Technical field

The present invention relates to a hand sanitizer dispensing assembly. The present invention also relates to a method of operating the hand sanitizer dispensing assembly, a method for placing a hand sanitizer bottle therein, and a method of manufacturing the hand sanitizer dispensing assembly.

Background art

Hand sanitizing dispensing assemblies are known and are typically used in public restrooms or public spaces. Known hand sanitizing dispensing assemblies typically include a housing for placing a hand sanitizer bottle therein. An actuation mechanism is provided to actuate a pump provided on the bottle to dispense hand sanitizer. Typically, a user has to depress a lever or other mechanism after which hand sanitizer is output and the user can wash his hands.

Disclosure of the invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide a hand sanitizing dispensing assembly that is safer to use.

This object is achieved according to the invention with a hand sanitizer dispensing assembly comprising: a tubular housing having a longitudinal direction configured to be positioned in an upright orientation such that the longitudinal direction substantially coincides with a vertical direction; a foot-operated lever having a first arm which is at least partly outside the tubular housing and a second arm which is at least partly inside the tubular housing, the foot-operated lever being moveable between a rest position and an actuated position such that an extremity of the second arm is higher in said actuated position than in said rest position in the longitudinal direction; a support platform disposed within the tubular housing configured to support a hand sanitizer bottle having a pump, the support platform being moveable between a first position and a second position such that the support platform is higher in said second position than in said first position in the longitudinal direction; movement transfer means connected to the extremity of the second arm and the support platform to transfer a movement of the extremity of the second arm to the support platform; and an abutment within the tubular housing above the support platform in the longitudinal direction, the abutment being configured to engage the pump of the hand sanitizer bottle when the support platform is moved from said first position to said second position.

The hand sanitizing dispensing assembly according to the invention is designed to be actuated using a foot of the user. As such, a user who wants to wash his hands is not required to touch the dispensing assembly. There is therefore a reduced risk, when compared to a hand-operated lever, that any contagion, e.g. a virus or bacteria, present on the lever could be transferred to the user. The hand sanitizing dispensing assembly according to the invention is therefore safer when compared to known dispensing assemblies.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the movement transfer means comprise a rod extending at least partly in the longitudinal direction, a first extremity of the rod being directly or indirectly connected to the extremity of the second arm and a second extremity of the rod being directly or indirectly connected to the support platform. This forms an easy construction for the movement transfer means.

In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the movement transfer means comprise a U-shaped bracket having a bottom part and two legs extending in the longitudinal direction, the bottom part being directly or indirectly connected to the extremity of the second arm and each leg having an extremity that is directly or indirectly connected to the support platform. Preferably, guiding means are provided on the inside of the tubular housing, the legs of the U-shaped bracket being positioned in the guiding means. More preferably, the extremity of the second arm is hollow and the bottom part of the U-shaped bracket is positioned through the hollow extremity of the second arm.

The U-shaped bracket has an improved dimensional stability when compared to the single rod. The guiding means ensure that the legs of the U-shaped bracket cannot tilt with respect to the tubular housing. A hollow second arm extremity allows for a convenient connection between the lever and the movement transfer means since, irrespective of the movement transfer means (e.g. single rod or U-shaped bracket) there is typically a relative rotation between the lever and the movement transfer means which may be easily achieved when using a hollow extremity with a rod (i.e. the bottom part) positioned therein.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the extremity of the second arm is hollow. As described above, a hollow second arm extremity allows for a convenient connection between the lever and the movement transfer means.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the support platform is mounted on a threaded rod placed in a hollow cylinder having a corresponding screw thread, the hollow cylinder being positioned within the tubular housing at a fixed distance from the extremity of the second arm. Preferably the hollow cylinder is part of movement transfer means, the hollow cylinder being in particular directly connected to the second extremity of the rod or to the U-shaped bracket, the U-shaped bracket further preferably comprising two transverse parts connected to the respective ones of the extremity of each leg, the hollow cylinder being directly connected to the transverse parts.

The threaded rod and the hollow support cylinder may be used to position the support platform such that the nozzle of the bottle is correctly positioned with respect to the abutment, i.e. such that the nozzle gets depressed when actuating the lever. In other words, for a bottle with a lower height, the support platform is moved away from the support cylinder (i.e. closer to the abutment) and vice versa for a bottle which is higher. The threaded rod and the hollow support cylinder are ideally part of the movement transfer means to minimize the number of parts required for the hand sanitizer dispensing assembly and may be connected to either of the alternative movement transfer means described above (i.e. the rod or the U-shaped bracket).

In an embodiment of the present invention, the hand sanitizer dispensing assembly further comprises a cover to close a top end of the tubular housing. This provides a clean outlook of the hand sanitizer dispensing assembly and avoids dirt and/or water from entering the tubular housing via the otherwise open top end.

Preferably, locking means are provided to lock the cover with respect to the housing. In particular, the locking means are unlocked by lifting the cover in the longitudinal direction away from the tubular housing and/or the cover is pivotable with respect to the tubular housing along an axis substantially parallel to longitudinal axis when the locking means are unlocked.

The locking means avoid that a user of bad will would steal the hand sanitizer dispensing bottle placed within the tubular housing. The lifting and pivoting operation may be achieved by the cover being connected to the tubular housing by a first rod and a second rod that each extend substantially parallel to longitudinal axis, the first rod forming a pivot axis and the second rod forming the locking means.

Alternatively, the cover is hingedly connected to the tubular housing. This forms a simpler embodiment which does not require a complex lift and pivot motion.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the hand sanitizer dispensing assembly further comprises a support positioned below the extremity of the second arm. The support ensures that, in the rest position of the lever, the first arm extends substantially in a horizontal direction. Such an inclination is beneficial to users as the area on which they can place their foot is maximized. This provides a smoothly pivoting lever.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the abutment is formed by a rod positioned centrally in tubular housing and extending substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis. This is a simple design.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the movement transfer means are configured to, when the foot-operated lever is moved from its rest position to its actuated position, move the support platform from its first position to its second position. In this embodiment, there is no need to have mechanical inversion, which is typically complex, and the movement of the lever directly corresponds (at least in the directional sense) to the movement of the support platform.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the hand sanitizer dispensing assembly further comprises an outlet disposed on the tubular housing. Such an outlet may bridge the distance between the nozzle of the bottle and the outside of the tubular housing in case the nozzle itself is not accessible outside the tubular housing.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the hand sanitizer dispensing assembly further comprises said bottle, said bottle preferably comprising hand sanitizer.

The object of the invention is also achieved by a method of operating the hand sanitizer dispensing assembly described above for dispensing a hand sanitizer, in particular in the form of a liquid or foam. The method preferably comprising actuating the foot-operated lever from its rest position to its actuated position such that the support platform is moved from the first position to the second position to depress the pump of the hand sanitizer bottle by abutting against the abutment.

This method uses the hand sanitizing dispensing assembly according to the invention such that a user can use his foot instead of his hands to get hand sanitizer, thereby decreasing the contagion transfer risk. The object of the invention is also achieved by a method of placing the hand sanitizer bottle in the hand sanitizer dispensing assembly according described above, the method comprising: removing the cover and placing the hand sanitizer bottle on the support platform. The method may further comprise: unlocking the locking means of the cover, in particular by lifting the cover away from the tubular housing; and pivoting the cover with respect to the tubular housing. The method may also comprise: removing an empty the hand sanitizer bottle from the tubular housing. The object of the invention is also achieved by a method of manufacturing the hand sanitizer dispensing assembly described above, the method comprising: forming the tubular housing, in particular by extrusion moulding in combination with milling and/or cutting; and placing the foot-operated lever, the support platform, the movement transfer means and the abutment.

The above methods result in a hand sanitizing dispensing assembly according to the invention which, as explained above, improve user safety.

Brief description of the drawings The invention will be further explained by means of the following description and the appended figures.

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a hand sanitizer dispensing assembly according to the present invention.

Figures 2A and 2B show mutually perpendicular longitudinal cross- sections through the hand sanitizer dispensing assembly of figure 1.

Figure 3 shows a perspective view of the bottom of the hand sanitizer dispensing assembly of figure 1 with the tubular housing being partly lifted to show the interior mechanism.

Figure 4 shows a transversal cross-section through the tubular housing of the hand sanitizer dispensing assembly of figure 1. Figures 5A and 5B show the cover in the unlocked state and the removed state respectively.

Description of the invention

The present invention will be described with respect to particular embodiments and with reference to certain drawings but the invention is not limited thereto but only by the claims. The drawings described are only schematic and are non-limiting. In the drawings, the size of some of the elements may be exaggerated and not drawn on scale for illustrative purposes. The dimensions and the relative dimensions do not necessarily correspond to actual reductions to practice of the invention.

Furthermore, the terms first, second, third and the like in the description and in the claims, are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a sequential or chronological order. The terms are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances and the embodiments of the invention can operate in other sequences than described or illustrated herein.

Moreover, the terms top, bottom, over, under and the like in the description and the claims are used for descriptive purposes. The terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances and the embodiments of the invention described herein can operate in other orientations than described or illustrated herein.

Furthermore, the various embodiments, although referred to as “preferred” are to be construed as exemplary manners in which the invention may be implemented rather than as limiting the scope of the invention.

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a hand sanitizer dispensing assembly 1 according to the present invention. The hand sanitizer dispensing assembly 1 comprises a tubular housing 3 placed in an upright position on a ground surface 19 (indicated in figure 3) using a foot 5. In other words, the tubular housing 3 has a longitudinal axis 17 (indicated in figure 2B) which, in use, is placed in a vertical or near-vertical orientation. The tubular housing 3 is provided with two openings, namely a bottom opening 7 and a top opening 9. The bottom opening 7 is provided in order to position a lever 11 and the top opening 9 is provided in order to position an output nozzle 13. The top part of the tubular housing 3 is closed by a cover 15.

It will be readily appreciated that, while the foot 5 is formed by a substantially flat ring plate in the hand sanitizer dispensing assembly 1 shown in figure 1 , other means are known to form a foot 5. For example, as shown in the hand sanitizer dispensing assembly 1 of figures 2A and 2B, the foot 5 may also be formed by support legs screwed into the tubular housing 3.

The operation and the internal structure of the hand sanitizer dispensing assembly 1 will be described by reference to figures 2 to 4. The bottom of the hand sanitizer dispensing assembly 1 is best shown in figure 3. Figure 3 shows that the hand sanitizer dispensing assembly 1 comprises a foot-operated lever 11 having a first arm 21 which is at least partly outside the tubular housing 3 and a second arm 23 which is at least partly inside the tubular housing. The lever 11 is pivotable about a fulcrum 25 which is supported on a wheel 27 resting on the ground surface 19.

The lever 11 is shown in its rest-position in figure 3 where the extremity 29 of the second arm 23 rests on a support 31. Upon depressing the first arm 21 of the lever 11 , the extremity 29 of the second arm 23 will be moved upwards in the longitudinal direction 17, i.e. the second arm 23 is higher in said actuated position than in said rest position in the longitudinal direction 17.

The support 31 may be used to ensure that, in the rest position of the lever 11 , the first arm 21 extends substantially in a horizontal direction. Such an inclination is beneficial to users as the area on which they can place their foot is maximized. As shown in figure 3, the extremity 29 of the second arm 23 is hollow and a rod member is placed through the hollow part. This rod member is part of a U-shaped bracket 33 better shown in figure 2B. More specifically, the U-shaped bracket has a bottom part 35 (i.e. the rod member) connected with two legs 37. Each leg 37 is guided in a groove 39 (shown in figure 4) on the inside of the tubular housing 3. The guiding grooves 39 prevents the U-shaped bracket 33 from tilting with respect to the tubular housing 3. When the lever 11 is actuated, the entire U-shaped bracket 33 is moved upwards as this is fixedly attached to the extremity 29 of the second arm 23 of the lever 11.

At the top of the U-shaped bracket 33, there are provided two transverse rods 41 that connect the legs 37 with a support cylinder 43. Within the support cylinder 43, there is provided a threaded rod 45 that is placed in a screw thread (not shown) on the inner wall of the support cylinder 43. At the top of the threaded rod 45, there is placed a support platform 47 on which a dispensing bottle 49 may be placed. By using the threaded rod 45, a distance between the support platform 47 and the support cylinder 43 may be varied. The U-shaped bracket 33 transfers the movement of the lever 11 to the support cylinder 43 and thus to the support platform 47. As such, when the lever 11 is actuated, the support platform 47 will be moved upwards from a first (lower) position to a second (higher) position.

The dispensing bottle 49 is provided with a nozzle 51. In the illustrated embodiment, the nozzle 51 has a sufficient length such that it projects from the tubular housing 3, i.e. the nozzle 51 acts as the output nozzle 13. However, it will be appreciated that, in other embodiments, the nozzle 51 may not be dimensioned to project from the tubular housing 3, in which case the output nozzle 13 may be formed by an additional part attached to or mounted below the nozzle 51 (e.g. a nozzle extension or a slide). The hand sanitizer dispensing assembly 1 further comprises an abutment 53 which, in the illustrated embodiment, is formed by a horizontal rod. The abutment 53 is positioned above the nozzle 51 of the dispensing bottle 49. As such, when the lever 11 is actuated, the support platform 47 and the bottle 49 move upwards such that the nozzle 51 abuts against the abutment 53 and is thus depressed to dispense hand sanitizer. The threaded rod 45 and the support cylinder 43 may be used to position the support platform 47 such that the nozzle 51 is correctly positioned with respect to the abutment 51 , i.e. such that the nozzle 51 gets depressed when actuating the lever 11. In other words, for a bottle 49 with a lower height, the support platform 47 is moved away from the support cylinder 43 (i.e. closer to the abutment 53) and vice versa for a bottle 49 which is higher.

In the illustrated embodiment, the U-shaped bracket together with the support cylinder 43 and the threaded rod 45 act as a movement transfer means to transfer a movement of the extremity 29 of the second arm 23 to the support platform 47.

It will be readily appreciated that other movement transfer means may be used. For example, a single rod may be used to directly connect the extremity 29 of the second arm 23 to the support platform 47. This is a much simpler construction when compared to the illustrated embodiment. However, as a downside, the bottle 49 needs to be of a standard size since it is not possible to move the support platform 47 in height with respect to the abutment 53.

In the illustrated embodiments, an upwards motion of the second arm 23 causes the support platform 47 to move upwards. It will be readily appreciated that other movement transfer means may rely on a movement inversion where a downwards movement of the second arm 23 causes an upwards movement of the support platform 47.

The tubular housing 3 is typically made of a metal, preferably aluminium, and may be manufactured using a combination of extrusion moulding to make the tubular structure with the guiding grooves 39 and milling and/or cutting to make the openings 7, 9.

In the illustrated embodiment, the wall thickness d (indicated in figure 4) is about 2,7 mm, but other values may be used depending on the material. The diameter D (indicated in figure 4) of the tubular housing 3 is 125 mm in the illustrated embodiment but may vary depending on the design. The height H (indicated in figure 2A) of the tubular housing 3 is about 1 m such that a user does not have to bend dramatically to place his hands below the output nozzle 13.

The top of the tubular housing 3 is closed off by a cover 15. In the illustrated embodiments, the cover 15 has a triangular shape, but other shapes are equally possible. Figures 5A and 5B illustrate means how to place and lock the cover 15 to the tubular housing 3. The cover 15 is provided with a pivot rod 55 and a lock rod 57 at its bottom. Each rod 55, 57 fits in the guiding grooves 39 on the inside of the tubular housing 3. The pivot rod 55 is longer than the lock rod 57 such that the lock rod 57 may be lifted from its guiding groove 39 while the pivot rod 55 remains in its guiding groove 39 as shown in figure 5A. Once the lock rod 57 is free from the guiding groove 39, the cover 15 may be pivoted along its pivot rod 55 to allow access to the internal space of the tubular housing 3 as shown in figure 5B. This allows to place and/or replace the bottle 49 on the support platform 47.

Other means are available to attach the cover 15 to the tubular housing 3. In a simpler embodiment, a hinge (not shown) is provided to allow the cover 15 to be hingedly connected to the tubular housing 3.

Other elements of the hand sanitizer dispensing assembly 1 (e.g. the cover 15, the foot 5 and/or the support platform 47) are typically also made of metal, such as aluminium, stainless steel, electrogalvanized metal, etc.

It will be readily appreciated that the bottle 49 may hold any kind of hand sanitizer. Typically the hand sanitizer will be a liquid and may have anti-bacterial properties, such as alcohol gel compositions. The nozzle 51 may output the hand sanitizer in various ways, such as a liquid or a foam.

Although aspects of the present disclosure have been described with respect to specific embodiments, it will be readily appreciated that these aspects may be implemented in other forms within the scope of the invention as defined by the claims.