To-go individual-dispensible napkin container system, a kit comprising the same and a dispenser and a method of dispensing napkins to to-go customers

Abstract

There is provided herein a to-go individual-dispensable napkin container system. The system consists of a single stack of 4 to 6 individual non-connected paper napkins packaged in a paper or plastic wrapper. The system permits the number of napkins dispensed to individual customers to a pre-regulated amount and avoids waste. The system of individually packaged napkins can be provided in a dispenser for easy customer access or can be provided by a to-go food provider in amounts of one system for each personal serving of to-go food. The system can also be opened and have individual napkins dispensed therefrom when located in a dispenser thus providing for an alternative use of the napkin container system.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63 / 709,665, filed on Oct. 21, 2024, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The present invention relates generally to the field of food service. More particularly, the present invention relates generally to the provision of napkins in to go food service orders.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] Restaurants provide diverse types of food depending on the restaurant. An increasing amount of restaurants find that they can increase food sales by offering meals to customers who are not dining in the physical restaurant. Specifically, restaurants have increasingly offered to go meals which can be ordered over the telephone and picked up in the restaurant by the customer or alternatively can be delivered to the customer by a delivery person working for the restaurant or a computer based food delivery service.

[0004] When preparing food for to go orders restaurants usually provide a host of paper products to the customer so as to reduce the need for the customer to have those items on hand and to facilitate quicker clean up by the customer. These items are usually offered for no charge to the customer. Some non-limiting examples of such items can include, utensils, paper plates, napkins and plastic cups.

[0005] Since these complimentary food service items are not charged for, the restaurant providing the to go food order must absorb the costs of these items in the price of the food. Being that many restaurants work on a very slim profit margin, it is of paramount importance that these complimentary food service items are not overprovided to the customer. Likewise, it is desirable to not permit the customer to easily obtain an overabundance of these items on their own when they arrive to pick up their to go order. Some customers have the habit of taking a large quantity of these free items since they are not viewed as costing anything, and they may retain them at home beyond the needs of the individual to go meal and use these extra food service items for further personal use in other meals.

[0006] This practice is undesirable for restaurants in that not only does the restaurant end up absorbing the lost costs of these extra food service items, but at the same time, restaurants keep limited supplied of such items in stock and it is desirable to avoid having an overly generous employee or an over zealous customer consume such a large amount of these items that it leaves further customers without the availability of such items which can lead to complaints and subsequent bad reviews by the customers who did not receive sufficient food service items.

[0007] This issue is particularly chronic with the dispensing of paper napkins. Since most restaurants obtain napkins from food service companies in large bulk purchases of hundreds if not thousands of napkins, it becomes difficult to quickly provide a consistent and adequate amount of paper napkins in each to go order.

[0008] An additional concern is hygiene. Paper napkins are provided to go customers without any covering. During health emergencies such as during the COVID lockdown many restaurants offered sealed utensils but did not have any means of offering napkins with a covering to provide for a more hygienic experience for customers.

[0009] Accordingly, there remains a need for a solution to at least one of the aforementioned problems. For instance, there is an established need for a means to supply food to go customers with an adequate amount of food service items such as napkins without waste or scarcity in doing so, and also a need to provide such napkins in a hygienic manner.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0010] The present invention can be directed to a to-go individual-dispensable napkin container system. The system consists of a single stack of 4 to 6 individual non-connected paper napkins packaged in a paper or plastic wrapper. The system permits the number of napkins dispensed to individual customers to a pre-regulated amount and avoids waste. The system of individually packaged napkins can be provided in a dispenser for easy customer access or can be provided by a to-go food provider in amounts of one system for each personal serving of to-go food. The system can also be opened and have individual napkins dispensed therefrom when located in a dispenser thus providing for an alternative use of the napkin container system.

[0011] The term “about” as used herein can entail a variance of 10% greater or lower than the value recited.

[0012] The term “comprising” as used herein also encompasses the terms “consisting essentially of” and “consisting of”.

[0013] The values of any endpoint(s) of any range(s) recited herein can be used to create different ranges or different endpoints of ranges to those described herein. The endpoints in any of the ranges described herein can also include any integer value in the recited range even if not expressly described. Thus, for example, a range of from 1.0 to 10 can include as alternate range endpoints any integer between 1 and 10, such as, the non-limiting integer examples of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9.

[0014] In a first implementation of the invention there can be provided a to-go individual-dispensable napkin container system consisting of:

[0015] a single vertical stack of 4 to 6 individual non-connected paper napkins packaged in a paper or plastic wrapper, the wrapper having two longitudinal edges and two horizontal edges which edges define a front side and an opposing rear side of the wrapper, the wrapper having a series of perforations along one longitudinal edge which are configured to provide for an opening along the longitudinal edge, and wherein a closure tab is adhered to a rear side of the packaging and is configured for extending from a rear side of the packaging over the opening to reseal the opening after it has been opened by adhering the closure tab to the front side of the packaging.

[0016] In one aspect of the invention, the system can be provided to each person having a serving size of food in the to-go order. For example, a single serving of food could be dispensed on system of napkins, while a serving size of two could be dispensed two systems of napkins, etc.

[0017] In another aspect of the invention, the single vertical stack is not the result of a perforation of two adjacent stacks.

[0018] In yet another aspect of the invention, the vertical stack of about 4 to about 6 individual non-connected paper napkins can comprise any one of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8 individual napkin, with 4 to 6 napkins being preferably and most preferably 4 napkins.

[0019] In yet even another aspect of the invention, the paper napkins can be made of a cellulose material.

[0020] In yet one other aspect of the invention, the paper napkins can be of any suitable shape, such as, but not limited to rectangular, square and the like.

[0021] In yet even one other aspect of the invention the paper wrapper can be paper or cardboard.

[0022] In yet still one other aspect of the invention, the plastic wrapper can be a transparent plastic wrapper.

[0023] In yet still even another aspect of the invention, the plastic wrapper can be for instance, made from a single layer of material or from multiple layers of material. Materials that may be used to form the plastic wrapper include woven materials, knitted materials, nonwoven materials such as meltblown webs or spunbond webs, plastic films, laminates thereof, and the like.

[0024] In one embodiment, the wrapper can be made from a polymer film. The film may include, for instance, a layer that is particularly well suited for thermally or ultrasonically bonding to itself. In addition, the polymer film can also include an outside layer that may have particular characteristics that improve the aesthetics of the package.

[0025] The outside layer, for example, can be made from a polyolefin, such as a low density polyethylene or a polypropylene. The polymer film of the wrapper can also be made from an ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer or from any other suitable thermoplastic polymer.

[0026] The outside layer, on the other hand, can comprise any suitable polymer film, such as a polyethylene or a polypropylene. The outside layer may contain various softening additives and anti-slip agents, such as a diene that softens the polymer to give it a patina-like feel. In one embodiment, the outside layer can be made from a polymer film that is capable of accepting an ink. Alternatively, the outside layer may be coated with an ink adhering coating. In this manner, various aesthetically pleasing graphics can be applied to the package as may be desired.

[0027] In one embodiment, the outside layer may be embossed in order to further soften the layer and to provide the package with some texture.

[0028] In another embodiment, the outside layer of the wrapper can contain a logo or name of the to-go restaurant for improved marketing purposes.

[0029] In one embodiment, the outside layer of the wrapper can a flexible sheet-like material include thermoplastic elastomeric (TPE) materials that can be used to provide acceptable dispensing, i.e., to make the systems have a certain amount of non-adherence to each other or slidability when used in a dispenser to make them easier to readily dispense.

[0030] Materials which can be employed include (but are not limited to): any of the family of styrenic-based TPE's (i.e. styrenic block copolymer compounds); styrenic-based TPE's containing rubber modifiers such as Kraton™, Santoprene™, or other rubber modifiers; Kraton™; Santoprene™; specialty copolymers, such as ethylene-methyl acrylate copolymers (e.g. EMAC™ of the Eastman Chemical Company); thermoset rubbers; polyurethane; alloys; amides; engineering TPE's; olefinic-based; olefinic vulcanizates; polyester-based; polyurethane-based and the like.

[0031] In another aspect of the invention the wrapper can enclose the entire single vertical stack of from about 4 to about 6 individual non-connected rectangular paper napkins.

[0032] In another aspect of the invention, the perforations can provide for an opening of the wrapper by grasping a front surface and a rear surface of the wrapper and pulling in opposite directions such that the perforations are torn into an opening.

[0033] In another aspect of the invention the wrapper can have a series of perforations along both longitudinal edges to provide for a choice of either side opening. As such, when such systems are placed in a dispenser, the perforated edge does not need to be aligned with an access point of the dispenser since either side will provide a series of perforations for opening the wrapper.

[0034] In yet another aspect the closure tab can be a thumb-sized closure tab, preferably a semi-circle closure tab of from about ½ of an inch up to about 1.5 inches in length and about ¼ of an inch up to about ½ of an inch in width. The closure tab can have an adhesive thereon that can be reused several time to close the longitudinal opening when a napkin is removed to prevent the soiling and accidental dispensing of further napkins from the wrapper.

[0035] In another aspect of the invention, the front side of the wrapper can have a thumb sized cut out therein which permits more ready access to the stacked napkins in the wrapper. When such a thumb-sized cut out exists, the closure tab can be longer so as to extend over the cut out and adhere to the front side of the wrapper without adhering over the cut out. The thumb sized cut out can have the same dimensions as that of the closure tab described above.

[0036] In a second implementation of the invention there can be provided herein a kit comprising a dispenser and a plurality of to-go individual-dispensable napkin container systems each of which consist of a single vertical stack of 4 to 6 individual non-connected paper napkins packaged in a paper or plastic wrapper, the wrapper having two longitudinal edges and two horizontal edges which edges define a front side and an opposing rear side of the wrapper, the wrapper having a series of perforations along one longitudinal edge which are configured to provide for an opening along the longitudinal edge, and wherein a closure tab is adhered to a rear side of the packaging and is configured for extending from a rear side of the packaging over the opening to reseal the opening after it has been opened by adhering the closure tab to the front side of the packaging and wherein the dispenser is configured to accept the plurality of to-go individual-dispensable napkin container systems in a manner configured for individual dispensation.

[0037] In one aspect of the invention, the dispenser is a sleeve which can be loaded with the system of wrapped napkins from a top opening and dispensed from a bottom opening therein. The sleeve can be a rectangular sleeve with a front face that can be opened to permit filling of the dispenser. The front face can also have a lower portion which does not open when the upper portion of the front face is opened so as to permit a placement and alignment of the systems of wrapped paper napkins therein in a straight fashion to permit easy dispensing once the upper part of the front face is inserted on the dispenser.

[0038] In another aspect of the invention, the dispenser can be a cardboard box dispenser which is rectangular or square and which has a top opening for loading of the system of wrapped paper napkins therein. The cardboard box dispenser can have a slot on a bottom front side of the dispenser which permits the napkin container systems to be dispensed one by one.

[0039] In another aspect of the invention, one napkin can be dispensed from one napkin container system while the napkin container system is located in the dispenser, after which the closing tab can be closed to retain the remaining napkins in the napkin container system in the dispenser without dispensing the entire napkin container system.

[0040] In a third implementation of the invention there can be provided herein a method of dispensing napkins to to-go customers comprising:

[0041] providing a plurality of to-go individual-dispensable napkin container systems each of which consists of a single vertical stack of from about 4 to about 6 individual non-connected paper napkins packaged in a paper or plastic wrapper, the wrapper having two longitudinal edges and two horizontal edges which edges define a front side and an opposing rear side of the wrapper, the wrapper having a series of perforations along one longitudinal edge which are configured to provide for an opening along the longitudinal edge, and wherein a closure tab is adhered to a rear side of the packaging and is configured for extending from a rear side of the packaging over the opening to reseal the opening after it has been opened by adhering the closure tab to the front side of the packaging and

[0042] providing a dispenser wherein the dispenser is configured to accept the plurality of to-go individual-dispensable napkin container systems in a manner configured for individual dispensation; and,

[0043] providing each to-go customer with an individual-dispensable napkin container system for each person consuming food in a to-go order from the dispenser.

[0044] Determining the number of persons consuming food in the to-go order can be accomplished by determining a total number of serving sizes of food to each to go order, and dispensing an individual-dispensable napkin container system for each serving size determined in the order.

[0045] These and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the attached drawings and the detailed description of the preferred embodiments, which follow.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0046] The preferred embodiments of the invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawings provided to illustrate and not to limit the invention, where like designations denote like elements, and in which:

[0047] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the an individual-dispensable napkin container system of the present invention;

[0048] FIG. 2 is a side view of the individual-dispensable napkin container system of the present invention;

[0049] FIG. 3 is an overhead view of the front face of an individual-dispensable napkin container system of the present invention;

[0050] FIG. 4a is a perspective view of a cardboard box dispenser of the individual-dispensable napkin container systems of the present invention;

[0051] FIG. 4b is a perspective view of a manual dispensing of an individual-dispensable napkin container system from the carboard dispenser of FIG. 4a;

[0052] FIG. 4c is a perspective view of a dispensing of a single napkin from an opened individual-dispensable napkin container system of the present invention;

[0053] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a sleeve dispenser containing a series of individual-dispensable napkin container systems of the present invention.

[0054] Like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views of the drawings.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0055] The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the described embodiments or the application and uses of the described embodiments. As used herein, the word “exemplary” or “illustrative” means “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any implementation described herein as “exemplary” or “illustrative” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other implementations. All of the implementations described below are exemplary implementations provided to enable persons skilled in the art to make or use the embodiments of the disclosure and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure, which is defined by the claims. Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by any expressed or implied theory presented in the preceding technical field, background, brief summary or the following detailed description. It is also to be understood that the specific devices and processes illustrated in the attached drawings, and described in the following specification, are simply exemplary embodiments of the inventive concepts defined in the appended claims. Hence, specific dimensions and other physical characteristics relating to the embodiments disclosed herein are not to be considered as limiting, unless the claims expressly state otherwise.

[0056] Referring initially to FIGS. 1-5 there is provided a to-go individual-dispensable napkin container system 100. The to-go individual-dispensable napkin container system 100 can consist of a single vertical stack 102 of from about 4 to about 6 individual non-connected paper napkins 103 packaged in a paper or plastic wrapper 104, the wrapper having two longitudinal edges 106 and two horizontal edges 108 which edges 106 / 108 define a front side 110 and an opposing rear side 112 of the wrapper 104, the wrapper 104 having a series of perforations 114 along one longitudinal edge 106 which perforations 114 are configured to provide for an opening 116 along the longitudinal edge, and wherein a closure tab 118 is adhered to a rear side 112 of the packaging 104 and is configured for extending from a rear side 112 of the packaging 104 over the opening 116 to reseal the opening 116 after it has been opened by adhering the closure tab 118 to the front side 110 of the packaging 104.

[0057] In another embodiment, the outside layer of the wrapper 104 can contain a logo or name 120 of the to-go restaurant for improved marketing purposes.

[0058] In another aspect of the invention, the perforations 114 can provide for an opening of the wrapper 104 by grasping a front surface 110 and a rear surface 112 of the wrapper 104 and pulling in opposite directions such that the perforations 114 are torn into an opening 116 such as is shown in FIG. 4c.

[0059] The closure tab 118 can have an adhesive 122 thereon that can be reused several time to close the longitudinal opening 116 when a napkin 103 is removed to prevent the soiling and accidental dispensing of further napkins 103 from the wrapper 104.

[0060] Referring to FIGS. 4b and 5, there can be provided herein a kit comprising a dispenser 124 and a plurality of to-go individual-dispensable napkin container systems 100 and wherein the dispenser 124 is configured to accept the plurality of to-go individual-dispensable napkin container systems 100 in a manner configured for individual dispensation as is shown in FIGS. 4b and 5. As shown in FIG. 5 the dispenser 124 can be configured to be placed on a table top (not shown) or hung on a wall (not shown).

[0061] In one aspect of the invention, the dispenser is a sleeve dispenser 124 (see FIG. 5) which can be loaded with the system of wrapped napkins 100 from a top opening / upper portion 126 and dispensed from a bottom opening 128 therein. The sleeve dispenser 124 can be a rectangular sleeve with a front face 130 that can be opened to permit filling of the dispenser 124. The front face 130 can also have a lower portion 132 which does not open when the upper portion 126 of the front face 130 is opened so as to permit a placement and alignment of the systems of wrapped paper napkins 100 therein in a straight fashion to permit easy dispensing once the upper part 126 of the front face 130 is inserted on the dispenser 124.

[0062] Referring now to FIG. 4b, the dispenser can be a cardboard box dispenser 132 which is rectangular or square and which has a top opening 134 for loading of the system of wrapped paper napkins 100 therein. The cardboard box dispenser 132 can have a slot 136 on a bottom front side 138 of the dispenser 124 which permits the napkin container systems 100 to be dispensed one by one.

[0063] Referring now to FIG. 4c, one napkin 103 can be dispensed from one napkin container system 100 while the napkin container system 100 is located in a dispenser 124, after which the closing tab 118 can be closed to retain the remaining napkins 103 in the napkin container system 100 in the dispenser 124 without dispensing the entire napkin container system 100.

[0064] Since many modifications, variations, and changes in detail can be made to the described preferred embodiments of the invention, it is intended that all matters in the foregoing description and shown in the accompanying drawings be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. Furthermore, it is understood that any of the features presented in the embodiments may be integrated into any of the other embodiments unless explicitly stated otherwise. The scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents.

Claims

1. A to-go individual-dispensable napkin container system consisting of:a single vertical stack of about 4 to about 6 individual non-connected paper napkins packaged in a paper or plastic wrapper, the wrapper having two longitudinal edges and two horizontal edges which edges define a front side and an opposing rear side of the wrapper, the wrapper having a series of perforations along one longitudinal edge which are configured to provide for an opening along the longitudinal edge, and wherein a closure tab is adhered to a rear side of the packaging and is configured for extending from a rear side of the packaging over the opening to reseal the opening after it has been opened by adhering the closure tab to the front side of the packaging.

2. The to-go individual-dispensable napkin container system of claim 1, wherein the single vertical stack is not the result of a perforation of two adjacent stacks.

3. The to-go individual-dispensable napkin container system of claim 1, wherein the vertical stack of about 4 to about 6 individual non-connected paper napkins is 4 napkins.

4. The to-go individual-dispensable napkin container system of claim 1, wherein the paper napkins are made of a cellulose material.

5. The to-go individual-dispensable napkin container system of claim 1, wherein the paper napkins are either rectangular or square.

6. The to-go individual-dispensable napkin container system of claim 1, wherein the paper wrapper is made of cardboard.

7. The to-go individual-dispensable napkin container system of claim 1, wherein the plastic wrapper is a transparent plastic wrapper.

8. The to-go individual-dispensable napkin container system of claim 1, wherein the plastic wrapper is made from a single layer of material.

9. The to-go individual-dispensable napkin container system of claim 1, wherein the plastic wrapper is made from at least one of woven materials, knitted materials, nonwoven materials, plastic films, and laminates.

10. The to-go individual-dispensable napkin container system of claim 1, wherein the plastic wrapper is made from a polymer film which includes an outside layer that is made from a polyolefin.

11. The to-go individual-dispensable napkin container system of claim 10, wherein the outside layer is made from a polymer film that is capable of accepting an ink.

12. The to-go individual-dispensable napkin container system of claim 10, wherein the outside layer is embossed.

13. The to-go individual-dispensable napkin container system of claim 10, wherein the outside layer, contains a logo or written indicia.

14. The to-go individual-dispensable napkin container system of claim 10, wherein the outside layer is a thermoplastic elastomeric (TPE) material.

15. The to-go individual-dispensable napkin container system of claim 10, wherein the outside layer is any one of a styrenic block copolymer compound, a styrenic-based TPE containing rubber modifiers, an ethylene-methyl acrylate copolymer, a thermoset rubber; a polyurethane, an amide, an engineering TPE, and an olefinic vulcanizate.

16. The to-go individual-dispensable napkin container system of claim 1, wherein the wrapper has a series of perforations along both longitudinal edges.

17. The to-go individual-dispensable napkin container system of claim 1, wherein the closure tab is a semi-circle closure tab of from about ½ of an inch up to about 1.5 inches in length and about ¼ of an inch up to about ½ of an inch in width.

18. A kit comprisinga dispenser anda plurality of to-go individual-dispensable napkin container systems each of which consist ofa single vertical stack of about 4 to about 6 individual non-connected paper napkins packaged in a paper or plastic wrapper, the wrapper having two longitudinal edges and two horizontal edges which edges define a front side and an opposing rear side of the wrapper, the wrapper having a series of perforations along one longitudinal edge which are configured to provide for an opening along the longitudinal edge, and wherein a closure tab is adhered to a rear side of the packaging and is configured for extending from a rear side of the packaging over the opening to reseal the opening after it has been opened by adhering the closure tab to the front side of the packaging and wherein the dispenser is configured to accept the plurality of to-go individual-dispensable napkin container systems in a manner configured for individual dispensation.

19. The kit of claim 18 wherein, the dispenser is a cardboard box dispenser which is rectangular or square and which has a top opening for loading of the system of wrapped paper napkins therein.

20. A method of dispensing napkins to to-go customers comprising:providing a plurality of to-go individual-dispensable napkin container systems each of which consists of a single vertical stack of from about 4 to about 6 individual non-connected paper napkins packaged in a paper or plastic wrapper, the wrapper having two longitudinal edges and two horizontal edges which edges define a front side and an opposing rear side of the wrapper, the wrapper having a series of perforations along one longitudinal edge which are configured to provide for an opening along the longitudinal edge, and wherein a closure tab is adhered to a rear side of the packaging and is configured for extending from a rear side of the packaging over the opening to reseal the opening after it has been opened by adhering the closure tab to the front side of the packaging andproviding a dispenser wherein the dispenser is configured to accept the plurality of to-go individual-dispensable napkin container systems in a manner configured for individual dispensation; and,providing each to-go customer with an individual-dispensable napkin container system for each person consuming food in a to-go order from the dispenser.

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