DISPENSER COVER AND METHODS OF MAKING AND USING SAME

Abstract

The present disclosure is directed to a cover for preventing use of a dispenser. The cover includes a body having an open end, a closed end, and a sidewall extending between the open end and the closed end. The sidewall has an outer peripheral surface and an inner peripheral surface which encompasses an inner space for receiving a dispenser.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS/INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE STATEMENT

The present patent application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application U.S. Ser. No. 62/909,010, filed on Oct. 1, 2019, the entire contents of which is hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates generally to dispensers, and more particularly, not by way of limitation, to a cover for preventing the accidental operation of the dispenser and damage to the material contained in the dispenser.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Screw-type dispensers are generally used to provide a material, such as lip balm, to an individual. One common problem is the accidental and/or unintentional operation of the screw-type dispenser in an individual's pants pocket or purse which causes the material to move out the dispensing end of the dispenser, thus mashing lip balm material up into an end cap positioned over the dispensing end which wastes the lip balm material and/or causes a mess.

To this end, a need exists for containing the material and preventing accidental operation of the dispenser. It is to such a cover that the present disclosure is directed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING(S)

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a cover constructed in accordance with the present disclosure

FIG. 2 is a side view of the cover of FIG. 1 positioned about a dispenser.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the cover of FIG. 1 and a conventional dispenser.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Before explaining at least one embodiment of the inventive concept disclosed herein in detail, it is to be understood that the inventive concept is not limited in its application to the details of construction, experiments, exemplary data, and/or the arrangement of the components set forth in the following description, or illustrated in the drawings. The presently disclosed and claimed inventive concept is capable of other embodiments or of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein is for purpose of description only and should not be regarded as limiting in any way.

In the following detailed description of embodiments of the inventive concept, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a more thorough understanding of the inventive concept. However, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the inventive concept within the disclosure may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known features have not been described in detail to avoid unnecessarily complicating the instant disclosure.

Further, unless expressly stated to the contrary, “or” refers to an inclusive or and not to an exclusive or. For example, a condition A or B is satisfied by any one of the following: A is true (or present) and B is false (or not present), A is false (or not present) and B is true (or present), and both A and B are true (or present).

In addition, use of the “a” or “an” are employed to describe elements and components of the embodiments herein. This is done merely for convenience and to give a general sense of the inventive concept. This description should be read to include one or at least one and the singular also includes the plural unless it is obvious that it is meant otherwise.

Finally, as used herein any reference to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular element, feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIGS. 1-3, shown therein is one embodiment of a cover 10 constructed in accordance with the inventive concepts disclosed herein, the cover 10 being shown positioned about at least a portion of a conventional screw-type dispenser 12 used to apply lip balm to the lips of an individual. Although the dispenser 12 is shown being used to provide lip balm, it should be understood that the screw-type dispenser may be utilized for dispensing various materials, such as, by way of example, personal care products, cosmetics, glue, and/or the like.

The dispenser 12 includes a barrel 14 for receiving a material, an open end 16 for dispensing the material, an end cap 18 positioned about the open end 16, and a screw-type end 20 having a wheel 22 which can be rotated to extend or retract the material for use by the individual. The barrel 14 has a first end 24 (non-dispensing end), a second end 26 (dispensing end) and an outer surface 28. The end cap 18 is attached to and/or positioned about the second end 26 of the barrel 14. The conventional dispenser is a common tool used for dispensing material and is well known to one of ordinary skill in the art. Thus, no further discussion is necessary regarding the dispenser 12 or its operation.

It is contemplated, in one embodiment, that the cover 10 is constructed from a single component, however, it should be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the cover 10 may be constructed from a multiple pieces of materials. The cover 10 is preferably made of elastomeric materials, such as neoprene, rubber, latex or other such elastomeric polymer which enables the cover 10 to return to its original shape once removed from the dispenser 12. However, the materials are strong enough to allow for use of the cover 10, as disclosed herein. The cover 10 may be constructed from a variety of durable and resilient materials, such as for example, polymeric materials, plastics, thermoplastics, any elastomers, and composite materials which are capable of providing the desired strength and durability for the cover 10. Further, it should be understood that the cover 10 may be constructed from materials that may be water-resistant and/or waterproof so that the cover 10 may be easily cleaned.

The cover 10 is shown as substantially conical in shape. However, it should be understood that the cover 10 or portions thereof may be any shape, such as circular, oval, square, rectangular, triangular, polygonal, quadrilateral, ellipsoidal and the like, for example. The cover 10 may be elastic, rigid, semi-rigid, flexible, semi-flexible, foldable, collapsible, and the like. The cover 10 may be provided in a variety of colors and designs for identification or novelty. Additionally, the cover 10 may also include and/or be constructed from an insulate material to prevent melting of the dispensed material. It should be understood that the size and configuration of the cover 10, and portions thereof, may vary widely dependent upon the size of the dispenser 12. It should be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the cover 10, although discussed herein as being used with a dispenser 12, may be utilized and configured in a variety of shapes and capacities to contain and/or prevent leakage for other containers, tools, and the like.

The cover 10 has a body 30 which includes an open first end 32, a closed second end 34, and a sidewall 36 extending between the open end 32 and the closed end 34. The closed end 34 is shown herein as being rounded in shape. It will be appreciated, however, that the closed end 34 of the cover 10 may be configured in and comprise variations of any shapes or may comprise significantly altered shapes such as square or rectangular, as long as the cover 10 functions in accordance with the present invention in the manner described herein. The sidewall 36 has an outer peripheral surface 38 and an inner peripheral surface 40 which encompasses an inner space 42 for being positioned at least about the screw-type end 20 of the dispenser 12 to prevent accidental operation of the dispenser 12 and movement of the the wheel 22.

In use, when storing or not using the dispenser 12, the open end 32 of the cover 10 is stretched and positioned about the first end 24 of the dispenser 12 to engage the outer surface 28 of the barrel 14 of the dispenser 12. A relatively airtight seal is created between the outer surface 28 of the barrel 14 and the inner peripheral surface 40 of the cover 10 to prevent movement of the wheel 22 of the dispenser 12.

In another embodiment, the cover 10 may be constructed in a rolled configuration and then placed in an unrolled configuration when used to seal the cover 10 on the dispenser 12. When rolled, the inner peripheral surface 40 of the cover 10 is exposed. The exposed inner peripheral surface 40 contacts the outer surface 28 of the barrel 14 of the dispenser 12 and unrolls the cover 10 such that the sidewall 36 of the cover 10 overlaps the outer surface 28 of the barrel 14 and the wheel 22 of the dispenser 12.

In one embodiment, the cover 10 may have an elastomeric first portion, proximate the open end of the cover 10, constructed of material having elastomeric properties which allows the elastomeric first portion to expand when the first end of the dispenser 12 is disposed within the cover 10 when the elastomeric first portion of the cover 10 is stretched about the first end of the dispenser 12. The elastomeric first portion may be comprised of neoprene, lycra, rubber, elasticized fabrics, or any other such materials which have elastic properties, as described herein. The elastomeric first portion of the cover 10 will grip the adjacent portion of the dispenser 12 and will cause the elastomeric first portion of the cover to closely conform to the shape of the dispenser 12 and will secure the cover 10 to the dispenser 12 leaving a substantially airtight seal about the screw-type end 20, as explained above. The cover 10 may have a second portion constructed from a non-elastomeric material, proximate the closed end of the cover 10. The elastomeric portion may be a separate component connected to the open end of the cover 10. Alternatively, the elastomeric portion may be of unitary construction with the non-elastomeric of the cover 10, or an extension therein. The cover 10 may be constructed from a material which is impregnated with an elastic material in one portion to form the elastomeric portion.

Attached hereto are various other views illustrating one embodiment of the present invention and the operation of one embodiment of the present invention. It should be understood that changes may be made in the operation and the setup of such embodiment. The attached materials are incorporated herein by reference.

From the above description, it is clear that the inventive concept(s) disclosed herein is well adapted to carry out the objects and to attain the advantages mentioned herein as well as those inherent in the inventive concept disclosed herein. While exemplary embodiments of the inventive concept disclosed herein have been described for purposes of this disclosure, it will be understood that numerous changes may be made which will readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art and which are accomplished without departing from the scope of the inventive concept disclosed herein and defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A cover for preventing use of a dispenser, comprising:

a body having an open end, a closed end, and a sidewall extending between the open end and the closed end, the sidewall having an outer peripheral surface and an inner peripheral surface which encompasses an inner space for receiving a dispenser of lip balm.

2. The cover of claim 1 wherein the body is constructed from an elastomeric material.

3. The cover of claim 1 wherein the body is constructed from a polymeric material.

4. The cover of claim 1 wherein the body is substantially conical.

5. The cover of claim 1 wherein the closed end is rounded.

6. The cover of claim 1 wherein the closed end is squared.

7. The cover of claim 1 wherein the closed end is rectangular.

8. The cover of claim 1 wherein the open end is sized and dimensioned to receive a portion of a barrel of the dispenser of lip balm.

9. The cover of claim 1 wherein the sidewall is constructed of an elastomeric material.

10. A method for preventing use of a dispenser, comprising:

providing a body having an open end, a closed end, and a sidewall extending between the open end and the closed end, the sidewall having an outer peripheral surface and an inner peripheral surface which encompasses an inner space for receiving a dispenser of lip balm;

positioning the open end of the body about a non-dispensing end of a dispenser such that the inner peripheral surface of the body is in contact with an outer surface of the dispenser to form a relative airtight seal between the non-dispensing end of the dispenser and the cover.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the body is constructed from an elastomeric material.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein the body is constructed from a polymeric material.

13. The method of claim 10 wherein the body is substantially conical.

14. The method of claim 10 wherein the closed end is rounded.

15. The method of claim 10 wherein the closed end is squared.

16. The method of claim 10 wherein the closed end is rectangular.

17. The method of claim 10 wherein the open end is sized and dimensioned to receive a portion of a barrel of the dispenser of lip balm.

18. The method of claim 10 wherein the sidewall is constructed of an elastomeric material.

19. The method of claim 10 further comprising the step of:

positioning the open end of the body about a dispensing end of a dispenser such that the inner peripheral surface of the body is in contact with an outer surface of the dispenser to form a relative airtight seal between the dispensing end of the dispenser and the cover.

20. The method of claim 10 further comprising the step of:

removing the body from an outer surface of the dispenser.