Patent Application
20150284147
Not applicable.
Not applicable.
1. Field of the Invention
The present application relates to the field toothpaste containers.
2. Background of the Invention
Toothpaste is a dentifrice gel or paste for maintaining the health and appearance of teeth. Toothpaste traditionally comes packaged in plastic collapsible tubes that are sealed on one end and capped on the other. In operation, toothpaste is dispensed via the capped end by opening the cap and collapsing a portion of the tube, e.g., via squeeze action, so that toothpaste is dispensed from the open end of the tube.
One of the problems with collapsible toothpaste tubes is that dispensing toothpaste after the tube is less than half full can be cumbersome. For instance, toothpaste users frequently squeeze the half-empty tube from the middle of the uncollapsed portion of the tube. This can lead to sizable amounts of toothpaste being reintroduced into the collapsed portion of the tube and caused said portion to partially reinflate. Once toothpaste gets re-introduced into the collapsed portions of the tube, the reinflated portion of the tube must be recollapsed to discharge all toothpaste contents from the tube. Children and people with physical limitations, such as, arthritis will struggle with the task of squeezing or recollapsing the reinflated portion of the tube. Many people, even people who are not children or have physical limitations, simply discard the tube without recovering the toothpaste contents of the formerly collapsed portion of the tube whereby substantial amounts of toothpaste are wasted.
Toothpaste tubes also present additional problems. For example, it may be difficult to determine the appropriate pressure to apply to a tube to dispense a desired amount of toothpaste. In one bad scenario, a user may squeeze a toothpaste tube too hard resulting in toothpaste waste or a mess.
Toothpaste tube caps also present a problem. Most toothpaste caps are small and screw onto the tube. The caps are easily lost or, often times, the toothpaste tube is left uncapped after use. When a toothpaste tube is left uncapped, toothpaste can leak creating a messy tube and possibly a messy countertop. When the cap is unscrewed or lost, toothpaste near the uncapped end of the tube can harden to make collapsing the tube difficult, if not impossible.
There have been numerous attempts to improve apparatus and related methods of dispensing tooth paste. Improvements range from simple mechanical devices that aid a user in squeezing the toothpaste tube to complex machines that employ compressed air to dispense toothpaste. The most basic devices for squeezing toothpaste out of a tube are plastic mechanisms that assist in restricting re-inflation of a collapsed portion of a toothpaste tube when the uncollapsed portion is squeezed during use. See, e.g., Smilemakers® or Squeezit®. A user of these devices can insert a collapsed portion of a toothpaste tube into a device and move the mechanism toward the uncollapsed portion of the tube. The mechanism compresses the tube and allows the maximum amount of toothpaste to be squeezed out of the tube. The downside of these devices is that they are not easy to use—a user has to constantly adjust the position of the device along a toothpaste tube for best results. These devices may require use of both a user's hands to move the mechanism, which makes it difficult to dispense toothpaste onto a toothbrush. These simple devices do not solve the problems with toothpaste tubes.
There are other devices that attempt to solve toothpaste tube problems. Karaboncuk (WO 03/072450) teaches a method of squeezing a toothpaste tube by placing a toothpaste tube in structure that is mounted to a wall. In the structure, a toothpaste tube fits between two planar structures connected by a spring wherein a lever causes the two planar boards to move together, squeezing the tube in the process. While capable of dispensing toothpaste, the toothpaste open end of the toothpaste tube faces down, so there still is the possibility that the tube may leak. Furthermore, wall mounted devices sometimes can be unattractive and mounting a device could potentially damage the wall.
Similar to Karaboncuk's invention, is Matthews (U.S. Pat. No. 6,968,978). Matthews teaches a roller for collapsing a toothpaste tube against an inclining surface. In Matthews a user positions the sealed end of a toothpaste tube at the bottom of the incline surface and moves the roller over the toothpaste tube, up the incline, to dispense toothpaste (Le., collapses the tube between the incline surface and the roller). This invention is likely to be as messy as a toothpaste tube without any assisting device.
Several toothpaste pump action dispensing devices exist that feature a pump for dispensing toothpaste via displacement by air rather than via collapsing a tube. For instance, Lee (U.S. 2010/327023) teaches a pump where a user can pump air into a tube and the air displaces the toothpaste. One of the problems with this pump is that in order to use the pump, the toothpaste must be in a specialized tube that is compatible with the pump. That is to say, the pump will not squeeze toothpaste out of an ordinary tube.
In addition to pumps and basic dispensers, there are several toothpaste dispensing apparatus that use compressed air to squeeze toothpaste from a tube. Varon (U.S. Pat. No. 5,305,922) and Cocks (U.S. Pat. No. 1,751,129), for instance, teach placing toothpaste tube within a compartment so that the capped end of the tube is in fluid communication the outside of the compartment and filling the compartment with air so that the tube collapses under the pressure of the air in the compartment to discharge toothpaste from the opening. The problem with these devices is that air can leak from the compartment so that additional air must be introduced into the compartment for ideal toothpaste discharge. Furthermore, there is nothing in solid physical contact with the toothpaste tube so that toothpaste, in those dispensers, can undesirably reinflate collapsed portions of the tube.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to create a toothpaste dispenser that fully dispenses a tube of toothpaste.
It is another object of the present invention to create a toothpaste dispenser that is less messy than a stand-alone toothpaste tube.
It is another object of the present invention to create a toothpaste dispenser that can be operated with one hand so that children, the elderly, and physically challenged individuals can comfortably use the dispenser.
It is another object of the invention to create a versatile device that can be made to match the decor of a bathroom.
In a preferred embodiment, disclosed is a device for dispensing toothpaste comprising; a housing; an inflatable bladder disposed within the housing and featuring a toothpaste tube receptacle; a nozzle with a coupling for a toothpaste tube; a lid; an air pump connected to the bladder; and, wherein the operating the air pump inflates the bladder so that said inflated bladder squeezes the toothpaste tube when retained by the nozzle.
The manner in which these objectives and other desirable characteristics can be obtained is explained in the following description and attached figures in which:
These drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of the disclosed subject matter, and are not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the disclosed subject matter may admit to other equally effective embodiments. The figures are not necessarily to scale and certain features and certain views of the figures may be shown exaggerated in scale or in schematic in the interest of clarity and conciseness.
Generally disclosed is a toothpaste dispenser. In a preferred embodiment, disclosed is a device for dispensing toothpaste comprising; a housing; an inflatable bladder disposed within the housing; a nozzle with a receptacle for a toothpaste tube; a lid; an air pump connected to the bladder; and, wherein the operating the air pump inflates the bladder so that said inflated bladder squeezes the toothpaste tube when retained by the nozzle and lid. A more detailed description of the preferred embodiment is disclosed below with reference to the figures.
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In yet another embodiment (not shown), the air pump is operated electronically.
It is to be noted that appended drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of this invention, are not to scale, and therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the invention may admit to other equally effective embodiments which are appreciated by those skilled in the arts.
All features disclosed in this specification, including any accompanying claims, abstract, and drawing, may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.
Any element in a claim that does not explicitly state “means for” performing a specified function, or “step of” in the clause as specified in 35 U.S.C. § 112, paragraph 6 may not be intended as a means plus claim.
