This application claims priority under 35 USC 119(a)-(d) to SE patent application No. 1951172-4, which was filed on Oct. 16, 2019, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The present disclosure relates to a receptacle holder. In detail a lockable receptacle holder for a dispensing receptacle for dispensing liquid or creamy hygiene products such as soap, shampoo or lotion hand sanitizer
For environmental reasons, disposable hygiene products such as soap or shampoo in hotel rooms are increasingly being substituted with large volume dispensers. However, a general problem with refillable containers for hygiene products is that they may be subjected to theft or tampering.
To address this problem there are provided holders for hygiene product dispensers with locking mechanisms. One example is US2011/0101196 which shows a holder for a dispensing bottle that is provided with a collar plate that is provided with an opening for receiving the throat of a soap dispenser. The collar plate is guided in two rods that extend from a wall support so that the collar plate may be brought from an inward position in which the collar plate may be locked to an outward position in which the throat of a dispenser bottle may be inserted into the opening of the collar plate.
One drawback with the dispensing bottle holder of US2011/0101196 is that the throat of the dispenser bottle has to be moved in a slanted manner in direction from below in order to insert the throat of the dispensing bottle into the opening of the collar plate. This makes it awkward and time consuming for housekeeping personal to replace or refill the dispenser bottle. A further drawback resides in the locking of the dispenser bottle holder. To lock the dispensing bottle holder, the dispensing bottle and the collar plate has to be pushed rearwards until a notch in the floating locking pin coincides with a corresponding notch in the guide pin. Thereafter the locking pin is turned by the user. This is a time consuming locking process which involves several steps.
A further holder for a dispenser bottle is shown in SE 540307 C2. In this holder the collar plate is attached to the bottle support by screws. Replacement of the dispenser bottle requires removal of the screws and is therefore time consuming.
Thus, it is an object of the present disclosure to provide a receptacle holder which solves at least one of the problems of the prior art.
In particular, it is and object of the present disclosure to provide a lockable receptacle holder which allows for fast and easy removal and replacement of a receptacle in few working steps.
A further object is to provide a receptacle holder which provides a lockable receptacle holder which provides high resistance to unauthorized removal of a receptacle.
A further object of the present disclosure is to provide a lockable receptacle holder which may be manufactured at low cost.
At least one of these objects are met by a lockable receptacle holder 10 comprising a holder base portion 20 configured to support the bottom 5 of a receptacle 1; a holder upper portion 30 and an elongated holder back portion 40 extending between the holder base portion 20 and the holder upper portion 30 characterized in:
The lockable receptacle holder is tamper resistant and allows for secure holding of receptacle. In practice, the hook-shaped confining member may easily be unlocked by inserting a purposely dimensioned tool into the through hole to apply a force F unto the locking portion. Subsequently the confining member is pivoted to the side thereby allowing house-keeping personnel to easily remove the receptacle for exchange or refilling. Removal and replacement of the receptacle is easy, demands no tricky handling of the receptacle and may be performed in little time.
The receptacle holder comprises few parts and is easy to assemble. It is also easy to clean and durable. Cyclic tests have shown that the components of the receptacle holder maintain structural integrity over 7000 cycles at 9 kg pressure.
The holder upper portion 30 of the receptacle holder 10 may comprises an arcuate front portion 31 for receiving a portion of a neck 2 or shoulder 3 of a receptacle 1. The arcuate front portion provides a secure support for the receptacle during operation of the confining member. Preferably, the hook-shaped front portion 51 of the confining member 50 may be rounded to form an at least partially closed circular space C with the front end 31 of the holder upper portion 30.
The through hole 32 may be configured to receive an end portion 8 of a tool 7 wherein the cross-sectional shape of the through hole 32 and the end portion 8 of the tool 7 are configured such that end portion 8 of the tool 7 may pass through the through hole 32.
This provides the possibility to customize the through hole so that the locking portion only may be accessed by special tools. Thus, unauthorized opening of the receptacle holder may be prevented or made difficult.
The one of the holder upper portion 30 and the confining member 50 to which the locking member 60 is attached may comprise a receiving opening 53 for receiving the locking portion 61 of the locking member 60 when the locking portion 61 is brought out of the through hole 32. This allows for usage of a flat and thin locking portion, which in turn provides for a compact and tamper resistant receptacle holder. 9. The locking portion 61 may thereby be elongate, flat and provided with an upright edge 62 to be received in the through hole 32. For example, the locking portion is a part of a locking member 60 in the form of an integral piece of resilient steel strip.
A particularly compact and tamper resistant the receptacle holder 10 is provided when the confining member 50 and the locking member 60 and the holder upper portion 30 are superimposed and the through hole 32 and the locking portion 61 and the receiving opening 53 are aligned so that the locking portion 61 of the locking member 60 may be pushed into the receiving opening 53 by an end portion 8 of a tool 7 that is inserted through the other opening 33, 34 of the through hole 32. Such a receptacle holder may be realized in that the locking member 60 is arranged underneath the holder upper portion 30 and the confining member 50 is arranged underneath the locking member 60 and wherein through hole 32 extends between an upper opening 33 on an upper side 35 and a lower opening 34 on a lower side 36 of the of the holder upper portion 30.
The receptacle holder according to the present disclosure will now be described more fully hereinafter. The receptacle holder according to the present disclosure may however be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided by way of example so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to those persons skilled in the art. Same reference numbers refer to same elements throughout the description.
A “receptacle” or “container” is configured to hold liquid, semi-liquid, creamy or paste-formed substances. Typically a receptacle is a bottle or a jar and has a neck, with a mouth, a shoulder, a body and a bottom. The receptacle may comprise a dispenser which is inserted into the mouth of the receptacle. The dispenser allows a user to pump out the content of the dispenser. The receptacle may in such case be denominated “dispenser receptacle”.
In the following description of the receptacle holder according to the present disclosure it is appreciated that the receptacle holder may be realized in different sizes and dimensions to fit receptacles of varying shape, size and dimension. Thus, when the receptacle holder, in the following is described with reference to a receptacle or parts thereof, it is appreciated that the receptacle holder is dimensioned in view of that receptacle.
Further in the following description, any references to directions such as “upright”, “upwards”, “downwards” or “lateral” are in relation to a vertical orientation of the receptacle holder in which the holder base is below the holder upper portion.
The holder upper portion 30 may extend from a second end of the holder back portion 40. The holder upper portion 30 may thereby extend approximately parallel with the holder base portion 20. The front portion 31 of the holder upper portion 30 points away from the holder back portion 40. The distance between the holder upper portion 30 and the holder base portion 20 may be selected such that the front end 31 of the holder upper portion faces the neck or shoulder of a receptacle that is supported on the holder base portion 20.
The front end 31 of the holder upper portion 30 may be configured to receive a portion of the neck or shoulder of a receptacle that is supported on the holder base portion 20. In
A shaft opening 38 for a pivot shaft 70 is provided in the rear portion 37 of the holder upper portion 30. The rear portion 37 is located between the through hole 32 in the holder upper portion 30 and the holder back portion 40.
The receptacle holder 10 further comprises a confining member 50 which has a hook-shaped front portion 51 and a rear portion 52 which may be rectangular. The hook-shaped front portion 51 has a front end 57, i.e. a free front end 57. In
The locking member 60 comprises a locking portion 61 and a rear portion 66 from which the locking portion 61 may extend. The locking portion 61 is configured to extend into the through hole 32 in the holder upper portion 30. The locking portion 61 may therefore be elongated and have an upright edge 62. That is, directed in direction away from the upper surface of the locking member 60. In the shown embodiment, the locking portion 61 is a flat. However, the locking portion 61 may have other configuration, for example rod-shaped. It is also possible to divide the locking portion 61 in to two locking portion halves (not shown). In the shown embodiment, the locking member 60 is configured to be attached to the rear end of the confining member 50. The rear portion 66 of the locking member 60 may therefore have attachment means 63 in the form of parallel flanges that may be inserted into corresponding openings 58, such as grooves in the confining member 50. Alternatively, the locking member 60 may glued or welded to the confining member 50. The locking portion is resilient. For example, the locking member 60 or at least the locking portion 61 is manufactured from resilient material such as resilient steel strip such as spring steel. Alternatively, plastic material such as polypropylene may be used, for example.
The locking member 60 may be arranged such that the locking portion 61 extends over the receiving opening 53 in the confining member 50.
The rear portion 66 of the locking member 60 may comprise an opening 65 for the pivot shaft 70. The pivot shaft may be a press pin that is riveted into the holder upper portion 30. The end of the pivot shaft may be secured by a rivet locking collar or by a nut and washer (not shown).
In assembled state, the confining member 50 and the locking member 60 and the holder upper portion are superimposed and the through hole 32 and the locking portion 61 and the receiving opening 53 are aligned so that the locking portion 61 of the locking member 60 may be pushed into the receiving opening 53 by a tool 7 inserted through the upper opening 33 of the through hole 32. As shown in
The function of the receptacle holder 10 according to the present disclosure will in the following be described with reference to
However, it is possible to arrange the holder upper portion 30 and the confining member 50 superimposed with a gap between them (not shown). In this case, the tip 7 of the tool 6 may be elongated to extend through the through hole 32 and through the gap between the holder upper portion 30 and the confining member 50 in order to force the edge 62 of the locking portion 61 out of the through hole and into the receiving opening 53.
It is further possible to arrange the holder upper portion 30 and the confining member 50 superimposed with a gap that is wide enough to accommodate the edge 62 of the locking portion. In that case the receiving opening 53 in the confining member 50 may be omitted (not shown).
A receptacle 1 may be inserted and locked into the receptacle holder 10 by performing the steps described above in reversed order.
Although a particular embodiment has been disclosed in detail this has been done for purpose of illustration only, and is not intended to be limiting. In particular, it is contemplated that various substitutions, alterations and modifications may be made within the scope of the appended claims.
For example, the receptacle holder 10 according to the present disclosure has hereinabove been described in an embodiment in which the holder upper portion 30 comprises the through hole 32 and the confining member 50 comprises the receiving opening 53 and wherein the locking member 60 is attached to the confining member 50. In the described embodiment, the confining member 50 is arranged underneath the holder upper portion 30.
However, it is possible that the confining member 50 is arranged above the holder upper portion 30.
According to the alternative, the confining member 50 may thereby comprise the through hole 32 for accessing the upright edge 62 of the locking member 60. The holder upper portion 30 may comprise the receiving opening 53 for receiving the locking portion 61 of the locking member 60 and openings 58 for receiving the attachment means 63 of the locking member 60, i.e. the flanges. The described openings in the holder upper portion 30 are indicated by dashed lines since they are partly obscured by the confining member 50. Thus in assembled state, the locking member 60 is attached to the upper holder portion 30 by engagement of the attachment means 63 with the openings 58 in the holder upper portion 30. As shown in
In
The confining member 50 may be mirror-inverted and arranged to pivot in opposite direction than shown
Also alternatives for the confining member 50 and the locking member 60 are feasible. In the following alternatives for confining member 50 and locking member 60 are described relative the receptacle support shown in
It is further possible to arrange the holder upper portion 30 such that the arcuate front portion 31 is oriented 90° to the facing direction of the holder back portion (not shown). The receptacle may thereby be introduced from the side of the receptacle holder.
Also further alternatives or modifications of the receptacle holder 10 according to the present disclosure are feasible. For example:
The holder receptacle 10 may comprise retainer elements for holding the body or the bottom of an receptacle in order to further prevent lateral movement of a receptacle in the receptacle holder. For example, as shown in
The present disclosure also relates to a receptacle holder unit 100 comprising two or more receptacle holder 10 that are joined together.
Moreover, although specific terms may be employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation. Furthermore, as used herein, the terms “comprise/comprises” or “include/includes” do not exclude the presence of other elements. Finally, reference signs in the claims are provided merely as a clarifying example and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the claims in any way.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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1951172-4 | Oct 2019 | SE | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/SE2020/050982 | 10/15/2020 | WO |