TISSUE BOX HOLDER

SUPPORT DE FIXATION POUR BOITE DE PAPIERS-MOUCHOIRS

English Abstract

A tissue box holder for mounting a tissue box on a mounting surface such the interior surface of the cabin
of a vehicle. The tissue box holder has a base the base defining a fixing surface and an opposed
retaining surface. A locking component is adapted to lock the tissue box against the base. A fixing
component is adapted to fix the base to the mounting surface. The locking component includes a set of
strap segments. Each strap segment has a strip of miniature hook and loop fiber device mounted thereon
for releasably attaching to a cooperating strap segment so that a pair of strap segments may cooperate
to lock the tissue box within the cavity. The fixing component includes fixing apertures extending through
the base. The fixing aperture being configured and sized so as to cooperates with conventional fixing
components for fixing the base to the mounting surface. The base has a digit aperture extending
therethrough. The digit aperture being configured and sized so as to allow through insertion of the finger
of an intended user.

French Abstract

La présente invention a pour objet un support devant servir à fixer des boîtes de papiers-mouchoirs sur une surface intérieure de l'habitacle d'un véhicule. Le support pour boîte de papiers-mouchoirs comporte une base définissant une surface de fixation en opposition avec une surface de retenue. Un dispositif de blocage sert à maintenir la boîte de papiers-mouchoirs sur la base. Le dispositif de blocage en question comporte un jeu de courroies. Chaque courroie est dotée d'une bande de fermeture à crochets et bouclettes de nylon permettant de relier rapidement les segments de courroies et retenir ainsi la boîte de papiers-mouchoirs à l'intérieur de la cavité. Le dispositif de fixation comporte des ouvertures pratiquées à travers la base. Les ouvertures de fixation possèdent des dimensions qui permettent l'insertion des éléments de fixation à la base. La base est percée d'une ouverture traversante. Cette ouverture possède des dimensions qui permettent à l'utilisateur d'y introduire ses doigts.

Claims

The embodiment of the invention in which an exclusive privilege or property is claimed are defined as
follows.
1. A tissue box holder for mounting a tissue box on a mounting surface, said tissue box defining a bottom
wall, a pair of side walls, a pair of end walls and a top wall, said tissue box holder comprising:
- a base, said base defining a fixing surface and an opposed retaining surface;
- said retaining surface being configured and sized so as to receive at least a portion of said bottom wall;
- a locking means for selectively locking said bottom wall against said retaining surface; said locking
means being mounted on said base;
- a fixing means for fixing said base to said mounting surface, said fixing means being mounted on said
base.
2. A tissue box holder as recited in claim 1 wherein said base has a generally rectangular configuration
defining a pair of opposed base side edges and a pair of opposed base end edges.
3. A tissue box holder as recited in claim 1 wherein said locking means includes at least one locking strap
attached to said base side edges, said strap being sized so as to tightly surround said tissue box when
the latter is mounted on said base.
4. A tissue holder as recited in claim 3 wherein said strap includes two strap segments, each of said strap
segments being attached at proximal ends thereof to opposite base side edges;
each strap segment having an attachment means mounted thereon for releasably attaching to a
cooperating strap segment so that a pair of strap segments may cooperate to lock tissue box against said
base.

6. A tissue holder as recited in claim 5 wherein said attachment means is a strip of miniature hook and
loop fiber.
7. A tissue holder as recited in claim 4 wherein said locking means includes a pair of straps, each strap
being positioned adjacent a base end edge.
8. A tissue holder as recited in claim 1 wherein said fixing means includes an adhesive strip made of an
adhesive material mounted on said fixing surface.
9. A tissue holder as recited in claim 1 wherein said fixing means includes a fixing apertures extending
through said base, said fixing aperture being configured and sized so as to cooperate with conventional
fixing components for fixing said base to said mounting surface.
10. A tissue holder as recited in claim 1 further comprising a friction creating means mounted on said
retaining surface.
11. A tissue holder as recited in claim 10 wherein said friction creating means is a friction strip made of a
material having a relatively high friction coefficient, said friction strip being mounted on said retaining
surface.
12. A tissue box as recited in claim 11 wherein said friction strip is coated with an adhesive material.
13. A tissue holder as recited in claim 3 wherein said base has a digit aperture extending therethrough,
said digit aperture being configured and sized so as to allow through insertion of the finger of an intended
user.

14. A tissue box holder for mounting a tissue box on a mounting surface, said tissue box defining a
bottom wall, a pair of side walls, a pair of end walls and a top wall, said tissue box holder comprising:
- a base, said base defining a fixing surface and an opposed retaining surface;
- said retaining surface being configured and sized so as to receive at least a portion of said bottom wall;
- a locking means for selectively locking said bottom wall against said retaining surface; said locking
means being mounted on said base;
- a fixing means for fixing said base to said mounting surface, said fixing means being mounted on said
base;
- said base having a generally rectangular configuration defining a pair of opposed base side edges and
a pair of opposed base end edges; said locking means including at least one locking strap attached to
said base side edges, said strap being sized so as to tightly surround said tissue box when the latter is
mounted on said base; said strap including two strap segments, each of said strap segments being
attached at proximal ends thereof to opposite base side edges; each strap segment having an
attachment means mounted thereon for releasably attaching to a cooperating strap segment so that a
pair of strap segments may cooperate to lock tissue box against said base said attachment means being
a strip of miniature hook and loop fiber; said locking means including a pair of straps, each strap being
positioned adjacent a base end edge; said fixing means including an adhesive strip made of an adhesive
material mounted on said fixing surface; said fixing means further including a fixing apertures extending
through said base, said fixing aperture being configured and sized so as to cooperate with conventional
fixing components for fixing said base to said mounting surface; said tissue holder further comprising a
friction creating means mounted on said retaining surface; said friction creating means being a friction
strip made of a material having a relatively high friction coefficient, said friction strip being mounted on
said retaining surface; said base having a digit aperture extending therethrough, said digit aperture being
configured and sized so as to allow through insertion of the finger of an intended user.
11

Description

CA 02212096 1997-09-0
TISSUE BOX HOLDER
Field of the invention
5 The present invention relates to the field of vehicle accessories and is particularly concerned with a tissue
box holder for vehicles.
Background of the invention:
10 In today's day and age commuters are frequently travelling to their destinations in vehicles such as
auto",~b.'Es vans or the like. Consequently people are spending i"creasi"gly long periods of time in
their vehicles. It has therefore become a co"""on practice to carry in the vehicle among other
conven snce items a conventional container of ~lispos~ E tissue.
15 Although it is advantageous to have a supply of tissues readily available to vehicle commuters it is
i",po,lallt that the tissue be stored in a manner which does not interfere with safety.
The most common type of tissue paper placed in a vehicle is facial tissue contained in a cardboard box.
The partition plate between the rear seat and the rear w; Idsll;eld of a vehicle is one of the most common
20 places where people place the conventional facial tissue box. A disadvantage associated with such a
practice is that the height of the facial tissue box may partially block the eyesight of the driver when the
latter ViQWS from inside rear-view mirror. Furthermore the tissue paper partially emerged from the box
when withdrawn will increase the blocking range.

CA 02212096 1997-09-0~
The prior art is replete with decorative coverage or enclosures for decor~li"g the tissue box so as to
improve the appearance of the interior of the automobile. Often, the box, with or without decorative
coverage is simply placed on the partition plate without any securing means. Accordingly, when the
vehicle is in motion, the box with or without such decorati~c coverage may slide on the partition plate or
5 may topple over from the partition plate bec~use of jerky driving. Movement of the tissue box may
potentially distract the driver leading to an accident.
These problems have been recoy"i~ad by the prior art which discloses various attachment devices, most
of which are mountable on the pivotable sun-visor of the vehicle. U.S. Patents 2,278,011 issued to
10 Murdock discloses a paper-pack holder removably attached to a visor by means of spring-holder clips
which engage the tissue box and provided with hooks which go over the journaled edge portion of the
visor.
U.S. patent 2,564,997 issued to Rome discloses a dispos~''~ tissue box container and support therefore
15 which contains a front portion having an elliptical opening for the removal of tissues that fits over the
tissue box and contains on the rear side, a clip which is adapted to hold the front portion of the case
against the visor.
While these devices have generally been suitable for their intended purposes, they have suffered from
20 numerous drawbacks, including complexity of design and mounting and an overall lack of aesthetically
pleasing appearance.
Furthermore, since most of the devices utilize metal clips, springs or the like, they inherently are unsafe in
the event of an accident and are more susceptible to breakdown. Also, the prior art devices are
25 expensive to manufacture due to their multi-col"ponent complexity. Accordingly, their exists a need for
an improved tissue box holder particularly suitable for use within a vehicle.

CA 02212096 1997-09-0
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved tissue box holder.
Advantages of the present invention include the fact that he tissue box holder in accordance with the
present invention allows for the safe storage of tissue boxes so as to prevent the latter from being
displaced during acceleration and/or deceleration of the vehicle.
10 Another advantage of the present invention resides in the ease with which the holder can be readily
mounted to various surfaces inside a vehicle. Also, the holder is designed so that tissue boxes having
various configurations and sizes may be readily mounted thereon.
A still further advantage of the present invention resides in the fact that the tissue box holder may be
15 manufactured using conventional forms of manufacturing, is of simple construction and easy to use so as
to provide a tissue box holder which will be economically feasible, long-lasting, and relatively trouble free
in operation.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, there is provided a tissue box holder for mounting a
20 tissue box on a mounting surface, the tissue box defining a bottom wall, a pair of side walls, a pair of end
walls and a top wall, the tissue box holder comprising: a base, the base defining a fixing surface and an
opposed retaining surface; the retaining surface defining a cavity, the being configured and sized so as to
receive at least an inserted portion of the tissue box; a locking means for selectively locking the portion of
the tissue box within the cavity; the locking means being mounted on the base; a fixing means for fixing
25 the base to the mounting surface, the fixing means being mounted on the base.

CA 02212096 1997-09-0~
P~drer~bly, the retaining surface has peripheral edges, the cavity being formed by a peripheral flange
extending integrally and substantially perpendicularly from the peripheral edges of the retaining surface.
Conveniently, the peripheral flange has an inner surface, a pair of transversally opposed longitudinal
5 segments and a pair of longitudinally opposed end segments; the retaining surface being configured and
sized so that the inner surface of the longitudinal segments and end segments frictionally abuts
respectively against the side walls and the end walls adjacent the bottom wall; whereby the friction
between the inner surface of the peripheral flange and the tissue box is adapted to releA~Ahly retain the
portion of the tissue box within the cavity.
Plafe,ably, the locking means includes at least one locking strap attached to the peripheral flange, the
strap being sized so as to tightly surround a protruding portion of the tissue box protruding from the
cavity.
15 Conveniently, the strap includes two strap segments, each of the strap segments being attached at
proximal ends thereof to opposite longitudinal seg",er,ts, each strap segment having an attachment
means mounted thereon for releasably attaching to a cooperating strap segment so that a pair of strap
segments may cooperate to lock the portion of the tissue box within the cavity. Ple~arably, the attachment
means is a strip of miniature hook and loop fiber.
Conveniently, the locking means includes a pair of straps, each strap being positioned adjacent an end
seylrlenL Pl~r~bly, the fixing means includes a strip made of an adhesive material mounted on the
fixing surface.

CA 02212096 1997-09-0~
P,e~er~bly, the fixing means includes a fixing apertures extending through the base, the fixing aperture
being configured and sized so as to cooperate with conventional fixing components for fixing the base to
the mounting surface.
5 Conveniently, the base has a digit aperture extending therethrough, the digit aperture being configured
and sized so as to allow through insertion of the finger of an intended user.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
10 An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example, in re~e,~nce to the
following drawings in which:
FIG. 1: in a front perspective view illustrates a tissue box holder in accordance with an embodiment of the
present invention with a conventional tissue box mounted thereon;
FIG. 2: in a rear perspective view illustrates a tissue box holder in accordance with an embodiment of the
present invention;
FIG. 3: in a front perspective view illustrates a tissue box holder in accordance with an embodiment of the
20 present invention;
DETAILED DESCRIPTION

CA 02212096 1997-09-0~
Referring to figure 1, there is shown a tissue box holder 10 in accordance with an embodiment of the
present invention. The tissue box holder 10 is shown about to receive a conventional tissue box 12. The
tissue box holder 10 includes a base 14 defining a fixing surface 16 and an opposed retaining surface 18.
5 The convenlional tissue box 12 typically has a parallelepiped-shaped configuration defining a bottom wall
22, a pair of sidewalls 24, a pair of end walls 26 and a top wall 28. Consequently, the retaining surface 18
typically has a generally rectangular configuration. It should be unde,~lood that the retaining surface 18
could have any suitable configuration without departing from the scope of the present invention.
10 The base 14 has a base peripheral edge. When the bas 14 has a generally rectangular configuration, the
base peripheral edge defines a pair of opposed base side edges 30 and a pair of opposed base end
edges 32. Preferably, the base 14 is dimensioned so that when the tissue box 12 is mounted on the fixing
surface 16 the base side edges 30 and the base end edges 32 are substantially in regiter respectively
with the side walls 24 and the end walls 26.
The retaining surface 18 pr~er~bly has mounted thereon a friction creating means for increasing its
friction coefficient. The friction creating means typically includes at least one friction strip 46 made of a
material having a relatively high friction coefficient. In one embodiment of the invention, the friction strip
46 is coated with a substantially adhesive material. The friction creating means is adapted to increase the
20 friction between the bottom wall 22 and the retaining surface 18 for reducing the relative movement
between the base 14 and the tissue box 12.
A locking means for selectively locking a portion of the tissue box 12 against the retaining surface 18 is
25 mounted on the base 14. In the preferred embodiment, the locking means includes at least one locking
strap 34. Preferably, the locking means includes a pair of straps 34, each strap 34 being positioned

CA 02212096 1997-09-0~
adjacent a bas end edge 32. Each locking strap 34 is pr~ bly made of two strap sey",er,l~ 36 each
attached at proximal ends thereof to opposite base side edge 30.
Each strap sey"~enl 36 has an attachment means for l~ ' ly attaching to a cooperating strap
5 seyl "enl so that a pair of strap segments 36 may cooperate to lock a portion of the tissue box against the
retaining surface 18. Each ~llacl,",enl means is preferably positioned adjacent a distal end of the
co(responding strap segment 36.
Typically, the attachment means is a strip 38 of miniature hook and loop fiber of the type co"""e,~ially
10 sold under the trademark VELCRO. The straps 34 are sized so as to tightly surround the tissue box 12
when the latter is mounted on the base 14 and the cooperating attachment means are attached to each
other.
The base 14 has at least one and pre~e,~bly two digit apertures 40 extending therethrough. The digit
15 apertures 40 are configured and sized so as to allow through insertion of the finger of an intended user
for reason which will be hereinafter disclosed.
The fixing surface 16 is provided with a fixing means for fixing the base 14 to a mounting surface. The
fixing means typically includes a strip 42 made of an adhesive material mounted on the fixing surface 16
20 adjacent its peripheral edge. The adhesive material is specifically chosen so as to provide a proper
adhesion to the ",alerials typically used in the manufacturing of the interior of vehicles. The strip 42 may
either be continuous or segmented as illustrated in figure 2.
The fixing means may also include at least one and preferably two fixing apertures 44. The fixing
25 apertures 44 are adapted to cooperate with conventional fixing co",ponents such as screws or the like for
fixing the base 14 to the mounting surface.

CA 02212096 1997-09-0~
In use the base 14 is first secured to a suitable mounting surface using the fixing means. The tissue box
12 is then positioned so that its bottom wall 22 abuttingly contacts the retaining surface 18.
5 As ,nentioned previously the base 14 is pre~ bly di",ens;oned so that when the tissue box 12 is
mounted on the fixing surface 16 the base side edges 30 and the base end edges 32 are substantially in
register respectively with the side walls 24 and the end walls 26. To releasably secure the tissue box 12
against the base 14 the straps 36 are then fittingly wrapped around the tissue box 12.
When the strips 46 adhere to the bottom wall, the tissue box 12 may be pulled away from the base 14 by
SJ~ .s~;ng the sidewalls 24 and the base side edges 30. Some fingers of the intended user may also be
inserted through the digit apertures 40 so as to push on the bottom wall 22 and assist in separating the
bottom wall 22 from the strips 46.

Representative Drawing