Wall-mounted moist wipe holder

Abstract

The wall-mounted moist wipe holder holds moist wipes within a drawer or a tray inserted within a sealed box. The drawer or tray is configured to hold moist wipes. The box is either mounted within a wall or directly to a wall. Trim with a gasket integrated within it is disposed around the box opening directly or affixed to the wall and surrounding the box opening. A pin joins the drawer or tray to the box when it engages a push-push latch affixed to the back wall of the box. The gasket allows the front face of the drawer or tray to seal the tray or drawer to the box.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/627,962, filed Nov. 16, 2004.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to wall-mounted dispensers, and particularly to a moist wipe holder mounted to or within a wall.

2. Description of the Related Art

Moist wipes have been increasingly utilized for many various purposes. Moist wipes traditionally have been used to clean babies and young infants. They are currently being incorporated into devices to clean kitchen floors. More and more frequently, adults have been substituting moist wipes for dry toilet paper or using them in addition to dry toilet paper. It is therefore necessary to keep a box of these moist wipes in various places, for example, the bathroom or the nursery.

These wet wipes are typically held within sealed containers to maintain the moistness of the wipes. In bathrooms, the moist wipe containers do not have a place to easily store them. The containers are often placed on top of the toilet tank, under a bathroom sink or in a storage unit in a nursery. While these places do allow for access to the wipes, it is more difficult for a user to easily retrieve the necessary wipes. Further, struggling with opening containers when the wipes are needed is not optimal, especially when cleaning squirming children.

Accordingly, there is a need for an easily accessible storage container for holding and keeping wet wipes moist. Thus, a wall-mounted moist wipe holder solving the aforementioned problems is desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention comprises various embodiments of a wall-mounted moist wipe holder, which is configured to provide a sealed, easily accessible container for moist wipes. The wall-mounted moist wipe holder holds moist wipes within a drawer or a tray inserted within a sealed box. The box is either mounted within a wall or directly to a wall in a bathroom or in a nursery, depending on the use for which it is needed.

In a first embodiment, the moist wipe holder comprises a box, a drawer, trim, and a gasket. The box is fitted within a wall, and the drawer is adapted to slide within the box opening. The trim is disposed around the box opening on the wall surface, and the gasket is integrated within the trim. The user may shut the drawer, which holds moist wipes, and the gasket seals the face of the drawer to the box. The wipes are therefore kept moist within the sealed enclosure.

At least one latch pin is joined to the back surface of the drawer, and at least one push-push latch is affixed to the back wall of the box. When a user shuts the drawer, the pins engage the latches, holding the box and drawer together. When the user depresses the front face of the drawer, the pins disengage from the latches, and the drawer opens away from the box toward the user.

In a second embodiment of the wall-mounted moist wipe holder, the box is attached directly to the wall surface. A tray, which holds moist wipes, is pivotally attached to the box and slides into the box when a user closes the tray face. Trim is disposed directly on the box, around the opening of the box. A gasket is integrated within the trim. When the face of the tray is pushed shut, the face comes into contact with the gasket, sealing the tray to the box. The back surface of the tray has at least one latch pin joined to it. The latch pins are designed to engage push-push latches that are affixed to the back wall of the box.

In a third embodiment of the wall-mounted moist wipe holder, the box is mounted within a wall and the tray, similar to the second embodiment, is pivotally attached to the box.

These and other features of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an environmental side view of a wall-mounted moist wipe holder according to a first embodiment of the present invention, partially in section.

FIG. 2 is an elevational front view of the wall-mounted moist wipe holder according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic, environmental top view of the wall-mounted moist wipe holder according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an environmental side view of a wall-mounted moist wipe holder according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an environmental side view of a wall-mounted moist wipe holder according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention is a wall-mounted moist wipe holder that provides a sealed, easily accessible container for moist wipes. The wall-mounted moist wipe holder holds moist wipes within a sealed box either mounted to a wall or within a wall.

FIGS. 1-3 show a first embodiment of a wall-mounted moist wipe holder, designated generally as 10a. The moist wipe holder 10a comprises a box 12, a drawer 14, trim 16 and a gasket 1 8. The box 12 is fitted within a wall W and has a drawer opening 20 and a back wall 22. The drawer 14 has a front face 24 and a rear wall. The drawer 14 is adapted to slide within the drawer opening 20 of the box 12 and engage the back wall 22 of the box 12 with the rear wall of the drawer 14. The trim 16 is disposed around and extends from the drawer opening 20, bearing on the outer surface 28 of the wall W, and provides a decorative outer surface 26 concealing the opening of the box 12. The gasket 18 is integrated within the trim 16 disposed around the drawer opening 20.

The drawer 14 has at least one latch pin 30 extending from the rear wall of the drawer 14. At least one latch 32, also known as a push-push latch, is attached to the back wall 22 of the box 12. When the drawer 14 is pushed within the box 12, each pin 30 engages one of the latches 32. Upon pressure exerted on the front face 24 of the drawer 14, the pins 30 disengage from the latches 32 and the drawer 14 extends outward from the box 12. It will be noted from FIG. 2 that the front face 24 of the drawer 14 lacks a handle, the drawer 14 opening by touch, i.e., by pressure exerted against the front face 24.

The drawer 14 holds moist wipes MW within it. When the drawer 14 is shut, the front face 24 of the drawer 14 abuts the gasket 18 within the trim 16 and seals shut into the box 12. The gasket 18 helps create a sealed enclosure so that the moist wipes MW are kept moist within the box 12.

The box 12 may be attached to the wall W in any manner known in the art, e.g., by screws extending through the trim 16 that are secured to wall studs or drywall anchors, by attaching the trim 16 to the wall by adhesive, by brackets or spring clips, etc.

FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment of the wall-mounted moist wipe holder, designated as 10b. The wall-mounted moist wipe holder 10b is mounted directly to the outer surface 28 of the wall W. The box 12 is attached to the outer surface 28 of the wall W with screws 34 extending through the back wall 22 of the box and secured to a drywall anchor, or by any other attachment means for holding the box 12 against the wall W. The box 12 has a tray opening 40 and a back wall 22. A hinge 54 pivotally attaches a tray 36 to the box 12, allowing the tray 36 to close within the tray opening 40 of the box 12. The tray 36 has a front face 38 and a back surface 42. Trim 44 is disposed around the tray opening 40 of the box 12. A gasket 46 is integrated within the trim 44.

At least one latch pin 48 extends from the back surface 42 of the tray 36. At least one latch 50 is attached to the back wall 22 of the box 12. When the tray 36 is closed, the latch pin 48 engages with the latch 50. After a user presses on the front face 38 of the tray 36, the pin 48 disengages from the latch 50 and the tray 36 opens to display moist wipes MW held on a plate 52 within the tray 36. When a user pushes the face 38 of the tray 36 shut, the face 38 comes into contact with the trim 44. The tray 36 is sealed shut against the gasket 46 integrated within the trim 44, thereby keeping the wipes MW moist within the box 12.

Turning now to FIG. 5, a third embodiment of the wall-mounted moist wipe holder, designated as 10c, is shown. The box 12 is mounted within a wall W. Trim 44 extending around the box 12 is attached to the outer surface 28 of the wall W by any conventional means. Gasket 46 is integrated within the trim 44. When the tray 36 is closed within the box 12, the front face 38 of the tray 36 abuts against the trim 44 so that the gasket 46 seals the tray 36 shut within the box 12. The wipes MW held on a plate 52 in the tray 36 are kept moist because the wipes MW are sealed within the box 12.

At least one latch pin 48 is joined to the back surface 42 of the tray 36. At least one latch 50 is affixed to the back wall 22 of the box 12. The tray 36 is tilted into the box 12, and the pin 48 engages the latch 50.

While pins and latches are shown, the pins and latches may be substituted for any other device that operates in a push-push manner, such that when a user exerts a forward pressure on the surface he wishes to open, the surface opens back toward the user. Additionally, while a gasket is described, any other sealant may be used in place of the gasket to provide a sealed container once the front face of the door or tray is closed.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. A wall-mounted moist wipe holder, comprising:

a box defining a drawer opening and having a back wall, the box being adapted for mounting to a wall;

a drawer slidably disposed through the drawer opening into the box, the drawer being adapted for holding moist wipes;

trim disposed around the drawer opening; and

a gasket integrated within the trim disposed around the drawer opening.

2. The wall-mounted moist wipe holder according to claim 1, further comprising means for mounting the back wall of said box to an outer surface of the wall, said box projecting from the wall.

3. The wall-mounted moist wipe holder according to claim 1, further comprising means for mounting said trim to an outer surface of the wall, said box being adapted for extending through an opening defined in the wall with the trim being mounted flush to the outer surface of the wall.

4. The wall-mounted moist wipe holder according to claim 3, further comprising means for opening said drawer by touch, whereby said drawer lacks a handle and is substantially flush with said trim and said wall.

5. The wall-mounted moist wipe holder according to claim 1, further comprising:

at least one pin extending rearwardly from the drawer; and

at least one push-push latch attached to the back wall of said box, the pin releasably engaging the push-push latch.

6. The wall-mounted moist wipe holder according to claim 1, wherein said drawer further comprises:

a front face pivotally attached to said box; and

a tray plate attached to said front face, the tray plate being disposed within the box when said front face is pivoted closed and extended from said box when said front face is pivoted open, the tray plate being adapted for holding the moist wipes.