Patent Application
20140203133
The disclosure relates to a dispenser for dispensing a washroom product where the dispenser comprises an outer casing hingeably or detachably attached to a back portion. The dispenser comprises a compartment between the outer casing and the back portion for housing the washroom product to be dispensed. The dispenser further comprises a dispensing opening.
Dispensers for dispensing washroom products such as continuous webs of tissue in the shape of for instance toilet paper or separate sheets such as hand towels are well known in the art. Other washroom products suitable for dispensing may be soap or similar. The washroom product is usually located inside a dispenser casing that may be opened by a janitor with a key. Problems with dispensers are that the washroom product may be desirable for thieves or that someone may want to vandalise the dispenser or the washroom using the contents of the dispenser. Dispensers known in the art usually comprise a lock that is easily visible or have no lock at all.
An additional aspect of having a visible lock or other parts of the dispenser that form notches or recesses is that bacteria or other unwanted microorganisms may form there. Frequent touching of the dispenser may cause dirt or other unwanted material to gather in the notches and recesses. This material may be suitable for bacteria to grow in resulting in a dispenser that is less hygienic than desired. Further a dispenser having a design with many edges and protrusions may be perceived as not being very hygienic or user friendly.
EP 0852473 discloses a dispenser where access to the interior of the dispenser is made more difficult. The dispenser comprises an access door which can be opened using a locking and release mechanism located on the outside of the dispenser. The locking and release mechanism is operated with a key. A decoy lock may be present in order to confuse potential persons intent on vandalising the dispenser. Although complicating vandalism the lock of EP 0852473 described above is easily visible.
There exists dispensers having opening mechanisms not obviously visible, for instance the dispenser may have a button or other means located on the outside of the dispenser that releases a lever inside the dispenser thereby enabling access to the contents. These dispensers require personnel to undergo training before they are able to refill the dispensers in a correct way.
In order to reduce the risk of theft or vandalism and to obtain a more hygienic dispenser there is thus a need for a dispenser that meets the above mentioned problems.
The An object of the present disclosure is to provide a dispenser comprising a lock that is harder to reach and manipulate where the previously mentioned problems are avoided. A more hygienic dispenser is also provided with this disclosure. This object is achieved by the dispenser comprising an inner lock or locking means positioned inside the compartment.
The present disclosure relates to a dispenser for dispensing a washroom product. The dispenser comprises an outer casing hingeably or detachably attached to a back portion. The dispenser comprises a compartment between the outer casing and the back portion for housing the washroom product to be dispensed. The dispenser further comprises a dispensing opening, where the dispenser comprises inner lock positioned inside the compartment.
The outer casing and back portion may be made of a material that is resistant to force, such as for example ABS, PMMA, polypropylene, polycarbonate or stainless steel in order to have a dispenser that can withstand attempts to break the dispenser open to reach the compartment of the dispenser or to withstand vandalism of other kinds. The compartment comprises any and all space that lies between the outer casing and the back portion. This means that the inner lock may be placed inside the space where the washroom product is located and/or in any space between the outer casing and the back portion. The inner lock may be attached to either the outer casing and/or the back portion and still be positioned inside the compartment.
Having an inner lock that are is not immediately accessible makes it more difficult to remove washroom products from a dispenser thus reducing the costs of lost washroom products due to theft or vandalism. By having to first gain access to the lock the risk of someone trying to remove washroom products is reduced.
A further advantage is that having an inner lock reduces the risk of bacterial growth on the dispenser, for instance in or around the lock. The locking mechanism may form recesses allowing for instance moisture or organic material to build up in or around the locking mechanism in which bacteria may grow. Having an inner lock may also reduce the number of contacts with the lock as mainly service personnel will be accessing the lock. Having an inner lock protected by a covering reduces the risk of build-up of moisture or organic material from either the washroom environment or from users or other persons tampering with the lock. A dispenser having an inner lock may enable the dispenser to have a smooth continuous outer surface over most of the dispenser making the dispenser easier to clean. This design may further reduce number of places where bacteria or other microorganisms can grow. Having a dispenser with a smooth surface may also create a more pleasant and welcoming design of the dispenser thereby leading to an increased use of the dispenser compared to a dispenser that has more straight edges and corners.
The inner lock may be arranged to be attached to the back portion of the dispenser. The inner lock may be intended to secure the outer casing to the back portion or be intended to secure a washroom product to the dispenser.
The inner lock may be arranged to be accessible when the outer casing is at least partly opened.
The inner lock may be arranged to be accessible when the outer casing is completely opened.
In order to access the inner lock the outer casing may have to be at least partly opened. By partly opened means that the outer casing is not opened to its fullest extent for example by reaching mechanical stops that hinders the outer casing to be opened further. By removing the outer casing from a completely closed position to a partly opened position the inner lock may be revealed and then unlocked in order to fully open the dispenser. It is possible to arrange the outer casing so that it does not have to be completely open in order for the inner lock to be revealed. The dispenser may be opened outwards, downwards, upwards or sideways.
A user is guided in the opening of the dispenser by the design of the dispenser, symbols or from general knowledge of dispensers. There is thus no need for service personnel to undergo training on how to open the dispenser to access the contents inside before they start working with the dispenser.
The inner lock may be positioned in a fixed part that slides inside the outer casing during opening of the outer casing. The inner lock may be positioned in the outer casing or in the back portion of the dispenser locking the back portion to the outer casing.
The inner lock may be visible through a transparent window or similar. The transparent window may be made of plastic or another suitable transparent material. A symbol may indicate where the inner lock is situated which makes opening of the outer casing intuitive. Symbols may indicate that the outer casing needs to be pushed in order to access the lock or that a magnet or an object made of magnetic material may have to be used in order to access the inner lock or unlock the inner lock. Other symbols are of course conceivable. The inner lock may be completely hidden, thus no transparent window or similar or symbols are present. In this case the design of the dispenser may intuitively tell a user how to open the outer casing in order to access the inner lock. The opening of the dispenser may be done by for instance by gripping the outer casing of the dispenser. A user such as service personnel may be aided by the shape of the dispenser to understand how the dispenser is to be opened. The dispenser may for instance be curved where a user is intended to grip the outer casing in order to open the dispenser. In the cases where the inner lock are invisible the greater part of the dispenser is smooth. The curves intended for showing where a user may grip the outer casing in order to open the dispenser may be made to be smooth and mainly follow the contours of the dispenser in general. This leads to a dispenser virtually without any recesses where bacteria or microorganism may grow. This also leads to a dispenser that is easy to keep clean as it can be wiped without having to worry about reaching the bottom of recesses to keep them clean.
The inner lock may be arranged to prevent the opening of the dispenser. This means that it may not be possible to move the outer casing to a partly opened position from the back portion without unlocking the inner lock. Unlocking is for instance made by a key made of magnetic material.
The outer casing may be lockable to the back portion by an outer lock. It is possible for the outer lock to be situated on the outer casing but it may also be positioned on the back portion. Having an outer lock makes it even more difficult to reach the compartment of the dispenser where the washroom product is located.
The inner lock may be arranged to secure the washroom product to be dispensed to the dispenser thereby preventing the washroom product from being removed from the dispenser. This means that even if the dispenser itself is not locked the contents of the dispenser would still not be accessible to remove from the dispenser.
The inner lock may also be arranged so that only the washroom product is secured by the inner lock. This means that the outer casing may have an outer lock for gaining access to the compartment of the dispenser, thereby gaining access to the washroom product or that the outer casing is unlocked.
The washroom product may be a toilet paper roll positionable on a toilet paper holder arranged to be attached to the dispenser. In this case the dispenser may further comprise a dispensing opening and tear means for tearing the toilet paper.
The inner lock may comprise a locking cylinder, the locking cylinder being arranged inside the toilet paper holder.
The inner lock may comprise a removable disk lockable to one end of the toilet paper holder, the removable disk having a diameter larger than the diameter of a central core of a toilet paper roll.
The inner lock may comprise a flap which is moved to a position where the flap extends perpendicular to a central axis of the toilet paper holder when locked and which is moved to a position where the flap extends essentially in a direction along the central axis of the toilet paper holder when unlocked, the flap having a length greater than the diameter of a central core of a toilet paper roll.
The inner lock may comprise securing means located inside the toilet paper holder arranged to be movable by the locking cylinder, the securing means comprising an outer end being able to be moved laterally outwards from the central axis of the toilet paper holder to a locked position when locked, the outer end of the securing means being able to move laterally towards the central axis of the toilet paper holder to an unlocked position when unlocked, the outer end of the securing means having an radial extension from the toilet paper holder being larger than the diameter of a central core of a toilet paper roll when in a locked position.
The inner lock may comprise a first blade positioned in the toilet paper holder, the first blade extending radially into the central core of the toilet paper roll when the inner lock is locked, the first blade being retracted to a position inside the toilet paper holder when the inner lock is unlocked.
The inner lock may comprise an arm mounted to a pivotable locking cylinder, the pivotable locking cylinder being located beside the toilet paper holder, the arm being pivotable to a position covering the toilet paper holder when locked, the arm being pivotable to a position not covering the toilet paper holder when unlocked.
The washroom product may be soap or towels. The towels may be in the form of rolls or sheets. The towels may be paper towels made of tissue or the towels may be made of a nonwoven material. In these cases the dispenser is adapted for the specific washroom product according to the art.
A dispenser according to the disclosure may be equipped with more than one inner lock. One inner lock may be used to prevent opening of the dispenser. Another inner lock may be used to secure the washroom product to the dispenser in case the dispenser is opened.
In the drawings, like features have the same reference numbers.
The design of the outer casing 2 may intuitively guide a user how to open the outer casing 2 for the cases when there are no visual indications on where the inner lock 6 are situated. The design may comprise indentations, ridges or similar to indicate where a user has to place their hands in order to open the outer casing 2. Maintenance personnel familiar with dispensers may be well aware of how a dispenser may be opened and may thus not need any indications on how to open the outer casing 2 in order to reach the inner locking means 6.
Reference signs mentioned in the claims should not be seen as limiting the extent of the matter protected by the claims, and their sole function is to make claims easier to understand.
As will be realised, the invention is capable of modification in various obvious respects, all without departing from the scope of the appended claims. Accordingly, the drawings and the description thereto are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not restrictive. For instance adapting the inner lock described in conjunction with the dispenser in
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/SE2011/051047 | 8/31/2011 | WO | 00 | 2/18/2014 |
