BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to a dispenser. More specifically, the present invention relates to a dispenser for a tape ribbon that includes a housing to store the tape ribbon, an outlet for dispensing a piece of tape, and an enclosure bounded by a set of safety walls that generally shields a sharp free end of the tape ribbon during non-use and transportation to help prevent injury.

Metal tape is typically manufactured and sold as a rolled coil stock and is stored and shipped in a generic four or six-sided cardboard box.FIG. 1, e.g., is an exemplary embodiment of one such four-sided prior art cardboard box20. The cardboard box20is designed to be temporarily used for shipping, and is otherwise not designed for subsequent use as a storage container or carrier while on a job site. To use, a user typically opens the cardboard box20by opening the various sides as illustrated inFIG. 2to expose a rolled coil stock tape ribbon22therein. The tape ribbon22can then be removed and used while on the job site. The cardboard box20is then typically discarded as waste, and the user must cart the exposed tape ribbon22from location-to-location at a job site. This practice presents numerous limitations for which there are no known practical solutions.

For example, once the cardboard box20is opened, it is difficult to put the cardboard box20back together, making the cardboard box20inconvenient for reuse. Moreover, continued reuse necessarily requires repeatedly disassembling and reassembling the cardboard box20, which may result in degradation over time given that cardboard materials forming the housing of the cardboard box20are not designed for such repeat use. One alternative is that the user could retrofit the cardboard box20by pulling a free end24of the tape ribbon22through a slot or the like (unnumbered inFIGS. 1 and 2) where two sides of the cardboard box20meet, but the cardboard box20is not designed for such use either (regardless whether said use is one time or repeated). Moreover, the tape ribbon22may have one or more sharp edges, and the exposed free end24of the tape ribbon22could easily cut the user's fingers, hands, arms, etc. as a result of accidental contact therewith. Furthermore, the cardboard box20can get dusty and/or wet with use, which is bad for cleanliness and the integrity of the tape ribbon22over extended or longer-term use. Also, the tape ribbon22can be damaged if it bends after being removed from the cardboard box20, and can be especially problematic when used in construction zones. Ultimately, the use of the cardboard box20as a storage container for the tape ribbon22poses numerous limitations and is at least inconvenient, if not potentially a safety hazard.

Another drawback is that the cardboard box20and the tape ribbon22are not designed to fasten to the user, such as for purposes of portability. As shown inFIGS. 1 and 2, the cardboard box20and the tape ribbon22do not include a carrying handle or the like. So, a user moving about a space in a large work area must necessarily carry the cardboard box20and/or the tape ribbon22from location to location at a job site, and set them down when not in use. Obviously, when working in tight spaces, the user does not have the tape ribbon22readily at hand. Moreover, when commonly used in construction zones, the unprotected tape ribbon22may be undesirably damaged when set down because it is no longer protected by the housing of the cardboard box20. Also, users who frequently use ladders may find use of the cardboard box20and/or the tape ribbon22extremely inconvenient. At a minimum, requiring the user to hold one of the cardboard box20or the tape ribbon22while climbing a ladder reduces safety because the user necessarily cannot hold the ladder with two hands.

There exists, therefore, a significant need for a dispenser for a tape ribbon that includes a dispenser housing for storing the tape ribbon, a designated dispensing outlet for dispensing a piece of ribbon tape, and at least one safety wall that generally shields a sharp free end of the tape ribbon within an enclosure to help prevent injury. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further related advantages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one embodiment, the dispenser as disclosed herein may include a housing having an inner cavity for select reception and retention of a tape ribbon. A cap may be movable between a closed position enclosing the inner cavity and an open position providing access to the inner cavity in the housing. The dispenser may also include a dispense channel having a size and shape for selectively dispensing the tape ribbon out from within the inner cavity when the cap is in the closed position. Moreover, a safety wall may extend outwardly from the dispense channel and form an enclosure shielding opposite sides of a free end of the tape ribbon extending through the dispense channel, while permitting front on hand access of the free end for continued select dispensing.

More specifically, the safety wall may include a pair of outwardly extending and oppositely facing safety walls on each side of the dispense channel that cooperate with an outer sidewall of the housing having the dispense channel formed therein to generally form a three sided-pocket comprising the enclosure. The dispense channel may include an upper guide offset from a lower wedge by a distance relatively larger than a material thickness of the tape ribbon to permit unwinding removal of the tape ribbon out from within the inner cavity, wherein the lower wedge may include a ledge about which a portion of the tape ribbon may be bent for storage of the free end within the enclosure during non-use.

A lower base plate of the housing may cooperate with an upstanding and generally circular-shaped inner sidewall positioned to an interior of an upstanding and generally circular-shaped outer sidewall to form the inner cavity in the housing, the lower wedge may extend outwardly away from the outer sidewall and include an integrated cutting edge, the housing may include a handle for carrying the tape ribbon within the tape dispenser, and the dispenser may also include a lock for retaining the cap in the closed position relative to the housing.

More specifically, the lock may include a pair of T-shaped channels formed from each of the housing and the cap and keyed for linear alignment when the cap is in the closed position such that a slide lock having a reciprocal structure for at least partially encompassing the T-shaped channels can move between a first unlocked position whereby the slide lock is in a generally non-overlapping position with at least one of the T-shaped channels and a second locked position whereby the slide lock is in a generally overlapping position with respect to both of the locking channels. Moreover, the dispenser may also include at least one radially outwardly extending elongated window formed from the housing or the cap to permit viewing of the inner cavity when the cap is in the closed position. Additionally, these embodiments may also include a base having a pair of feet downwardly extending therefrom to provide support for purposes of standing the dispenser in a generally vertical or upright position during non-use.

In another aspect of these embodiments, the cap may include at least one accessory receptacle configured to engage a generally U-shaped slot of an accessory compartment and include a circumferential lip having a size and shape for engagement with a circumferential notch in an outer sidewall of the housing when the cap is in the closed position. Moreover, the housing may include a belt loop that includes a pair of angled extenders outwardly extending from a rear surface of the housing and terminating in a generally horizontally positioned base plate interconnecting the angled extenders and forming a through channel underneath to accommodate slide through reception of a belt.

In another embodiment as disclosed herein, the dispenser may include a housing configured for select reception and retention of a tape ribbon and a cap movable between a closed position enclosing the tape ribbon within the housing and an open position providing access to the tape ribbon in the housing. Here, the cap may include a circumferential lip having a size and shape for engagement with a circumferential notch in the outer sidewall of the housing when the cap is in the closed position. Furthermore, the dispenser may include a dispense channel that includes a guide offset from a wedge by a distance relatively larger than a material thickness of the tape ribbon, thereby permitting unwinding removal of the tape ribbon out from within the housing through the dispense channel when the cap is in the closed position.

Additionally, a pair of outwardly extending and oppositely facing safety walls on each side of the dispense channel may cooperate with an outer sidewall of the housing having the dispense channel formed therein to generally form a three sided-pocket shielding opposite sides of a free end of the tape ribbon extending through the dispense channel, while permitting front on hand access of the free end for continued select dispensing. The wedge may extend outwardly away from the outer sidewall and include an edge about which a portion of the tape ribbon may be bent for storage within the three-sided pocket during non-use. Moreover, a lower base plate of the housing may cooperate with an upstanding and generally circular-shaped inner sidewall positioned to an interior of the upstanding and generally circular-shaped outer sidewall to form an inner cavity for retaining the tape ribbon within the housing.

In another aspect of these embodiments, the dispenser may include a lock having a pair of T-shaped channels formed from each of the housing and the cap and keyed for linear alignment when the cap is in the closed position. Here, a slide lock having a reciprocal structure that may at least partially encompass the T-shaped channels can move between a first unlocked position whereby the slide lock is in a generally non-overlapping position with at least one of the T-shaped channels and a second locked position whereby the slide lock is in a generally overlapping position with respect to both of the locking channels.

In another alternative embodiment, the dispenser may include a housing for selectively storing and dispensing a tape ribbon therefrom, a cap movable relative to the housing between an open position and a closed position where a lip of the cap engages a notch in an outer sidewall of the housing, a dispense channel having a size and shape for selectively dispensing the tape ribbon from the housing when the cap is in the closed position, a safety wall extending outwardly from the dispense channel and forming an enclosure shielding opposite sides of a free end of the tape ribbon extending through the dispense channel, while permitting front on hand access of the free end for continued select dispensing, and a lock comprising a pair of channels formed in each of the housing and the cap and keyed for linear alignment with one another when the cap is in the closed position such that a slide is movable between a first unlocked position in generally non-overlapping relation with respect to at least one of the pair of channels and a second locked position whereby the slide generally overlaps each of the pair of locking channels.

Alternatively, the safety wall may include a pair of outwardly extending and oppositely facing safety walls on each side of the dispense channel, which may include an upper dispensing guide offset from a lower dispensing wedge by a distance relatively larger than a material thickness of the tape ribbon, to permit unwinding removal of the tape ribbon out from within the housing and that cooperates with the outer sidewall of the housing having the dispense channel formed therein to generally form a three sided-pocket that includes the enclosure.

Additionally, the lower dispensing wedge may include a ledge about which a portion of the tape ribbon may be bent for storage of the free end within the enclosure during non-use and a lower base plate of the housing may cooperate with an upstanding and generally circular-shaped inner sidewall positioned to an interior of the outer sidewall to form an inner cavity in the housing. Moreover, the lower dispensing wedge may extend outwardly away from the outer sidewall, the cap may include at least one accessory receptacle configured to engage a generally U-shaped slot of an accessory compartment that includes at least a nutsetter carrier, and the housing may include a handle for carrying the tape ribbon within the tape dispenser and a belt loop that includes a pair of angled extenders outwardly extending from a rear surface of the housing and terminating in a generally horizontally positioned base plate interconnecting the angled extenders and forming a through channel underneath to accommodate slide through reception of a belt.

In another embodiment as disclosed herein, the dispenser may include a housing for storing a tape ribbon, a cap for sealing the tape ribbon within the housing, a dispensing outlet to direct the smooth flow of tape ribbon out from within the dispenser, a handle and a belt loop for ergonomic grasping or attachment to clothing, and a set of safety walls to generally shield a sharp free end of the tape ribbon that may cause injury or damage. The safety walls may be generally formed parallel and flush with the housing and an annular plate in the cap parallel to the housing. The safety walls may also protrude radially from the housing and include fillets to maximize hand safety. To this end, the safety walls may provide a location for the free (and sharp) end to reside, and provide relatively easy fingertip or hand access to the internally positioned free end by way of a recess formed into the safety walls.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following more detailed description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention.

