EP1647500B1 - Package with improved dispensing opening for wet wipes - Google Patents

Abstract

The packaging has a discharge opening, which is in the form of swung rounded lozenge. The length l and breadth b of the lozenge is in the ratio of 1.7 to 1.85. The lozenge is rounded off at the tangential points of the circles 1 and 3 as well as 2 and 4. An independent claim is also included for the use of the packaging.

Description

The present invention relates to a container for (impregnated) wet wipes with an improved removal opening in the form of a curved, curved rhombus. The removal of the wipes is improved by the opening according to the invention: It is ensured that the wipes do not tear when pulled out and that only one wipe comes out at a time.

Soaked cloths (also referred to as wet wipes) are widely used as everyday objects in a wide range of applications. If they are used in the cosmetic sector, they allow, among other things, an efficient and skin-friendly cleaning, refreshment or care, especially in the absence of (running) water. Further, wet wipes are used, for example, to prevent or reduce unwanted perspiration and to prevent or reduce unwanted body odors.

• einem trockenen Tuch (dem Trägermaterial), welches aus Materialien wie Papier und/oder unterschiedlichsten Mischungen aus Natur- oder Kunstfasern aufgebaut ist und ein textiles Gewebe, Schaumstoff oder Vlies darstellen kann
  und
• einer niederviskosen Tränkungslösung.

Wet wipes consist of two components:

• a dry cloth (the carrier material), which is composed of materials such as paper and / or various mixtures of natural or synthetic fibers and can represent a textile fabric, foam or non-woven
  and
• a low-viscosity impregnation solution.

The impregnation solution can, for. As an aqueous or alcoholic solution, an emulsion or microemulsion. In this case, the actual commodity must be packaged such that the wet wipes do not dry out even with prolonged storage and the packaging can be removed as little as possible each individually.

These requirements can be met relatively easily if the wet wipes are individually packaged. In this case, you only need a moisture-proof material, which must be welded at the edges, so that the impregnation solution can not escape. However, the packaging of single towels is very complex and, moreover, for ecological reasons rather reject, which is why the packaging of several wet wipes in a container is desirable.

However, the requirements for such a "multi-towel container" ("Tücherbox") are much higher: If several wet wipes are packed together, then not only the container material must be moisture-tight per se, but it must also be ensured that after Remove the first cloth, do not dry the other cloths within the shelf life, d. H. the container must be resealable. Furthermore, the packaging should be designed so that at each removal process only a cloth comes out of the container and that the cloths do not tear during removal.

As such, containers which meet the above-mentioned requirements (more or less good) are known to the person skilled in the art. They usually consist of a can of impermeable to the impregnation solution material - such as polyethylene, polypropylene or polystyrene - in which several interconnected wet wipes are inserted in the form of a perforated roll. The wet wipes may already be soaked, but it is also possible to give the soaking solution after inserting the wipes into the can. Usually, the can with a reclosable lid system, consisting of two hinged lids - an inner and an outer - closed, the inner lid having a removal opening, which can be closed by means of the outer lid (liquid-tight).

After the roll has been brought into the can, its end is pulled from the inside through the opening of the inner lid, so that a cloth section of about 1 to 2 cm comes out of the inner lid. Then the outer lid is closed. To remove a cloth, the outer lid is opened and pulled out a cloth until - come out in the best case - about 1 to 2 cm of the next cloth from the discharge opening.

Accordingly, a - in addition to the liquid-tightness - another essential requirement of such a lid system that the interconnected towels are separated when removed at the designated perforation and that after tearing beyond a defined as possible section of the follower out of the opening. This one should not be so small that it is difficult or impossible to grasp it, but on the other hand not so bulky that the outer lid can not be closed.

Extraction ports of the prior art are round, cross-shaped or star-shaped. The proper removal of a single cloth through such known removal openings is more likely to happen and moreover dependent on the skill of the person taking. In the case of the cross- or star-shaped removal openings, the cloth tears at all possible points - occasionally also at the designated perforation. With round openings one gets usually with a course several cloths, and it is difficult to get a demolition at all.

Accordingly, such packages find little acceptance by the consumer when the removal of the towels results in a loss of 10 to 30%.

A package for wet wipes with a diamond-shaped opening is in the document DE-A-2359757 disclosed.

It was therefore an object of the invention to find a removal opening for known containers for (several) wet wipes, which makes it possible to pull a cloth from the can with a short draw, which thereby tears off at the perforation, at the same time 5 to 25 mm of the next cloth are pulled out of the opening.

It was surprising and unpredictable that a removal opening in the form of a curved, rounded diamond with the features of claim 1 does not have the disadvantages of the prior art and solves the tasks of the invention.

1. 1. Bogen auf Kreis 1 vom Berührungspunkt der Kreise 1 und 3 bis zum Berührungspunkt der Kreise 1 und 5,
2. 2. Bogen auf Kreis 5 vom Berührungspunkt der Kreise 1 und 5 bis zum Berührungspunkt der Kreise 2 und 5,
3. 3. Bogen auf Kreis 2 vom Berührungspunkt der Kreise 2 und 5 bis zum Berührungspunkt der Kreise 2 und 4,
4. 4. Bogen auf Kreis 4 vom Berührungspunkt der Kreise 2 und 4 bis zum Berührungspunkt der Kreise 4 und 5,
5. 5. Bogen auf Kreis 5 vom Berührungspunkt der Kreise 4 und 5 bis zum Berührungspunkt der Kreise 3 und 5 sowie
6. 6. Bogen auf Kreis 3 vom Berührungspunkt der Kreise 3 und 5 bis zum Berührungspunkt der Kreise 1 und 3.

The opening according to the invention has the shape of a curved, curved rhombus ("Kussmund", see FIG. 1 ). This form can be described as follows or it is geometrically available in the following way (cf. FIG. 2 ):
Each corner of a square with an edge length a forms the center of a circle with the radius r ₁ = a / 2. Furthermore, the center of the square is also the center another circle with radius r ₂ = sqrt (2a ² ) - a. In this way one obtains four touching circles of equal size in the common center of which there is a fifth, smaller circle touching each of the four aforementioned circles. The curving, rounded rhombus according to the invention is formed from the following six circular arcs:

1. 1. arc on circle 1 from the point of contact of the circles 1 and 3 to the point of contact of the circles 1 and 5,
2. 2. arc on circle 5 from the point of contact of circles 1 and 5 to the point of contact of circles 2 and 5,
3. 3. arc on circle 2 from the point of contact of circles 2 and 5 to the point of contact of circles 2 and 4,
4. 4. arc on circle 4 from the point of contact of circles 2 and 4 to the point of contact of circles 4 and 5,
5. 5. arc on circle 5 from the point of contact of the circles 4 and 5 to the point of contact of the circles 3 and 5 as well
6. 6. arc on circle 3 from the point of contact of the circles 3 and 5 to the point of contact of the circles 1 and 3.

It is particularly advantageous in the context of the present invention, when the curved, rounded diamond according to the invention at the points of contact of the circles 1 and 3 and 2 and 4 is rounded. Particularly advantageously, this rounding represents a circular arc of a circle with a radius of 0.1 to 0.3 mm.

The radius r _{1 of} the four large circles is advantageously selected from the range of 5 to 5.5 mm, preferably r ₁ = 5.28 mm.

The ratio of the length of the rhombus to the width of the rhombus is 1.7 to 1.85, preferably 1.78 corresponding to a length I of 8 mm and a width b of 4.5 mm.

It is advantageous for the purposes of the present invention, when the removal opening according to the invention is chewed. Chamfer here is a chamfer of a normally rectangular edge, wherein the chamfer can already be produced during the manufacturing process (eg during injection molding) or by subsequent processing (breaking, chamfering, honing off, milling, filing). Thus, the (approximately) rectangular discharge opening edge is bevelled at a certain angle α, wherein the bevel for the purposes of the invention over the entire thickness d of the lid material (see FIG. 3 ) can draw. It may also be advantageous for the purposes of the present invention, if the chamfer does not extend over the entire thickness of the lid or if both top and bottom of the lid are chamfered.

Usually, the chamfer extends over the entire circumference of the removal opening. However, it can also be advantageous for the purposes of the present invention if not the entire opening extent is chamfered (so-called "exposed chamfer").

It is inventively preferred, the angle α, in which the removal opening is chamfered (see FIG. 3 ), from the range of 10 to 80 °, preferably from 30 to 60 ° to choose.

The advantages of this opening are evident in many substrates and impregnation solutions. By a quick draw, a cloth and a small piece of the next cloth come out of the box, and the crack is made at the place provided by the perforation. Due to the shape of the removal opening according to the invention, moreover, the removed cloth, which passes through the opening in the form of a strand - depending on the size of the opening - more or less strongly pressed, wherein excess impregnation solution is stripped or wrung out. In this way, z. B. the moisture content (degree of soaking) of the removed cloth are influenced so that it is almost identical from the first to the last removed cloth.

The opening according to the invention also has clear advantages over a similar, albeit star-shaped opening, which is already known. This star-shaped opening of the prior art is geometrically available by cross-shaped superposition by 90 ° (thus contains no arcs of the inner circle, but is formed only from the arcs of the outer four circles).

• Flächengewicht: 25 bis 31 g/m², Dicke: 125 bis 155 µm, Höchstzugkraft: längs 550 bis 886 N/m und quer 225 bis 355 N/m, Wasseraufnahmevermögen: 3,8 bis 5,5 g/g. Die erfindungsgemäße Öffnung eignet sich insbesondere zur Entnahmen von Tüchern, welche durch eine Perforation auf einer Rolle abgeteilt sind.

The particular advantages of the opening according to the invention are particularly evident when the carrier is a paper web having a basis weight of 25 to 30 g / m ² .
Another inventively preferred nonwoven is a mixed cellulose nonwoven with acrylic ester bonded, having a following properties:

• Basis weight: 25 to 31 g / m ² , thickness: 125 to 155 μm, maximum tensile force: longitudinally 550 to 886 N / m and transversely 225 to 355 N / m, water absorption capacity: 3.8 to 5.5 g / g. The opening according to the invention is particularly suitable for the removal of wipes, which are separated by a perforation on a roll.

The present invention is of particular advantage in particular also when the wipes are disinfectant wipes in which the wetting solution is a disinfectant solution. In this case, the precise delivery of a single cloth in each case is particularly important and advantageous, since a single cloth also represents the dosing unit, which is intended to provide a reproducible, defined microbicidal performance.

The container according to the present invention, which contains the lid with removal opening according to the invention, is preferably made of plastic. Suitable plastics are polyethylene, polypropylene, polyester, polycarbonate. Preference is given to high molecular weight polyethylene (HDPE).

The following example is intended to illustrate the invention without limiting it.

Example:

A roll of 100 wipes of a paper fleece, 14 cm wide, each divided by perforation 22.5 cm long, soaked with a disinfectant solution consisting of
45 parts by weight of 2-propanol,
30 parts by weight of 1-propanol,
0.2 parts by weight of mecetronium ethylsulfate,
0.2 parts by weight of 1-tetradecanol, propane triol and perfume
aqua purificata on 100
is placed in a cylindrical can with a diameter of 80 +/- 5 mm and a height of 165 +/- 10 mm. On this box a lid system is set, which consists of two connected by a hinge lid. The inner of the two covers has the outlet opening according to the invention. Through this, the first fleece is pulled through from inside for about 5 to 10 mm. The second, outer lid closes the can so that the disinfectant solution can not evaporate.

To remove a cloth, the outer lid is opened, which grasped out of the inner lid protruding cloth and pulled it with a short jerk. A cloth comes out completely, rips off and the next comes out about 5 to 10 mm.

Comparative Examples:

In both Comparative Examples, the nonwoven fabric, the disinfectant solution and the can were the same as above. However, in the first comparative example, the exit port was star-shaped. When pulled out, the first cloth tore.
In a further comparison with a circular exit opening, when pulled next to the desired and the next cloth came out, and it was difficult to get the demolition at the designated perforation.

Claims (8)

1. Package for wet wipes in the form of a box with a lid which has a dispensing opening, characterized in that the dispensing opening is in the form of a curved, rounded lozenge which is formed geometrically from the following six circular arcs:

   A. Arc on circle 1 from the contact point of circles 1 and 3 to the contact point of circles 1 and 5,

   B. Arc on circle 5 from the contact point of circles 1 and 5 to the contact point of circles 2 and 5,

   C. Arc on circle 2 from the contact point of circles 2 and 5 to the contact point of circles 2 and 4,

   D. Arc on circle 4 from the contact point of circles 2 and 4 to the contact point of circles 4 and 5,

   E. Arc on circle 5 from the contact point of circles 4 and 5 to the contact point of circles 3 and 5, and

   F. Arc on circle 3 from the contact point of circles 3 and 5 to the contact point of circles 1 and 3,

   wherein the centre points of circles 1, 2, 3 and 4 are each located at a corner of a square with an edge length a, and each of the circles 1, 2, 3 and 4 has a radius r₁ = a/2, and furthermore the centre point of the square is at the same time the centre point of a further circle 5 where radius r₂ = sqrt (2a²)-a.
2. Package according to Claim 1, characterized in that the ratio of length 1 to width b of the lozenge is 1.7 to 1.85.
3. Package according to Claim 2, characterized in that the lozenge is rounded at the contact points of circles 1 and 3 and 2 and 4.
4. Package according to Claim 3, characterized in that the roundings at the contact points of circles 1 and 3 and 2 and 4 are circular arcs of a circle with a radius of 0.1 to 0.3 mm.
5. Package according to one of Claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the radius r₁ is selected to be from 5 to 5.5 mm.
6. Package according to one of Claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the radius r₁ = 5.28 mm.
7. Use of a package according to one of the preceding claims for storing and/or removing wipes which are composed of a paper web.
8. Use according to Claim 7, characterized in that the wipes are disinfecting wipes.

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