Folded sheet product and packaging arrangement

Abstract

A folded product and packaging arrangement utilizes quarter folded and interfolded sheets forming a more-or-less square or cube shaped stack/clip of interfolded sheets closely matching the inside profile of a substantially cube-shaped package, substantially completely filling the package, and allows the same number of sheets provided by former packaging arrangements, which used rectangular sheets folded into U-shaped clips, in a package with a substantially square footprint and having only half the height of the previous packages. Alternatively, the new folding arrangement allows twice as many sheets to be provided in the same size package used in prior approaches requiring U-shaped folded clips of rectangular sheets. Stacked packages inside of a cover may be repositioned when an upper package is expended to present tissue from a fresh box through the top of the cover.

1 . A folded product and package arrangement, comprising:
 a stack of interfolded substantially square sheets of tissue folded substantially in half a first time along a first fold line to form a rectangular-shaped, once-folded sheet having a double thickness, and then having the once-folded, double thickness rectangular sheet folded substantially in half a second time about a second fold line extending substantially perpendicular to the first fold line, to thereby form a twice-folded sheet having a substantially square periphery having four stacked panels of substantially one quarter the size of the sheet before folding; and   a package having a substantially square footprint encompassing the stack.   
     
     
         2 . The folded product and package arrangement of  1 , wherein the interfolded substantially square sheets of tissue have a single-fold configuration wherein first and second the panels of a sheet are positioned within an upstream sheet and third and fourth panels of the sheet are positioned within a downstream sheet. 
     
     
         3 . The folded product and package arrangement of  claim 1 , wherein the second fold lines of the sheets are parallel to one another. 
     
     
         4 . The folded product and package arrangement of  claim 1 , wherein each sheet has an unfolded width and an unfolded length of between about 6 and 10 inches and each panel has a length and a width of between three inches and five inches. 
     
     
         5 . The folded product and package arrangement of  claim 1 , wherein the package has a substantially square bottom defining the substantially square footprint, the panels of the sheets being substantially parallel to the substantially square bottom. 
     
     
         6 . The folded product and package arrangement of  claim 5 , wherein a width of the panels is substantially equal to a width of the bottom of the package and a length of the panels is substantially equal to a length of the bottom of the package. 
     
     
         7 . The folded product and package arrangement of  claim 6 , wherein the dimensions of the panels are no less than eight-five percent of the corresponding dimensions of the bottom of the package. 
     
     
         8 . The folded product and package arrangement of  claim 6 , wherein the dimensions of the panels are no less than ninety percent of the corresponding dimensions of the bottom of the package. 
     
     
         9 . The folded product and package arrangement of  claim 6 , wherein the dimensions of the panels are no less than ninety-five percent of the corresponding dimensions of the bottom of the package. 
     
     
         10 . The folded product and package arrangement of  claim 1 , wherein the entire stack is not U-shape folded within the package. 
     
     
         11 . The folded product and package arrangement of  claim 1 , wherein the package is formed from a rigid packaging that is generally self-supporting. 
     
     
         12 . The folded product and package arrangement of  claim 1 , wherein the packages are formed from a thin film. 
     
     
         13 . A product and packaging arrangement comprising:
 two or more folded product and package arrangements, each folded product and package arrangement comprising:
 a stack of interfolded substantially square sheets of tissue folded substantially in half a first time along a first fold line to form a rectangular-shaped, once-folded sheet having a double thickness, and then having the once-folded, double thickness rectangular sheet folded substantially in half a second time about a second fold line extending substantially perpendicular to the first fold line, to thereby form a twice-folded sheet having a substantially square periphery having four stacked panels of substantially one quarter the size of the sheet before folding; and 
 a package having a substantially square footprint encompassing the stack; and 
   a cover adapted to sit over the stacked product and package arrangements and having an opening in a top end thereof for access to tissues dispensed from a top one of the stacked product and package arrangements.   
     
     
         14 . The product and packaging arrangement of  claim 13 , wherein, a lower one of the stacked product and package arrangements has dispensed substantially all of the product enclosed therein. 
     
     
         15 . The product and packaging arrangement of  claim 14 , wherein the package of each folded product and package arrangement has rigid sidewalls to support the upper one of the stacked products after all of product enclosed therein has been dispensed. 
     
     
         16 . The product and packaging arrangement of  claim 13 , wherein the cover has a bottom opening sized larger than the square footprint of the packages, the bottom opening being on in a bottom end opposite the opening in the top end. 
     
     
         17 . A method for using a product and package arrangement including two or more folded product and package arrangements and a cover, each folded product and package arrangement including a stack of interfolded substantially square sheets of tissue and a package, the stack of interfolded substantially square sheets of tissue being folded substantially in half a first time along a first fold line to form a rectangular-shaped, once-folded sheet having a double thickness, and then having the once-folded, double thickness rectangular sheet folded substantially in half a second time about a second fold line extending substantially perpendicular to the first fold line, to thereby form a twice-folded sheet having a substantially square periphery having four stacked panels of substantially one quarter the size of the sheet before folding, the package having a substantially square footprint encompassing the stack, the cover is adapted to sit over the stacked product and package arrangements and having an opening in a top end thereof for access to tissues dispensed from a top one of the stacked product and package arrangements, the method comprising sequentially performing the steps of:
 a) covering a stack of the two or more product and package arrangements;   b) dispensing tissue through the top of the cover from an uppermost one of the stacked product and package arrangements;   c) exchanging placement in the stack or the uppermost one of the product and package arrangements with another one of the product and package arrangements in the stack; and   d) dispensing tissue through the top of the cover from the another one of the stacked product and package arrangements.