Technical field

The present disclosure relates to a receptacle holder. In detail a lockable receptacle holder for a dispensing receptacle for dispensing liquid or creamy hygiene products such as soap, shampoo or lotion hand sanitizer

Background art

For environmental reasons, disposable hygiene products such as soap or shampoo in hotel rooms are increasingly being substituted with large volume dispensers. However, a general problem with refillable containers for hygiene products is that they may be subjected to theft or tampering.

To address this problem there are provided holders for hygiene product dispensers with locking mechanisms. One example is US2011/0101196 which shows a holder for a dispensing bottle that is provided with a collar plate that is provided with an opening for receiving the throat of a soap dispenser. The collar plate is guided in two rods that extend from a wall support so that the collar plate may be brought from an inward position in which the collar plate may be locked to an outward position in which the throat of a dispenser bottle may be inserted into the opening of the collar plate.

One drawback with the dispensing bottle holder of US2011/0101196 is that the throat of the dispenser bottle has to be moved in a slanted manner in direction from below in order to insert the throat of the dispensing bottle into the opening of the collar plate. This makes it awkward and time consuming for housekeeping personal to replace or refill the dispenser bottle. A further drawback resides in the locking of the dispenser bottle holder. To lock the dispensing bottle holder, the dispensing bottle and the collar plate has to be pushed rearwards until a notch in the floating locking pin coincides with a corresponding notch in the guide pin. Thereafter the locking pin is turned by the user. This is a time consuming locking process which involves several steps. A further holder for a dispenser bottle is shown in SE 540307 C2. In this holder the collar plate is attached to the bottle support by screws. Replacement of the dispenser bottle requires removal of the screws and is therefore time consuming. Thus, it is an object of the present disclosure to provide a receptacle holder which solves at least one of the problems of the prior art.

In particular, it is and object of the present disclosure to provide a lockable receptacle holder which allows for fast and easy removal and replacement of a receptacle in few working steps.

A further object is to provide a receptacle holder which provides a lockable receptacle holder which provides high resistance to unauthorized removal of a receptacle. A further object of the present disclosure is to provide a lockable receptacle holder which may be manufactured at low cost.

Summary of the invention

At least one of these objects are met by a lockable receptacle holder 10 comprising a holder base portion 20 configured to support the bottom 5 of a receptacle 1 ; a holder upper portion 30 and an elongated holder back portion 40 extending between the holder base portion 20 and the holder upper portion 30 characterized in:

- a confining member 50 having a hook-shaped front portion 51 and pivotally attached to the holder upper portion 30 so that the confining member 50 may pivot relative the holder upper portion 30 between a closed position A in which the hook-shaped front portion 51 and the holder upper portion 30 form an at least partially closed space C for confining the neck 2 and/or the shoulder 30 of a receptacle 1, and a release position B in which the hook-shaped front portion 51 and the holder upper portion 30 are spaced apart to allow removal of a receptacle 1 from the receptacle holder 10; - a locking member 60 attached to one of the holder upper portion 30 and the confining member 50 and having a locking portion 61 configured to be received into one opening 33,34 of a through hole 32 in the other of the holder upper portion 30 and the confining member 50 when the confining member 50 is in the closed position A, thereby preventing movement of the confining member 50 wherein,

- the locking portion 61 is resilient so that it may be brought out of engagement with the trough hole 32 by application of a force F onto the locking portion 61 through the other opening 33,34 of the through hole 32 thereby allowing the confining member 50 to be pivoted relative the holder upper portion 30.

The lockable receptacle holder is tamper resistant and allows for secure holding of receptacle. In practice, the hook-shaped confining member may easily be unlocked by inserting a purposely dimensioned tool into the through hole to apply a force F unto the locking portion. Subsequently the confining member is pivoted to the side thereby allowing house-keeping personnel to easily remove the receptacle for exchange or refilling. Removal and replacement of the receptacle is easy, demands no tricky handling of the receptacle and may be performed in little time.

The receptacle holder comprises few parts and is easy to assemble. It is also easy to clean and durable. Cyclic tests have shown that the components of the receptacle holder maintain structural integrity over 7000 cycles at 9 kg pressure.

The holder upper portion 30 of the he receptacle holder 10 may comprises an arcuate front portion 31 for receiving a portion of a neck 2 or shoulder 3 of a receptacle 1. The arcuate front portion provides a secure support for the receptacle during operation of the confining member. Preferably, the hook-shaped front portion 51 of the confining member 50 may be rounded to form an at least partially closed circular space C with the front end 31 of the holder upper portion 30.

The through hole 32 may be configured to receive an end portion 8 of a tool 7 wherein the cross-sectional shape of the through hole 32 and the end portion 8 of the tool 7 are configured such that end portion 8 of the tool 7 may pass through the through hole 32. This provides the possibility to customize the through hole so that the locking portion only may be accessed by special tools. Thus, unauthorized opening of the receptacle holder may be prevented or made difficult.

The one of the holder upper portion 30 and the confining member 50 to which the locking member 60 is attached may comprise a receiving opening 53 for receiving the locking portion 61 of the locking member 60 when the locking portion 61 is brought out of the through hole 32. This allows for usage of a flat and thin locking portion, which in turn provides for a compact and tamper resistant receptacle holder. 9. The locking portion 61 may thereby be elongate, flat and provided with an upright edge 62 to be received in the through hole 32. For example, the locking portion is a part of a locking member 60 in the form of an integral piece of resilient steel strip.

A particularly compact and tamper resistant the receptacle holder 10 is provided when he confining member 50 and the locking member 60 and the holder upper portion 30 are superimposed and the through hole 32 and the locking portion 61 and the receiving opening 53 are aligned so that the locking portion 61 of the locking member 60 may be pushed into the receiving opening 53 by an end portion 8 of a tool 7 that is inserted through the other opening 33, 34 of the through hole 32. Such a receptacle holder may be realized in that the locking member 60 is arranged underneath the holder upper portion 30 and the confining member 50 is arranged underneath the locking member 60 and wherein through hole 32 extends between an upper opening 33 on an upper side 35 and a lower opening 34 on a lower side 36 of the of the holder upper portion 30.

Brief description of the drawings Fig. 1 : A schematic drawing showing an exploded view of a receptacle holder according to the present disclosure.

Fig. 2a, 2b - 4a, 4b: Schematic drawings illustrating the function of the receptacle holder according to the present disclosure.

Fig. 5: A sectional view of a portion of the receptacle holder according to the present disclosure. Fig. 6: A schematic drawing showing a receptacle holder according to the present disclosure and a receptacle.

Figure: 7a, 7b: Schematic drawings showing receptacle holders according to alternatives of the present disclosure. Figure 8a - 8c: Schematic drawings showing alternative base portions of the receptacle holder according to the present disclosure.

Figure 9: A schematic drawing of a receptacle holder according to an alternative of the present disclosure.

Figure lOa-lOc: Schematic drawings of alternative locking member and confining member of the present disclosure.

Detailed description of embodiments

The receptacle holder according to the present disclosure will now be described more fully hereinafter. The receptacle holder according to the present disclosure may however be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided by way of example so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to those persons skilled in the art. Same reference numbers refer to same elements throughout the description.

A “receptacle” or “container” is configured to hold liquid, semi-liquid, creamy or paste- formed substances. Typically a receptacle is a bottle or ajar and has a neck, with a mouth, a shoulder, a body and a bottom. The receptacle may comprise a dispenser which is inserted into the mouth of the receptacle. The dispenser allows a user to pump out the content of the dispenser. The receptacle may is such case be denominated “dispenser receptacle”. Figure 6 shows a receptacle 1 in the form of a bottle with a dispenser 6. The receptacle has a neck 2, a shoulder 3, a body 4 and bottom 5.

In the following description of the receptacle holder according to the present disclosure it is appreciated that the receptacle holder may be realized in different sizes and dimensions to fit receptacles of varying shape, size and dimension. Thus, when the receptacle holder, in the following is described with reference to a receptacle or parts thereof, it is appreciated that the receptacle holder is dimensioned in view of that receptacle. Further in the following description, any references to directions such as “upright”, “upwards”, “downwards” or “lateral” are in relation to a vertical orientation of the receptacle holder in which the holder base is below the holder upper portion.

Figure 1 shows an exploded view of a lockable receptacle holder 10 according to the present disclosure. The receptacle holder 10 comprises an elongated holder back portion 40 which may be configured to be attached to a structure such as a wall (not shown). Attachment of the holder back portion 40 to the structure may for example be achieved by double sided adhesive tape or by screws (not shown) through the openings 41. The holder back portion 40 extends between a holder base portion 20 and a holder upper portion 30. Thus, the holder base portion 20 may extend from one end of the holder back portion 20. The holder upper portion 30 extends opposite to the holder upper portion 30. The holder base portion 20 is configured to support the bottom 5 of a receptacle (not shown). In figure 1 the holder base portion 20 therefore extends approximately perpendicular from the holder back portion 40 and has a width and a length sufficient to support the bottom 5 of a receptacle 1.

The holder upper portion 30 may extend from a second end of the holder back portion 40. The holder upper portion 30 may thereby extend approximately parallel with the holder base portion 20. The front portion 31 of the holder upper portion 30 points away from the holder back portion 40. The distance between the holder upper portion 30 and the holder base portion 20 may be selected such that the front end 31 of the holder upper portion faces the neck or shoulder of a receptacle that is supported on the holder base portion 20. The front end 31 of the holder upper portion may 30 be configured to receive a portion of the neck or shoulder of a receptacle that is supported on the holder base portion 20. In figure 1, the front end 31 of the holder upper portion 30 is arcuate, i.e. has an arc-shaped recess. However, the front end 31 of the holder upper portion 30 may have a square or triangular recess. In the embodiment shown in figure 1, the holder upper portion 30 comprises a through hole 32 that extends between an upper opening 33 on the upper side 35 of the holder upper portion 30 and a lower opening 34 on the lower side 36 of the holder upper portion. The through hole 32 is dimensioned such that a locking portion 61 of a locking member 60 may be received through the lower opening 34 and such that at least the end portion 8 of a tool 7 may be inserted through the upper opening 33. The cross-section of the end portion 8 of the tool 7 may thereby have the same or smaller dimensions as cross-section of the through hole 32. The cross-sectional shape of the end portion 8 of the tool 7 and/or the tip 8 of the cross-sectional shape of the through hole may be same or similar. For example, as shown in figure 1, the through-hole 32 may be of rectangular cross-section and the end portion of the tool 7 may also be of rectangular cross-section. The length of the end portion 8 of the tool 7 is selected such that the end portion 8 extends through or flush with the lower opening 34 of the through hole. A shaft opening 38 for a pivot shaft 70 is provided in the rear portion 37 of the holder upper portion 30. The rear portion 37 is located between the through hole 32 in the holder upper portion 30 and the holder back portion 40.

The receptacle holder 10 further comprises a confining member 50 which has a hook- shaped front portion 51 and a rear portion 52 which may be rectangular. The hook-shaped front portion 51 has a front end 57, i.e. a free front end 57. In figure 1, the hook-shaped front portion 51 is rounded, however it may also have other configuration such as triangular- or rectangular hook-shape. The confining member 50 is pivotally attached to the holder upper portion 30. The confining member may thereby pivot relative the holder upper portion 30 in a plane that is parallel to the width and length extension of the holder upper portion 30. The confining member 50 may thereby be pivotally attached to a pivot shaft 70 that extends through a shaft opening 54 in the rear portion 52 of the confining member 50 and the shaft opening 38 in the holder upper portion 30. In the described embodiment, the confining member 50 comprises a receiving opening 53 that is provided in the rear portion 52 of the confining member 50. For example, the receiving opening 53 is provided between the shaft opening 54 and the hook-shaped front portion 51 of the confining member 50. The receiving opening 53 may be a through-hole or a recess, and is configured to receive a locking portion 61 of a locking member 60.

The locking member 60 comprises a locking portion 61 and a rear portion 66 from which the locking portion 61 may extend. The locking portion 61 is configured to extend into the through hole 32 in the holder upper portion 30. The locking portion 61 may therefore be elongated and have an upright edge 62. That is, directed in direction away from the upper surface 69 of the locking member 60. In the shown embodiment, the locking portion 61 is a flat. However, the locking portion 61 may have other configuration, for example rod-shaped. It is also possible to divide the locking portion 61 in to two locking portion halves (not shown). In the shown embodiment, the locking member 60 is configured to be attached to the rear end of the confining member 50. The rear portion 66 of the locking member 60 may therefore have attachment means 63 in the form of parallel flanges that may be inserted into corresponding openings 58, such as grooves in the confining member 50. Alternatively, the locking member 60 may glued or welded to the confining member 50. The locking portion is resilient. For example, the locking member 60 or at least the locking portion 61 is manufactured from resilient material such resilient steel strip such as spring steel. Alternatively, plastic material such as polypropylene. The locking member 60 may be arranged such that the locking portion 61 extends over the receiving opening 53 in the confining member 50.

The rear portion 67 of the locking member 60 may comprise an opening 54 for the pivot shaft 70. The pivot shaft may be a press pin that is riveted into the holder upper portion 30. The end of the pivot shaft may be secured by rivet locking collar or by a nut and washer (not shown).

In assembled state, the confining member 50 and the locking member 60 and the holder upper portion are superimposed and the through hole 32 and the locking portion 61 and the receiving opening 53 are aligned so that the locking portion 61 of the locking member 60 may be pushed into the receiving opening 53 by a tool 7 inserted through the upper opening 33 of the through hole 32. As shown in figure 1, the locking member 60 is arranged underneath the holder upper portion 30 and the confining member 50 is arranged underneath the locking member. The function of the receptacle holder 10 according to the present disclosure will in the following be described with reference to figures 2a, 2b - 4a, 4b and 5.

Figure 2a shows the assembled receptacle holder 10 in a position A in which the front portion 31 of the holder upper portion 30 and the hook-shaped front portion 51 of the confining member 50 limits a partially closed space C which is configured to confine the neck or shoulder of a receptacle (not shown in figure 2). By “confine” is meant that any opening between the front portion 31 of the holder upper portion 30 and the end 56 of the hook-shaped front portion 51 of the confining member 50 is too small to allow passage of a neck or shoulder of a receptacle. Figure 5 shows a cross-sectional view taken along line X - X in figure 2a. Thus, when the confining member 50 is in position A, the upright edge 62 of the locking portion 61 of the locking member 60 extends into the lower opening 33 of the through hole 32. The locking portion 61 therefore locks the confining member 50 and prevents any pivotal movement thereof. Figure 2b shows the locking portion 61 extending over, but not beyond, the receiving opening 53 in the confining member 50.

Figure 3a, shows the tool 7 inserted into the upper opening 33 of the through opening 32. The tip 8 of the tool 7 thereby exerts a force F onto the upright edge 62 of the locking portion 61 and presses the locking portion 61 downwards into the receiving opening 53 (see figure 3b). When the upright edge 62 has been pushed out of the through hole 32, the confining member 50 is released to pivot relative the holder upper portion 30. In the described embodiment, as shown in figure 5, the holder upper portion 30, the locking member 60 and the confining member 50 are superimposed with essentially no gap between them. The tool 7 may therefore be configured such that the end portion 8 thereof merely extend through the through hole 32. This will suffice to force the upright edge 62 of the locking portion 60 into the receiving opening 53 so that the upright edge 62 is flush with the upper surface 55 of the confining member. The confining member 50 will thereby be released to pivot.

However, it is possible to arrange the holder upper portion 30 and the confining member 50 superimposed with a gap between them (not shown). In this case, the tip 7 of the tool

6 may be elongated to extend through the through hole 32 and through the gap between the holder upper portion 30 and the confining member 50 in order to force the edge 62 of the locking portion 61 out of the through hole and into the receiving opening 53. It is further possible to arrange the holder upper portion 30 and the confining member 50 superimposed with a gap that is wide enough to accommodate the edge 62 of the locking portion. In that case the receiving opening 53 in the confining member 50 may be omitted (not shown). Figure 4a shows the receptacle holder 10 in a situation where the confining member 50 is pivoted relative the holder upper portion 30 to a release position B. In this position the end 56 of the hook-shaped front portion 52 is spaced apart from the front portion 31 of the holder upper portion 30 such that an opening D is formed between the end 56 of the hook-shaped front portion 52 and the front portion 31 of the holder upper portion 30. The opening D is sufficiently large to allow removal of a receptacle (not shown) from the receptacle holder. Thus, the opening D is sufficiently large to allow passage of the neck or shoulder of the receptacle. The upright edge 62 of the locking portion is in sliding contact with the lower surface 36 of the holder upper portion 30 during pivoting from the locked position A to the release position B. The rear portion 52 of the confining member 50 may be arranged such that it hits the holder back portion 41 when the confining member 50 is in the release portion B which prevents further pivoting of the confining member 50. This is favorable because the locking portion 61 may be kept in contact with the lower side of the holder upper portion which in turn may prevent damage of the locking portion when the confining member is pivoted towards the closed position A. A receptacle 1 may be inserted and locked into the receptacle holder 10 by performing the steps described above in reversed order.

Although a particular embodiment has been disclosed in detail this has been done for purpose of illustration only, and is not intended to be limiting. In particular, it is contemplated that various substitutions, alterations and modifications may be made within the scope of the appended claims.

For example, the receptacle holder 10 according to the present disclosure has hereinabove been described in an embodiment in which the holder upper portion 30 comprises the through hole 32 and the confining member 50 comprises the receiving opening 53 and wherein the locking member 60 is attached to the confining member 50. In the described embodiment, the confining member 50 is arranged underneath the holder upper portion 30.

However, it is possible that the confining member 50 is arranged above the holder upper portion 30.

Figure 9 shows an alternative in which the confining member 50 is arranged above the holder upper portion 30 and the locking member 60 is arranged between. For comparison it is referred to figure 1. Figure 9 is partly exploded in order to show the position and orientation of the locking member 60.

According to the alternative, the confining member 50 may thereby comprise the through hole 32 for accessing the upright edge 62 of the locking member 60. The holder upper portion 30 may comprise the receiving opening 53 for receiving the locking portion 61 of the locking member 60 and openings 58 for receiving the attachment means 64 of the locking member 60, i.e. the flanges. The described openings in the holder upper portion 30 are indicated by dashed lines since they are partly obscured by the confining member 50. Thus in assembled state, the locking member 60 is attached to the upper holder portion

30 by engagement of the attachment means 64 with the openings 58 in the holder upper portion 30. As shown in figure 1, a pivot shaft (not shown) may extend through the confining member 50, the locking member 60 and the holder upper portion 30.

In figure 1, the locking member is attached to the confining member 50 by engagement between the attachment means 64 of the locking member 60 and the openings 58 in the confining member 50. In figure 10, the locking member 60 is attached to the upper holder portion 30 by engagement of the attachment means 64 of the locking member with the openings 58 in the holder upper portion 30. Thus, the locking member 60 may be attached to one of the holder upper portion 30 and confining member 50.

The confining member 50 may be mirror-inverted and arranged to pivot in opposite direction than shown figure 4a.

Also alternatives for the confining member 50 and the locking member 60 are feasible. In the following alternatives for confining member 50 and locking member 60 are described relative the receptacle support shown in figure 1,

Figure 10a shows a locking member 60 according to an alternative of the present disclosure. According to this alternative, the attachment means 64 is provide as a flange at the rear end of the locking member 60 opposite to the locking means 62. The locking member 60 may further be provided with two support legs 67 that extends from the locking portion 61. The attachment means 64 and the support legs 67 protrudes vertically in the same direction from the flat surface of the locking member 60. The locking means 61 protrudes in the opposite direction.

Figure 10b shows the locking member 60 and an alternative confining member 50 in assembled state. The rear portion of the alternative confining member 50 is rounded, which results in a tight abutment with the holder back portion (not shown) during pivoting of the confining member 50. In particular, this makes it difficult pivot beyond the locking member. Figure 10c shows the support legs 67 extending through the opening 53 in the confining member 50. The support legs 67 engages with the sides of the opening 53 and prevents thereby side movement of the locking portion 61.

It is further possible to arrange the holder upper portion 30 such that the arcuate front portion 31 is oriented 90° to the facing direction of the holder back portion (not shown). The receptacle may thereby be introduced from the side of the receptacle holder.

Also further alternatives or modifications of the receptacle holder 10 according to the present disclosure are feasible. For example:

Figure 7a shows a configuration in which the hook-shaped front portion 51 extends partially around the neck 2 of a receptacle 1. Figure 7b shows a configuration in which the hook-shaped front portion 51 extends partially around the shoulder 3 of a receptacle 1. In figure 7a, and 7b, the arcuate front portion 31 of the holder upper portion 30 is configured to receive a portion of the neck 2 of the receptacle 1. However, the front portion 31 of the holder upper portion 30 may be configured to receive a portion of the shoulder 3 of a receptacle 1 (not shown).

The holder receptacle 10 may comprise retainer elements for holding the body or the bottom of an receptacle in order to further prevent lateral movement of a receptacle in the receptacle holder. For example, as shown in figure 8 a, the holder base portion 20 may comprise an arcuate lateral extension 22 having upright retainer pins 23 in each end. In use, the retainer pins 23 engage the bottom of a receptacle. Figure 8b shows a retainer element 21 in the form of a ring, which extends from the holder back portion 40 above the holder base portion 20. The ring shaped retainer element is configured to hold the body of a receptacle.

The present disclosure also relates to a receptacle holder unit 100 comprising two or more receptacle holder 10 that are joined together. Figure 8c shows a receptacle holder unit 100 comprising three receptacle holder 10. In figure 8c, the receptacle holder unit is integrally formed. However, it is possible to join two or more receptacle holder 10 to each other (by e.g. welding) to achieve a receptacle holder unit. Figure 5 also shows a further alternative of a retainer element 21. The holder base portion comprises an first arcuate lateral extension 22 that extends in a concave manner from the holder base portion 20 and that has upright pins 23 in each end. A retainer element 21 in the form of a ring segment extends convexly between the upright pins and may thereby engage the body of a receptacle.

Moreover, although specific terms may be employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation. Furthermore, as used herein, the terms “comprise/comprises” or “include/includes” do not exclude the presence of other elements. Finally, reference signs in the claims are provided merely as a clarifying example and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the claims in any way.