Dispensing tube having cap to body attachment

Abstract

A material dispenser tube in which the closure cap is attached by a flexible fastening member to the body of the tube to thereby prevent the separation of the cap from the tube when the cap is removed from the tube. The securing of the cap to the fastening member permits relative rotation between the cap and the fastening member to thereby allow the cap to be screwed onto the tube body.

Description

The present invention relates generally to containers, and more particularly to a container for storing and dispensing material such as a toothpaste tube or the like, which is normally closed when not in use by a removable closure member.

Many consumer products including but not limited to toothpaste, shaving cream, paint, and shampoo, are sold tot the public in containers which are normally closed when not in use such as by a closure member which is either securely screwed or snap fit onto the body of the container. Many products such as those mentioned above, which are frequently used in the bathroom, are now commonly sold to the public in non-breakable, relatively flexible containers made of a suitable plastic or thin metal material. Dispensing of material from the latter containers is commonly achieved by squeezing the tube to force the material contained therein to be forced through the tube opening provided upon the removal of the closure member.

Users of such containers often either misplace the closure member or forget to replace it on the tube after use. This frequently results in the drying up and hardening and possible spoiling of the mateiral in the container that is thus exposed to the air for a lengthy period. This in turn makes the subsequent use of the container considerably more difficult and annoying, particularly in the early hours of the morning when an individual's humor and patience are both at a minimum. Moreover, a misplaced cap may be discovered by a small child who may swallow the cap if the latter is sufficiently small, or allows the exposed contents of the tube to be ingested by the child. For certain products, such as some shampoos which are either toxic or otherwise damaging to tissue, such swallowing can conceivably lead to serious and even tragic results.

It is thus an object of the invention to provide a container normally closed by a closure member such as a cap in which the loss of the cap is prevented.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved design for a container in which the material stored within the container is more effectively prevented from spoilage and contamination due to its prolonged exposure to air.

In accord with the present invention, the closure cap is attached to the body of the container by a fastening member. The cap, when the container is not in use, is securely placed over an opening in the upper end of the container such as by being screwed or snap-fitted thereon, to thereby prevent the material enclosed therein from spilling out of the container as well as to protect that material. When the container is used, the cap is removed from the opening to provide access to the material and the material is dispensed from the tube such as by squeezing the tube inwardly, or by pouring the material out of the tube opening.

Significantly, however, in the use of the invention the fastening member prevents the closure cap from being separated from the tube and thus eliminates the possibility of the cap being lost or misplaced, and makes it unlikely that the user will forget to replace the cap after he has completed the use of the tube. In another aspect of the invention the fastener is secured at one of its ends to the cap in a manner permitting the limited rotation of the latter, such as when the cap is screwed onto or from the tube body.

To the accomplishment of the above and to such further objects as may hereinafter appear, the present invention relates to an improved material dispensing tube substantially as claimed herein and as described in the following specification taken together with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevation of a material dispensing tube according to the invention with the cap shown in the closed position;

FIG. 2 is a fragmented view similar to FIG. 1 showing the tube with the cap in the opened position;

FIG. 3 is a fragmented view on an enlarged scale of the tube of FIG. 1, with the cap being shown in vertical cross-section to illustrate features of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a fragmented perspective of the tube of FIG. 1 with the cap in the closed position; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmented view of an alternative embodiment of the invention with the cap being shown in partial cross-section.

FIGS. 1-4 illustrate one embodiment of the invention in which a closure member or cap 10 is placed over an opening formed in the upper end of a material dispensing tube 12. As is conventional, the tube opening is formed through a cylindrical neck portion 14 connected to the main material containing section of tube 12 by an upwardly sloping shoulder portion 16.

When not in use, cap 10 is secured onto neck portion 14 to cover the opening therein by means here shown as the threaded engagement between helical thereads 18 formed about the outer periphery of neck portion 14, and similarly formed internal grooves fromed in cap 10, as shown best in FIG. 3. To use the tube, that is, to remove the material contained therein, cap 10 is removed from its threaded engagement with tube 12 so as to uncover the tube opening by being rotated in a counterclockwise direction. The body portion of the tube is then squeezed inwardly to cause the material contained therein to be forced out through the opening in the tube. After a sufficient amount of material has been thus dispensed from tube 12, cap 10 is replaced over the tube opening.

In the use of the conventional dispensing tube, the closure cap is usually set aside while the material is being dispensed from the tube. However, the user either may forget to replace the cap on the tube, or, as often occurs, the cap may either fall from where it was placed into an inaccessible area, or may be misplaced. In the dispensisng tube of the invention, the likelihood of misplacing the cap or forgetting to replace it is substantially eliminated.

To this end, cap 10 is at all times fastened to the body of tube 12 by a flexible retaining strap 20 fastened at one end 22 to tube 12 and secured at its other end to cap 10. As shown in the embodiment of the invention of FIGS. 1-4, strap 20 is secured to the cap in a manner permitting a degree of rotation of the latter that is required for achieving the threaded engagement between the cap and the neck of the tube.

Thus, as shown, a perimetrical groove 24 is formed within the upper portion of closure cap 10. Within that groove is received a bead or ball 26 fixedly secured to the upper end of strap 20. Ball 26 is initially press fit past the lip defined at the entrance of the groove, that lip thereafter serving to retain the ball within the groove in a manner permitting the ball to move relative to the cap along the perimetrical extent of the groove. That relative movement permits the internally threaded cap to be rotated about the threaded neck of the tube, to permit its removal and replacement on the tube, while still providing the secure fastening of the cap to the tube as desired to prevent the former from being separated from the tube.

In the embodiment herein specifically shown, groove 24 is shown as extending over approximately 120.degree. of the cap circumference. The groove may extend, if necessary, about the entire cap periphery, depending on the amount of rotation of the cap required to engage or disengage the cap from the neck of the tube.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 5, in which elements corresponding to those in the embodiment of FIGS. 1-4 are given corresponding reference numerals, the cap 28 is of the snap-fit type. That is, secure retention of the cap on the tube is achieved by forcing the cap 28 over the neck 30 of the tube so that an annular groove 32 internally formed in the cap fits over an annular ridge 34 formed about the periphery of neck 30.

As in the previously described embodiment, the cap is prevented from being separated from the tube by a flexible retaining strap 36 fixedly connected at one end at 38 to the tube, and at its other end at 40 to the cap. Since no rotation of the cap is necessary, either for its insertion over or removal from the tube, no provision is required for enabling relative motion between the cap and retaining strap as in the previously described embodiment.

The present invention thus provides an inexpensive and yet highly reliable manner of preventing the annoying loss of the cap from a material dispensing tube even in a construction in which the cap is of the rotating type achieving a threaded engagement with the tube.

Thus while only several embodiments of the present invention have been herein specifically described, it will be apparent that modifications may be therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

I claim:

1. A material container and dispenser having a body having a hollow interior and an opening in communication with said interior, a closure member for covering said opening and removable therefrom when material is to be dispensed from said interior through said opening, and a flexible member fixedly secured at one of its ends to said body, and means rotatably securing the other end of said flexible member to said closure member for preventing the separation of the latter from the former, said means comprising a circumferential groove formed in the outer peripheral surface of said closure member, and an enlarged portion affixed to said other end of said flexible member and received and retained within said groove for circumferential movement therealong, said cap is threadably engaged with said body when in position over said opening, the circumferential dimension of said groove being less than the circumference of said closure member.