US2550537A

US2550537A - Content dispensing device for collapsible tubes

Info

Publication number: US2550537A
Application number: US788625A
Authority: US
Inventors: Douglas D Derrick
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1947-11-28
Filing date: 1947-11-28
Publication date: 1951-04-24
Anticipated expiration: 1968-04-24

Description

April 24; 1951` D. D. DERRlcK 2,550,537

CONTENT DISPENSING DEVICE FOR COLLAPSIBLE TUBES A TTORNEY April Z4, 1951 D. D. DERRICK.

CONTENT DISPENSING DEVICE FOR COLLAPSIBLE TUBES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 28, 1947 FIG.7.

FIG.6.

Patented Apr. 254, 1951 UNITED STATES their ortica 2 Claims'. 1 This invention relates to improvements means/for holding a collapsible tube and dispense ing i'the contents thereof, and has particular reference to a holding and dispensing device characterized by improved construction and operation, which is especially suitable' for' use with i collapsible tubes containing toothpaste, shaving cream and the lile.

object of the invention is? to provide a dej' vicer of the character indicated, is capable' of accommodating collapsible tubes of various Y. lengths and sizes, and which is adapted for effectingcontent-dispensing collapse of the tube in a positive and highly eiective manner'. Y.

Another object is to provide ina device of this nature, tube-collapsing mechanism embodying a positive drive operable to eiect an intermittent 1 or stepbystep advance of the collapsing mechanism along the tube, such as to aiord at cach a suitable or predetero'i the material content operation, discharge of Amr'ied desired quantity ofthe tube.

`A further obj-ect is toA provide a device of' this i character, wherein the positive drive of the' tubee l. collapsing mechanism, is readily releasable to permit relatively free displacement of the mechan nism, as for return thereofl to a starting position.

Yet another object is to provide in a device of the nature'indicated, a tube-collapsing mechae nism having press rolls arranged for embracing the tube' to be collapsed, wherein at least one' of the press rolls is releasable for' displacement away from, the' other press roll, such ast tov facilitate "passage of the sealedv end of a collapsible tube between the rolls in mounting the tube in the device.

A still further object Aof thev invention is to provide a device of the character above referred to, YhavingV a member providing a valveecontrolled discharge port and an element on the member for locating the discharge end of the collapsible in alignment with the port, wherein the member is readily removable from the device to aiord complete accessv thereto, as for cleaning e valve and' port and the tube locating element.

Bil

Fig. 4 is a section transversely through the device, as taken along line 4 in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged elevation at the lower or discharge end of the device;

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section through the device at one side of the frame therein;

Fig. '7 is a longitudinal section through the frame and mechanism thereon, and

Fig. 8 is a detail elevation of a part of the tube press mechanism.

With reference now to the several views of the drawing, the present device comprises a frame l0 of suitable rigid material, as sheet metal, formed to provide a bottom wallv or base Il and opposite side Walls I2. Base Il is longitudinally channelled atv I4 and l5, and through the bot-` toms of the channels are two or more openings I6. to cooperate with suitable wall bracket .ele-r ments or the like (not shown) by which the de'- vice is mounted preferably in a vertical position on a wall or other support (inot shown). A pair of casing members I8 and I9 each suitably hinged at 2B to the adjacent frame side' wall I2, cooper-- ate with the frame bottom wall or base Il to encase the frame and mechanism, to top exten-Y sions 22 of the casing members closing the top end of the frame, While the lower end 23 of the frame is exposed to receive a valved port member later to be described. Spring latch elements 24 are carried by the frame side walls I2 for cooperation with the casing members to retain them in closed position (Figs. l, 4 and 5), the latch elements readily yielding to manual pres-A sure exerted on the casing members in the opening direction. When the4 casing members are swung to open positions (broken line showing in Fig. 1), the frame and mechanism are fully exposed.

Centrally of the basev Il near' the upper end of the frame, is a clamp or mounting device 25 for the sealed end of a collapsible tube.v The clamp hereby preference, comprises a bracket 2G having itsv base 21 in overlying engagement with the trame base Il and secured thereto by a screw and wing-nut assembly 28, the screw passing through a slot 30 directed longitudinally in the base Il whereby to permit' positional adjustment of the clamp toward and from. the upper end of the frame. Since the collapsible tube. when in; serted in the device in a manner to appear, has its discharge end' associated with a receiver and locating element (to be described) disposed in fixed position relative to the frame, the present longitudinal adjustability ofthe clamp 25 facilitates the accomnfiodationv of collapsible tubes of -movable jaw member 35 to the bracket.

various lengths. The clamp bracket 25 upstanding from the frame base I, carries one jaw 3| of the clamp, and is formed to provide eye portions 32 to receive a hinge bar 34 serving to hinge the Jaw member 35 is extended rearwardly from its jaw portion, to afford an operating handle 35. Between the bracket and handle 36 is a suitable biasing spring 38 acting yieldably to urge the movable jaw 35 toward the xed jaw 3|.

The end of each side wall I2 at the lower or bottom end of the frame, supports or has formed integrally therewith, an inwardly directed flange 35, these flanges forming a mounting seat for a plate member 40 (Figs. 3 and 5). Plate member 49 here is removably supported on the flanges by heated studs 42 xed to the latter and cooperating with lock-slots 43 in the plate (Fig. 5) to retain the plate in assembly to the frame. A finger piece 44 is provided on the plate 40 to facilitate angular displacement of the plate relative to the studs 42, as for assembly of the plate to the frame seats 39 or to position the plate for removal.

An aperture or discharge port 46 is provided centrally through plate 4I), and controlling the port is a valve element 41 of plate form, pivoted to the plate at 48 adjacent the plate margin 5U. By preference, the pivotal connection is of a character to retain the valve element in frictional surface engagement with the face of the plate member 49, such that the valve element will remain stationary relative to plate 40, but will yield in manual operation thereof through the handle to a position closing the port 48, or to a position of discharge wherein a port 52 in the valve element registers with port 46. The latter position is determined by abutment of a projection 54 on the valve element, with the plate margin 58, while displacement of the valve element in the port-closing direction may be limited as by a suitable stop 55 on the plate 4i) (Fig. 5).

. Suitably xed upon the inner side of plate 40 is a ring member 55 formed of resilient material such as rubber or the like, the ring member presenting a central tapered bore 58 having its small `end in' marginal registry with port 46. Ring member 55 is provided for receiving and holding the discharge end or outlet neck 59 of a collapsible tube 69 shown in dotted lines in Fig. 7, whereby the tube end is located and retained in alignment with discharge port 46. As will be appreciated, tapering of the bore 53 in locating member 5G, adapts the member for the reception of the tube necks of different external diameters, while forming the member of resilient material aiords thereby, a substantially fluid-tight seal ofthe tube neck in the bore 58.

It is to be noted here that in mounting a collapsible tube in the device, the primary mounting'supp'ort of the tube is effected by the jaw clamp engaging the sealed end 62 of the tube (Fig. 7), with the clamp adjusted longitudinally -or" the .frame I0 according to the length of the tube to'be collapsed, such that the tube in eiect, is',suspended therefrom. As so mounted the tube has its dischargeneck 59 bearing in the bore 58 of .the locating member 56, with a minimum of pressure suflicient to effect the desired uid seal between the member and the external side surfaces ofthe tube neck. Moreover, the described tube `mounting is such that the head surface 63 of the tube (Fig. 7) is slightly spaced from or bears only lightly on the margin 64 of the member 56, this being highly desirable in order to prevent tube rupture at the head end as total collapse of the tube is approached.

Turning now to the presently improved compressor mechanism for effecting tube collapse, each side wall I2 of the frame I 0 is provided with a slot 66 substantially coextensive with the longitudinal extent of the side wall, the slots constituting a guide or trackway for the compressor. The compressor assembly is comprised of a carriage member 61 of generally U-shape, affording sides 68 joined by a cross-piece or wall 10. Each side carries a stud 1| having a. roller thereon in rolling engagement in the guide slot 66 of the adjacent frame wall I2, the stud including a head 14 at its free end, overlapping the slot margins on the outer side of the side wall (Fig. 3). Each side 68 of the carriage further supports a stud 15 having its outer end seating in the slot 66 of the adjacent frame side wall I2. The studs 15 and rollers 12 suitably relatively spaced on each side of the carriage, thus cooperate with the frame side wall slots 66 to support the carriage between the side walls, for movement longitudinally of the frame.

On the carriage are tube press elements or press rolls 16 and 18, arranged between the carriage sides 68 for embracing the tube to be collapsed. Roll 16 is mounted on a shaft or spindle 19 having its ends seated in apertures provided therefor in the carriage sides, and projecting slightly outwardly from the latter, as at 80, for a purpose to appear. The other roll 18 is on a shaft 82 which has its ends extending through slots 84 in the carriage sides 68, Interiorly of the carriage and adjacent each side 68 thereof, is a position control member 86 for the roll 18. Each of these members is pivoted at its end 81 (Fig. 8) upon the shaft 19 or roll 16, and provides a linger piece 88 at its opposite end, for pivotal actuation of the member. The intermediate portion of the member is laterally enlarged at 90, and has formed therethrough an arcuate or curved slot 9| terminating in thecentral body zone of the member, in a slot opening 92 extending toward the nger end of the member and defining a seat 94 and a camming lip 95. Shaft 82 extends through the slots of members 86, and sincey the shaft is coniined bythe carriage slots 84 to movement toward or away from the shaft of roll 16, pivotal movement of the members 86 will serve to position the roll 18 in operative adjacence to roll 16 or perm-it it to move away from the latter roll. For example, when the members 86 are pivoted each to a position such as shown in Fig. 8, the roll 18 and its shaft 82 will be free for displacement away from the roll 1E, since the curved slots 9| .are in substantial registry with the'slots 84. However, as the members 86 are pivoted to the dotted line position (Fig. 8), the curved slots 9| cam the shaft 82 toward roll 16, the shaft nally riding over the lips 95 andV into seats 94, when the roll 18 will be substantially locked in predetermined relatively close operative relation t0 the roll 16. Release of roll 18 is effected by reverse pivoting of the members 88 which effects initially, snap-movement of the shaft 82 over the lips'95, and thence camming of the shaft by the curved slots 9|, to the free position of the roll 18.

The foregoing described release provision for the roll 18 is here effected to facilitate insertion and mounting of the tube to be collapsed. When a tube is to be inserted in the device, the carriage is displaced to a point adjacent the clamp 25, and the roll 18 is released in the manner described. The sealed end of the tube is thenpassed 5 between the rolls. '1.6 and 18-as per-mittedby free movement of lroll .18. away from. roll 16, and thence engaged bythe .jaws .of the `clamp 2,5 (Fig. '7). f'fhefleafter, the :roll 18 .is returned to operative yrelatie.n with roll .16, so that the rolls closely em.- bacoxthe.'tuberiust forwardly of. the sealed end 62 of the latter. In order to effect the initial .relationship of the. tube ,and press. rolls., prior to tuberoollansins operation to dispense vthe tube o ntentait be neoossaryin somoinstanoes. ll. .amount of.- thetube content as la Seof. thetube at. its sealedend-to ntcollepseo Surfaceimmediately #be sealed end, toreceive'the rolls provide suffi ,splaoemont, alone-.theftuba is ef.- .a .rifnlelandl positivo marmer through e meohanism. howto be'deseribed. Ro'- 'rnale'd "on erich stud 'E5 of carriage taindin axiallyspaced position there'- able collars |00, is agear Wheel lol ufciently large indiameter to engage g |12 in the teeth |04 of a Straightfrek 105. extending. longitudinally in the base il of 4 I0. Each rack isinwadly adjacent a all l2`r of the frame, "and extends substann ,om end-to-end of theframla as such, an- "pears 1n' Fig. '3.v A U-shaped operating memb'er |05 has each arm |03 thereof extending betw'e'e'if"a' gear wheel |0| 'and the adjacent side 68 offthe carriage, to pivotal support on the stud 15. Spanning the arms |08 and freely pivoted thereto as at |09, is a pawl element afforda pawl ||2 near each end, for cooperation with the adjacent one of the gear wheels.` |0l. The element is provided with a depending lug or Weight ||3 loffset from the pivotal axis of the 'ielementlsuch as to bias the element (in the vertical Nmounting of thedevice) in the direction 1to1 engage its pawls'with the gear wheels.

o Thek operating member |05 is here limited' in itspivotal'move'rnent to a predetermined, relatively' short range of movement as determined f lby opposite abutments ||4 and Il'n formed on lealoh Side member E8 ofthe. Carriage, andl positioned for; 'cooperation with the `arms |538 of the "operating'member' (Figs''and 7). The loperating member |06 is urged or biased to a position wherein-'its arms |08 engage the abutments Hd, by spring elements each preferably coaxial with .one of the carriage studs 15, and having one end ||8 engaging or hooked-over an arm |08, and its opposite end bearing against the projecting end 80 of the spindle 10 carrying the press roll 16.

The operating member |05 is provided with a projecting stem |2| terminating in a finger piece |22 for manual actuation of the member. Finger piece |22 is exposed on the front side of the closed casing members I8 and I9 (Figs. l, 2 and 4), with the stem operating through a casing slot |24 provided by cut-away portions along the adjoining margins of the casing members.

In operation, following mounting of a tube to be collapsed and initial location of the compressor at the sealed end of the tube, downward pivoting of the operating member |06 from the abutments ||4 to the abutments ||6 (Fig. 6) will effect rotation of the gear wheels |0| through the engaged pawls ||2. The gear wheels thus traveling on the racks |05, displace the carriage 61 forwardly along the tube from its sealed end, and the rolls 16 and 18 displaced with the carriage and freely rolling on the tube, collapse fthetcarriage and rolls in tube y .discharged to use.

the tube to dispense its contents. Prior' to this operation, the valve element 4l is moved to register its port 52 with the port Mi, so that in the dispensing. operation the tube .content maybe A single operation of, the memberlwill advance the carriage and press `rolls only a relatively short distance, and hence of toothpaste for example, the dispenser, maybe adapted as aforesaid, to dispense in each, actuation, an amount suncient for one toothbrush application, the toothbrush of course, being held under the discharge end of the device, to receive the paste thereon.

A single actuation of the member |06 thus advances the compressor one step, the member thereafter-being released or allowed to return t0 its position against abutments` I4, under the urge of the return springs The mechanismthen is ready for a further dispensing step, such.` being repeated when desiredfuntil the .oomnressor nallyattains the discharge end of the tuba At Such time, the rolls 'i6 and `|=8 apnroaeh. closely the head end 63 of the. tubexand substantially all of the tube content is then dis,-

hQDSQd. a l y From the. foregoing description of operation, it will appear now that the present dispensing mechanism affords la step-.by-step advance of the compressor in the tube; collapsing direction, which is of great advantage for the reason here- .inbefore noted. Moreover, the step-bystep, tubecollapsing advance of the compressor is attained by a positive drive as constituted by the operating member |05, pawls l I2, gear wheels I0 i and racks |05,l the drive being fully effective to prevent retrograde movements of they .compressorv `when the mechanism is in use to dispense the contents of a tube. y The .latter is in Vconsequence of, the

vpawls ||2 engaging the gear wheelsll, "since in the return of the operating member |06 to its initial position against abutments ||4 (Fig. 6), the pawls engage the gear wheels to lock the compressor against backward movement.

It is to be noted that the compressor advancing drive may be readily released (see Fig. 7), merely by manual lifting of the pawl member through the weight projection II3, to hold the pawls ||2 disengaged from the gear wheels |0I. Thereafter, the compressor may be displaced freely along the trackway.

Provision is here made to permit Iassembly and disassembly of the compressor as a unit, relative to the frame I0. As will be noted in Figs. 6 and '7, each longitudinal frame slot 66 is laterally enlarged at H30 near the upper end of the frame, `while the frame portion |3| terminating in the enlargement |30 is pressed outwardly from the plane of the frame side |2. Consequently, upon removal of the tube clamp 25, the entire compressor unit may be displaced upwardly from the frame, the casing members |8 and I9 of course being open at such time. The slot enlargements |30 and pressed out drame portions |3| readily permit passage of the studs 15, rollers '|2 and headed studs 1|, out of slots 66 and past the upvpair or replacement of parts.

per end ofthe frame.' Once removed, the compressor may be readily disassembled, as for re- When assembled, the unit is applied at the upper end of the frame to seat the rollers 12 in the frame slots l615 and thence the studs 'l5 in the slots, whereupon the compressor displaced downwardly to permit reassembly of the tube clamp 25.

The presently improved dispenser device is capable of accommodating collapsible tubes of vari ous sizes and lengths, and is characterized by a positive and'easily eiected collapse of the tube in a step-by-step manner, from its sealed end to the head end( of the tube, and such as to dispense from the tube substantially all of its content. Moreover, the advantages of the present device in respect to sanitation, are obivious, it being 'noted again that the valved port member is readily removable at will, to permit cleaning thereof.

Having described and illustrated a presently preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that modifications in the parts and voperative arrangement thereof, may lbe made Without departing from the spirit and fulliny tended scope of the invention .as defined by the appended claims.

I claim: f 1. In a device for holding a collapsible tube and dispensing the contents thereof, a frame adapted L.'

vfor vertical mounting and providing a vertical trackway, means adjustably mounted on the frame near the upper end of the trackway, provided for clamping attachment to the sealed end of la collapsible tube to support the tube in suspension vertically along the trackway, means providing a valved discharge port, removably carried by the frame at the lower end of said trackway, an element on the last said means adapted for receiving the discharge end of the tube to locate the same in alignment with said valved Vdischarge port,`a compressor including freely rotatable tube press elements located for embracing the tube, guidedly supported relative to said trackw'ay, and means,V for effecting step-by-step movement of said compressor in tube-collapsing advance along the tube, said means including a rack onY said frame and substantially co-extensive with said cluding a pawl engageable with said gear, pivotally supported on thevfcompressor', and stop means positioned on the compressor for engage'- ment by said lever means to limit pivotal displacement of the latter.

2. In a device for dispensing the contents of a collapsible tube, a frame; supports thereon for the sealed and discharge ends: of the tube, a, carriage supported on the frame for movement along the tube, a first press roll including ashvaft'.' freely rotatably supported on syl-tid carriagef a second press roll including a shaft, saidicarriage providing slots receiving the ends of the shaft 'of said second roll, said press rolls ',beingfreely rotatable and arranged for embran i g the tube, said earriage slots permitting ilimited displacement of said second roll and itsfksha'ft 'away from an operative position relativetothefother roll, to facilitate passage of the `lsealed end of the tube between the rolls in mountingl the tube on said supports, latch means pivoted on the shaft of said rst roll and engaging the [shaft of said second roll, operable 'in la'tching Vposition to retain said second rollin said .operative positionv thereof, and actuating 'means'for said carriage operable to eiect step-byl`step movement thereof in tube-collapsing advance -`along the tube.

DoUGLAs D. DERRICK.i

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in `the le of this patent: