Sanitizing device

Abstract

A device (1) for sanitizing a body (100) made of water- soluble surfactant material that is solid at room temperature and has a given geometric shape; the device (1) comprising a container (10) provided with a base (12) and a lid (14) delimited by respective first edge (12') and second edge (14') shaped to be coupled in a watertight manner to delimit a cavity (16) of given volume inside the container (10) where said cavity (16) is geometrically shaped to house the body (100); the container (10) having a ventilation unit (20) able to force an exchange of air in the cavity (16).

Description

[0001] SANITIZING DEVICE

[0002] DESCRIPTION

[0003] The present industrial invention relates to a sanitizing device for personal hygiene products. Specifically, the present industrial invention relates to a sanitizing device for personal hygiene detergents. More precisely, the present industrial invention relates to a sanitizing device for solid personal hygiene detergents.

[0004] DESCRIPTION OF THE STATE OF THE ART

[0005] In the field of consumable personal hygiene products such as detergents, creams, oils and toothpastes, it is advisable for the user to continue, after starting the use of the product, until the same is completely consumed, in order to minimize the likelihood of contaminating the remaining product with bacteria, viruses, and microbes in general. For creams, oils, and liquid detergents, a compromise solution has long been known that provides the use of pressurized or electrically controlled dispensing devices that can dispense single doses in succession, avoiding direct contact with the product and thus preventing the spread of contamination.

[0006] As it is known, detergents are substances capable of varying the surface tension of a liquid, hence the term "surfactants", thus facilitating an overall greasedissolving effect. In the case of solid detergents, typically referred to as soaps, that in use, combined with water, activate the detergent effect, which is associated with a change in the orientation of the molecules surrounding the soap surface. Specifically, said molecules have hydrophobic heads opposite hydrophilic heads, and upon contact with water, the hydrophobic heads move toward the side of the grease to be removed, while the hydrophilic heads move toward the water. This behaviour of the soap molecules allows for the removal of grease and, on the skin, achieves a cleansing effect. Solid soaps are typically packaged in shapes that are easy to handle, such as, but not limited to, a parallelepiped with rounded corners, round and flattened or having two flattened ends, whereas for professional / industrial soaps, the shape minimizes packaging costs and maximizes the quantity of product per volume, therefore they usually have a cubic or parallelepiped shape.

[0007] Soap sanitization methods comprise adding isopropyl or ethyl alcohol to the products during the soap production process or spraying the same on the surface to kill bacteria. Alternatively, a heat treatment is used, which involves heating the soap to over 70°C for a given time so as to "pasteurize" the same. This method is also used for liquid or loose soaps. In other cases, essential oils, such as tea tree oil, lavender oil, and eucalyptus oil, are added, whose antibacterial and antimicrobial properties enhance the soap sanitizing properties. The use of natural preservatives, such as grapefruit seed extract, can help prevent the growth of bacteria and mould in the soap.

[0008] It is clear that the combination of these methods also ensures that the soap remains safe and hygienic during the production and use thereof.

[0009] On the other hand, it is possible to use a solid soap that does not contain substances with inherent sanitizing properties, and that only one soap is available for multiple users. It is clear that the risk of transmitting microbes between users is not zero and increases as the number of users increases.

[0010] Given the above, the problem of maintaining a solid soap sanitized that must be used by multiple users, even trivially to avoid having multiple bars of soap in the bathroom equal to the number of users, is currently unsolved and represents an interesting challenge for the applicant, aiming to facilitate the use of solid soaps for personal use.

[0011] Considering the situation described above, it would be desirable to have a sanitizing device that, in addition to limiting and possibly overcoming the typical drawbacks of the prior art described above, defines a new standard for said types of products, also rendering personal sanitization or the cleaning of fabrics, intended to be washed with laundry soap, less expensive.

[0012] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

[0013] The present industrial invention relates to a device for sanitizing personal hygiene products. Specifically, the present industrial invention relates to a device for sanitizing personal hygiene detergents. More specifically, the present industrial invention relates to a device for sanitizing solid type personal hygiene detergents.

[0014] The above-mentioned drawbacks are resolved by the present invention according to at least one of the following claims.

[0015] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the technical problem described above is resolved by a sanitizing device with a body having a specific geometric shape, where the device comprises a container provided with a base and a lid shaped to be coupled to one another in a watertight manner so as to define a geometrically shaped cavity housing said body; specifically, the device comprises a UV-C radiation emitter arranged to irradiate the body housed in the cavity, and a closing sensor able to detect a closed condition of the container and activating said emitter exclusively when in said closed condition .

[0016] According to one embodiment as described above, said container has ventilation means designed to force air into said cavity in order to remove moisture from said body and supply the same outside of said container.

[0017] According to one embodiment of the sanitizing device as described above, said ventilation means comprise a first opening and a second opening made in said container, either in said base or in said lid; a forced ventilation unit is carried by said container in aerial communication with one of said first openings and second openings to supply air to said cavity.

[0018] According to one embodiment of the sanitizing device as described above, said lid is hinged to said base in a specific direction.

[0019] According to one embodiment of the sanitizing device as described above, said cavity houses said body by means of a tray that engages said base in a removable manner. According to one embodiment of the sanitizing device as described above, said forced ventilation unit is formed by a sanitized air ventilation unit.

[0020] According to one embodiment of the sanitizing device as described above, the sanitizing device comprises an accessory for sanitizing the air exiting said container, in communication with said second opening.

[0021] According to one embodiment of the sanitizing device as described above, said lid has an inner face designed to face said tray during use; said inner face is provided with a UV-C ray emitter.

[0022] According to one embodiment of the sanitizing device as described above, said container comprises a closing sensor able to detect an open or closed condition of use of said container, wherein said first edge and said second edge are separated or coupled in a watertight manner; said sensor is able to control the emission of an electrical or magnetic signal exclusively if said first edge and said second edge are coupled in a watertight manner; said sensor being electrically connected to said emitter and to a power supply / battery to enable / disable the electrical activation of said emitter.

[0023] According to one embodiment of the sanitizing device as described above, said body is made of a water-soluble surfactant material that is solid at room temperature. According to one embodiment of the sanitizing device as described above, said tray comprises a plate provided with a discontinuous support surface for said body, which, in use, allows to aerate said supported body.

[0024] According to one embodiment of the sanitizing device as described above, said base comprises a plurality of elongated elements carried transversely to said plate and arranged homogeneously side by side, where respective free ends generate said surface.

[0025] According to a possible constructional alternative of the present invention, an air freshener is described comprising a container provided with a base and a lid shaped to be coupled and to delimit a cavity of a given volume; a body housed within said cavity, said body being solid at room temperature and containing volatile scented essences; ventilation means being able to force air exchange in said cavity, so as to lightly touch said body and diffuse said scented essences outside said container. According to one embodiment of the air freshener as described above, a UV-C radiation emitter and a closing sensor are provided to control the activation of said emitter to sanitize said body. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0026] Further features and advantages of the sanitizing device according to the present industrial invention will be made clearer from the following description, set out with reference to the attached figures that illustrate at least one non-limiting embodiment, wherein identical or corresponding parts of the sanitizing device are identified by the same reference numbers. Specifically:

[0027] - Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of a sanitizing device according to the present industrial invention in a first operating configuration;

[0028] - Figure 2 is a schematic perspective view of Figure 1 in a second operating configuration, with parts not shown for clarity;

[0029] - Figure 3 is a schematic view of Figure 1 in a third operating configuration, with parts not shown for clarity, and a respective extracted detail; and

[0030] - Figure 4 is an exploded view of an alternative of Figure 1.

[0031] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

[0032] Before describing in detail the preferred embodiments of the present invention or details thereof, it is deemed useful to clarify that the scope of protection is not limited to the specific embodiments described in the following. The disclosure and description herein are illustrative and explanatory of one or more currently preferred embodiments and alternatives, and it will be clear to the skilled in the art that various changes in design, organization, order of operation, means of operation, equipment structures and location, methodology, and use of equivalent mechanical elements may be made without departing from the concept of the present invention. Furthermore, it should be understood that the accompanying drawings are intended to clearly illustrate and disclose embodiments currently preferred to the skilled in the art, but are not drawings illustrating how said embodiments would be performed in reality or actual representations of final bodies; conversely, said figures may comprise simplified conceptual views to facilitate understanding or provide a quicker and easier explanation. Furthermore, the dimensions and the respective arrangement of components may differ from those shown and still function within the spirit of the present invention.

[0033] On the other hand, it should be understood that various directions such as "upper," "lower," "left," "right," "front," "rear," and so on are made only with respect to the explanation in conjunction with the drawings, and that components may be oriented differently, such as during transportation and manufacturing, as well as during operation. Since many different and distinct embodiments may be made within the scope of the concepts taught herein, and since numerous modifications may be made to the embodiments described herein, it should be understood that the details provided in the following are to be interpreted as illustrative and not limiting the concept of the present invention.

[0034] In Figure 1, number 1 denotes, as a whole, a sanitizing device 1 having a substantially parallelepiped shape with rounded corners in a closed operating configuration, in which it is adapted to perform a sanitization treatment on a body 100 (represented only in Figure 2 with a dashed line) made of surfactant material, usually a solid soap having a substantially parallelepiped shape with rounded corners.

[0035] Here and hereafter, the term "body" may be replaced by the term "soap" without limiting the scope of the present invention, given that the device 1 was originally designed to treat this type of product, but can also be used to treat products shaped similarly to soaps that share at least some characteristics perceptible through smell, sight, and touch, regardless of their respective ability to be used as detergents.

[0036] It is useful to clarify that the shape and dimensions of the sanitizing device, and in particular the shape of the respective inner space, may affect the use thereof in combination with soaps of different shapes. On the other hand, it is equally clear that the shape of the inner space of a sanitizing device 1 can be dedicated to soaps shaped in a specific manner without changing the scope of the present invention.

[0037] With particular reference to Figure 1, the device 1 comprises a container 10 provided with a base 12 and a lid 14 delimited by respective first edge 12' and second edge 14' (Figure 2) shaped to be coupled by interpenetration, so as to be watertight in delimiting a cavity 16 of given volume inside the container 10 where said cavity 16 is geometrically shaped to house the soap 100 with clearance. In Figure 2, the cavity 16 is shown with the container 10 open, and is therefore shown broken down into the portions corresponding to the base 12 and the lid 14.

[0038] With particular reference to Figure 2, the lid 14 has an inner face 140 designed to face the tray 10 in use, wherein said inner face 140 is provided with a seat 141 closed at the bottom by a grid 143 so as to contain a UV-C emitter 142, which, in use, faces the soap 100 housed in the cavity 16 resting on the bottom 120 or the tray 102, if used. The seat 141 is closed at the top by a flat plate 11 carried by the lid 14, shown only in Figure 1 where it has been shown raised for convenience, as a preventative measure, so as to confine all the UV-C rays produced by the emitter 142 inside the device 1.

[0039] Also with reference to Figure 1, the container 10 has a first opening 18 and a second opening 19 (Figure 2) obtained in the base 12 and in the lid 14, respectively; furthermore, the container 10 supports a forced ventilation unit 30 by means of the respective base 12, in aerial communication with the first opening 18 (Figure 1) and is designed, in use, to force air into the cavity 16, said air will be vented from the second opening 19, the only opening in the container other than the first opening 18. It should be noted that the first and second openings 18 and 19 could both be made in the base or in the lid 14, or one in the base 12 and one in the lid 14, without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0040] The unit 30 is obviously electrically powered and can be powered either by the power supply or by a battery, making the device 1 more practical and safer without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0041] Regarding the electrical connections, it is useful to anticipate that no electrical connections have been shown in the attached figures for economy of design, considering that the electrical connections between components of the device 1 do not involve any inventive contribution.

[0042] As described above, the set of the first and second openings 18 and 19 and the ventilation unit 30 form a ventilation assembly 20 designed to force an exchange of air in the cavity 16, thus removing humidity from the soap 100 inside the cavity 16 and diffusing the same outside of the container 10 by way of the air flow produced and moved between the openings 18 and 19 by the ventilation unit 30. If the assembly 20 is designed to be battery-powered, a specific housing may be considered and obtained (known and not illustrated) in the container 10 which must necessarily be liquid-tight, or to provide the assembly 20 with a housing 22 (Figure 1) for a rechargeable battery provided with a USB or similar socket 24 (Figure 1) for a cable 26 which could be of the type suitable for applications of USB technology or the like without however limiting the scope of the present invention.

[0043] Naturally, if the soap 100 were scented, regardless of whether dry or wet, the effect would be to remove from cavity 16 the air that had lightly touched the surface of the soap 100 exposed to the air and then diffuse the same to the outside together with the scent that was absorbed inside the cavity 16.

[0044] With particular reference to Figures 2 and 3, the lid 14 is hinged to the base 12 in a direction D parallel to a lower face 122 of a bottom 120 of the base 12; i.e., said closing position.

[0045] With reference to Figure 3, the device 1 is illustrated in an intentionally simplified manner and devoid of the ventilation assembly 20 in order to demonstrate that the cavity 16 can be shaped to house the soap 100 directly or by means of the interposition of a tray 102 that engages the base 12 in a removable manner.

[0046] In the event that the use of the sanitizing device 1 is designed for use in environments where the air quality check must be particularly accurate and the permitted quantity of microorganisms is close to zero, the air diffused inside the device 1 must also be of a controlled type, so it could be useful to provide the device 1 with an accessory 190 to sanitize the air, which is carried by the lid 14 facing the second opening 19 in aerial communication with the latter, shown in Figure 2, where it is represented by a dotted line. In Figure 2, the accessory 190 is illustrated with a similar shape as the ventilation unit 30 for convenience, but it may be configured in any way to consider the specific chemical and / or physical principle used to sanitize the air received or removed from the cavity 16, which will be diffused to the outside of the device 1 by means of the accessory 190.

[0047] The container 10 comprises, furthermore, a closing sensor 40 able to detect a condition of use of the device 1 wherein the first edge 12' and the second edge 14' are separated (Figures 2 and 3) or coupled in a watertight manner (Figure 1). The sensor 40 is able to control the emission of an electrical or magnetic signal only if the first edge 12' and said second edge 14' are coupled in a watertight manner; the sensor 40 is electrically connected to the emitter 142 and to a power supply / battery to enable / disable the electrical activation of the emitter 142, thus the emission of UV-C rays. In use, once the sensor 40 detects the container being closed, the latter sends a signal that enables the delivery of the current to the emitter 142, activating the same for a given time or until the container is reopened.

[0048] The position and the shape of the sensor 40 can be of any type, regardless of how the sensor 40 is represented in Figure 2, where the same comprises two parts 40' and 40'’ that interface only when the lid 14 is closed as in Figure 1, without thereby affecting the scope of the present invention. Naturally, the replacement of the emitter 142 with another type of emitter emitting different radiation falls within the scope of this patent application and represents an equivalent replica of the solution described above.

[0049] In practice, when the sensor 40 detects that the container 10 is closed, it sends a signal that enables the supply of current to the emitter 142, activating the same for a given time or until the container is reopened.

[0050] The use of the sanitizing device 1 is easily understood from the above description and requires no further explanation. Furthermore, the sanitizing device 1 is structured so that it can be used as a room freshener 1' without introducing any structural modifications, provided that a soap 100 containing scented essences that are volatile at room temperature is used. Therefore, the device 1 also performs the function of a room freshener if "loaded" with a soap containing scented essences.

[0051] Finally, it is clear that modifications and alternatives may be made to the sanitizing device 1 described and illustrated herein without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0052] For example, with reference to Figure 4, the tray 102 can house a plate 1020 provided with a discontinuous support surface 1022 for the soap 100 which, in use, allows to aerate the supported soap 100 so as to facilitate the drying thereof after the use in combination with water. Specifically, the support surface 1022 is generated by a plurality of elongated elements 1024 carried transversely by the plate 1020 and arranged homogeneously side by side, in particular the free ends 1026 of the elongated elements 1024.

[0053] Based on the above, it is easy to understand that the sanitizing device 1 allows the limitation and possibly overcoming of the typical drawbacks of the prior art described above, by defining a new product standard that makes the use of solid soaps for personal hygiene and for washing fabrics, that are preferred to be washed with laundry soap, healthier and less expensive. In the claims, any reference sign placed in parentheses should not be construed as a limitation of the claim. The word "comprising" does not exclude the presence of other elements or steps beyond those listed in a claim. Furthermore, the terms "one" or "an," as used herein, are defined as one or more than one. Furthermore, the use of introductory phrases such as "at least one" and "one or more" in the claims should not be interpreted as meaning that the introduction of another claim element identified by the use of the indefinite articles "one" or "an" limits any particular claim in which said claim element appears individually, even when the same claim comprises introductory phrases "one or more" or "at least one" and indefinite articles such as "one" or "an." The same applies to the use of definite articles. Unless otherwise stated, terms such as "first" and "second" are used to arbitrarily distinguish said elements being describe. Therefore, these terms are not necessarily intended to indicate the temporal or other type of priority of said elements. The mere fact that given measures are set forth in mutually different claims does not mean that a combination of these measures cannot be advantageously applied.

Claims

AMENDED CLAIMS received by the International Bureau on 11 February 2026 (11.02.2026)1. A device (1) for sanitizing a body (100) , said body(100) being made of a water-soluble surfactant material that is solid at room temperature ; said device (1) comprising : a container (10) provided with a base (12) and a lid (14) delimited by respective first edge (12 ') and second edge (14’ ) shaped to be coupled in a watertight manner so as to delimit a cavity (16) of a given volume inside said container (10) ; a tray (102) arranged in said cavity (16) to house said body (100) , said tray comprising a discontinuous support surface(1022) to allow aeration of said supported body (100) ; ventilation means (20) comprising a forced ventilation unit (30) configured to force an exchange of air in said cavity (16) to remove humidity from said body (100) and diffuse the same to the outside of said container (10) ; aUV-C radiation emitter (142) arranged to irradiate the body (100) housed in the cavity (16) ; and a closing sensor (40) able to detect a closed condition of the container (10) and to control the activation of said emitter (142) exclusively in said closed condition.

2. The sanitizing device according to claim 1, characterized in that said ventilation means (20) comprise a first opening (18) and a second opening (19) made in said container (10) , said forced ventilation unit(30) being in aerial communication with one of said first opening (18) and second opening (19) to supply air to said cavity (16) .

3. The sanitizing device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said lid (14) is hinged to said base (12) in a given direction.

4. The sanitizing device according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that said discontinuous support surface (1022) is generated by a plurality of elongated elements (1024) carried by a plate(1020).

5. The sanitizing device according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises an accessory (190) for sanitizing the air exiting said container (1) in communication with said second opening(19).

6. The sanitizing device according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that said lid (14) has an inner face (140) designed to face said tray (102) in use; said inner face (140) being provided with said UV-C ray emitter (142).

7. The sanitizing device according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that said closing sensor (40) is able to control the emission of an electrical or magnetic signal and is electrically connected to said emitter (142) and to an electrical power supply / battery to enable / disable the electrical activation of said emitter (142).

8. An air freshener (1'), comprising a device (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the body (100) contains volatile perfumed essences, and wherein the ventilation means (20) are configured to diffuse said scented essences outside said container(10).

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