Patent ID: 6056159
Filing Date: 2000-05-02
Classification: B65D

Abstract:
A combination of a removable and reusable holder and an elongated, collapsible dispensing tube for containing squeezable product, said tube comprising:collapsible, flexible, tubular walls, a capped nozzle at one end through which the contents of the tube are emptied, defined as the top portion, and a flat seal at the other end, defined as the bottom portion, adaptable to be repeatedly flattened and folded upward from said flat seal into increasingly larger folds until substantially the entire length of said tube may be flattened and folded,said holder comprising:a substantially rigid supporting base having a substantially planar bottom standing surface, two substantially rigid side walls, each said side wall has a bottom integrally attached to the top of said base, each said side wall has a substantially planar inner surface, said planar inner surfaces face each other as if they were mirror images, each of said planar inner surfaces has a substantially linear bottom edge that lies on said base, said bottom edges are preferably on a plane which is parallel to said bottom standing surface of said base, said bottom edges are preferably parallel to each other, said planar inner surfaces of said side walls rise equally from said bottom edges, separating from each other and equally from an axis which is perpendicular to said bottom standing surface as they rise, to produce a substantially upright V-shaped notch that is open on each end, said planar inner surfaces are substantially the same height, said notch is of sufficient dimensions that a sufficient length of said bottom portion of a full said dispensing tube fits into and is firmly grasped by said notch so that it is securely held in an upright position, said notch is also of sufficient dimensions that a sufficient length of a folded section of said dispensing tube that has been partially-emptied, flattened, and folded a plurality of times, fits into and is firmly grasped by said notch so that it is prevented from unfolding while being securely held in an upright position.