Abstract:
A device for storing and dispensing sanitary paper products. The device is configured and sized for installation in a standard toilet paper role holder. The device can be incorporated into a number of shapes and sizes to accommodate sanitary paper products including: paper towels, facial tissue, toilet tissue, sanitary wipes and baby wipes.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention is directed toward a novel apparatus for storing and dispensing sanitary paper products. In particular, the present invention provides a mechanism for reversibly storing the apparatus in a standard sized toilet paper roll holder.  
         [0003]     2. Background Information  
         [0004]     The use of disposable paper sanitation products is an essential part of every American&#39;s daily life. From paper towels, facial tissue, and toilet tissue to sanitary towelettes and baby wipes, the amount of disposable paper sanitation products used in this country annually is astronomical. The reasons for this are obvious. These paper products are inexpensive, sanitary, and disposable. Most importantly these products provide readily available, sanitized products for use in any “cleanup” situation.  
         [0005]     Herein lies the problem, which until the present invention has gone unsolved, how does one store sanitary paper products such that they stay sanitized and are located for easy accessibility at a second&#39;s notice? For instance, both paper towels and toilet tissue may be mounted for easy accessibility, but current systems for providing such mounting leave the “rolls” exposed to the elements for contamination whether by spilling something on them, knocking them off of the mount, or at the curious hands of a toddler pulling the end of the tissue until it is completely unrolled and lying on the floor.  
         [0006]     Furthermore, moist sanitary wipes, baby wipes, and facial tissue are typically packaged in a container, which provides protection from the environment for the retention of sanitation and/or moisture content. However, the current products on the market fail to provide for ready accessibility. For instance, sanitary wipes are typically packaged in either a plastic wrap-type package or a plastic container for placement and storage on a flat surface such as the top of a toilet tank; however, this often leads to either inadvertently knocking it off or removal such that the wipes are nowhere to be found when they are most needed, leaving the one in need in a most precarious situation. Likewise, baby wipes are typically packaged in refillable plastic containers, which must be placed on a flat surface. Again, this leads to the problem of someone knocking the wipes off of their location or removing them, leaving the one in need with a crying, diaperless baby and no wipes readily at hand. Finally, facial tissue is so easily and so often moved about that rarely can one find the tissue box when one is most in need.  
         [0007]     In view of the limitations of products currently known in the art, a tremendous need exists for a sanitary paper product dispenser that provides protection from the environment while providing for location in a secure, readily accessible space. Applicant&#39;s invention, by its novel design provides a solution in view of currently available devices.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0008]     In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide a device for dispensing of sanitary paper products that provides protection from the environment.  
         [0009]     It is another object of the present invention to provide a device for dispensing of sanitary paper products that provides for locating in a secure location.  
         [0010]     It is another object of the present invention to provide a device for dispensing of sanitary paper products that provides for locating in a readily accessible location.  
         [0011]     In satisfaction of these and other related objectives, the present invention provides a device for storing and dispensing sanitary paper products. This device provides for securably locating the sanitary paper products at a readily available location.  
         [0012]     The preferred embodiment of the present invention provides a canister for storing the sanitary paper products, which can take any of a variety of shapes in order to best accommodate the particular product. The canister itself is reversibly sealable to provide access for refilling, and the canister provides a “flip-top” portion for easily accessing individual “wipes”. Therefore, the base canister provides an enclosure from environmental contamination no matter which type of sanitary paper product it houses.  
         [0013]     Additionally, in a novel distinction from prior art, the canister provides spring-loaded extensions on either side of the canister dimensionally spaced for reversible engagement with a standard toilet paper role holder. As such, the canister allows for reversible, yet secure, placement in any standard toilet paper role holder. This not only allows for standard placement of the sanitary wipe holder in any restroom setting, but, of course, in any location one chooses to install any one of the thousands of fashionable standard toilet paper role holders available, whether in the house, office or shop. Thus, in a simple, yet novel way, the device of the present invention provides a secure, sanitary, and readily accessible sanitary paper product dispenser, which can be used in homes and offices throughout the country at little or no additional expense from the inferior products currently available. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0014]     Applicant&#39;s invention may be further understood from a description of the accompanying drawings, wherein unless otherwise specified, like referenced numerals are intended to depict like components in the various views.  
         [0015]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the present invention.  
         [0016]      FIG. 2  is a top plan view of the present invention.  
         [0017]      FIG. 3  is a partially exploded view of the securing mechanism of the present invention.  
         [0018]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0019]     Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a device for storing and dispensing sanitary paper products is shown and is generally designated by numeral  10 . Device  10 , in the preferred embodiment, contains a cylindrical canister assembly with a canister body  12  and a removable canister top  14 . Canister body  12  along with canister top  14  can be composed of a metal (such as would give a chrome finished, high-end look to the canister), a plastic (for everyday economical use), or any other suitable material that would provide a sealable, rigid container as would be obvious to one skilled in the art. Furthermore, canister  12  and canister top  14  are reversibly engaged with one another in any of a number of ways as would be apparent to one skilled in the art, such as twist screw or slip-on. As such, canister top  14  allows for accessibility to the inside of canister  12  for cleaning or quick replacement of sanitary paper products.  
         [0020]     Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention is depicted with a cylindrical canister, any number of canister shapes are envisioned to accommodate different sizes and/or shapes of currently available sanitary paper products. One such alternative embodiment is shown in  FIG. 4 . This embodiment is considered ideal for standard sanitary wipes or baby wipes. Other embodiments as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are also envisioned.  
         [0021]     As best seen in  FIG. 1 , canister top  14  further contains a hole in substantially the center of canister top  14  that is reversible sealed by flip-top  16 . In the preferred embodiment, flip-top  16  is hingedly attached to canister top  14  at the edge and reversibly engageable with canister top  14  at the diametrically opposing edge. As such, flip-top  16  provides for quick and ready accessibility of an individual sanitary paper product.  
         [0022]     Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , device  10  further provides for reversible securement with a standard toilet paper roll holder through the novel use of extensions  18 . One such extension  18  is placed on a side of canister  12 , and the other extension  18  is placed at the same level on the diametrically opposing side of canister  12 . In the preferred embodiment, each extension  18  is so spaced as to reversibly engage with a standard toilet paper roll holder. As best seen in  FIG. 3 , extension  18  is composed of three parts. Extension housing  20  is of generally cylindrical shape and contains slidable insert  22  and biasing member  24 . In the preferred embodiment, extension housing  20  provides a linear slot cut approximately ¾ the length of extension housing  20 . Slidable insert  22  is slideably engaged with the interior of extension housing  20  and has a protrusion  26 , which extends through extension housing  20  for manually actuating slideable insert  22 . As previously mentioned, extension housing  20  further contains biasing member  24 . In the preferred embodiment, biasing member  24  is a compression spring but other embodiments are envisioned in which biasing member  24  is another type of resilient mechanism, which would be apparent to one skilled in the art. As seen in  FIG. 3 , biasing member  24  is configured as to bias slideable insert  22  in the fully extended position, while providing for manual, slideable retraction of slideable insert  22  within extension housing  20 .  
         [0023]     In operation, one first manually compresses each slideable insert  22  via its respective protrusion  26 . Next, the entire device  10  is placed between the end pieces of a standard toilet paper roll holder and secured in place by releasing protrusions  26 , which, in effect, allows engagement of extension  18  with the standard toilet paper roll holder. Next, canister top  14  may be removed, and sanitary paper products placed in canister  12 . After canister top  14  is replaced, individual sanitary paper products may be removed via flip-top  16 . Finally, whenever removal of device  10  is necessary, one merely compresses extensions  18  via protrusions  26  and slips device  10  out from in between the outer ends of the toilet paper roll holder.  
         [0024]     Although the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, this description is not meant to be construed in a limited sense. Various modifications of the disclosed embodiments, as well as alternative embodiments of the inventions will become apparent to persons skilled in the art upon reference to the description of the invention. It is, therefore, contemplated that the appended claims will cover such modifications that fall within the scope of the invention.