EP1598284A1 - Packaging for wipes - Google Patents

Abstract

The present application relates to a resealable pack for wipes,preferably disposable wipes. The pack comprises an opening specificallylocated so as to permit easy access to and removal of the wipes from thepack. The pack is also specifically designed so as to be at least 1.16times larger than the wipe in either the x- or y-dimension.

Description

Technical Field

The present application related to a pack, preferably a resealable pack, for wipes. More preferablysaid wipes are disposable. The pack comprises an opening specifically located so as to permiteasy access to and removal of the wipes from the pack. The pack is also specifically designed soas to be at least 1.16 times larger than the wipe in either the x- or y-dimension.

Background to the Invention

Wipes have recently become the medium of choice in the surface cleaning field. Such wipes aregenerally packaged in reclosable, generally rigid, generally plastic boxes. However such boxes arequite large and thus take up more surface area on the work surface, for example the kitchen worksurface, than is preferred. Moreover the boxes although reclosable are not resealable and thusallow the entry and/or exit of moisture. And finally such boxes incur greater cost to themanufacturer and thus also to the consumer.

Flexible packs are designed to be used as such or designed to be placed inside the reclosable box.The flexible pack is easy to produce by flow wrap technology and uses less raw materials than thebox and which reduces both cost to the manufacturer, consumer and the environment. Theopening of a flexible pack, such as those described above are usually provided by means of aperforated area in one face of the package that the consumer would open before use. Such flexiblepackages can be made with resealable openings, wherein the removable opening area of thepackage is covered with an adhesive film extending beyond the size of the opening, such that, theadhesive film can then be used as a resealing adhesive label.

The packages of the present invention are specifically designed for use in packaging anddispensing of dry or substantially dry wipes. The dry wipes are stiffer than the average wet wipeand thus are less easily manipulated. When such packs are used with wet wipes, the opening ismade as small as possible and the consumer must pinch the wipe in order to grasp and remove itfrom the pack. The wipe folds as necessary from the point of being pinched in order to be removed from the pack through the opening. However the wipes for which the present pack hasbeen designed are less flexible than standard wet wipes. They can not be pinch gripped and do notfold and thus are difficult to remove from the pack.

The Applicants have thus designed the present pack to be able to accommodate such less flexiblewipes. The packs of the present invention are oversized as compared to the wipes containingtherein. The extra size of the pack versus the wipe permits manoeuvrability of the wipe within thepack. Hence the wipe can be manoeuvered within the pack so as to encourage an edge of the wipeto be available at the opening. The opening of the pack is located in the body portion such that anedge of the wipe contained therein can be easily accessed through the opening.

Summary of the Invention

According to the present invention there is provided a pack for dispensing at least substantiallydry wipes 7, having abody portion 1 defining an article-receiving cavity and being provided withan opening 3, characterized in that said pack comprises at least one substantially dry wipe 7, saidbody portion 1 is at least 1.16 times longer than the wipe in either the x or y dimension.

According to the present invention there is also provided a pack for dispensing at leastsubstantially dry wipes, having abody portion 1 composed of two horizontal and two longitudinalsides, defining an article-receiving cavity and being provided with an opening 3, characterized inthat said pack comprises at least a substantially dry wipe 7 having at least two longitudinal andtwo horizontal edges, and saidbody portion 1 being at least 1.16 times longer than at least eitherthe horizontal or longitudinal edge of the wipe contained therein.

Detailed Description of the Invention

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the pack of the present invention also showing a stack of 3 wipescontained within the pack.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the wipe contained within the pack of the present invention.

The packs of the present invention are generally formed from plastic materials for example apolyethylene film, polypropylene film or a laminate consisting of for example polyethylene orpolypropylene layers. Thebody portion 1 is preferably formed of a single sheet of plastic materialsealed at its ends byend seams 2 and a longitudinal seam on the face of the body portion that doesnot contain the opening (the reverse face, not shown in Figure 1). Preferably the pack is substantially the same shape as the wipes contained therein. More preferably the packs are arectangular shape. An opening 3, preferably an elongated opening 3 is defined on thebody portion1. The opening 3 may be placed in the middle of one of the faces of thebody portion 1 or may belocated over two faces of the pack i.e. over an edge of the pack. The opening 3 is preferably ofgenerally rectangular shape, preferably with rounded edges 4 so as to avoid forming sharp cornerswhich might be unhelpful as regards removal of the wipes from the pack or cause injury to theuser. The opening 3 is located at a point on thebody portion 1 such that an edge of the wipe 7 canbe accessed through the opening 3. In said embodiment thebody portion 1 comprises two shorterhorizontal sides and two longer longitudinal sides. The opening 3, preferably being of similarshape to thebody portion 1, is preferably located on the body portion 3 parallel to either thehorizontal or longitudinal sides. In said embodiment the opening 3 therefore exposes either thelongitudinal or horizontal edge of the wipe 7 contained therein.

The opening 3 is covered by a sealingmember 5 which is resealably adhered to thebody portion 1around the perimeter of the opening 3 by means of an adhesive, for example an acrylic-based orrubber-based adhesive. Sealing is provided over the whole of the area where the sealingmember 5overlies thebody portion 1, except for atab 6 at one end of the sealing member. Thistab 6provides a location where the user can grasp the sealingmember 5. It is necessary for even a smallopening 3 to provide a comparativelylarge sealing member 5, since the latter must extend beyondthe former around the perimeter of the opening 3 if it is to provide the requisite seal. The materialof the sealingmember 5 i.e. the substrate to which the adhesive is applied, may for example, be apolypropylene film, or a laminate of paper and polypropylene, paper and polyethylene orpolyethylene and polypropylene. Where a two layer laminate is used which includes paper, theadhesive is advantageously applied to the paper.

When using the pack the user grasps thetab 6 and pulls the sealingmember 5 away from thebodyportion 1 to as to expose the opening 3. A wipe 7 is removed from the pack and the sealingmember 5 is replaced over the opening 3, resealing the pack.

Thebody portion 1 can be described in terms of x-, y- and z-dimensions. The z-dimension isdefined as being the dimension portrayed by the stack of wipes 7 contained within the saidbodyportion 1. The x- and y-dimensions are thus the dimensions portrayed by the length and width ofthe wipe. Thebody portion 1 is at least 1.16 times longer than the wipe 7 in either the x or ydimension. Clearly thebody portion 1 is also more than 1.16 times larger than the wipe 7 in the z-dimension so as to accommodate a stack of wipes. Alternatively thebody portion 1 may also be described as being at least 1.16 times longer than at least either the horizontal or longitudinal sideof the wipe 7 contained therein. The pack therefore gives the impression of being outsized ascompared to the wipe itself, being either overly wide or overly long or both.

The pack of the present invention comprises at least one, at least substantially dry wipe 7. Morepreferably the pack comprises a stack of said wipes. The stack may comprise from 2-3 wipes tofor example 20 or 30 wipes. The wipe is preferably composed of several layers of substrate. Suchsubstrates may be selected from preferably nonwoven materials composed of natural or syntheticfibres. Natural fibres include all those which are naturally available without being modified,regenerated or produced by man and are generated from plants, animals, insects or by-products ofplants, animals and insects. Preferred examples of natural fibres include keratin fibres andcellulosic fibres, including wood pulp, cotton, hemp, jute, fax and combinations thereof. Naturalmaterial nonwovens useful in the present invention may be obtained from a wide variety ofcommercial sources. Nonlimiting examples of suitable commercially available paper useful hereininclude Airtex®, an embossed airlaid cellulosic having a base weight of about 71 gsm, availablefrom James River, Green Bay, WI; and Walkisoft®, an embossed airlaid cellulosic having a baseweight of about 75 gsm, available from Walkisoft U.S.A., Mount Holly, NC.

As used herein, "synthetic" means that the materials are obtained primarily from various man-madematerials or from natural materials that have been further altered. Nonlimiting examples ofsynthetic materials useful in the present invention include those selected from the groupconsisting of acetate fibers, acrylic fibers, cellulose ester fibers, modacrylic fibers, polyamidefibers, polyester fibers, polyolefin fibers, polyvinyl alcohol fibers, rayon fibers and combinationsthereof. Examples of suitable synthetic materials include acrylics such as acrilan, creslan, and theacrylonitrile-based fiber, orlon; cellulose ester fibers such as cellulose acetate, arnel, and acele;polyamides such as nylons (e.g.,nylon 6, nylon 66, nylon 610, and the like); polyesters such asfortrel, kodel, and the polyethylene terephthalate fiber, polybutylene terephalate fiber, dacron;polyolefins such as polypropylene, polyethylene; polyvinyl acetate fibers and combinationsthereof. These and other suitable fibers and the nonwovens prepared therefrom are generallydescribed in Riedel, "Nonwoven Bonding Methods and Materials,"Nonwoven World (1987);TheEncyclopedia Americana, vol. 11, pp. 147-153, and vol. 26, pp. 566-581 (1984); U. S. Patent No.4,891,227, to Thaman et al., issued January 2, 1990; and U. S. Patent No. 4,891,228, each ofwhich is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

In a preferred embodiment the wipe also comprises an abrasive net of fibres, otherwise known asa scrim. By the term 'net' it is meant a structure made directly from melts or fibres which are atleast 0.2mm long and are held together by systems other than hydrogen bonding. The fibres maybe selected from metal, natural or synthetic wires, filaments or stands or mixtures thereof.Preferred fibres are selected from those of synthetic organic origin, more preferably frompolymeric synthetic organic origin and thermoplastic polymers. The fibres are preferably selectedfrom polyamide, polyethylene, polypropylene fibres and mixtures thereof.

The wipe 7 preferably comprises a detergent composition. More preferably said detergentcomposition is in the form of a paste and applied to the wipe instrips 8. The layers of substrate ofthe wipe 7 are preferably bonded 9 to one another. Most preferably the layers of substrate are spotheat bonded to one another. In a particularly preferred embodiment the pattern of bonding andstripes of detergent paste encourages the wipe to be bent or folded along particular fold lines. Thebonding pattern and the stripes of detergent paste thus both aid the removal of the more rigid wipefrom the pack when the size of the opening is less than the length of the wipe accessing throughthe opening.

Claims (4)

1. A pack for dispensing at least substantially dry wipes, having a body portion (1) defining anarticle-receiving cavity and being provided with an opening (3),characterized in that saidpack comprises at least one substantially dry wipe (7), said body portion (1) is at least 1.16times longer than the wipe in either the x or y dimension.
2. A pack for dispensing at least substantially dry wipes, having a body portion (1) composedof two horizontal and two longitudinal sides, defining an article-receiving cavity and beingprovided with an opening (3),characterized in that said pack comprises at least asubstantially dry wipe (7) having at least two longitudinal and two horizontal edges, andsaid body portion (1) being at least 1.16 times longer than at least either the horizontal orlongitudinal edge of the wipe contained therein
3. A pack according to any preceding claim wherein the opening (3) is located such that anedge of the wipe (7) can be accessed through the opening.
4. A pack according to any preceding claim additionally comprising a sealing member (5)which covers the opening and is resealably adhered to the body portion around theperimeter of the opening.

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