CONTAINER WITH MOUNTING BRACKET

Abstract

The invention provides a container and mounting bracket assembly. The container, which may be oval in shape, attaches to a mounting bracket assembly through an interlock feature. The interlock feature includes a recess on the container and a mating portion of the mounting bracket that engages the recess.

Description

STATEMENT OF FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a container and associated mounting bracket, the assembly of which is mountable to a wall or other similar structure.

BACKGROUND

Wet wipes and other similar non-woven products are widely used as cleansing and sanitation tools for a variety of applications and environments. Often, saturated or unsaturated perforated sheets of non-woven fabrics are packaged in roll-form and placed inside a plastic container with a lid that incorporates a tear throat or crosshairs such that one may remove a single towelette each time. The tear throat allows the next towelette to present itself so it may be removed singularly by the user for the user's next application. These containers also help the perforated roll remain protected from possible contaminants in the surrounding environment and, in the case of saturated wipes, retain their moisture.

For some applications and uses, it is desirable to mount the container for nonwoven materials in a fixture, or bracket. These fixtures allow the container to remain in a fixed location such that a user will not have to grab the container with contaminated hands when removing a nonwoven towelette. Additionally, a fixture or bracket containing wipes will allow a user to know where to find the nonwoven towelettes if the user frequents the area where the fixture or bracket is installed. Fixtures and brackets also indicate to janitorial personnel where to place a replacement container or a refill pouch of towelettes for a container upon full usage of an original container's products. Many times because of the similarity of the brackets, they may have the ability to house several wipe manufacturers' containers, which may or may not have similar products.

Additionally, traditional brackets protrude beyond the container or canister. As such, one may bump into the bracket or snag clothing on a protruding segment or component of the bracket or fixture.

Hence, a need exists for improved container mounting assemblies that remain close to the wall without compromising functionality.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect, the invention provides for a container and mounting bracket assembly for a roll of perforated sheets of nonwoven materials. The assembly includes a container, a mounting bracket, and an interlock feature coupling the container to the mounting bracket. The interlock features includes a first mating portion on the container and a second mating portion of the mounting bracket, the first mating portion engaging the second mating portion to retain the container in the mounting bracket. One of the first mating portion and the second mating portion includes a recess.

In another aspect, the invention provides for a container and mounting bracket assembly. The assembly includes a container that is oval in shape, a mounting bracket, and an interlock feature. The interlock feature couples the container to the mounting bracket to retain the container in the mounting bracket.

In yet another aspect, the invention provides for an assembly that includes a container with a lid that includes a restricted opening, a roll of non-woven fabric sheets in the container, and a bracket for mounting the container on a vertical surface. The container and the bracket have an interlock feature which secure the container with the bracket such that a single non-woven fabric sheet can be removed from the roll of non-woven fabric sheets in the container through the restricted opening with the interlocking feature resisting the container from being separated from the bracket. The interlock feature includes a recess on the container and a mating portion of the bracket that engages the recess.

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood upon consideration of the following detailed description and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of an oval container and wall-mountable bracket embodying the invention.

FIG. 2 is a front elevation view of the container and associated bracket from FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a section view along section line 3 of the container and associated bracket from FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a top view of the container and associated bracket from FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is an exploded front view of the oval container and wall-mountable bracket from FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is an exploded rear view of the oval container and wall-mountable bracket from FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is an isometric view of an alternative embodiment for an oval container and a wall-mountable bracket embodying the invention.

FIG. 8 is an isometric view of the container from FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is an isometric view of the wall-mountable bracket from FIG. 7.

FIG. 10 is an isometric view of another alternative embodiment for an oval container and a wall-mountable bracket embodying the invention.

FIG. 11 is an isometric view of the container from FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is an isometric view of the wall-mountable bracket from FIG. 10.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following description refers to nonwoven products. For the purpose of clarity, nonwoven products may include, but are not limited to, wet wipes or dry wipes composed of a cellulose, nylon, polyester, rayon, polypropylene or other staple nonwoven fiber based product (towel) that may be housed in a container. Such products may also be referred to as towels or towelettes. While the preferred embodiments described below are directed at containers and mounting brackets for use with nonwoven products, it is contemplated that these and other embodiments of the invention may be used for other materials and products.

Referring to FIGS. 1-6, an assembly 10 of a container 12 with associated mounting bracket 14 is shown. The container 12 includes a top such as a lid 16 that may be hinged and includes a restricted opening 16A. The restricted opening 16A may be a notch, tear throat, crosshairs or the like, that facilitate one sheet to be removed from a roll of perforated sheets (not shown) held within container 12. The roll of non-woven products is received in the container 12 and may unroll from the interior or exterior of the roll. The lid 16 and the restricted opening 16A protects the nonwoven products (not shown) housed in the container 12 from the surrounding environment, and allows the products to retain their moisture properties, if any exist. The restricted opening 16A also prevents the rest of the roll of nonwoven sheets from being pulled out of the container when a single sheet is removed.

The container 12 may be of an oval shape, in that the top 18 and bottom 20 of the container are generally oval in nature (as best seen in FIGS. 3 and 4), with the side 22 of the container 12 extending upwardly from the bottom 20 of the container 12. This oval design provides for a larger volume of towelettes to be stored in the container 12 while still providing a container that is narrow in one direction, as noted by dimension A (seen in FIG. 3). Dimension A may differ between various embodiments, but in one preferred embodiment, dimension A is four inches or less.

In addition, the oval shape of the container 12 allows a larger amount of nonwoven towelettes to be held in the container 12 as compared to a cylindrical shaped container with a generally circular top and bottom because the rolls of nonwoven products can be coreless and compacted. This results in the advantage of stocking or refilling the containers less frequently by personnel in the end-user environment. Furthermore, the oval shape of the container 12 provides the benefit of having an end of the container 12 of a smaller radius providing an area of the container that is easy to grip and transport the container 12 with one hand in comparison to a cylindrically-shaped container. The oval shape also provides the additional benefit of allowing for refill rolls of the nonwoven fabric products to fit into the container more easily. As non-woven rolls (usually coreless) have no structure to keep them round outside of a container they tend to “ovalize.” This is particularly true of pouched wet wipes, which to be placed into a round container, would most likely have to be manipulated back into a round shape to fit into round/cylindrical container.

Referring to FIGS. 2, 3, 5, and 6, the bracket 14 includes two arms 28, 30 that extend from the lateral ends of a wall mounting portion 34. The arms 28, 30 wrap forward and back around towards one another such that, when viewed from above, the bracket 14 is generally C-shaped. The bracket 14 may also include openings in the arms 28, 30, which reduce the material required to form the bracket as well as provide for more flexure of the arms, 28, 30, as will be described in further detail below. The arms 28, 30 are designed to mate with the recessed pockets 24, 26 of the container 12, which have a shape that generally corresponds to the portion of the bracket 14 that is received, as described further in detail below and as seen in FIGS. 5 and 6.

The assembly 10 also includes an interlock feature 15. The interlock feature 15 includes the recessed pockets 24, 26 in the container 12 and the arms 28, 30 of the bracket. While the recessed pockets 24, 26 are shown in FIGS. 1-6 as being the ends of one large recess, the pockets 24, 26 can be separated. The recessed pockets 24, 26 are configured to mate with, interact with, and be supported by the wall-mountable bracket 14, yet still provide a flush outer surface to the assembly 10 of the container 12 and bracket 14. Providing a flush outer surface to the assembly 10 avoids creating protruding objects that may snag the clothing of an individual that passes by the location of the assembly 10. It also maximizes the storage volume of the container 12 to provide as many tissue products in the container 12 while still providing a container 12 and bracket 14 that do not protrude far from the wall or object to which they are mounted.

The container 12 may be installed or inserted into the bracket 14 from a direction above the bracket 14. In this method of installation, the side 22 of the container 12 is pushed down into the arms 28, 30 of the bracket 14 until the arms 28, 30 mate with the recessed pockets 24, 26, respectively, of the container 12. The arms 28, 30 may resiliently flex to accommodate the portion 32 of the container side 22 that is not recessed and snap back toward a preferred lower-strain position when they are received the recess, thereby hugging the container 12. As mentioned above, the openings in the arms 28, 30 may provide for more flexure of the arms 28, 30 during installation or insertion of the container 12 to the bracket 14. Likewise, the container 12 may also resiliently flex during installation into the bracket 14.

Alternatively, the container 12 may be installed into the bracket 14 by placing one recessed pocket 24 into the bracket 14 to mate with one arm 28 and then flexing the other arm 30 such that the other recessed pocket 26 may slide into the bracket 14. The oval shape design of the container 12 is advantageous for this method of installation as a user may hold an end of the container 12 that has a small radius, while the user's other hand may control the bracket 14 to install the container 12. This is especially true for users that have smaller hands and may experience difficulty holding a container with a larger radius, such as a larger circular-shaped cylindrical container, with one hand.

Advantageously, the installation of the container 12 with the bracket 14 by arms 28, 30 mating with the recessed pockets 24, 26 provide the additional benefit of reducing the amount of material necessary to form the bracket 12 as compared to a bracket that completely surrounds the outer surface of the container. Thus, this design may result in reduced raw material costs for producing the mounting bracket 14.

As the container 12 and arms 28, 30 of the bracket 14 may be flexible, both the container 12 and bracket 14 are preferably composed of plastic, and preferably of high density polyethylene (HDPE). However, the container 12 and bracket 14 may be composed of other materials including, but not limited to, polypropylene (PP) and low density polyethylene (LDPE). As such, the bracket 14 may be easily designed to be color coordinated with the associated container 12. This may provide a safety measure for personnel installing a refill container 12 to be certain they are installing the correct nonwoven product container 12 in the appropriate bracket 14, or alternatively, that the personnel are installing the correct nonwoven refill pouch in the original container 12. Additionally, the width of the plastic bracket 14 provides the additional benefit over wire brackets in that the bracket may allow space for labeling or advertising.

The arms 28, 30 of the bracket 14 connect to a wall mounting portion 34 that may include mounting holes 36, 38 (best seen in FIG. 6) that allow the bracket 14 to be connected to a wall or other object by fasteners, preferably a screw. Alternatively, the bracket 14 may be connected to a wall or other object by other similar means such as adhesive, Velcro® strips, or the like, and in such a case, may or may not have the mounting holes 36, 38.

Once installed, a user may open the lid 16 to the container 12 to expose the restricted opening 16A to remove a product within the container 12, such as a sheet of nonwoven fabric. The arms 28, 30 of the bracket 14 can be sized to fit within the recessed pockets 24, 26 of the container 12 snugly such that the container 12 remains firmly held in the mounting bracket 14 when a user removes a product from the container 12, which may receive some upward force as the nonwoven product is removed through the restricted opening 16A. Likewise, some downward force can also be resisted. Above some threshold force, however, the container 12 can be dislodged from the bracket 14 for cleaning or replacement of the components.

In addition or as an alternative to the frictional resistance between the arms 28, 30 and the recessed pockets 24, 26 of the container, the structural design of the components of the interlock feature 15 can also prevent the container 12 from becoming disengaged or dislodged from the mounting bracket 14. For example, the recessed pockets 24, 26 can each include a top ridge 24a, 26a and an opposing bottom ridge 24b, 26b, respectively, and the arms include top surfaces 28a, 30a and bottom surfaces 28b, 30b, as best illustrated in FIG. 5. If an upwards force is applied to the container 12 when a user removes a sheet of product from the container 12, the bottom ridges 24b, 26b will oppose the force of the container 12 from lifting as they will engage the bottom surfaces 28b, 30b of the arms 28, 30. Thus, the structural design of the interlock feature 15 keeps the arms 28, 30 of the mounting bracket 14 engaged with the recessed pockets 24, 26.

A snug fit of the container 12 to the bracket 14 and the engagement of the recessed pockets 24, 26 with the arms 28, 30 of the interlock feature 15 provide the additional benefit of having the ability to size or shape brackets 14 to only mate with certain containers 12. Advantageously, such a design feature may act as a preventative measure against personnel inadvertently placing containers of nonwoven products in brackets in incorrect locations (e.g., placing a disinfectant wipe container in a baby wipe bracket in a restroom).

Turning now to FIGS. 7-9, an alternative embodiment for an assembly 110 of a container 112 and bracket 114 is shown. The container 112 in this embodiment also includes a lid 116 that is hinged or resealable in some manner.

Referring now to FIG. 8, the container 112 is oval in shape, with a top 118 and bottom 120 that are generally oval in nature. The container also includes a side 122 that has a recessed portion 124, and a non-recessed portion 132. In this embodiment, however, the recessed portion 124 extends around the entire perimeter of the container 112.

As seen in FIGS. 7 and 9, the mounting bracket 114 in this embodiment surrounds the entire container 112. Similar to the first embodiment, the mounting bracket 114 may include mounting holes 136, 138 that allow the bracket 114 to be attached to a wall or other object by fasteners (not shown). As previously discussed, the bracket 114 may also be attached to a wall or other object by other means such as adhesive, Velcro® strips, or the like, and in such a case, may or may not have mounting holes 136, 138.

As seen in FIGS. 8 and 9, the container 112 in this embodiment is installed with the wall-mountable bracket 114 by an interlock feature 115. The interlock feature 115 includes a recessed portion 124 and a downwardly-facing ridge 117 on the side 122 of the container 112 located at the intersection of the recessed portion 124 and non-recessed portion 132 of the container 112. The interlock feature 115 also includes an upwardly-facing mating ridge 119 that is formed on the inner surface 121 of the bracket 114. As illustrated in FIG. 9, the ridge 119 on the inner surface 121 of the bracket 114 is located below the top surface of the bracket 114.

To install the container 112 with the bracket 114, the recessed portion 124 of the container 112 is lowered into the bracket 114 until the non-recessed portion 132 of the side 122 of the container 112 contacts the upwardly-facing ridge 119 of the bracket 114, and thus, the downwardly-facing ridge 117 of the container 112 contacts ridge 119. Because ridge 119 of the bracket 114 is on the inner surface 121 of the bracket 114 and is below the top surface of the bracket 114, the engagement between ridge 119 and ridge 117 is protected. Furthermore, many of the same advantages discussed above for the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-6 are present in the assembly 110 of the container 112 and mounting bracket 114 shown in FIGS. 7-9. For example, the interlock feature 115 may provide for frictional resistance between the recessed portion 124 of the container and the inner surface 121 of the mounting bracket 114. Such frictional resistance may prevent the container 112 from becoming disengaged or dislodged from the mounting bracket 114 when a user removes a product from the container 112.

Referring to FIGS. 10-12, another embodiment of an assembly 210 of a container 212 and mounting bracket 214 is shown. Similar to the previous two embodiments, the container 212 includes a lid 216 that is hinged and protects the nonwoven products placed inside the container 212. The lid 216 includes a central portion 213 which can be opened to expose the rolls and permit sheets to be removed and separated from the nonwoven roll (not shown). The container 212 is oval shaped with a top 218 and bottom 220 that are generally oval in nature. Furthermore, the container 212 includes a side 222 that extends upwardly from the bottom 220 of the container 212.

The mounting bracket 214 in this embodiment is seen in FIG. 12. Similar to the bracket 114 of the prior embodiment, the mounting bracket 214 shown in FIG. 12 extends around the entire perimeter of the container 212.

The mounting bracket 214 may include mounting holes 236, 238 that allow the bracket 214 to be attached to a wall (not shown) by fasteners (not shown). As previously discussed, the bracket 214 may also be attached to a wall by other means such as adhesive, Velcro® strips, or the like, and in such a case, may or may not have mounting holes 236, 238.

The container 212 is installed in the mounting bracket 214 by an interlock feature 215. The interlock feature 215 of this embodiment includes a recess 224 on the container 212, a downwardly-facing ridge 217 on the outer surface of the lid 216, and an upwardly-facing mating ridge 219 on the inner surface 221 of the mounting bracket 214. The ridge 219 on the inner surface 221 of the mounting bracket 214 is located below the top surface of the mounting bracket 214.

To install the container 212 in this embodiment, the container 212 is pushed upwards through the bottom of the mounting bracket 214 to engage the interlock feature 215. Once the recessed portion 224 of the container 212 is pushed through the mounting bracket 214, the container 212 is seated in the bracket 214 as the downwardly-facing ridge 217 on the outer surface of the lid 216 of the container 212 receives the upwardly-facing ridge 219 that is on the inner surface 221 of the mounting bracket 214. Thus, the mounting bracket 214 and container 212 may flex to allow for this installation method.

Furthermore, many of the same advantages discussed above for the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1-6 and 7-9 are present in the assembly 210 of the container 212 and mounting bracket 214 shown in FIGS. 10-12.

The foregoing description was primarily directed to a preferred embodiment of the invention. Although some attention was given to various alternatives within the scope of the invention, it is anticipated that one skilled in the art will likely realize additional alternatives that are now apparent from disclosure of embodiments of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determined from the following claims and not limited by the above disclosure.

Claims

1. A container and mounting bracket assembly for a roll of perforated sheets of nonwoven materials, the assembly comprising: a container;a mounting bracket; andan interlock feature coupling the container to the mounting bracket, the interlock feature comprising a first mating portion of the container and a second mating portion on the mounting bracket, the first mating portion engaging the second mating portion to retain the container in the mounting bracket, and one of the first mating portion and the second mating portion including a recess.

2. The container and mounting bracket assembly of claim 1, wherein the second mating portion of the mounting bracket is configured to flex during installation of the container to the mounting bracket.

3. The container and mounting bracket assembly of claim 1, wherein the first mating portion of the container includes the recess.

4. The container and mounting bracket assembly of claim 3, wherein the second mating portion of the mounting bracket fits within the recess such that the second mating portion of the mounting bracket is flush with an outside surface of the container.

5. The container and mounting bracket assembly of claim 4, wherein the second mating portion of the mounting bracket is generally C-shaped and corresponds to a shape of the recess.

6. The container and mounting bracket assembly of claim 3, further comprising a lid, wherein the interlock feature further comprises a first ridge on an outer surface of the lid and the second mating portion of the mounting bracket includes a second ridge, the first ridge engaging the second ridge.

7. The container and mounting bracket assembly of claim 3, wherein the first mating portion of the container further includes a first ridge, the second mating portion of the mounting bracket includes a second ridge formed on an inner surface of the mounting bracket, the first ridge engaging the second ridge.

8. The container and mounting bracket assembly of claim 1, wherein the interlock feature resists the separation of the container from the bracket when a product is removed from the container by application of at least one of an upward force and downward force.

9. The container and mounting bracket assembly of claim 1, wherein the recess includes a top ridge and a bottom ridge opposite the top ridge, and at least one of the top ridge and the bottom ridge oppose a force applied to the container when a user removes a product held by the container such that the first mating portion of the container and the second mating portion of the mounting bracket remain engaged.

10. The container and mounting bracket assembly of claim 1, wherein the container includes a top and a bottom that are generally oval in shape and a side that extends upwardly from the bottom of the container.

11. A container and mounting bracket assembly, comprising: a container that is oval in shape;a mounting bracket; andan interlock feature coupling the container to the mounting bracket to retain the container in the mounting bracket.

12. The container and mounting bracket assembly of claim 11, wherein the interlock feature comprises: a recess on the container;a first ridge; anda second ridge on an inner surface of the mounting bracket;wherein the first ridge engages the second ridge.

13. The container and mounting bracket assembly of claim 12, wherein the first ridge is on the container and the second ridge is located below a top surface of the mounting bracket.

14. The container and mounting bracket assembly of claim 12, further comprising a lid, wherein the first ridge is on an outer surface of the lid.

15. The container and mounting bracket assembly of claim 11, wherein the interlock feature comprises a recess on the container and a portion of the mounting bracket that fits into said recess, wherein the recess includes a top ridge and a bottom ridge opposite the top ridge, and at least one of the top ridge and the bottom ridge oppose a force applied to the container when a user removes a product held by the container such that the portion of the mounting bracket remains engaged with the recess.

16. The container and mounting bracket assembly of claim 15, wherein the portion of the mounting bracket is generally C-shaped and corresponds to a shape of the recess, the portion of the mounting bracket being configured to flex during installation of the container to the mounting bracket.

17. An assembly comprising: a container with a lid that includes a restricted opening;a roll of non-woven fabric sheets in the container; anda bracket for mounting the container on a vertical surface;wherein said container and said bracket have an interlock feature which secures the container with the bracket so that a single non-woven fabric sheet can be removed from the roll of non-woven fabric sheets in the container through the restricted opening with the interlocking feature resisting the container being separated from the bracket, the interlock feature including a recess on the container and a mating portion of the bracket that engages the recess.

18. The assembly of claim 17, wherein the mating portion provides a flush outer surface with the container when engaged with the container.

19. The assembly of claim 17 in which no part of the assembly extends more than 4 inches from the vertical surface upon which the assembly is mounted.

20. The assembly of claim 19 wherein the container is either oval or rectangular in shape.