Patent ID: 6880726

Claim:
A toothpaste dispensing apparatus for dispensing toothpaste from a tube onto a toothbrush, the toothpaste dispensing apparatus comprising: a housing comprising a perimeter wall, said perimeter wall defining an interior space of said housing, said housing being adapted for engaging a support surface such that the support surface supports said housing; a dispensing assembly extending through said perimeter wall of said housing from said interior space of said housing, said dispensing assembly being adapted for engaging the tube such that said dispensing assembly squeezes toothpaste from the tube onto the toothbrush when said dispensing assembly is actuated by a user; said dispensing assembly comprising an engaging member and an actuating assembly, said actuating assembly being positioned in said interior space of said housing, said engaging member being operationally coupled to said actuating assembly such that said actuating assembly actuates said engaging member, said engaging member being adapted for engaging the tube such that said engaging member squeezes the toothpaste from the tube when said actuating assembly actuates said engaging member; said engaging member comprising a pair of arm portions and a roller portion, each of said arm portions being operationally coupled to said actuating assembly, each of said arm portions extending through alignment slots extending through said perimeter wall of said housing such that each of said arm portions extend out of said housing, said roller portion being rotatably coupled between said arm portions such that said roller portion is positioned opposite said actuating assembly, said roller portion being adapted for selectively engaging the tube such that said roller portion of said engaging member compresses the tube between said roller portion and said perimeter wall of said housing to squeeze the toothpaste from the tube when said engaging member is actuated by said actuating assembly; and said engaging member comprising a support roller, said support roller being rotatably coupled between said arm portions of said engaging member such that said support roller is positioned between said roller portion and said actuating assembly, said support roller being positioned substantially parallel to said roller portion, said support roller rolling on said perimeter wall opposite said roller portion such that said support roller is for maintaining a distance between said roller portion and said perimeter wall of said housing when the tube is positioned between said perimeter wall and said roller portion of said engaging member.