U.S. patent application number 10/929186 was filed with the patent office on 2006-03-02 for apparatus for dispensing flowable contents of a collapsible tube.
Invention is credited to William E. Burrell.
Application Number | 20060043108 10/929186 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 35941604 |
Filed Date | 2006-03-02 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060043108 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Burrell; William E. |
March 2, 2006 |
Apparatus for dispensing flowable contents of a collapsible
tube
Abstract
A hand held tube squeezer facilitates emptying a tube of its
contents. The squeezer has a gripping action on the tube to which
it is applied, thus preventing rearward slipping of the squeezer.
Top and bottom plates of the squeezer are connected by a loop which
has a slot through which a tube extends when it is being emptied.
Portions of the loop at opposite ends of the slot function as a
line hinge between the top and bottom plates. The squeezer and a
roller are packaged in a clear plastic wrap film.
Inventors: |
Burrell; William E.; (Lyman,
SC) |
Correspondence
Address: |
John B. Hardaway, III;NEXSEN PRUET, LLC
P.O. Box 10107
Greenville
SC
29603
US
|
Family ID: |
35941604 |
Appl. No.: |
10/929186 |
Filed: |
August 30, 2004 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
222/103 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 35/28 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
222/103 |
International
Class: |
B65D 35/28 20060101
B65D035/28 |
Claims
1. A hand held device for discharging contents of a collapsible
tube comprising: a tube squeezer formed from an elongated thin flat
resilient material segment wider than said tube, said segment being
folded over near the mid point of its length forming a loop joining
a flat bottom plate and a top plate inclining upwardly from said
bottom plate, said loop including a laterally extending slot having
laterally length slightly greater than the collapsed width of said
tube, and a height slightly greater than the collapsed thickness of
said tube, the portions of said loop at the laterally opposite ends
of said slot constituting a live hinge between said top plate and
said bottom plate.
2. The device of claim 1 wherein a downwardly extending dimple is
formed across the lateral width of said squeezer at the junction of
said loop with said top plate.
3. The device of claim 2 wherein said top plate is slightly concave
in its direction of elongation.
4. The device of claim 2 wherein said device is made of a thermo
plastic.
5. The device of claim 2 wherein said tube is gripped between said
dimple and said bottom plate when said tube is placed in said
squeezer and said top plate is pivoted downward.
6. The device of claim 2 wherein said top plate is disposed at an
angle between 10 and 25 degrees relative to said bottom plate.
7. A package of tube squeezing products comprising a tube squeezer
of thin flat resilient material having a flat bottom joined to a
slightly concave top by a loop with a laterally extending slot
through which a flattened tube may be extended, the portions of
said loop at laterally opposite ends of said slot serving as a live
hinge between said top and bottom, a cylindrically shaped roller
having a parallel axially extending ridges on its circumference,
said roller being between 12 mm and 24 mm in diameter and between
70 mm and 100 mm in axial length and a clear plastic film shrink
wrapped around said squeezer and roller.
8. The package of claim 7 wherein said roller is beveled at its
axially opposite ends.
9. The package of claim 8 wherein said tube squeezer and said
roller are made of plastic.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] A great many materials such as toothpaste, caulk, and the
like are packaged in squeeze tubes, which are squeezed from the
bottom up. It is difficult, if not impossible, to empty the
contents of some tubes by hand squeezing the tube. Numerous devices
have been proposed for assisting a person in dispensing the
flowable contents from a collapsible tube; however, they have not
proven entirely satisfactory as to ease of handling, operation,
durability, maintenance and/or cost. There exits a need for an
inexpensive durable maintenance free hand held device for
compressing flowable material from a tube which is easily applied
to and removed from the tube.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0002] A handheld device in the form of a squeezer for emptying
contents for a tube is made of a stiff, but resilient, segment of
material, preferably plastic, having a uniform thickness. The
squeezer has a lateral width slightly greater than the collapsed
width of the tube for which it is designed and a length greater
than its width. The segment is bent upwardly at about its midpoint
about 165 degrees to form a loop and then is bent upwardly to form
a rounded laterally extending tube gripping ridge or dimple. This
results in a flat bottom plate connected by the loop to a slightly
concave top plate disposed at about a 17 degree angle to the bottom
plate. A laterally extending slot is formed in the loop just above
the level of the bottom plate. The slot has a lateral dimension
slightly greater than the width of tube in a flattened state and a
vertical dimension slightly greater than the collapsed thickness of
the tube. The lateral dimension of the slot is less than the
lateral dimension of the loop thereby leaving narrow portions of
the loop at opposite lateral ends of the slot which serve as a live
hinge.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0003] The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings,
in which:
[0004] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the tube squeezer of this
invention;
[0005] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the tube squeezer engaged in
a tube squeezing operation;
[0006] FIG. 3 is a side view of the tube squeezer in a tube
squeezing position;
[0007] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a fluted cylindrical roller
extracting contents of a tube; and
[0008] FIG. 5 illustrates a shrink wrap package of the tube
squeezer and the ridged roller.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0009] FIGS. 1 through 3 show the hand held device or tube squeezer
11 for emptying the contents of a collapsible tube 12 which may
contain any one of a wide variety of industrial products such as
caulking, grouting, sealants or household products such as
toothpaste. The tube squeezer is made of an elongated segment of
thin flat resilient material of uniform thickness, preferably
thermo plastic, which is bent over on itself about 165 degrees at
near the midpoint of its length to form a loop 16. The segment is
next bent upwardly from the loop to form a downwardly extending
dimple 17 and then is bent upwardly a slight amount to present a
slightly rounded or concave top plate 18 extending above a flat
bottom plate 19 at an acute angle 21 between 10 and 25 degrees
preferably about 17 degrees. The downward extending dimple 17
provides a rounded laterally extending tube gripping ridge which
grips the tube when the top plate is pivoted downwardly about a
live hinge. The width of the tube squeezer 11 at the loop 16 is
greater than the width of a typical tube of caulking or other
product for which it may be specifically designed. A laterally
extending slot 26 is formed in the loop 16. The lower edge 27 of
the slot is at the same elevation or level as the top surface 28 of
the bottom plate 19. The height of the slot 16 is greater than the
collapsed thickness of the tube 12 and its lateral width is
slightly greater than the collapsed width of the tube 12 and less
than the lateral width of the loop 16 leaving narrow portions 31,
32 serving as a live hinge between the top plate 18 and the bottom
plate 19. The top and bottom plates 18, 19 may be rectangular in
planar shape or may taper to a slightly reduced width at their
distal non-hinged ends 33, 34. The lengths of the top and bottom
plates 18, 19 are less than the length of the tube for which the
squeezer is designed with their distal ends being approximately
coterminous.
[0010] FIGS. 2 and 3 show the tube squeezer 11 applied to the tube
12, which has been partially emptied. When a downward force,
indicated by arrow 41, is applied to the top plate 18, as by a
hand, the top plate pivots downwardly, as shown in FIG. 3, causing
the gripping ridge or dimple 17 to grip the flattened portion of
the tube 12. The gripping action prevents the tube 12 from slipping
out of the tube squeezer, as would otherwise occur when attempting
to discharge highly viscous contents from a tube. The slightly
concave curvature of the top plate 18, in the front to rear
direction, helps to apply a better squeezing force to the area of
the tube 12 just ahead of the holding dimple 17 thus aiding in
complete discharge of the tube contents.
[0011] FIG. 4 illustrates use of a cylindrical shaped roller 51
which is particularly useful in discharging caulking or similar
products which may be difficult to discharge because of the age of
the contents or a cool temperature. The diameter of the roller is
between 12 and 24 mm and is preferably about 18 mm. The length of
the roller should be about the width of a human hand or between 70
mm and 100 mm with 85 mm being a preferred length. The illustrated
roller 51 has parallel axially extending ridges 52 formed on its
cylindrical periphery or circumference and its ends 53, 54 are
beveled. As shown in FIG. 4 the roller 51 is pressed against a tube
56 by the palm of a hand starting at the flat end of the tube 56
and then rolled toward the opened nozzle 57 of the tube 56 as
indicated by the arrow 58. The ridges 52 ensures that the roller 51
rotates rather than slides. The beveled ends 53, 54 reduce the
discomfort of the user when the palm of the hand extends over one
of the ends during use of the roller 51.
[0012] As shown in FIG. 5, the roller 51 and the tube squeezer 11
are enclosed in a package by shrink wrapping a clear plastic film
around them. Thus two advantageous products and maintained together
in shipment, storage, retail display and user purchase.
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