Dispenser and stack of sheet products
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing dispensers for sheet products, such as US 2011/0101020 A1, face issues with unintended tearing of web material along the dispensing path and inconsistent dispensing performance due to the weight of the stack bearing on the web material, leading to difficulties in dispensing subsequent sheet products without opening the dispenser.
Innovation Solution
A dispenser design featuring interfolded webs with offset lines of weakness, where the weight of the stack is oriented downwardly, and a dispensing path with nips and guide members to support and guide the webs, ensuring consistent dispensing and reducing the likelihood of unintended tearing by allowing the webs to support each other and providing easy grasping at the dispensing opening.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If the weight of the stack is placed on the web material being dispensed, then the dispenser structure is simpler, but the web material is more likely to tear unintentionally and users may grasp multiple sheet products
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the traditional dispensing direction by dispensing sheet products upward from the bottom of the stack rather than downward from the top. This inversion places the weight of the stack on the lower horizontal platform instead of on the leading portion of the web material, eliminating unintended tearing and preventing users from grasping multiple compressed sheet products.
2Reliability
If the convex or rounded shape member is positioned at the top of the dispenser to support the leading portion of web material, then the web material is supported during dispensing, but when the container is full the top of the stack is positioned above the convex member and it does not engage with the web material
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the position of the support member from the top of the dispenser to the bottom. The lower horizontal platform is provided at the bottom of the dispenser to support the weight of the stack, ensuring consistent engagement regardless of the container fill level. This inversion eliminates the problem of the convex member being positioned above the stack when the container is full.
Data Source
AI summary
A dispenser and a stack combination. A dispenser that contains a stack of sheet products and which defines a dispensing path from a product reservoir containing and holding the stack to a dispensing opening through which the sheet products are dispensed. A stack of interfolded webs wherein the lines of weakness of one web are offset from the lines of weakness of another web in a longitudinal direction.