Container-dispenser of sanitary towels

Abstract

 The present invention concerns a container-dispenser of sanitary towels, particularly suitable to be used with towels of the type imbued with disinfectant deodorizing and/or detergent substances. The container-dispenser according to the invention is characterized by the fact of comprising a fence in correspondence to the wall near the first towel of the pile and means to push the pile against said wall, substantially acting on the part of the pile which is aligned with the fence and by the fact that each towel is folded with its edges offset to each other so that one edge is in correspondence to the fence and the other edge is held by the fence itself.
Main advantages of the container-dispenser according to the invention are to allow easy and safe removal of the towels and to limit to the utmost evaporation of the volatile substances contained in the damp towels.

Description

[0001] The present invention concerns a container-dispenser of sanitary towels,*particularly suitable to be used with towels of the type imbued with disinfectant deodorizing and/or detergent substances. Cöntainers-dispensers of damp sanitary towels tied to one another and forming all together a roll are known. These containers-dispensers are provided with a dispensing hole which can be airtightly closed and provided with rims thanks to which the free end of the roll is held in correspondence to the hole itself so as to allow to clutch it. Said containers_dispensers present the inconvenience of not offering an always easy delivery in that the detachment of the towels from the roll does not always take place easily and moreover, frequently, the free end of the roll is not held by the rims of the dispensing hole; in the latter case it is necessary to open the container and repeat the initial operation of inserting the free end of the roll into the dispensing hole. Finally, the volume of said containers-dispensers remains constant while the roll decreases,and the last towels tend to dry having at their disposal an excessive air volume which is, moreover, renewed any time the lid of the dispensing hole is opened. Containers of piles of damp towels, which can be hung on the walls and provided with an airtight lid for towel removal are also known. Said containers present the inconvenienceof not being equipped with any dispensing means for the towels , which, at the same time, can insulate the towels from the external ambient.

[0002] In fact, any time it is necessary to lift the lid and take a towel, the whole pile of towels is totally exposed to the external ambient and new air is introduced into the container with subsequent partial evaporation of the volatile substances contained in the towels.

[0003] The aim of the present invention is to propose a container-dispenser which _'allows easy and safe removal of the towels preventing at the same time that the removal of a towel involves the contact of the towel pile with the external ambient as well as the introduction of new air into the container. Another aim of the invention is to propose a container-dispenser which allows to reduce to the utmost and to keep constant the air volume at the disposal of the towels while the amount of towels present in the container decreases.

[0004] Another aim of the invention is to propose a container extremely simple and cheap to be manufactured and the cost of which only represents a small portion of the cost of the towels, so as to allow its sale as item to be thrown away once the towels are run out.

[0005] These aims are achieved by means of a container-dispenser of piled sanitary towels characterized by the fact of comprising a dispensing fence for the towels in correspondence to the wall near the first towel of the pile and means to push the towels against said wall substantially aligned with the fence and wherein each towel is folded with its edges offset to each other so that an edge is in correspondence to the fence and the other edge is held by the rim of the fence itself.

[0006] The container-dispenser according to the present invention is particularly suitable to be used with sanitary towels of the type imbued with disinfectant deodorizing and/or detergent substances and, in this case, said fence is airtightly closed by means of a snap lid hinged to the container-dispsenser itself.

[0007] The removal of the towels from the container is facilitated in that the wall opposite to the fence is provided with a prominence protruding towards the outside of the container and aligned with the fence. In one of the embodiments of the container according to the invention, a portion of the bottom wall is movable and airtightly fixed to the fixed wall of the container by means of bellows. with

[0008] When the container is used / damp towels, in order to limit to the utmost the presence of air inside the container-dispenser and to prevent the exchange of said air any time a towel is removed, the pile of towels - is constantly pressed against the dispensing wall.

[0009] For this purpose the side walls are constituted by bellows and the whole bottom wall is movable and pushed against the dispensing wall by the action of a spring. In this way the first towel of the pile adheres to the fence preventing air from entering into the container-dispenser when the lid is opened and the air quantity present in the container remains constant as the towels are removed.

[0010] Other characteristics of the container-dispenser according to the invention will be now better described with reference to the attached drawing where:

- figure is a side cross view of a first embodiment of the container-dispenser;

- figure 2 is a side cross view of a second embodiment of the container-dispenser, particularly suitable for the use with damp towels;

- figure 3 is a side cross view of a third embodiment of the container-dispenser, particularly suitable fnr.the use with damp towels;

- figure 4 is a front view of the container-dispenser of figure ₃. Referring to figure 1, the container-dispenser is constituted by a rigid envelope 1, for example made in molded plastic material, inside which a pile of sanitary towels 2 is placed. The edges 3 of the upper wall 4 of the container are bent upwards and towards outside and are soldered to the edges 5 bent towards outside of the side walls 6. The upper wall 4 moreover, presents a fence 7 for towel dispensing, parallel to one of the sides of the container.. The towels 2 are folded so as to present two edges 8,9 offset to each other and are piled in the container so that each towel has the shorter edge 8 above the longer edge 9. The fence 7 for towel removal is ----- positioned on the upper wall 4 of the container so that the shorter edge 8 of the towel to be removed is free to protrude from the fence and the longer edge 9 is held by the rim of the fence itself. In order to facilitate the removal of the towels from the container, the bottom wall 10 present5 a prominence 11 aligned with the fence 7. The promincence 11 acts on the towel pile so that the towel near the upper wall 4 of.the container protrudes from the fence 7 and the shorter edge 8 of same can be easily clutched. To make the prominence 11 act.in the desired way also when the container only contains few towels, all or a portion of the bottom wall 10 of the container is movable. In the embodi- _ment of figure 1, the bottom wall 10 houses a bellows small door hinged or fixed --------to the wall itself in correspondence to its side 14 parallel and farther away from the fence 7, the other sides being airtightly connected to the container by means of bellows 15.

[0011] The containers illustrated in figures ₂-₄ are particularly suitable to be used with sanitary towels of the type imbued with deodorizing, disinfectant and/or detergent substances and are different from the container of fig. ₁ in that they comprise a lid 16 to airtightly close the fence 7 and

in that their side walls 6 are bellows-shaped.

[0012] Referring to figure 2, the lid 16 is formed by a shaped small lamina having an end ₁₇ soldered to the container edge parallel and farther away from the fence 7 and the opposite end 18 suitable to be snapped with the corresponding edge of the container. A notch 19 forms a hinge suitable to allow rotation of the lid.

[0013] The bellows-shaped side walls of the containers illustrated in figures 2 and 4, besides allowing the prominence 11 to act even when few towels remain in the container, also allow to maintain constant the air volume at the disposal of the towels as they are removed. For this purpose, elastic means (figure 4) can be foreseen, for instance consisting of one or more springs 20 positioned in correspondence to the side walls 6 of the container, which exercise a pushing action on the bottom wall 10 so that the first towel of the pile is kept constantly pressed against the upper wall. In this way the fence is kept closed by the pile of towels and at each removal no― air is introduced into the container. Figure 3 illustrates acon- ^tainer similar to that illustrated in figure 2, except for the fact that a portion of the bottom wall is movable as in the container of figure ₁. This embodiment is particularly suitable when the container contains a high number of towels and the door if the bottom wall allows to make protrude even the last towels from the fence, by means of the prominence 11, when the bellows are packed.

[0014] Several other embodiments of the container can be foreseen, for instance instead of the bellows-shaped side walls and of the movable bottom wall, the towel pile can be pushed against the upper wall of the container by means of a plate parallel to the bottom wall, suitable to glide along the side walls of the envelope and pushed by the action of a spring placed between the plate itself and the bottom wall. A rib obtained on the plate in correspondence to the fence presses the towel pile so that the edge of the first towel free from the fence can protrude from the container.

Claims

₁. Container dispenser of piled sanitary towels, characterized by the fact of comprising a fence to remove the towels placed in correspondence to the wall near the first towel of the pile, and means suitable for pushing the pile of towels against the fence substantially aligned with the fence itself and wherein each towel is folded with its edges offset to each other so that an edge is in correspondence to the fence and the other edge is held by the rim of the fence itself.

₂. Container-dispenser of piled sanitary towels according to claim 1, wherein the sanitary towels are imbued with a disinfectant deodorizing and/or detergent substance and wherein the fence to remove the towels can be airtightly closed by means of a snap lid hinged to the container-dispenser itself.

₃. Container-dispenser of piled sanitary towels according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said means suitable to push the pile of towels against the fence are constituted by a prominence on the bottom wall, in correspondence to the fence.

4. Container-dispenser of piled sanitary towels according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein at least a portion of the bottom wall is movable and airtightly fixed to the fixed wall of the container by means of bellows.

₅. Container-dispenser of piled sanitary towels according to claim 4, wherein the bottom wall presents a door hinged to the wall itself in correspondence to its side farther away and parallel to the fence, its other sides being connected to the bottom wall by means of bellows.

6. Container-dispenser of piled sanitary towels according to claim 5, wherein the side walls of the container are bellows.

_7.. Container-dispenser of piled sanitary towels according to claim 6, wherein the bottom wall is elastically pushed against the top wall from which towels are removed.

8. Container-dispenser of piled sanitary towels according to claim 7, . wherein said elastic pushing action agains the bottom wall is exercised by the action of one or more springs placed in correspondence to the side walls.

₉. Container-dispenser of piled sanitary towels according to claim 5, wherein between the bottom wall and the last towel a plate is placed suitable to glide along the side walls, stressed by the action of one or more springs and provided with a prominence on its surface in contact with the towel pile, said prominence being aligned with the fe::ce from which the towels are removed.

10. Container-dispenser of piled sanitary towels according to any of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact of being made of molded plastic material.

Drawing