US20190223667A1

US20190223667A1 - Toilet paper storage apparatus

Info

Publication number: US20190223667A1
Application number: US16/253,866
Authority: US
Inventors: Maria Apostolides
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2018-01-19
Filing date: 2019-01-22
Publication date: 2019-07-25

Abstract

A toilet paper storage apparatus may include a base storage device having a front surface member, a rear surface member, a bottom surface member, a first side surface member, and a second side surface member. The base storage device may be configured to securely engage at least one of a tank lid and a tank of a toilet. The apparatus may further include a lid configured to operably engage the base storage device. The lid may have an interior surface and an exterior surface, and the lid and the base storage device define at least one storage cavity configured to store at least one toilet paper roll.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

To the full extent permitted by law, the present United States Non-Provisional patent application hereby claims priority to and the full benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/619,506, filed Jan. 19, 2018, the disclosure of which is each incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure generally relates to a storage apparatus for toiletry items, and more specifically, to a toilet paper storage apparatus for storing toilet paper rolls in a clean and suitable manner. The toilet paper storage apparatus may further be configured to provide for aesthetically pleasing storage of toilet paper and/or also providing an indication of how much stored toilet paper remains.

BACKGROUND

Generally speaking, toiletry products, such as toilet paper rolls, cotton swabs, cotton balls, etc., are stored underneath cabinets or in closets away from a toilet bowl in a bathroom. In particular, personal consumer toilet paper roll holders are generally designed to hold a single roll of toilet paper near the toilet bowl for use in an uncovered fashion. Additionally, bathrooms and/or toilets are an area where bacteria, viruses, and other undesirable organisms may be present. As such, maintaining sanitary conditions for storing various items is desirable.
Therefore, a need exists for a suitable toilet paper storage apparatus that provides for storage of toiletry items, such as, for example, a toilet paper roll, and providing an indication of the amount of toiletry item stored therein, while also providing and/or promoting a sanitary, clean, and aesthetically pleasing environment.

SUMMARY

Example implementations of the present disclosure are directed to a toilet paper storage apparatus. In some aspects, the toilet paper storage apparatus includes a base storage device having a front surface member, a rear surface member, a bottom surface member, a first side surface member, and a second side surface member. The base storage device may be configured to operably and/or securely engage at least one of a tank lid and a tank of a toilet. The toilet paper storage apparatus may further include a lid configured to operably engage the base storage device. The lid may have an exterior and an interior surface, and the lid and the base storage device may together define at least one storage cavity configured to store at least one toilet paper roll therein.
According to some aspects, a portion of the toilet paper storage apparatus may be configured to transmit light therethrough. For example, a portion of the toilet paper storage apparatus may be transparent. In some aspects, at least a portion of at least one of the base storage device and the lid may be configured to transmit light therethrough.
Additionally or alternatively, the toilet paper storage apparatus may further include an anti-microbial material. The anti-microbial material may further include an anti-microbial substrate configured to securely engage a surface of at least one of the base storage device and the lid. In some aspects, the anti-microbial material may be integrally formed with at least one of the base storage device and the lid.
According to some aspects, the toilet paper storage apparatus may further include an indicia disposed on at least one of the base storage device and the lid. The indicia disposed on the at least one of the base storage device and the lid may be configured to transmit light therethrough.
In another aspect, the toilet paper storage apparatus may include at least one handle member. In some aspects, the base storage device may include a handle member that extends from at least one of the front surface member, the rear surface member, the first side surface member, and the second side surface member. Additionally or alternatively, the handle member may include an ergonomic portion. According to some aspects, the handle member may further include an anti-microbial material. For example, the handle member may include an anti-microbial substrate configured to securely engage a surface of at least one handle member and/or ergonomic portion of the handle member.
The foregoing illustrative summary, as well as other exemplary objectives and/or advantages of the invention, and the manner in which the same are accomplished, are further explained within the following detailed description and its accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present toilet paper storage apparatus will be better understood by reading the Detailed Description with reference to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, and in which like reference numerals denote similar structure and refer to like elements throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a top perspective view of a toilet paper storage apparatus in a secured configuration according to one example aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 illustrates a top perspective view of a toilet paper storage apparatus in an open configuration according to one example aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates a side view of a toilet paper storage apparatus in a secured configuration according to one example aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates a side view of a toilet paper storage apparatus in an open configuration according to one example aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 illustrates a top view of a toilet paper storage apparatus in a secured configuration according to one example aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 illustrates a top view of a toilet paper storage apparatus in an open configuration according to one example aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 illustrates a front view of a toilet paper storage apparatus in an open configuration according to one example aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 illustrates a front view of a toilet paper storage apparatus in a secured configuration according to one example aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 illustrates a top perspective view of a toilet paper storage apparatus in a secured configuration according to one example aspect of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 10 illustrates a top perspective view of a toilet paper storage apparatus in a secured configuration according to one example aspect of the present disclosure.

It is to be noted that the drawings presented are intended solely for the purpose of illustration and that they are, therefore, neither desired nor intended to limit the disclosure to any or all of the exact details of construction shown, except insofar as they may be deemed essential to the claimed disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Some implementations of the present disclosure will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all implementations of the disclosure are shown. Indeed, various implementations of the disclosure may be expressed in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the implementations set forth herein; rather, these exemplary implementations are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. As used herein, the term “and/or” and the “/” symbol includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. Further, unless otherwise indicated, something being described as being a first, second or the like should not be construed to imply a particular order. It should be understood that the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various steps, calculations, positions and/or the like, these steps, calculations or positions should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one operation, calculation, or position from another. For example, a first position may be termed a second position, and, similarly, a second step may be termed a first step, without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Additionally, something may be described as being above something else (unless otherwise indicated) may instead be below, and vice versa; and similarly, something described as being to the left of something else may instead be to the right, and vice versa. As used in the specification, and in the appended claims, the singular forms “a”, “an”, “the”, include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.
Implementations of the present disclosure provide for a toilet paper storage apparatus as shown in FIGS. 1-10. According to some aspects of the present disclosure, a toilet paper storage apparatus 10, as shown in FIG. 1, may provide for the storage and/or protection of toiletry products, such as, for example, a toilet paper roll 5A, 5B, 5C. The toilet paper storage apparatus 10 may include a base storage device 100 and a lid 200 configured to operably engage one another in a closed configuration, as shown in FIG. 1, and an open configuration, as shown in FIG. 2. The base storage device may further include a front surface member 101, a rear surface member 102, a bottom surface member 105, a first side surface member 103, and a second side surface member 104. In some aspects of the present disclosure, the surface members 101, 102, 103, 104, 105 of the base storage device 100 may be securely engaged with at least one of the other surface members. In another aspect, the surface member 101, 102, 103, 104, 105 of the base storage device 100 may be integrally formed with at least one of the other surface members.
According to some aspects of the present disclosure, the base storage device 100 may be configured to securely engage at least one of a tank lid and/or a tank of a toilet bowl. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the base storage device 100 may further include at least one foot member 110 configured to securely engage at least one of a tank lid and/or a tank of a toilet bowl. In some aspects, the foot member 110 may be configured to provide an increase in a coefficient of friction between the foot member 110 and the at least one tank lid and/or tank of a toilet bowl relative to the bottom surface member 105 of the base storage device 100. According to another aspect, the foot member 110 may be configured to magnetically engage a magnetically attracted element of a tank lid and/or a tank of a toilet bowl so as to securely engage the base storage device thereto.
The toilet paper storage apparatus 10 may further include a lid 200 configured to operably engage the base storage device 100 in a closed configuration, as shown in FIG. 1, and an open configuration, as shown in FIG. 2. The lid 200 may include an exterior surface 201 and an interior surface 202. In addition, when the lid 200 and the base storage device 100 are operably engaged in a closed configuration, the lid 200 and the base storage device 100 define at least one storage cavity 150 configured to receive at least one toilet paper roll 5A therein. In some aspects, the lid 200 and the base storage device 100 may define a plurality of storage cavities, each of the storage cavities being configured to receive a toilet paper roll therein.
According to some aspects of the present disclosure, the toilet paper storage apparatus 10 may be further configured to provide an indicia associated with the number of toilet paper rolls stored within the toilet paper storage apparatus 10. For example, in some aspects, as shown in FIG. 9, the toilet paper storage apparatus 10 may further include an indicia 500 corresponding to the status of a toilet paper roll stored within the cavity 150. In some aspects, an indicia 500 may be configured to transmit an amount of light therethrough and/or be disposed proximate the lid 200 so as to indicate the contents within the storage cavity 150. According to another aspect, the indicia 500 may be disposed proximate the base storage device 100. In one aspect, a single indicia may be used to provide information corresponding to the number of toilet paper rolls stored within the storage cavity 150. Additionally and/or alternatively, the base storage device 100 may be configured to transmit an amount of light therethrough.
Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, the respective front surface, rear surface, first side surface, second side surface, and bottom surface members 101, 102, 103, 104, 105 of the base storage device 100 may each include an interior and exterior surface respectively. For example, the front surface member 101 may include an interior front surface 101A and an exterior front surface 101B. Likewise, the rear surface member 102 may include an interior rear surface 102A and an exterior rear surface 102B. The first side surface member 103 may include an interior and an exterior first side surface 103A,103B, and the second side surface member 104 may include an interior and an exterior second side surface 104A,104B. The bottom surface member 105 may also include an interior and an exterior bottom surface 105A, 105B.
According to some aspects, the toilet paper storage apparatus may further an anti-microbial material 300. The anti-microbial material 300 may include an anti-microbial substrate 302 configured to securely engage any one of the at least one interior surfaces 101A, 102A, 103A, 104A, 105A. Additionally and/or alternatively, the anti-microbial substrate 302 may be configured to securely engage the interior surface 202 of the lid 200. Further, in some aspects, the anti-microbial material 300 may be integrally formed with the base storage device 100. For example, the anti-microbial material 300 may be integrally formed with the front surface member 101, the rear surface member 102, the first side surface member 103, the second side surface member 104, and/or the bottom surface member 105. Additionally and/or alternatively, the anti-microbial material 300 may be integrally formed with the lid 200.
In some aspects, the toilet paper storage apparatus 10 may further include at least one handle member 120. For example, the base storage device 100 may further include at least one handle member 120. In another aspect, the lid 200 may include at least one handle member. As shown in FIGS. 1-4, at least one handle member 120 may be disposed proximate an exterior surface 103B, 104B of the first and second side surface members 103, 104 of the base storage device 100. According to other aspects, the at least one handle member may be disposed proximate to any exterior surface of the front, rear, first side, second side, and/or bottom surface members of the base storage device. Additionally or alternatively, the at least one handle member 120 may include an ergonomic portion 122 configured to provide for secure handling of the toilet paper storage apparatus 10 by a user when positioning the toilet paper storage apparatus on a tank lid and/or tank of a toilet bowl.
According to some aspects, the at least one handle member 120 may further include an anti-microbial material. In some aspects, the anti-microbial material may include an anti-microbial substrate that is securely engaged with the at least one handle member. For example, the anti-microbial substrate may be adhesively engaged with the at least one handle member and may be replaced periodically to provide anti-microbial protection. Additionally or alternatively, the at least one handle member 120 may include an anti-microbial material integrally formed with the at least one handle member 120.
According to another aspect, the toilet paper storage apparatus 10 may further include a securing element 400 configured to maintain an operable engagement between the base storage device 100 and the lid 200. As shown in FIG. 1, the toilet paper storage apparatus 10 may be disposed in a closed and/or secured configuration, and as shown in FIG. 2, the toilet paper storage apparatus 10 may be disposed in an open configuration. When positioned in the closed configuration, the toilet paper storage apparatus 10 may be configured to retain at least one toilet paper roll in an anti-microbial environment so as to maintain sanitary conditions. For example, a securing element 400 may include a first portion 401 and a second portion 402 that are configured to operably engage one another. In some aspects, the first portion 401 may be disposed proximate the lid 200 and the second portion 402 may be disposed proximate the base storage device 100. Additionally or alternatively, the first portion and the second portion may be configured to operably engage one another in a friction fit, a magnetic engagement, a snap fit, and/or any other type of suitable engagement known to one of ordinary skill in the art.
The foregoing description comprises illustrative embodiments. Having thus described example embodiments, it should be noted by those skilled in the art that the within disclosures are example only, and that various other alternatives, adaptations, and modifications may be made within the scope of the present disclosure. Merely listing or numbering the steps of a method in a certain order does not constitute any limitation on the order of the steps of that method. Many modifications and other embodiments will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which this disclosure pertains having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Although specific terms may be employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation. Accordingly, the present disclosure is not limited to the specific embodiments illustrated herein, but is limited only by the following claims.

Claims

1. A toilet paper storage apparatus comprising:

a base storage device having a front surface member, a rear surface member, a bottom surface member, a first side surface member, and a second side surface member, wherein the base storage device is configured to operably engage at least one of a tank lid and a tank of a toilet; and

a lid configured to operably engage the base storage device, the lid having an interior surface and an exterior surface, wherein the lid and the base storage device define at least one storage cavity configured to store at least one toilet paper roll.

2. The toilet paper storage apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of at least one of the base storage device and the lid is configured to transmit light therethrough.

3. The toilet paper storage apparatus of claim 1 further comprising an anti-microbial material.

4. The toilet paper storage apparatus of claim 3, wherein the anti-microbial material further includes an anti-microbial substrate configured to securely engage a surface of at least one of the base storage device and the lid.

5. The toilet paper storage apparatus of claim 3, wherein the anti-microbial material is integrally formed with at least one of the base storage device and the lid.

6. The toilet paper storage apparatus of claim 1 further comprising an indicia disposed on at least one of the base storage device and the lid.

7. The toilet paper storage apparatus of claim 6, wherein the indicia disposed on the at least one of the base storage device and the lid are configured to transmit light therethrough.

8. The toilet paper storage apparatus of claim 1 wherein the base storage device further includes at least one handle member extending from at least one of the front surface member, the rear surface member, the first side surface member, and the second side surface member, wherein the handle member further includes an ergonomic portion.

9. The toilet paper storage apparatus of claim 8 wherein the handle member further includes an anti-microbial material.

10. The toilet paper storage apparatus of claim 9, wherein the anti-microbial material further includes an anti-microbial substrate configured to securely engage a surface of the handle member.