A TUBE-DISPENSER

The current application claims the benefit of Israeli Patent Application no. 186734, filed on October 18, 2007, and incorporated herein by reference.

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to the field of tube-dispensers, such as toothpaste dispensers.

Background of the Invention

The term "tube-dispenser" refers herein to a dispenser based on a tube, for dispensing paste, gel, fluids, and the like.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view which schematically illustrates a tube-dispenser, according to the prior art.

This form of tube-dispenser is very common. The dispenser 2 is based on a tube 4 which stores substance 8 to be dispensed by the dispenser. One of the ends of the tube, marked herein by numeral 12, is sealed, while at the other end is deployed an outlet 22 through which the dispensed substance 8 is pushed out of tube 4. A lid 6 for outlet 22 prevents accidental pouring of the substance from the tube. The tube may be made of plastic, metal, and the like. The dispensed substance may be toothpaste, a food-related paste, adhesive substance, and the like.

In order to dispense substance 8 from the tube, a user squeezes end 12 of the dispenser while outlet 22 is open.

One of the problems involved in using tube-dispensers is utilizing as much as possible of the substance stored within the tube.

Another problem involved in using tube-dispensers is preventing a contact between the air and the stored substance. This problem is acute, especially when the dispensed substance is an adherent.

A very common solution in the prior art to these problems is the use of roller(s) for squeezing the tube from its closed end. This mechanism has been employed, for example, in US Patent Number 2,936,006. The mechanism actually imitates a squeeze from the fingers of a user, but in a more efficient way, since by employing roller(s) the squeezed area of a tube is greater than the squeezed area by a user's fingers. But since the rollers are employed in the outer side of the tube, from the point of view of a user, it is an inconvenient mechanism, and as a result, it is not widely used.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a solution to the above-mentioned problems in a more efficient and convenient way than the prior art.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the description proceeds.

Summary of the Invention

The following embodiments and aspects thereof are described and illustrated in conjunction with systems, tools and methods, which are meant to be merely illustrative, not limiting in scope. In various embodiments, one or more of the above-described problems have been reduced or eliminated, while other embodiments are directed to other advantages or improvements.

In one aspect, the present invention is directed to a tube- dispenser comprising^ a piston, deployed inside the tube of the dispenser, for pushing the substance stored inside the dispenser towards the outlet of the dispenser; and - a no-return mechanism for preventing the piston from falling back.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the no-return mechanism is entirely deployed inside the tube.

In one embodiment of the invention, the no-return mechanism comprises^

- a ribbed surface deployed along the interior wall of the tube> ^' and ■ at least one dowel attached to the piston corresponding to the ribbed surface.

In one embodiment of the invention, the ribbed surface comprises cogs. Preferably, the cogs are of sawtooth form.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the ribbed surface is embodied as a track along the tube, thereby enabling utilizing more dispensed substance than in case wherein the ribbed surface comprises the entire wall.

The piston may comprise at least one depression corresponding to the track.

In one embodiment of the invention, a ribbed stripe is used as a substitute for the dowel(s).

In addition to the exemplary aspects and embodiments described above, further aspects and embodiments will become apparent by reference to the figures and by study of the following detailed description.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view which schematically illustrates a tube-dispenser, according to the prior art.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view which schematically illustrates a tube-dispenser, according to one embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view which schematically illustrates a tube-dispenser wherein the majority of the paste has been dispensed.

Each of Figs. 4 and 5 is an exploded view which schematically illustrates the inner side of a tube-dispenser from a different point of view, according to one embodiment of the invention.

Each of Figs. 6 and 7 is an exploded view which schematically illustrates the inner side of a tube-dispenser from a different point of view, according to another embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 8 is a cross section along the tube-dispenser illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7.

It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed solely for purposes of illustration and not as a definition of the limits of the invention, for which reference should be made to the appended

claims. It should be further understood that the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale and that, unless otherwise indicated, they are merely intended to conceptually illustrate the structures and procedures described herein. Reference numerals may be repeated among the figures in order to indicate corresponding or analogous elements.

Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments

In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. However, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known methods, procedures, components and circuits have not been described in detail, for the sake of clarity.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view which schematically illustrates a tube-dispenser, according to one embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view which schematically illustrates a tube-dispenser wherein the majority of the paste has been dispensed.

According to this embodiment of the invention, the tube- dispenser comprises a no-return mechanism. The zoomed view 14 focuses on the interior side of the tube-dispenser.

In this embodiment, the dispensing mechanism comprises a piston 18 deployed inside tube 4. By squeezing tube 4 beneath piston

18 (the squeezing points are marked herein by numeral 24), piston

18 is pushed towards outlet 22, thereby pushing out the substance stored within the tube.

The inner surface 16 of the tube is ribbed, such as in a sawtooth form. Dowels 20, corresponding to the sawtooth form of the inner surface of the tube, are used to prevent piston 18 from falling

back. Thus, the sawtooth form of inner surface 16 of the tube, along with corresponding dowels 20, is a no ⁿ return mechanism.

Preferably, dowels 20 are made of flexible material, thereby allowing the dowels to bend when piston 18 moves towards outlet 22.

It should be noted that the use of sawtooth form for the no- return mechanism is a preferred embodiment, but any mechanism meeting the following conditions will suffice ^' ■

(a) enables a movement of the piston towards the outlet; and

(b) objects to the movement of the piston until a propulsion power exceeding a certain threshold is applied.

Such a mechanism may be, for example, a rough surface of the inner side of the tube and corresponding surface of the piston.

Each of Figs. 4 and 5 is an exploded view which schematically illustrates the inner side of a tube-dispenser from a different point of view, according to one embodiment of the invention.

Numeral 2a denotes the "upper" side of the tube, i.e., the side on which outlet 22 is deployed, while numeral 2b denotes the "lower" side thereof, i.e., the reverse side.

The "section" is only for illustration, but preferably the tube is made of a single piece.

As illustrated, the sawtooth structure of inner surface 16 of tube 4 covers the entire contour of the tube. In this example, the contour of piston 18 is elongated, but a round contour may also be used.

Each of Figs. 6 and 7 is an exploded view which schematically illustrates the inner side of a tube-dispenser from a different point of view, according to another embodiment of the invention. Fig. 8 is the cross section thereof.

In Fig. 7, only the "lower" side of the tube is illustrated.

The difference between the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7 and that of Figs. 4 and 5 is that in the embodiment of Figs. 6 and 7, the sawtooth form applies only to a track along the tube, while in the embodiment of Figs. 4 and 5, the sawtooth form applies to the entire surface.

The embodiment of Figs. 6 and 7 is preferable to that of Figs. 4 and 5, since in the embodiment of Figs. 4 and 5, some dispensed substance remains inside the grooves of the sawtooth surface. In the embodiment of Figs. 6 and 7, the sawtooth surface is reduced significantly, since it covers only two tracks 32 along the tube.

A depression 30 on piston 18, which corresponds to the sawtooth track 32, restricts the position of piston 18 with regard to sawtooth track 32, thereby restricting the location of the dowels (not seen in Figs 6 and 7) to move along the corresponding tracks 32.

In the figures and/or description herein, the following numerals have been mentioned:

- Numeral 2 denotes a tube -dispenser, ^'

- numeral 2a denotes the "upper" side of the tube of a tube- dispenser (the side at which outlet 22 is deployed);

^■ numeral 2b denotes the "lower" side of the tube of a tube- dispenser (the closed side of the tube); - numeral 4 denotes a tube I

- numeral 6 denotes a lid;

- numeral 8 denotes a dispensed substance;

- numeral 10 denotes a toothbrush;

- numeral 12 denotes the closed end of a tube-dispenser! - numeral 14 denotes a zoomed view of the interior side of tube- dispenser 2; numeral 16 denotes the inner surface of a tube, which has a sawtooth surface! numeral 18 denotes a piston; - numeral 20 denotes a dowel; numeral 22 denotes an outlet; numeral 24 denotes a point beneath piston 18, which a user must squeeze in order to pour paste out of a tube;

- numeral 30 denotes a depression in piston 18, which corresponds to sawtooth track 32; and

- numeral 32 denotes a sawtooth track.

While certain features of the invention have been illustrated and described herein, the invention can be embodied in other forms,

ways, modifications, substitutions, changes, equivalents, and so forth. The foregoing description of the embodiments of the invention has been presented for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of this disclosure. It is intended that the scope of the invention be limited not by this detailed description, but rather by the claims appended hereto.