Conformable wipes container with enhanced moisture retention

Abstract

A wipes container with side walls including pleats so that the wipes container is collapsible. A collapse force is required to collapse the container body. A cover is sealed to the container body. The seal has a seal thickness and a seal strength. The wipes container has a combination index of 200,000 or less, where the combination index is calculated based on the following equation: combination index=(collapse index) (recovery index) (moisture loss index), where collapse index=((collapse force)/(side wall thickness))(1,000), recovery index=((1−% recovery of original height)/(side wall thickness))(1,000), and moisture loss index=[((% moisture loss of wipes container over 20 day period)/(seal strength))+((% moisture loss of wipes container over 20 day period)/seal thickness))](10).

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A wipes container comprising:
 a container body comprising side walls and a bottom wall that define a container opening, the side walls comprising pleats so that the wipes container is collapsible from a first wipes storage configuration in which the wipes container has an original height to one or more second wipes storage configurations in which the wipes container has one or more corresponding second heights that are less than the original height, a collapse force being required to collapse the container body from the original height to a fully reduced height; and   a cover disposed over the container opening, the cover being sealed to the container body and comprising a lid that provides access to the container opening, the seal having a seal thickness and a seal strength,   wherein the wipes container has a combination index of 200,000 or less, where the combination index is calculated based on the following equation:
   combination index=(collapse index) (recovery index) (moisture loss index), 
   where collapse index=((collapse force)/(side wall thickness))(1,000), 
   recovery index=((1−% recovery of original height)/(side wall thickness))(1,000), and
 
   moisture loss index=[((% moisture loss of wipes container over 20 day period)/(seal strength))+((% moisture loss of wipes container over 20 day period)/seal thickness))](10). 
   
     
     
         2 . The wipes container of  claim 1 , wherein the collapse index is within the range of 0 to 1,000. 
     
     
         3 . The wipes container of  claim 1 , wherein the recovery index is within the range of 0 to 20. 
     
     
         4 . The wipes container of  claim 1 , wherein the moisture loss index is within the range of 0 to 10. 
     
     
         5 . The wipes container of  claim 1 , wherein the moisture loss of the wipes container over a 20 day period is less than 6%. 
     
     
         6 . The wipes container of  claim 1 , wherein the seal strength is at least 10 in. of Hg. 
     
     
         7 . The wipes container of  claim 1 , wherein the seal thickness is within the range of 15 to 80 mils. 
     
     
         8 . The wipes container of  claim 1 , wherein the side walls have a thickness within the range of 10 to 40 mils. 
     
     
         9 . The wipes container of  claim 1 , wherein the cover has a thickness within the range of 5 to 40 mils. 
     
     
         10 . The wipes container of  claim 1 , wherein the collapse force is within the range of 0 to 10 lbf. 
     
     
         11 . The wipes container of  claim 1 , wherein each of the side walls have a single layer structure. 
     
     
         12 . The wipes container of  claim 1 , wherein each of the side walls are made up of a plurality of layers. 
     
     
         13 . A wipes container comprising:
 a container body comprising side walls and a bottom wall that define a container opening, the side walls comprising pleats so that the wipes container is collapsible from a first wipes storage configuration in which the wipes container has an original height to one or more second wipes storage configurations in which the wipes container has one or more corresponding second heights that are less than the original height, a collapse force being required to collapse the container body from the original height to a fully reduced height; and   a cover disposed over the container opening, the cover being sealed to the container body and comprising a lid that provides access to the container opening, the seal having a seal thickness and a seal strength,   wherein the wipes container has a collapse index within a range of 0 to 1,000 and a recovery index within a range of 0 to 20, wherein the collapse index=((collapse force)/(side wall thickness))(1,000) and recovery index=((1−% recovery of original height)/(side wall thickness))(1,000).   
     
     
         14 . The wipes container of  claim 13 , wherein the wipes container has a moisture loss index within a range of 0 to 10, where the moisture loss index=[((% moisture loss of wipes container over 20 day period)/(seal strength))+((% moisture loss of wipes container over 20 day period)/seal thickness))](10). 
     
     
         15 . The wipes container of  claim 14 , wherein the moisture loss of the wipes container over a 20 day period is less than 6%. 
     
     
         16 . The wipes container of  claim 13 , wherein the seal strength is at least 10 in. of Hg. 
     
     
         17 . The wipes container of  claim 13 , wherein the seal thickness is within the range of 15 to 80 mils. 
     
     
         18 . The wipes container of  claim 13 , wherein the side walls have a thickness within the range of 10 to 40 mils. 
     
     
         19 . The wipes container of  claim 13 , wherein the cover has a thickness within the range of 5 to 40 mils. 
     
     
         20 . The wipes container of  claim 13 , wherein the collapse force is within the range of 0 to 10 lbf. 
     
     
         21 . The wipes container of  claim 13 , wherein each of the side walls have a single layer structure. 
     
     
         22 . The wipes container of  claim 13 , wherein each of the side walls comprise a plurality of layers.