Dispenser and stack of sheet products
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing dispensers with upward dispensing mechanisms tend to cause web material to tear along the dispensing path before reaching the dispensing opening, leading to inconsistent dispensing performance, especially when the container is full, and may not provide a subsequent sheet product for the user to grasp.
Innovation Solution
A dispenser design featuring interfolded webs with offset lines of weakness, where the weight of the stack is oriented downwardly, and rollers are used to create nips that support the webs, preventing unintended tearing and ensuring consistent dispensing by allowing the webs to extend upwardly from the top of the stack, even when the reservoir is full, with a guide member that supports the webs and prevents fallback during refilling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If the container is filled to capacity, then storage efficiency is improved, but the convex or rounded shape member does not engage with the web material, causing inconsistent dispensing performance
Solution Approach 1:
The solution moves from relying on a single convex shape member engagement point to a distributed engagement system across multiple webs. The offset lines of weakness create multiple engagement points in different dimensional locations, ensuring that even when the container is full, the web material maintains proper engagement with the dispensing mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
By changing the structural parameters of the web assembly (interfolding multiple webs with offset lines of weakness), the system maintains consistent dispensing characteristics across different fill levels. The offset pattern ensures that engagement parameters remain stable whether the container is partially or fully filled.
2Force
If the weight of the stack rests on the lower horizontal platform, then structural support is provided, but the stack becomes compressed at the bottom, causing users to grasp multiple sheet products when only one is intended
Solution Approach 1:
The stack is segmented into multiple independent webs with offset lines of weakness. This segmentation allows each web to be grasped and dispensed independently, preventing the compression-induced problem where users accidentally grasp multiple sheets. The offset pattern ensures that only one web presents a grasping point at any given location.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of having all lines of weakness aligned at the bottom of the stack (which causes multiple sheets to be grasped), the lines of weakness are inverted and offset throughout the stack. This inversion creates a pattern where only a single line of weakness is accessible at any horizontal level, giving users precise control over single sheet dispensing while maintaining structural support.
Data Source
AI summary
A dispenser and a stack combination. The stack is 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, and the stack including at least two webs, the webs including: a first web (1) divided into individual hygiene products by means of lines of weakness (12); and a second web (2) divided into individual hygiene products by means of lines of weakness (22); the first web and the second web being interfolded with one another so as to form a nested configuration, wherein the first web and the second web are joined, at a joint, to one another at a leading portion (4) and/or at a trailing portion (4″) of the web.