Carrier for a bathroom wipe dispenser
A carrier for a dispenser of pre-moistened wipes of the kind that are saturated with a cleaning or antiseptic solution, a moisturizer, and the like, and having particular application for wiping clean the anal region of a user's body following use of dry toilet paper. The carrier is adapted to be detachably connected to a conventional holder for a roll of toilet paper that is typically mounted against a wall in a bathroom and located near a toilet. At the top of the carrier is an open shell that is sized and shaped to fit snugly within a correspondingly shaped receptacle of the toilet paper roll holder. Located opposite the shell of the carrier is a tail to which is removably attached the wipe dispenser. The carrier is advantageously adapted to be quickly and easily connected to and disconnected from an existing toilet paper roll holder without having to make any changes to the holder.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a carrier for a dispenser of pre-moistened wipes of the kind that are saturated with a cleaning or antiseptic solution, a moisturizer, and the like, and having particular application for wiping clean the anal region of a user's body after toilet paper has first been used. The carrier is adapted to be detachably connected to a conventional wall-mounted toilet paper roll holder that is located adjacent a toilet without having to make any changes to the holder.
2. Background Art
It is not uncommon for individuals to feel uncomfortable following their use of a toilet. That is to say, one cannot always fully clean his anal region by using the usual dry toilet paper. Consequently, in some case, the individual's anal region may remain covered with traces of fecal matter. In other case, the anal region may become chafed or irritated. Because there is typically no readily-available and convenient-to-use means to fully clean or treat the anal region following defecation, the individual may experience itching and rash-like symptoms. What is more, the individual's undergarments can become undesirably soiled.
Therefore, what would be desirable is a wet supplement to dry toilet paper which is located in a bathroom near a toilet so as to be easily accessible to a user on an as-needed basis to wipe clean his anal region following use of the dry toilet paper.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONBriefly, and in general terms, a carrier is disclosed to which is attached a dispenser of pre-moistened (i.e., wet) wipes that are saturated with a cleaning or antiseptic solution, a moisturizer, and the like. Such pre-moistened wipes have particular application for cleaning the anal region of the user's body following the use of dry toilet paper. The carrier for the dispenser of the pre-moistened wipes is detachably connected to a conventional wall-mounted toilet paper roll holder of the kind that is commonly found in a bathroom and located adjacent a toilet. The carrier of this invention is advantageously adapted to be attached to the toilet paper roll holder without having to make any changes thereto.
The carrier includes an open shell at the top that is sized to fit snugly within the existing toilet paper roll receptacle of the toilet paper roll holder. A pair of arms project from the shell of the carrier to lay against corresponding arms of the holder. A hole formed through each of the arms of the carrier lies over and in axial alignment with recesses formed in respective ones of the arms of the holder. The usual spring-loaded spindle is first surrounded by the roll of toilet paper. Opposite ends of the spindle are then removably located in the recesses of the arms of the holder by way of the holes formed in the arms of the carrier, whereby the roll of toilet paper is suspended within the shell of the carrier. Accordingly, the carrier is held in place inside and against the holder without obstructing access to the roll of toilet paper.
A flat and rigid tongue or tail is coextensively connected to and depends downwardly from the open shell of the carrier for the dispenser of pre-moistened wipes so as to lie below the roll of toilet paper. A dispenser including a supply of pre-moistened wipes is attached to the tail of the carrier so that the wipes will be readily available to the user on an as-needed basis. By way of a first example, the dispenser is removably attached to the tail of the carrier by means of an adhesive bond created therebetween. By way of a second example, the dispenser is removably attached to the tail by means of complementary layers of hook and loop fastener material that are mated together. By way of a third example, at least one tab located on the dispenser is removably received within an opposing slot formed through the tail. In a fourth example, the dispenser is removably received by a dispenser support that projects outwardly from the tail. Once the supply of pre-moistened wipes is exhausted, the dispenser may be separated from the tail and replaced with a new dispenser having a fresh supply of wipes.
The carrier 1 for a bathroom wipe dispenser according to a first preferred embodiment of this invention is disclosed while referring concurrently to
Briefly, the standard wall-mounted toilet paper roll holder 7 includes a generally rectangular frame 9 that lies flush against a wall in a bathroom near a toilet (not shown). An arcuate receptacle 10 (best shown in
The carrier 1 for a bathroom wipe dispenser of this invention has an open shell 20 (best shown in
The carrier 1 also has a flat and preferably rigid tongue or tail 30 located at the bottom thereof opposite the shell 20. In this regard, the tail 30 is coextensively connected to and depends downwardly from the shell 20. A bonding surface 32 covers at least some of the face of the tail 30. By way of a first example, the bonding surface 32 may be an adhesive that is initially covered by a peel-off backing (not shown) that is removed from the tail 30 to expose the adhesive. By way of a second example, the bonding surface 32 may be a layer of hook-and-loop fastener material known commercially as Velcro. As is best shown in
In the case where the bonding surface 32 is a layer of adhesive, the wipe dispenser 3 is simply pushed against tail 30 and into mating engagement with the adhesive. In the case where the bonding surface 32 is a layer of Velcro material, the complementary layer of such Velcro material (not shown) is located on the back of the wipe dispenser 3. The wipe dispenser 3 is then pushed against the tail 30 so that the opposing layers of Velcro material are moved into mating engagement with one another. When all of the wipes 5 stored within the dispenser 3 have been used, the empty dispenser is subjected to a pulling force sufficient to break the bond with surface 32 and thereby separate the dispenser 3 from the tail 30 of carrier 1. A new dispenser carrying a fresh supply of pre-moistened wipes may then be removably attached to the tail 30 in the same manner as just described.
Prior to mounting the roll of toilet paper 18 on the spindle 16 of the toilet paper roll holder 7, the carrier 1 for a bathroom wipe dispenser 5 is detachably connected to the holder 7 by moving the shell 20 of carrier 1 past the frame 9 of holder 7. More particularly, the arcuate back 22 of shell 20 is pushed inwardly of the correspondingly shaped and dimensioned arcuate receptacle 10 of holder 7. Thus, the sidewalls 24 of shell 20 will lie over and against the sidewalls 11 of holder 7. Moreover, and as is best shown in
That is, the spring-loaded spindle 16 is first pushed through the center of the toilet paper roll 18. Opposite ends of the spindle 16 are then moved into the recesses 14 in the arms 12 of the toilet paper roll holder 7 by way of respective holes 28 through the arms 26 of the shell 20 of the carrier 1 for the dispenser 3 of bathroom wipes 5. Accordingly, and as is best shown in
New or replacement rolls of toilet paper may be placed around the spindle 16 of the toilet paper roll 7 without having to disturb the carrier 1 of the bathroom wipe dispenser 3. However, should it be desirable to detach carrier 1 from holder 7, the spindle 16 is first disconnected from the arms 12 of holder 7. The carrier 1 may then be quickly and easily detached from the holder 7 by simply applying a pulling force to withdraw the shell 20 of carrier 1 from the receptacle 10 (of
Turning now to
Rather than a bonding surface by which to attach a dispenser of pre-moistened bathroom wipes to the carrier, the flat tail 42 of the dispenser carrier 40 of
It may be more convenient to be able to locate a standard bathroom wipe dispenser 54 at the tail 30 of the dispenser carrier 1 of
The wipe dispenser support 56 of
However, it may be desirable to be able to exert a vertically upward pulling force to remove the wet wipes 5 from the wipe dispenser 54 rather than the horizontal outward pulling force applied in
As shown in
The carriers 1 and 40 for a bathroom wipe dispenser herein disclosed are detachably connected to a toilet paper roll holder 7 without having to make any changes to the holder. By virtue of the foregoing, the carriers 1 and 40 can be employed and removed without effecting the appearance or the usual operation of the holder 7.
Claims
1. A combination, comprising:
- a toilet paper roll holder to be mounted against a wall and including a receptacle for receipt of a roll of toilet paper, a spindle from which the roll of toilet paper is suspended, and a pair of arms between which the spindle is connected;
- a dispenser of pre-moistened wipes; and
- a carrier for said dispenser of pre-moistened wipes, said carrier detachably connected to said toilet paper roll holder and having an open shell at one end thereof that is sized and shaped to be received within the receptacle of said toilet paper roll holder and a tail at the opposite end, said dispenser being attached to said carrier at said tail thereof.
2. The combination recited in claim 1, further comprising an adhesive located on one of the tail of said carrier for the dispenser of pre-moistened wipes or said dispenser, said dispenser being attached to the tail of said carrier by means of said adhesive.
3. The combination recited in claim 1, further comprising a first hook-and-loop material located on the tail of said carrier for said dispenser of said pre-moistened wipes and a complementary hook-and-loop fastener material located on said dispenser, said first and complementary fastener materials being moved into mating engagement with one another by which said dispenser is attached to said carrier.
4. The combination recited in claim 1, further comprising at least one slot formed through the tail of said carrier for said dispenser of pre-moistened wipes and at least one tab projecting from said dispenser, said tab being received by said slot by which said dispenser is attached to said carrier.
5. The combination recited in claim 1, wherein the open shell of said carrier for said dispenser of pre-moistened wipes has a back, a pair of sidewalls projecting from said back, and a pair of arms projecting from said sidewalls, the back of said shell lying within the receptacle of said toilet paper roll holder and the pair of arms of said shell lying against respective ones of the pair of arms of said holder.
6. The combination recited in claim 5, wherein each of the pair of arms of said toilet paper roll holder has a recess formed therein and each of the pair of arms of the shell of said carrier for said dispenser of pre-moistened wipes has a hole formed therethrough, the holes through the arms of said shell being axially aligned with the recesses in the arms of said holder for the removable receipt therethrough of opposite ends of said spindle, whereby said carrier is detachably connected to said holder.
7. The combination recited in claim 1, wherein said dispenser of pre-moistened wipes is removably attached to the tail of said carrier for said dispenser.
8. A combination, comprising:
- a toilet paper roll holder to be mounted against a wall and including a receptacle for receipt of a roll of toilet paper, a spindle from which the roll of toilet paper is suspended, and a pair of arms projecting from said receptacle;
- a dispenser of pre-moistened wipes; and
- a carrier for said dispenser of pre-moistened wipes, said carrier detachably connected to said toilet paper roll holder and having an open shell received within the receptacle of said toilet paper roll holder, a pair of arms projecting from said shell and lying against respective ones of the pair of arms of said toilet paper roll holder, and a tail,
- said dispenser attached to said carrier at said tail thereof, and said spindle connected between the pair of arms of said toilet paper roll holder by way of holes formed through the pair of arms of said carrier.
9. The combination recited in claim 8, wherein the tail of said carrier for said dispenser of pre-moistened wipes has a dispenser support in which to removably receive said dispenser of pre-moistened wipes by which said dispenser is attached to said carrier at said tail.
10. The combination recited in claim 9, wherein said dispenser support includes a shelf projecting outwardly relative to the tail of said carrier on which said dispenser of pre-moistened wipes is seated.
11. The combination recited in claim 10, wherein said dispenser support has an open top lying opposite said shelf and a pair of side walls to guide said dispenser of pre-moistened wipes through said open top and into seating engagement on said shelf.
12. The combination recited in claim 10, wherein the outwardly projecting shelf of said dispenser support turns back upon itself towards said tail to establish a lip above said shelf by which to releasably retain said dispenser of pre-moistened wipes upon said shelf.
Type: Application
Filed: Feb 19, 2008
Publication Date: Aug 20, 2009
Inventor: Steven Beck (Dana Point, CA)
Application Number: 12/070,111
International Classification: A47K 10/24 (20060101);