Apparatus for dispensing the contents of a tube having a movable platen

Abstract

This invention is a tube compressing apparatus. It dispenses the contents of a tube by compressing the tube between rollers. It comprises a housing having fixed at one end a spout to which the open end of a tube is connected. The sealed end of a tube is supported by a clamp provided at the other end of the housing. A platen having a rack bar is supported for reciprocal movement in the housing. A second rack bar is fixed to the sides of the housing. A roller support platen intermediate the housing ends proceeds to compress the tube from the sealed end to the end connected to the spout. This is accomplished by providing a ratchet on the roller support platen which engage the reciprocally movable rack bars carried by the first mentioned platen when moving in the downward direction but is released when moving in the upward direction. A second ratchet is provided on the roller support platen which engages the second rack bar fixed to the sides of the housing to prevent any upward movement of the roller support platen but is released when the roller support platen is moving in the downward direction.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.