Tabletop napkin dispenser with display window for promotional material

Abstract

A tabletop dispenser for inter-folded napkins includes a housing with a front panel, a back panel, a pair of sidewalls, a top wall and a bottom wall for dispensing a stack of inter-folded napkins each of which napkins has a width, W, and a folded length, L′, of its lead pane. The dispenser also has an elongate dispensing aperture on its front panel and is further characterized in that the distance between the front and back panels of the dispenser is equal to or less than about the folded length, L′, of the lead panels of the inter-folded napkins. At least one of the sidewalls or back panel is provided with a display window made of a substantially optically clear material suitable for displaying removably mounted promotional material.

1 . A tabletop dispenser for inter-folded napkins comprising a housing with a front panel, a back panel, a pair of sidewalls, a top wall and a bottom wall for dispensing a stack of inter-folded napkins each of which napkins has a width, W, and a folded length, L′, of its lead panel, the dispenser having an elongate dispensing aperture on its front panel and further characterized in that the distance between the front and back panels of the dispenser is equal to or less than about the folded length, L′, of the lead panels of the inter-folded napkins, wherein at least one of the sidewalls or back panel is provided with a display window made of a substantially optically clear material suitable for displaying removably mounted promotional material.  
     
     
         2 . The tabletop napkin dispenser according to  claim 1 , wherein the display window is made from a thermoplastic resin composition.  
     
     
         3 . The tabletop napkin dispenser according to  claim 1 , wherein the thermoplastic resin composition consists essentially of a thermoplastic resin selected from the group consisting of: polyacrylic resins; polycarbonate resins; polystyrene resins; and styrene-acrylic copolymer resins.  
     
     
         4 . The tabletop napkin dispenser according to  claim 3 , wherein the thermoplastic resin is poly(methylmethacrylate).  
     
     
         5 . The tabletop napkin dispenser according to  claim 3 , wherein the thermoplastic resin is a bisphenol A containing polycarbonate.  
     
     
         6 . The tabletop napkin dispenser according to  claim 3 , wherein the thermoplastic resin is a polystyrene.  
     
     
         7 . The tabletop napkin dispenser according to  claim 3 , wherein the thermoplastic resin is a styrene-methyl methacrylate copolymer.  
     
     
         8 . The tabletop napkin dispenser according to  claim 1 , wherein the display window is mounted on a sidewall of the dispenser.  
     
     
         9 . The tabletop napkin dispenser according to  claim 1 , wherein a display window is mounted on each sidewall of the dispenser.  
     
     
         10 . The tabletop napkin dispenser according to  claim 1 , wherein the sidewalls of the dispenser are injection-molded from a substantially optically clear material, thereby providing a pair of display windows.  
     
     
         11 . A tabletop dispenser for inter-folded napkins comprising a housing with a front panel, a back panel, a pair of sidewalls, a top wall and a bottom wall for dispensing a stack of inter-folded napkins each of which napkins has a width, W, and a folded length, L′, of its lead panel, the dispenser having an elongate dispensing aperture on its front panel and further characterized in that the distance between the front and back panels of the dispenser is equal to or less than about the folded length, L′, of the lead panels of the inter-folded napkins, wherein at least one of the sidewalls or back panel is provided with a unitary display holder having at least one U-shaped edge formed from a substantially optically clear material.  
     
     
         12 . The tabletop napkin dispenser according to  claim 11 , wherein the unitary display holder is made from a thermoplastic resin composition.  
     
     
         13 . The tabletop napkin dispenser according to  claim 11 , wherein the thermoplastic resin composition consists essentially of a thermoplastic resin selected from the group consisting of: polyacrylic resins; polycarbonate resins; polystyrene resins; and styrene-acrylic copolymer resins.  
     
     
         14 . The tabletop napkin dispenser according to  claim 11 , wherein a unitary display holder with at least one U-shaped edge is mounted on each sidewall of the dispenser.  
     
     
         15 . The tabletop napkin dispenser according to  claim 11 , wherein the unitary display holder is thermoformed from a generally planar, substantially optically clear polymeric sheet.  
     
     
         16 . The tabletop napkin dispenser according to  claim 11 , wherein the unitary display holder has two U-shaped edges.  
     
     
         17 . The tabletop napkin dispenser according to  claim 16 , wherein the unitary display holder has upper and lower U-shaped edges.  
     
     
         18 . The tabletop napkin dispenser according to  claim 17 , wherein terminal portions of the U-shaped edges each extend vertically a distance which is less than 30% of the height of the display holder.  
     
     
         19 . The tabletop napkin dispenser according to  claim 16 , wherein the display holder has two U-shaped lateral edges.  
     
     
         20 . The tabletop napkin dispenser according to  claim 19 , wherein the terminal portions of the U-shaped edges each extend horizontally a distance which is less than 30% of the width of the display holder.  
     
     
         21 . A tabletop dispenser for inter-folded napkins comprising a housing with a front panel, a back panel, a pair of sidewalls, a top wall and a bottom wall for dispensing a stack of inter-folded napkins each of which napkins has a width, W, and a folded length, L′, of its lead panel, the dispenser having an elongate dispensing aperture on its front panel and further characterized in that the distance between the front and back panels of the dispenser is equal to or less than about the folded length, L′, of the lead panels of the inter-folded napkins, wherein the housing includes a unitary, injection-molded structure made from a substantially optically clear polymeric material comprising at least four walls selected from the front panel, the back panel, the top wall, the bottom wall and the two sidewalls, and wherein further at least two of the four walls of the unitary injection-molded structure are suitable for removably mounting promotional material for display.  
     
     
         22 . The tabletop napkin dispenser according to  claim 21 , wherein the unitary injection-molded structure comprises the two sidewalls of the dispenser.  
     
     
         23 . The tabletop napkin dispenser according to  claim 21 , wherein the injection-molded unitary structure is made from a thermoplastic resin composition.  
     
     
         24 . The tabletop napkin dispenser according to  claim 23 , wherein the thermoplastic resin composition consists essentially of a thermoplastic resin selected from the group consisting of: polyacrylic resins; polycarbonate resins; polystyrene resins; and styrene-acrylic copolymer resins.  
     
     
         25 . The tabletop napkin dispenser according to  claim 24 , wherein the thermoplastic resin is a styrene-containing resin, a methyl methacrylate containing resin, or a bisphenol containing resin.