US2690858A - Automatic toothpaste dispenser - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 5, 1954 R.' J. PERALTA r-:rAL 2,690,858

AUTOMATIC TOOTHPASTE DISPENSER Filed Nov. 8, 1949 JNVENTORS ROBERTO J. PERALTA ALFREDO MEANEY GARCIA Kanyon 'l' h/ m ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 5, 1954 UNITED 'res- -fr-Nr,

Fl C Roberto Justo Peralta, Mixcoac, Mexico. City, and.. Alfredo Meaney Garcia, Mexico City, Mexico..

Application November 8, 1949', Serial-Nd. 126,152-

Si Claim.

'Ihe.present invention relatesfto automatic toothpaste dispensers or; appliances primarily forY home use provided with .means for expressing. toothpaste from collapsible tubes onto toothbrushes in desired quantities and .for automati- 1 cally sealing the tube outlet between use as well as providing supporting-means and dust protectors for toothbrushes when not inuse utilizing for protective purposes the usual bathroom glass Whose internal faces are simultaneously. protected from dust and dirt.

Principal objects and features of this invention are the provision of structures effective for the. purposes described which are simple in construction and which'may be manufactured and assembled cheaply and quickly from a minimum of working parts.

Other objects and features of the invention Will'become apparent from the following specification and accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section of the appliance;

Fig. 2 isa perspective view of the appliance partially broken away to illustrate internal details;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal fragmentary section on an enlarged scale of the feeder outlet of the appliance; and

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary longitudinal section illustrating modified expressing mechanism for the appliance.

Referring to the drawings, the appliance comprises as components a suitably shaped casing a of metal, plastic or other desired material provided with a top wall i, a rear wall 2d and side Walls 2 dening a toothbrush handle receiving compartment A. The forward edges of the side walls 2 are bent substantially at right angles to the side walls to provide parallel flanges to act as slides for purposes presently to be described.

The rear wall 2a is provided with conventional openings 2b for attachment to a wall.

A brush and glass holder b is positioned in the tcp i. This holder b extends upwardly of the outer surface of the top l to define an annular rim of slightly smaller diameter than the internal diameter of a conventional glass o so that in inverted position of the latter the holder b will project into the mouth of the giass to position it on said top l. A dividing diametrically extending partition l separates the parallel partitions t upstanding from the holder b to provide separate stalls or compartments for individual toothbrushes T whose handies are insertable through openings in the holder b to extend .i

into :the compartmenti'Auof casing The level.;

of holder b is higher' ongonel side ofqpartition d than the.v other :toi-facilitate; selection of the desired .one of thetoothhrushesf.

Thetop wallil and side Wa1ls2 of th'ecasing a z are projected forwardly near its top to provide a .compartment B"for.:expressing rollers 6 and 'Lf These rollers' are'supported onrshafts 5' and l.

Meshing gears 8 arekeyedto the shafts and. amanipulatin'g .knob 9 is attached to one of the shafts, e. g., shaft l', externally ofthe casing a to effect rotation thereof. L Thetwo shafts t and e spring it.' One of therollers' 'i' has a longitudinal slot. il to .receive thefflat'bottonredge of thetoothpasteV tube' P.

A feeder outlet c for dispensing thepaste from the tube P is slidable alongrthe front iface rof container a. Thissoutletfcomprises a slotted plate and is internally threaded at lila to permit the threaded tube neck Pa to be screwed into it. The member l has a restricted outlet Mib at its lower end. An automatic stopper l5 is fulcrumed at Ida. to sides of the tubular member It for closing oil the outlet iLlb. This stopper l5 is four-sided and open at its front for purposes to be described. A lip or flange io on stopper l5 engages a spring i5 secured to the bracket arm i3 so that the spring l acts to bias the top lEo of the stopper l5 normally into closing and sealing relationship under the restricted outlet lib. The fulcrurn support [5a of stopper i5 permits the latter to be swung out of closing relationship with the opening lfb against the resistance of the biasing spring it.

Use cmd operation In use and operation of the appliance described, toothbrushes T are inserted in the holder b and the glass g inverted over the rim of holder b to provide dust protection for the bristles of the brushes T and the inside of the glass g.

The usual cap of the tube P is removed and the tubes threaded neck. Pa screwed into the threaded portion ita of member I4. The at end of the tube l? is inserted into slot I I of roller l, spring it permitting sufficient separation of rollers 'S and 7i for this purpose. The user of the dispenser then need only remove the glass y, lift a toothbrush T from the casing and insert its head into the open front of stopper I5. This arel spring-pressedtoward each other by a 3 positions the bristles below the outlet I4b. The knob 9 is then rotated to turn the rollers 6 and 1 through gears 8 to cause the spring-pressed rollers to squeeze paste from the tube through outlet Mb in any desired quantity, 'I'he brush is then removed from the open front of stopper I5 and is ready for use. The spring I6 automatically moves stopper I5 to close off the outlet Mb upon such removal sealing the contents of tube P. As the tubes contents are used up, the outlet member c rides upwardly on slide guides 3 toward rollers 6 and 1. After the tube P has been emptied, it is removed by drawing feeder c downwardly, unwinding the tube P from roller 1, and after removal of its flat end from groove II and unscrewing of its neck Pa from threaded portion Ida it is discarded and replaced by a fresh tube P.

A modified structure of the rollers is shown in Fig. 4. In this modification, the surfaces of the rollers 6a and 'Ia are serrated and intermesh, eliminating the necessity for the gears 8 and slot I I. The spring I'I presses against the shaft of roller 6a to bias it towards roller la and an adjusting screw I8 serves to regulate the biasing pressure of said spring I1. All other structure remains the same and operation of the modified form of appliance is substantially like that of the first form described. The external shape of the casing a of the appliance may be modified as desired to conform with geometrical patterns of the room in which it is utilized.

While specific embodiments of the invention have been shown and disclosed, variations in structural detail within the scope of the claim are possible and are contemplated. There is no intention, therefore, of restriction to the exact details shown and described.

What is claimed is:

A dispensing appliance for collapsible toothpaste tubes or the like comprising a casing dening a pair of compartments, said casing having a top provided with openings communicating with one of said compartments, partitions on said top about said openings defining stalls for individual tooth brushes whereby the latter may be carried by said top with their handles protectively disposed in one of said compartments of said casing, said casing being open at its front and having anges on its side walls turned inwardly along the open front of the casing to dene slide guides, a pair of expressing rollers rotatively supported within the other of the compartments of said casing and being protected thereby, shafts for said rollers, spring means also within the last named of the compartments for biasing the rollers toward each other, intermeshing gears also within the last named of the compartments on said shafts, a knob on one of said shafts externally of the casing for rotating said rollers, a feed slide slidably supported on said slide guide flanges for movement along the open front of the casing, an internally threaded tubular receiver supported from the feed slide to receive the threaded neck of a tube and having a restricted feed outlet, a stopper for said outlet fulcrumed from the tubular receiver, and spring means for biasing said stopper normally into closing relationship with said feed outlet.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,207,534 Gammeter Dec. 5, 1916 1,773,104 Johnson Aug. 19, 1.930 1,873,217 Reid Aug. 23, 1932 2,037,138 McCannon Apr, 14, 1936 2,104,954 Stanton Jan. 11, 1938 2,184,212 Davidson Dec. 19, 1939 2,194,882 Bamber Mar. 26, 1940 2,357,351 Oliver Sept. 5, 1944 2,463,764 Grantonic Mar. 8, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 337,129 Italy Feb. 27, 1936

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