Background Art In everyday life, there are many cases where liquid substance accommodated in a container is drawn out and consumed little by little. For example, in case of removing the nail polish or manicure applied on one's nails by acetone, the liquid acetone accommodated in the container is poured out little by little to soak into paper tissue or the like. Then, the nail polish applied on one's nails is wiped away with the paper tissue soaked with the acetone.

However, this is a very troublesome operation. In addition, since the acetone is highly volatile, there is inconvenience in that a cap of the container is repeatedly opened and closed whenever it is used. Furthermore, there are problems in that when the acetone is used, user's hands are stained with the acetone, the user must take a stimulative smell too much, and it is difficult to minutely apply the acetone to a desired portion.

Disclosure of Invention The present invention is conceived to solve the problems in the prior art as mentioned above. An object of the present invention is to provide a ribbon dispenser, wherein a portion of an elongated ribbon for bearing liquid substance is sequentially exposed to the exterior in use and the used portion of the ribbon is then sequentially contained in a container again.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a ribbon dispenser, wherein liquid substance can be minutely applied to a desired portion to be wiped away, user's hands are not stained with the liquid substance so that the user can conveniently handle the liquid substance, and inhalation of stimulative material can be restrained to a minimum.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a ribbon dispenser, wherein

liquid substance can be contained without the spill thereof and it is easy and convenient to use and carry the ribbon dispenser with a user.

In order to achieve the above objects, the present invention is characterized by a ribbon dispenser comprising a container body having a first chamber for containing portions of a ribbon to be used, which bears liquid substance, and a second chamber for containing used portions of the ribbon; a protruding support provided at a leading end of the container body for supporting a portion of the ribbon exposed to the exterior of the container body; a ribbon conveying mechanism for withdrawing the ribbon from the first chamber of the container body and conveying the ribbon to the second chamber via the protruding support; and a cap detachably coupled with the container body for covering and isolating the leading end of the container body from the exterior.

It is preferable that the ribbon conveying mechanism include a rotating member which is installed to freely rotate in the container body and has a large-diameter rotating knob and a small-diameter friction wheel; a withdrawal-side friction wheel which is disposed in front of the first chamber and nips the portions of the ribbon to be used between the small-diameter friction wheel and the withdrawal-side friction wheel; and an introduction-side friction wheel which is disposed in front of the second chamber and nips the used portions of the ribbon between the small-diameter friction wheel and the introduction-side friction wheel.

Brief Description of Drawings FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a ribbon dispenser with a cap thereof opened, according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the ribbon dispenser according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 2.

FIGS. 4 and 5 are views showing different embodiments of a ribbon conveying mechanism of the ribbon dispenser according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of an essential portion of FIG. 2, showing a ribbon tension maintaining mechanism of the ribbon dispenser according to the present invention.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention A ribbon dispenser according to the present invention will now be explained in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the ribbon dispenser with a cap separated from a container body, and FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the ribbon dispenser with the cap coupled with the container body. As shown in the figures, a ribbon dispenser 10 includes a container body 14 for containing a ribbon 12 in the form of an elongated strip for bearing liquid substance such as acetone.

The container body 14 includes a tapered leading end 14A and a trailing end 14B having substantially rectangular section so as to facilitate gripping it with one's hand in the same way as a pen.

Within the trailing end 14B of the container body 14, a first chamber 16 for containing portions of the ribbon 12 to be used, which bear liquid substance, and a second chamber 18 for containing used portions of the ribbon 12 are separately formed. The first and second chambers 16 and 18 have a withdrawal opening 16a and an introducing opening 18a, respectively.

The ribbon 12 takes the shape of an elongated strip having a predetermined width.

As for material for the ribbon, any materials, which can absorb liquid substance, can be freely deformed and cannot easily break, may be used.

A protruding support 20, such as a guide roller, for supporting a portion of the ribbon 12 exposed to the exterior is rotatably attached to the leading end 14A of the container body 14. In the figures, although the protruding support 20 is shown as the guide roller, a polygonal rotating body may be employed instead of the guide roller.

Alternatively, it is preferable to integrally form a projection in the form of a pen point at the leading end 14A of the container body 14.

On the other hand, a ribbon conveying mechanism is provided within the leading end 14A of the container body 14 in order to withdraw the ribbon 12 from the first chamber 16 and introduce it into the second chamber 18 via the protruding support 20.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the ribbon conveying mechanism includes a rotating member 26 having a large-diameter rotating knob 22 and a small-diameter friction wheel 24, a withdrawal-side friction wheel 28 which is disposed in front of the first chamber 16 and nips the portions of the ribbon 12 to be used between the small-diameter friction wheel 24 and the friction wheel 28, and an introduction-side friction wheel 30 which is disposed in

front of the second chamber 18 and nips the used portions of the ribbon 12 between the small-diameter friction wheel 24 and the friction wheel 30.

The rotating knob 22 of the rotating member 26 is installed to freely rotate about a shaft 32 in the container body 14. A portion of the rotating knob 22 is exposed to the exterior through a slot 15 formed at a sloping portion of the leading end 14A so that a user can grip the container body 14 and rotate the exposed portion of the knob with user's fingers or the like. Therefore, it is preferable to prevent slippage of user's fingers upon rotating the knob 22 by forming convex and concave portions on an outer peripheral surface of the knob 22 or knurling it. The small-diameter friction wheel 24 either can be made integrally with and of the same material as the rotating knob 22, as shown in the figures, or may be separately made of material different from that of the knob and then coupled therewith.

The withdrawal-side and introduction-side friction wheels 28,30, which nip the ribbon 12 in cooperation with the small-diameter friction wheel 24, are arranged opposite to each other with respect to the small-diameter friction wheel 24 and installed to freely rotate about shafts 34,36 in the container body 14, respectively. The small-diameter friction wheel 24 and the withdrawal-side and introduction-side friction wheels 28,30 are installed with a gap therebetween sufficient to nip and move the ribbon 12.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show different embodiments of the ribbon conveying mechanism.

As shown in FIG. 4, the outer peripheral surfaces of the small-diameter friction wheel 24 and the withdrawal-side and introduction-side friction wheels 28,30 may be uniformly formed with convex and concave portions in the same way as gear teeth. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 5, the small-diameter friction wheel 24 and the withdrawal-side and introduction-side friction wheels 28,30 may be made of rubber in order to enhance their nipping force.

The ribbon 12 conveyed from the first chamber 16 to the second chamber 18 by means of the above ribbon conveying mechanism is always maintained under constant tension by means of a tension maintaining mechanism installed on a conveying path, so that the ribbon 12 can be in close contact with the protruding support 20 without coming off the protruding support. The tension maintaining mechanism includes a leaf spring 38 installed between the protruding support 20 and the withdrawal-side friction wheel 28, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 6. One end of the leaf spring 38 is fixed to the container body 14,

and the other end thereof pushes the ribbon 12 so that the ribbon 12 is in close contact with the protruding support 20.

It is preferable that the pushing force of the leaf spring 38 be set so as to be smaller than the nipping force of the small-diameter friction wheel 24 and the withdrawal- side and introduction-side friction wheels 28,30, thereby preventing the ribbon 12 from moving in either direction by means of the pushing force of the leaf spring 38.

Accordingly, when the ribbon 12 is conveyed, the leaf spring 38 is deformed into a state designated by a dotted line in FIG. 6. When the ribbon 12 stops, the leaf spring returns to a state designated by a solid line in FIG. 6 by means of elastically restoring force of the leaf spring itself so that the ribbon 12 is pushed to keep the tension of the ribbon 12 constant.

Although it has been described in the embodiment of the figure that the leaf spring 38 for maintaining the tension is installed between the protruding support 20 and the withdrawal-side friction wheel 28, the leaf spring 38 may be installed between the protruding support 20 and the introduction-side friction wheel 30 or both between the protruding support 20 and the withdrawal-side friction wheel 28, and between the protruding support 20 and the introduction-side friction wheel 30, if necessary.

In addition, the ribbon dispenser of the present invention includes a cap 40 for isolating the leading end 14A of the container body 14 from the exterior and hermetically closing the leading end. The cap 40 is configured to be detachably coupled with the container body 14 and selectively opened and closed.

Next, the operation of the ribbon dispenser 10 according to the present invention will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the ribbon 12 impregnated sufficiently with liquid substance, such as acetone used for removal of the nail polish applied on one's nail, is contained in the first chamber 16 of the container body 14. One end of the ribbon 12 is withdrawn through the withdrawal opening 16a; sequentially passes between the small- diameter friction wheel 24 and the withdrawal-side friction wheel 28, by the protruding support 20, and between the small-diameter friction wheel 24 and the introduction-side friction wheel 30; and is then placed and mounted in the second chamber 18 through the introducing opening 18a.

Accordingly, since a portion of the ribbon 12, which has born the acetone, is exposed to the exterior of the container body 14 under the condition that the portion of the

ribbon is in close contact with the protruding support 20, the nail polish applied on user's nail can be wiped away with the exposed portion of the ribbon. Furthermore, since the protruding support 20 takes the shape of a pen point, only a portion desired by the user can be easily wiped away.

When the acetone in the exposed portion of the ribbon is depleted, the rotating knob 22 of the rotating member 26 is rotated to move the ribbon 12, so that a new portion of the ribbon 12 is exposed. That is, when the rotating knob 22 is rotated in a clockwise direction by user's fingers in FIG. 2, the small-diameter friction wheel 24 is rotated together with the knob, and at the same time, the withdrawal-side friction wheel 28 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction by the friction force. Thus, the ribbon 12 in the first chamber 16 is withdrawn toward the protruding support 20. At this time, since the introduction-side friction wheel 30 is also rotated in the counterclockwise direction by the friction force, the ribbon 12 on the side of the protruding support 20 is introduced into the second chamber 18. In this way, by means of rotation of the knob 22 by a predetermined angle, the used portion of the ribbon is accommodated in the second chamber 18 while withdrawing a portion of the ribbon to be used from the first chamber 16 and exposing the portion of the ribbon to the exterior.

Moreover, the leaf spring 38 installed between the withdrawal-side friction wheel 28 and the protruding support 20 always keeps the tension of the conveyed ribbon 12 constant so that the ribbon 12 is always in close contact with the protruding support 20.

That is, as shown in FIG. 6, when the ribbon 12 is conveyed by means of the rotation of the small-diameter friction wheel 24 and the withdrawal-side and introduction-side friction wheels 28,30, tension is produced in the ribbon 12, and thus, the leaf spring 38 is deformed into the state designated by the dotted line. On the other hand, when the ribbon 12 stops, the tension is released, and the ribbon 12 is consequently loosened. At this time, the deformed leaf spring 38 returns to the original state by means of self-restoring force of the leaf spring. Since the leaf spring 38 pushes the ribbon 12 by means of the self- restoring force, the tension of the ribbon 12 is kept constant, and thus, the ribbon 12 is close contact with the protruding support 20.

Additionally, when the ribbon 12 is not in use, the cap 40 detachably coupled with the container body 14 covers and hermetically closes the entire leading end 14A of the container body 40 including the protruding support 20 and the rotating knob 22. Thus,

the ribbon 12 in the cap can be isolated from the exterior so that volatile liquid substance such as acetone is prevented from being depleted.

Although the embodiment shown in the figures has been described in connection with the case where the nail polish applied on user's nails is removed by using the acetone as liquid substance, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the ribbon 12 which is impregnated with an adhesive or bears medicines such as a disinfectant may be used herein.

Industrial Applicability As mentioned above, according to the ribbon dispenser of the present invention, it is very convenient to draw out and consume liquid substance from the container little by little. In addition, the ribbon dispenser can be conveniently carried with a user, and there is no risk that the liquid substance might be splashed or spilled in use. Furthermore, since the ribbon impregnated with the liquid substance is supported by the protruding support in the form of a pen point, there is an advantage in that the liquid substance can be minutely applied to only a desired portion.