Dispensing Device With Anti-Ligature Feature

Abstract

A dispenser for dispensing materials is disclosed. The dispenser includes a back housing, a front cover, and a mounting bracket. The mounting bracket includes a baseplate having a mounting surface and an outward facing surface. The baseplate includes one or more fastener apertures configured to receive one or more fasteners for mounting the bracket to the surface. The one or more fastener apertures include a thinned portion extending around at least a portion of a circumference of the fastener aperture. The thinned portion is configured to break upon application of a threshold force.

1 . A dispenser mountable to a surface, the dispenser comprising:
 a back housing adapted to be mounted to the surface, wherein the back housing comprises a first side configured to face the surface and a second and opposite side;   a front cover enclosing at least a portion of said back housing, wherein when in a closed condition forming a housing having an interior volume so as to retain at least one dispensable product; and   a mounting bracket comprising a baseplate having a mounting surface and an outward-facing surface, the baseplate comprising one or more fastener apertures configured to receive one or more fasteners for mounting the bracket to the surface, the one or more fastener apertures comprising a thinned portion extending around at least a portion of a circumference of the fastener aperture, wherein the thinned portion is configured to break upon application of a threshold force.   
     
     
         2 . The dispenser of  claim 1 , wherein the baseplate comprises a plurality of fastener apertures. 
     
     
         3 . The dispenser of  claim 1 , wherein the thinned portion is disposed in a recess surrounding the fastener aperture. 
     
     
         4 . The dispenser of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more fastener apertures are disposed on one or more feet defined on the baseplate. 
     
     
         5 . The dispenser of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more fastener apertures have a raised portion having a width of from about 1.5 mm to about 4 mm. 
     
     
         6 . The dispenser of  claim 1 , wherein the threshold force is about or greater than 30 Kg. 
     
     
         7 . The dispenser of  claim 1 , wherein the baseplate comprises a mounting bracket locking component configured to engage an aperture or slot on the first side of the back housing to secure the back housing to the mounting bracket. 
     
     
         8 . The dispenser of  claim 6 , wherein the mounting bracket locking component can be depressed to facilitate removal of the dispenser from the mounting bracket. 
     
     
         9 . The dispenser of  claim 1 , wherein the mounting bracket includes at least one leveling device to facilitate levelling the mounting bracket upon installation. 
     
     
         10 . The dispenser of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more fasteners comprises one or more screws. 
     
     
         11 . The dispenser of  claim 1 , further comprising a dispensing mechanism contained within the housing for dispensing the dispensable product, wherein the dispensable product is a roll of sheet material. 
     
     
         12 . A dispenser as defined in  claim 10 , wherein the roll of sheet material comprises a roll of paper towels for dispensing paper towels from the dispenser. 
     
     
         13 . The dispenser of  claim 1 , further comprising a dispensing mechanism contained within the housing for dispensing the dispensable product that is a liquid. 
     
     
         14 . The dispenser of  claim 1 , further comprising a locking mechanism for locking the front cover to the back housing. 
     
     
         15 . The dispenser of  claim 1 , wherein the front cover is hingedly attached to the back housing. 
     
     
         16 . A dispenser mountable to a surface, the dispenser comprising:
 a back housing adapted to be mounted to the surface including a first side configured to face the surface and a second and opposite side, the back housing comprising one or more fastener apertures configured to receive one or more fasteners for mounting the back housing to the surface, the one or more fastener apertures comprising a thinned portion extending around at least a portion of a circumference of the fastener aperture, wherein the thinned portion is configured to break upon application of a force; and   a front cover enclosing at least a portion of said back housing when in a closed condition forming a housing having an interior volume so as to retain at least one dispensable product.   
     
     
         17 . The dispenser of  claim 16 , wherein the threshold force is about or greater than 30 Kg. 
     
     
         18 . The dispenser of  claim 1 , wherein the thinned portion is disposed in a recess surrounding the fastener aperture. 
     
     
         19 . The dispenser of  claim 16 , wherein the one or more fastener apertures comprise a raised portion having a width of from about 1.5 mm to about 4 mm. 
     
     
         20 . The dispenser of  claim 16 , wherein the one or more fasteners comprises one or more screws.