Moistened tissue dispenser with ejection mechanism

Abstract

A device for holding and dispensing moistened tissue from a roll includes a housing having a cylindrical wall and opposite end walls. At least one of the opposite end walls is removable to allow placement of the tissue roll in the housing. The cylindrical wall, extending between the opposite end walls, includes an access opening with a hinged door which moves between a normally closed position and an open position to facilitate removal of individual sheets of the moistened tissue from the roll. An air tight seal protectively encapsulates the roll within the housing when the door is closed in order to prevent drying of the moistened tissue. A tubular dowel, integral with an inside face of one of the end walls, extends axially through an interior of the housing for rotatably supporting the roll of tissue thereon. Pegs extending outwardly from the opposite end walls fit within congruently configured recesses of a holder for securing the housing to the holder. The pegs and recesses are keyed to prevent rotation of the housing when pulling sheets of tissue from the roll. An ejection control is provided for urging one of the pegs inwardly against a spring maintained within the tubular dowel, to thereby release the peg from the insert so that the housing can be removed from the holder for refilling of tissue when needed.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A device for dispensing sheets of moistened tissue from a roll comprising: 
 a housing including a cylindrical side wall, a first end wall, and an opposite second end wall, said cylindrical side wall and said first and second opposite end walls surrounding an interior chamber of said housing;    roll support means for rotatably supporting the roll of moistened tissue within said interior chamber in a manner which permits removal of the sheets from the roll;    and an access opening in said cylindrical side wall, said access opening being sized and configured to permit passage of the sheets of moistened tissue therethrough;    a holder for removably supporting said housing in an operative position;    means for preventing rotation of said housing relative to said holder when removing the sheets of moistened tissue from the roll with said housing supported in said operative position;    attachment means for removably attaching said first end wall to said housing to facilitate removal and insertion of the roll within said interior chamber;    a door hingedly fixed to said housing and being movable between an open position to reveal said access opening, thereby permitting dispensing of the individual sheets of moistened tissue from the roll and through said access opening, and a closed position defined by said door being positioned and disposed in covering relation to said access opening to thereby close said access opening;    first seal means for providing an air tight seal between said first end wall and said cylindrical wall of said housing when said first end wall is attached to said housing; and    second seal means for providing an air tight seal between said door and said housing when said door is in said closed position.    
     
     
         2 . The device as recited in  claim 1  wherein said roll support means comprises a tubular dowel extending axially through said interior chamber, said tubular dowel being structured and disposed for axial passage through the roll for rotatably supporting the roll thereon.  
     
     
         3 . The device as recited in  claim 2  wherein said tubular dowel is integral with said second end wall of said housing.  
     
     
         4 . The device as recited in  claim 1  wherein said holder includes opposing first and second faces, said first and second faces being spaced apart a sufficient distance to permit receipt of said housing therebetween so that said first end wall is parallel with and spaced from said first face and said second end wall is parallel with and spaced from said second face.  
     
     
         5 . The device as recited in  claim 4  further comprising: 
 peg members extending axially outward from said first and second end walls of said housing; and  
 recesses are provided in said first and second faces of said holder, said recesses being structured and disposed for removable receipt of said peg members therein to thereby removably support and hold said housing in said operative position.  
 
     
     
         6 . The device as recited in  claim 5  further comprising: 
 peg biasing means for allowing axial movement of at least one of said peg members between a normally, relaxed extended position and a retracted position defined by said at least one peg member being at least partially moved axially inward relative to said housing to facilitate removal and replacement of said housing between said opposing first and second faces of said holder.  
 
     
     
         7 . The device as recited in  claim 6  further comprising: 
 ejection means for releasing said housing from said operative position within said holder in order to remove said housing from said holder.  
 
     
     
         8 . The device as recited in  claim 7  wherein said ejection means includes a depressible button exteriorly accessible on said housing, said button being operable to move said at least one peg member axially inward to said retracted position in order to remove said at least one peg member from said recess of said holder, thereby facilitating removal of said housing from said holder.  
     
     
         9 . The device as recited in  claim 8  wherein said means for preventing rotation of said housing comprises: 
 a multi-sided configuration provided on each of said peg members; and  
 a corresponding multi-sided configuration provided in said recesses for congruent receipt of said multi-sided configuration of said peg members therein.