WO1999062394A1

WO1999062394A1 - Wipe wringer

Info

Publication number: WO1999062394A1
Application number: PCT/GB1999/001637
Authority: WO
Inventors: Andrew Paul Lawton
Original assignee: Andrew Paul Lawton
Priority date: 1998-06-04
Filing date: 1999-06-04
Publication date: 1999-12-09
Also published as: GB9811918D0

Abstract

A wipe dispenser (10) comprises a housing (12) for the hand wipes, and a reservoir (18) of cleaning liquid. The cleaning liquid is brought into contact with, and is absorbed by the wipes. The housing comprises an aperture (20) through which the wipes are dispensed. The aperture can be varied to allow a desired amount of liquid to be drained from the wipe.

Description

WIPE WRINGER

The present invention relates to a wipe dispenser, particularly, though

not exclusively for use with disposable wipes.

One known form of a wipe dispenser comprises a hollow container

which serves as a reservoir for a solvent or other liquid and also to house

a roll of wipes. A lid is fixed onto the container to seal the solvent and roll

of wipes inside. An aperture of fixed dimensions extends through the lid,

giving access to the roll of wipes.

In use the container is partially filled with the desired solvent and a

roll of wipes is then inserted into the container. A standard roll of wipes for

use in these containers possesses a series of perforations at equidistant

intervals along the length of the roll. These serve to divide the roll into a

plurality of connected individual wipes.

The first of the wipes, that being the wipes which defines the free

end of the roll, is fed through the aperture in the lid. The lid is then secured

to the base. Over a period of time the wipes will become saturated with the

chosen solvent by capillary action. The first wipe may then be extracted

through the fixed aperture, torn from the roll along its perforations and used

in the desired manner. This procedure may be followed until all of the

wipes have been used. It is then necessary to refill the container with

wipes and solvent.

This form of wipe dispenser suffers from the drawback that the amount of solvent, solution or liquid soaked into the wipe is not

controllable. This is a problem in that in some circumstances it is desirable

to use a relatively dry wipe, with just a small amount of solvent soaked into

it, whilst in other circumstances a wholly saturated wipe may be required.

It is further noted that some wipes may be thicker or more absorbent than

others. Also, different solvents will possess different viscosities. Both of

these factors affect the solvent content of a wipe when the wipe is

extracted through the fixed aperture. The fixed aperture does not take

account of this. It is thus very difficult to obtain a wipe, from the

dispenser, possessing the desired solvent content for wipes for use in a

particular application, or to successfully use one dispenser for a variety of

applications.

Alternatively Pre-soaked wipe refills can be used. In this case a roll

of wipes is placed in a pre-determined volume of liquid to produce a chosen

moisture content. The wipes are left in the liquid for a period of time to be

moistened by capillary action. The wipes are then removed and sealed in

air tight packaging. However these circumstances still do not allow the

moisture content of the wipe to be varied.

The present invention has been made from a consideration of this

problems.

According to the present invention there is provided a wipe dispenser

comprising a housing for the wipes, the housing being operative to receive a reservoir of fluid which on contact with the wipes within the housing will

be absorbed by the wipes, characterised in that the housing comprises an

aperture through which the wipes are to be dispensed, the dispenser

comprising means for varying the dimensions of the aperture.

A wipe dispenser in accordance with the present invention possess

an aperture which can be used to control the fluid content of the disposed

wipes.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention the aperture is a

substantially rectangular in shape. Such an aperture may be defined by four

sides. It is preferred that one of the longest sides which partly defines the

aperture is movable with respect to the opposite side so as to vary aperture

size. Thus the width of the aperture can be adjusted so as to control wipe

fluid content. When a wipe is drawn through a narrow aperture more fiuid

will be drawn from the wipe than if the same wipe is drawn through a wider

aperture.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention the width of the

aperture may be adjusted in pre-determined set amounts thus providing

stepped aperture width adjustment rather than continuously variable width

adjustment which is also a possibility. This stepped adjustment allows a

controlled amount of fluid to be drained from the wipe on each occasion the

wipe on dispenser is used. This provides consistent performance and

assists in educating any potential user as to how much solvent, solution or liquid is to be used in a particular application.

Preferably the aperture is defined by a number of rollers, ideally a pair

of rollers. Ideally two opposite sides of the aperture are each defined by

one roller. This is advantageous in that the rollers allow the wipes to be

dispensed with a reduced chance of tearing the wipe. This is of particular

importance when a wipe with a very low moisture content is required and

consequently the dispensing aperture is narrow.

It is preferred that one roller is fixed in position. Preferably a second

roller may be moved towards and away from said fixed roller. It is preferred

that both rollers are capable of rotation around their respective major axis.

For continuously variable adjustment it is preferred that the adjustable

roller is moved by a helical screw. Preferably the helical screw is threaded

through a complementary hole in the side of the wipe dispenser.

In an alternative embodiment one or a series of balls, such as ball

bearings, may be used instead of, or in conjunction with a roller.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention the end of the

helical screw remote from the roller is compatible with a turning knob and

a dial. This arrangement allows a desired pre-determined aperture width to

be found easily by any user. This results in a uniform repeatability of fluid

content in each wipe extracted from a certain width of aperture.

Preferably a sealable top may be fitted to the lid of the wipe

dispenser. This seals the wipe dispenser when it is not in use. ln order that the present invention be more readily understood a

specific embodiment thereof will now be described with reference to the

accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure. 1 is a plan view of a wipe dispenser in accordance with the

present invention; and

Figure. 2 is a side cross sectional view of the dispenser of Fig. 1 along

the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 .

Referring to the drawings a wipe dispenser 10 comprises a container

12 and a lid 14. The container 1 2 houses a roll of wipes 1 6, and reservoir

of solvent 1 8. It is to be understood that any fluid, such as water or

disinfectant, may be used instead of a solvent.

The lid 1 4 possesses an aperture 20 through which a wipe can be

extracted. The aperture 20 is defined by two rollers 22, 24. One of the

rollers 22 is fixed in position connected to opposite sides of the lid 14,

though said fixed roller 22 is capable of rotation around the major axis. The

second roller 24 is located in a housing 26 which is U-shaped in cross

section . The second roller is connected to the housing 26 so that the roller

24 may rotate about its major axis.

The second roller 24 faces the fixed roller 22. The major axes of the

rollers 22, 24 are aligned so as to be parallel to each other. The housing 26 is connected to a helical screw 28. The helical screw

is threaded through a complementary threaded aperture 30 in a side of the

lid which is parallel to the rollers 22, 24. The end of the helical screw 28

remote form the rollers 22, 24 is fastened to a control knob 32. A dial 34

is located concentrically around the helical screw, in between the control

knob and the outside of the container. A top is fastenable to the upper face

of the lid 14 to seal the wipes and solvent inside the dispenser when the

wipe dispenser is not in use.

In use the aperture 20 defined by the two rollers is adjustable. By

turning the control knob 32, the helical screw moves the second roller 24

towards or away from the first roller 22, depending on which way the knob

is turned.

If a wipe with a very low moisture content is required the roller

spacing is adjusted so that the rollers are almost in contact. The wipe is

then pulled the rollers, which squeezes the solvent from the wipe.

When the wipe is pulled through the aperture the rollers rotate to

assist feeding the wipe from the container out through the aperture.

If a more saturated wipe is required the control knob is turned so as

to move the movable roller 24 away from the fixed roller 22. This widens

the aperture. Consequently when a wipe is pulled through the aperture less

solvent is squeezed from the wipe. This results in a wipe with a higher

solvent content. The present invention provides a means of controlling the solvent

content of a dispensed wipe. As the range of aperture size is variable the

range of aperture size can be calibrated for the different thicknesses of

wipes. The same calibration methods can be employed if a different

solvent, with a different viscosity, is used.

Markings can be used on the dial concentric with the helical screw

and control knob to give accurate measurement of the aperture width.

By drawing the adjustable roller as far from the fixed roller as

possible, the system can be reloaded with wipes and/or solvent.

When the wipe dispenser is not in use a top (not shown) is fixable

to the upper face of the lid to seal the contents of the container inside said

container.

It is to be understood that the above described specific embodiment

is by way of reference only. Many modifications and variations are

possible.

Claims

1 . A wipe dispenser comprising a housing for the wipes, the housing

being operative to receive a reservoir of fluid which on contact with

the wipes within the housing will be absorbed by the wipes,

characterised in that the housing comprises an aperture through

which the wipes are to be dispensed, the dispenser comprising

means for varying the dimensions of the aperture.

2. A wipe dispenser as claimed in claim 1 , wherein one of the sides

which partly defines the aperture is moveable with respect to the

opposite side so as to vary aperture size.

3. A wipe dispenser as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the aperture is

substantially rectangular in shape and one of the longest sides which

partly defines the aperture is moveable with respect to the opposite

side so as to vary aperture size.

4. A wipe dispenser as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the

aperture may be adjusted in pre-determined set amounts.

5. A wipe dispenser as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the

aperture is continuously variable in width.

6. A wipe dispenser as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the

aperture is defined by a number of rotatable elements.

7. A wipe dispenser as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the aperture is defined by a pair of rotatable elements.

8. A wipe dispenser as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein two

opposite sides of the aperture are each defined by one rotatable

element.

9. A wipe dispenser as claimed in any of claims 6 to 8, wherein one

rotatable element is fixed in position.

10. A wipe dispenser as claimed in claim 9, wherein a second rotatable

element may be moved towards and away from said fixed roller.

1 1 . A wipe dispenser as claimed in any of claims 7 to 10, wherein the

rotatable elements are capable of rotation around their respective

major axis.

1 2. A wipe dispenser as claimed in claim 10 or claim 1 1 , wherein the

adjustable rotatable element is moved by a helical screw.

1 3. A wipe dispenser as claimed in claim 1 2, wherein the helical screw

is threaded through a complementing hole in the side of the wipe

dispenser.

14. A wipe dispenser as claimed in claim 1 2 and claim 1 3, wherein the

end of the helical screw remote from the roller is compatible with a

turning knob and a dial.

1 5. A wipe dispenser as claimed in any of claims 6 to 1 4, wherein the

rotatable elements comprises rollers.

1 6. A wipe dispenser as claimed in any of claims 6 to 14, wherein the

rotatable elements comprises balls.

17. A wipe dispenser as claimed in any of claims 6 to 1 4, wherein the

rotatable elements comprise a ball used in conjunction with a roller.

1 8. A wipe dispenser as claimed in any of claims 6 to 1 4, wherein the

rotatable elements comprise a series of balls used in conjunction with

a roller.

1 9. A wipe dispenser as claimed in any proceeding claim wherein a

sealable top may be fitted to the lid and wipe dispenser.