Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a dispenser for personal hygiene products or cosmetics and to a method of dispensing personal hygiene products or cosmetics.

Background Art

Personal hygiene products, including soap, shower gel, deodorant and moisturiser, come in many different types of dispensers. Most of these dispensers are disposable single use dispensers fabricated from plastic materials. Even when the plastic materials of such dispensers are recycled, the need to fabricate large numbers of such dispensers is wasteful. Similarly, many cosmetics such as lipstick are sold in single use disposable plastic dispensers.

In addition, soap in cake form when used in the shower results in most of the soap liberated from the cake being washed away and very little of the intended lather being applied to the body. Shower gels are similarly wasteful. It is therefore desirable to dispense small quantities of such personal hygiene products to permit same to be applied in a frugal and sparing fashion.

Genesis of the Invention

The Genesis of the present invention is a desire to provide a reusable dispenser which permits personal hygiene products or cosmetics to be dispensed in an economical fashion.

Summary of the Invention

In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention there is disclosed a dispenser for a semi- solid personal product in the form of a cake, said dispenser comprising a base and a lid for the base, the lid and base being dimensioned to receive said cake between said lid and said base, and said lid including at least one orifice, wherein said lid and base are threadably inter-engaged to releasably retain said lid on said base and to permit relative rotation between said lid and base to decrease the available volume therebetween and thereby extrude said semi-solid product via said lid orifice(s). In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention there is disclosed a method of dispensing a semi- solid personal product in the form of a cake retained between a base and an orificed lid for the base, said lid and base being threadably inter-engaged to releasably retain said lid on said base, said method comprising the step of causing relative rotation between said lid and base to decrease the available volume therebetween and thereby extrude said semi-solid product via said orificed lid.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a semi-solid personal product in the form of a cake and selected from the class consisting of soap, deodorant, lipstick and moisturiser.

Preferably the dispenser base comprises a substantially hollow cylinder closed at one end to form a cake receiving pad.

Preferably the lid comprises a substantially hollow cylinder having said orifice(s) at one closed end and being open at the other end to engage said base.

Preferably the base and lid are fabricated from sheet metal.

Preferably a cap is releasably retained on the lid and is dimensioned to cover the lid and the lid orifice(s).

Preferably the cap has a releasable latch mechanism to permit the cap to be retained on the lid.

Preferably the cake is selected from the class consisting of soap, deodorant, lipstick and moisturiser.

Preferably the cap is releasable and is removed from the lid prior to extruding the semi-solid product and is replaced after extruding the semi-solid product.

Preferably the semi-solid personal product is provided as a refill in a small bucket like container. Brief Description of the Drawings

Several embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the dispenser of a first embodiment, Fig. 2 is a schematic perspective view illustrating the dispenser in use,

Fig. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a refill and a container therefor,

Figs. 4A - 4D are each a plan view of one of four possible lids, each having a different pattern of orifices,

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the base of a dispenser of a second embodiment, Fig. 6 is an exploded perspective view of a dispenser of a third embodiment, Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a refill container of a second embodiment,

Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VIII- VIII of Fig. 7,

Fig. 9 is an exploded view of Fig. 8 illustrating dispensing of the refill cake, Fig. 10 is a perspective view of a refill container of a third embodiment,

Fig. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XI-XI of Fig. 10,

Fig. 12 is an exploded view of Fig. 11 illustrating dispensing of the refill cake, Fig. 13 is an exploded perspective view of a refill container of a fourth embodiment,

Fig. 14 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view through the refill container of

Fig. 13,

Fig. 15 is an exploded perspective view of a refill container of a fifth embodiment,

Fig. 16 is a side elevation is a side view of the refill container of Fig. 15,

Fig. 17 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view taken along the line XVII - XVII of Fig. 16, and

Fig. 18 is a perspective view showing a refill cake being loaded into the lid body.

Detailed Description

As seen in Fig. 1, the dispenser 10 of the first embodiment takes the form of a base 11 and a lid 12 between which is sandwiched a cake 13 of a semi-solid personal product such as a soap, deodorant, moisturiser, lipstick or the like. Such a cake 13 or tablet has a consistency similar to butter removed from the fridge in that the cake is not soft but is deformable when subjected to pressure.

The base 11 takes the form of a hollow cylinder closed at its upper end to form a pad 15 which abuts one end of the cake 13. Adjacent the pad 15 is formed a fine pitch thread 16. At the other end of the base 11 is a series of projections 18 which enable the base 11 to be rotated by a user, notwithstanding that the user may have wet hands.

The lid 12 also takes the form of a hollow cylinder closed at its upper end and open at its lower end to receive the cake 13. The lid 12 also has a fine pitch thread 26 which mates with the thread 16 on the base 11 so as to firstly inter-engage the base 11 and lid 12, and secondly permit the volume between the pad 15 and the lid 12 to be reduced.

Preferably, but not essentially, a cap 30 is provided which is able to be releasably detached from the lid 12. The cap 30 has two latch mechanisms 31 as illustrated in Fig. 1. Each of the latch mechanisms 31 has a pair of slits 32 which defines a tab 33. The tab 33 is preferably kinked to enable it to be snap engaged with the thread 26.

As seen in Fig. 2, with the cap 30 removed, it will be seen that relative rotation of the lid 12 and the base 11 reduces the volume between the lid 12 and base 11 thereby bringing the upper surface of the cake 13 into contact with one or more orifices 21 in the lid 12. Continued rotation compresses the cake 13 and extrudes the personal product 34 out of the orifice(s) 21 thereby dispensing the personal product 34. In this way a small volume of the personal product 34 can be made available at the lid 12 and thus used or applied accordingly.

For example, where the cake 13 is a deodorant, then the lid 12 with the personal product 34 on it, is directly applied to the armpit of the user. Alternatively, where the cake 13 is a soap, then the lid 12 with the personal product 34 on it, is applied to the hands or body of the user whilst in the shower. Similarly, where the cake 13 is a moisturiser, then the lid 12 with the personal product 34 on it, is applied directly to the skin of the user requiring moisturising. Where the cake 13 is a lipstick, then the lid 12 with the personal product 34 on it, is applied directly to the lips.

Turning now to Fig. 3, a replacement cake 13 is made available in a pail or bucket 36 provided with a lid 37, both of which are preferably fabricated from recycled or recyclable paper materials. The lid 37 is provided with a tab 38 which enables the lid 37 to be lifted clear of the bucket 36. A slight squeeze of the bucket 36 is all that is required to eject the cake 13 into the awaiting lid 12. In this way, the dispenser 10 can be filled initially, or refilled following use of the previous cake 13.

In Figs. 4A - 4D various configurations for the orifice(s) 21 are illustrated. In Fig. 4A six elongate orifices 21 A arranged in a star configuration are provided. In Fig. 4B a single elongate orifice 2 IB is provided. In Fig. 4C four arcuate orifices 21C are provided. Finally, in Fig. 4D a multiplicity of circular orifices 2 ID are provided.

Turning now to Fig. 5, the base 11 of a second embodiment is illustrated. The base 11 includes an O-ring type seal 39 provided between the base 11 and the lid 12. Preferably the seal 39 is positioned between the pad 15 and the thread 16. Such an O- ring 39 can be provided from cork, sisal or similar products.

Turning now to Fig. 6, a dispenser 40 of a third embodiment is illustrated having a hollow cylindrical base 41 having an external threat 46 which mates with an internal thread 47 on a hollow cylindrical lid body 42. The lid body 42 is able to engage with a lid top 44 having a plurality of orifices 21 and which is preferably fabricated from timber or bamboo. A generally cylindrical pad 45, preferably fabricated from timber, is machined to be a friction fit within the interior of the base 41.

An O-ring 49, preferably fabricated from cork, fits within a cap 50 which is intended to cover the lid top 44 when the dispenser 40 is not in use, and can be inverted and engaged with the lower end of the base 41 when the dispenser 40 is in use. This engagement is by means of lugs 52 which mate with recesses 53 in the base 41. A second embodiment of a paper refill 60 is illustrated in Fig. 7 and takes the form of a main body 61 and a lid 62. As seen in Fig. 8, within the main body 61 is a cake 63 which is seated within a cup shaped the base 65. The main body 61 has an inner wall 67 which retains the lid 62 on the main body 61. In the initial condition illustrated in Figs. 7 and 8 the open lower end of the main body 61 is closed by a circular sheet 68 having a pull tab 69. As illustrated in Fig. 9, the pull tab 69 can be used to manually pull the circular sheet 69 away from the paper refill 60 thereby exposing the base of the main body 61 and enabling the cup shaped base 65 to be moved relative to the inner wall 67.

A similar paper refill 80 of a third embodiment is illustrated in Figs. 10-12 and has a main body 81, a lid 82 and a cake 83. As seen in Figs. 11 and 12 the cake 83 is retained within an inner wall 87 and a rigid disc 85 is positioned within the inner wall 87 so as to be slidable relative to the inner wall 87. As seen in Fig. 12, with the lid 82 removed, the disc 85 can be moved relative to the main body 81 so as to eject the cake 83 from the paper refill 80.

Turning now to Figs. 13 and 14, in a modified version of the paper refill 80 of Figs. 10-12, the paper refill 90 of Figs. 13 and 14 includes a main body 81, a lid 82, a cake 83 and rigid disc 85 as before. However, the rigid disc 85 is protected from the application of any force by the means of a pressed sheet metal base 91. As best seen in Fig. 14, the pressed sheet metal base 91 forms a frictional fit with the main body 81 and when the paper refill 90 is intended to be used, the sheet metal base 91 is removed from its position illustrated in Fig. 14 so as to expose the rigid disc 85. As a consequence, the rigid disc 85 is able to be pushed upwardly by means of a thumb, or the like following removal of the lid 82.

A still further modified version of the paper refill 80 in the form of paper refill 99 is illustrated in Figs. 15-17. In this arrangement, the main body 81, lid 82, cake 83 and rigid disc 85 are as before. However, the rigid disc 85 is protected from the application of any force by an inverted paper lid 98 having an exterior thread 97. A sheet metal cap 96 threadably engages with the inverted paper lid 98 two provide a rigid base to the paper refill 99. This assists in transporting the paper refill 99 and providing a lengthy shelf life.

In order to utilise the paper refill 99, the sheet metal cap 96 is unscrewed, thereby enabling the inverted plastic lid 98 to be punctured by the thumb of an operator, for example. This enables the rigid disc 85 to be pushed upwardly once the lid 82 has been removed thereby enabling the cake 83 to be dispensed.

Fig. 18 illustrates how any one of the paper refills 60, 80, 90, 99 can be held above the inverted lid body 42 so as to eject the cake 63 or 83 into the interior of the lid body 42 and, in this way, initially fill, or refill, the dispenser 40. Where a refill takes place, the remainder of the old cake 63 or 83 is abutting the lid top 44. As a consequence, the new cake 63 or 83 is positioned behind the old cake 63 or 83 and progressively pushes the contents of the old cake out of the orifices 21. This ensures that no old product remains indefinitely within the dispenser 40. As is apparent from Figs. 6 and 13, with the cake 63 or 83 located within the lid body 42 and the lid body 42 threadably re engaged with the base 41, so the base 41 can be rotated relative to the lid body 42 so as to compress the new cake 63, 83 (and any remaining portion of the old cake 63, 83) between the pad 45 and the lid top 44. This extrudes the constituents of the cake 63,

83 via the orifices 21 formed in the lid top 44.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the personal hygiene and cosmetic arts, that the dispenser 10, 40 described above has a number of useful advantages. For example, many dispensers such as those used for roll on deodorant are incapable of being used to finality because some deodorant is always left inside the single use container. This is to be contrasted with the present invention where a subsequent cake 13, 63, 83 can be positioned adjacent the remnants of a previous cake 13, 63, 83 and the contents of both cakes are melded into a single cake within the dispenser 10, 40.

Furthermore, if desired the base 11, lid 12 and cap 30 or base 41, lid body 42 and cap 50 can all be cleaned, for example by being placed in a conventional dishwasher, or by being washed by hand. Thus not only is the dispenser 10, 40 capable of multiple uses, but is capable of being used for many years and/or for different products. Furthermore, the different refills such as bucket 36, and refills 60, 80, 90, and 99 are able to be used for different products since each offers various different advantages in terms of protection against leakage, extended shelf life, and the like.

The foregoing describes only some embodiments of the present invention and modifications, obvious to those skilled in the personal hygiene and cosmetic arts, can be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present invention. The term “comprising” (and its grammatical variations) as used herein is used in the inclusive sense of “including” or “having” and not in the exclusive sense of “consisting only of’.