Apparatus for dispensing material from collapsible tubes

Abstract: A collapsible tube dispenser (10) is disclosed for use with collapsible tube (16) that contain highly viscous materials, such as silicone gasket RTV. The dispenser provides two engaging plates (32,140) for squeezing the sides of a collapsible tube (16), which causes the contents of the tube to be expressed from its open end (24). The dispenser also includes two handles (14,112) which can be gripped by a single hand of a human user. When the handles are kept apart from one another, a collapsible tube (16) can be inserted into the slot formed between the engaging plates (32,140) of the dispenser. When the handles are squeezed together, the engaging plates apply force to the sides of the tubes, thus squeezing out a very controlled amount of highly viscous material. The dispenser is very easy to use, in that it can produce a bead of highly viscous material upon a target having a very narrow line width, and having great positional accuracy.

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates generally to dispensers useable with collapsible tubes and is particularly directed to dispensers which can be used with collapsible tubes containing highly viscous fluids of the type which have a nozzle tip of decreasing diameter that is attachable to the outlet port of the collapsible tube. The invention will be specifically disclosed in connection with collapsible tubes which are used to dispense silicone gasket material and have a crimped, closed end along with an opposing threaded, open end. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Collapsible dispensing tubes containing fluids have been known in the art for many years. Certain collapsible tubes are used with a nozzle tip of decreasing diameter that is attachable to the outlet port of the collapsible tube, so that the highly viscous material being dispensed from the tube can be presented at a customer-determined width onto the target surface. For a person to use the decreasing diameter nozzle, he must cut the nozzle near its tip at a location along its decreasing diameter that will provide a bead of highly viscous material of desired diameter as the material is being dispensed. It is frequently desirable to dispense certain highly viscous materials, such as silicone gasket sealant, in a bead having a very narrow line width. Collapsible tubes which contain highly viscous materials such as silicone gasket sealant are difficult to use when the person squeezing the tube is using his bare hands to dispense the material in a uniform bead, especially if the line width of the bead is to be narrow. The more narrow the width of the bead, the more force is required to push the material out of the collapsible tube. If the bead is to be of such narrowness as to be useful for many applications, then the force that is required to push the material out of the tube will be so great that the dispensing of the highly viscous material becomes almost uncontrollable, and makes it very likely that the bead produced will not be straight. An additional problem in dispensing highly viscous material from collapsible tubes is that it is very difficult to squeeze all of the contents from the tube when using only bare hands; in fact, it is virtually impossible. Because of the difficulties in using material-containing collapsible tubes, and because of the popularity of such tubes regardless of the difficulties in their use, the prior art has attempted to solve the above problems in dispensing highly viscous material from such tubes in various ways. One popular method in the prior art of dispensing material from collapsible tubes (or collapsible bags) is the use of rollers which squeeze the tube from the crimped, closed end toward the open end of the tube, thereby causing such material to be forced out of the tube. Examples of such prior art are U.S. Patent Nos. 1,207,534 (by Gammeter), 2,357,351 (by Oliver), 3,221,940 (by Watson), 3,249,258 (by Kramer), 4,405,062 (by Tschida), and 4,998,645 (by Pearson). Such devices have the general configuration wherein the collapsible tube is placed inside a rigid container, and a portion of the tube is placed between a pair of rollers which are spaced-apart, and parallel to one another. The above patents disclose various methods of either sliding the collapsible tube toward the rollers, or sliding the rollers toward the open end of the collapsible tube, but in all cases, require some type of internal moving parts (the rollers and/or the sliding mechanism) which create a more complex and expensive apparatus than desired. Another popular method in the prior art of dispensing material from collapsible tubes (or collapsible bags) is the use of either a piston or a plunger to squeeze the tube from the crimped, closed end toward the open end of the tube, thereby causing the material to be forced out of the tube. Examples of such prior art are U.S. Patent Nos. 1,677,603 (by Steen), 2,772,028 (by Lopez), 2,833,444 (by Sherbondy), 3,308,836 (by Joines), 3,933,273 (by Cox), 4,515,293 (by Hill), 4,711,373 (by Christine), and 5,035,347 (by Trovo). Such devices have the general configuration wherein the collapsible tube is placed inside a rigid container, and a piston or a plunger is pushed against the tube (or collapsible bag), thereby squeezing the tube from the crimped, closed end toward the open end of the tube, causing such material to be forced out of the tube. The above patents all disclose devices which require some type of internal moving parts (i.e., the piston or the plunger, usually having an associated spring of some type), and are unnecessarily complex and expensive. Another method for dispensing material from collapsible tubes in the prior art is the use of a pressure plate to squeeze the tube, wherein the pressure plate is actuated by a trigger of a dispensing gun. Examples of such prior art are U.S. Patent Nos. 2,936,097 (by Loria), and 3,481,510 (by Allen). These patents, again, disclose devices which require some type of internal moving parts. A further method for dispensing material from collapsible tubes in the prior art is the use of a key which is turned, thereby rolling the tube from its crimped, closed end around the key. The act of rolling the tube around the key compresses the tube, and forces its contents to be expressed. Examples of such prior art are U.S. Patent Nos. 1,166,643 (by Wayne), and 2,551,909 (by Soileau). The apparatus that implements this method is simple; however, the bead produced by turning the key is not precise for the reason that it is difficult to hold a steady aim (for placement of the bead upon the target) while, at the same time, turning the key. A yet further method for dispensing material from collapsible tubes in the prior art is the use of a twisting cap which, while being turned, twists the closed end of the tube. The act of twisting the tube's closed end, while the open end of the tube is held stationary, forces the tube's contents to be expressed. Examples of such prior art are U.S. Patent Nos. 1,959,365 (by Jeffreys), and 3,593,885 (by Wiggins, et al.). The apparatus that implements this method also is simple; however, the bead produced by turning the end cap is not precise for the reason that it is difficult to hold a steady aim (for placement of the bead upon the target) while, at the same time, twisting the end cap of the apparatus. From this standpoint, this method is similar to the use of a key to roll up the tube from its closed end, discussed above. A still further method for dispensing material from collapsible tubes (or collapsible bags) in the prior art is the use of compressed air to apply force to either the sides or the crimped, closed end of the tube (or the closed end of the bag), thereby forcing the tube's (or bag's) contents to be expressed. Examples of such prior art are U.S. Patent Nos. 2,766,907 (by Wallace), 3,282,473 (by Moore), 3,871,553 (by Steinberg), 3,945,534 (by Ady), 4,909,416 (by Evezich), and 5,012,956 (by Stoody). Devices that implement this method either use the human hand to produce the pressure that collapses the tube, or require a compressed air source for the same purpose. It is obvious that compressed air, rather than hand-squeezing, would be required in order to gain a sufficient mechanical advantage to make it easier to squeeze a tube that had an outlet port of small diameter, in order to produce a bead having a small width. Another method for dispensing material from collapsible tubes (or collapsible bags) in the prior art is the use of solid plates which apply force to both sides of the tube (or bag), thereby forcing the tube's contents to be expressed. Examples of such prior art are U.S. Patent Nos. 4,502,613 (by Yamamoto), 4,565,303 (by Gilbertson), and 4,627,554 (by Leibinsohn). The Leibinsohn device consists of two elastic plates (which are flexible yet strong enough to apply force to the collapsible container) that are hinged together, and have a collapsible container filled with liquid that is placed between the elastic plates. The plates can be closed over the collapsible container, thus exerting a continuous force to the container and forcing liquid out of the container. It is specifically designed to dispense an infusion liquid at, a substantially constant pressure. The Yamamoto apparatus includes hinged top and bottom covers that close over the collapsible tube at two slot locations, and which tend to squeeze the contents from the tube due to the force exerted by the narrowed slots against the sides of the tube. Once the covers are closed, a pivotable lever can be rotated to compress a portion of the tube and to lock the tube in place. To dispense further material from the tube, the tube is drawn through the slots in the closed covers, thereby squeezing further contents from the tube, and also tending to rotate the pivotable lever into its unlocked position. Once the tube is properly repositioned, the pivotable lever can be again rotated into its locking position. It is obvious that the operation of drawing the collapsible tube through the slots in the closed covers would be difficult to manually perform, especially in the case of a tube that had an outlet port of small diameter (and thus requires a large effort to squeeze out any material). In addition, the bead produced while attempting to draw the tube through the closed covers' slots would neither be in a straight line nor would have a uniform line width, because the pressure exerted against the tube would be virtually uncontrollable while the tube was being so drawn. The Gilbertson apparatus consists of a base member and a pivotable, removable cover. The cover is removed in order to insert a collapsible tube into the apparatus, then the cover is returned to its normal position, thereby locking the tube in place between the base and the cover. Once this is accomplished, the base and cover are manually squeezed together, thereby causing the contents of the tube to be expressed. The base and cover engage the tube along a substantial portion of the length of the tube, and tend to collapse the tube progressively from the closed, rearward end toward the open, forward end, thus minimizing the amount of wasted material that remains in the tube. U.S. Patent 3,961,727 (by Spears) discloses a collapsible tube squeezing device that mainly consists of a pair of jaw members. One pair of links pivotally connects the opposite sides of one end of each jaw member with the longitudinal axes of a pair of links that are kept generally normal to the planes of the jaw members, and with a second pair of links pivotally connected (1) at one of its ends to the pivotal connection between the first pair of links and one of the jaw members, and (2) at its other end to the other jaw member for limited sliding motion in a place parallel to the planes of the jaw members. The Spears' squeezing device is designed to be operated with one hand, however, to do so, it must be placed upon some type of flat surface. It is not designed to be "gripped" by a person's single hand, because its outer surfaces are mainly planar (i.e., for placement on a flat surface). Furthermore, a person could not easily pick up the Spears' squeezing device, and, while simultaneously squeezing fluid out of the collapsible tube, move the entire squeezing device and tube along a particular path (such as the face of a gasket) to lay a bead of the collapsible tube's fluid at precise locations. Another dispensing apparatus corresponding to the apparatus according to the entering clause of claim 1 is disclosed in EPO Patent Application EP-A-0 380 258 (owned by Frizell). This dispensing device mainly comprises an elongated support member made of a semi-circular channel section, a bar having a complementary circular section that is pivotally mounted within the support member, and a support that is pivotally mounted on the bar to maintain the bar in certain positions. A "base" support is used to preferably hold the channel member in an upstanding position while in use, such that the fluid material is dispensed in an upward direction. In this configuration, the Frizell dispensing device is operable by a single hand, preferably to dispense toothpaste in an upward direction, so that the user can use his or her second hand to hold the toothbrush at the proper location near the opening of the collapsible tube. The Frizell dispensing apparatus is not designed to be "picked up" and gripped by a single human hand, and, much like Spears' squeezing device, could not be easily used to dispense a precise path of fluid material along a particular precise path (such as the face of a gasket). If so attempted, the Frizell apparatus would require two hands rather than a single hand (as opposed to the present invention). As can be seen, above, the prior art utilizes devices of relative complexity in order to dispense highly viscous material from collapsible tubes. Only a few of the prior art devices are both simple in construction (having no rollers or pistons, for example), and easy enough to use so that hand-squeezing force alone is sufficient to express the contents of such collapsible tubes. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide an apparatus usable as a collapsible tube dispenser, which is simple in construction and also easy to use by hand, so that a straight bead of highly viscous material having narrow width can be produced upon a target surface. Another object of the present invention is to provide a collapsible tube dispenser which can be operated with only one hand, and can easily be aimed so that the bead produced by the expressed contents of the tube is placed upon the desired target surface. A further object of the present invention is to provide a collapsible tube dispenser having a slot which has a varying width in order to allow different portions of the collapsible tube to be engaged by the dispenser. The slot can also be used to engage and retain the crimped, closed end of a collapsible tube, in order to lock the tube in place once it is properly positioned within the dispenser. A yet further object of the present invention is to provide a collapsible tube dispenser which squeezes a portion of an already partially collapsed tube from its rearward end toward its forward end with enough force to ensure that the contents of the tube are propelled toward the front of the tube, and are prevented from moving further toward the rear of the tube. In this manner, the portion of the collapsible tube which is being squeezed by the dispenser can be almost totally excavated of its contents, and those contents are expressed out the front, open end of the tube. Additional objects, advantages and other novel features of the invention will be set forth in the description that follows and will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned with the practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. To achieve the foregoing and other objects, and in accordance with the purposes of the present invention there is provided an apparatus according to claim 1. In use, after a collapsible tube is positioned between the engaging plates of the dispenser, the user can express highly viscous material from the outlet of the tube by using a single hand to squeeze together the handles of the two pieces of the dispenser. The crimped, closed end of the collapsible tube is placed through the slot formed between the two engaging plates of the dispenser, after which the tube is locked into place within the slot by gently squeezing the two handles together, which positions the engaging plates such that the crimped, closed end cannot come back through the slot. Once the collapsible tube is positioned within the slot, the handles can be used to squeeze the tube from the rearmost portion of the tube toward the forward-most portion, and the handles can also be further squeezed to the point where the engaging plates leave very little space between them, wherein the highly viscous material is almost entirely expressed from that portion of the tube. The upper engaging plate is pivotable within its handle such that the highly viscous contents of the portion of the tube being squeezed cannot escape toward the rear of the tube, but can only be propelled toward the front of the tube due to the pivotable upper engaging plate's rearmost edge pressing against the lower engaging plate's planar surface. After a particular portion of the collapsible tube has been entirely evacuated, the handles can be released so as to allow the slot to open to its maximum distance, and the tube can be slid rearward, thus allowing the engaging plates of the dispenser to engage an unused portion of the collapsible tube for the dispensing of further highly viscous material. Still other objects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in this art from the following description wherein there is shown and described a preferred embodiment of this invention, simply by way of illustration, of the best modes contemplated for carrying out the invention. As will be realized, the invention is capable of other different embodiments, and its several details are capable of modification in various, obvious aspects all without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawing and descriptions will be regarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The accompanying drawing incorporated in and forming a part of the specification illustrates several aspects of the present invention, and together with the description serves to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawing: Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a collapsible tube dispenser assembly built in accordance with the present invention in cooperation with a collapsible tube which is substantially filled with highly viscous material. Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the collapsible tube dispenser assembly of Figure 1, depicting the collapsible tube after a portion of its highly viscous material has been dispensed. Figure 3 is a side elevational view of the rear handle member used in the collapsible tube dispenser apparatus of Figure 1. Figure 4 is a rear elevational view of the rear handle member used in the collapsible tube dispenser apparatus of Figure 1. Figure 5 is a top plan view of the rear handle member of the collapsible tube dispenser apparatus of Figure 1. Figure 6 is a front elevational view of the front handle member of the collapsible tube dispenser apparatus of Figure 1. Figure 7 is a side elevational view of the front handle member of the collapsible tube dispenser apparatus of Figure 1. Figure 8 is a front elevational view of the lower portion of the front handle member of the collapsible tube dispenser apparatus of Figure 1. Figure 9 is a side elevational view of the lower portion of the front handle member of Figure 8. Figure 10 is a front elevational view of the movable upper portion of the front handle member of the collapsible tube dispenser apparatus of Figure 1. Figure 11 is a side elevational view of the movable upper portion of the front handle member of Figure 10. Figure 12 is a bottom plan view of the bottom portion of the front handle member for the collapsible tube dispenser apparatus of Figure 1. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiment of the invention, an example of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein like numerals indicate the same elements throughout the views. Referring now to the drawing, Figure 1 shows a collapsible tube dispenser apparatus, generally denominated by the numeral 10, which has the capability of squeezing a collapsible tube, which may be constructed of flexible metal or plastic as is well understood in the art, denominated by the numeral 16. In the illustrated embodiment of Figure 1, collapsible tube dispenser 10 consists of two major pieces, a front handle member 112 and a rear handle member 14. In the illustrated embodiment, the front and rear handle members, 112 and 14 respectively, are made of steel, and have formed construction. It is obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that the handle members 112 and 14 can be made of any solid material which is strong enough to perform the necessary task of squeezing the collapsible tube 16, including molded plastic. In Figure 1, the handle members have not yet been squeezed together to express the highly viscous fluid material from the collapsible tube 16. The lower portion of front handle member 112 comprises a channel-shaped manually graspable handle 112a. The upper part of front handle member 112 has a generally planar engaging plate 140 the surface of which is configured to abut and press against a portion of the upper surface collapsible tube 16 adjacent the crimped end 20 of the tube 16. The engaging plate 140 is part of a movable top member 138 which can pivot on pivot pin 146. The location of pivot pin 146 between the mid-point of movable top member 138 and the rearward end of movable top member 138 (to the right on Figure 1) is such that, while the handle members 112 and 14 are being tightly squeezed together, the rearmost edge 139 of engaging plate 140 presses against the collapsible tube 16 with greater force than that applied by the remainder of engaging plate 140 to collapsible tube 16. This action forces the highly viscous fluid material to be forced toward the forward end of the collapsible tube 16, and does not allow such material to move toward the rear of the tube 16. The lower part of rear handle member 14 forms a channel-shaped manually graspable handle 14a. The upper part of rear handle member 14 also has an engaging plate 32 the upper surface of which is configured to abut and press against a portion of the lower surface of collapsible tube 16 adjacent crimped end 20 of the tube 16. When the uppermost ends of handle members 112 and 14 are nested together as shown in Figure 1, a slot 150 is formed between the engaging plates 140 and 32, so as to allow the rearmost portion of the collapsible tube 16 to extend through the slot 150. In particular, the crimped end 20 of collapsible tube 16 must be able to fit through the slot 150, so that the tube is positioned between the engaging plates 32 and 140. As will be further explained below, slot 150 has a variable opening size depending upon the pivoting angle of the movable top member 138. The variable opening size of slot 150 allows collapsible tubes of different sizes to be used with the collapsible tube dispenser apparatus 10. The typical collapsible tube 16 shown in Figure 1 may contain any one of a number of fluids, particularly those used for forming seals or gaskets, e.g., silicone gasket material, such as black RTV material. As is well known in the art, this class of sealants is highly viscous at room temperature. A collapsible tube of sealant typically comes with a decreasing diameter plastic nozzle tip, designated by the numeral 18, which allows a person to dispense the formable silicone gasket material in a user-chosen bead diameter, depending on the opening size in the tip. In order to use the decreasing diameter nozzle 18, it must be attached to the open end 22 of collapsible tube 16, as shown in Figure 1. A typical method of such attachment is by means of screw threads -- external threads on the opened end 22 of the collapsible tube 16, and internal threads on the larger diameter end of decreasing diameter nozzle 18, as is well known in the art. Figure 2 shows the collapsible tube dispenser apparatus 10 after it has been actuated by the user by squeezing the handles 112a and 14a together in the directions shown by arrows 13, to begin expressing a thin bead 23 of fluid material through the open tip 24 of nozzle 18. As can be seen in Figure 2, when handles 112a and 14a are squeezed together, engaging plates 32 and 140 are positioned much closer to one another, thus making the slot 150 smaller than before. Slot 150, however, is still large enough in size to allow the tube to remain within the slot 150, and particularly locks in the crimped end 20 of collapsible tube 16 in position so that it cannot slip out of the dispenser apparatus 10. As shown in Figure 2 collapsible tube 16 has had its rearmost portion flattened to a certain degree, and thus has had some of its highly viscous material dispensed through the open tip 23 of decreasing diameter nozzle 18. Front handle 112a is channel-shaped, having its open side 115 toward the rear (toward the right in Figure 2). The open side 115 is large enough in width so as to allow the width of rear handle 14a to fit entirely within the open channel space (at 115 in Figure 2) of front handle 112a. The two handles 112a and 14a can, thus, be squeezed entirely together until the proximal (with respect to front handle 112a) longitudinal edge 17 of handle 14a comes into contact against the distal (with respect to rear handle 14a) closed longitudinal side 119 (which runs vertically in Figure 2) of handle 112a. Front handle member 112 is constructed such that slot 150 has a large enough opening so that rear handle member 14 can easily be removed altogether from engagement with front handle member 112. The configurations shown in Figures 1 and 2 demonstrate that a collapsible tube 16 can easily be inserted into the dispenser apparatus 10 when the front and rear handle members, 112 and 14 respectively, are positioned such that the slot 150 is at its maximum opening distance. This will occur when the handle members 112 and 14 are positioned as shown in Figure 1. To use the dispenser apparatus 10, the crimped end 20 of collapsible tube 16 is inserted through the slot 150, and then the rear handle member 14 is moved forward, toward the front handle member 112, until the collapsible tube 16 is firmly held in place by the engaging plates 32 and 140. Once in this position, collapsible tube 16 is locked into position, because its crimped end 20 cannot slip out of the slot 150. In addition, once in this position, handles 112a and 14a are near enough in proximity to one another so that a single hand can be used to further squeeze together the handles and apply enough force on the sides of collapsible tube 16 to force some of its highly viscous material contents out through decreasing diameter nozzle 18. Collapsible tube dispenser apparatus 10 is very easy to use in that it is extremely controllable as to how much material is to be dispensed at any given time. Even a very small diameter opening in tip 24 of the decreasing diameter nozzle 18 can be used for dispensing a bead of highly viscous material. Where the gasket material is to be dispensed in a very thin line, the user of collapsible tube dispenser apparatus 10 can merely lay the tip 24 of decreasing diameter nozzle 18 directly onto the target surface, then start squeezing handles 112a and 14a together slowly, and controllably, while slowly moving the tip 24 along the surface of the target in a manner so as to produce a very straight line, if desired, of gasket material. Once the material is virtually completely expressed from a given portion of collapsible tube 16, for example as seen in Figure 2 for the rearmost portion of collapsible tube 16, then the handles 112a and 14a can be pivoted apart from one another, thus opening up slot 150 to a larger extent. At that point, collapsible tube 16 can be slid rearwardly (toward the right in Figure 2), so as to position a new portion of the tube 16 still containing fluid material between engaging plates 32 and 140. Front handles 112a and 14a are squeezed together until engaging plates 32 and 140 make contact with the upper and lower surfaces of collapsible tube 16. By gradually squeezing all of the highly viscous material out of the portion of collapsible tube 16 positioned between the engaging plates 32 and 140, and then by sliding collapsible tube 16 rearwardly so as to bring an unused portion of the tube 16 between the engaging plates virtually all of the tube 16 can be successively flattened to express practically all of the fluid material out from the collapsible tube 16. In some applications, it may also be advantageous to position a smaller portion of collapsible tube 16 between the engaging plates 32 and 140 as compared to the amount of the tube 16 being flattened in Figure 2. There may be applications where this approach is desirable in order to maintain somewhat more control over the dispensing rate of the highly viscous material. It will be understood that silicone gasket material is not the only material that can be used with the collapsible tube dispenser apparatus of the present invention. Other uses include, but are not limited to, cake or pastry icing, or temporary dental filling material. Figures 3, 4, and 5 show some of the construction details of rear handle member 14. Rear handle member 14 comprises an elongated, channel-shaped handle 14a surmounted by engaging plate 32. A gusset 36 connects handle 14a and plate 32 to provide structural integrity. The rearmost corners of engaging plate 32 are bent downwardly, as shown at 34. In the illustrated embodiment, engaging plate 32, gusset 36, and handle 14a are all made of a suitable metal and are welded together to make the rear handle member 14. The entire rear handle member 14 could also be made in one piece of molded plastic or from appropriately bent sheet metal. The downwardly bent corners 34 of engaging plate 32 are shaped so as to limit the travel of rear handle member 14 with respect to the front handle member 112. As can be seen in Figures 1 and 2, downwardly bent corners 34 are located in close proximity to the rearmost portion (to the far right on Figures 1 and 2) of base support 144, described hereinafter, which is part of front handle member 112. In the configuration of Figure 1, bent corners 34 tend to keep rear handle member 14 properly positioned, so that the slot 150 between engaging plates 32 and 140 is at a maximum distance (useful for loading an unused portion of collapsible tube 16 into the area between the engaging plates). In the configuration of Figure 2, bent corners 34 tend to keep rear handle member 14 properly positioned with respect to front handle member 112, thus providing a "nesting" effect such that handle members 112 and 14 cooperate with each other so that the squeezing operation of a collapsible tube 16 is easily performed. Figures 6 through 8 show the details of the front handle member 112 construction. Front handle member 112 comprises an elongated, channel-shaped handle 112a, surmounted by movable top member 138. A pair of base supports 144 are formed in the upper portion of front handle 112a, which connect to and provide structural support for the vertical supports 142. The handle 112a has a rounded notch 148 adjacent its upper end, to allow clearance for the rear handle member's gusset 36 as handles 112a and 14a are opened apart. The base supports 144 connect to and provide structural support for a pair of vertical supports 142, which, in turn, hold the pivot pin 146 in place. Each vertical support 142 has a through-hole 152 in which the pivot pin 146 is placed. Pivot pin 146 is also placed through two other through-holes 154 in the perpendicular supports 141 of the movable top member 138. The movable top member 138 includes the generally planar engaging plate 140 and a pair of perpendicular supports 141, which provide structural support for the engaging plate 140. The top member 138 is pivotable at the pivot pin 146, which is located at approximately one-quarter of the length of top member 138, from its rear end (at 139, or at the right on Figure 11) to its forward end (at the left on Figure 11). Once pivot pin 146 is inserted through holes 152 and 154, on both sides of perpendicular supports 141 and vertical supports 142, the ends of the pivot pin 146 are enlarged to hold pivot pin 146 in place in vertical supports 142. A slot 150 having variable opening size is formed between the rearmost edge 139 of engaging plate 140 and the upper surfaces of base support 144 to allow clearance for the engaging plate 32 of rear handle member 14. Slot 150 is formed in front handle member 112 so that its variable size will accommodate the insertion and removal of rear handle member 14. Slot 150 is wide enough to allow the width of engaging plate 32 of rear handle member 14 to easily pass through, and also is high enough to allow the thickness of engaging plate 32 of rear handle member to easily pass through. The engaging plate 32 of rear handle member 14 can be inserted through slot 150 until the downwardly bent corners 34 of the engaging plate 32 of rear handle member 14 come to rest against the rearmost portion of base support 144 of front handle member 112. Once rear handle member 14 is in this position, the two handles 112a and 14a of front handle member 112 and rear handle member 14, respectively, can be squeezed together, as described above. As handles 112a and 14a are either squeezed together, or are allowed to be separated, front and rear handle members 112 and 14 tend to pivot around a point near the rearmost portion of base support 144. In this configuration, the squeezing together of the handles 112a and 14a tends to close slot 150 by the movement of the rearmost edge 139 of the movable top member 138 into close proximity to the generally planar surface of engaging plate 32. Such movement further tends to force a portion of highly viscous fluid material from the tip 24 of the decreasing diameter nozzle 18, and does not allow the highly viscous fluid material to move toward the rearward end of the collapsible tube 16. In addition, the separation apart of handles 112a and 14a from one another tend to open slot 150 somewhat, so that collapsible tube 16 can either be removed from the slot 150, or so that collapsible tube 16 can be moved further into slot 150, after which time a different portion of collapsible tube 16 could be squeezed by engaging plates 32 and 140 (of front and rear handle members 112 and 14). Figure 12 depicts the bottom portion of front handle 112a. In the illustrated embodiment, front handle 112a is channel-shaped in form. The foregoing description of a preferred embodiment of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Obvious modifications or variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best illustrate the principles of the invention and its practical application to thereby enable one of ordinary skill in the art to best utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto.

Claims: An apparatus (10) adapted for use with a collapsible tube having a fluid material as its content, said collapsible tube (16) having elongated sides, a first end (20) which is closed, and a second end (22) which has an opening of predetermined size, the apparatus being adapted to dispense the content of said tube (16) and comprising a first handle (14) and a second handle (112) characterised in that: a) the first handle (14) comprises: i) a first elongated member (14a) of sufficient width and thickness to fit within the palm of an adult hand, said first elongated member (14a) having a first and second end; ii) a substantially planar first engaging plate (32) integrally connected to the first end of said first elongated member (14a), said first engaging plate (32) having its planar surface substantially perpendicular to the axial direction of said first elongated member (14a), said first engaging plate (32) having sufficient width to exceed the width of said collapsible tube (16) at the collapsible tube's first end (20), said first engaging plate (32) having sufficient length so that it can make physical contact with a large enough portion of an elongated side of said collapsible tube (16) so as to be able to force a portion at least of the collapsible tube's contents from its open second end (22); b) the second handle (112) comprises: i) a second elongated member (112a) of sufficient width and thickness to be gripped by the fingers of an adult hand, said second elongated member (112a) having a first and second end; ii) limiting means (144) to limit the travel of said first engaging plate (32) when the apparatus (10) is in the configuration wherein the second end of said first elongated member (14a) is in distal relationship with the second end of said second elongated member (112a); iii) a pivotable engaging member (138), operatively connected to the first end of said second elongated member (112a), comprising; A) a pivot pin (146); B) a second engaging plate (140) moveable between a first position substantially parallel to said limiting means (144), and a second position substantially perpendicular to the axial direction of said second elongated member (112a), said second engaging plate (140) having a width equal to or exceeding the width of said collapsible tube (16) at the collapsible tube's first end (20), said second engaging plate (140) having sufficient length so that it can can make physical contact with a large enough portion of an elongated side of said collapsible tube (16) so as to be able to force the collapsible tube's contents from its open second end (22); C) support means (141) for the second engaging plate (140), said support means (141) being operatively connected to said pivot pin (146) such that said pivotable engaging member (138) can pivot around said pivot pin (146) with respect to said second elongated member (112a), said pivot pin's location with respect to the support means (141) for the second engaging plate (140) being between the mid-point of the support means (141) for the second engaging plate (140) and the end of the support means (141) which during use of the apparatus is adjacent the first, closed end of said collapsible tube (20); iv) further support means (142) for the pivotable engaging member (138) such that the second engaging plate (140) correctly provides a further limiting means (139) for the travel of said first engaging plate (32) when the apparatus (10) is in the configuration wherein the second end of said first elongated member (14a) is in proximal relationship with the second end of said second elongated member (112a), said further support means (142) for said pivotable engaging member (138) being connected to said second elongated member (112a) and operatively connected to said pivot pin (146); and c) a clearance slot (150) between said second engaging plate (140) and said limiting means (144) at a location wherein the second engaging plate (140) and the limiting means (144) are in proximal relationship to one another, said clearance slot (150) having sufficient size to allow the through placement of said first engaging plate (32) therein, said clearance slot (150) additionally having sufficient size to allow the through placement of the first end (20) of said collapsible tube (16) therein. An apparatus (10) according to claim 1 wherein i) the limiting means (144) comprises a base support integrally connected to the first end of said second elongated member (112a); ii) the further support means (142) comprises at least one upright support (142), said upright support having a first edge which is integrally connected to said base support (144), said upright support (142) also having a second edge, said upright support (142) having a through-hole (152); iii) the second engaging plate (140) also being correctly positioned for providing a means for limiting the travel of said first engaging plate (32) when the apparatus (10) is in the configuration wherein the second end of said first elongated member (14a) is in proximal relationship with the second end of said second elongated member (112a); and (iv) said pivot pin (146) being placed through said through-hole (152) in the upright support (142). An apparatus (10) according to claim 2, wherein said first edge and said second edge define two sides of a substantially triangular planar member. An apparatus (10) according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein said substantially planar first engaging plate (32) has bent corners (34) at locations proximal to said clearance slot (150), said bent corners (34) providing means for properly positioning said first handle (14) with respect to said second handle (112). An apparatus (10) according any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the second elongated member (112a) of said second handle (112) has a clearance notch (148) cut out along the second elongated member's length at a position proximal to said limiting means (144), and further comprising a gusset support (36) which is integrally connected to the first elongated member (14a) of said first handle (14) and is also integrally connected to the first engaging plate (32) of said first handle (14). An apparatus (10) according to any one- of claims 1 to 5, wherein the second elongated member (112a) of said second handle (112) is channel-shaped in form, said second elongated member (112a) having an open side (115), and wherein the first elongated member (14a) of said first handle (14) is small enough in width to be placed within the confines of the open side (115) of said second elongated member (112a).

Inventors: HAERR RAY H, SANTEFORT RICHARD A, HAERR, RAY H., SANTEFORT, RICHARD A.
Applicants: VALCO CINCINNATI INC, VALCO CINCINNATI, INC.
Application year: 1992
Main classification: B65D35
IPC codes: B65D83, B05C17, B65D35