PERSONAL CARE UNIT

Abstract

An integrated personal care unit that dispenses personal care products in a private setting, including a first opening, a base portion, removably connected to the top portion, including a second opening. A removable insert is disposed within in the first opening of the top portion that includes at least one personal care product and the second opening positioned between the top portion and the base portion, where a personal care product waste is disposed.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates generally to the art of personal care products dispensers. More particularly, the invention relates to a personal care unit with an attached trash receptacle unit. More specifically, the invention relates to a personal care unit for mounting in a bathroom or other personal area that includes an insert for dispensing personal hygiene products, and also includes an attached trash receptacle unit.

2. Background Art

The use of personal care dispensers in restrooms has been very popular for many years. Personal care dispensers may include cologne dispensers, perfume dispensers, female hygiene products dispensers, prophylactics dispensers, and novelty type item dispensers, such as temporary tattoos and the like. Further, such personal care dispensers usually require some sort of payment to acquire the product.

The prior art personal care dispensers are limited to being located within the larger public area of the restroom and are limited to solely dispensing the product, requiring the user to move to another area to dispose of the corresponding waste. The movement of the user with the corresponding product waste may transfer bacteria, viruses, and/or other waste within the immediate area. Further, mounting the prior art personal care dispenser within the larger public area of the restroom requires the user to find a private area to utilize the product from the personal care dispenser after the user has purchased the product.

The personal care unit of the present invention solves the problems associated with prior art personal care dispensers by providing a personal care unit that mounts within a restroom stall, or other private area, and includes a top portion to dispense a personal care product and a bottom portion that receives the corresponding waste. In this manner, waste is disposed of in a sanitary fashion without spreading bacteria, viruses, product packaging and/or other waste. In addition, the user of the personal care products does not have to seek out a private area to utilize the dispensed product. In this manner, waste from the dispensed product and other related waste are limited to the immediate user's area limiting the transfer of biological and/or other waste.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Objectives of the present invention include providing a personal care unit that minimizes the transfer of bacteria, virus, other biological waste, and other types of trash to a limited area in proximity to the personal care unit.

A further objective of the present invention is to provide a personal care unit that is an integrated, single-piece unit that dispenses predetermined personal care products and includes an attached receptacle for corresponding waste to minimize movement of the waste and/or the user of the personal care product.

These objectives and advantages are obtained by the personal care unit of the present invention that includes an integrated personal care unit that dispenses personal care products in a private setting, including a top portion including a pair of side members, a front member, and a rear member forming a first opening and a base portion, removably connected to the top portion, including a fore member, a back member, and a pair of lateral members forming a second opening. A removable insert is disposed within the first opening of the top portion that includes at least one personal care product and the second opening positioned between top portion and base portion, wherein a personal care product waste is disposed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The preferred embodiment of the present invention, illustrative of the best mode in which applicant has contemplated applying the principles, is set forth in the following description and is shown in the drawings, and are particularly and distinctly pointed out and set forth in the appended claims.

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view with hidden portions shown by broken lines of a prior art personal care dispenser;

FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of a preferred embodiment personal care unit that includes a top portion and a base portion, with selected portions shown in dotted lines;

FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view of the preferred embodiment personal care unit shown in FIG. 2 that includes the top portion and the base portion;

FIG. 4 is a top perspective view of the top portion of the preferred embodiment personal care unit shown in FIG. 2; and

FIG. 5 is a top perspective view of the bottom portion of the preferred embodiment personal care unit as shown in FIG. 2;

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

In order to better understand the environment in which the personal care unit of the present invention is utilized, a prior art personal care dispenser is indicated generally at reference numeral 10, is shown in FIG. 1, and now will be described in detail below.

Prior art personal care dispenser 10 includes a front member 20, a ceiling member 22, a pair of side members 24A,B, a mounting member 26, and a base member 28. Each one of side members 24A,B is generally rigidly attached to mounting member 26 utilizing an adhesive, such as epoxy cement, along a boundary 30 (only one shown).

Side members 24A,B are further rigidly attached to ceiling member 22 along a boundary 32 utilizing an adhesive, such as epoxy cement. Further, side members 24A,B are rigidly attached to base member 28 utilizing an adhesive, such as epoxy cement, along a boundary 34 (only one shown). Side members 24A,B are rigidly attached to mounting member 26 along a boundary 30 (only one shown) utilizing an adhesive, such as epoxy cement.

Base member 28 is rigidly attached to mounting member 26 along a boundary (not shown) utilizing an adhesive, such as epoxy cement.

Mounting member 26 is generally removably attached to a wall (not shown) or other permanent type structure utilizing fasteners (not shown), such as a screw. In addition, prior art personal care dispenser 10 is mounted generally in the general public area of the restroom. More specifically, prior art personal care dispenser 10 is mounted outside of the private stalls and within the public area of the restroom.

Front member 20 is movably attached to side member 24A along boundary 38 utilizing a movable connection, such as a hinge. Hinged boundary 38 allows for front member 20 to open along the hinged boundary.

Front member 20 is formed with a dispenser opening 40 and pair of payment slots 42. Dispenser opening 40 is generally rectangular in shape and allows a user to obtain the product once the product is dispensed.

The user selects which product is desired and inserts payment into the corresponding payment slot 42. Upon receipt of sufficient payment, prior art personal care dispenser 10 releases the product where the product is retrieved from dispenser opening 40.

The user is required to remove the product from dispenser opening 40 and either exit the restroom or find a private area to utilize the dispensed product. In doing so, the user may transfer biological and/or other waste. Further, once the product is utilized, the user may have additional waste that needs to be properly disposed of and additional biological and/or other waste may be transferred.

Therefore, a need exists in the art for an apparatus which can be utilized within the private confines of a bathroom stall or other personal space that allows for products to be dispensed and to handle the waste associated with the dispensed product to minimize the potential of transferring biological waste and/or other waste. The preferred embodiment personal care unit of the present invention accomplishes these needs and the structure and installation of the personal care unit is described in detail below.

Turning now to FIGS. 2-5, a personal care unit 100 of the present invention is shown. Personal care unit 100 includes a top portion 102, a base portion 104, and an insert 106.

Top portion 102 is generally rectangular in shape and includes a pair of side members 108, a front member 110, a rear member 112 and a base member 114 (FIG. 4). Front member 110 may include a logo or other decorative design. Side members 108 range in length from about eight to ten inches, but preferably nine inches. Rear member 112 is mounted on a restroom wall or other type of wall in a private setting and ranges in width from about four inches to six inches, but preferably five inches. Rear member 112 includes a plurality of openings 116 that may accept bolts (not shown) to mount on the restroom wall. It is contemplated that rear member 112 may be fastened in other fashions, such as an adhesive or utilizing other types of fasteners, to the wall without changing the overall concept or operation of the present invention.

Side members 108, front member 110, and rear member 112 form an opening 118. Opening 118 is generally rectangular in shape, but it is contemplated that the opening could include other shapes, such as a circle or oval, without changing the overall concept or operation of the present invention and insert 106 fits into the opening. Insert 106 may include disposable wipes or other hygiene-type products such as feminine hygiene products. Insert 106 is removable such that when its contents are depleted, the new insert with a new supply of products may be deposited. It is important to note that the waste from the disposable wipe or other hygiene products may be deposited into base portion 104.

Turning to FIGS. 2 and 5, base portion 104 includes a fore member 120, a back member 122, a pair of lateral members 124, and a foundation member 126. Fore member 120 includes a curved boundary 134 that is generally u-shaped. Curved boundary 134 allows a user to easily deposit the waste into base portion 104. Fore member 120, back member 122 and pair of lateral members 124 form an opening 128. It is important to note that opening 128 is in close proximity to top portion 102 so that the waste from the user and/or the contents from insert 106 may be deposited without traveling across a room and potentially transferring bacteria, germs, and/or other types of waste. Opening 128 may include a liner (not shown) to facilitate removal of the waste.

Base portion 104 is removably attached to top portion 102 along a pair of boundaries 130 (only one shown) and a boundary 132 utilizing a removable connection, such as a slideable connection. Removable base portion 104 along pair of boundaries 130 and boundary 132 allows for the user to remove base portion 104 to dispose of the deposited waste within opening 128 without contacting the waste or allowing the waste to spill out. Additionally, it is contemplated that base portion 104 could be placed in a separate location from top portion 102, such as on the bathroom floor but still in close proximity to the top portion without changing the overall concept or operation of the present invention. Boundary 130 ranges in depth from about one inch to three inches, but is preferably two inches. Lateral members 124 range in length from about six inches to eight inches but is preferably seven inches. Base member 114 ranges in length from about four inches to about six inches but is preferably five inches.

The use of personal care unit 100 of the present invention minimizes the chances of transferring biological and/or other types of waste when utilizing personal care products dispensed from the personal care unit. Moreover, personal care unit 100 provides convenience for the user to deposit waste into the base portion 104 of the personal care unit.

It is contemplated that base portion 104 may include an insert 106 with the product and top portion 102 includes an area for waste without changing the overall concept or operation of the present invention. It is even contemplated that personal care unit 100 of the present invention may include other designs, such as circular or rounded corners, without changing the overall concept or operation of the present invention. It is even further contemplated that personal care unit 100 may include various colors and/or designs without changing the overall concept or operation of the present invention. It is contemplated that other dimensions may be utilized for personal care unit 100 without changing the overall concept or operation of the present invention. It is even contemplated that that personal care unit 100 may include just top portion 102 without base portion 102 without changing the overall concept or operation of the present invention.

The present invention has been described with reference to a specific embodiment. It is to be understood that this illustration is by way of example and not by way of limitation. Potential modifications and alterations will occur to others upon a reading and understanding of this disclosure, and it is understood that the invention includes all such modifications and alterations and equivalents thereof.

Accordingly, the personal care unit is simplified, provides an effective, safe, inexpensive and efficient structure and method which achieves all the enumerated objectives, provides for eliminating difficulties encountered with prior art personal care dispensers, and solves problems and obtains new results in the art.

In the foregoing description, certain terms have been used for brevity, clearness and understanding; but no unnecessary limitations are to be implied therefrom beyond the requirements of the prior art, because such terms are used for descriptive purposes and are intended to be broadly construed.

Moreover, the description and illustration of the invention is by way of example, and the scope of the invention is not limited to the exact details shown or described.

Having now described the features, discoveries and principles of the invention, the manner in which the personal care unit of the present invention is used and installed, the characteristics of the construction, arrangement and method steps, and the advantageous, new and useful results obtained; the new and useful structures, devices, elements, arrangements, process, parts and combinations are set forth in the appended claims.

Claims

1. An integrated personal care unit that dispenses personal care products in a private setting, including: a top portion including a first opening;a base portion, removably connected to said top portion, including a second opening;a removable insert disposed within said first opening of said top portion that includes at least one personal care product; andsaid second opening positioned between said top portion and said base portion, wherein a personal care product waste is disposed.

2. The integrated personal care unit that dispenses personal care products in a private setting of claim 1 wherein said top portion includes a pair of side members, a front member, and a rear member.

3. The integrated personal care unit that dispenses personal care products in a private setting of claim 2 wherein said base portion includes a fore member, a back member, and a pair of lateral members.

4. The integrated personal care unit that dispenses personal care products in a private setting of claim 3 wherein said second opening includes a curved boundary.

5. The integrated personal care unit dispenses personal care products in a private setting of claim 4 wherein said second opening includes a second removable insert.

6. The integrated personal care unit dispenses personal care products in a private setting of claim 5 wherein said base portion is slideably connected to said top portion.

7. The integrated personal care unit dispenses personal care products in a private setting of claim 6 wherein said personal care product includes a feminine hygiene product.