Special receptacle or package – For folded sheetlike article
Reexamination Certificate
2000-05-19
2002-08-13
Gehman, Bryon P. (Department: 3728)
Special receptacle or package
For folded sheetlike article
C219S385000, C219S521000, C221S046000, C248S206300, C248S316700
Reexamination Certificate
active
06431360
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is generally directed to dispenser packages that hold sheets, towels, towelettes, tissues, napkins or wipes and is particularly directed to a holder used to secure such dispenser packages.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Items such as sheets, towels, towelettes, tissues, napkins and wipes are frequently used by individuals for personal hygiene. There have been many efforts directed to providing convenient packages and/or dispensers for such items. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,278,011; 2,564,997; 5,065,970 and 5,332,138 all disclose tissue containers that may be secured to a sun visor of an automobile. U.S. Pat. No. 2,818,318 discloses a tissue holder that is attachable to the edge of a table, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,826,407 discloses a tissue dispenser that is attachable to an individual's wrist.
In many instances, an individual may desire to use a moist tissue or towelette for personal hygiene, cosmetic purposes, household cleaning applications and the like. In response to this demand, a wide variety of moisture-impermeable packages have been developed for storing moisture-impregnated items. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,780,908; 3,836,044; and 3,841,466 disclose such packages. However, the packages disclosed in the above-mentioned patents provide for bulk packaging of moisture-impregnated towels. As a result, these packages cannot be easily attached to another object, such as a sun visor or the edge of a table.
In view of the above problems, there have been many efforts directed to providing user-friendly dispenser packages. For example, commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,156,493 and 4,185,754, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein, teach hermetically-sealed packages that have recloseable covers. In certain preferred embodiments, the cover may be opened for removing one or more moisture-impregnated towels, and then reclosed to keep the remaining towels moist. The packages are typically made of one or more sheets of a flexible material such as vinyl or foil. As a result, the packages tend to collapse as the towels are removed.
In many instances, the packages disclosed in the '493 and '754 patents are secured in holders. When these packages are placed in a holder, the holder may exert forces on the flexible material portion of the package, thereby making it difficult to remove moist towels. In addition, as towels are emptied from the package, the package may fall out of the holder and/or move away from the dispensing opening in the holder, thereby making it extremely difficult to access the towels remaining in the package.
Thus, there is a need for a holder for a dispenser package that both reliably secures the package and enables the towels packaged therein to be easily dispensed from the package. There is also a need for a holder that maintains the dispenser package in place relative to the holder as the towels are depleted from the package. There is also a need for a holder having a design that facilitates replacing a depleted dispenser package with a refill package.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In certain preferred embodiments of the present invention, a combination preferably includes a dispenser package and a holder for securing the dispenser package. The dispenser package is preferably replaceable so that when the towels packed therein have been dispensed, a refill package may be secured to the holder. The holder may include a stand alone item capable of holding the dispenser package atop a surface, such as a top surface of a table. In other embodiments, the holder may be securable to an edge, such as the edge of a sun visor of an automobile, the edge of a table or a high chair. In still other embodiments, the holder may be securable to a belt or apron worn by an individual. The holder may also be permanently securable to a wall or table top using one or more fasteners such as screws, nails or suction cups.
The dispenser package is preferably made of one or more sheets of flexible material, such as vinyl film, foil or any other flexible material that may be permanently sealed to provide a hermetically sealed container. The flexible material desirably has an opening extending therethrough. The opening is preferably made before the dispenser package is formed. The opening in the flexible material is preferably of sufficient size and shape to allow one or more items, such as moistened towels to be dispensed from the package. The dispenser package may collapse as the towels are dispensed from the package. The package is preferably adapted for holding items such as napkins, sheets, tissues, wipes, towels and/or towelettes (hereinafter commonly referred to as “towels”). The towels are preferably interleaved with one another so that as a first towel is removed from the package, the leading edge of a second or subsequent towel is drawn through the package opening. As mentioned above, the dispenser package is preferably hermetically sealed so that the towels stored in the package may be maintained in a moistened condition.
A resealable cap assembly may cover the opening in the flexible material. The resealable cap desirably traps moisture within the package for maintaining the towels in a moist condition. The resealable cap also preferably maintains the moisture present in the leading edge of any towels projecting through the package opening. The resealable cap assembly is desirably attached to an exterior and/or interior surface of the flexible material. In certain preferred embodiments, the resealable cap assembly includes a collar that surrounds the opening in the package. The collar may be attached to the exterior and/or interior surface of the flexible material. The collar may also be sandwiched between exterior and interior layers of flexible material. The collar may be attached using an ultrasonic seal, a heat seal, glue, an epoxy, such as a hot melt epoxy, or an adhesive. The resealable cap assembly may include a sealing flange projecting upwardly from the collar and away from the dispenser package. The sealing flange may be integrally formed with the collar. In one preferred embodiment, the sealing flange and collar form a single piece of integrally molded plastic. The resealable cap assembly may also include a reclosable cap that is engagable with an upper surface of the sealing flange to selectively close the opening in the package, thereby retaining moisture within the package. In certain embodiments, the reclosable cap is hingedly connected to the sealing flange. As a result, the reclosable cap may be repeatedly opened for dispensing one or more items from the package, and then reclosed to retain the moisture within the package. The reclosable cap may have an outer perimeter with one or more notches or gripping elements provided thereon so that the cap may be easily engaged for moving the cap between the open and closed positions. In one particular preferred embodiment, the gripping elements include one or more projections extending beyond the perimeter of the cap.
The holder preferably includes a front wall having an upper end and a lower end, a rear wall having a upper end and a lower end, and an bottom wall extending between and interconnecting the lower ends of the front and rear walls. In certain preferred embodiments, the holder is substantially U-shaped. The front, rear and bottom walls preferably form a receiving area for the flexible dispenser package described above. The dimensions of the holder, and particularly the dimensions of the package receiving area, may be modified depending upon the dimensions of the package being received in the holder. The holder desirably has an open end, adjacent the upper end of the front and rear walls and remote from the bottom wall of the holder.
In other preferred embodiments, the holder may also include one or more side walls, each side wall extending between the front and rear walls of the holder. The one or more side walls of the holder may increase the structural integrity of the holder and cover the sealed ends of a
Gehman Bryon P.
Lerner David Littenberg Krumholz & Mentlik LLP
Nice-Pak Products, Inc.
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