Patent Application
20240065493
Not Applicable
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The disclosure relates to rotatable holding devices and more particularly pertains to a new rotatable holding device for holding a roll of toilet paper in one of two orientations. The device includes a rotation mount that is attachable to a vertical support surface and a rotation element that is rotatably disposed in the rotation mount. A toilet paper mount is attached to the rotation element such that the toilet paper mount is rotatable between first position and a second position. A roll of toilet paper is positionable on the toilet paper mount thereby facilitating the roll of toilet paper to be flipped to dispense toilet paper from a front of the roll of toilet paper or from a back of the roll of toilet paper.
The prior art relates to rotatable holding devices including a toilet paper holder that includes a mount and a holder rotatably disposed on the mount and finger holes in the holder to accommodate a user's fingers to rotate the holder. The prior art discloses a toilet paper holder that includes a mount, a stem that is rotatably attached to the mount and a toilet paper holder attached to the stem. The prior art discloses a toilet paper holder that includes a clamp, a flexible rod attached to the clamp and a spindle rotatably attached to the flexible rod. The prior art discloses a toilet paper holder that includes a wall mount that has a protruding lobe and a toilet paper holder pivotally attached to the protruding lobe. The prior art discloses a toilet paper holder that includes a mounting cup and a toilet paper holder that rotatably engages the mounting cup.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a rotation mount that is mountable to a vertical support surface. The rotation mount has a rotation element that is rotatably disposed in the rotation mount. The rotation element is releasably locked in a first position or a second position. The rotation element includes a toilet paper mount for releasably engaging a roll of toilet paper. The toilet paper mount flips the roll of toilet paper when the rotation element is rotated between the first position and the second position. In this way the rotation element facilitates the roll of toilet paper to dispense toilet paper in a user's preferred orientation.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.
The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to
As best illustrated in
The rotation mount 12 comprises a cup 22 that has a rear wall 24 and a perimeter wall 26 extending away from the rear wall 24. The rear wall 24 has a forward surface 28 and the perimeter wall 26 has an interior surface 30 and a distal edge 32 with respect to the forward surface 28. The rear wall 24 has a pair of mounting holes 34 each extending through the rear wall 24 thereby facilitating a pair of fasteners 36 to extend through a respective mounting hole 34 and engage the vertical support surface 14 for retaining the cup 22 on the vertical support surface 14. The vertical support surface 14 may be a wall in a bathroom, for example, or other location where toilet paper would be commonly employed.
The rotation mount 12 includes a pair of tabs 38 that is each positioned on the interior surface 30 of the perimeter wall 26 and each of the tabs 38 extends away from the interior surface 30 of the perimeter wall 26. Each of the tabs 38 is positioned between the distal edge 32 of the perimeter wall 26 and the forward surface 28 of the rear wall 24 and the tabs 38 are positioned on opposite sides of the perimeter wall 26 from each other. Each of the tabs 38 has a bottom surface 40 and the bottom surface 40 each of the tabs 38 has a pair of engagements 42 each extending toward the forward surface 28 of the rear wall 24. Additionally, the engagements 42 on each of the tabs 38 are spaced apart from each other.
The rotation mount 12 includes a peg 44 which extends away from the forward surface 28 of the rear wall 24 and the peg 44 is centrally positioned on the rear wall 24. The rotation mount 12 includes a bracket 46 that has a first member 48 which intersects a second member 50 at a perpendicular angle such that the bracket 46 forms a plus shape. The first member 48 has a central portion 52 is perpendicularly oriented with a pair of medial portions 54 and a pair of end portions 56 that are each perpendicularly oriented with a respective one of the medial portions 54. Each of the end portions 56 lies on a plane that is oriented parallel with the central portion 52.
The second member 50 has a pair of fastener apertures 58 each extending through the second member 50. The peg 44 extends through the central portion 52 of the bracket at a point that is centrally located between the pair of medial portions 54 such that the bracket 46 is rotatable on the peg 44. Furthermore, each of the medial portions 54 is directed toward the rear wall 24 of the cup 22 and each of the end portions 56 is directed toward the perimeter wall 26 of the cup 22. Each of the end portions 56 passes beneath a respective one of the tabs 38 when the bracket 46 is rotated.
The rotation mount 12 includes a biasing member 60 that is positioned around the peg 44. The biasing member 60 extends between the central portion 52 of the bracket 46 and the rear wall 24 of the cup 22 and the biasing member 60 biases the bracket 46 away from the rear wall 24. Each of the end portions 56 of the bracket 46 lies against a respective tab 38 having the end portions 56 being restrained between the pair of engagements 42 on the respective tab 38 when the end portions 56 are positioned beneath the respective tabs 38 and the bracket 46 is biased away from the rear wall 24. Each of the end portions 56 is restrained between the engagements 42 on a respective one of the tabs 38 when the rotation element 16 is in the first position. Conversely, each of the end portions 56 is restrained between the engagements 42 on an opposite one of the tabs 38 with respect to the first position when the rotation element 16 is rotated into the second position. Each of the end portions 56 is displaced from the respective tabs 38 and the associated engagements 42 when the bracket 46 is urged toward the rear wall 24 thereby facilitating the bracket 46 to be freely rotated.
The rotation element 16 comprises a disk 62 that has a first surface 64 and a second surface 66. The disk 62 has a pair of fastener apertures 68 each extending through the first surface 64 and the second surface 66. The second surface 66 of the disk 62 rests against the central portion 52 of the bracket 46 such that each of the fastener apertures 68 in the disk 62 is aligned with a respective one of the fastener apertures 58 in the central portion 52 of the bracket 46.
The toilet paper mount 18 comprises a yoke 70 that has a central member 72 extending between a pair of end members 74 and each of the end members 74 is perpendicularly oriented with the central member 72 such that the yoke has a U-shape. The central member 72 rests against the first surface 64 of the disk 62 such that each of the end members 74 is directed away from the disk 62 having the central member 72 oriented to extend along a line bisecting the disk 62. Additionally, the central member 72 has a length that is greater than a diameter of the disk 62 such that each of the end members 74 is spaced outwardly from disk 62.
Each of the end members 74 has a distal end 76 with respect to the central member 72 and a primary surface 78, and the primary surface 78 of each of the end members 74 is directed toward each other. A respective one of the end members 74 has a slot 80 extending from the distal end 76 of the respective end member 74 toward the central member 72. A respective one of the end members 74 has a recess 82 that is integrated into the primary surface 78 of the respective end member. The recess 82 is positioned adjacent to the distal end 76 of the respective end member. The toilet paper mount 18 includes a bar 84 that has a first end 86 and a second end 88 and the first end 86 is positioned in the slot 80 in the distal end 76 of a respective one of the end members 74.
The toilet paper mount 18 includes a pin 90 extending through a respective one of the end members 74 and extending through the bar 84 such that the bar 84 is hingedly attached to the respective end member 74. The bar 84 is positionable in an open position having the second end 88 being displaced from a respective one of the end members 74 thereby facilitating the bar 84 to be extended through a tube 92 of the roll of toilet paper 20. Conversely, the bar 84 is positionable in a closed position having the bar 84 extending between the pair of end members 74.
The toilet paper mount 18 includes a latch 94 that is movably integrated into the second end 88 of the bar 84 and the latch 94 is biased to extend outwardly from the second end 88. The latch 94 engages the recess 82 in the respective end member 74 when the bar 84 is positioned in the closed position for releasably retaining the bar 84 in the closed position. The toilet paper mount 18 includes a pair of fasteners 96 that each of the fasteners 96 extends through the central member 72 of the yoke. Each of the fasteners 96 extends through a respective fastener aperture in the disk 62 and a respective fastener aperture 58 in the central portion 52 of the bracket 46 for attaching the yoke to the disk 62 and attaching the disk 62 to the bracket 46. The fasteners 96 associated with the toilet paper mount 18 may comprise a screw, a bolt or other type of threaded fastener.
In use, the rotation mount 12 is attached to the vertical support surface 14 in a strategic location in a bathroom and the roll of toilet paper 20 is placed on the toilet paper mount 18. The toilet paper mount 18 is pushed inwardly on the rotation mount 12 to facilitate the rotation element 16 to be rotated into either the first position or the second position. In this way the roll of toilet paper 20 can be flipped over to facilitate the roll of toilet paper 20 to dispense toilet paper from the front of the roll of toilet paper 20 from behind the roll of toilet paper 20. Thus, the roll of toilet paper 20 does not have to be removed from the toilet paper mount 18, as is commonly required with traditional toilet paper holders, in order to position the roll of toilet paper 20 in the preferred orientation. In this way the roll of toilet paper 20 is inhibited from being dropped and being exposed to water on the floor of the bathroom when a user wishes to change the orientation of the roll of toilet paper 20.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.
