Shippable dispenser box with support structure for expandable sheet roll

Abstract

A dispenser box for a roll of expandable sheet material includes an outer structure having a plurality of walls including a bottom wall and a front wall. The dispenser box includes a support structure disposed in the outer structure adjacent to the bottom wall comprising two lateral support surfaces each forming an overall upwardly concave shape. The support structure is configured to support the roll spaced from the bottom wall and the front wall.

Description

SHIPP ABLE DISPENSER BOX WITH SUPPORT STRUCTURE FOR EXPANDABLESHEET ROLL

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a shippable dispenser box and, in particular, to a shippable dispenser box with a support structure for an expandable sheet roll.SUMMARY

[0002] In one aspect, the present disclosure relates to a dispenser box for a roll of expandable sheet material. The dispenser box includes an outer structure having a plurality of walls including a bottom wall and a front wall. The outer structure is configured to provide an opening sized to receive an unrolled portion of the expandable sheet material. The dispenser box also includes a support structure disposed in the outer structure adjacent to the bottom wall comprising two lateral support surfaces. Each lateral support surface includes a first lateral portion and a second lateral portion cooperatively forming an overall upwardly concave shape. The support structure is configured to support the roll spaced from the bottom wall and the front wall.

[0003] In another aspect, the present disclosure relates to a box insert including a first lateral support surface and a second lateral support surface spaced from one another along a longitudinal axis. Each lateral support surface defines an overall upwardly concave shape formed by a first lateral portion and a second lateral portion. The box insert also includes vertical members each coupled to at least one of the lateral support surfaces. The box insert includes a longitudinal member coupled to at least some of the vertical members.

[0004] In another aspect, the present disclosure relates to a method of using a dispenser box for a roll of expandable sheet material. The method includes extending an unrolled portion of the expandable sheet material through an opening of an outer structure of the dispenser box. The outer structure has a plurality of walls including a bottom wall and a front wall. The dispenser box includes a support structure disposed in the outer structure adjacent to the bottom wall having two lateral support surfaces. Each support surface includes a first lateral portion and a second lateral portion cooperatively forming an overall upwardly concave shape. The support structure is configured to support the roll spaced from the bottom wall and the front wall. The method also includes applying a tension force to the unrolled portion of the expandable sheet material in a direction from the roll through the opening. The method includes expanding the unrolled portion of the expandable sheet material.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

[0005] To easily identify the discussion of any particular element or act, the most significant digit or digits in a reference number refer to the figure number in which that element is first introduced.

[0006] FIG. 1, FIG. 2, and FIG. 3 illustrate different views of one example of a dispenser box for a roll of expandable sheet material.

[0007] FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective view of another example of a dispenser box.

[0008] FIG. 5 illustrates a perspective view of the support structure of the dispenser box of FIG. 1.

[0009] FIG. 6 illustrates a plan view of the outer structure of FIG. 5 in an unfolded configuration.

[0010] FIG. 7 illustrates a plan view of the support structure of FIG. 1 in an unfolded configuration.

[0011] FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 illustrate different views of a portion of one example of expandable sheet material usable with the dispenser box of FIG. 1 or FIG. 4.

[0012] FIG. 10 illustrates a flowchart of one example of a method of using dispenser boxes of FIG. 1 or FIG. 4.DESCRIPTION

[0013] The present disclosure relates to a shippable dispenser box with a support structure for an expandable sheet roll and, in particular, for dispensing rolls of tension-activated, expandable sheet material. The tension-activated, expandable sheet material may be provided in the form of a sheet having a plurality of slits along its major surface. Each of these slits is configured to open in response to sufficient tension applied to the sheet material. Many sheets of tension-activated, expandable sheet material expand, or deploy, from a two-dimensional (2D) flat sheet to a three-dimensional (3D) structure. In some embodiments, the tension activated, expandable sheet material includes a folding-wall kirigami pattern. The opened slits facilitate separation of sheet material along the third dimension. In some embodiments, the expandable sheet material is a paper having a plurality of slits.

[0014] Successful dispensing of a roll of expandable sheet material from a box provides a user with a desired length of expanded sheet material while the roll remains in the box. One mechanism for dispensing expandable sheet material involves pulling a free end of the sheet material to unroll a portion of sheet material and providing an appropriate amount of opposing force on the roll to provide the tension force across the unrolled portion of sheet material. In one example of successful dispensing, a user accesses an opening in the box and pulls on thefree end of the sheet material of the roll resting in the box to cause the sheet material to unroll and expand a desired amount of expanded sheet material.

[0015] Rolls of expandable sheet material are provided in various sizes and weights proportional to the width and length of the sheet wound into the roll. For illustrative purposes, rolls may be relatively categorized as small, medium, and large-sized rolls. Various existing dispenser boxes are not suitable for dispensing medium-sized rolls. For example, in some existing dispenser boxes, such as simple boxes with six sides, the roll rests on the bottom of the box. Such existing dispenser boxes may successfully dispense small-sized rolls. However, with medium-sized rolls, this arrangement can provide too great an opposing force of friction that results in undesirable tearing before a desired amount of expanded sheet material is dispensed. As another example, in other existing dispenser boxes for non-expandable sheet material, the roll is supported by a core extending through the roll and the core is supported by the box. With medium-sized rolls of expandable sheet material, however, this arrangement can provide too small an opposing force of friction to expand the sheet material.

[0016] Various embodiments of the present disclosure provide a dispenser box configured to provide good unrolling and expanding performance for expandable sheet material rolls, particularly for medium-sized rolls of expandable sheet material with low expansion force slit patterns.

[0017] As used herein, the term "shippable dispenser box" refers to a box for dispensing that is configured to be shippable according to one or more standards, such as STA 6- AMAZON.COM SIOC 2018 standard for ship in own container (SIOC) boxes. Being shippable may include one or more configured properties of the box, such as being enclosable, or even reclosable. Such boxes may also be configured to have a property of being “easy to open” (e.g., frustration-free packaging). In the present disclosure, the shippable dispenser box for an expandable sheet roll is configured to mechanically support the size, shape, and weight of the expandable sheet roll during shipping and during dispensing of the sheet material from the box.

[0018] As used herein, the term “expandable sheet roll” refers to a roll of expandable sheet material. The roll may include a core, which is a structurally supporting member upon which the expandable sheet material is wound and is not part of the expandable sheet material. Alternatively, the roll may be coreless.

[0019] As used herein, the term “expandable sheet material” refers to sheet material having a plurality of expandable slits configured to activate, or open, in response to tension applied to a sheet of the sheet material, which may also be described as tension-activated, expandable slits. Slits in the sheet material can be characterized as “simple slits” or “compound slits,” where a “simple slit” is defined as having exactly two terminal ends and a “compound slit” has more than two terminal ends. In some embodiments, the tension-activated, expanding articles include compound slits having more than two terminal ends, at least two slit segments, and atleast one segment intersection. In some embodiments, the tension-activated, expanding sheet has a folding-wall (tension activated) kirigami pattern that expands to produce accordion-like folded wall structures.

[0020] As used herein, the term “paper” refers to woven or non-woven sheet-shaped products or fabrics (which may be folded, and may be of various thicknesses) made from cellulose (particularly fibers of cellulose, (whether naturally or artificially derived)) or otherwise derivable from the pulp of plant sources such as wood, corn, grass, rice, and the like. Paper includes products made from both traditional and non-traditional Paper making processes, as well as materials of the type described above that have other types of fibers embedded in the sheet, for example, reinforcement fibers. Paper may have coatings on the sheet or on the fibers themselves. Examples of non-traditional products that are “Paper” within the context of this disclosure include the material available under the trade designation TRINGA from PAPTIC (Espoo, Finland), and sheet forms of the material available under the trade designation SULAPAC. Paper also includes extensible and semi-extensible papers, such as the material available under the trade designation TEA-KRAFT from WestRock Company (Atlanta, GA).

[0021] FIG. 1, FIG. 2, and FIG. 3 show different views of one example of a dispenser box 100 for a roll 102 of expandable sheet material 104. FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the dispenser box 100 in a closed configuration. FIG. 2 shows a side view of the dispenser box 100 from the perspective of line A-A of FIG. 1 in an open configuration. FIG. 3 shows a front view of the dispenser box 100 in a closed configuration. In general, the dispenser box 100 may be used in the closed configuration during shipping or storage and used in the open configuration during dispensing.

[0022] The dispenser box 100 includes an outer structure 106 and a support structure 108. The outer structure 106 and support structure 108 are configured to receive and support the roll 102 for shipping and dispensing. In some embodiments, the support structure 108 is an insert formed separately from and then disposed in the outer structure 106. In other embodiments, the support structure 108 may be integrally formed with the outer structure 106. In general, the support structure 108 is configured to directly contact an outer surface 110 of the roll 102 of expandable sheet material 104.

[0023] In some embodiments, the dispenser box 100 is defined as including the roll 102 of expandable sheet material 104. The roll 102 is made of sheet material wound around a longitudinal axis 128 to form an outer surface 110 and an inner surface 112, each having a generally cylindrical shape. In some embodiments, the roll 102 may be coreless, or unsupported by a core or other elongated support member. In other embodiments, a core or other elongated support member may be disposed through the center of the roll 102 in direct contact with at least part of the inner surface 112. The core may be used to facilitate formation or dispensing of the roll 102.

[0024] The outer structure 106 of the dispenser box 100 includes a plurality of walls 114 arranged to define a volume capable of receiving the roll 102 and the support structure 108. In the illustrated embodiment, the walls 114 include a bottom wall 116, a top wall 118, a front wall 120, a rear wall 122, and a pair of side walls 124. The dispenser box 100 includes at least a bottom wall and a front wall. In some embodiments, the outer structure 106 is enclosable, or configured to fully enclose the roll 102.

[0025] The outer structure 106 of the dispenser box 100 may be formed from a material with sufficient rigidity to maintain its shape and volume for shipping and dispensing the roll 102. Various suitable materials include paper-based materials, such as foldable corrugated cardboard, cardboard, and molded Paper. In some embodiments, the outer structure 106 is formed from a single piece of material, such as foldable corrugated cardboard (see FIG. 6).

[0026] The support structure 108 is disposed in the volume of the outer structure 106 adjacent to the bottom wall 116. When the roll 102 is loaded into the dispenser box 100, the roll 102 rests on the support structure 108. The support structure 108 is configured to support the roll 102 in a position spaced from at least the bottom wall 116 and the front wall 120, at least during dispensing. The support structure 108 may also position the roll 102 spaced from one or more of the other walls 114, such as the rear wall 122, top wall 118, and one or both side walls 124.

[0027] The support structure 108 includes at least two lateral support surfaces 126. The lateral support surfaces 126 are oriented such that vectors normal to their surface are generally orthogonal to the longitudinal axis 128. As illustrated, a width of the outer structure 106 as measured between the side walls 124 is aligned to the longitudinal axis 128. The lateral support surfaces 126 are spaced from one another along the width. In general, the lateral support surfaces 126 are positioned such that the contact surface area between the lateral support surfaces 126 and the outer surface 110 of the roll 102 is less than the contact surface area would be if the roll 102 rested directly on the bottom wall 116. In some embodiments, the lateral support surfaces 126 each have the same shape, which may provide balanced unrolling and expansion of the roll 102.

[0028] The support structure 108 may also include other members to facilitate support of the roll 102. Vertical members 132 may each be coupled to at least one of the lateral support surfaces 126 to support their orientation and the weight of the roll 102. A longitudinal member 130 may be coupled to at least some of the vertical members 132 to maintain the distance between the lateral support surfaces 126.

[0029] The support structure 108 of the dispenser box 100 may be formed from a material with sufficient rigidity to support the roll 102 for shipping and dispensing. Various suitable materials include paper-based materials, such as foldable corrugated cardboard, cardboard, andmolded paper. In some embodiments, the support structure 108 is formed from a single piece of material, such as foldable corrugated cardboard (see FIG. 5 and FIG. 7).

[0030] The dispenser box 100 having the support structure 108 may be well suited for midrange or medium-sized rolls of expandable paper sheets. In some embodiments, the roll 102 may weigh between about 1 to 2.25 kilograms (kg), or about 2.5 to 5 pounds (lb). In some embodiments, this may correspond to the roll 102 being formed of a sheet of expandable sheet material having a length between about 30 to 60 meters (m), or about 100 to 200 feet (ft). These weight and size ranges of rolls may be particularly cooperative with the support structure 108 in providing a sufficient opposing force of friction to facilitate unrolling and expansion of the expandable sheet material.

[0031] The dispenser box 100 having the support structure 108 may also be particularly suitable for rolls of expandable sheet material having a relatively low Expansion Minimum Pull Force Per Meter compared to other existing expandable sheet materials, particularly when the expandable sheet material 104 is made of paper and includes a slit pattern that facilitates a low Expansion Minimum Pull Force Per Meter. The support structure 108 may provide a lower frictional force, relative to existing dispenser boxes, to facilitate dispensing a desired amount of expanded sheet material without undesirable tearing.

[0032] Various suitable types of sheets made of expandable sheet material and having such a low expansion force slit pattern are described, for example, in International Patent Pub. Nos. W02021 / 130616 (Tension-activated, expanding sheets), W02021 / 130612 (Single slit patterned, tension-activated, expanding articles), WO2021 / 130628 (Multi-slit tension- activated, expanding sheets), W02021 / 130613 (Tension-activated, expanding sheets with compound slits), WO2021 / 130659 (Tension-activated, expanding articles with multibeam slits), and WO2021 / 130660 (Tension-activated, expanding articles with curved terminal edges).

[0033] As used herein, the term "Expansion Minimum Pull Force Per Meter” refers to the amount of tension force required to initiate expansion of the expandable sheet material per meter of sheet width, which is determined according to the method described herein. Unless otherwise specified, the width refers to the width of the sheet of expandable sheet material 104, that is, the dimension orthogonal to the direction of expansion or tension used to expand the sheet.

[0034] In some embodiments, the Expansion Minimum Pull Force Per Meter of the expandable sheet material 104 is less than or equal to 75, 60, 45, 30, 22.5, 15, or even 7.5 Newtons per meter (N / m). In some embodiments, the Expansion Minimum Pull Force Per Meter is greater than or equal to 7.5, 15, 22.5, 30, 45, or even 60 N / m.

[0035] Expansion Minimum Pull Force Per Meter

[0036] As used herein, the “Expansion Minimum Pull Force Per Meter” refers to the average tension per meter width of a sheet (the width being the dimension along the width direction orthogonal to the draw direction) experienced while pulling the sheet during expansion, which is determined by the following procedure:1. Cut a 0.5 meter long sample of the expandable sheet material being tested to form a sheet sample.2. Clamp each length end of the sample with a different clamp that engages the full width of the material.3. Mount each clamp into a tensile testing load frame, such as MTS Criterion Model C43 104E, from Mechanical Testing Systems Corporation (Eden Prairie, MN).4. Move the clamps away from each other with the load frame until the sample tears across its entire width while recording the forces exerted and the position of the load frame. Move the clamps apart at 1.0 mm / s while recording data at 100 Hz.5. The resulting data can be plotted to show the force applied versus position. This plot will generally include an initial peak where the material first starts to deploy, then a continuous deployment region with lower forces than the initial peak where the material is deploying, followed by a tear peak where the material has stretched to its maximum extent. The force drops to approximately zero after the tear peak.6. The Expansion Minimum Pull Force is calculated as the average force in the continuous deployment region, specifically the average of the forces between 25% and 75% of the distance from the initial peak to the tear peak. If no initial peak is evident, then the Expansion Minimum Pull Force is calculated as the average of the forces between 25% and 75% of the distance from the onset of measurable pull forces to the tear peak.7. The Expansion Minimum Pull Force Per Meter is calculated by dividing the Expansion Minimum Pull Force from step 6 by the width of the sample of expandable sheet material.

[0037] As can be seen in FIG. 2, an opening 204 may be formed in one or more walls 114 to facilitate dispensing of expandable sheet material 104 from the roll 102. The opening 204 is sized and shaped to receive an unrolled portion 206 of the expandable sheet material 104 that has been unrolled from the roll 102 and expanded.

[0038] In the illustrated embodiment, the dispenser box 100 may be moved into an open configuration, to form the opening 204, by lifting the top wall 118, which is hinged to the rear wall 122, allowing access to the volume inside the outer structure 106. In other embodiments, the opening 204 may be formed in part of one of the walls 114, such as the top wall 118 or the front wall 120. The opening 204 may also be formed from part of two or more walls, such as the top wall 118 and the front wall 120 (see FIG. 4).

[0039] In some embodiments, the opening 204 is reclosable. For example, as can be seen in FIG. 4, the opening 402 includes a reclosable flap hinged to the top wall 404. In other embodiments, the opening may be a permanent feature of the dispenser box 100 once formed in the outer structure 106, for example, when the opening 204 is formed with a punch out.

[0040] In the open configuration, the user may pull a free end 210 of the expandable sheet material 104 toward and through the opening 204, for example, in a first tension direction 216. The unrolled portion 206 expands between the roll 102 and the free end 210 as the user pulls, providing tension to the unrolled portion 206 that is opposed at least partially by friction between the roll 102 and the lateral support surfaces 126. In some cases, the user may benefit from pulling the unrolled portion 206 in a second tension direction 218 at a shallower angle and in a more forward direction (e.g., up and forward) so that the unrolled portion 206 directly contacts a portion of the front wall 120, or front wall portion 224. As illustrated, the unrolled portion 206 contacts the top edge front wall portion 224 when pulled in the second tension direction 218. Contact with the front wall 120 can provide another friction force to oppose the user's pull, which may result in further expansion in a secondary region 222 of the unrolled portion 206 between the contact area with the front wall portion 224 and the free end 210.

[0041] In some cases, it may be more suitable for a user to pull the free end 210 in the first tension direction 216 or the second tension direction 218. For example, when the roll 102 is full, pulling the free end 210 in the first tension direction 216 may provide good unrolling and expansion performance. When the roll 102 is partially consumed and lighter, and therefore providing a smaller opposing frictional force, pulling the free end 210 in the second tension direction 218 may provide good unrolling and expansion performance. One example of a method for employing these techniques is method 1000 (FIG. 10). When the roll becomes very light, a user may provide more support to the dispenser box, such as holding the dispenser box down with a hand or some other object to mitigate sliding or tipping of the box.

[0042] Each lateral support surface 126 includes a first lateral portion 226 and a second lateral portion 228 that cooperatively form an overall upwardly concave shape. The overall upwardly concave shape may be formed in any suitable manner. For example, each individual lateral portion forming the overall upwardly concave shape may include a flat planar surface, a curved surface, or both. The lateral portions may have corresponding side profiles or cross sections that include linear lines, curved lines, or both. Each individual lateral portion may have an upwardly concave shape or upwardly convex shape, while still contributing to the overall upwardly concave shape of the lateral support surface 126. In the illustrated embodiment, each lateral portion includes a flat planar surface and has a linear side profile, and the overall upwardly concave shape is a V-shaped groove.

[0043] An angle 212 may be defined between the first lateral portion 226 and the second lateral portion 228 to define the overall upwardly concave shape, particularly in a side profileview or side cross-sectional view. In some embodiments, the angle 212 is between 110 and 140 degrees. In general, a smaller angle may correlate to a larger frictional force between the lateral support surfaces 126 and the roll 102 and a larger angle may correlate to a smaller frictional force. Suitable angles and shapes may be selected by a person of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the present disclosure to provide good unrolling and expansion performance.

[0044] In some embodiments, the first lateral portion 226 and the second lateral portion 228 are mirror images of one another and each lateral support surface 126 is symmetrical across at least one plane of symmetry. In other embodiments, lateral support surfaces 126 may be asymmetrical. For example, the first lateral portion 226 may have a different shape than the second lateral portion 228 of the same lateral support surface 126. As another example, the lateral support surface 126 may be configured to position the roll 102 with a bias closer to the front wall 120 than the rear wall 122 or vice versa. Positioning the roll 102 away from the walls 114 may provide space for the expandable sheet material 104 to expand without rubbing on the walls and increasing frictional resistance forces.

[0045] The dispenser box 100 may also include foot members 220, which may be coupled to the bottom wall 116. The foot members 220 may be attached or otherwise deployed before or after shipping. The foot members 220 may provide additional grip (e.g., by friction or adhesion) to a surface supporting the box (e.g., a table surface or counter), which may be particularly useful when the roll 102 is consumed and becomes lighter in preventing the dispenser box 100 from sliding across the supporting surface, especially when the user pulls in a shallow tension direction, such as tension direction 218.

[0046] As can be seen in FIG. 3, the lateral support surfaces 126 provide less surface area for contacting the outer surface 110 of the roll 102 than the bottom wall 116. For example, each lateral support surface 126 may define a width measured from the front profile view or front cross-sectional view. In the illustrated embodiment, for example, one lateral support surface 126 has a first width 302 and another lateral support surface 126 has a second width 304. In some embodiments, a combined width of the lateral support surfaces 126 may be less than or equal to 50%, 40%, 30%, 20%, or even 10% of a width 306 of the entire support structure 108. The combined width of the lateral support surfaces 126 may be greater than or equal to 5%, 15%, 25%, 35%, or even 45% the width 306 of the entire support structure 108.

[0047] In general, a greater combined width may correlate to a greater surface area in contact with the roll 102 and therefore greater frictional force between the roll 102 and the lateral support surfaces 126. Suitable combined width values may be selected by a person of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the present disclosure to provide good unrolling and expansion performance.

[0048] FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of another example of a dispenser box 400 where the opening 402 is formed at least partially by the top wall 404 and at least partially by the front wall 406. In some embodiments, the front wall 406 of the dispenser box 400 is configured to move between a vertical position and a forward tilted position, as illustrated. The top wall 404 is configured to move between a closed position and an open position, as illustrated. Such an opening 402 may allow a user to dispense sheet material at a shallower, or more forward, angle than the opening 204 (FIG. 2). Other components of the dispenser box 400 may otherwise be the same or similar to the dispenser box 100.

[0049] FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of the support structure 108. In the illustrated embodiment, the support structure 108 may be described as a box insert. The support structure 108 includes lateral support surfaces 126, including a first lateral support surface 502 and a second lateral support surface 504 spaced from one another. Each lateral support surface 126 includes a first lateral portion 226 and a second lateral portion 228 cooperatively forming an overall upwardly concave shape, such as a V-shaped groove. Vertical members 132 each coupled to at least one of the lateral support surfaces 126. The longitudinal member 130 is coupled to at least some of the vertical members 132. In the illustrated embodiment, the entire support structure 108 is integrally formed form a single piece of material, such as foldable corrugated cardboard.

[0050] FIG. 6 shows a plan view of the outer structure 106 in an unfolded configuration. The outer structure 106 may be folded along crease lines to form a volume capable of receiving the roll 102, for example, when the outer structure 106 is made of a foldable corrugated cardboard.

[0051] FIG. 7 shows a plan view of the support structure 108 in an unfolded configuration. The support structure 108 may be folded along crease lines to form the shape shown in FIG. 5, for example, when the outer structure 106 is made of a foldable corrugated cardboard.

[0052] FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 show different views of a portion of one example of the expandable sheet material 104. FIG. 8 shows a plan view of a portion of the expandable sheet material 104 in an unexpanded, or flat, configuration. The expandable sheet material 104 includes a substrate 802 defining a major surface of the sheet. A repeating slit pattern 804 includes a plurality of slits made through the thickness of the substrate 802.

[0053] FIG. 9 shows a perspective view of a portion of the expandable sheet material 104 of FIG. 8 in an expanded, or 3D, configuration, for example, after applying tension to the sheet of FIG. 8 along the tension axis 806.

[0054] FIG. 10 shows a flowchart of one example of a method 1000 of using the dispenser boxes of the present disclosure, such as dispenser box 100 and dispenser box 400. The method 1000 may include extending an unrolled portion of expandable sheet material through an opening of an outer structure of the dispenser box at block 1002. The opening may be formedin the dispenser box beforehand. A tension force in a first direction may be applied to the unrolled portion of the expandable sheet material to pull the unrolled portion through the opening at block 1004. If the expandable sheet material has good expanding performance at block 1006, tension may continue to be applied in the first direction returning to block 1004. If the expandable sheet material has poor expanding performance at block 1006, a tension force in a second direction may be applied to the unrolled portion of the expandable sheet material to pull the unrolled portion through the opening while contacting another portion of the outer structure in block 1008. If the dispenser box tips or moves in the direction of the force, then a hand, adhesive, or other object can be used to anchor the dispenser box, particularly when the roll is very light.

[0055] Thus, various embodiments of SHIPP ABLE DISPENSER BOX WITH SUPPORT STRUCTURE FOR EXPANDABLE SHEET ROLL are disclosed. Other features and combinations of features within the scope of this disclosure may be readily apparent to one skilled in the art having the benefit of the figures, descriptions, and claims.

[0056] Unless otherwise indicated, all numbers expressing feature sizes, amounts, and physical properties used in the specification and claims may be understood as being modified either by the term “exactly” or “about.” Accordingly, unless indicated to the contrary, the numerical parameters set forth in the foregoing specification and attached claims are approximations that can vary depending upon the desired properties sought to be obtained by those skilled in the art utilizing the teachings disclosed herein or, for example, within typical ranges of experimental error.

[0057] Terms related to orientation, such as “upwardly,” “front,” “rear,” “top,” “bottom,” “side,” and “end,” are used to describe relative positions of components and are not meant to limit the absolute orientation of the embodiments contemplated.

[0058] The terms “coupled” or “connected” refer to elements being attached to each other either directly (in direct contact with each other) or indirectly (having one or more elements between and attaching the two elements). Either term may be replaced to “couplable” or “connectable” to describe that the elements are configured to be coupled or connected. In addition, either term may be modified by “operatively” and “operably,” which may be used interchangeably, to describe that the coupling or connection is configured to allow the components to interact to carry out functionality.

[0059] As used herein, the term “configured to” may be used interchangeably with the terms “adapted to” or “structured to” unless the content of this disclosure clearly dictates otherwise.

[0060] The phrases “at least one of,” “comprises at least one of,” and “one or more of’ followed by a list refers to any one of the items in the list and any combination of two or more items in the list.

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:

1. A dispenser box for a roll of expandable sheet material comprising: an outer structure comprising a plurality of walls including a bottom wall and a front wall, wherein the outer structure is configured to provide an opening sized to receive an unrolled portion of the expandable sheet material; and a support structure disposed in the outer structure adjacent to the bottom wall comprising two lateral support surfaces, each lateral support surface comprising a first lateral portion and a second lateral portion cooperatively forming an overall upwardly concave shape, the support structure configured to support the roll spaced from the bottom wall and the front wall.

2. The dispenser box of claim 1, wherein the support structure is formed of a single piece of material.

3. The dispenser box of claim 1 or 2, wherein the outer structure, the support structure, or both are formed of Paper-based material.

4. The dispenser box of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the outer structure is enclosable.

5. The dispenser box of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the opening is reclosable.

6. The dispenser box of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the opening is formed at least partially in the top wall and the front wall.

7. The dispenser box of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein an angle of the overall upwardly concave shape defined between each first lateral portion and second lateral portion is between 110 and 140 degrees.

8. The dispenser box of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein each first lateral portion and second lateral portion includes a flat planar surface, curved surface, or both.

9. The dispenser box of any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising the roll of expandable sheet material.

10. The dispenser box of claim 9, wherein the roll weighs at least 2.5 to 5 pounds and the expandable sheet material has a length of between 100 to 200 feet.

11. The dispenser box of claim 9 or 10, wherein the expandable sheet material is formed of paper.

12. The dispenser box of any one of claims 9 to 11, wherein the expandable sheet material has an Expansion Minimum Pull Force Per Meter no greater than 45 N / m.

13. The dispenser box of any one of claims 9 to 12, wherein the expandable sheet material comprises a plurality of slits configured to open in response to a tension force.

14. A box insert comprising: a first lateral support surface and a second lateral support surface spaced from one another along a longitudinal axis, each lateral support surface defining an overall upwardly concave shape formed by a first lateral portion and a second lateral portion; vertical members each coupled to at least one of the lateral support surfaces; and a longitudinal member coupled to at least some of the vertical members.

15. A method of using a dispenser box for a roll of expandable sheet material comprising: extending an unrolled portion of the expandable sheet material through an opening of an outer structure of the dispenser box, the outer structure comprising a plurality of walls including a bottom wall and a front wall, the dispenser box comprising a support structure disposed in the outer structure adjacent to the bottom wall comprising two lateral support surfaces, each support surface comprising a first lateral portion and a second lateral portion cooperatively forming an overall upwardly concave shape, the support structure configured to support the roll spaced from the bottom wall and the front wall; applying a tension force to the unrolled portion of the expandable sheet material in a direction from the roll through the opening; and expanding the unrolled portion of the expandable sheet material.

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