Device for actuating a dispensing container mounted on a door

The device dispenses a dose of material, such as a perfume or deodorant, automatically on closing a door. A storage container for the material connects with a dosing compartment and an actuator releases the contents of the dosing compartment to the surroundings. A valve allows communication between the dosing compartment and the surroundings and is actuated by a holder for the container which is adapted to be fixed to the door or a jamb thereof. The holder has an arm extending radially and being hinged biasedly at a median point. A furthermost portion of the arm is adapted to contact the container or the valve to actuate the valve when the hinged portion of the arm is compressed by a gap between the door and the jamb thereof.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to a dispensing device. More particularly, 
but not exclusively, it relates to a dispensing device which is adapted to 
be affixed in the region of a door so that a predetermined quantity of 
material, preferably of a fragrant or deodorising nature, is dispensed 
whenever the door is closed. 
The present invention has particular relevance to deodorising devices for 
use in bathrooms and or rubbish stores, although other uses may be 
forseen. 
It is well-known to provide hand-held aerosol cans of deodorant material or 
fragrant material and these are often used. However, they must be used 
manually and this is not always done. It is an object of the present 
invention to provide a device which dispenses such material automatically 
whenever the door of the room is closed. This frees users from the need 
from regular spraying and ensures that the room remains sweet-smelling. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
According to the present invention, there is provided a device for 
dispensing a dose of material automatically on closing a door, comprising 
a storage container for the material, a dosing compartment, actuator means 
for releasing the contents of said dosing compartment to the surroundings, 
first valve means for closing communication between the storage container 
and the dosing compartment after the compartment is filled, second valve 
means for opening communication between the dosing compartment and the 
surroundings and being operable only when said first valve means is 
closed, actuating means to actuate said second valve means, said actuating 
means comprising a holder for said container adapted to be fixed to said 
door or a jamb thereof, an arm so extending radially from said holder and 
being so hinged biasedly at a median point that a furthermost portion of 
said arm is adapted to contact said container or said second valve means 
to actuate said second valve means when the hinged furthermost portion of 
the arm is moved against said bias in a gap between the door and the jamb 
thereof. 
Preferably, the arm is of plastics material and the hinge comprises a 
portion thereof which is thinner than remaining portions of the arm. 
The arm may be provided with longitudinally extending ribs, in which case 
the ribs on each portion of the arm co-operate to bias the hinge towards 
an unfolded position. 
The second valve means may comprise a pump which is primed by said 
actuating means, in which case the pump is contacted by the arm. 
Alternatively, the container may contain said material and a compressed 
gas, in which case the arm is adapted to contact a base of the container 
while the second valve means is restrained, whereby relative movement 
between the container and the second valve means causes the latter to 
open. 
The holder may be provided with one or more apertures to allow egress of 
the material.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Referring now to the drawings, there is shown a holder for a device 
embodying the invention. The device is intended to dispense material which 
is preferably fragrant or deodorising, but other materials could be used. 
The holder 1 is dimensioned to receive either an aerosol can of e.g. air 
freshener or a container of material which is able to dispense the 
material by means of a pump action mechanism such as shown in FIG. 5. 
The essential difference between the first and second embodiments of the 
invention is that, for use with an aerosol can, they are provided holes 2 
in the holder 1 to allow egress of the material and these are disposed at 
a lowermost portion of the holder 1. In the case of the second embodiment, 
which concerns a pump action mechanism, the hole 3 is preferably disposed 
at an upper portion of the holder 1. The reason for this is that the 
actuator, to allow release of material from the container, is operated by 
downward pressure thereon. For reasons which will become apparent below, 
it is preferred that a pump action mechanism is placed so that the pump 
action mechanism is at the uppermost end of the container and is acted on 
directly by an actuator, whereas in the case of an aerosol can, it is 
preferred that the actuator button is held steady while pressure is 
applied to the can to cause relative movement therebetween. 
Attached to the holder 1 extending substantially radially therefrom is an 
arm 4, 5, the two parts of which are hinged at point 6. This is a 
conventional plastics hinge, formed by a thinning of the plastics material 
at this point 6. The dimensions of the arms are such that arm 5, when 
folded back on arm 4, is able to contact either the valve of a pump action 
mechanism or the base of the container of aerosol. 
At least the furthermost, hinged portion of the arm 5 is provided with ribs 
7. These co-operate preferably with longitudinally extending slots 7 on 
the innermost portion of the arm and act to bias the two parts of the arm 
apart. In this condition, the outermost portion of the arm 5 does not 
contact the container and therefore the valve remains closed. 
The apparatus is intended to be mounted to a door or on or adjacent to a 
jamb or frame thereof and to be so disposed that closing the door against 
the jam causes the arm portions 4 and 5 to come together against the bias, 
whereby the outermost portion 5 of the arm is urged into contact with 
either the valve or the container and thereby releases a dose of material 
into the surroundings. 
The container contains a chamber which holds a predetermined quantity of 
material and this is automatically filled from the main container whenever 
the dosing chamber is emptied. Continued actuation of the valve does not 
cause excess material to be released since there is a valve between the 
main storage container and the dosing chamber which is only open when the 
exit valve is closed. 
Thus, opening the door releases arm 5 from contact with the valve or 
container and allows the dosing chamber to be filled from the container. 
Closure of the door afterwards actuates the valve and allows release of 
the contents of the dosing chamber. 
Because of the disposition of aerosol cans in the first embodiment of the 
invention, it is not usually possible to use conventional aerosol cans 
since these are provided with a dip tube which reaches down to the bottom 
of the can to allow the propellant to push the liquid upwardly through the 
tube to the valve. Aerosol cans for use in the present invention must not 
have such a dip tube so that the material may enter the dosing chamber 
directly under pressure from propellant which may be located upwardly 
thereof. 
As may be seen from the drawings, the arm 5 rotates on the direction of 
arrow A when the door is closed or is closing and, while this exerts 
downward force on the container in the holder 1, there is also a component 
in a horizontal direction and this could cause problems with a standard 
aerosol can having a valve mechanism standing proud of the top. It has 
been found more efficacious to apply the pressure from the arm 5 to the 
base of the aerosol can, which is, overall, held steady within the holder 
1.