Convenience rolls
A convenience roll in the form of an elongate web (10) of material comprises a multiplicity of individual portions (11) integrally connected together in series. Each individual portion (11) is shaped so as to have an area that is less than the product of its overall width across the web multiplied by its length along the web. Neighbouring individual portions are connected together by a frangible zone (12) of material whose width across the web is small relative to the overall width of the web so as to act as a controlled breaking point for when an individual portion is to be separated from its neighbour on dispensing.
This invention relates to convenience rolls. The term “convenience roll” used herein is intended to cover products of an essentially disposable nature intended primarily, though not necessarily exclusively, for a cleaning or hygienic function, whether made of paper or of other materials, whether absorbent or not, and whether normally presented in a dry, moist or wet condition, and would therefore include, for example, tissues, kitchen rolls, lavatory rolls, hand towels, face towels, cleaning wipes and baby wipes. The term is also intended to cover products such as disposable bibs and notepads.
The invention provides a convenience roll as defined herein in the form of an elongate web of material comprising a multiplicity of individual portions integrally connected together in series, wherein each individual portion is shaped so as to have an area that is less than the product of its overall width across the web multiplied by its length along the web, and wherein neighbouring individual portions are connected together by a frangible zone of material whose width across the web is small relative to the overall width of the web whereby to act as a controlled breaking point for when an individual portion is to be separated from its neighbour on dispensing.
By way of example, embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which,
FIGS. 13 to 18 illustrate various forms of dispenser, and
The convenience roll in
Here, the width of the frangible strips 12 is roughly one sixth of the overall width across the web 10. Of course, this may be varied depending on factors such as the particular material used. Also, the individual portions may be connected together by two or more frangible strips which together form a frangible zone. It will be appreciated that the presence of the frangible strips obviates the need for any perforations across the web, the traditional method of assisting separation between successive individual portions in a conventional roll of paper towels.
It may be possible to produce the web in the particular shape shown in
It has been observed that it is typically only the central circular portion of a paper towel that is the effective working area, the corner regions of a traditional square or rectangular paper towel often remaining unused. By making a paper towel in a circular shape, therefore, best use is made of it with the minimum amount of material, and without compromising its effectiveness. The shape is also aesthetically pleasing and cost effective, as well as being environmentally friendly.
It would be possible to store the web 10 seen in
Alternatively, the web 10 may be folded and stacked. The simplest form of folding arrangement would involve laying each successive individual portion 11 over the previous one by a single fold of the frangible strip 12 that joins them together, ie along each fold line A in
A more elaborate folding arrangement would involve additionally folding each individual portion 11 about its diameter extending across the web 10, ie along fold line B in
A yet more sophisticated folding arrangement would involve folding each individual portion 11 along three diametrically extending fold lines. As will be seen in
An alternative manner of folding of the web shown in
Depending on exactly how the web is shaped and folded, it will be suitable for dispensing in a number of other different ways. The dispenser 130 shown in
The
The
The
In the
In all of these dispensers, the idea of the design is to contain the stack in a way that presents the next individual portion to the user. When the user pulls an individual portion from the dispenser, this will cause the next successive individual portion to begin to be pulled from the dispenser, because the two are connected by the frangible strip. However, the frangible strip is designed to break before the next individual portion has been fully pulled out, leaving enough of the portion exposed to be ready for the next user. Where the individual portions are folded and dispensed from a stack, their particular manner of folding may assist in this process.
It will be appreciated that the techniques and forms described herein could be used to produce convenience rolls for many different purposes, not necessarily for cleaning or hygiene. For example, the convenience roll may be of ordinary paper and be in the form of a note pad. In that event, it might be possible to add a layer of adhesive to the frangible strips that separate each individual portion which can be used for affixing the individual portion after it has been detached from the stack, in the manner of a conventional “post-it” note.
Claims
1. A convenience roll in the form of an elongate web of material comprising a multiplicity of individual portions integrally connected together in series, with the elongate web having an overall width, with each of the multiplicity of individual portions having a length along the elongate web, wherein each individual portion is shaped so as to have an area that is less than a product of the overall width across the elongate web multiplied by the length along the elongate web, and wherein neighbouring individual portions are connected together by a frangible zone of material whose width across the elongate web is small relative to the overall width of the elongate web whereby to act as a controlled breaking point for when one of the multiplicity individual portions portion is to be separated from neighbouring individual portions on dispensing.
2. A convenience roll as claimed in claim 1 wherein said frangible zone has a width across the elongate web of less than half the overall width of the elongate web.
3. A convenience roll as claimed in claim 1 wherein said frangible zone is in the form of a single strip of material in a middle section of the web.
4. A convenience roll as claimed in claim 1 wherein the elongate web is folded into the form of a stack of individual portions for dispensing.
5. A convenience roll as claimed in claim 4 wherein the elongate web is folded at the frangible zones between neighbouring individual portions.
6. A convenience roll as claimed in claim 4 wherein each individual portion is folded.
7. A convenience roll as claimed in any preceding claim 4 wherein the individual portions each have a generally circular shape.
8. A convenience roll as claimed in claim 7 wherein the individual portions are folded about a diameter of the generally circular shape to produce a stack with a generally semi-circular shaped section.
9. A convenience roll as claimed in claim 8 wherein the individual portions are folded about a plurality of radially extending fold lines to produce a stack with a quadrant-shaped section.
10. A convenience roll as claimed in claim 8 wherein the individual portions are folded about a plurality of radially extending fold lines in a fan-like pattern.
11. (canceled)
12. A dispenser containing a convenience roll as claimed in claim 1.
13. A dispenser containing a convenience roll as claimed in claim 8, and having two or more separate compartments each for holding a stack.
14. A dispenser as claimed in claim 13 wherein one of the two or more separate compartments holds a dry stack and another of the two or more separate compartments holds a moist or wet stack.
15. A convenience roll comprising an elongate web of material defining a plurality of individual portions integrally connected together in series, wherein each individual portion has a width across the elongate web and a length along the elongate web and is shaped so as to have an area that is less than said width multiplied by said length, and wherein said individual portions are connected by respective frangible zones having a width across the elongate web that is small relative to said width of the elongate web so as to act as controlled breaking points between the respective individual portions.
16. (canceled)
17. A convenience roll as claimed in claim 2 wherein said frangible zone is in the form of a single strip of material in a middle section of the web.
18. A convenience roll as claimed in claim 1 wherein the individual portions each have a generally circular shape.
19. A convenience roll as claimed in claim 18 wherein the individual portions are folded about a diameter of the generally circular shape to produce a stack with a generally semi-circular shaped section.
20. A convenience roll as claimed in claim 18 wherein the individual portions are folded about a plurality of radially extending fold lines to produce a stack with a quadrant-shaped section.
21. A convenience roll as claimed in claim 18 wherein the individual portions are folded about a plurality of radially extending fold lines in a fan-like pattern.
22. A dispenser containing a convenience roll as claimed in claim 19 and having two or more separate compartments each for holding the stack.
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 15, 2004
Publication Date: Dec 7, 2006
Inventors: Oday Abbosh (London), Nigel Lawson (Kent), Ian Dryburgh (Hampshire)
Application Number: 10/553,497
International Classification: A47K 10/16 (20060101);