EP2579758B1 - Device for dispensing pre-cut wiping materials - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to the technical sector of devices dispensing wiping materials such as hand towels, toilet paper, paper towels and the like.

The applicant has developed a dispensing apparatus for pre-cut wiping materials subject to the French patent 2931350 . This apparatus is of the type comprising a housing (1) forming a receptacle with a bottom plate, a lower horizontal wall and side walls with an articulated lid (2) on an axis (4). This apparatus further comprises a flap (3) articulated relative to the housing walls in the lower part of the latter, according to the teaching of this patent. This shutter is fixed by clipping relative to said walls to allow it to be positioned in a vertical plane. In its upper part, the flap has an advantageously curvilinear shape (3a), and in its lower part, a central cutout (3b) substantially in a semicircle to allow the output of the pre-cut wiping material. The cover also has on its underside a central cutout (2a) similar to the cut (3b) above.

The wiping material (M) in this embodiment is established in the form of a coil-wound strip being pre-cut, or it may be in a pre-bent Z-position.

According to the aforementioned French patent, the lower part of the apparatus at the exit point of the material has abutments (5) opposite on either side of the strip of material, ensuring the separation of a strip format by compared to the precut line next to the band. The tensile force will ensure at the end of the passage of the strip between the front wall of the flap and the face facing the cover the separation of a strip format relative to the rest of the coil or the stack of Z-folded material through said stops. According to this patent, it has been specified that said stops are adjustable in position on either side of the outlet opening of the material strip, and this by appropriate sliding means.

The problem is that during the exit of the material web, there is a creasing effect of the web of material due to the narrowing effect of the web of material as it passes between the stops. In principle, this is not a problem, because most users do not attach importance to the presentation of the strip of material cut by the use that is made of it with inevitably folding during the wiper function. hand, paper towels, ......

Although the apparatus described in the BF 2931350 operates very satisfactorily, the applicant wished to further optimize this device to allow a distribution of wiping material which, after cutting, has almost no wrinkling effect.

Distributor devices defined in the patents are also known WO 2010/007259 , GB 1516097 , WO 96/06556 which do not respond to the aforementioned problem.

The solution provided by the applicant meets this objective perfectly and thus makes it possible to have a distributor of pre-cut wiping material capable of meeting the varied needs of the users.

According to a first characteristic of the invention, the pre-cut wiper material dispensing apparatus of the type comprising a receptacle housing with a bottom plate, a lower horizontal wall and side walls, a cover hinged to the housing and an articulated flap relative to the walls of the casing in the lower part of the latter, said flap and said cover having in their lower part a central cut substantially in a semicircle to allow the output of the wiper material pre-cut into a reel or pre-folded into Z is remarkable in that the flap and the cover have opposite a plurality of pairs of complementary forms established in grooves and ribs that can fit into each other after closing the lid, and in that the strip of material is can be unwound between the flap and the inner wall of the cover without lateral deformation ordement complementary male-female forms, constituted by the rib-shaped pairs formed on the cover and the flap, and in that said shapes are arranged directly or with complementary space-reducing means between certain parts of ribs and grooves, to allow and promote the separation of a material strip format during traction by the user.

These and other characteristics will be apparent from the rest of the description.

• La Figure 1 est une vue en perspective de 3/4 de l'appareil distributeur de matériau d'essuyage selon l'art antérieur décrit dans le brevet français n° 2931350 .
• La Figure 2 est une vue à caractère schématique illustrant partiellement le volet et le couvercle de l'appareil distributeur, aménagés avec le dispositif de l'invention dans une première réalisation.
• La Figure 3 est une vue à caractère schématique de face illustrant l'appareil distributeur tel qu'aménagé selon l'invention dans la première réalisation.
• La Figure 4 est une vue partielle de face illustrant l'interpénétration du volet et du couvercle dans les parties complémentaires du dispositif de l'invention.
• La Figure 5 est une vue partielle et en perspective illustrant le couvercle réalisé selon l'invention dans la première mise en oeuvre.
• La Figure 6 est une vue complémentaire à la figure 5 illustrant le volet susceptible de s'intégrer dans les parties complémentaires du couvercle selon l'invention.
• La Figure 7 est une vue à caractère schématique illustrant en variante une seconde réalisation du dispositif.
• La Figure 8 est une vue de dessus du couvercle dans une troisième variante de réalisation.
• La figure 9 est une vue complémentaire à la figure 8 illustrant en grand nombre les différentes rainures et nervures formées de manière non concentrique sur le couvercle et sur le volet et dans le cadre de la troisième variante de réalisation.
• La figure 10 est une vue à caractère schématique illustrant une autre variante de réalisation.
• Les figures 11 et 12 sont des vues à caractère schématique illustrant d'autres configurations de l'invention, les couples de nervures-rainures formés sur le volet et le couvercle n'étant pas concentriques.
• Les figures 13 et 14 sont des demi-vues à caractère schématique d'une autre variante de l'invention, le volet est aménagé avec au moins un élément en forme de fourchette se positionnant dans l'une des rainures du volet et en chevauchement d'une nervure établie en regard sur le couvercle.

For fixing the object of the invention illustrated in a nonlimiting manner to the figures of the drawings where:

• The Figure 1 is a perspective view of 3/4 of the wiper material dispensing apparatus according to the prior art described in French Patent No. 2931350 .
• The Figure 2 is a schematic view partially illustrating the flap and the cover of the dispensing apparatus, arranged with the device of the invention in a first embodiment.
• The Figure 3 is a schematic front view illustrating the dispensing apparatus as arranged according to the invention in the first embodiment.
• The Figure 4 is a partial front view illustrating the interpenetration of the shutter and the cover in the complementary parts of the device of the invention.
• The Figure 5 is a partial view in perspective illustrating the cover made according to the invention in the first implementation.
• The Figure 6 is a complementary view to the figure 5 illustrating the flap capable of integrating into the complementary parts of the lid according to the invention.
• The Figure 7 is a schematic view illustrating alternatively a second embodiment of the device.
• The Figure 8 is a top view of the lid in a third embodiment.
• The figure 9 is a complementary view to the figure 8 illustrating in large numbers the different grooves and ribs formed non-concentrically on the cover and the flap and in the context of the third embodiment.
• The figure 10 is a schematic view illustrating another alternative embodiment.
• The figures 11 and 12 are schematic views illustrating other configurations of the invention, the pairs of ribs-grooves formed on the flap and the lid are not concentric.
• The Figures 13 and 14 are half-views of a schematic nature of another variant of the invention, the flap is arranged with at least one element fork-shaped positioning in one of the grooves of the flap and overlapping of a rib established opposite the lid.

In order to make the object of the invention more concrete, it is now described in a nonlimiting manner in the figures of the drawings.

In order to allow the distribution of a strip of material, from a device of the type described above and in particular in the French patent 2931350 , the apparatus comprises a housing (1) with a cover (2) hinged and arranged on an axis (4), and a flap (3) hinged to the side walls of the housing. The band of material (M) in the pre-cut or pre-folded Z state is likely to bypass the upper portion (3a) of curvilinear shape disposed at the top end of the flap (3). The strip of material (M) thus passes in front of the flap and against the inner face of the cover (2). In its lower part, the lid has a central cutout (2a) and the shutter a central cutout (3a) for the passage and the evacuation of the material strip. The flap (3) and the cover (2) have pairs of curvilinear complementary shapes (3b - 3c) and (2b -2d) that can partially engage during the passage of the strip of material and more specifically the parts (3b ) and (2b) are the ribs, and the portions (3c) (2d) are the grooves. In this implementation, the said complementary forms are curvilinear.

In the context of the invention and in order to minimize any wrinkling effect of the material during its passage between complementary forms of interlocking, it is envisaged that the strip of material (M) is unrolled completely between the shutter (3). and the inner wall of the cover (2), without lateral deformation, and overflowing on either side, complementary male-female shapes established according to the groove-rib couples formed on the shutter and the lid, as shown figure 3 , and this in the absence of any stops. These complementary forms constituting grooves (2d-3c) and ribs (2b-3b) are numerous and give a rainbow configuration, but with a substantially greater amplitude than 180 °. These shapes are arranged directly or with a complementary space-reducing means between certain portions of ribs and grooves to allow and facilitate the separation of a material strip format during traction by the user.

Referring to Figures 2 to 6 , the different complementary shapes have a concentric configuration with respect to each other, with an identical or different pitch, allowing a regular interlocking. In this particular embodiment the shutter or the cover, that is to say one or the other is arranged near its lower end with a complementary means consisting of projections forming teeth (2c) which have for the purpose of narrowing the space between the grooves and the ribs during their interlocking. This reduction of space as it appears in the drawings causes the formation of retaining zones of the strip of material favoring the initiation of its tearing. These fingerprints or teeth are arranged at the lower end of the rainbow shape obtained by the concentricity, and promote the separability of the material in case of traction.

This material is somehow passing between complementary groove-rib shapes but without any crumple deformation of the material web. As part of this implementation, one can also design and alternately on the lid and the shutter implementation of several tooth-shaped impressions to promote the separation of a material strip format.

The aforementioned forms in this first embodiment are obtained directly by molding.

We now refer to the figure 7 providing a second implementation of the invention. In this case, the complementary shapes of the aforementioned type constituted by the sets of grooves and ribs are always concentric with each other after interlocking corresponding to the closure of the lid. It is provided in this implementation the use of a thrust means (6) with resilient capacity for a lateral thrust action on the flap itself relative to the lid. This thrust means may for example be established as a spring element disposed on one side of the housing of the apparatus. This means is able to act in lateral thrust on the flap to allow at least a half of the assembly a relative movement of the flap relative to the cover and a reconciliation of the grooves formed on the flap with respect to the ribs formed on lid. In a way, it reduces the space between the grooves and the ribs, which has the effect of causing the separability of a material strip format during traction by the user. The strip of material thus passes into the very small space resulting from the approximation between the ribs and the grooves, favoring the separability of a material format.

We have shown Figures 8 and 9 another variant of the device of the invention that allows optimization in the manufacture of the dispenser without additional room. For this, with reference to the drawings, the sets of grooves and ribs formed on the cover are not concentric with the sets of grooves and ribs established on the shutter. There is somehow an eccentricity that causes a modification and a reduction of space for the passage of the strip of material. So with reference to its figures, the space (e) between the grooves and the ribs will not be regular and instead variable. In its middle part, the space (e) between the rib formed on the lid and the adjacent ribs formed on the flap is regular. It is around for example 5mm. By cons, in its lower part, the ribs formed on the cover are close to the ribs formed on the flap with a reduced space (e2) may be of the order of 0.50 and 1 mm. An intermediate position (e1) is represented between (e) and (e2). The narrowing that is performed essentially serves to allow the separability of the web of material.

This latest optimized version is realized during the molding of the cover and the shutter while guaranteeing a perfect interlocking of the complementary shapes thus described on the shutter and on the cover. In this implementation, there is no addition of additional parts and the cutting of the material is naturally almost without wrinkling thereof. If wrinkling, there is, it is not apparent and quickly eliminated by the natural fitness of the strip of material.

We have shown figure 10 , another variant in which slots (3f) are formed in the end portions of the grooves established on the flap (3). These slots established in the central part of these grooves define tongues (3e) thus providing a certain elastic deformation capacity. Any support of the lid on the flap can cause elastic deformation of said tongues (3e) to facilitate the separability of the material strip in a given format. The amplitude of formation of the slots (3f) is of the order of 60 ° on each side of the flap at the concentric configuration of the groove-rib portions.

There are two figures 11 and 12 other configurations of the pairs of ribs-grooves according to the invention.

Figure 11 , the flap (3) and the cover (2) have pairs of complementary shapes (3b-3c) and (2b-2d) which can partially fit during the passage of the material strip, and this, in a configuration not curvilinear. As shown, these complementary shapes are arranged obliquely on either side of the central opening while approaching giving a taper effect.

Furthermore, and as before, the shutter or the cover is arranged near its lower end with a complementary means consisting of tooth-shaped protruding shapes (2c) which are intended to narrow the space between the grooves and the ribs when of their interlocking.

Figure 11 the ribs and grooves end up along the transverse end edge of the cover and the flap.

In the case of Figure 12 the same arrangement of the pairs of ribs and grooves has been illustrated on the shutter (3) and the cover (2), but also by creating a bevel effect by an oblique cut (7) of at least two or three pairs of ribs and grooves from the central opening of the passage of the strip of material. It is then arranged in its pairs of grooves-ribbing protruding teeth (2c) which are furthermore offset in height and allow a progressive cutting of the strip of material.

The Figures 13 and 14 illustrate another variant in the configuration of the pairs of ribs and projections formed on the flap (3) and on the lid (2). The figure 13 is a view before closing the lid on the shutter and the figure 14 after closing.

In this implementation, we find the pairs of grooves-ribs (3b-3c) (2b-2d) established on the shutter and on the cover, but also the implementation of at least one flexible tongue (8) arranged and fixed at one end (8a) on the wall of the shutter, and whose other end has a fork form (8b) to fit around one of the ribs (2b) disposed on the cover. This tongue is thus in the defined space of a groove whose end is cut for the passage of the fork portion of the tongue. As shown figure 14 , the forked form (8b) is arranged around the rib (2b) leaving a passage of the strip of material drawn. Such an arrangement may be arranged on either side of the central opening for the passage of the strip of material along the axis of symmetry shown in the drawings. The central opening (2a-3a) formed on the lid and the flap can have the configurations shown in the different variants. In this implementation, it plays on the elasticity of the tongue (8) to facilitate the cutting of the strip of material. This implementation is particularly specific to pre-cut wiping materials made of nonwoven fabric.

According to one implementation in the various cases mentioned above, groove-rib couples may be established in regular or irregular steps, but always always the same depth.

The advantages are apparent from the invention. The best appearance quality of the strip of cut or separated material from the spool or setting in the z-folded material frame is emphasized.

Claims (12)

1. Appliance for dispenser pre-cut wiping material, of a type incorporating a casing (1) constituting a receptacle with a bottom plate, a bottom horizontal wall and lateral walls, a cover (2) hinged on the casing, and a flap (3) hinged on the walls of the casing at the bottom of the latter, with the said flap and the said cover having a central cut-out at the bottom that is essentially semi-circular , so as to allow the exit of wiping material pre-cut and in a roll, or pre-folded into a Z-shaped wad, characterized by the fact that the flap (3) and the cover (2) have, opposite them, a number of pairs of complementary shapes (3b, 3c) and (2b-2d) formed into grooves and ribs able to nest inside each other after closure of the cover, such that the strip of material (M) is able to be unrolled between the flap and the inner wall of the cover without lateral distortion and protruding from the male/female complementary shapes consisting of the rib/groove pairs formed on the cover and the flap, and such that the said shapes are arranged directly with a complementary space reduction system (2c) between certain parts of the ribs and grooves, to allow and promote the separation of a formatted strip of material when the user exerts a pulling action.
2. Dispensing appliance in accordance with claim 1, characterized by the fact that the set of pairs of complementary shapes (3b-3c) and (2b-2d) established as grooves and ribs is arranged in a rainbow configuration.
3. Dispensing appliance according to claim 2, characterized by the fact that the flap or the cover is designed, at its bottom extremities, with salient forms comprising teeth (2c) that reduce the spacing of the grooves and nerves during their nesting, and by the fact that the various pairs of grooves and ribs are concentric in relation to each other.
4. Dispensing appliance in accordance with claim 1, characterized by the fact that it includes a thrust system (6) with an elastic capability, positioned extending from the appliance's casing, and allowing a relative movement to the flap in relation to the cover, and a reducing of space between the ribs formed on the cover and the grooves formed on the flap, and by the fact that the various pairs of grooves and ribs are concentric in relation to each other.
5. Dispensing appliance in accordance with claim 1, characterized by the fact that the sets of grooves and ribs formed on the cover are not concentric in relation to the sets of grooves and ribs on the flap, and by the fact that the space formed between the grooves and the ribs is variable from an extreme lower interior position to a median position, the space (e) between the rib formed in the median part on the cover and the adjacent ribs formed on the flap being regular.
6. Dispensing appliance in accordance with claim 5, characterized by the fact that - at its median part - the space (e) between the rib formed on the cover and the adjacent ribs on the flap is regular, being around 5mm, and by the fact that, at its bottom, the ribs formed on the cover are brought in closer proximity to the ribs on the flap, with a small space (e2) that can be around 0.50mm and 1mm.
7. Dispensing appliance in accordance with claim 5, characterized by the fact that slots (3f) are formed in the extremities of the grooves on the flap (3), and by the fact that these slots formed in the central part of these grooves form tongues (3e), thereby providing a certain elastic distortion capability.
8. Dispensing appliance in accordance with claim 7, characterized by the fact that the amplitude of formation of slots (3f) is 60° on each of the sides of the flap, at the concentric configuration of the groove/rib parts.
9. Dispensing appliance in accordance with claim 1, characterized by the fact that the complementary shapes (3b-3c) and (2b-2d) formed into grooves and ribs are positioned obliquely either side of the central openings existing in the flap and the cover, giving a conical effect, and by the fact that the flap or the cover are designed - near the bottom extremities - with salient forms comprising teeth (2c), ensuring the reduction of the space between the grooves and the ribs.
10. Dispensing appliance in accordance with claim 9, characterized by the fact that the ribs and the grooves terminate along the transversal edge of the cover and the flap.
11. Dispensing appliance in accordance with claim 9, characterized by the fact that the flap and the cover have - either side of their central opening - an oblique cut-out (7) on at least two or three pairs of ribs and grooves, also having tooth-shaped salient parts (2c) that are offset so as to allow a progressive cutting of the strip of material.
12. Dispensing appliance in accordance with claim 1, characterized by the fact that the flap and the cover have groove/rib pairs (3b-3c) (2b-2d) on the flap and the cover, with the provision of at least one flexible tongue (8) positioned and fixed at one end (8a) on the wall of the flap, with the other end having a fork shape (8b) that fits around one of the ribs (2b) positioned on the cover, and by the fact that the said tongue is within the space bounded by a rib of which the extremity is cut to allow the passage of its fork-shaped part.

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