Wipes dispenser with a wide-mouthed dispensing aperture

Abstract

Provided is a wipes dispenser including a dispenser having a wide-mouthed dispensing aperture, a pouch containing an interleaved stack of wipes or a rolled perforated web of wipes contained within the dispenser and accessed through the dispensing aperture, and a mounting element for mounting the dispenser to a mounting surface. The wipes dispenser may further include a pivotable dispensing lid that closes against the refill door and seal the dispensing aperture to protect the wipes from the outside environment when the wipes dispenser is not in use.

1 . A wipes dispenser comprising: 
 a base;    a refill door coupled to said base, said refill door defining a dispensing aperture therethrough, said dispensing aperture having a dispensing aperture length and a dispensing aperture width, wherein said dispensing aperture comprises:    a center lobe configured such that a user may readily grasp a front wipe from a stack or web of wipes disposed in said dispenser through said dispensing aperture; and    at least one side lobe in communication with said center lobe at a side edge of said center lobe;    wherein said refill door further defines at least one top gripper projecting from a top edge of said dispensing aperture;    wherein said refill door further defines at least one bottom gripper projecting from a bottom edge of said dispensing aperture, each of said at least one bottom gripper being opposite a corresponding one of said at least one top gripper, whereby each of said at least one top gripper and corresponding said at least one bottom gripper define a gap through which said front wipe passes when extracted from said dispenser; and    a pouch space defined by said base and said refill door.    
   
   
       2 . The wipes dispenser of  claim 1  wherein said wipes dispenser is mounted to a fixed surface by a mounting element having a tensile strength, wherein said tensile strength is greater than an extraction force supplied by a user to extracxt said front wipe.  
   
   
       3 . The wipes dispenser of  claim 2  wherein said wipes dispenser is releasably mounted to said fixed surface.  
   
   
       4 . The wipes dispenser of  claim 2  wherein said extraction force is about two pounds force.  
   
   
       5 . The wipes dispenser of  claim 2  wherein said mounting element is stretch release adhesive tape.  
   
   
       6 . The wipes dispenser of  claim 1  further comprising a stack of interleaved wipes disposed within said pouch space.  
   
   
       7 . The wipes dispenser of  claim 1  further comprising a roll of perforated wipes disposed within said pouch space.  
   
   
       8 . The wipes dispenser of  claim 1  further comprising a wipes pouch disposed within said pouch space, said wipes pouch comprising a pouch aperture at a front of said wipes pouch, wherein said pouch aperture is configured to align with said dispensing aperture.  
   
   
       9 . The wipes dispenser of  claim 8  further comprising a removable adhesive label covering said pouch aperture.  
   
   
       10 . The wipes dispenser of  claim 8  wherein said wipes pouch contains a stack of folded interleaved wipes having a folded wipes length, a folded wipes width, and a wipes thickness.  
   
   
       11 . The wipes dispenser of  claim 10  wherein said folded wipes length is about one half of said dispensing aperture length.  
   
   
       12 . The wipes dispenser of  claim 10  wherein said folded wipes width is about one half of said dispensing aperture width.  
   
   
       13 . The wipes dispenser of  claim 10  wherein a width of said gap is less than said wipes thickness.  
   
   
       14 . The wipes dispenser of  claim 1  wherein said dispenser is formed from a material selected from the group consisting of polypropylene (PP), high density polyethylene (HDPE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polystyrene (PS), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), and engineered plastics.  
   
   
       15 . The wipes dispenser of  claim 1  wherein said center lobe is configured generally in a shape selected from the group consisting of ovoid, circular, rectangular, and oval.  
   
   
       16 . The wipes dispenser of  claim 1  wherein said at least one side lobe is configured generally in a shape selected from the group consisting of ovoid, circular, rectangular.  
   
   
       17 . The wipes dispenser of  claim 1  further comprising: 
 one or more grooves formed as indentations into a refill door inside surface of said refill door;    one or more corresponding rings formed as ridges projecting from a dispensing lid outside surface of said dispensing lid;    wherein each of said one or more grooves abuttingly contacts, mates and cooperates with a corresponding one of said one or more rings to form one or more interfaces; and    wherein said interfaces seal said dispenser aperture from the outside environment when said dispensing lid is in a closed relationship with said refill door.    
   
   
       18 . A wipes dispenser comprising: 
 a base;    a refill door coupled to said base, said refill door defining a dispensing aperture therethrough, said dispensing aperture having a dispensing aperture length and a dispensing aperture width, wherein said dispensing aperture comprises: 
 a center lobe; and  
 at least one side lobe in communication with said center lobe at a side edge of said center lobe;  
   a pouch space defined by said base and said refill door; and    wherein said dispensing aperture is configured such that, said center lobe is wide enough to let through most sizes of a human index finger and thumb to grasp said front wipe from a stack or roll of wipes disposed within said pouch space.    
   
   
       19 . The wipes dispenser of  claim 18  wherein said dispensing aperture width is about  2  inches, measured from a top edge of said dispensing aperture to a bottom edge of said dispensing aperture; and 
 wherein said dispensing aperture length is about 3.5 inches, measured from a left side edge of said dispensing aperture to a right side edge of said dispensing aperture.    
   
   
       20 . The wipes dispenser of  claim 18  wherein said dispensing aperture width is between about 0.75 inches and about 2.0 inches and said dispensing aperture length is between about 3.0 inches and about 4.5 inches.  
   
   
       21 . The wipes dispenser of  claim 18 , said wipes dispenser being mounted to a fixed surface whereby said front wipe may be extracted from said wipes dispenser with one human hand.  
   
   
       22 . A wipes dispenser comprising: 
 a base;    a refill door coupled to said base, said refill door defining a dispensing aperture therethrough, said refill door and said base defining a pouch space therebetween, and wherein said dispensing aperture comprises: 
 a center lobe configured such that a user may, by application of an extraction force directed away from said dispenser aperture, extract a front wipe from a stack of interleaved wipes contained in a wipes pouch having a pouch aperture at a front of said wipes pouch, said wipes pouch being disposed in said pouch space; and  
 at least one side lobe in communication with said center lobe at a side edge of said center lobe;  
   wherein said refill door further defines at least one top gripper projecting from an top edge of said dispensing aperture;    wherein said refill door further defines at least one bottom gripper projecting from a bottom edge of said dispensing aperture, and whereby at least one top gripper and at least one bottom gripper define a gap through which said front wipe passes when extracted from said dispenser.