Water Tight And Moisture Proof Toilet Paper Container

Abstract

A water and moisture proof toilet paper container having an open faced housing and a lid which is integrally formed with and hingedly secured to the housing adjacent the open end thereof. The lid has a channeled portion extending about the periphery thereof for receiving the extended edges of the side of the housing forming the open face. Additional channels are provided on the interior walls of the housing for receiving the edge portions of a toilet roll support which is slidably mounted within said channels in the housing.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In recent years there has been a tremendous growth in the popularity of recreational vehicles by which a traveler can take the comforts of a small apartment to remote camping sites. The comforts provided by these recreational vehicles are limited only by the size of the vehicle. Such comforts include beds, stoves, refrigerators, showers, toilets, tables, chairs and the like. In order to conserve space in such vehicles, such facilities are doubled up whenever the opportunity arises. For example, the stove and the refrigerator may be combined into a single unit and the toilet is often located within the shower. In the latter case, a problem arises with respect to the storing of the toilet paper. When the shower is in use the toilet can easily be closed off, however, if the toilet paper is stored near the toilet it would become soaked with water and ruined. Attempts have been made to provide shields for the toilet paper, however, such shields do not adequately protect the toilet paper from the water vapor in the air which is given off by a hot shower. Accordingly, the toilet paper has to be stored in a cabinet outside the shower compartment. This of course is a great inconvenience. It would be very desirable to have a container which could be affixed to the wall within the shower and which would protect the roll of toilet paper from the spray of the shower and any water vapor which would be generated thereby.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Briefly the invention comprises an open faced housing having a lid portion which is integrally molded with the housing and hingedly secured thereto adjacent the open face of the housing. The lid is provided with a circumferential channel which is adapted to receive the extended forward edges of the walls of the housing thereby forming a water and moisture proof seal. Parallel channel members are secured to the interior walls of the housing which extend rearwardly from the open end of the housing. A toilet roll support of single piece construction is placed about a roll of toilet paper and pressed into the housing along the parallel channel members, the side of which grip the extended edges of the support and thereby firmly hold the support and roll within the housing.

It is the principal object of this invention to provide a water and moisture proof container for holding a roll of toilet paper therein.

It is another object of this invention to provide a water and moisture proof toilet paper container which is of simple construction and economical to manufacture.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a water and moisture proof toilet paper container which is easily secured to the walls of a shower in a recreational vehicle.

These and other objects and advantages of the instant invention will become apparent upon the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

IN THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an isometric elevation of the toilet paper container holding a roll of toilet paper.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the toilet paper container showing the housing and toilet roll support.

FIG. 3 is a frontal view of the toilet roll container housing.

FIG. 4 is a frontal view of the toilet roll support prior to folding for use.

Referring now in detail of the drawings, the container 10 is seen to be comprised of a housing 12 having an open end 14 and a lid 16 which is integrally molded with the housing. Both the lid and the housing are preferably constructed of a plastic material such as polypropylene. The lid is secured to the housing by a hinge member, often referred to as a live hinge which is formed during the molding process and which extends between the lid and the housing over substantially the length thereof as best seen in FIG. 3. The lid 16 has a circumferential channel 18 therein defined by molded wall portions 20 and 22. Channel 18 is adapted to receive the extended edge portions 24 of the walls 26 of the housing when the lid is pivoted to the closed position, thereby providing a water tight seal for the open end of the housing. A plurality of rib members 28, also integrally molded with the housing, are provided on the interior walls thereof and define parallel channels 30 which extend from the open face of the housing to the rear wall 32 thereof. A toilet roll support member 34 is provided to fit around a roll of toilet paper and secure the roll within the housing.

The support member 34 is seen in FIG. 4 to be comprised of the flat piece of preferably plastic material such as that of which the housing and lid are constructed and has a central portion 38 and two enlarged ear portions 40 and 42. Each ear portion has a portion 44 projecting therefrom which is adapted to fit within the two ends of the cardboard core of a roll of toilet paper. Folding seams 46 are provided which separate each ear portion from the central portion of the support member and allow the ear portions to be bent forwardly with respect to the central portion forming a U-shaped support as shown in FIG. 2. A roll of toilet paper is disposed between the two ear portions 40 and 42 of the support member and the pretuberences of 44 are positioned within the open ends of the core member of the toilet paper roll. The support member 34 and toilet paper roll 36 are then placed within the housing with the extended edges 48 of the ear members being disposed within interior channels 30 of the container housing. The support member and toilet paper roll are then forced rearwardly into the housing until the central portion 38 of the support member abutts the rear wall 32 of the housing. The support member and roll are then held in place by the tight fitting of the rib member 28 which define channels 30 pressing against the extended edge portions 48 of the ear members of the toilet roll support member 34.

The housing is then affixed to the desired wall by an adhesive placed on the rear of the housing or other fastening means such as screws which extend through the rear wall 32 of the housing and into the wall upon which the container is to be mounted. With the toilet paper roll positioned within the container as described above it can be seen that the roll is free to rotate within container about projections 44 for the removal of toilet paper from the container, and when not is use, the lid can be closed over the open face of the housing to prevent moisture from entering the interior thereof and saturating the toilet paper held therein.

Changes and modifications may be made in carrying out the instant invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. Insofar as these changes and modifications are within the perview of the appended claims they are to be considered as part of the invention.

Claims

I claim:

1. A water and moisture proof toilet paper container comprising an open faced housing, a lid member pivotally secured to said housing, means for securing said lid member over the open face of said housing, rib means disposed on the interior walls of said housing, said rib means defining a plurality of interior parallel channels, a toilet paper support member having a central portion and a pair of ear members, said ear members being disposed on opposite sides of said central portion and separated therefrom by a pair of folding seams, said ear members being adapted to be bent forwardly of said central portion along said folding seams to define a U-shaped support member adapted to fit about a roll of toilet paper, the extended edges of said ear member being slidably mounted within said parallel channels within said housing and means carried by said ear members for holding said roll of toilet paper.

2. A water and moisture proof toilet paper container comprising an open faced housing, a lid member pivotally secured to said housing, said lid member having a channeled portion extending about the periphery thereof and adapted to receive edges of the sides of the housing forming said open face thereby providing a water and moisture proof seal for said housing, rib means disposed on the interior walls of said housing, said rib means defining a plurality of interior parallel channels, a toilet paper support member having a central portion and a pair of ear members, said ear members being disposed on opposite sides of said central portion and separated therefrom by a pair of folding seams, said ear members being adapted to be bent forwardly of said central portion along said folding seams to define a U-shaped support member adapted to fit about a roll of toilet paper, the extended edges of said ear member being slidably mounted within said parallel channels within said housing and means carried by said ear members for holding said roll of toilet paper.

3. The combination of claim 2 wherein said holding means is comprised of a pair of portions of said ear members projecting outwardly therefrom and being adapted to extend into the core of a toilet paper roll.

4. The combination of claim 2 wherein said rib means extend from said open face of said housing to the rear thereof.

5. The combination of claim 4 wherein said lid member and said ribbed means are integrally formed with said housing.