Patent Application
20050039293
The present invention relates to the field of dispenser assemblies, dispensers, and refill implements usable therewith. In particular, the present invention relates to a dispenser assembly including a dispenser for dispensing a liquid product onto an implement so that a user can wipe a surface using the implement.
Virtually every room of a home faces a barrage of small messes. The bathroom, for example, typically includes a mirror that is frequently splattered as one brushes one's teeth. Such mirrors can also become exposed to condensation after a hot shower—leaving a streaked or spotted appearance on the mirror after the condensation dries.
Up to this point, these small messes have been cleaned up with paper towels, often in conjunction with a spray cleaner, sponges, or even a mop and bucket. However, a disadvantage of cleaning in this manner is that the required tools are not always conveniently available. For example, many people do not keep paper towels and window cleaner in the bathroom, making cleaning the mirror or other hard surface, for example, with a spray cleaner and paper towels inconvenient, especially given the frequency that toothpaste may be sprayed on the mirror. One reason paper towels are not kept in the bathroom is the size and unsightliness of paper towels. Similarly, sponges are not generally kept in view, owing to their unsanitary and generally poor appearance. In addition, many rooms, especially bathrooms, do not have storage space to keep paper towels and a spray cleaner, or even a sponge, out of view.
Another disadvantage to cleaning with a spray cleaner and paper towels is that the cleaner may land on unintended targets. When cleaning a bathroom mirror over a sink, for example, some of the cleaner may miss the mirror and land on a toothbrush, for example. A similar problem occurs in other rooms of the house, such as a bedroom having a wooden dresser, in which a user intending to clean a mirror behind the dresser may accidentally spray some of the cleaner onto the wooden dresser. A related problem with spray cleaners is that the sprayed area must be wiped, but the spray often covers more than just the dirty area. As a result, clean areas are frequently sprayed and wiped, which is unnecessary effort.
There is, therefore, a need in the art for a cleaning dispenser that is compact and attractive so that it can be stored in plain view, such as on a bathroom sink, kitchen counter or dresser. In addition, there is a need for a cleaning dispenser that avoids the need to directly spray a surface that is to be cleaned, in order to minimize spraying non-targeted areas.
The present invention remedies the foregoing deficiencies in the prior art and provides an improved dispenser assembly, dispenser, and refill implement for use therewith. The dispenser assembly is used to dispense a liquid product onto the implement for subsequent application by a user. As used herein, the term “liquid product” is used broadly to encompass not only liquids, but also any flowable substance that can be dispensed through a conduit and an aperture onto a sheet of fibrous material or pre-loaded onto or impregnated into a fibrous sheet. As used herein, the terms “pre-loaded” and “pre-treated” should be construed broadly to encompass any method of applying a liquid product to a fibrous sheet, including absorption, adsorption, impregnation, coating, dipping, etc.
According to one aspect, the present invention relates to a dispenser assembly comprising a cradle and an implement disposed in the cradle. The cradle includes at least one dispensing aperture for dispensing a liquid product and a reservoir for holding the liquid product, the reservoir being in fluid communication with the at least one dispensing aperture. The implement comprises a handle having a plurality of sheets attached thereto, such that the plurality of sheets faces the cradle. At least one of the plurality of sheets is releasably attached to the handle.
According to another aspect, the present invention relates to a refill implement. The refill implement comprises a substantially rigid handle having a plurality of sheets releasably attached thereto. Each sheet of the plurality of sheets comprises a pair of liquid-penetrable mats and a liquid-impenetrable layer interposed between the pair of liquid-penetrable mats. Preferably, the refill implement also comprises a cover disposed on the handle and covering at least a portion of the handle and a portion of an outermost one of the plurality of sheets.
According to yet another aspect, the present invention relates to a dispenser comprising a cradle and a reservoir. The cradle comprises a receiving portion pivotally connected to a base, thus defining a cavity between the receiving portion and the base. The receiving portion includes at least one dispensing aperture for dispensing a liquid product. The reservoir is disposed in the cavity for holding the liquid product and is in fluid communication with the at least one dispensing aperture. When the receiving portion is pivoted toward the base, the reservoir is compressed between the receiving portion and the base, thereby expelling the liquid product from the aperture.
A better understanding of these and other aspects, features, and advantages of the invention may be had by reference to the drawings and to the accompanying description, in which preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated and described.
Throughout the figures, like or corresponding reference numerals denote like or corresponding parts.
The present invention relates to a compact dispenser assembly including a dispenser for dispensing a liquid product onto an implement so that a user can wipe a surface using the implement. In this manner the user's hand does not need to come in contact with the liquid product that is to be dispensed. Further, this arrangement eliminates the need to spray a surface to be cleaned, thereby avoiding over-spray from landing on the surrounding area.
The dispenser generally comprises a cradle for receiving and locating the implement, and a reservoir for storing a liquid product to be dispensed onto the implement. The implement generally comprises a handle having a plurality (or stack) of sheets attached thereto. At least one of the sheets in the stack is removable from the implement. To apply the liquid product to the implement, a user simply places the implement on the dispenser and actuates the dispenser to dispense the liquid product onto the outermost sheet of the implement. The user then removes the implement from the cradle and uses it to wipe a surface. When the outermost sheet becomes soiled, or is otherwise used up, the user can simply remove the outermost sheet to expose the next, clean sheet in the stack.
The present invention may be advantageously used to dispense any of a variety of different substances onto an implement for subsequent application by a user. For example, the present invention could advantageously be used to dispense cleaner, makeup, lotion, polishing compound, wax, paint, or any number of personal, household, or other products. Depending on the type of liquid product used, the present invention may be used to apply the liquid product to a variety of different surfaces, including glass, metal, ceramic, wood, plastic, and composites thereof. One application, to which the present invention is especially well suited, is the application of a commercially available cleaner, in particular, a glass cleaner (such as that marketed under the trademark Windex® by S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc. of Racine Wis.), to a cleaning implement in order to clean glass surfaces. Other examples of cleaners that could be used with the present invention include all-purpose cleaners (such as that marketed under the trademark Fantastic® by S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc. of Racine Wis.), furniture cleaner and/or polish (such as that marketed under the trademark Pledge® by S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc. of Racine Wis.), bathroom cleaner (such as that marketed under the trademark Scrubbing Bubbles® by S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc. of Racine Wis.), or the like. Several preferred embodiments of the present invention are described below in the context of a glass cleaner.
As shown in
In this first embodiment, as best seen in
Inside the reservoir 14 is a pump 20, which is connected to the dispensing apertures 10 in the receiving surface 2a of the cradle 2 by sections of conduit 22. A liquid pickup tube 24 extends from the pump 20 toward the lowest point in the reservoir 14. A pump actuator 8 is connected to the pump 20, such that when a user depresses the pump actuator 8, the cleaning liquid is pumped from the reservoir 14, through the conduit 22, and out of the apertures 10. In this way, when the handle 40 is placed in the cradle 2 so that the stack of sheets 30 faces the cradle 2, as shown in
In one variation of the first embodiment, the cradle 2 need not contain cleaning fluid. In this case, the cradle 2 may be either hollow or solid, and the pump actuator 8, pump 20, conduit 22, and pickup tube 24 may optionally be omitted. In this variation, the plurality of sheets 30 themselves may be pre-treated by being impregnated with cleaning fluid, as will be discussed in more detail below with reference to
The cradle 2 is preferably made of a substantially liquid-impenetrable, substantially rigid material, preferably polyethylene or polypropylene; however, other materials may be used, such as styrene, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), or the like. In addition, the cradle 2 is preferably injection molded, but other manufacturing techniques may also be used. Although the cradle 2 is shown having a generally rectangular peripheral shape, the cradle 2 may instead take a variety of different peripheral shapes, including triangular, circular, S-shape, C-shape, or any other shape, as aesthetic and functional choices dictate. The only constraint is that the cradle 2 should be able, in some way, to support and/or to position the cleaning implement 1. Preferably, the cradle 2 is similar in shape to the implement 1.
The handle 40 of the first embodiment is shown as having a substantially rectangular cross section and being sized to fit in a user's hand (preferably, the average adult's hand). In practice, however, the shape and size of the handle may depend on a multitude of design considerations, including the size and accessibility of an area to be treated by the implement, the age of the intended user, the location and orientation of a surface to be treated (e.g., table top, floor, mirror, etc.), and a multitude of other design considerations. For example, it may be desirable for the handle to have a low profile and/or narrow width, so that it can be used to clean hard to reach places, such as under the refrigerator door, behind handles, or the like. In addition, or instead, the handle could be provided with an extension unit, so that the implement can be used to clean remote surfaces, such as the ceiling, cabinets, the floor, or the like.
The handle may also include a receptacle for holding various objects. For example, in
As shown in
When all of the sheets 50 in the stack 30 are the same size and the stack contains a relatively large number of sheets, some puckering or bunching of the inner sheets may occur. Thus, the stack of sheets 30 may comprise sheets of at least two different lengths/sizes, with the inner sheets being shorter/smaller than the outer sheets. For example, with respect to the implement shown in
The perforations 56 comprise a plurality of slits formed in a line, each slit being spaced about {fraction (1/32)}″ (0.794 mm) away from an adjacent slit—although this distance may be increased or decreased as manufacturing realities and ease of use require. The perforations 56 are preferably formed using two offset dies, in which a first die punches half of the slits of each perforation 56 and a second die punches the remainder of the slits. Other conventional perforation methods may, of course, also be used, such as a single die and anvil arrangement. The perforations 56 are formed in such a way as to allow a user to easily separate the main body 52 from the trapezoidal tabs 54, but to prevent the sheets from becoming detached unintentionally.
Preferably, as shown in
If a pressure-sensitive acrylic adhesive is used to adhere each sheet 50 to the stack 30 or handle 40, the adhesive is preferably applied only on the tabs 54 of each sheet 50. Of course, the adhesive may be applied around the entire periphery of each sheet 50. Preferably, no adhesive is applied in the middle of each sheet 50, which comes in contact with a surface that is to be cleaned.
As shown in
As shown in
Alternatively, the mat 58 may be constructed of a microfiber material, such as Daego Spunlace MF 80 g/m2, manufactured by Daego Co., Ltd., of the Republic of Korea, or a combination of microfiber and non-microfiber materials. As used herein, a “microfiber mat” is a non-woven material composed of fibers having a diameter preferably less than about one micron, more preferably less than about 0.5 micron and most preferably less than about 0.1 micron. Microfiber materials have a much greater contact surface area than do the non-microfiber materials. The smaller contact surface area of the non-microfiber materials equates to a lower coefficient of friction between the sheet and the surface to be treated, which accounts for the superior gliding ability of the non-microfiber materials. On the other hand, microfiber materials, due to their greater contact surface area, are capable of holding a larger amount of dirt and other contaminants. Accordingly, microfiber materials may be advantageous in very dirty environments or when prolonged use of each sheet is desired.
While one currently preferred embodiment of the mat 58 is described above as being a nonwoven, fibrous, synthetic material, the mat 58 may effectively be made of synthetic fibers, natural fibers, or a combination thereof, and may be either woven or nonwoven depending on the desired characteristics of the mat 58. Other materials that may suitably be used to make mat 58 include polyester, nylon, polyethylene, cellulose, and composites thereof. However, if natural fibers, such as cellulose fibers, are used, these fibers are preferably not positioned on the surface of the mat 58 that comes into contact with the surface to be cleaned, as this would decrease the gliding ability of the sheets 50.
The liquid-impenetrable layer 59 preferably comprises a thin sheet or film of plastic. The liquid-impenetrable layer 59 may be a monolayer of film, such as Bynel® 418, manufactured by E.I. Du Pont de Nemours and Company, of Wilmington, Del., or it may be a coextrusion of two or more sheets of liquid-impenetrable plastic material, such as low density polyethylene, ethylene vinyl acetate, polyolefin, and/or various other known polymeric or plastic materials. The liquid-impenetrable layer 59 is preferably heat-sealed, but may be adhered with pressure-sensitive adhesive, to the microfiber mat 58. The liquid-impenetrable layer 59 prevents dirt and fluid from penetrating each sheet 50. The back surface (i.e., the surface furthest from the surface that is to be cleaned) of the liquid-impenetrable layer 59 is preferably provided with a high-friction surface, so that the sheets 50 in the stack of sheets 30 do not slide relative to one another during use. That is, the friction between sheets 50 in the stack 30 helps to maintain the stack stability during use.
In an alternative arrangement, as shown in
In yet another alternative construction, as shown in
The arrangement shown in
A second embodiment of the invention differs from the first embodiment primarily in the placement of the pump actuator 108 on the cradle 102. In the second embodiment, shown in
In addition, in the second embodiment, a pair of sidewalls 104 and 106 is shown extending the entire length of the cradle 102 and including indentations 112 for the thumb and fingers of a user. The shape and configuration of the sidewalls may, as noted above, be varied depending on various design considerations.
A third embodiment of the present invention is depicted in
In this embodiment, the cradle 202 comprises a receiving portion 202a, which is pivotally connected to a base 202b by a hinge 270, such as a living hinge. That is, the receiving portion 202a and base 202b are preferably formed from a single piece of material with a region of thinner wall thickness formed at their connection. The thin region is easily bendable, such that the receiving portion 202a and base 202b are allowed to pivot relative to one another about the hinge 270, as best seen in
Referring to
Referring now to
A latch mechanism 290 is provided for latching the receiving portion 202a and the base 202b in a folded position to enclose the reservoir 214 during use, as best seen in
During assembly, the reservoir 214 is installed in the cavity formed between the receiving portion 202a and the base 202b, and the cradle 202 is then folded and latched in the position shown in
Referring back to
The stack of sheets 230 comprises a plurality of sheets 250 similar to those of the first embodiment. As shown in
In use, a user simply places the cleaning implement 201 on the receiving surface 202a of the cradle 202, as shown in
In some circumstances, such as when cleaning a surface covered with standing liquid or grime, it may be desirable that the sheets of material wrap up on all peripheral edges of the cleaning implement, to prevent the inner sheets of material from becoming soiled at the edges before the outer sheet is removed. That is, edges of each of the plurality of sheets wrap up onto a peripheral sidewall of the handle substantially all the way around the outer periphery of the handle. Such an embodiment is illustrated in
In particular,
While the triangular shaped handle 340 of this embodiment has some advantages, such as being able to easily get into corners because of its three acute points, this embodiment of our invention is not limited to being triangular in shape. Rather, any other shape of handle is also suitable, as long as the sheets of material are cut so that they can wrap up around substantially the whole perimeter of the handle. For example, the cleaning implement shown in
The handle of the present invention allows the user to keep his or her hand away from the sheets and the surface to be cleaned, preventing the user's hands from becoming soiled by the surface or bruised by corners and tight spaces. In addition, the handle provides the user a convenient grip that allows the user to apply pressure to the surface to be cleaned, which may improve cleaning performance, especially for grimy surfaces.
While the present invention has been described with respect to several preferred embodiments, these embodiments are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. In particular, we envision that the various features of the several embodiments of our invention may be combined and modified to suit the needs of a particular application. For example, the dispenser and the implement might be used independently of one another, especially in the case where the sheets are pre-treated by being impregnated with liquid product. In addition, the dispenser assembly of our invention could be adapted to dispense any sort of liquid product onto an implement. Thus, other applications that might benefit from the advantages of our invention include the dispensing of personal products, such as hair gel, mousse, lotion, and the like, household products, such as paint, glue, wax, polishing compound, and the like, as well as numerous other applications.
While each of the foregoing embodiments is described and illustrated with the sheets attached to the handle of the implement with one particular attachment means or another, any suitable attachment means is acceptable, including mechanical means, such as staples, rivets, screws, tacks, stitching, and the like, adhesives, such as pressure-sensitive adhesives, permanent, adhesives, and the like, or any other suitable attachment agent, fastener, or the like.
Although specific components, materials, configurations, arrangements, etc., have been shown and described with reference to several preferred embodiments, the present invention is not limited to these specific examples. One of ordinary skill in the art will realize that various modifications and variations are possible within the spirit and scope of my invention, which is intended to be limited in scope only by the accompanying claims, which should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications, equivalent structures and functions.
Industrial Applicability
The present invention provides, among other things, a compact cleaning dispenser that avoids directly spraying a surface that is to be cleaned, in order to minimize spraying non-targeted areas. In addition, the cleaning dispenser provides a user a convenient grip that allows the user to apply pressure to the surface to be cleaned, which may improve cleaning performance for especially grimy surfaces.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/483,104, which was filed on Jun. 30, 2003.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60483104 | Jun 2003 | US |
