ANGLED WIPE DISPENSER

Abstract

A wipe dispenser having a wipes container with a lid and an orifice for dispensing the wipes, an angled bottom surface, and an inner bottom surface sharing an edge with the angled bottom surface and extending proximately parallel to the orifice, where a stack of wipes rests on the inner bottom surface. The wipe dispenser has mounting means for removably mounting the wipes container at a surface, where the angled bottom surface and the mounting means securely position the orifice and the stack of wipes at a stack angle for a continuous, one-at-a-time dispensing of the wipes requiring only one hand of a user. The wipe dispenser may be used with moist wipes, flushable moist wipes, and dry (un-moistened) wipes.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates generally to wipe dispensers, and more particularly to wipe dispensers for moist wipes, flushable moist wipes, and dry (un-moistened) wipes. The dispensers are preferably removably attached to surfaces at convenient locations, allowing the continuous, one-at-a-time supplying of wipes, requiring only a single hand.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Conventional moist wipes may be disposable and/or flushable and may have many applications, such as for use in place of traditional toilet paper, cleaning of disabled or incontinent adults, diaper-changing of infants and small children, household cleaning, and other uses. Typically, moist wipe dispensers or containers may have a box shape with a hinged lid. A movable flap on the lid covers a dispensing orifice or aperture through which the wipes are pulled out to prevent loss of moisture from the wipes when the dispenser is not in use.

Such containers or “tubs” typically dispense individual wipes that are stacked within the container in an interleaving configuration, wherein each individual wipe is folded and “interleaved” with an adjacent wipe, to form a stack. The wipes may be moistened with any one of a number of liquid solutions known in the art. When a single wipe is removed through an orifice in the container, a portion of the next single wipe pops up or protrudes out of the orifice, to take its place in a conveniently accessible position for the user to grasp, allowing an easy and reliable dispensing of each of the wipes in the stack. Such containers are usually placed on counters, floors, shelves, dressers, night stands and numerous other surfaces. Such locations sometimes may be hard to reach and may also result in cluttered rooms and unsanitary wipes.

The wipe dispenser of the present invention may be used with moist wipes, flushable moist wipes, and dry (un-moistened) wipes that are connected in ways other than interleaving such that a part of a wipe is folded into a part of the adjacent wipe, creating an accordion-like chain. It should be noted that many such interleaving configurations are known in the art, but other methods of connecting the wipes exist. For example, wipes may be connected by thermal bonding, stamping, perforation (where wipes in a continuous roll have an integral connection, but the roll is perforated to facilitate the tearing off of one individual wipe when it exits the orifice), skin-safe adhesive, or other means known in the art.

Combinations of the methods known in the art may be used, such as using thermal bonding or skin-safe adhesive with an interleaved configuration (just as they may be used without an interleaved configuration). The functional requirement for the chain of wipes is that the next wipe in the chain should be operatively connected to the wipe being pulled out, so that the pulling out of the wipe primes (withdraws) the next wipe from the stacks and makes it protrude through the orifice, so the next wipe is available for dispensing (pulling out) immediately after the first wipe is pulled out and disconnected from the stack.

Various types of wipe dispensers have been proposed. For example, a “hanging” wipe dispenser is known in the art, for hanging from toilet-tissue holders. However, such arrangements tend to “swing” during the pulling out of a wipe, thus making one-handed dispensing difficult and possibly causing multiple wipes to bunch and “pop” out, or causing the stack of wipes to fall back and not dispense properly at all. On the other hand, without fixed attachment on a wall or other easily accessible location, users may have the above-described problem of loose “tubs” being placed in inconvenient places, such as floors, resulting in unclean wipes and containers. Also, the leaving of the tubs in various random and inconvenient locations may cause the user to forget to, or not bother to, refill the containers.

DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART

Publications WO 200744156 (2007) and US 2013/0153597 (2013) include wipe dispensers that may be mounted to a wall or otherwise rigidly fixed. However, such arrangements cannot be easily attached—nor can they be easily removed if, for example, the user wants to take the tub with him or her.

The present invention addresses the above-described problems, as well as providing an easily installed and removable wipes container designed to permit the continuous, one-at-a-time dispensing of wipes requiring only a single hand. The wipes container (or wipe dispenser) may be used with conventional moist wipes, flushable moist wipes, and dry (un-moistened) wipes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A wipe dispenser has a wipes container having a lid with an orifice for dispensing the wipes, an angled bottom surface, and an inner bottom surface sharing an edge with the angled bottom surface and extending proximately parallel to the orifice, where a stack of wipes rests on the inner bottom surface. The wipe dispense also has the mounting means for removably installing the wipes container at a surface, where the angled bottom surface and the mounting means securely position the orifice and the stack of wipes at a stack angle for a continuous, one-at-a-time dispensing of the wipes requiring only one hand of a user. The wipe dispenser may be used with moist wipes, flushable moist wipes, and dry (un-moistened) wipes.

In another aspect of the invention, the mounting means has a metal plate in the angled bottom surface, for removably engaging with an attracting magnet affixed to the surface. In yet another aspect of the invention, the mounting means has a flat member extending from the angled bottom surface, for removably engaging with a clasp member affixed to the surface.

It is embodied in a mode of the invention, that the wipes are flushable wipes. In is further embodied in a mode of the invention, that the lid is hinged at its bottom to the wipes container, for a downwards opening.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These features, aspects and advantages of the angled wipe dispenser of the present invention will become further understood with reference to the following description and accompanying drawings, where the invention is explained in more detail with reference to the drawings showing the following elements:

FIG. 1 shows a side elevational view of a wipe dispenser of the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows a top plan view of the wipe dispenser;

FIG. 3 shows a side elevational view of an exemplary variation of a mounting means;

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of the mounting means variation shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 shows a side elevational view of another exemplary variation of a mounting means using a railing system, using an L-shaped bracket;

FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of the L-shaped bracket of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 7 shows a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the wipe dispenser of the present invention modified for the railing system attachment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the angled wipe dispenser 1 of the present invention has a rectangular box shape with a sloped or angled bottom 2. An inner bottom surface 3 of the bottom 2 maintains the substantially rectangular box shape in the interior of the wipe dispenser 1 (the container), such that a stack of wipes 4 can rest on the inner bottom surface 3.

The wipes dispenser 1 has a lid 5, with a hinge 5a or other open/close means, and an open/close flap 6 on the lid 5 covering an orifice 7 in the lid 5, through which a user pulls out the wipes 4. As described above, individual wipes are typically stacked within the container in an “interleaving” configuration in the stack of wipes 4. When a single wipe is removed through the orifice 7, a portion of the following, adjacent single wipe in the stack “pops” up or out of the orifice 7 to take its place in a conveniently accessible position. The lid 5 is preferably detachable from the wipe container 1. The lid 5 preferably has a top edge with a snap closure and a bottom edge hinged to the upper edge of a lowermost one of the at least four walls when the dispenser is attached to the substantially vertical surface and the lid 5 pivots downwardly when the lid 5 is open.

The sloped or angled bottom 2 has embedded therein (or recessed into) a magnetic metal plate or magnet 8. A corresponding magnetic metal plate or magnet 9 may be attached via a double-adhesive tape 9a or other means known in the art, to a wall 10 or another convenient substantially vertical surface, such as a door, the side of a filing cabinet, or the side of a nightstand. Any combination of a magnet and magnetic metal plate may be used for attaching the wipe dispenser 1 to a wall or any other surface. However, if two magnets are used, they must be reciprocal (opposite polarities) in order to work properly. The Applicant's preferred embodiment uses one magnet and one magnetic metal plate because of the added manufacturing cost of using two reciprocal magnets (magnets are significantly more expensive than metal plates). The attachment means such as a magnet or magnetic metal plate is preferably coupled with the outer bottom surface of the bottom 2 for removably engaging with a magnet or magnetic metal plate attached to the substantially vertical surface.

The other attachment means known in the art and envisioned by the Applicant include hook and loop fasteners, reciprocal rails (so that the wipe dispenser can slide in and out), and snaps. The snaps may have several embodiments: for example, the blinds or reverse blinds attachment (an L-shaped bracket into which a cooperating rectangular- or square-cross-section bar snaps in, where the rectangular- or square-cross-section bar is connected to the wipe dispenser), or a snap attachment like a plastic cell-phone belt carrying clip, except that the clip would not be carried on a belt of an individual but would be permanently or semi-permanently mounted on a surface, and the wipe dispenser 1 may be snapped in and out of it as needed.

Whereas the mounting of the wipe dispenser is preferably semi-permanent or detachable for the ease of taking the wipe dispenser off the surface (for replacing the wipe dispenser 1 itself or for reloading a stack of wipes 4 for example), the mounting of the wipe dispenser 1 may be permanent and the stack of wipes 4 may be replaced by opening the lid 5.

Numerous attachment means may be used for permanent or semi-permanent (detachable) connection of the mounting means to the surface and/or for the connection of the wipe dispenser 1 to the mounting means: any combination of thermal bonding, adhesive, tape (duct tape or double-sided tape), hook and loop fasteners, buttons, snaps, stops, screws, bolts, latches, locks, straps, rails, and L-shaped, U-shaped, V-shaped, or C-shaped brackets, or other methods known in the art, providing a permanent or semi-permanent attachment.

FIGS. 5-6 illustrate the embodiment of the mounting means using a reciprocal rail attachment. The wipes dispenser 1 has a lid 5 and an open/close flap 6. As described above, individual wipes are typically stacked within the wipes dispenser 1 in an “interleaving” configuration in the stack of wipes 4 resting on the inner bottom 3 in an angled position versus the wall 10 or another substantially-vertical surface. An L-shaped bracket 9b may be attached via a double-sided adhesive tape 9a or other means known in the art to a wall 10 or another convenient substantially-vertical surface, such as a door, the side of a filing cabinet, or the side of a nightstand. The L-shaped bracket 9b has rails 14 at the ends of the L-shaped bracket 9b that facilitate the sliding of the wipe dispenser 1 with a reciprocal rail attachment such as reciprocal tracks 15 molded or cut into the bottom 2, or other rails or metal strips that cooperate with the rails 14 of an L-shaped bracket 9b, for example, attached to the bottom 2 of the wipe dispenser 1 on one side of the L. The L-shaped bracket 9b may itself be attached to the wall 10 by a rail attachment where the side of the L-shaped bracket 9b opposite to the bottom 2 slides into the rail attachment mounted to a surface such as a wall 10, generating a wedge-shaped incline for the wipe dispenser 1.

In this embodiment, the wipe dispenser 1 has tracks 15 molded or cut into the bottom 2 of the wipe dispenser 1, on the opposite exterior sides of the wipe dispenser 1. The L-shaped bracket 9b and the rails 14 are cooperatively sized so that they fit the tracks 15 as illustrated in FIG. 5. As FIG. 5 is viewed on the side, the removal and replacement of the wipe dispenser 1 in the L-shaped bracket 9b is accomplished by sliding the wipe dispenser 1 left or right, in or out of the L-shaped bracket 9b (towards or away the viewer as FIG. 5 is viewed).

If the L-shaped bracket 9b illustrated in FIGS. 5-6 is metal, the rails 14 may be formed by simply bending or stamping the edges of the L-shaped bracket 9b. If the L-shaped bracket 9b is plastic, the rails 14 may be formed by molding them (such as injection molding) or extrusion-based methods (such as where a long L-shaped plastic beam is extruded and then cut into appropriate-size L-shaped brackets). The rails 14 preferably run along the entire width of the L-shaped bracket 9b for added stability, but another embodiment may have integral rails 14 or separate rails 14 attached to the upper element 14a and the lower element 14b of the L-shaped bracket 9b as illustrated in FIG. 6, where the rails 14 do not span the entire width of the L-shaped bracket 9b. The embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6 also shows an optional strength member 16 attached between the upper element 14a and the lower element 14b of the L-shaped bracket 9b, which makes the L-shaped bracket 9b more rigid, less flexible, and stronger. In such an embodiment, the bottom 2 may rest on and be supported by the strength member 16.

The embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5 may be further modified by having a bracket that is more closely resembles a V-shaped bracket (in other words, the lower branch of the L is pointing upwards, not substantially horizontally).

The embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5 has a slanted wipe dispenser 1 (i.e., the walls of the wipe dispenser 1 are not substantially vertical when the bottom 2 of the wipe dispenser 1 is placed on a substantially-horizontal surface. Another embodiment of the present invention using the rail attachment similar to that illustrated in FIGS. 5-6 is illustrated in FIG. 7. FIG. 7 shows a perspective view of the wipe dispenser 1 with substantially vertical walls, where the tracks 15 for the rails 14 are cut or molded into the bottom 2 on one longitudinal side of the wipe dispenser 1 and into the upper part of the wipe dispenser 1, just under the lid 5, on the opposite longitudinal side of the wipe dispenser 1. Entry and exit points 15a of the tracks 15 into which the rails 14 slide in and out are shown, and the flap 6 covering the aperture 7 is also shown.

Yet another modification of the present invention may include an inverted V-shaped bracket, with rails or a metal strip of an, for example, attached to the bottom 2 of the wipe dispenser 1 on one side of the V, where the other side of the V slides into the rail attachment mounted to a surface such as a wall, generating a wedge-shaped incline for the wipe dispenser 1. This is similar to another embodiment of the present invention illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, but in this embodiment the wedge and the angle by which the wipe dispenser 1 is tilted is generated by the inverted V-shaped bracket, so the inverted V-shaped bracket may be attached to a regular square or rectangular box (wipes container), so a container with a wedge-shaped bottom would be unnecessary in this embodiment. This way, the user may slide the wipe dispenser 1 in and out of the rails, which can be up and down or sideways, depending on the mounting of the rails, and the rails may be connected to a surface (the wall 10 for instance) by screws, bolts, adhesive, or double-sided tape as illustrated in FIG. 5 for example.

Although the Applicant envisions that the mounting means can be permanently mounted, never needing replacement, the semi-permanent or detachable connection methods will allow for easy replacements of the mounting means, such as when a new wipe dispenser 1 is mounted to the surface but the old mounting means are not compatible with the new wipe dispenser 1.

Thus, the bottom 2 of the container easily and removably attaches or mounts to the wall 10, such as in a position near a toilet-tissue holder, or to any other desired and immediately accessible location, such as on a countertop, toilet tank or tabletop. The magnetic attachment is strong enough that a user can securely and continuously pull out individual wipes through the orifice 7 without moving or dislodging the container. When the wipe dispenser 1 is empty, the mounting means also permits the easy opening of the hinged lid 5 and the quick insertion of a refill stack of wipes 4.

On the other hand, the semi-permanent or removable attachment means (such as magnetic, rails, snaps, or hook and loop) also permits the convenient and easy removal of the container from its location, as desired by the user, such as when moving it to a different room or for use during travel. Thus, the entire wipe dispenser 1 may be detached from the mounting means and carried to another location where the lid 5 is opened and the refill stack of wipes 4 is inserted into the wipe dispenser 1, which is then carried back and reattached to the surface using the mounting means attached to the surface.

As disclosed herein, the inner bottom surface 3 is approximately parallel to the lid 5, such that a stack of wipes 4 can rest stably on the inner bottom surface 3 and the top surface of the stack of wipes 4 may remain approximately parallel to the lid 5 and the orifice 7, thereby maintaining the “interleaving” or other arrangement of the stack, depending on the method by which the individual wipes are interconnected, for optimal, individual dispensing. As noted above, without such proper interleaving of the individual wipes or maintaining the weight of the entire stack of wipes 4 off the top of the stack of wipes 4, the wipes may bunch up or have other problems in dispensing, making the single-handed pulling out of wipes very difficult.

The specific angle A of the sloped bottom 2 relative to the inner bottom surface 3 may be arranged to optimize the slant of the wipe dispenser 1 and its orifice 7 for the user to reach and pull out individual wipes. With the above-described configuration, the wipe dispenser 1 of the present invention permits a continuous, single-handed, one-at-a-time dispensing of wipes. That is, the sloped or angled bottom 2 causes the stack of wipes 4 to essentially fall back during the dispensing process when a wipe is pulled out. Then, the user can pull out the protruding portion of the next wipe without pressure from the stack of remaining wipes, thereby maintaining the “interleaving” or other arrangement of the stack for optimal, easy, and reliable one-handed dispensing. In this way, due to the remaining wipes in the stack falling back as described above, the user does not need to open the lid 5 and adjust the position of the stack of wipes 4 and/or the “interleaving” or other configuration of the successive wipes. That is, the user does not need to open the lid 5 and/or adjust the wipes or the stack, in order to avoid the rest of the stack of wipes 4 applying pressure to the wipe currently being dispensed or otherwise hindering the dispensing, thereby maintaining the continuous, single-handed, one-at-a-time dispensing process.

The angle by which the bottom 2 and the lid 5 are angled versus the substantially vertical surface is optimized for the tilt of the wipe dispenser 1 and the orifice 7 to enable a user to pull out the partially-connected, individually separable wipes without bunching and to avoid collapsing of the stack after a quantity of the partially-connected, individually separable wipes is removed from the wipe dispenser 1. The Applicant envisions a number of usable angles for this purpose, depending on the thickness of the stack, the composition of the wipes, the interconnection method for the wipes, and whether the wipes are dry or moist. However, the generally-preferred angle for a standard-size stack of moist wipes is between 15 and 25 degrees.

FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate a variation on the mounting means. Instead of a metal plate and a magnet, this alternative embodiment uses a rectangular, thin and flat element 11 extending downwardly from a top edge of the sloped bottom 2. A corresponding, relatively wide hook or clasp 12, made of a plastic or other suitable material as commonly known, is attached to a wall or other desired surface with double-sided tape 12a or other means known in the art.

The flat element 11, when inserted downwardly into the clasp 12, engages and interlocks with the clasp 12 to securely mount the wipe dispenser 1 to the desired surface. By applying a moderate amount of pressure to lift the wipe dispenser 1 upwards, the element 11 can disengage from the clasp 12 for an easy removal of the wipe dispenser 1 to bring it to another location.

It is to be understood that the above-described embodiments are illustrative of only a few of the many possible specific embodiments which can represent applications of the principles of the invention. For example, it is to be understood that other variations on the mounting or affixing means in addition to the above-described embodiment and exemplary variation, as can be envisioned by those skilled in the art, may be adopted.

The above description of the disclosed preferred embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the principles described herein can be applied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention and the subject matter of the present invention, which is broadly contemplated by the Applicant. The scope of the present invention fully encompasses other embodiments that may be or become obvious to those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. A dispenser for dispensing wipes, comprising:

(a) a bottom having an inner bottom surface and an outer bottom surface substantially parallel to the inner bottom surface;

(b) at least four walls rising from the inner bottom surface and defining an internal space of the dispenser for placement of partially-connected, individually separable wipes in a stack, each of the at least four walls having an upper edge, said upper edges forming an opening of the dispenser;

(c) a lid fitted to the opening substantially parallel to the bottom, said lid having an aperture for dispensing wipes; and

(d) attachment means coupled with the outer bottom surface for removably attaching the dispenser to a substantially vertical surface so that the bottom and the lid are angled versus the substantially vertical surface, wherein the inner bottom surface is configured to stably support the stack at an angle versus the substantially vertical surface, thereby maintaining the stack for optimal dispensing of the partially-connected, individually separable wipes.