Tissue Dispenser with Waste Compartment and Air-Freshener

Abstract

The present invention provides a tissue dispenser having a cylindrical main body with an outer wall and a top, a lower cylindrical portion having a diameter smaller than a diameter of the main body, a compartment bounded by the outer wall for holding tissues, an opening on the top for accessing the tissues, and a waste receptacle on a bottom of the tissue dispenser and having access thereto from a side chute, wherein the lower cylindrical portion is dimensioned and configured to fit within a vehicle cup-holder.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention is generally directed toward a tissue dispenser, and more particularly, to a tissue compartment and dispenser having a tissue disposal receptacle and an air-freshener.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Dry facial tissues are typically packaged in tissue boxes designed for placement on flat surfaces. Therefore, such a use in a vehicle requires the tissue box be inconveniently placed on the back seat, on the passenger front seat, or on the center console, all of which will result in the tissue box rolling over onto the floor in a moving vehicle.

Moreover, once a single tissue has been used, the normally unsanitary used tissue must be disposed of requiring the user to search for a disposal site. There have been a number of prior art references trying to address this issue.

For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,919,302, to McPherson discloses a tissue box with an extendable disposal compartment. Also, U.S. Pat. No. 5,624,025 to Hixon discloses a toilet tissue holder with an air-freshener compartment with a diffusing cover. Further, U.S. Pat. No. 6,318,590, to McMurray-Stivers discloses a travel-tissue holder for cup holder in vehicles.

It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a tissue dispenser with a waste receptacle and an air-freshener having a base dimensioned and configured to fit into a cup-holder of a vehicle.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a tissue dispenser configured to store conventional tissue boxes therein, and having an attached side waste receptacle together with a carry-on arm or strap.

Notwithstanding the above, it is presently believed that there may be a significant demand in the marketplace for a tissue dispenser with waste receptacle and air-freshener and having a base dimensioned and configured to fit into a cup-holder of a vehicle.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

These problems and others are addressed by the present invention which comprises a tissue dispenser having a cylindrical main body with an outer wall and a top, a lower cylindrical portion having a diameter smaller than a diameter of the main body, a compartment bounded by the outer wall for holding tissues, an opening on the top for accessing the tissues, and a waste receptacle on a bottom of the tissue dispenser and having access thereto from a side chute, wherein the lower cylindrical portion is dimensioned and configured to fit within a vehicle cup-holder.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other objects of the present invention will be appreciated and understood by those skilled in the art from the detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention and the following drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a tissue dispenser in a stored configuration within a vehicle cup-holder in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the tissue dispenser in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of the tissue dispenser of FIG. 2 taken along the line 3-3;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the tissue dispenser having a waste receptacle in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of the tissue dispenser of FIG. 4 taken along the line 5-5;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the tissue dispenser with an air-freshener in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view of the tissue dispenser of FIG. 6 taken along the line 7-7;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the tissue dispenser in accordance with the fourth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a cross sectional view of the tissue dispenser of FIG. 8 taken along the line 9-9;

FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of the tissue dispenser of FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 is a side elevation view of the tissue dispenser in accordance with a fifth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the tissue dispenser in accordance with a sixth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a cross sectional view of the tissue dispenser of FIG. 12 taken along the line 13-13;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the tissue dispenser in accordance with a seventh embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 15 is a cross section view of the tissue dispenser of FIG. 14 taken along the line 15-15;

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of the tissue dispenser in accordance with an eighth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 17 is a cross sectional view of the tissue dispenser of FIG. 16 taken along the line 16-16;

FIG. 18 is a perspective embodiment of the tissue dispenser in accordance with a ninth embodiment of the present invention; and;

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of the tissue dispenser in accordance with the tenth embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

For the purpose of promoting and understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings. Referring now to the drawings, and more specifically to FIGS. 1 through 3, wherein the showings are for the purpose of illustrating the preferred embodiment of the invention only and not for the purpose of limiting the same, a tissue dispenser in accordance with the first preferred embodiment of the present invention is generally illustrated at 10. A center console 12 of a vehicle is illustrated having a cup-holder 14, wherein the tissue dispenser 10 is illustrated in a stored position and configuration within the center console cup-holder 14.

The tissue dispenser 10 includes a main body 16 preferably in a cylindrical shape having an outer wall 18 bounding a top 20, although, as will be explained herein, other shapes and configurations are contemplated to be within the scope of the present invention. The main body 16 is preferably made from paperboard material or, alternatively, from plastic. The tissue dispenser 10 further includes an inverted frusto-conically shaped middle portion 22 with a decreased diameter that integrally forms into a lower cylindrical portion 24 having a diameter smaller than the diameter of the main body 16. A bottom wall 26 is provided to support the tissue dispenser 10 on a support surface within the cup-holder 14. A partitioned wall 28 separates an inner space 30 within the main body 16 and an inner space 32 bounded by the middle portion 22 and the lower cylindrical portion 24.

The top 20 includes a circular access opening 34 closed off by a thin plastic covering or cling film preferably having a slit 36 in a middle portion thereof for allowing the tissue extend therethrough preparatory to its use. A roll of tissue 38 is stored within the inner space 30 in form of a cylindrical roll. However, other alternative embodiments of tissue such as, but not limited to, tissue plies stacked on top of one another within the inner space is contemplated to be within the scope of the present invention as well. Moreover, the main body 16 may have other shapes and configurations, such as, but not limited to, rectangular shape, and can be configured to accommodate conventional tissue boxes instead of having a tissue roll or tissues stacked on top of one another.

Referring now to FIGS. 4 through 5, a further embodiment of the tissue dispenser 10 is illustrated having a waste receptacle generally shown at 40. The waste receptacle 40 is to provide for disposing of used tissues 41 by a user without the need to look for a trash basket or disposal site. The waste receptacle 40 is preferably formed from outer wall 42 integrally formed and extending outwardly form the lower cylindrical portion 24 defining a chute space 44 between the inner surface of the outer wall 42 and the outer surface of the wall 18. It is noted that a thin isolation film 46 of plastic material is provided on the outer surface of the main body 16 to provide a sanitary separation of used tissues in the waste receptacle and the fresh new ones in the tissue dispenser main body 16.

The waste receptacle 40 includes an access opening 48 having a cling film 50 with a slit 52 on top to provide access to the chute space 44 for disposing the used tissues 41. It is also noted that access to the waste receptacle may be provided with other access means opening such as, but not limited to, a pivoting lid.

Referring now to FIGS. 6 through 10, a further embodiment of the tissue dispenser 10 is illustrated having an air-freshener mechanism generally illustrated at 54. The air-freshener mechanism 54 can also be used with the tissue dispenser having the waste receptacle 40, as illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9. The air-freshener mechanism 54 comprises an upper cylindrical portion 56 attached to the lower cylindrical portion 24 of the main body 16, and a lower cylindrical sleeve 58 rotatably and removably attached to the upper cylindrical portion 56. The upper cylindrical portion 56 includes a plurality of apertures 60 on an outer wall thereof, and the lower cylindrical sleeve 58 includes a plurality of apertures 62 configured to be the same shape and dimension and corresponding to the plurality of apertures 60. A rotating latch release mechanism includes a plurality of pins 64 insertable and engaged with a corresponding pin-receiving slot 66 on the upper peripheral edge of the lower cylindrical sleeve 58. As the lower cylindrical sleeve 58 rotates, the upper plurality of apertures 60 and lower plurality of apertures 62 can align with one another to create an air passage for release of the scent from the air freshener insert 68 that is placed in the lower cylindrical sleeve 58.

Referring now to FIG. 11, in order to accommodate cup-holders haying a smaller size than the conventional vehicle cup-holders, it is contemplated to have a rotating insert 70 rotatably mounted within the lower cylindrical portion 24. The rotating insert 70 includes a substantially cylindrical shape and configuration having outer helical female threads 72 that are engagable with inner male threads 74 on the inner part of the lower cylindrical portion 24. Therefore, the rotational movement of the rotating insert 70 translates to the linear vertical movement of the rotating insert 70, thereby adjusting the height thereof.

Referring to FIGS. 12 and 13, an alternative embodiment of the tissue dispenser is illustrated in form of an octagonal shaped dispensing and waste receptacle combination at 100. The tissue dispenser 100 includes a central cube-shaped tissue holding member 102 and a peripherally bounding waste receptacle 104 bounding the outer walls of the tissue holding member 102, wherein a waste receptacle inner space 106 is created between the outer walls and the central tissue holding member 102. The waste receptacle includes a pair of opposing access openings 108 at a slanted side of the octagonal tissue dispenser.

Referring to FIGS. 14 and 15, an alternative embodiment of the tissue dispenser is illustrated at 109 having a hexagonal shape and configuration and including a strap member 110 for carrying the tissue dispenser 109. The strap member 110 is secured to an outer wall 112 of the tissue dispenser 109 at one end 114, and at an opposing end is removably secured by means such as, but not limited to, Velcro® 116. As stated hereinabove, one of the utilities of having a strap is to allow a person to walk around with the tissue dispenser box allowing the users to use tissues and dispose of them within the waste receptacle.

Referring now to FIGS. 16 and 17, the tissue dispenser 109 is illustrated having a sturdy belt clip 118 instead of a strap. The sturdy belt clip 118 can be used to secure the tissue dispenser and waste receptacle dispenser on a user's belt for carrying purposes.

Referring now FIGS. 18 and 19, yet other alternative embodiments of the tissue dispenser and waste receptacle are illustrated at 200 and 300, respectively, in substantially elongate octagonal shape and configuration having dual access entry for the waste receptacle and to accommodate the larger rectangular-shaped conventional tissue boxes therewithin. In FIG. 18, a pair of waste receptacle access openings 210 is on the smaller sides, and the in FIG. 19, a pair of waste receptacle access openings 310 is on the longer sides.

While preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, various modifications and substitutions may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the present invention has been described by way of illustration only, and this description should not be construed as limiting to the several claims appended hereto. While various spatial and directional terms, such as top, bottom, lower, mid, lateral, horizontal, vertical, front and the like may used to describe embodiments of the present invention, it is understood that such terms are merely used with respect to the orientations shown in the drawings. The orientations may be inverted, rotated, or otherwise changed, such that an upper portion is a lower portion, and vice versa, horizontal becomes vertical, and the like.

Claims

1. A tissue dispenser, comprising:

a cylindrical main body having an outer wall, a bottom partition wall, and a top thereby defining an enclosed compartment for holding tissues, wherein the top includes an opening for accessing said tissues;

a lower cylindrical portion including a bottom wall and having a diameter smaller than a diameter of said main body, the lower cylindrical portion includes an outwardly extending wall, wherein a waste compartment and waste chute are formed between said outer wall of said cylindrical main body, said outwardly extending wall and said bottom wall; and

an air-freshener compartment formed below said bottom wall of said lower cylindrical portion;

wherein said lower cylindrical portion and said air-freshener compartment are dimensioned and configured to fit within a vehicle cup-holder.

2-6. (canceled)

7. The tissue dispenser of claim 1, wherein said air-freshener compartment is rotatably and removably attached to said lower cylindrical portion.