Arch-Folded Tissue Dispenser for Efficient Packing and Dispensing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional consumer product dispensers, such as facial tissue cartons, lack differentiation in shape, leading to increased distribution costs due to inefficient use of standard shipping corrugate and pallets, making alternative shapes more expensive for retailers and consumers.
Innovation Solution
Designing an upright dispenser with a parallelepiped shape where the length dimension exceeds both the height and width dimensions, allowing for a stack of tissue sheets to be folded into an arch-shaped configuration with spaced legs, creating voids for efficient packing and dispensing without wasting space.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If conventional upright dispenser shapes are used, then efficient packing and distribution are achieved, but product differentiation is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies asymmetry by inverting the conventional upright dispenser shape to create an inverted-U shape with legs extending downward. This asymmetric configuration provides both product differentiation and efficient packing capabilities, resolving the contradiction between unique shape and manufacturing efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes dimensional changes by extending the dispenser structure downward into leg portions rather than upward, effectively using the vertical dimension in reverse. This dimensional reconfiguration enables both differentiation from conventional dispensers and efficient use of shipping space.
2Shape
If alternative shaped dispensers are used for product differentiation, then unique shapes are achieved, but distribution costs increase due to inefficient use of shipping corrugate and pallets
Solution Approach 1:
The inverted-U asymmetric shape with downward-extending legs is specifically designed to nest efficiently within conventional rectangular shipping corrugates and pallets. The leg portions can be positioned to maximize space utilization, achieving both differentiation and cost-effective distribution.
Solution Approach 2:
The dispenser structure is designed to nest within standard shipping containers, with the leg portions allowing for compact arrangement multiple dispensers within a single corrugate or pallet unit, thereby maintaining efficient distribution despite the unique shape.
3Quantity of substance
If the dispenser contains a large number of tissue sheets, then product quantity is increased, but void spaces are created between legs and walls
Solution Approach 1:
The asymmetric inverted-U shape with specifically configured leg spacing allows the tissue stack to be compressed efficiently while maintaining structural integrity. The leg portions are positioned to minimize void spaces when the dispenser is fully loaded, enabling high sheet capacity with reduced empty volume.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent optimizes parameters such as leg spacing, leg width, and overall dispenser dimensions to minimize void spaces while maximizing tissue sheet capacity. By adjusting these geometric parameters, the design achieves efficient space utilization without compromising the ability to hold a large number of sheets.
Data Source
AI summary
A dispenser for sheet material, particularly a stack of individual sheets of material that have been folded together, such as a stack of folded tissue sheets. The stack of individual sheets is folded along its transverse axis and inserted into the dispenser for storage and dispensing. Generally, the length of the dispenser is less than the length of the individual sheets such that the when the stack is folded along its transverse axis and inserted into the dispenser it forms an arch-shape. When disposed in the dispenser the arch-shaped stack forms a least three void spaces, one in each bottom corner of the dispenser and one between the legs of the arch-shaped stack. These void spaces prevent excessive compression of the stack or friction between the stack and the sidewalls of the dispenser and improve dispensing of sheets from the stack.