US20060102508A1 - Wall-mounted moist wipe holder - Google Patents

Abstract

The wall-mounted moist wipe holder holds moist wipes within a drawer or a tray inserted within a sealed box. The drawer or tray is configured to hold moist wipes. The box is either mounted within a wall or directly to a wall. Trim with a gasket integrated within it is disposed around the box opening directly or affixed to the wall and surrounding the box opening. A pin joins the drawer or tray to the box when it engages a push-push latch affixed to the back wall of the box. The gasket allows the front face of the drawer or tray to seal the tray or drawer to the box.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
• This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/627,962, filed Nov. 16, 2004.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
• 1. Field of the Invention
• The present invention relates to wall-mounted dispensers, and particularly to a moist wipe holder mounted to or within a wall.
• 2. Description of the Related Art
• Moist wipes have been increasingly utilized for many various purposes. Moist wipes traditionally have been used to clean babies and young infants. They are currently being incorporated into devices to clean kitchen floors. More and more frequently, adults have been substituting moist wipes for dry toilet paper or using them in addition to dry toilet paper. It is therefore necessary to keep a box of these moist wipes in various places, for example, the bathroom or the nursery.
• These wet wipes are typically held within sealed containers to maintain the moistness of the wipes. In bathrooms, the moist wipe containers do not have a place to easily store them. The containers are often placed on top of the toilet tank, under a bathroom sink or in a storage unit in a nursery. While these places do allow for access to the wipes, it is more difficult for a user to easily retrieve the necessary wipes. Further, struggling with opening containers when the wipes are needed is not optimal, especially when cleaning squirming children.
• Accordingly, there is a need for an easily accessible storage container for holding and keeping wet wipes moist. Thus, a wall-mounted moist wipe holder solving the aforementioned problems is desired.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
• The present invention comprises various embodiments of a wall-mounted moist wipe holder, which is configured to provide a sealed, easily accessible container for moist wipes. The wall-mounted moist wipe holder holds moist wipes within a drawer or a tray inserted within a sealed box. The box is either mounted within a wall or directly to a wall in a bathroom or in a nursery, depending on the use for which it is needed.
• In a first embodiment, the moist wipe holder comprises a box, a drawer, trim, and a gasket. The box is fitted within a wall, and the drawer is adapted to slide within the box opening. The trim is disposed around the box opening on the wall surface, and the gasket is integrated within the trim. The user may shut the drawer, which holds moist wipes, and the gasket seals the face of the drawer to the box. The wipes are therefore kept moist within the sealed enclosure.
• At least one latch pin is joined to the back surface of the drawer, and at least one push-push latch is affixed to the back wall of the box. When a user shuts the drawer, the pins engage the latches, holding the box and drawer together. When the user depresses the front face of the drawer, the pins disengage from the latches, and the drawer opens away from the box toward the user.
• In a second embodiment of the wall-mounted moist wipe holder, the box is attached directly to the wall surface. A tray, which holds moist wipes, is pivotally attached to the box and slides into the box when a user closes the tray face. Trim is disposed directly on the box, around the opening of the box. A gasket is integrated within the trim. When the face of the tray is pushed shut, the face comes into contact with the gasket, sealing the tray to the box. The back surface of the tray has at least one latch pin joined to it. The latch pins are designed to engage push-push latches that are affixed to the back wall of the box.
• In a third embodiment of the wall-mounted moist wipe holder, the box is mounted within a wall and the tray, similar to the second embodiment, is pivotally attached to the box.
• These and other features of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
• FIG. 1 is an environmental side view of a wall-mounted moist wipe holder according to a first embodiment of the present invention, partially in section.
• FIG. 2 is an elevational front view of the wall-mounted moist wipe holder according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic, environmental top view of the wall-mounted moist wipe holder according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 4 is an environmental side view of a wall-mounted moist wipe holder according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 5 is an environmental side view of a wall-mounted moist wipe holder according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
• Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
• The present invention is a wall-mounted moist wipe holder that provides a sealed, easily accessible container for moist wipes. The wall-mounted moist wipe holder holds moist wipes within a sealed box either mounted to a wall or within a wall.
• FIGS. 1-3 show a first embodiment of a wall-mounted moist wipe holder, designated generally as10a. Themoist wipe holder10acomprises abox12, adrawer14,trim16 and a gasket18. Thebox12 is fitted within a wall W and has a drawer opening20 and aback wall22. Thedrawer14 has afront face24 and a rear wall. Thedrawer14 is adapted to slide within the drawer opening20 of thebox12 and engage theback wall22 of thebox12 with the rear wall of thedrawer14. Thetrim16 is disposed around and extends from the drawer opening20, bearing on theouter surface28 of the wall W, and provides a decorativeouter surface26 concealing the opening of thebox12. Thegasket18 is integrated within thetrim16 disposed around the drawer opening20.
• Thedrawer14 has at least onelatch pin30 extending from the rear wall of thedrawer14. At least onelatch32, also known as a push-push latch, is attached to theback wall22 of thebox12. When thedrawer14 is pushed within thebox12, eachpin30 engages one of thelatches32. Upon pressure exerted on thefront face24 of thedrawer14, thepins30 disengage from thelatches32 and thedrawer14 extends outward from thebox12. It will be noted fromFIG. 2 that thefront face24 of thedrawer14 lacks a handle, thedrawer14 opening by touch, i.e., by pressure exerted against thefront face24.
• Thedrawer14 holds moist wipes MW within it. When thedrawer14 is shut, thefront face24 of thedrawer14 abuts thegasket18 within thetrim16 and seals shut into thebox12. Thegasket18 helps create a sealed enclosure so that the moist wipes MW are kept moist within thebox12.
• Thebox12 may be attached to the wall W in any manner known in the art, e.g., by screws extending through the trim16 that are secured to wall studs or drywall anchors, by attaching the trim16 to the wall by adhesive, by brackets or spring clips, etc.
• FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment of the wall-mounted moist wipe holder, designated as10b.The wall-mounted moist wipeholder10bis mounted directly to theouter surface28 of the wall W. Thebox12 is attached to theouter surface28 of the wall W withscrews34 extending through theback wall22 of the box and secured to a drywall anchor, or by any other attachment means for holding thebox12 against the wall W. Thebox12 has atray opening40 and aback wall22. Ahinge54 pivotally attaches atray36 to thebox12, allowing thetray36 to close within thetray opening40 of thebox12. Thetray36 has afront face38 and aback surface42.Trim44 is disposed around thetray opening40 of thebox12. Agasket46 is integrated within thetrim44.
• At least onelatch pin48 extends from theback surface42 of thetray36. At least onelatch50 is attached to theback wall22 of thebox12. When thetray36 is closed, thelatch pin48 engages with thelatch50. After a user presses on thefront face38 of thetray36, thepin48 disengages from thelatch50 and thetray36 opens to display moist wipes MW held on aplate52 within thetray36. When a user pushes theface38 of thetray36 shut, theface38 comes into contact with the trim44. Thetray36 is sealed shut against thegasket46 integrated within the trim44, thereby keeping the wipes MW moist within thebox12.
• Turning now toFIG. 5, a third embodiment of the wall-mounted moist wipe holder, designated as10c,is shown. Thebox12 is mounted within awall W. Trim44 extending around thebox12 is attached to theouter surface28 of the wall W by any conventional means.Gasket46 is integrated within thetrim44. When thetray36 is closed within thebox12, thefront face38 of thetray36 abuts against the trim44 so that thegasket46 seals thetray36 shut within thebox12. The wipes MW held on aplate52 in thetray36 are kept moist because the wipes MW are sealed within thebox12.
• At least onelatch pin48 is joined to theback surface42 of thetray36. At least onelatch50 is affixed to theback wall22 of thebox12. Thetray36 is tilted into thebox12, and thepin48 engages thelatch50.
• While pins and latches are shown, the pins and latches may be substituted for any other device that operates in a push-push manner, such that when a user exerts a forward pressure on the surface he wishes to open, the surface opens back toward the user. Additionally, while a gasket is described, any other sealant may be used in place of the gasket to provide a sealed container once the front face of the door or tray is closed.
• It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.

Claims (6)

1. A wall-mounted moist wipe holder, comprising:

a box defining a drawer opening and having a back wall, the box being adapted for mounting to a wall;

a drawer slidably disposed through the drawer opening into the box, the drawer being adapted for holding moist wipes;

trim disposed around the drawer opening; and

a gasket integrated within the trim disposed around the drawer opening.

2. The wall-mounted moist wipe holder according toclaim 1, further comprising means for mounting the back wall of said box to an outer surface of the wall, said box projecting from the wall.

3. The wall-mounted moist wipe holder according toclaim 1, further comprising means for mounting said trim to an outer surface of the wall, said box being adapted for extending through an opening defined in the wall with the trim being mounted flush to the outer surface of the wall.

4. The wall-mounted moist wipe holder according toclaim 3, further comprising means for opening said drawer by touch, whereby said drawer lacks a handle and is substantially flush with said trim and said wall.

5. The wall-mounted moist wipe holder according toclaim 1, further comprising:

at least one pin extending rearwardly from the drawer; and

at least one push-push latch attached to the back wall of said box, the pin releasably engaging the push-push latch.

6. The wall-mounted moist wipe holder according toclaim 1, wherein said drawer further comprises:

a front face pivotally attached to said box; and

a tray plate attached to said front face, the tray plate being disposed within the box when said front face is pivoted closed and extended from said box when said front face is pivoted open, the tray plate being adapted for holding the moist wipes.

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