Abstract:
A holder and dispenser for material contained in a collapsible tube is disclosed and includes a housing for retaining a collapsible tube in position; the housing also is formed with guide shoulders on opposite sides of a slot formed in a wall of the housing; a wedge shaped press member is disposed within the housing with a portion of the press member in engagement with the guide shoulders; the press member is provided with a handle which extends through the slot; the press member is formed with a rounded undersurface and the handle is connected to the press member to permit a rocking movement thereof as well as linear movement along the length of the housing.

Description:
BACKGROUND AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to dispensing devices for collapsible, tubular containers, and, more particularly, to an improved manually operated tube press member for such devices. 
     The manufacturers of dispensing devices for tubular containers have long been confronted with the difficulty of manufacturing a dispenser which will accommodate a large variety of container sizes as well as the problem of providing a dispensing operation that can be easily controlled to dispense a broad range of quantities of material from a collapsible tube. In view of the fact that a large number of commercial products are presently stored in tubular containers for sale and use by the consumer, it has become particularly desirable to provide flexibility in the amount of material that can be dispensed from such devices so that the consumer market for a single type of dispensing device can be broadened to accommodate a wider range of products. By way of example, presently, not only are dental creams and shaving creams packaged in collapsible tubes, but also, a number of pharmaceutical products, shampoos, and cleansing detergents are now available in such tubular containers. In addition, a number of products of the foregoing types are packaged in a variety of concentrations of ingredients for the purposes of varying their properties. Thus, where members of a single family have purchased a product at a given concentration, individual members of the family will utilize the product in a corresponding variety of quantities for their individual applications. This is particularly important in the use of body cleansing creams and hair dye solutions. 
     Previously, dispensing devices for tubular containers were primarily concerned with dental cream or toothpaste containers which, therefore, were intended to dispense only small quantities of paste from a fairly standardized size of container. Thus, such dispensing devices, in general, could only be used for toothpaste tubes. As a result, the market for such devices, was severely limited. 
     In the known devices in this field, in order to provide the capability of dispensing material both completely from a collapsible tube in one operation as well as in small increments, complicated tube contacting and manipulating devices have been employed so that the manufacturing expense has been increased, and, correspondingly, the commercial acceptance of such devices has been limited. Also, often, since these types of devices are subject to abuse such as by the children in a family, the tube manipulating mechanisms have been short-lived particularly where rack and gear arrangements or threaded members advancing arrangements have been employed. 
     Where cleaning of the dispensing device becomes necessary with the prior art devices, it has been difficult to disassemble the elements particularly where complicated tube manipulating mechanisms are employed. The cleaning operation can be particularly time consuming and troublesome where a defective tube is installed in the dispensing device and breakage of the tube occurs during the dispensing operation. 
     In many of the prior art devices, a cylindrical roller or ball has been employed to carry out the tube squeezing operation. Such arrangements have been useful where the material from which the tubular container is constructed is relatively stiff and not subject to resilient reaction when subjected to pressure. However, many type of cosmetic products as well as other commodities are now packaged in containers of relatively flexible or flowable material so that where a roller or ball member is employed, which is movable along a cylindrical housing to effect dispensing, such tubular containers exhibit a tendency to flow around the roller or ball element resulting in jamming of the element in the housing. 
     Prior art references relating to the field of the present invention are as follows: 
     
         U.S. Patents      Issue Dates______________________________________1,311,354         July 9, 19191,352,425         September 14, 19201,353,747         September 21, 19203,326,419         June 20, 1967______________________________________ 
    
     The dispensing device of the present invention avoids the foregoing and other drawbacks found in the prior art and provides a dispensing device for tubular containers of the collapsible type which can be very inexpensively constructed and yet will be very durable in use. Moreover, the device of the present invention can be rendered inoperative so as to avoid unauthorized use such as by children and yet can be readily disassembled for cleaning as well as for replacement of an expended tubular container. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the device of the present invention includes a retaining means in the form of a housing which is shaped to hold a tubular container in a predetermined orientation therein. The housing has a wall portion provided with a slot which extends along the length of the housing. Disposed on the interior of the housing is a press member in the form of a solid block of material such as plastic, wood or the like which is formed with a leading edge, a base portion and a smooth gradually sloping surface which extends between the leading edge and base portion. An elongated handle is attached to the topside of the press member above the base portion with the handle extending upwardly through the slot in the wall of the housing. The handle is located toward the rear portion of the press member remote from its leading edge so that pivoting of the handle by an individual will result in a rocking motion of the press member on the curved surface of the member. 
     The upper wall of the housing of the dispensing device of the present invention is provided with guide means for the press member in the form of shoulders located on opposite sides of the housing. The upper surface of the press member is flat to cooperate with the shoulders formed on the upper wall of the housing. The shoulders of the housing extend in and define a plane so that when an individual pulls on the handle of the press member, the press member will move along a line parallel to the plane defined by the shoulders of the housing. With a tubular container located in the housing, when the press member is moved along the housing to bring the curved surface of the press member into contact with the tube, dispensing of the material from the tube is initiated by simply pivoting the handle to squeeze the tube between the press member and the bottom wall of the housing. 
     The dispensing device of the present invention can be very economically manufactured in view of the fact that there is only one moving part which also renders it capable of very simple operation by even very young children. Moreover, disassembly of the housing and press member can be very quickly effected to permit cleaning of the elements and substitution of a new tubular container. Moreover, the device of the present invention can be constructed to accommodate a great variety of tube sizes in view of the fact that the press member can effectively operate on very small tubes just as well as on tubes of a size equivalent to the full capacity of the housing due to the unique rocking movement afforded by the sloping curved surface of the press member. 
     The foregoing and other advantages will become apparent as consideration is given to the following detailed description of the invention and the accompanying drawings in which: 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a plan view of the device of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a view taken partially along lines 2--2 of FIG. 1 with only parts of the housing broken away; 
     FIG. 3 is a view taken along lines 3--3 of FIG. 1; and 
     FIG. 4 is a view taken along lines 4--4 of FIG. 2. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring now to the drawings, wherein like numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, there is illustrated in FIG. 1 a plan view of the dispenser of the present invention generally designated at 10. The dispenser 10 includes a housing 12 which is formed with a top wall 14, and, as is more clearly shown in FIGS. 2-4, side walls 16 and 18 and a bottom wall 20. The bottom wall 20 may be eliminated where the remaining walls of the housing can be secured directly to a supporting surface such as the wall 22. As will be evident to those skilled in the art, the housing 12 can be secured to a support or wall 22 by any suitable means including the conventional screws, adhesives or brackets. 
     The volume capacity of the housing 12 should be sufficiently large to accommodate as wide a range of collapsible tubular containers as is practical. As illustrated in FIG. 2, a partially collapsed tube 24 is disposed within the housing 12 with the neck 26 of the tube 24 disposed in an aperture 28 formed in end wall 30 of the housing. A cap 32 of conventional design is secured on the neck 26 of the tube 24 which, of course, will be removed when it is desired to dispense material from the tube. With the foregoing arrangement, where the dispensing device 10 is mounted to extend vertically, as illustrated, any size tube smaller than the largest size capable of fitting within the housing 12 can be employed with the present invention since it is not necessaary to obtain precise vertical alignment of the axis of the tube 24 within the housing between the side walls 16 and 18. For efficient operation, it is only necessary that the neck 24 of the tube protrude through the opening or aperture 28, as will be made apparent from the following description of the press member generally designated at 34. 
     Referring now to FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, the press member 34 of the present invention comprises a block of solid material such as wood or hard plastic, in a preferred embodiment, which is formed with a flat top surface 36 which, as shown in dotted lines in FIG. 1, has a width which extends substantially across the entire width of the housing 12. The sides 38 and 39 of the press member 34 are flat and extend at right angles from the top surface 36 (see FIG. 4). Extending between the sides 38 and 39 of the press member 36 is a blunted leading edge 42 which defines the front portion of the press member 34. By avoiding a sharp edge, the possibility of the press member cutting into a tubular container during use is avoided. 
     As shown more clearly in FIG. 2, the underside of the press member 34 is formed with a smooth, gradually sloping surface 44 which extends from the leading edge 42 to the rear portion 46 and the base portion 48 will be slightly rounded. The rear portion 46 is formed with a bore 50 for receiving one end of a handle 52. As illustrated, the handle is threaded into the bore 50, but it should be understood that a friction fit can also be usefully employed. It is desirable, however, that the handle 52 be removably secured to the press member 34 so that unauthorized use of the dispensing device 10 can be prevented by simply removing the handle 52. 
     The handle 52 should be of sufficient length so that it will extend upwardly through a slot 54 formed in the top wall 14 of the housing 12. Slot 54 is formed to extend from adjacent one end of the housing 12 to a point adjacent the other end 30. 
     As illustrated more clearly in FIGS. 3 and 4, the top wall 14 of the housing 12 is formed with a part cylindrical portion 56 and laterally extending shoulder portions 58 and 60. The shoulder portions 58 and 60 serve as guide means for the press member 36 by virtue of the juxtapostion of the outer edges 62 and 64 of the top surface 36 of the press member 34, respectively, to the shoulders 58 and 60 when the press member is disposed within the housing 12. Thus, since the shoulder portions 58 and 60 extend parallel to each other and define a plane, movement of the handle 52 by an individual will effect sliding movement of the press member 34 parallel to the plane defined by the shoulder portions 58 and 60 by virtue of the contact of the outer edges 62 and 64 with the shoulder portions 58 and 60, respectively. 
     From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that the operation of the dispensing device 10 of the present invention is extremely simple and, thus, capable of use by even very small children when the handle 52 is in place. With a tube 24 retained in the housing 12, as illustrated, and the cap 32 of the tube removed, an individual need simply pull the handle 52 towards the end wall 30 an appropriate distance to effect dispensing of the desired quantity of material from the tube 24. Since the handle 52 is disposed immediately above the base portion 48 and on the rear portion 46 of the press member 34, any pulling force exerted on the handle 52 in the direction of the end wall 30 of the housing 12 will automatically effect a rocking movement of the press member from the dotted line position illustrated in FIG. 2 toward the solid line position. As a result of the rocking movement, the portions of the outer edges 62 and 64 that are adjacent the rear portion 46 of the press member 34 will remain in contact with the guiding shoulder portions 58 and 60 while the leading edge 42 will move away from the plane defined by the shoulder portions 58 and 60. 
     With the foregoing arrangement, the quantity of material dispensed from the tube 24 can be easily varied from very small increments corresponding to a very slight tilting of the press member 34, to a large and rapidly effected discharge of material which is accomplished by simply continuously pulling the handle from the rear end 66 to the front end 68 of the slot 54. In circumstances where the contents of the tube are not entirely fluid such as is the case where certain types of chemical compositions have been packaged in collapsible tubes such as paints, dyes or other materials which have a tendency to coagulate, the press member 34 of the present invention can be employed to break up accumulations of hardened material to thus render the contents more fluid and thus easily dispensable. This is accomplished, for example, where resistance to dispensing is encountered, by simple repeatedly rocking the press member on the tube 24 to break up a hardened area of the contained composition. 
     Periodically, it may be desirable to clean the interior of the housing 12 and, to facilitate disassembly, the rear wall 31 is provided with a hooked portion 70 which cooperates with a recess 72 formed at the end of the bottom wall 20 with the bottom wall 20 and end wall 30 being formed integrally, and with the top wall 14, side walls 16 and 18 and rear wall 31 being formed integrally to provide a removable portion of the housing 12, the removable portion is pivotably attached to the end wall 30 by means of depending lugs 74, the ends of which are bent to fit into apertures 76 formed in the end wall 30. Thus, by making at least rear wall 31 from a partially flexible material, disassembly of the housing 12 can be effected by detaching the hook portion 70 from the recess 72 which will render the interior of the housing 12 accessible for cleaning. 
     The remaining portions of the housing 12 should be constructed from relatively rigid materials such as high molecular weight plastics or chrome metal so as to be resistant to corrosion due to exposure to moisture. 
     It will be apparent that the housing 12 need not be vertically mounted since the dispensing operation can just as easily be effected when the housing is horizontally disposed where adequate provision is made for collecting material dispensed from the tube. By virtue of the fact the press member 34 extends substantially across the entire width of the housing 12, the device of the present invention can be employed to dispense material from tubes having a volume far smaller than the capacity volume of the housing 12 since it is not critical that the longitudinal axis of the tube coincide or be parallel with the longitudinal axis of the housing in order for efficient dispensing to be carried out with the press member 34 of the present invention. 
     From a consideration of the foregoing, it will be seen that the object of this invention may be readily accomplished by implementation of the apparatus disclosed herein. It will be realized, however, that various changes may be made in the specific embodiment shown without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.