Folded Sheet Product Cartridges and Dispensing Systems, Assemblies, and Methods
Folded sheet product cartridges and dispensing assemblies, systems, and methods of dispense therefor are provided. A dispensing assembly includes a housing for vertically stacked cartridges. The housing defines a load opening in a side panel or top end and a dispensing slot in a side panel or bottom end. A sheet product cartridge includes a plurality of folded sheet products for dispense through a dispensing opening.
1 . A sheet product dispensing assembly, comprising:
a housing configured to house one or more vertically stacked cartridges therein, each cartridge containing a plurality of individual sheet products for dispense through a dispensing opening of the cartridge,
wherein the housing defines a load opening in a side panel or top end of the housing, the load opening being configured to receive the one or more cartridges therethrough,
wherein the housing defines a dispensing slot in a side panel or bottom end of the housing, the dispensing slot being configured to at least partially align with the dispensing opening of a bottommost cartridge of the one or more vertically stacked cartridges, such that the individual sheet products are accessible therethrough, and
wherein the load opening comprises a notched portion corresponding to a complementary projection of each cartridge, such that cartridges comprising the complementary projection are loadable into the housing via the load opening.
2 . The assembly of claim 1 , wherein the complementary edge comprises a beveled edge.
3 . The assembly of claim 1 , wherein the housing is configured to house three vertically stacked cartridges.
4 . The assembly of claim 1 , wherein the dispensing slot is sized such that a detachable panel of the cartridge is removable therethrough.
5 . The assembly of claim 1 , wherein the housing further comprises an exit opening configured such that an exhausted cartridge may be slideably removed from the housing therethrough.
6 . The assembly of claim 5 , wherein the exit opening is adjacent the bottommost cartridge in a side panel of the housing other than the panel in which the dispensing slot is disposed.
7 . A sheet product dispensing assembly, comprising:
a base panel configured to support one or more cartridges stacked thereon, each cartridge housing a plurality of individual sheet products for dispense through a dispensing opening of the cartridge; and
a cartridge mounting panel extending from the base panel and comprising one or more notched rails configured to mount the one or more cartridges via one or more complementary projections on each cartridge.
8 . The assembly of claim 7 , wherein the cartridge mounting panel extends substantially perpendicularly from the base panel.
9 . The assembly of claim 7 , wherein the one or more complementary projections comprise one or more tabs extending from a wall of the cartridge.
10 . The assembly of claim 7 , wherein the assembly is sized to mount three cartridges.
11 . The assembly of claim 7 , wherein:
the cartridge mounting panel comprises two parallel notched rails that are substantially perpendicular to the base panel, and
the complementary projections comprise two tabs extending from a second wall of the cartridge opposite a first wall in which the dispensing opening is disposed.
12 . The assembly of claim 11 , wherein a first of the two parallel notched rails is disposed on the cartridge mounting panel such that a gap between the base panel and the first parallel notched rail has a height equal to or greater than a height of the cartridge, such that an exhausted cartridge may be slideably dismounted from the assembly through the gap.
13 . The assembly of claim 12 , wherein a second of the two parallel notched rails is disposed on the cartridge mounting panel such that a gap between the base panel and the second parallel notched rail has a height less than the height of the cartridge.
14 . The assembly of claim 7 , further comprising a dispensing panel extending substantially perpendicularly from an edge of the base panel opposite the cartridge mounting panel, the dispensing panel comprising a lip configured to laterally retain the cartridge adjacent the base panel.
15 . The assembly of claim 7 , further comprising a dispensing panel extending substantially perpendicularly from an edge of the base panel opposite the cartridge mounting panel, the dispensing panel comprising a dispensing slot configured to at least partially align with the dispensing opening of the cartridge adjacent the base panel, such that the individual sheet products are accessible therethrough.
16 . The assembly of claim 15 , wherein the dispensing panel has a height substantially similar to a height of the one or more cartridges the assembly is sized to accommodate.
17 . A sheet product dispensing assembly, comprising:
a housing configured to house one or more vertically stacked cartridges therein, each cartridge containing a plurality of individual sheet products for dispense through a dispensing opening of the cartridge,
wherein the housing defines a load opening in a side panel or top end of the housing, the load opening being configured to receive the one or more cartridges therethrough,
wherein the housing defines a dispensing slot in a side panel or bottom end of the housing, the dispensing slot being configured to at least partially align with the dispensing opening of a bottommost cartridge of the one or more vertically stacked cartridges, such that the individual sheet products are accessible therethrough, and
wherein the cartridge comprises two non-rectangular side panels and the housing comprises two complementary non-rectangular side panels.
18 . The assembly of claim 17 , wherein the cartridge comprises two parallelogram-shaped side panels and the housing comprises two complementary parallelogram-shaped side panels.
19 . The assembly of claim 17 , wherein the side panel of the housing in which the dispensing slot is located is angled with respect to a base panel of the housing, such that the individual sheet products are dispensable therethrough via an outward or downward pull.
20 . The assembly of claim 17 , wherein the dispensing opening of the cartridge is defined by one or more flaps extending from edges of the cartridge defining a dispensing panel.