Portable personal liquid storage and dispenser unit

• US 4,793,517 A
• Filed: 04/08/1987
• Issued: 12/27/1988
• Est. Priority Date: 04/08/1987
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Harry E. Washut
• Original Assignee: Harry E. Washut
• Inventors: Washut, Harry E.
• Primary Examiner(s): NOT, DEFINED
• Assistant Examiner(s): Parker, S. B.
• Application Number:
  US07/035,915
• Time in Patent Office: 629 Days
• Field of Search: 222/94, 222/144.5, 222/179.5, 222/180, 222/181, 222/206, 222/212, 222/213, 222/129, 222/130, 222/131, 222/173, 222/183, 222/191, 222/192, 222/105, 222/106, 222/132 , 222/556, 401/262, 248/311.2, 248/309.1, 248/313, 248/316.7, 15/244.4, 206/806, 215/6, 220/20
• US Class Current: 222/129
• CPC Class Codes: A47K 5/1211 using pressure on soap, e.g. with piston A47K5/1201 takes precedence; by squeezing A47K5/122

Abstract

A resilient bottle or container has three compartments for liquid soap, shampoo and conditioning rinse, respectively. A normally closed, openable valve controls a port in each compartment. The soap valve opens into the center of a sponge which is fastened to the bottle. The bottle can be supported on a vacuum cup on a shower wall for dispensing shampoo and conditioning rinse. On opening of any valve, manually depressing bottle, liquid is dispensed from the corresponding compartment.

Claims

1. A unit for storage and dispensing fluids including:

(a) an at least partially resilient container encompassing a plurality of separate, fluid tight, fluid containing compartments at least partially defined by deformable walls, each compartment being in intimate contact with at least one other compartment;

(b) a normally closed, openable port extending away from each such compartment;

(c) wherein the container includes a deformable wall which is manually deformable to tend to reduce the volume of each compartment to develop a pressure in each compartment such that fluid will be dispensed through any compartment port that is open while the other ports remain normally closed;

(d) wherein the container is rectilinear in shape and includes front and back walls, top and bottom walls, and first and second side walls; and

(e) wherein the compartments are each partially defined by the front and back container walls;

(f) the front wall of he container is a resilient flexible wall;

(g) there are at least three compartments within the container walls; and

(h) the normally closed, openable ports of two of the compartments open through the container bottom wall while the normally closed, openable port of the third compartment is open though the container back wall;

(i) the unit includes an open face case of rectilinear configuration to encompass at least a portion of the container by covering the back wall and snugly contacting at least portions of the container top, bottom and side walls;

the open face case and the container including cooperating means for retaining the container in a first storage position wherein the openable ports at the container bottom wall are free from obstruction by the open face case and for retaining the container in a second storage position wherein the openable ports at the container bottom wall are covered by the open face case.

2. The unit of claim 1 wherein:

(j) means is provided to temporarily fixedly hold the case with respect to the container in a storage condition;

(k) each port is controlled by a valve; and

(l) each of the valves opening through the bottom wall of the container is pivotally mounted in the container bottom wall to be movable between a normally closed position and an open position, and when in the normally closed condition, is positioned within the outer surface of the container bottom wall so that the adjacent portion of the case will lie in interfering relation to such valve to prevent its opening when the container is in its second storage position.

3. A unit for storage and dispensing fluids including:

(a) an at least partially resilient container encompassing a plurality of separate, fluid tight, fluid containing compartments at least partially defined by deformable walls, each compartment being in intimate contact with at least one other compartment;

(b) a normally closed, openable port extending away from each such compartment;

(c) wherein the container includes a deformable wall which is manually deformable to tend to reduce the volume of each compartment to develop a pressure in each compartment such that fluid will be dispensed through any compartment port that is open while the other ports remain normally closed;

(d) wherein the container is rectilinear in shape and includes front and back walls, top and bottom walls, and first and second side walls;

(e) wherein the compartments are each partially defined by the front and back container walls;

(f) wherein the front wall of the container is a resilient flexible wall;

(g) wherein there are at least three compartments within the container walls;

(h) wherein the normally closed, openable ports of two of the compartments are open through the container bottom wall while the normally closed, openable port of the third compartment is open through the container back wall;

(i) wherein the unit includes an open face case of configuration to encompass at least a portion of the container by snugly contacting at least portions of the container top, bottom and side walls;

(j) wherein means is provided to temporarily fixedly hold the case with respect to the container in a storage condition;

(k) wherein each port is controlled by a valve;

(l) wherein each of the valves opening through the bottom wall of the container is pivotally mounted to the container bottom wall to be movable between a normally closed position and an open position, and when in the normally closed condition, is positioned within the outer surface of the container bottom wall so that the adjacent portion of the case will lie in interfering relation to such valve to prevent its opening when the container is in its storage condition; and

(m) wherein the means provided for holding the case and container in storage condition includes ridge means extending inwardly from the case portions in snug contact with at least one of the container top, bottom or side walls, and interacting aligned detent means on at least one of said container walls.

4. The unit of claim 3 wherein:

(n) each of the container top, bottom and side walls is resilient;

(o) the case is defined by a back wall, bottom and top walls, and first and second side walls all configured to come into adjacent relationship with respect to the corresponding walls of the container when the case encompasses at least a portion of the container;

(p) the case ridge means extends inwardly from the case top, bottom and side walls around the entire periphery of the case; and

(q) the container detent means includes a storage condition positioning groove in the resilient container top, bottom and side walls around the entire periphery of the container, the groove being positioned to interact with the case ridge means to temporarily fixedly position the unit in its storage condition.

5. A unit for storage and dispensing fluids including:

(a) an at least partially resilient container encompassing a plurality of separate, fluid tight, fluid containing compartments at least patially defined by deformable walls, each compartment being in intimate contact with at least one other compartment;

(b) a normally closed, openable port extending away from each such compartment;

(c) wherein the container includes a deformable wall which is manually deformable to tend to reduce the volume of each compartment to develop a pressure in each compartment such that fluid will be dispensed through any compartment port that is open while the other ports remain normally closed;

(d) wherein the container is rectilinear in shape and includes front and back walls, top and bottom walls, and first and second side walls;

(e) wherein the compartments are each partially defined by the front and back container walls;

(f) wherein the front wall of the container is a resilient flexible wall;

(g) wherein there are at least three compartments within the container walls;

(h) wherein the normally closed, openable ports of two of the compartments are open through the container bottom wall while the normally closed, openable port of the third compartment is open through the container back wall;

(i) wherein the unit includes an open face case of configuration to encompass at least a portion of the container by snuggly contacting at least portions of the container top, bottom and side walls;

(j) wherein means is provided to temporarily fixedly hold the case with respect to the container in a dispensing condition to dispense fluid through the container bottom wall;

(k) wherein each port is controlled by a valve;

(l) wherein a sponge of generally rectangular configuration is attached to the back wall of the container, and an opening is provided in the sponge to accommodate the movement of the valve which opens through that back wall between its normally closed and open positions;

(m) wherein the case is defined by a back wall, bottom and top walls, and first and second side walls all configured to come into adjacent relationship with respect to the corresponding walls of the container when the case receives the container; and

(n) wherein a suction cup extends outwardly from the rear wall of the case in position to support the case and container against a smooth wall such as a vertical bathroom wall during the time that liquids are to be dispensed through the container bottom wall and the sponge is not being used, and to support the case when liquid is to be dispensed through the container back wall and the sponge is to be used.

6. The unit of claim 5 wherein:

(o) the means provided for holding the case and container in dispensing condition includes ridge means extending inwardly from the case portions in snug contact with at least one of the container top, bottom or side walls, and interacting aligned detent means on at least one of said container walls.

7. The unit of claim 6 wherein:

(p) each of the container top, bottom and side walls is resilient;

(q) the case is defined by a back wall, bottom and top walls, and first and second side walls all configured to come into adjacent relationship with respect to the corresponding walls of the container when the case encompasses at least a portion of the container, the case bottom wall being provided with a fluid drain opening situated between the case and container back walls when the unit is in its dispensing condition;

(r) the case ridge means extends inwardly from the case top, bottom and side walls around the entire periphery of the case; and

(s) the container detent means includes a dispensing condition positioning groove in the resilient container top, bottom and side walls, the groove being positioned to interact with the case ridge means to temporarily fixedly position the unit in its dispensing condition.

8. The unit of claim 7 wherein:

(t) means is provided to temporarily fixedly hold the case with respect to the container in a storage condition, said means including said case ridge means and a storage condition positioning groove in the resilient container top, bottom and side walls around the entire perihery of the container in parallel relation to the dispensing condition positioning groove; and

(u) the case bottom wall drain opening is in closing relation to the container bottom wall when the unit is in storage condition to prevent fluid from discharging from between the case and container walls when in that condition.