Portable holder/carrying system for the transporting of toilet paper

Abstract

This invention provides an improved portable holder/carrying system designed to make the transporting of toilet paper easier in situations and locations where there is no or limited access to both toilet facilities and the necessary sanitary products. The system is comprised of a main tube structure with a watertight screw-on-lid, carrying handle and extraction assembly featuring a disc and slotted lever used to remove the toilet paper. The length of the tube allows for an overall capacity of one, two or three rolls that must be manually compressed in terms of their overall diameter in order to fit the narrow gauge of the tube. Furthermore, the handle component also contains two harnessing slots that provide for a variety of storage/carrying options for the entire unit.

Description

This invention relates to an Improved Portable Holder/Carrying System for the Transporting of Toilet Paper.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable

REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING COMPACT DISC APPENDIX

Not applicable

Disclosure:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Ever since toilet paper has become a consumer mainstay in the modern household, a wide variety of holders have been designed to provide increased accessibility and convenience to the user. While the majority of these holders have traditionally been for in-door use only, the growing trend of backpacking/traveling in outdoor and overseas settings has given rise to the need for toilet paper holders whose functionality must cater towards greater portability, stowage options and protection. In this regard, the most popular and primitive forerunner of the outdoor holder/carrying system for toilet paper was the zip-lock-bag. Since the adoption of this quick-fix solution, several types of portable holders/carriers have been developed to address the unique demands imposed by outdoor use. The following is a list of typical designs that are presented under United States Patents:

U.S. Pat. No. 4,192,561 Gunn; Joann

U.S. Pat. No. 5,547,240 Hartshorn; Gordon K. et al.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,068,118 Calloway; Ruby Jewell

U.S. Pat. No. D478753 Hall; Eddie & Kathy M.

Although the portable holder/carrier already exists in a variety of forms, they have generated little interest amongst potential outdoor/travel enthusiasts due to an ongoing failure to provide any real advantage in terms of their overall ability to simultaneously balance and thus, effectively address the three main factors of outdoor use: portability, stowage options and protection. With these three points in mind then, there is still much that can be done to improve upon past designs. For instance, Gunn's “Storage container for roll tissue paper” U.S. Pat. No. 419,256 demonstrates a portable holder whose construction boasts of a tubular body, attached lid and internal post upon which to mount a plurality of toilet paper rolls. While this system may well be portable, it is also best suited to indoor or localized use since its construction does not provide for easy stowage due to its rather large body size. Furthermore, the lid of this device, although attached, does not create a watertight seal and therefore, fails to provide adequate protection. Finally, the central mounting post of this unit is of a diameter equal to that of the centre core of a toilet paper roll. Such proportion adds unnecessary weight, which in turn limits overall portability.

In a like manner, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,547,240 and 6,068,118 exasperate issues of storage options and portability by hybridizing the functionality of a portable toilet paper holder/carrier with the addition of a trowel in one instance and a flashlight, clock and radio in the other. As dual-purpose devices then, such inventions prove cumbersome since they are burdened by excess weight and volume. Consequently, the hiker/traveler not only loses valuable carrying space but must also endure a heavier load.

The last Patent listed above, U.S. Pat. No. D478753 represents a “Camper's/traveler's toilet paper protector with snap on lid”. While this device is better suited to the job of transporting toilet paper, it also has some very visible limitations. First, the design sports a snap-on lid, which, although it may be water tight, proves vulnerable to jarring shocks that could dislodge it. Thus, the protection provided by this device is not complete. Besides this, the body or plastic container portion of the invention that houses the actual toilet paper has a diameter equal to that of the roll. Since there is no option but for the hiker/traveler to stow this device internally inside their backpack or other baggage, the overall girth of a single roll of toilet paper proves excessive in terms of the amount of space that it will consume. Again, stowage for this invention, as noted for the other inventions, can lead to problems.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In contrast to these past designs for portable toilet paper holder/carriers, the improved design of the invention that is presented here adheres closely to and effectively incorporates the three aforementioned factors of outdoor use: portability, stowage options and protection. For example, the improved design employs a narrow diameter plastic tube in which to house the toilet paper rolls. This means that all rolls must be manually compressed in terms of their overall diameter in order to be stowed. Such a feature means that both weight and volume are reduced since the tube not only takes up less space but also contains less plastic. In terms of portability then, this feature is also beneficial since less room is taken up when the device is stowed internally inside a hiker/traveler's backpack or other baggage. Moreover, the reduced weight of the device allows it to perform its function without becoming an excessive burden to the user. This movement towards weight reduction is further evidenced by the fact that the improved design utilizes a small plastic disc and slotted lever in place of the above-mentioned post for removing the toilet paper from the holder. Hence, the extraction system employed on the new design has been made more efficient because it reduces weight, which in turn promotes greater portability. Besides this overall move towards weight reduction, the improved design for a toilet paper holder/carrier also includes a handle design featuring two harnessing slots or points. This feature provides a definite advantage over past designs since it allows the new device to be mounted or stowed externally in many different locations and configurations. Such a design improvement ultimately works to increase stowage options by overcoming the need to allocate internal storage area within a backpack or other baggage for the inclusion of a toilet paper holder/carrier. Lastly, the improved design for this invention also works to increases protection by placing a screw-on-lid on the main tube of the system, so that it is not only water tight but also resistant to jarring shocks that could dislodge it. Accordingly, the improvements contained in the new design—narrowed tube diameter, fixed harnessing slots, light weight toilet paper roll extraction assembly and the screw-on-lid—all combine to make this a superior outdoor system.

SPECIFICATIONS: BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

In drawings that illustrate embodiments of the invention,

FIG. 1 is a front view of the main tube assembly;

FIG. 2 is a section view of the same revealing the extraction assembly;

FIG. 3 is a back view and

FIG. 4 is a top view of the main tube with carrying handle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The particularly advantageous toilet paper holder/carrier illustrated comprises a main tube assembly 1 that can house one, two or three rolls of toilet paper. The tube in its entirety is blow molded from a flexible but durable plastic with a side mounted carrying handle 3. The top of the main tube 1 contains a number of threads 4 upon which to secure a plastic screw-on-lid 2. This feature provides a watertight seal that is also resistant to jarring shocks. Internally, the main tube also houses a lightweight extraction device composed of a plastic disc 5 with a lever 6 that contains a single finger slot 7. As a unit, the extraction mechanism functions to aid in the removal of toilet paper rolls 9 that are stored within the main tube, Finally, the side mounted carrying handle is shown to contain two harnessing slots or points 8 which allow the entire portable toilet paper holder/carrying system to be stowed externally in many different locations and configurations.

Claims

1. In a portable toilet paper holder/carrying system consisting essentially of a molded plastic main tube for housing one, two or three rolls of toilet paper, a carrying handle containing two mounting slots or points, a toilet paper roll extraction mechanism and a screw-on-lid.

2. A toilet paper holder/carrying system as defined in claim 1, comprising a molded main tube that has a narrowed diameter less than a single roll of toilet paper so that the said rolls of toilet paper must be manually compressed in terms of their overall diameter in order to be inserted into the tube.

3. A portable toilet paper holder/carrying system as defined in claim 1, in which the light weight extraction mechanism is comprised of a circular plastic disc with slotted lever, and which can be manually moved up and down the length of the tube.

4. A portable toilet paper holder/carrying system as defined in claims 1 that includes a fixed carrying handle located on the side of the main tube.

5. A portable toilet paper holder/carrying system as defined in claim 4 in which the fixed carrying handle is bracketed at either end by two harnessing points that allow the entire system to be stowed externally in many different locations and configurations.