Abstract:
A toothpaste tube squeezing mechanism includes a housing in which a toothpaste tube is stored and a button which is pushed to dispense toothpaste from the tube. The button is connected to a tube squeezing mechanism by a gear system.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention relates to the general art of dispensing, and to the particular field of mechanisms for dispensing material, such as toothpaste, from a tube.  
         [0002]     Toothpaste for consumer use has long been sold in tubes requiring the user to squeeze part of the tube to extract the paste from a spout at one end of the tube. For many years, the tubes in which the toothpaste was distributed were fabricated from a malleable metal thereby permitting the user to readily extract the paste. In order to efficiently extract the maximum amount of paste from the tube, the user needed to progressively squeeze the tube from the bottom of the tube to the tube spout. As the tube was squeezed from the bottom, the metal tube could be rolled toward the tube spout, thereby effectively preventing the paste from being redistributed to the bottom of the tube should the user squeeze at a midpoint of the tube.  
         [0003]     This process works fairly well; however, hand squeezing of such tubes to discharge the required quantity of the tube&#39;s contents often results in a badly twisted messed up partly full tube always lying in full view on top of bathroom equipment, thus spoiling the general appearance and neatness of the room. Furthermore, in many cases, the squeezing of the tube is done by careless adults or children, so that a great deal of the tube&#39;s contents is lost when the tube is discarded. Still further, it is not uncommon for children to neglect to replace the cap on a toothpaste, thus sometimes allowing the toothpaste to leak out and more often allowing the toothpaste to dry out in the tube neck. Furthermore, children have a tendency not to squeeze the tube from the end opposite the mouth, and the result is wasted toothpaste. Leakage can also result from this type of squeezing because creases tend to turn up in parts of the tube that still contain toothpaste.  
         [0004]     The inventor has found that toothpaste tubes often become badly twisted which may cause a cracking of the tube wall thus resulting in loss of the product through the cracks when the tube is squeezed. It is not uncommon to find unsightly partially-squeezed tubes of toothpaste in bathrooms. Oftentimes, these partially-squeezed tubes are found on the bathroom counter, giving the bathroom a cluttered or messy appearance. In addition, it has been observed that a twisted tube cannot be squeezed sufficiently so as to completely expel the contents thereof thus resulting in the tube being discarded prior to complete evacuation.  
         [0005]     Another concern with hand-squeezed toothpaste tubes is that the amount of toothpaste administered at each brushing is inconsistent. At times too much toothpaste is squeezed from the tube and administered to the toothbrush. At other times, and particularly with children, too little toothpaste is administered to the toothbrush. Furthermore, the time actually spent brushing varies from brushing to brushing and may often be less than the dentist-recommended time.  
         [0006]     Yet another problem with hand-squeezing of toothpaste tubes is that as they are emptied, it becomes increasingly difficult to dispense toothpaste, and nine out of ten times the tube is discarded before all of the toothpaste is used. Both the over-administration of toothpaste and the difficulty of emptying the tube of toothpaste results in toothpaste being wasted.  
         [0007]     It is also common that the toothpaste tube is shared by more than one member of a family. In the event that a toothpaste tube is shared by more than one person, hygiene considerations take effect as the toothpaste tube can spread germs from sick family members. Some people consider toiletry items, such as toothpaste tubes and toothbrushes, personal and instead of sharing a single toothpaste tube, several toothpaste tubes for each member of the family may necessarily be stored in the bathroom creating additional clutter and storage problems.  
         [0008]     Still further, in recent years, the malleable metal tubes have been replaced by tubes fabricated from plastics materials. The new plastic tubes are still squeezable by the user to extract paste from the tube. However, the plastic material used in the new tubes tends to return to its original shape after it is deformed, thereby essentially making it impossible for the user to roll the bottom of the tube to prevent the paste from being redistributed thereto should the user squeeze at a midpoint of the tube.  
         [0009]     Accordingly, there is a need for a toothpaste dispensing system which is capable of efficiently utilizing the toothpaste in the tube, preventing waste, and consistently administering toothpaste from brushing to brushing. What is also needed is a toothpaste system which is able to indicate the correct brushing time. What is further needed is a toothpaste dispensing system which requires minimal physical handling. Such a toothpaste dispensing system should be aesthetically pleasing, hygienic and practical in use.  
         [0010]     Furthermore, it is very annoying to reach for the tube of toothpaste and then find that it is not in its usual spot. Therefore, there is a need for a means for storing a toothpaste tube in a readily accessible location that remains constant so that everyone will know where the toothpaste tube is.  
         [0011]     The inventor is aware of several mechanical dispensers which can be used to dispense toothpaste. However, these dispensers require the squeezing member to travel along the length of the screw first to dispense product from a container and then reverse its direction along the screw without any work performed other than to return the squeezing member back to its origin. This requires unproductive time on the part of the user to reconfigure the dispenser for subsequent use. Further, this type of mechanism is inefficient and causes undue fatigue upon a user&#39;s fingers with manually actuated product dispensers and undue stress upon mechanical and electrical parts in an automatically actuated product dispenser, leading to accelerated mechanical and/or electrical failure of prior art product dispensers. In addition, these dispensers are generally complex in order to accommodate both forward and reverse travel of the squeezing member retained within the frame. These product dispensers have many moving parts and are not economical to manufacture or repair. Furthermore, these dispensers tend to be inconsistent in the amount of product dispensed. These dispensers are often cumbersome to use thereby making them difficult to use by small children or others who may have difficulty in coordinating the use of their hands.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0012]     The above-discussed disadvantages of the prior art are overcome by a dispensing mechanism that includes a gear system which moves a tube squeezer unit incrementally each time a button is pushed. The gear system includes a rack and pinion type unit which is connected by an interlock gear unit to a chain. A tube squeezing unit is mounted on the chain and contacts the tube to be squeezed. The chain rotates as the button is pushed and product is dispensed from the tube.  
         [0013]     Using the embodying the present invention will permit all of the toothpaste from a tube to be used and at measured quantities. An aesthetically pleasing housing will contain the tube and the mechanism so that unsightly, partially used, twisted toothpaste tubes will not be left on a surface. Toothpaste can be dispensed without requiring the tube nozzle to touch a toothbrush thereby maintaining a sanitary condition which is not likely to pass germs from one person to another if there are multiple users.  
         [0014]     Other systems, methods, features, and advantages of the invention will be, or will become, apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features, and advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the invention, and be protected by the following claims. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES  
       [0015]     The invention can be better understood with reference to the following drawings and description. The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. Moreover, in the figures, like referenced numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the different views.  
         [0016]      FIG. 1  is a cut away side view of a toothpaste tube squeezing mechanism embodying the present invention.  
         [0017]      FIG. 2  is a cut away front view of a toothpaste tube squeezing mechanism embodying the present invention.  
         [0018]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of an interlocking gear unit included in the mechanism embodying the present invention.  
         [0019]      FIG. 4  is an exploded perspective view of a portion of the interlocking gear unit shown in  FIG. 3 .  
         [0020]      FIG. 5  is shows a lock release mechanism included in the mechanism embodying the present invention.  
         [0021]      FIG. 6  shows a tube squeezing unit included in the mechanism embodying the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0022]     Referring to the figures, it can be understood that the present invention is embodied in a toothpaste tube squeezing mechanism  10 .  
         [0023]     Mechanism  10  comprises a hollow housing  12  which includes a first wall  14  that is a rear wall when the housing is in a use orientation and which can be mounted on a support surface, such as a wall W or the like when the mechanism is in use. Housing  12  further includes a second wall  16  which is a top wall when the housing is in a use orientation such as shown in  FIG. 1  and a third wall  18  which is a bottom wall when the housing is in a use orientation. The bottom wall has a first surface  20  which is an inside surface when the housing is in a use orientation, an indentation  22  in the inside surface and a dispensing hole  24  defined therethrough at the indentation. The use of the indentation and dispensing hole will be understood from the following description.  
         [0024]     Housing  12  further includes a longitudinal axis  28  which extends between the top wall and the bottom wall, a fourth wall  30  which is a front wall when the housing is in a use orientation and two side walls  32  and  34 . Each side wall has an inner surface  36  with a groove  38  defined therein. The groove extends in the direction of the longitudinal axis and will serve a function that will be understood from the following disclosure.  
         [0025]     A drive control mechanism  40  is mounted on the housing adjacent to the top wall and includes a shaft  42  which extends through the front wall toward the rear wall and which is movable toward the rear wall, the shaft can also move away from the rear wall, and shaft movement is indicated by double-headed arrow  44 . Shaft  42  has a first end  46  located near the front wall and which extends partially out of the front wall, a rear end  48  which is located near the rear wall and a body  50  which has a plurality of gear teeth  52  defined thereon.  
         [0026]     A return spring  54  is interposed between the rear end of the shaft and the rear wall and biases the shaft toward the front wall. A second return spring  56  is located on the first end of the shaft and an operating button  58  is connected to the front end of the shaft.  
         [0027]     Shaft  42  is moved toward the rear wall of the housing by pressing on the operating button  58  toward the rear wall of the housing. Operation of shaft  42  in this manner will operate mechanism  10  as will be understood from the teaching of the following disclosure.  
         [0028]     An interlocking gear unit  60  is mounted on the housing to mesh with gear teeth  52  on the shaft to be rotated when shaft  42  moves toward the rear wall. Interlocking gear unit  60  includes an axle  62  having gear teeth  64  that mesh with gear teeth  52  on the shaft as shown in  FIG. 3 . Axle  62  is mounted on the housing to rotate when the shaft is moved toward the rear wall of the housing.  
         [0029]     Two primary drive gears  70  and  72  are mounted on axle  64  of the interlocking gear unit for rotation therewith. A secondary power gear  80  is mounted on the housing for rotation. Secondary power gear  80  is mounted on an axle  82  and is located to mesh with one of the primary drive gears to be rotated when the primary drive gear is rotated by rotation of the primary drive gear under the influence of the axle  62  being moved by movement of shaft  42 .  
         [0030]     A lock release mechanism  90  is mounted on the housing and controls movement of the interlocking gear unit so that the gears will rotate in one direction when shaft  42  is pressed toward the rear wall of the housing, but will prevent reverse rotation of the gears when the shaft is released, but remains biased by spring  54 .  
         [0031]     Lock release mechanism  90  is best shown in  FIG. 5  and includes an elongate element  92  which has a head  94  that is located outside the housing adjacent to the top wall and a distal end  96  that is located adjacent to the primary drive gear. The head is accessible from outside the housing to operate the release mechanism.  
         [0032]     A biasing element  98  is mounted on the distal end, and a primary drive gear engaging element  100  is mounted on the distal end of the biasing element. The biasing element biases the primary drive gear engaging element away from distal end  96 . Primary drive gear engaging element  100  is knife shaped to permit the primary drive gear to rotate in one direction when the primary drive gear engaging element is engaged with the primary drive gear but to prevent rotation of the primary drive gear in an opposite direction when the primary drive gear engaging element is engaged with the primary drive gear.  
         [0033]     As indicated by double-headed arrow  102 , elongate element  92  is mounted for movement toward and away from the primary drive gear whereby the elongate element can be moved away from the primary drive gear to disengage the primary drive gear engaging element from the drive gear to permit rotation of the primary drive gear in the direction opposite to the direction of rotation of the primary drive gear under the influence of the interlocking gear unit. The elongate element  92  may be operated by a return spring around  96  and situated between  94  and  100 . This will allow mechanism  10  to be reset as will be understood from the teaching of the following disclosure.  
         [0034]     A chain drive unit  110  is mounted on the housing to move in the direction of the longitudinal axis as indicated by double-headed arrow  112 . Chain drive unit  110  includes a chain element  114  which is meshed with secondary power gear  80  to be moved thereby when the secondary power gear is rotated as described above.  
         [0035]     Chain element  114  is supported on a chain support  116  mounted on the housing. A chain return unit  120  is mounted on the housing and includes a return spring  122  connected to the chain and biasing the chain in a direction  112 ′ which is opposite to direction  112 ″ which is the direction of movement of the chain under the influence of the secondary power gear. Spring  122  is connected at one end thereof to chain element  114  by a plate  126  and at a second end thereof to a mounting element  128  which is fixedly mounted on the housing.  
         [0036]     An idler gear  130  is mounted by an axle  132  on the chain support in a location that is spaced apart from the secondary power gear. Chain element  114  is trained over the idler gear to be guided thereby, and has appropriate gear engaging elements thereon.  
         [0037]     A tube squeezing unit  140  is mounted on the housing and includes two pressure plates  142  and  144  mounted on chain  114  for movement therewith. The pressure plates have elements, such as rod  146  having balls on a distal end thereof, that slidably engage grooves  38  defined in the inner surfaces of the side walls for smooth guidance and are spaced apart from each other.  
         [0038]     Two tensioning elements  148  and  150  are connecting the pressure plates together and bias the pressure plates toward each other.  
         [0039]     A contact plate, such as contact plate  156 , is mounted on each pressure plat and bars, such as bars  158 , can be mounted to engage the tube if desired. The bars  158  can be small needle bearings.  
         [0040]     Tube squeezing unit  140  is mounted on the chain element by a mounting unit  158  that includes a base  160  and two arms, such as arm  162 .  
         [0041]     Means, such as a support frame mounted on the housing supports a tube  166  in place between the contact plates and adjacent to the chain with a dispensing port  168  of the tube accommodated in dispensing hole  24  of the bottom wall of the housing.  
         [0042]     As can be understood from the teaching of this disclosure, the pressure plates press the tube and squeeze the tube to force product, such as toothpaste, contained in the tube out of the dispensing port when the chain is moved via the secondary power gear and the primary drive gear and the interlocking gear and the shaft of the drive control mechanism when the shaft of the drive control mechanism is moved toward the rear wall of the housing.  
         [0043]     A cover unit  170  is located on the housing adjacent to the dispensing hole. The cover unit includes a cover element  172  hingeably mounted on the housing and an over-center element  174  which biases the cover element toward the dispensing hole when the cover has moved into a preset orientation. The cover element is moved away from the dispensing hole covering position shown in  FIG. 1  to expose the dispensing portion of the tube for use, and is then moved back into the dispensing hole covering position after the product has been dispensed. Movement of the cover is indicated by double-headed arrow  176 .  
         [0044]     Elements, such as dowels  180 , or the like, can be used to mount the housing to the wall W. Those skilled in the art will understand that other mounting elements can be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.  
         [0045]     As can be understood from the foregoing disclosure, movement of shaft  42  in direction  44 ′ will rotate axle  62  in direction  62 ′ via the meshed engagement of gears  63  and  52 . Movement of axle  62  in direction  62 ′ will cause primary gears  70  and  72  to rotate in direction  72 ′. Rotation of primary gears  70  and  72  in direction  72 ′ will cause secondary gear  80  to rotate in direction  80 ′ due to the meshed engagement between those gears and the primary gears. Movement of the secondary gear in direction  80 ′ will cause movement of the chain element in direction  112 ″ which will cause tube squeezing unit  140  to move in direction  140 ′ toward the bottom wall of the housing. Movement of unit  140  in direction  140 ′ will squeeze tube  166  because the tube is stationary with respect to the squeezing unit. Such squeezing will force product from the tube out of dispensing port  168 . If a toothbrush is located beneath port  168 , the product, such as toothpaste, will move onto the toothbrush. The lock release mechanism  90  will allow chain movement in direction  112 ″, but will prevent reverse chain movement due to the jamming effect of the element  100  in the associated gear. Thus, once shaft  42  is forced toward the rear wall, the chain will move in direction  112 ″, but upon release of the shaft, return spring  54  will return the shaft into the ready-for-use position shown in  FIG. 1  while the element  100  rides over the associated gears. This action will cause the tube squeezing unit to continue to move in direction  112 ″ until all of the product contained in tube  166  is exhausted.  
         [0046]     Once the product in tube  166  is exhausted, the housing can be opened by moving front wall  30  and grasping tube  166  and removing it from the housing. The tube squeezing unit can be returned to the initial position shown in  FIG. 1  by releasing lock release mechanism  90  by pulling shaft element  92  upward to disengage element  100  from the associated gear which will allow the return spring  120  to move the chain element in direction  112 ′ thereby moving tube squeezing unit  140  from adjacent to bottom wall  18  to the position shown in  FIG. 1 . Once the squeezing unit is in its initial position, the lock unit can be returned to its gear locking position.  
         [0047]     While various embodiments of the invention have been described, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that many more embodiments and implementations are possible within the scope of this invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be restricted except in light of the attached claims and their equivalents.