GB2075950A - Tube squeezers - Google Patents

Abstract

A tube squeezer comprises a base member (1) and a pair of rollers. One roller (2) being rotatably mounted on the member (1) and the other roller (7) being rotatably mounted in a framework (6) which is pivotably mounted on the member (1) about a pivot (5). The other roller (7) is carried by a shaft (7a) which carries a ratchet wheel (9) at one end. A second framework (8) is pivotally mounted on the framework (6) and a pawl (10) is slidably mounted on the second framework (8) and is urged into engagement with the ratchet wheel (9) by a spring (12). In use, a tube (11) is gripped between the rollers (2, 7) and movement of the framework (8) towards the base member (1) causes the pawl (10) to engage and rotate the ratchet wheel (9) which in turn rotates the roller (7) to advance the tube (11) between the nip of the rollers. On the return stroke, the pawl (10) is free to run over the teeth of the ratchet wheel (9) so that the roller (7) is not rotated. In another embodiment, the slidable pawl (10) is replaced by a pivotal pawl which acts as a stop to limit movement of the framework (8). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Dispensing device for squeezable tubes This invention relates to a dispensing device for squeezable tubes and has particular application for use with tubes of toothpaste.

A number of difficulties arise with the use of squeezable tubes. It is often difficult to ensure proper emptying of the tube since many users invariably squeeze it in the middle or adjacent the outflow end and then this raises difficulties with regard to enabling the contents at the end away from the outflow nozzle to be used. Furthermore, there is considerable wastage when using hand squeezed tubes since it is not possible to ensure that the tube is entirely squeezed flatthoughout its length, leaving behind a certain amount of the contents in the irregularities which are thus produced. Particular difficulties are often associated with the use of such tubes by children who are notoriously clumsy about such use and who can in fact often cause fracture of the tube so that the contents are squeezed out at places other than the desired outflow nozzle.

Proposals have been made in the past to assist in the dispensing of materials from squeezable tubes.

In particular, these have included forms of key-like device having a slot therein into which the narrow or closed end of the tube is inserted. The key is then wound around the tube so that the tube is progres sivelyflattned in a circular way from the closed end towards the outflow nozzle. However, such devices have suffered from serious disadvantages in that, even with these tubes being emptied in this way, the reliance of the tube on other parts of the tube to provide the necessary squeezing action does not entirely overcome the problem of irregularities being left in the tube and thus material being left therein. Also, the operation of such devices is essentially a two-handed operation, one hand being needed to hold the tube and the other hand being needed to rotate the key.A further disadvantage lies in the necessity of unwinding the tube from the key if the key is to be re-used. In some applications, the tube is of a resilient nature which, coupled with the relatively viscous state of the contents, makes it very difficult to retain the necessary squeezing action, the tube tending to unwind itself once the key is released.

The present invention seeks to provide a squeezable tube dispensing device in which some or all of the above problems can be obviated or at least substantially reduced.

According to the invention, a squeezable tube dispensing device comprises a base member, a squeezing arrangement engageable on both sides of a tube arranged therebetween to provide a squeezing pressure on the tube, means for moving the tube longitudinally between the squeezing arrangement so as to move the point of squeeze along the tube from the closed end towards the outflow nozzle, and operating means for causing operation of the squeezing arrangement and the means for causing the relative movement between the squeezing arrangement and the tube.

Preferably the squeezing arrangement and the moving means are combined and comprise a pair of rollers urged together and rotatable to provide the necessary movement of the tube.

One of the two rollers may be driven by means of a lever which operates through a pawl and ratchet mechanism so that movement of the lever in two directions will cause rotation of the roller during a forward stroke and avoid return movement of the roller during a return stroke. Preferably the lever is pivoted about the axis of the roller which it is intended to drive and the pawl is spring urged into engagement with the ratchet and is mounted on the lever.

One of the rollers is preferably mounted on the base while the other roller and the operating lever are mounted on a framework which is itself pivotable on the base. Thus the rollers may be separated from each other by movement of the framework relative to the base so as to permit extraction of an old tube and the insertion of a new tube.

The invention will now be described in greater detail, by way of example, with reference to the drawings in which: Fig. lisa side view of one form of squeezable tube dispensing device in accordance with the invention; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the device shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a view taken on the line Ill-ill of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of the rollers showing the action thereof on a tube; Fig. 5 is a side view of a second form of squeezable dispensing device in accordance with the invention, and Fig. 6 is a plan view of the device shown in Fig. 5.

In the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 to 4, a squeezable tube dispensing device comprises a base member 1, carrying a first straight knurled roller 2.

The base member 1 has a pair of side flanges 3 which extend upwardly at one end to provide pivot flanges 4 of a pivot 5. The flanges 3 also provide the mounting for the roller 2, the periphery of which extends above the flanges. Pivoted to this pivot 5 is a U-shaped framework 6 shaped to lie alongside the base member 1 in use. This framework 6 carries a second straight knurled roller7 rigid with its shaft7a.

Onto this shaft 7a a further generally U-shaped framework 8 is pivoted. The roller shaft 7a carries a ratchet wheel 9 at one end for rotation with the roller 7, which ratchet wheel 9 cooperates with a sliding pawl element 10. With the arrangement shown in Fig. 1, this means that the roller 7 can only be rotated in an anticlockwise direction. For the purposes of mounting the ratchet wheel 9, the end of the shaft 7a may be of square section cooperating with a square aperture in the ratchet wheel. Alternatively the end of the shaft 7a may have a left handed thread onto which the ratchet wheel 9 is screwed to provide a self tightening action.

In Fig. 1 a tube of toothpaste or the like is indicated in chan-dotted lines at 11 from which it will be seen that the closed end of the tube passes between the two rollers 2 and 7.

The pawl element 10 is spring urged into engage ment with the ratchet wheel 9 by means of a spring 12. The framework 8 comprises two parallel levers 14 and 15 which are connected together by a plate 16 the centre of which is bowed outwardly to accommodate the tube 11 as will be described hereafter.

The framework 8 is urged away from the framework 6 by means of a spring 17 located at the other end of the roller shaft 7a to the ratchet wheel 9. The framework 6 and the base 1 are either urged together by means of a spring (not shown) or are retained in close juxtaposition by means of a catch 18 when in use.

The operation of the device will now be described: Assuming that the parts of the device are in the positions shown in Fig. 1, but without the presence of the tube 11, then the framework 6 is raised away from the base 1 so as to part the rollers 2 and 7. The tube of toothpaste or other material is then inserted between the frameworks 6 and 8 so that the closed end is situated in or slightly protruding from the nip of the two rollers 2 and 7. The framework 6 is then returned to its position adjacent the base 1 either by means of the spring (not shown) or by the catch 18 and the device is ready for use.

In order to squeeze out the contents of the tube, the cap having first been removed from the nozzle, the operating framework 8 is depressed about its pivot on the axis of the roller 7, suitably by pushing down on the bowed part ofthe plate 16. Downward pivoting movement of the framework 8 will, due to the engagement of the pawl element 10 with the ratchet wheel 9, cause rotation of the roller7 in an anti-clockwise direction to feed the closed end of the tube to the right (Fig. 1), at the same time squeezing the adjacent part of the tube as it does so. The action of the roller 7 is transmitted through the tube to the roller 2 which provides a "mangle" type effect on the tube. With the framework 8 pivoted downwardly about its pivot, the reason for the bowed out part of the plate 16 becomes apparent.This is arranged to pass over the upper part of the tube so as not to provide any pressure on the tube itself at this point.

When the pressure is removed from the plate 16, the framework 8 will then rise under the action of the spring 17 but the roller 7 will remain stationary, the pawl element 10 slipping overtheteeth of the ratchet wheel 9. Once the device is returned to its initial position, the process may be repeated. In this way, the amount of material being forced from the tube outflow nozzle is in individual partions and, with close tolerance design of the device, relatively accurate dosing can be achieved.

Once the tube has passed through to the point at which the front or nozzle end is adjacent the rollers 2 and 7, the framework 6 and the base 1 are again parted to allow removal of the tube in the opposite direction to that in which it was inserted and to allow the insertion of a new tube.

An alternative embodiment is shown in Figs. 5 and 6. In this embodiment equivalent parts are indicated by the same reference numerals. The squeezable tube dispensing device again comprises a base member 1 carrying a first straight knurled roller 2.

The base has the same construction for the pivot 5 of a U-shaped framawork 6 carrying the second straight knurled roller7 rigid with its shaft 7a. Here, however, a flat cross bar 30 is provided which, when adjacent the base member 1,forms a continuation of the base member 1 and is held in this position by means of two clips 31 pivoted to the base member 1 at 32.

The further generally U-shaped framework 8 is pivoted on the shaft 7a and carries a pivotal pawl element 33 cooperating with the ratchet wheel 9 fast with the shaft 7a. This pawl element 33 replaces the sliding pawl element 10 of the first embodiment. It is mounted on a pin 34 which extends through the arm 14 ofthe U-shaped framework 8 on which it is mounted to form a stop as will be hereafter described. The pawl element 33 is urged against the ratchet wheel 9 by a spring 35. The base of the "U" of the U-shaped framework 8 is formed by a flat plate 36 which is used as the actuator of the device instead of the bowed plate 16.

In Fig. 5, a tube of toothpaste is again indicated in chain-dotted lines at 11.

The operation of the embodiment shown in Figs. 5 and 6 is substantially the same as that of the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 to 4. However, in order to enable the use of a flat plate 36, the U-shaped framework 8 has only a limited movement towards the base 1. This limitation is achieved by means of the stop formed by the end of the pin 34, which, as the framework 8 pivots towards the base member 1, engages a sloping part 37 of the flange 3 of the base member 1.

In this embodiment, bores 38, provided with grommets 39, are formed in the base member 1.

It will be appreciated that various modifications may be made to the above described embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention.

For example, while the rollers 2 and 7 have been shown in the drawings as being of straight knurled form, flat smooth rollers may be used or rollers having any other type of roughening or embossing could equally well serve. Where the device isto be used for dispensing toothpaste, the device might well be attached to a wall by the base, e.g. by bores such as those shown at 38 in the second embodiment, so that, with the toothpaste tube pointed downwards, a completely one-handed action of the dispensing can be achieved. Where desired, the device could be retained in a housing, a single lever for actuating the roller 7 extending outside the housing. Although primarily designed for manual operation, whether by using the plate 16 or 36 as a handle or by the provision of a separate handle as discussed above, where desired, a solenoid operated device could be used, such an arrangement being particu larly suitable for use in public wash places or the like.

While the device has been particularly designed with toothpaste tubes in mind, it is to be understood that any type of similartube can be used in the device providing that the device is suitably dimen sioned for the tube in use. Such other types of tubes which are common are those for dispensing glue and other adhesives, ceramic and other till pastes, shoe polishes and food substances such as tomato and other sauces or purees including sweet sauces for use with ice-cream and the like. With a suitably designed apparatus, the device could be used with an icing bag for cake decorations or for the production of mashed potato shapes or the like. In the case of icing applications, means could be provided for ensuring a continuous rotation of the rollers rather than the intermittent use which has been described above.

From the above description it will be seen that a device in accordance with the invention can provide for easy use of squeezable tubes so as to dispense their contents with little or no wastage and can be arranged to provide for the dispensing from the tubes effectively of metered quantities.

Claims (15)

1. A squeezable tube dispensing device comprising a base member, a squeezing arrangement engageable on both sides of a tube arranged therebetween to provide a squeezing pressure on the tube, means for moving the tube longitudinally between the squeezing arrangement so as to move the point of squeeze along the tube from the closed end towards the outflow nozzle, and operating means for causing operation of the squeezing arrangement and the means for causing the relative movement between the squeezing arrangement and the tube.

2. A device according to claim 1, wherein the squeezing arrangement and the moving means are combined and comprise a pair of rollers urged together and rotatable to provide the necessary movement of the tube.

3. A device according to claim 2, wherein one of the rollers is arranged to be driven by means of a lever which operates through a pawl and ratchet mechanism so that movement of the lever in two directions will cause rotation of the roller during a forward stroke and avoid return movement of the roller during a return stroke.

4. A device according to claim 3, wherein the lever is pivoted about the axis of the roller which it is intended to drive.

5. A device according to claim 3 or claim 4, wherein the pawl is spring urged into engagement with the ratchet and is mounted on the lever.

6. A device according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the other one of the rollers is mounted on the base member and wherein the said one roller and the operating lever are mounted on a framework which is itself pivotally mounted on the base member.

7. A device according to claim 6, wherein the base member is provided with side flanges and wherein the said other roller is mounted on a shaft extending between said flanges.

8. A device according to claim 7, wherein the ratchet is mounted on one end of the shaft carrying the said one roller.

9. A device according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein means are provided for releasably securing the framework on the base member.

10. A device according to any one of claims 6 to 9, wherein the operating means comprise a second framework consisting of a pair of levers pivotally mounted at one end on the first-mentioned framework and connected adjacent their other ends by a plate.

11. A device according to claim 10, wherein the second framework is urged by a spring in a direction away from the first-mentioned framework.

12. A device according to claim 10 or claim 11, wherein the central region of the plate is bowed to accommodate a tube fitted in the device.

13. A device according to any one of claims 2 to 12, wherein the rollers are knurled.

14. A device according to any preceding claim, wherein the base member is provided with bores to enable the base member to be affixed to a surface in a detachable manner.

15. A squeezable tube dispensing device substantially as described herein with reference to Figs.

1 to 4 or Figs. and 6 of the drawings.