US2064357A - Dispenser for toothpaste - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 15, 1936. o. F. RITTERBUSCH 2,064,357l Y y DISPENSER FOR TOOTHPASTE Fi-led June 15, 1934 4 Sheets-Sheet l Dec. 15, 1936. o. F. RITTERBUscH 2,064,357

DISPENSER FOR TOOTHPASTE Filed June 15, 1934 4 sheets-sheet 2 f' 9 91 96 l@ 55 x 7a g 80 A l k l j A 1 1A v 7 5g E2 1 45 57 46' 2j f4 2p 056627 Tifferb 112567?,

Dec. 15, 1936. o. F. RITTERBUSCH DISPENSER FOR TOOTHPASTE 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed June 15, 1954 flforzzeyg 15, 1936. o.l F. RITTERBUSCH 2,064,357

DISPENSER FOR TOOTHPSTE Filed June 15, 1934 `4 sheets-sheet 4 Patented Dec. l5, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT oFF-ICE accessi DISPENSER FOR TOOTHPASTE Oscar F. Bittcrbusch. Chicago, lll. Application June 15,1934, Serial No.` 730,762 l 10 Claims.

My invention relates to dispensing devices'andparticularly to a dispenser for toothpaste. One of the purposes of the invention is to provide a device of this character in which the collapsible of a novel means for supplying sanitary shields for 10 the tooth brush in inserting it in the machine.

It is also an object of this invention to provide in a device of this character a novel valve operating mechanism for automatically opening the valve for discharging the tooth paste on to the brush at the proper time.

I will describe the preferred form of my invention by reference to the accompanyingdrawings, wherein- Fig. l is a sectional view taken vertically through the device.

2 Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the line 2-2 of4 Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3--3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a section on the line t-t of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5 5 of Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a section similar to Fig. 5 showing the `mechanism in a changed position.

Fig. 7 is a section on the line l-l of Fig. l.

Fig. 8` is a section on the line toi Fig. l.

Fig. 9 is a section on the line 9 9 of'Fig. 1.

Fig. 10 is a section on the line i--it of Fig. 1.

Fig. 11 is an enlarged section through the lower end of the container for the sanitary covers.

Fig. l2 shows the sanitary cover folder in the ease or box in which it is shipped or sold.

Fig. 13 is a perspective view of the sanitary cover, and

`Fig. 14 is a plan view oi the blank from which the sanitary cover is made.

Fig. l5 is a plan view of the sanitary cover with a brush seated therein.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, the device is mounted upon a. base which preferably is to be fastened upon a wall as shown in Figs. l and i and a suitable cover t fits on the base and encloses all of'the mechanism. This cover is apertured at i to' permit the insertion of the tooth brush, and at one side of the cover on the base. there is mounted the auxiliary casing t for hous.

(Cl.l 221-60) in the frame are the two feed screws I3 and Il which are connected together at their upper ends outside of the frame by means of the gears I 5 and I6. One of the screws has a right hand thread, andthe other a left hand thread. These gears are held against rotation in one directionl by means of the spring pressed pawl I1 shown most clearly in Fig. 7. A handle I8 is provided on the gear I6 for'turning the feed screws by hand when desired. Threaded on the feed screws is a pair of blocks I9'and 2li, which blocks carry a back roller 2| and a iront roller 22 for engaging on the opposite sides of a collapsible tube 23. The

front roller 22 is removably mounted by means of the spindle 24 which may be withdrawn against the tension of the, spring 25 by pulling on the knurled head 26. This roller 22 can be. readily taken out for the insertion of a fresh tube vwhen the oldone is empty. The upper end of the collapsible tube 23 is supported by means of the clamping jaws 21 and 28 which are held by the U-shaped clamps 29 and 30. Screws 3| and 32 are used to tighten the clamps 29 and '30, and these clamps are suspended in the eyes oi the bolts 33 and 3d, which bolts extend through the top of the frame It. At the other end, the co1- lapsible tube 23 is screw-threaded into the nozzle 35. `In order to turn the rollersA such as 2i and 22', gears 36 and 3l are connected on to the shafts of these rollers and these gears ride on the racks 38 and 39.

The rollers and their associated gears are substantially the same in diameter. This is very important in preventing a tendency of the rollers to advance along the tube faster than the gears advance on their racks. If it were notv for the t fact that the tube stretches slightly as it is attened, the gears and rollers should be matched so that the circumference of the rollers exactly equalled the gear circumference. Actually, the gears and rollers are so closely matched that there is a slight pulling tendency on the tube and not al crushing action.

' As shown most clearly in Fig. 8, the gears @t and 3l are slightly smaller than the rollers 2i and 22, and the pitch diameter of these gears is such that the rollers roll only a slight amount faster than the gears advance along the racks, this slight amount of advance being necessary to take up the stretch in the tube as it is narin tened out. The racks 3@ and 39 insure turning of the rolls at al1 times, and the interconnectionv position to begin on a fresh tube, the operation is as follows:

The pawl |1 is made inactive by moying it away from gear I8; the pivoted clutch disengaging. arms 41a and 48a (see Fig. 5) are pressed against 41 and 48 to hold them free from the clutch members 45 and 48, then, by means of handle I8, the feed screws are turned backward.

Referring now to the valve structure and the means for operating it, the valve casing is indicated at 48 and the valve'is of the plunger type having the stem 4| which is slotted at 42 so that if the valve is moved to the right from the position shown in Fig. '1, the slot'at 42 will be aligned with the opening 43 to permit the tube contents to pass out on to a brush `held in the support 44. This brush support is connected up to automatically operate the tube squeezing rolls in a manner which will now be described.

It will be noted that the shafts of the feed screws I3 and |4 extend beyond the frame I8 and are provided at a distance from the frame with the clutch members 45 and 46, which clutch members are keyed to the shafts and are adapted to mesh with similar clutch members on the hubs of the gears 41 and 48. These gears 41 and 48 are pressed towards the clutch members 45 and 46 by the springs 49 and 58 interposed between the frame piece 5| and the gears. The frame piece 5| is slotted as indicated at 52 (Fig. 4) and just outside the slot a guide rod 53 is mounted on the frame piece. 'I'he tooth brush support has a mounting bar 54 provided with turned out ends, the front one' of which is slidable on the guide rod 53 and is also extended to t over the rod 55 and be pressed outwardly by means of the spring 56 mounted on the rod 55. The bar 54 therefore can be pushed in toward the base 5 and will slide along the guide rod 53 but when the pressure pushing it in is released, the spring 56 will return the bar 54 to the position shown in Fig. 4 which is the normal resting position. Mounted onv the bar 54 is a rack 51 which rack meshes with the gears 41 and 48 so that as this rack is pushed in, the gears 41 and 48 are turned in a direction to turn the feed screws and feed the rollers 2| and 22 downward on the collapsible tube. 'Ihis rack carries a plate 58 which is adapted to receive a tooth brush, the plate having turned-up sides as indicated at 59 and 68 at the front end and at 6| and 62 near the back end. On the plate there is a sliding buffer 63 adapted to be engaged by the end of the tooth brush and this buffer 63 has links 64 and 65 pivoted thereto, these links being in turn connected to the gripping jaws 66 and 61 which are pivoted at 68 and 69 to the plate 58 and which carry the gripping portions 18 and 1| at their free ends. It is lbelieved to be evident from an inspection. of Figs. 5 and 6 that pushing of the tooth brush shown at 12 upwardly against the buffer 63 causes the gripping jaws to grip the tooth brush and hold it while the feeding operation is taking place.

The pin 13 which isalso mounted on the buffer 63 has a square nut 14on the end thereof which is adapted to' drop down 'ver the end of the exten,- sion 15 of the plate 58 and thus hold the buffer in position to cause gripping of the tooth brush during the final part of the advancing stroke'and the initial part lof the returning stroke. On the end of the rack 51 there is pivoted a trip arm 16 and this trip arm is connected by means of the pivot pin 11 to the little lever 18 that rides in the slot 19 alongside of the slot 52. As the rack aoc-1,357 l.

51 is pulled to the right, 4as shown in Flgf4, this trip lever 18 reaches the end of its slot 19 and throws the trip arm 18 up to kick the nut 14 oi! the end of plate 15 and thus allow the tooth brush to be released.

The valve 4| is actuated by means of a pin 88 mounted on the gear 48 which pin is adapted to engage the arm 8| which is fixed on the valve 4|. The pin 88, by engaging the member 8|, moves it outwardly against the tension of the springl82 to open the valve by aligning the slot 42 with the `opening 43. In this position, the collar 83 on the valve 4| is adapted to engage in the latch 84 which is pivoted on the bracket 85 and thus holds the valve in open position during the remainder of the advancing stroke of the tooth brush. The stop pin 86 serves as a limit for the lever 8|l and, of course, the pin 88 merely slides past the lever. 'Ihe valve remains-open until the tooth brush and its supporting carriage approaches the inner limit of its stroke, at which point a pin 81 Awhich is mounted on the tooth brush support engages the trip lever 88 which is pivoted to the base 5 and pushes this trip lever against the arm 89 carried by the latch 84 to release the latch. The latch 84, of course, being pivoted,'falls down into latching position by force of gravity. In order that the plate 58 cannot be retracted until it has reached the limit of the stroke as indicated in Fig. 6, the bar'54 is provided with ratchet teeth at 98 (Fig. 10), and a little pawl 9| controlled by spring 92 cooperates with the ratchet teeth 98 to prevent withdrawal of the tooth brush after it has been inserted and the support moved part way back. It is evident, of course, that, if this support vis moved all the way in so that the pawl 9| passes off the end of the bar 54, then it will not inter.

fere with the return of the bar 54.

Referring now to the sanitary cover for the tooth brush, this device is made preferably of paper or similar material and has side portions |88, |8|, end portion |82 and a tab |83. The side portions are cut away as indicated at |84 and |85 for a purpose which will presently appear. The end portion and the side portions are connected by means of the sections |86 and |81 on each side which sections fold or overlap as shown in Fig. 13 when the end portion is moved into an upri'ght or open position. 0f course, when the side portions 88 and |8|' are folded over one on top of the other, the end portion folds down over them as shown lmost clearly in Fig. 11. In stacking these covers in a container, folded flat in this fashion, the tab |83 of one nts just beneath one of the side portions such as |8| of the next adjacent one of the covers so that, as shown in Fig. 11, if the bottom .cover is removed by pulling on the tab |813, the tab on the next cover will be pulled down into position to be taken hold of when a new cover is' needed. Also, this tab will perform the function of opening up the sides |88 and |8| and pushing the end |82 up into proper position to receive the tooth brush head. A suitable weight, such as |88, is slidable vertically in the casing 8 which houses the covers. Preferably, these covers come packaged in a box having the top portion |89 and a bottom portion I|8 so that all that is necessary to place them in the casing 8 is to remove the top portion |89 and While I have shown and described certain embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood, that it is capable of manyv modifications. Changes, `therefore in the construction and arrangement may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as disclosed in the appended claims in which it is my intention to claim all novelty inherent in my invention a's broadly as possible, in view of the prior art.

I claim:

1. A dispensing device comprising a frame having means to mount a collapsible tube therein, a discharge` nozzle for receiving the discharge end of the tube, a pair of rollers one on each side of the tube, a pair of feed screws, one at each end of the rollers, blocks threaded on the screws and carrying the rollers, and means for turning the screws to move the rollers along 'the tube, said screws being interconnected so that both must advance their ends of the rollers at the'same rate, a reciprocable tooth brush support on said frame in front of the nozzle and mechanism forv connecting said support to the feed screws to trn the screws, said mechanism including a rack on said support, gears mounted on the frame and meshing with said rack, co-operating clutch members on said gears and screws, adapted to interlock and turn the screws with the gears upon advance of the support in one direction only, said device having means to prevent reversal of movement of the brush support during its screw turning movement until it reaches the end o1' its stroke.

2. A dispensing device comprising a frame having means to mount a collapsible tube therein, a pair of rollers one on each side of the tube, a pair of feed screws, one at each end of the roll-l ers, blocks threaded on the screws and carrying the rollers, and means for turning the screws to move the rollers along the tube, said screws being interconnected so that both must advance their ends of the rollers at the same rate, a reciprocable tooth brush support on said frame in front of the no`zzle' and mechanism for connecting said support to the feed'screws to turn the screws, said mechanism including a rack on said support, gears mounted on the lframe and meshing with saidrack, co-operating clutch members on said gears and screws, adapted to interlock and turn the screws with the gears upon advance of the support in one direction only, said device having means to prevent reversal of movement of the brush support duringits screw turning movement until it reaches the end of its stroke, said brush support having jaws thereon for gripping the brush upon movement of the brush endwise to advance the support.

3. A dispensing device comprising a frame having means to mount a collapsible tube therein, a pair of rollers one on each side of the tube, a pair of feed screws, one at 4each end of the rollers, blocks threaded on the screws and carrying the rollers, and means for turning the screws to move the rollers along ,the tube, said screws being interconnected so that both must advance their ends of the rollers at the same rate, a reciprocable tooth brush supporton said frame in front of the nozzle and mechanism for' connecting said support lto the feed screws to turn the scre`ws, said' mechanism lincluding a rack on said support, gears mounted on the frame and meshing with said rack, co-operating clutch members on said gears and screws, adapted to interlock and turn the screws with the gears uponl advance of the movement in one direction.

4. A protecting cover for tooth brush backs to. be used in a dispensing device where the toothbrush is employed to actuate the dispensing mechanism, said cover having a base, s'ide Walls and an end wall together with a tab at the end opposite the end wall.

5. A protecting cover for tooth brush backs to be used" in a dispensing device where the tooth brush is employed to actuate the dispensing mechanism, said cover having a base, side walls and an end wall together with a tab at the end oppositey the end wall, said end wall and said side walls being interconnected by overlapping folding portions, and being foldable down at on the base.

6'. A dispensing device having means to hold a collapsible tube, mechanism for compressing the tube to discharge its contents, a control valve, a, reciprocable brush support connected to the lvalve and mechanism for actuating. them by movement of the support in one direction, and mea-ns to close saidvalve before movement of the support in the opposite direction.

7. A dispensing device having means to hold a collapsible tube, mechanism for compressing the tube to discharge its contents, a control valve, a reciprocable brush support connected to the valve and mechanism for actuating them by movement of the support, gripping jaws on said support for gripping a brush on advance movement of said support, and trip mechanism releasing said jaws, said trip mechanism being operated by return of the support to its starting position.

8. A dispensing device comprising a frame, means thereon to mount a. .collapsible tube of the type having a dispensing outlet at one end and sealed at the other end, means operable to progressively compress said tube from the sealed end, a reciprocable brush support on said frame adapted upon movement inv one direction to operate said compressing means, means to prevent reversal of movement of the brush support durlng the above mentioned movement until the brush support reaches the end of its stroke.

9. vA dispensing device comprising a frame, means thereon to mount a collapsible tube of the type having a dispensing outlet at one end and sealed at the other end, means operable to progressively compress said tube from the sealed end, a reciprocable brush support on said frame adapted upon movement in one direction to`operate said compressing means, means to prevent reversal of movement of the brush support during the above mentioned movement until the brush support reaches the end of its stroke, a 4valve controlling the outlet from said tube, and

means to'open said valve and close it during said 10. A dispensing device comprising a frame, means thereon to mount a collapsible tube of the type having a dispensing outlet at one end and sealed at the other end, means operable to progressively compress said tube from the sealed end,

a reciprocable brush support on said frame adaptment in one direction, said brush support having jaws thereon for gripping a. brush upon movement of the brush endwise to advance the support, and trip means operable upon the return movement of the support to release said jaws. 5

OSCAR F. RIT'I'ERBUSCH.

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