is disposed on an end surface of the roll  102 , and may be attached to the roll  102  using any suitable means including, for example, a wrapper film  200  (illustrated as partially cut-away) such as a plastic or polymer film that envelopes the roll  102  and the dispenser plate  100  and exerts a compressive force on the disperser plate  100  and the roll; securing the disperser plate  100  in the illustrated position. In an embodiment, the dispenser plate  100 , roll  102 , and wrapper film  200  forms a complete dispenser  10 . While a wrapper film  200  is disclosed herein forming the containment portion of the dispenser  10 , it will be appreciated that the wrapper film  200  may be replaced with a more rigid structure without departing from the scope of the invention disclosed herein. 
         [0018]    The dispenser plate  100  may be formed from any suitable material such as a rigid or semi-rigid cardboard material, a plastic, nylon, corrugated, or metallic material. The dispenser plate  100  includes an orifice  106  having a circular portion  108  and a plurality of channels  110  extending radially from the circular portion  108 . In the illustrated embodiment, the channels  110  have dissimilar channel lengths such that each channel  110  extends radially from the circular portion  108  exposing portions of the roll  102 . Though the illustrated embodiment of  FIG. 1  includes three channels  110 , alternate embodiments may include any number of channels  110 . 
         [0019]      FIG. 2  illustrates a perspective view of the roll  102  and the dispenser plate  100 . In the illustrated embodiment, the core  104  may be removed by a user by exerting a force in the direction of the line  201 . The core  104  has an inner diameter that is smaller than the inner diameter of the circular portion  108  of the dispenser plate  100 . Once the core  104  is removed, the inner wraps of the roll  102  are exposed. 
         [0020]      FIGS. 3 and 4  illustrate a top view of the roll  102  and the dispenser plate  100  following the removal of the core  104  (of  FIG. 2 ). Referring to  FIG. 3 , a user may dispense the sheet product of the roll  102  by pulling a leading edge  302  of the exposed inner wrap and drawing the sheet product through the circular portion  108  of the orifice  106 . The user may exert a force radially outward from the circular portion  108  such that a segment of the sheet product contacts an edge of the orifice  106 . The contact between the sheet product and the edge of the orifice  106  frictionally facilitates the tearing of the sheet product segment to separate the sheet product segment from the roll  102 . 
         [0021]    Referring to  FIG. 4 , as the roll  102  is depleted by subsequent removal of sheet product segments, the remaining portions of the roll  102  remain exposed by the channels  110 . The dissimilar lengths of the channels  110  allow portions of the roll  102  to remain exposed as the roll  102  is depleted. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, the channel  110   a  has the shortest length (extending radially from the circular portion  108 ) relative to the channels  110   b  and  110   c , while the channel  110   c  has the longest length. As the user removes sheet product from the roll  102 , the remaining inner sheets are exposed by the channels  110   a ,  110   b , and  110   c . As the user continues to remove sheets from the roll  102  the wraps of the roll  102  define a gradually increasing void  402  in the center of the roll  102 . When the void  302  expands beyond the length of the channel  110   a , a user may still access the roll  102  through the channels  110   b  and  110   c . In the illustrated embodiment, the void  302  has expanded such that the leading edge  302 ′ of the roll  102  is exposed in the longest channel, channel  110   c . The use of channels  110  having dissimilar lengths allows a user to access the sheet product of the roll  102  while maintaining rigidity of the dispenser plate  100  since the area of the orifice  106  effects the rigidity of the dispenser plate  100 , where a greater orifice  106  area reduces the rigidity of the dispenser plate  100 . 
         [0022]      FIG. 5  illustrates a top view of the dispenser plate  100 . The dispenser plate has a diameter (d p ). The circular portion  108  of the orifice  106  has a diameter (y). The channels  110   a ,  110   b , and  110   c  have a similar channel width (x), and dissimilar channel lengths (L a , L b , and L c ) respectively; extending radially from a center point  501  of the circular portion  108 , where L a &lt;L b &lt;L c . 
         [0023]      FIGS. 6-13  illustrate top views of alternate exemplary embodiments of dispenser plates that operate in a similar manner as the dispenser plate  100  (of  FIG. 1 ) described above. 
         [0024]    Referring to  FIG. 6 , a dispenser plate  600  includes an orifice  606  having a circular portion  608  and channels  610 . The channels  610  have an arcuate shaped profile and extend radially from the circular portion with dissimilar lengths in a similar manner as described above. 
         [0025]    Referring to  FIG. 7 , a dispenser plate  700  includes an orifice  706  having a circular portion  708  and channels  710 . In the illustrated embodiment, the channels  710  include serrated or toothed edges  701  that may facilitate the tearing of a sheet product segment from the roll  102  (of  FIG. 1 ). The channels  710  have dissimilar lengths that extend radially from the circular portion  708 . 
         [0026]    Referring to  FIG. 8 , a dispenser plate  800  includes an orifice  806  having a circular portion  808  and channels  810 . In the illustrated embodiment, the circular portion  810  includes a serrated or toothed edge  801  that may facilitate the tearing of a sheet product segment from the roll  102  (of  FIG. 1 ). The channels  910  have dissimilar lengths that extend radially from the circular portion  808 . 
         [0027]      FIG. 9  illustrates a dispenser plate  900  that includes an orifice  906  having a circular portion  908  and channels  910 . In the illustrated embodiment, the channels  910  are T-shaped and include terminal portions  903  arranged on the distal end of the channels  910  along an axis transverse to the linear axis of the channels  910 . The channels  910  may have dissimilar lengths extending radially from the circular portion  908 . 
         [0028]      FIG. 10  includes a dispenser plate  1000  having an orifice  1006  with a circular portion  1008  and channels  1010 . The channels  1010  are L-Shaped and include a bend forming distal end  1003  that is aligned at an oblique or right angle to the longitudinal axis (extending radially from the circular portion  1008 ) of the channels  1010 . 
         [0029]      FIG. 11  illustrates a dispenser plate  1100  with an orifice  1106  having a circular portion  1108  and channels  1110 . The channels  1110  extend radially from the circular portion  1101  and have similar lengths. 
         [0030]      FIG. 12  illustrates a dispenser plate  1200  having an orifice  1206  including a circular portion  1208  and channels  1210 . The channels  1210  extend radially from the circular portion  1208  and have a gradually decreasing or tapered width. The channels  1210  include circular terminal portion  1203  arranged at the distal ends of the channels  1210 . 
         [0031]      FIG. 13  includes a dispenser plate  1300  including an orifice  1306  having a circular portion  1308  and channels  1310 . The channels  1310  include undulating or scalloped edges  1303 . The channels  1310  extend radially from the circular portion  1308  and may include dissimilar lengths. 
         [0032]    While the invention has been described in detail in connection with only a limited number of embodiments, it should be readily understood that the invention is not limited to such disclosed embodiments. Rather, the invention can be modified to incorporate any number of variations, alterations, substitutions or equivalent arrangements not heretofore described, but which are commensurate with the spirit and scope of the invention. Additionally, while various embodiments of the invention have been described, it is to be understood that aspects of the invention may include only some of the described embodiments. Accordingly, the invention is not to be seen as limited by the foregoing description, but is only limited by the scope of the appended claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 1