Container with elevating floor

Details Container with elevating floor Container with elevating floor

2000-04-25

2001-09-04

Bui, Luan K. (Department: 3728)

Special receptacle or package

For folded sheetlike article

C206S233000, C206S761000, C221S052000, C221S056000, C229S185000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06283295

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a dispensing device, or container, for facial tissues, other flexible sheet materials, or bulk products, and, more particularly to an elevating floor for a dispensing device to permit easier access to the contents after a portion of the contents have been removed. A specific application is presented wherein the floor of a facial tissue box is elevate-able to enhance access to the tissues remaining in the box after a quantity has been removed.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Regular sized containers or boxes of facial tissues, typically of a rectangular shape, present little or no difficulty in their use. The boxes have generally four side walls, a bottom portion and a top portion. The top portion usually has a relatively large aperture having a sheet of plastic material extending over the aperture with a slit formed therein. The tissue product in the box is in the form of an interleaved stack of tissues, known in the art as a “clip.” Tissues are then extended through the slit and frictionally held therein. The interleaving of tissues within the box causes successive tissues to feed through the top slit one at a time until the last tissue is used. Larger boxes of tissues with additional depth, or generally cubical boxes, however, present certain difficulties. The larger boxes, which can be nearly twice the height of the regular size, work like the regular size for the first portion of the tissues. After that, the depth of the box results in a greater distance of the tissue supply from the dispensing aperture at the top. This distance tends to allow the lead tissue to fall free of the dispensing aperture, back into the box, because the tissue-to-tissue friction between the leading and trailing tissues is insufficient to overcome frictional resistance and/or gravity acting on the trailing tissue. Hence, the user is inconveniently required to retrieve the lead sheet and put it back into place at the top. The problem is compounded because it is more difficult to grasp a single tissue than several, after which the lead tissue must be carefully selected and threaded through the top aperture. The retrieval procedure is often repeated as subsequent tissues continue to fall out of the aperture. The repeated retrievals often result in tearing of the plastic sheeting containing the aperture, thus rendering it unusable as intended. Furthermore, repeated retrievals expose the remaining tissues to external contamination.
The problem presented by cubical shaped boxes is two-fold. First, the clip of interleaved tissues is arranged in an inverted U-shape. This shape gives rise to a high level of friction between a large portion of the surface area of the lead tissue and the interior walls of the box, which makes the tissue difficult to pull out through the dispensing aperture and can lead to tearing of the tissue. Once this problem is alleviated, as by an alternative method of interleaving the clip, the problem remains of the lead tissue falling free of the dispensing aperture when the supply is diminished as described above.
Numerous efforts have been undertaken to address the stated problems. The devices in U.S. Pat. No. 3,942,682 to McKay, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,390,820 to Wright, utilize a platform of flexible material, supported by added extensions. U.S. Pat. No. 5,979,699 to Simpson requires two platforms and a styrene lifter. U.S. Pat. No. 5,979,700 to Seuss uses a bendable sheet of cardboard under the tissues which bend is increased by one or more rubber bands. These devices keep the top tissue pushed toward the top of the container, enhancing successive sheet feed through the top opening. These inventions, however, are complicated and entail numerous steps in manufacturing and use.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,185,753 to Leto, U.S. Pat. No. 2,087,181 to Conway, U.S. Pat. No. 2,347,823 to Goodman, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,826,407 to Keating pertain to devices used in wrist bracelets for dispensing cosmetic sheets. The devices of Conway and Goodman require a spring means to move available sheets toward the discharge opening. In the Conway device, before use, the sheets must be loaded into a dispenser opposite the end of the discharge slot.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,253,742 to West has two spring activated follower plates beneath the tissue clip. U.S. Pat. No. 2,237,424 to Hope and U.S. Pat. No. 5,165,570 to Windorski uses a coiled spring to lift the tissues. These inventions require additions to a container which make for more complexity and more expense during manufacture.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,065,935 to King, offers a collapsible box designed to make all tissues accessible, by crushing the sides and the corners of the box, thereby making the interior space smaller. This invention requires considerable effort on the part of the user to crush the four sides and the four corners.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,202,316 to Silver, U.S. Pat. No. 3,647,114 to Bleuer and U.S. Pat. No. 4,616,767 to Seido use elastic strips to elevate the stack of tissues. These dispensers have the disadvantage of difficulty in manufacture by requiring the addition of the elastic strips, and the added difficulty of installing the clip of tissues over the elastic.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,238,068 to Ellerbe, et. al. provides for an elevating mechanism that involves two “Major” and two “Minor” side panels which are designed to be folded twice to decrease the depth of the container two levels. In addition, open ends of the container require additional “Closure Flaps,” to close open ends of the “tubular” container. This invention is complex and requires additional manufacturing procedures and expense.
In addition to the specific problems described in relation to retrieving facial tissues or similarly packaged sheet products, such as paper towels for drying hands or cleaning, an analogous problem exists in the packaging of some loose bulk products, like dog food for instance. Large sacks or boxes of bulk products present challenges for retrieval of the latter portions of the contents. For instance, large sacks of dog food are often deeper than an arm's length. It is inconvenient to grope around in the bottom of the sack while attempting to scoop up the remaining food. Some people go to the trouble of transferring the contents of the dog food sack to a smaller more convenient-to-use container. But, this approach requires additional storage space for the extra container, and invites spills when attempting the transfer from the large bag to the smaller container. Another, but not altogether safe solution, is to cut off the upper portion of the container or bag with a knife. Therefore, there is a need for a container with an elevatable floating floor panel that just fits the interior dimensions of the container such that when it is elevated the bulk contents therein are raised to a more convenient height for removal.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to an improved container for dispensing flexible sheet materials, such as facial tissues, by providing for a physical container configuration of unitary design that elevates the internal floor of the container by means of convenient user manipulation. The container can be of conventional design, i.e., a top wall and four side walls, or can be of less conventional design, i.e., a top wall and a single, cylindrical side wall. In either case, the top wall defines an aperture for frictionally engaging at least one flexible sheet during operation of the container, and the invention concerns improvements to the bottom of the container, whether of conventional or non-conventional design. The floor of the container having the invention present therein comprises a plurality of, or at least two, bottom panels flexibly linked to one or more side walls designed to be biasable generally in an upward direction. A first panel is designated as an elevating panel and has a slot proximate to a distal edge thereof, wherein the proximal end is flexibly linked to the one or more side walls. A second panel is designated as a bracing panel and is located proximate to and bel

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