Patent Publication Number: US-2010127016-A1

Title: Hand-Held Toothpaste Squeezer

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a squeezing device for paste-like material, and in particular to a hand-held toothpaste squeezer. 
     In our daily life, the toothpaste tube normally is a plastic or metal tube. When the tube is squeezed by a user&#39;s hand, the toothpaste may always distribute unevenly in the plastic or metal tube. Furthermore, the middle portion of the toothpaste tube is a portion which is normally pressed during in use. After a period of time, the toothpaste will be deposited in the both ends or the rear end of the plastic or metal tube, and as a result, the toothpaste deposited in the two ends of the toothpaste may not be forced out successfully, which results in a waste. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Having the shortcomings of the above prior art, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a hand-held toothpaste squeezer to enable the toothpaste to be substantially forced out to avoid waste. 
     The above objective of the present invention is achieved by the following technical solutions: 
     A hand-held toothpaste squeezer, comprises:
         a housing with a top portion defining an inlet and a bottom portion defining an outlet;   a squeezing mechanism provided in the housing, the squeezing mechanism comprising a drive shaft and a driven shaft engaged with the drive shaft via gear at one end, the drive shaft being parallel to the driven shaft and having a gap in a range of 0.5-1 mm with respect to the driven shaft; the drive shaft being further provided with a stepping gear; the inlet of the housing, the gap between the drive shaft and the driven shaft, and the outlet of the housing being aligned with each other;   an actuating mechanism comprising an elastic button and an actuating element, the elastic button being provided on the housing, one end of the actuating element being mounted on the elastic button, and the other end of the actuating element engaging with the stepping gear at a tooth space on the upper edge of the stepping gear.       

     With the above technical solution, the bottom of the plastic or metal toothpaste tube could be inserted into the inlet of the housing to be placed in the gap between the drive shaft and the driven shaft. Then, the elastic button may be pressed to force the main drive shaft and the driven shaft to step inwards to engage with each other, and the plastic or metal toothpaste tube is thus run over towards the outlet of the housing by the engaging force between the drive shaft and the driven shaft. Thus, the toothpaste is forced out, and the amount of the toothpaste can be controlled evenly by controlling the times of pressing the elastic button. 
     In the above technical solution, the elastic button may form an arch in shape, and have a bottom fixed in the housing and a head extending out of the housing to form a pressing portion, the actuating element is provided on the inner side of the pressing portion. Each time the pressing portion of the elastic button is pressed, the elastic button will reset under the function of the arch structure, which results in good feeling. 
     In the above technical solution, the actuating element may be V-shaped and have a tip end engaged with the stepping gear, and the other end of the actuating element is furcated into branches which are then connected to the inner side of the elastic button. An elastic supporting bar may be further provided between the branches to prevent the actuating element from damage when the elastic button is overexerted. 
     Preferably, the end of the actuating element that is engaged with the stepping gear may be hook-shaped. This facilitates pushing the stepping gear forwards, and reduces the friction resistance when resetting. 
     In the above technical solution, the stepping gear may utilize helical gear structure, with each tooth inclining rightwards. 
     In the above technical solution, the housing may comprise: a face cover and a bottom cover connected with the face cover by snap fit, the upper edge of the face cover and the upper edge of the bottom cover form the inlet of the housing, the lower edge of the face cover and the lower edge of the bottom cover form the outlet of the housing; the bottom of the face cover and the bottom of the bottom cover are pivoted with each other, a block hole is provided on the upper side of the face cover, and a rabbet for engaging with the hole is provided on the bottom cover; the driven shaft is mounted in the bottom cover, the drive shaft is mounted in the face cover, and the actuating mechanism is also mounted on the face cover. The housing can be completely disassembled by opening the face cover and the bottom cover, and the more important is, the plastic or metal toothpaste tube can be adjusted into the correct position after opening the face cover and the bottom cover. 
     In the above technical solution, the drive shaft and the driven shaft maybe both provided with netlike lines to increase the friction coefficient such that the plastic or metal toothpaste tube could be pressed more effectively. 
     Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following advantages:
         (1) the plastic or metal toothpaste tube is squeezed from the bottom up, which prevents the air from entering and reduces the deposit of the toothpaste;   (2) it is convenient for operation, and the amount of the toothpaste squeezed out is controlled in precise manner;   (3) it is energy saving, and the deposit of the toothpaste is reduced, whereby the toothpaste can be substantially squeezed out.       

     These and other features, aspects and advantages of certain embodiments of the present invention will become apparent from consideration of the description below, which makes reference to the appended drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic perspective view of an embodiment according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a structural schematic view of an embodiment according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a disassembled view of the structure of an embodiment according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a structural schematic view of the squeezing mechanism of an embodiment according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 5  is the top view of the squeezing mechanism shown in  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a structural view of the drive shaft of an embodiment according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 7  is a sectional view taking along A-A line shown in  FIG. 6 ; 
         FIG. 8  is structural view of the actuating element of an embodiment according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 9  is a perspective view of the actuating element of an embodiment according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 10  is structural view of the elastic button of an embodiment according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 11  is a perspective view of the elastic button of an embodiment according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 12  is a structural view of the actuating mechanism of an embodiment according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 13  is a reference view showing the present invention in use. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Many aspects of the invention can be better understood in the following embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1  to  FIG. 12 , a hand-held toothpaste squeezer comprises:
         a housing  1  with a top portion defining an inlet  11  and a bottom portion defining an outlet  12 ;   a squeezing mechanism  2  provided in the housing  1 , the squeezing mechanism comprising a drive shaft  21  and a driven shaft  22  engaged with the drive shaft  21  via gear  23  at one end, the drive shaft  21  being parallel to the driven shaft  22  and having a gap in a range of 0.5-1 mm with respect to the driven shaft  22 ; the drive shaft  21  being further provided with a stepping gear  24 ; the inlet  11  of the housing  1 , the gap between the drive shaft  21  and the driven shaft  22 , and the outlet  12  of the housing  1  being aligned with each other;   an actuating mechanism  3  comprising an elastic button  31  and an actuating element  32 , the elastic button  31  being provided on the housing  1 , one end of the actuating element  32  being mounted on the elastic button  31 , and the other end of the actuating element  32  engaging with the stepping gear  24  at a tooth space on the upper edge of the stepping gear  24 .       

     The elastic button  31  is arch-shaped, and has a bottom fixed in the housing  1  and a head extending out of the housing  1  to form a pressing portion  33 ; the actuating element is V-shaped and has a tip end engaged with the stepping gear, and the other end of the actuating element is furcated into branches which are then connected to the inner side of the elastic button; an elastic supporting bar is provided between the branches. The stepping gear utilizes helical gear structure, with each tooth inclining rightwards. The housing  1  comprises a face cover  13  and a bottom cover  14  connected with the face cover  13  via snap fit, the upper edge of the face cover  13  and the upper edge of the bottom cover  14  form the inlet  11  of the housing  1 , the lower edge of the face cover  13  and the lower edge of the bottom cover  14  form the outlet  12  of the housing  1 ; 
     the bottom of the face cover  13  and the bottom of the bottom cover  14  are pivoted with each other, a block hole  15  is provided on the upper side of the face cover  13 , and a rabbet  16  for engaging with the hole  15  is provided on the bottom cover  14 ; the driven shaft  22  is mounted in the bottom cover  14 , the drive shaft  21  is mounted in the face cover  13 , and the actuating mechanism  3  is also mounted on the face cover  13 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 3 , with the above technical solution, the bottom of the plastic or metal toothpaste tube could be inserted into the inlet of the housing to be placed in the gap between the drive shaft and the driven shaft, or the plastic or metal toothpaste tube could be inserted after the face cover and the bottom cover are opened. Then, the elastic button may be to force the main drive shaft and the driven shaft to step inwards to engage with each other, and the plastic or metal toothpaste tube is thus run over towards the outlet of the housing by the engaging force between the drive shaft and the driven shaft. Thus, the toothpaste is forced out, and the amount of the toothpaste can be controlled evenly by controlling the times of pressing the elastic button.