Unilever Home and Personal Care Usa, Division of Conopco, Inc.

Corrine Saso

Feng-Lung Gordon Hsu

Edward John Giblin

Ramon E Poo

A dispenser for laundry products, particularly for fabric softener products to be used in the dryer. The dispenser comprises a hollow ball having a plurality of product dispensing openings and a further product ingress opening for placing product in the ball. A measuring cup to hold product is accessed from the product ingress opening. In accordance with one preferred embodiment, the measuring cup includes only a single opening in its side wall for releasing product from the cup and into the hollow sphere. One or more closures are associated with the dispenser. After travelling through the small hole in the cup, the product is dispensed to the exterior of the hollow ball through the product dispensing openings and thus onto product. The hollow ball is preferably a manually squeezable plastic such as polyurethane. In another embodiment, the cup includes more than the single hole in the cup walls. In a further embodiment, the cup may include a single hole or a plurality of holes and the hollow ball has associated therewith fabric on the outside surface to assist in evenly dispensing product. In an alternative embodiment, the cup includes a single hole or a plurality of holes and the outside of the hollow ball includes a plurality of wells to assist in dispensing of product. In accordance with a still further embodiment of the invention, the dispenser includes a duck bill valve sealingly mounted within the measuring cup. Product can be pumped into the dispenser through the duck bill valve, in which case, the closure may be omitted if desired. In accordance with yet another embodiment of the invention, the area of the closure on the hollow ball is recessed and is protected by a ridge of plastic formed in the hollow ball.

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Ridgefield Park, NJ, United States of America

Corrine Saso