GB2438397A - Soap bar dispenser - Google Patents

Abstract

A soap bar dispenser with an attached soap bar tray 2 which can be both standalone and wall-mountable. The main body 1 can hold a plurality of bars of soap, supported spaced above the tray by a spring or ratchet mechanism. The soap bar tray 2 may contain a drainage function to allow excess water to be released from the unit. A slot 3 at the front of the dispenser allows the user to visibly see how many bars of soap remain within the unit and push down on the bar to release the bottom-most one.

Description

<p>1 2438397 Soap Bar Dispenser A large percentage of individuals who have

a bath will normally use a bar of soap to clean themselves. Although, through greater usage of showers, other products such as shower gels are becoming more and more common, bars of soap have yet to be wholly replaced -rather, soap bars still i eceive unprecedented amounts of ad'crtisement money for them to be promoted to the end user.</p>

<p>flue to constant usage the actual bar of soap is depleted over the course of time and there is a need to replace it once it is used up. Subsequently. consumers will stock up on at least an additional bar of soap in preparation for when the current soap bar is used up. This additional bar of soap can be stored in a multitude of places including a bathroom cabinet, in the kitchen or even in some form of storage-tidy unit besides the bath shower. There are a number of problems attached to these, however, including the!ossibility of one having actually entered the bath / shower before realising the 1atcs of the soap bar, and more specifically related to the last issue, there are proHems associated with trying to keep the unused bar of soap from accidentally fttlling into the bath -a common occurrence in a household containing minors.</p>

<p>There is therefore a requirement to (a) have additional soap bar(s) accessible, and (b) the storaL'e unit needs to ensure, as much as possible, that the unused bars can be p"otec Led from becoming wet.</p>

<p>i', overcome these issues, the present invention proposes a solution which has the capability to hold multiple bars of soap and also a function of being either wall-n ountahie or standalone to allow it to be placed in a location where splashes of water iiia iut reach.</p>

<p>i'flC soap bar dispenser has the ability to be both standalone and fixable to a wall, allo ing the user to decide where they wish the unit to be located. The user does not even ha'e to place the unit near the bath / shower but may instead prefer to keep it, br example, near the sink. There is flexibility for the user to decide for themselves.</p>

<p>i'he unit will be constructed of suitable materials to resist water and keep the contents dry. whilst maintaining an easy-to-assemble structure to cater for mass-production.</p>

<p>Lnii holds a multiplicity of bars of soap 3uch that one can be dispensed without disturbing the others, which will advance their position so as to present the next bar tor selection and use.</p>

<p>can be achieved in a number of ways, for example, by spring-loading the stack of soap bars, use of gravity with a ratchet device, hand pressure on top of the stack of bars or other suitable means.</p>

<p>An example of the invention will now be described by referring to the accompanying dra irigs: -figi;re I shows the invention with soap bars stacked up inside it as well as a bar of soap in the tray: and -tigure 2 show's the invention, still viewed from the top but with no bars in it.</p>

<p>In figure 1, bars of soap 4 may be stacked one above the other inside the body 1, ready to be dispensed.</p>

<p>In figure 2. the stack is prevented from falling through body I by the pressure applied to the bottom most bar from a spring 6.</p>

<p>In figure 1, insertion of a finger at the top of slot 3, allows a downward pressure to be placed on the stack of bars. In figure 2, this overcomes the pressure from spring 6, nnd alloing the bottom most soap bar to fall into tray 2, guided by inclined plane 8.</p>

<p>ifl flure 1. the slot 3 at the front (face) of the unit will allow the user to clearly see iio many bars of soap are in stock. This overcomes problems which may be faced with tiaditional bathroom cabinets where one needs to open the unit to see the exact stock status of the soap -a problem when one is ready to take a bath.</p>

<p>The unit can store several bars of soap at any one time (with one in use in the soap tra) . [his clearly eliminates the problem of having to go elsewhere within the house to get a bar of soap.</p>

<p>The soap tray acts as a traditional soap dish tray, holding any soap currently in use.</p>

<p>This would, effectively, eliminate the need to have a separate soap tray and storage u'Th. -sa ing valuable space.</p>

<p>fiure 2, a tray 2 has mounted above it a body 1, firmly attached to it. Body I ;corporates screw holes 7, allowing it to be fixed to a wall. Alternatively, the ssemblv can stand on a level surface.</p>

<p>L fiure 2, tray 2 may conveniently be pierced by holes or slots 5, to allow drainage 0! water.</p>

<p>f he device will be constructed from water resistant materials such as, for instance, stainless steel. aluminiuni or plastics, or other such materials.</p>

Claims (1)

1. <p>CLAIMS</p>

   <p>1. A soap bar dispenser comprising a hollow upright container body attached to a soap bar tray, the container body being dimensioned to accommodate plural bars in a stack and having a lower dispensing opening leading to the tray and also having means for retaining bars in the body at a spacing above the tray, and the tray having an inclined surface adjacent the dispensing opening to guide bars from the container body onto the tray.</p>

   <p>2. A dispenser as claimed in claim 1 wherein the upright container body has an elongate slot therein enabling contents to be visible and/or accessible.</p>

   <p>3. A dispenser as claimed in claim 2 wherein the slot extends upwards from the lower dispensing opening.</p>

   <p>4. A dispenser as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the retainer means comprises spring means.</p>

   <p>5. A dispenser as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the tray is configured to rest upon a level surface with the container body extending upwards from the S.. tray.</p>

   <p>6. A dispenser as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the container body is provided with means for wall mounting.</p>

   <p>7. A soap bar dispenser substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.</p>