Wipes dispenser with a wide-mouthed dispensing aperture

Abstract

Provided is a wipes dispenser including a dispenser having a wide-mouthed dispensing aperture, a pouch containing an interleaved stack of wipes or a rolled perforated web of wipes contained within the dispenser and accessed through the dispensing aperture, and a mounting element for mounting the dispenser to a mounting surface. The wipes dispenser may further include a pivotable dispensing lid that closes against the refill door and seal the dispensing aperture to protect the wipes from the outside environment when the wipes dispenser is not in use.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a continuation-in-part application of pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10 / 870,656, filed Jun. 16, 2004.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] This invention relates generally to wipes dispensers, and, more particularly, to an improved wipes dispenser that includes a wide-mouthed dispensing aperture through which a front wipe of a stack or roll of wipes, disposed within the dispenser, may be easily grasped by a user. [0004] 2. Description of the Related Art [0005] Dry, wet or partially wetted cleaning wipes are known in the art. Other similar sheet-like substrates such as towels, sponges, pads, napkins, diapers etc are also known in the art. Such items have been packaged in a number of different ways. [0006] For example cleaning wipes, tissues, napkins, etc. were often packaged in a standard dispenser box, sometimes with a removable or hinged lid. Such packaging, however, presented...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0025] Thus, by the present invention, a user may conveniently place, load, and extract wipes wherever and whenever generally needed or useful. Further, the wipes dispenser may be releasably moun

Problems solved by technology

Such packaging, however, presented the problem of locating, grasping and removing the first or front wipe or other substrate from a relatively small, narrow dispensing aperture at the front of the dispenser package through which the wipes were typically dispensed.

However, these prior art “pop-up” dispensing systems could only be successfully used when the substrate was sufficiently flexible to clear the restricting narrow dispensing aperture and where the dispensing aperture offered sufficient resistance to avoid “roping” of the interleaved wipes or perforated wipes.

Further, if the dispensing aperture offered insufficient resistance, the exposed lead edge of the front wipe could fall back into the interior of the dispenser through the dispensing aperture.

Roping and fall-back in a rolled web of perforated wipes was also likely when insufficient frictional dispensing aperture force at the dispensing aperture allowed multiple wipes to disp

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