US2717103A

US2717103A - Dispensers for collapsible tubes

Info

Publication number: US2717103A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1955-09-06
Anticipated expiration: 1972-09-06

Description

Sept. 6, 1955 5. M. HILL DISPENSERS FOR COLLAPSIBLE TUBES Filed Feb. 16, 1954 JNVENTOR.

United States Patent DISPENSERS FOR COLLAPSIBLE TUBES Glenn M. Hill, Kansas City, Kans.

Application February 16, 1954, Serial No. 410,617 Claims. 01. 222 100 This invention relates to new and useful improvements and structural refinements in dispensers for collapsible tubes, and the principal object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of the character herein described, which may be conveniently and effectively employed for dispensing the contents of tubes of tooth paste, shaving cream, medicinal preparations, and the like, in an efficiently. controlled manner, whereby to avoid wastage, drying out, or contamination, such as frequently results when the contents of such tubes are dispensed in a conventional manner.

More specifically, this invention concerns itself with the provision of an apparatus including a housing which is adapted to accommodate a collapsible tube therein; means in the bottom portion of the housing which perform the combined function of supporting the collapsible tube and affording a dispensing passage for the contents ejected therefrom; and further means carried by the housing for collapsing the tube. In addition, the invention contemplates the provision of a removable cap which is connected to the housing and affords a closure for the dispensing passage, so as to prevent leakage, drying out and contamination when the apparatus is not in use.

The essence of novelty in the invention resides, on one hand, in the specific structural arrangement of the combined tube supporting and dispensing member together with its closure cap, this member having means for engaging and frictionally holding the customary screwthreaded neck of a collapsible tube, which means are automatically adjustable so as to accommodate tubes with necks of varying diameters and screw-threads.

Also, novelty is being predicated on the tube collapsing means which cooperate with the structure of the housing and with the arrangement of the tube supporting member, so that the tube from which material is to be dispensed may be quickly and easily installed or removed.

Some of the advantages of the invention reside in its simplicity of construction, in its efficient operation, in its durability, and in its adaptability to economical manufacture.

With the above more important objects and features in view, and such other objects and features as may become apparent as this specification proceeds, the invention resides in the arrangement of parts and details of construction as shown in the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals are used to designate like parts and wherein:

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of the invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view thereof;

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional detail, on an enlarged scale, of the combined tube supporting and dispensing member used in the invention; and

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the tube collapsing shaft and handle.

With reference now to the accompanying drawings in detail, the dispenser is designated generally by the numeral 10 and embodies in its construction a vertically 2,717,103 Patented Sept. 6, 1955 elongated housing 12 formed from any suitable material. This housing includes, inter alia, a back wall 14, a side wall 16, a bottom wall 18 and a front wall or door 20 which is connected to the housing by suitable hinges 22.

The back wall 14 is provided with keyhole-shaped apertures 24 to receive suitable nails or screws for mounting the entire device on a wall or some other support. It will be also observed that the housing 12 is of such size as to accommodate therein a collapsible tube 26, from which material is to be dispensed. The tube 26 is installed in the housing in an inverted position, that is, with the usual screw-threaded neck 28 of the tube extending downwardly.

A combined tube supporting and dispensing member 30, formed from resilient material such as hard rubber, or the like, is carried by the bottom wall 18 of the housing, this member including a substantially cylindrical body portion 32 provided with an annular groove 34. The bottom wall 18 of the housing is formed with an opening 36 to receive the body portion 32, so that-an annular portion of the bottom wall 18 at the edge of the opening 36 is disposed in the groove 34 and the entire member 30 is thereby held in position.

The member 30 also includes a depending neck 38 formed integrally with the body portion 32 and disposed below the bottom wall 18. As will be noted, this neck is provided with a rounded enlarged head 40 which is receivable in a removable closure cap 42, hereinafter described.

A bore 44 extends axially through the member 30 and affords a dispensing'passage, the upper end of said bore being provided with a counterbore 46 which affords a socket for the screw-threaded neck 28 of the collapsible tube 26. Moreover, a plurality of vertically spaced, annular ribs 48 are provided in the counterbore 46 and are adapted to frictionally engage the screw-threads of the neck 28, so as to supportably attach the entire tube 26 to the member 30 and hold the tube in an inverted upright or vertical position in the housing.

Because of the inherent resiliency ofthe material from which the member 30 is formed, the counterbore 46 and the ribs 48 will automatically adjust themselves so as to accommodate collapsible tubes with necks of varying diameters and screw-threads. In this regard it is to be understood that the ribs 48 are truly annular rather than helical in form, so that the screw-threaded neck 28 of the tube 26 may be readily inserted in or removed from the counterbore 46 by a simple pushing or pulling action, as the case may be, and without any turning or rotation of the collapsible tube.

It may be also explained at this point that the intermediate portion 32a of the member 30 is larger than the opening 36 in the bottom wall 18, but is sufficiently small so that it may be compressed and passed through that opening when the member 30 is installed in the housing.

When the tube 26 is collapsed in a manner hereinafter to be described, the material ejected from the tube flows through the dispensing passage 44 and outwardly therefrom, as will be clearly understood. The aforementioned cap 42, which is also formed from resilient material such as hard rubber, or the like, may be applied to the neck 38 so as to provide a closure for the passage 44 and thereby prevent leakage, drying, or contamination of the material when the device is not being used. The cap 42 is hollow so as to fit over the head 40 and frictionally embrace the neck 38. A suitable flexible anchoring element 50, such as a chain, or the like, is attached at one end to the cap 42 while its other end is connected to a bracket 52 secured to the housing 12, whereby the cap 42 is prevented from 3 being displaced or lost after it is removed from the neck 38.

The means for collapsing the tube 26 consist of a substantially tubular guide 54 which projects laterally from the housing 12 and is movable upwardly and downwardly in-a vertical slot 56 formed in the side wall 16. I To prevent the guide-54 from tilting or rocking in the slot 56, a pair of spaced plates 58 are provided intermediate the ends of the guide and slidably engage the inner and outer surfaces-of the side wall 16.

A shaft 61) is rotatably and slidably mounted in the guide 54, the outer end of this shaft being provided with a suitable fingerpiece or. handle .62 while the inner end portionof the shaft is formed witha slot v64 to receive the usual flattened .end portion of the collapsible tube 26. Thus, when the shaftis rotated, the collapsible tube will be wound around the slotted end portion of the shaft and the contents of the tube will be ejected while the shaft together with its guide 54 are gradually shifted downwardly in the slot 56. A flange 66 is provided at the simply installed in and removed from thehousing, the

shaft 60 may be slid laterally in the guide 54.as indicated by the arrow 63, so that the slotted end portion of the shaft is retracted into the guide. In so doing, the slotted end portion of the shaft may be readily withdrawn from the collapsible tube wound around it, and the screwthreaded neck of the tube may then be easily pulled out from the counterbore 46 of the member 30. Similarly, a new tube may be installed with equal expediency.

However, means are provided for urging the slotted end portion of the shaft 69 to its projected, operative position, that is, to a position wherein it engages the collapsible tube. These means consist of a compression spring 79 which is positioned on the shaft 60 in the guide 54, one end of the spring abutting the closed outer end of the guide, while the other end of the spring bears against a washer 72 held on an intermediate portion of the shaft 63 by a pin '74. Thus, when the shaft is, pulled outwardly in the direction of the arrow 68, the spring 70 is compressed and is in readiness toautomatically return the shaft to its initial position when outward pulling on the shaft is discontinued.

It ;is believed that the advantages and use of the invention will be readily apparent from the foregoing disclosure and accordingly, further description thereof at this point is unnecessary. However, various modifications may become apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention relates, and accordingly, it is not desired to restrict the spirit and scope of the invention other than by the limitations expressed in the accompanying claims.

What is claimed as new is:

l. in a dispenser for collapsible tubes, the combination of a vertically elongated housing adapted to receive therein an inverted collapsible tube, said housing including a bottom wall and a side wall provided with a vertically extending slot, a combined tube supporting and dispensing member carried by said bottom wall, a substantially tubular guide projecting laterally from said housing and movable upwardly and downwardly in said slot, a shaft rotatably mounted in said guide and having a slotted inner end portion adapted to operatively'engage a collapsible tube for collapsing the same, and a handle provided at the outer end of said shaft.

2. The structure as defined in claim 1 together with a pair of spaced plates provided on an intermediate portion of said guide and slidably engaging the inner and outer surfaces of said side wall.

3. The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein said shaft is slidable in said guide whereby the slotted inner end portion thereof may be projected and retracted in the guide, and means for sustaining said slotted inner end portion of said shaft in its projected position.

4. The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein said shaft is slidable in said guide whereby the slotted inner end portion thereof may be projected and retracted in the guide, and a spring positioned in the guide and urging said slotted inner end portion of said shaft to its projected position.

5. The structure as defined in claim 1 together with a collapsible tube guiding flange provided at the inner end of said guide.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,500,274 Brown Mar. 14, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS 109,222 Switzerland Feb. 6, 1924 378,357 Great Britain Aug. 11, '1932