EP0478988A1

EP0478988A1 - Device for squeezing out contents of flexible tubes

Info

Publication number: EP0478988A1
Application number: EP91115158A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Tal Zeev
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1990-09-12
Filing date: 1991-09-07
Publication date: 1992-04-08
Also published as: IL95667A0; JPH05162758A; IL95667A

Abstract

A device for removing a desired quantity of a pasty substance contained in a flexible tube comprising an integral structure including two elongated members (7) at least one of which is resilient, connected by a frame (8), said elongated members (7) defining an opening which gradually narrows from a relatively wide entrance (2) to a narrow slot (3), exerting pressure on the tube in the collapsed state, said elongated members (7) being separated from the connecting frame (8) by a second slot (11) permitting a resilient movement of at least one of said elongated members (7), whereby a desired quantity of the content of the tube (100) may be expelled therefrom by pressing said two elongated members (7) toward each other and/or forward.

Description

The present invention relates to a device intended to facilitate the manual squeezing out of the content of a flexible tube of the type used for toothpaste, certain cosmetic preparations, gels, pasty food products and the like. Desired quantities can be squeezed out and the backward flow of the remaining content of the tube can be prevented.
The manual squeezing out of the content of flexible tubes is an every-day operation carried out nearly in every house-hold, a representative example being the squeezing out of a desired quantity of toothpaste from a flexible metal or plastic tube. Other examples are tubes containing various cosmetic products, hair treating preparations, shoe cream, etc. Further examples are tubes containing pasty food products like mayonnaise, ketchup, etc. One of the problems in this connection is the backward flow of the remaining content of the tube, another is that it is difficult to squeeze out the entire content of the tube, causing waste.
Various auxiliary devices are known, such as, for example, the device disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 4,778,082, which is similar to the device of the present invention, yet has a constant width gap through which the tube is moved, and which is thus not fully effective in squeezing out the entire content of the tube. This prior art device has a constant gap through which the thick rear end of the tube is passed, or it has such a narrow end that the rear end of the tube has to be cut off before insertion. This is apt to cause spilling of the tube content.
Another device is disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 4,159,787.
U.S. Patent No. 2,390,314 discloses a device comprising two pressure plates, which may be slit to form tongues, said pressure plates are distanced and attached to a trough, a slot being cut in the bottom of said trough, through which slot the collapsed part of the tube may pass.
German published Application No. 33 18 690 discloses a device comprising, attached to holder part, a rigid clamping jaw and a rigid movable pressure plate, held together by two side pieces and a front piece, said clamping jaw and pressure plate defining a slot through which the collapsed part of the tube passes. In one embodiment said pressure plate can be swiveled about an axis and returned by a separate spring and in a second embodiment it is elastically connected by an adhesively attached elastomeric plate to said front piece. This device is not unitary, but composed of a number of separate parts.
The prior art devices are not completely efficient as they do not remove essentially the entire content of the tube, they do not fully prevent the backward flow of the remaining contentof the tube, or they are difficult to mount on the tube or be removed therefrom.
The invention relates to a device for the controlled removal of a desired quantity of the content of flexible tubes and which enables the essentially complete emptying of the content of such tube. The device is generally produced from a resilient plastic material, and is preferably an integral member which can be conveniently produced by techniques common in the plastics technology. The device can be produced, due to its simplicity and low cost, as a disposable device, and it can also be suitable for multiple uses with a plurality of tubes.
The device comprises a plastic member provided with means for passing the tube through a slot defined by two resilient members, connected by a frame at both pairs of corresponding ends thereof, or at one pair of corresponding ends thereof, which exert a certain pressure on the walls of the tube, and which also provides adequate pressure to prevent a backward movement of the device over the tube during its use and also acts as a barrier, preventing backward movement of the content of the tube. Also the resilience of its member enables it to pass over the thicker rear end of the tube.
The invention is illustrated by way of examples with reference to the appended schematical drawings, not in scale, in which:

Figure 1 -: is a section side-view of a device according to the invention, shown gripping a tube, and being manually manipulated;
Figure 2 -: is a sectional side-view of the device of Fig. 1;
Figure 3 -: is a front view of the device of Fig. 1;
Figure 4 -: is a cross-sectional view along the line 2-2 in Fig. 3;
Figure 5 -: is a sectional side-view of a modification of the device of Fig. 1 with Figs. 6 to 8 being views equivalent to those in Figs. 2 to 4, respectively;
Figure 9 -: is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment, with Figs. 10 to 12 being views equivalent to those in Figs. 2 to 4, respectively;
Figure 13 -: is a cross-sectional view of yet a further embodiment, with Figs. 14 to 16 being views equivalent to those in Figs. 2 to 4, respectively;
Figure 17 -: is a cross-sectional view of the end of the gripping members, in this Figure such end having a small radius, preventing the device from slipping backwards over the tube;
Figure 18 -: is equivalent to Fig. 17, the end having a larger radius, which facilitates the removal of the device from an empty tube, for multiple use.
Figure 19 -: is a front view of an open-frame embodiment; and
Figure 20 -: is a front view of yet another open-frame embodiment.

As shown in Figs. 1 to 4, the device of the invention (10), in Fig. 1 gripping tube (100), and manipulated by the user's fingers, comprises a plastic integral structure which comprises two elongated members (7), which extend into resilient flexible members (1), defining an opening which narrows gradually from the wide entrance port (2), to a narrow slot (3). The flexible members (1) extend along the width of slot (3) and are integral with the elongated members (7), which are part of the overall structure (10). The members (7) are integral with the connecting frame (8), defining rounded entrance and exit. Divergency (4) facilitates removal of the device from the tube, for multiple use. Slot (11) between the end of the resilient members and the sides of the connecting frame enables a flexible movement of these members. When in use, the rear end of the tube is forced through the slot with the narrow opening pointing to the rear part of the tube (100). Gentle squeezing on the rear end of the tube (100), by resilient members (1) presses out a desired quantity of its content, with the flexible members (1) exerting adequate pressure on the walls of the tube to prevent its backward movement and also any movement backwards of the tube content.
The device illustrated with reference to Figs. 5 to 8, is similar to that of Fig. 1, but has only one resilient member (21) which exerts pressure on the tube walls. The tube is pulled through the slot, as shown by the arrow in Fig. 5. Side walls (28) have lateral flutings (26) on the front and rear sides, facilitating the pushing of the device to both sides of the tube.
Figs. 9 to 12 again illustrate a slightly modified version of the device of Fig. 1, with two resilient tongues (41). Fig. 13 is similar to Fig. 5, with a modified geometry. Also here, one of the tongues (61) is resilient and has a structure which prevents it from moving backward in any case whatsoever, since it is longer than and surpasses the slot. Thus, this device is disposable.
The cross-sectional view of Fig. 17 is that of the two gripping members (83) and (84), which have sharp edges at their rear, which facilitate the gripping of the tube and improve closure, to prevent backflow of tube content, also preventing the device from slipping backwards over the tube when in use. The paste is removed from the tube by means of a device illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4, by exerting pressure by two fingers, as shown in Fig. 1, and by pulling the rear end of the tube (100), by means of the fingers. The rear side of the device is curved and smooth so that the fingers slip thereon when exerting a pressure, causing it to move forward with respect to tube (100). The removal of paste from the device (20) illustrated with reference to Figs. 5 to 8, is slightly different. Here pressure is exerted on flutings of the side walls (26), while the rear end of tube (100) is pulled backward in Fig. 5. At all times, members (21) and (29) engage the exterior surface of the tube (100) so as to prevent any backward flow of its content or the backward movement of the said device.
The device (40), illustrated in Figs. 9 to 12, is operated in a manner similar to that of device (20), but it has a thin structure which facilitates packaging as an accessory whithin existing packages of tubes.
The removal of the content of tube (100) according to Figs. 13 to 16, with the device (60), is similar to that of Fig. 5. Finger pressure is exerted on the member (69), while the rear end of the tube (100) is pulled backward. The device (60) is also of a preferred configuration having a construction which prevents it from slipping backward over the tube, since member (61) is longer than the gap with member (67), creating a strong grip on the tube when attmpting to pull the device backwards. This is a most preferred disposable embodiment.
As may be seen from Figs. 19 and 20, the device according to the present invention may also have an open-frame structure. Fig. 19 illustrates a front view of device (10) and/or (40), shown in Figs. 1 and 9, respectively, in which the resilient members are connected at only one end thereof, to form an open-frame structure.The port (96) is rounded, to ease mounting the device on the tube. The outer periphery (95) is designed so as to resist forces, stresses, etc., exerted during manipulation. Fig. 20 schematically illustrates a front view of yet another open-frame embodiment, more particularly the device (60) shown in Fig. 13, the resilient members being connected at one end thereof to form the open-frame structure. Also in this embodiment the port (106) is rounded to ease mounting on the tube and the periphery (105) adapted to resist deforming forces and stresses exerted during manipulation. The gripping members may be designed according to Figs. 17 and 18 also for the open-frame embodiment.
The various embodiments of the device according to the present invention may be provided with means for suspension from suitable support means on a wall or, alternatively, with integral means for affixing the same to a wall.
While several specific embodiments have been described herein in detail, the invention is not limited thereto and is only defined by the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

A device for removing a desired quantity of a pasty substance contained in a flexible or collapsible tube comprising an integral structure including two elongated members at least one of which is resilient, connected by a frame at both pairs of corresponding ends thereof or at one pair of corresponding ends thereof, said elongated members defining an opening which narrows gradually from a relatively wide entrance to a narrow slot, the width of which slot being correlated with the double wall thickness of the tube, exerting a pressure on the tube in the collapsed state, holding the part of the tube engaged by said slot firmly closed, thus preventing a backwards escape of the contents, separating the full and the emptied parts of the tube and also preventing an unwanted movement of the device along the tube, said elongated members being separated from the connecting frame by a second slot permitting a resilient movement of at least one of said elongated members, whereby a desired quantity of the contents may be expelled from the tube by pressing said two elongated members toward each other and/or forward, and the paste containing part of the tube may be maintained full by subsequently moving the device along the tube in the direction of the delivery end.
A device according to claim 1 wherein both elongated members are resilient.
A device according to claim 1 wherein one elongated member is resilient and the other is rigid.
A device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the rearward edge of the device, at the narrow end of the slot, is provided with sharp edges.
A device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, provided with means for suspension from a suitable support means on a wall.
A device according to claims 1 to 4, with integral means for affixing the same to a wall.
A device according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the outer surfaces of the elongated members are configured to facilitate their gripping by the user's fingers.
A device according to claim 7 wherein the outer surfaces of said elongated members are curved, having a thickened front end.
A device according to any of the preceding claims whrein the inner and/or outer surfaces of said elongated members are smooth.
A device according to any of the preceding claims wherein at least one of said elongated members has curved or flat inner surface.
A device according to any of the preceding claims provided with horizontal or vertical flutings on the side-walls of the frame.
A device according to any of the preceding claims as illustrated in and with reference to the accompanying drawings.
A device according to any of the precedings claims wherein the forward ends of said elongated members are re-entering and forming said opening which narrows gradually from a relatively wide entrance to said narrow slot.