Free Standing Toothpaste Dispenser

Abstract

Toothpaste tubes can be messy and difficult to squeeze. There have been numerous attempts to create a neater toothpaste dispenser. This invention uses an air pump and an inflatable air bladder to squeeze toothpaste from a toothpaste tube out of a nozzle. The dispenser is less messy than a toothpaste tube, and easy enough to use one-handed.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]Not applicable.STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT[0002]Not applicable.BACKGROUND OF INVENTION[0003]1. Field of the Invention[0004]The present application relates to the field toothpaste containers.[0005]2. Background of the Invention[0006]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.[0007]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 tu...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0016]It is another object of the present invention to create a toothpaste dispenser that is less messy than a stand-alone toothpaste tube.

[0017]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.

[0018]It is another object of the invention to create a versatile device that can be made to match the decor of a bathroom.

Problems solved by technology

One of the problems with collapsible toothpaste tubes is that dispensing toothpaste after the tube is less than half full can be cumbersome.

This can lead to sizable amounts of toothpaste being reintroduced into the collapsed portion of the tube and caused said portion to partially reinflate.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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