An ornamentally-shaped, nonrectangular interconnected or interfolded disposable paper product, which includes ornamentally-shaped forms including male protrusions and female indentations. On the interconnected embodiments perforations are located between adjacent and contiguous ornamentally-shaped forms at the points of contiguities. In addition to the paper forms being cut to certain shapes, the perforations finish the definition of the ornamentally-shaped forms which may include such forms as hearts, stars, flowers, beer can motifs, and other such forms. These disposable paper products may include bathroom tissue, paper towels, and pop-up facial tissues and paper napkins.
The present invention pertains to improved pop-up dispensing systems in which edge portions of adjacent towels are non-parallel when the individual towel sheets are interleaved and folded. This new configuration provides improved pop-up dispensing reliability by providing a predictable, repeatable separation process. The overlapped area formed by the overlapping end edges is tapered such that there is a point across the sheet width with the greatest overlap in the direction of the pulling force and a point across the sheet width with the least overlap in the direction of the pulling force. This configuration allows the area of maximum overlap to pull the next sheet through the dispensing aperture at the same time that the sheet separation process is starting to take place at the area of least overlap. The separation process begins at the point of least overlap and proceeds across the overlapping area along a "separation front" toward the point of greatest overlap. When the overlapping area is reduced to the extent that there is insufficient overlapping area to sustain the shear forces exerted, complete separation of the two sheets will occur. The area of overlap, length of the separation front, and amounts of overlap at the point of greatest overlap can all be tailored to provide desired separation characteristics for a particular aperture size, substrate, moistening agent, and moisture loading.
A tissue dispenser which includes a container portion for holding tissues or other articles. The container portion includes a lower portion which may fit within an adjustable or non-adjustable vehicle cup holder, a transition portion positioned above the lower portion, and an upper portion positioned above the transition portion. The lower portion preferably has a diameter that can fit most non-adjustable vehicle cup holders provided by automobile manufacturers. The transition portion extends outwardly from the lower portion and typically has a flare-like shape. The upper portion extends upward from the transition portion and is preferably larger in height and diameter than the lower portion in order to increase the containment volume for the present tissue dispenser. The lower portion, transition portion and upper portion of the container portion define an interior space for receiving and containing tissues or other articles to be dispensed by the present tissue dispenser. The top of the upper portion defines an opening for inserting tissues or other articles to be dispensed by the present tissue dispenser. The opening of the container portion also receives a dispensing cap for dispensing tissues. The dispensing cap may be removably attached to the container portion so that the dispensing cap may be removed occasionally in order to refill the container portion with tissues. The dispensing cap may be secured to the container portion in a manner that provides a seal for the present tissue dispenser so that evaporation is minimized to prevent the enclosed tissues from drying. The dispensing cap may include an aperture through which the tissues or other articles may be dispensed. The dispensing cap also may include a closable lid to cover the aperture and further seal the tissue dispenser to prevent evaporation through the aperture.
A two-sided pocketed hand shield (10, 12, or 16) for protecting a hand from germs includes a sheet (18) of flexible material and a piece (28 or 48) of flexible material. The piece (28 or 48) of flexible material is shorter than the sheet (18) and attached to the front surface of the sheet (18) in a manner to form a pocket adapted to fit a hand and in a manner that (a) leaves an opening (60, 64, or 72) for the insertion of a hand and (b) allows the sheet (18) to extend beyond the opening (60, 64, or 72). The opening (60, 64, or 72) has two ends and is preferably angled from one end to the other end. The sheet (18) may be rectangular and the piece (28 or 48) may be mitten-shaped or trapezoidal, and either may be formed of absorbent material or plastic. The piece (28 or 48) is preferably attached to the sheet in a way which renders the pocket in the shape of a mitten. Another embodiment is an array (80) of pocketed sanitary hand shields (81). The array (80) of hand shields (81) includes a continuous sheet (82) of a flexible material having evenly-spaced weakened connections (85) dividing the sheet (82) into sections (86) and a piece (83) of a flexible material attached to the front surface of each section (86). Each piece (83) is attached to the continuous sheet (82) in a manner that forms a pocket adapted to fit a hand.
