Interfolded Napkin Dispenser with Movable Support to Prevent Wrinkling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing dispensers for interfolded napkins often result in wrinkled or deformed napkins due to difficult extraction methods and lack of user-friendly presentation, with previous solutions failing to prevent buckling or proper alignment of napkins.
Innovation Solution
A dispenser design featuring an inner container with a vertically movable supporting surface and an outer sleeve with a dispensing mouth aligned along the insertion direction, allowing for easy setup and use with a leading end of the napkin extending from the dispenser, and providing access openings for alternative napkin introduction methods.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If napkins are arranged in a stack standing on an edge in an open cardboard box, then the napkins can be readily removed, but the protruding parts of the napkins fold over the edge and become ruffled and deformed
Solution Approach 1:
The dispenser is divided into an inner container that holds the napkin stack and an outer sleeve with a dispensing mouth. The inner container segments the napkin storage area, allowing napkins to be pulled horizontally without protruding vertically, thus preventing ruffling and deformation while maintaining ease of removal.
Solution Approach 2:
The inner container is inserted into the outer sleeve, with the dispensing opening of the inner container aligned with the dispensing mouth of the outer sleeve. This nested structure guides the napkin through a controlled path, preventing it from folding over and becoming deformed while allowing smooth extraction.
2Ease of operation
If napkins are removed from a box, then individual napkins can be accessed, but the remaining stack does not fill the width of the container and may buckle inside
Solution Approach 1:
The supporting surface is made movable rather than fixed, allowing it to adapt its position as napkins are removed. This dynamic adjustment maintains optimal support for the remaining stack, preventing buckling while keeping napkins accessible for removal.
Solution Approach 2:
The supporting surface automatically adjusts its position in response to the decreasing height of the napkin stack. As napkins are removed, the supporting surface moves to maintain contact and support, eliminating the need for manual intervention to prevent stack buckling.
3Stability of the object's composition
If a lid or cover with a dispensing opening is used to restrict the width of the dispensed napkin, then the leading panel of the next napkin is prevented from falling back, but the extraction procedure becomes difficult and often results in a wrinkled napkin
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of pulling napkins vertically upward through a restrictive opening, the design enables horizontal pulling motion. The inner container allows napkins to be extracted horizontally, with the dispensing opening aligned with the outer sleeve's dispensing mouth, making extraction easy while maintaining position control.
Solution Approach 2:
The inner container acts as an intermediary between the napkin stack and the outer sleeve. It provides a guided path for napkin extraction, controlling the width and direction of dispensing without creating the restrictive geometry that causes wrinkling, thus mediating between position control and extraction ease.
4Reliability
If the inner container is inserted into the outer sleeve along an insertion direction perpendicular to the dispensing opening, then the dispensing openings can be aligned, but the setup procedure is complex and requires precise alignment
Solution Approach 1:
The insertion direction is changed from perpendicular to parallel with the dispensing opening. This dimensional change in the insertion approach allows the dispensing openings to align naturally during a simple horizontal sliding motion, eliminating complex alignment procedures while maintaining reliable opening alignment.
Data Source
Figure 1A
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Figure 2
AI summary
The present invention relates to a dispenser for interfolded napkins, the dispenser (1) comprising an inner container (2) defining a dispensing opening (7), and an outer sleeve (3) comprising a dispensing mouth (9), the outer sleeve (3) forming at least one open end portion (10) being arranged to receive the inner container (2), and the dispensing mouth (9) forms an open end towards an open end portion (10) of the sleeve (3). When the inner container is located in the outer sleeve (3), a supporting surface (8) is biased towards the dispensing opening (7) of the inner container (2) and vertically movable inside the inner container (2) between a lower position and an upper position, and, at least in a region adjacent the open end of the dispensing mouth (9), the outer contour of the upper ends of the side walls (6) of the inner container (2) deviates from the inner periphery of the sleeve (3), forming an access opening (13) to the space between the upper position and the dispensing mouth (9).