ADHESIVE TAPE DISPENSER

Abstract

The tape dispenser completely conceals its tape roll in a tightly closed housing. A removable cover extended from a major side or a top side of the tape dispenser's body is provided. At least a major side of the tape dispenser's body has a curved recession. As such, when the cover is opened, a section of the adhesive tape and a cutting edge at a front edge of a bottom side of the tape dispenser's body is exposed in a front opening and the recession for easy and convenient access. As such, the tape dispenser provides higher degrees of sanitation and safety than the conventional tape dispensers.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to adhesive tape dispensers, and more particularly to a tape dispenser having a high degree of sanitation and safety for medical institutions.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

Adhesive tape dispensers, whether they are desktop dispensers or hand-held dispensers, are usually structured as shown in FIG. 6. As illustrated, the body 21 of the dispenser is formed by two parallel pieces joined together along their bottom edges by a lateral piece. The two pieces also forms a hub (not numbered) in the center for the installation of a tape roll 20. A cutting edge 22 is then provided at a front end of the lateral piece. For this type of tape dispensers, the tape roll 20 is completely exposed and therefore could be easily contaminated. As such, a tape dispenser as shown in FIG. 7 is usually used in hospitals or medical institutions where hygiene is a major concern. As illustrated, the tape roll 20 is almost completely hidden in a housing of the integrally formed body 21. However, in order to pull out the tape, an opening 23 is still required and part of the tape roll 20 is again exposed. Moreover, in this type of tape dispensers, the cutting edge 22 is pointed upward and even more exposed than the previous design. In other words, these tape dispensers still are not appropriate for use in medical institutions where high degrees of sanitation and safety are required.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary purpose of the present invention is to provide a novel tape dispenser herein to obviate the shortcomings of conventional tape dispensers in terms of sanitation and safety.

According to the present invention, the tape dispenser completely conceals its tape roll in a tightly closed housing. A removable cover extended from a major side or a top side of the tape dispenser's body is provided. At least a major side of the tape dispenser's body has a curved recession. As such, when the cover is opened, a section of the adhesive tape and a cutting edge at a front edge of a bottom side of the tape dispenser's body is exposed in a front opening and the recession for easy and convenient access.

The foregoing objectives and summary provide only a brief introduction to the present invention. To fully appreciate these and other objects of the present invention as well as the invention itself, all of which will become apparent to those skilled in the art, the following detailed description of the invention and the claims should be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Throughout the specification and drawings identical reference numerals refer to identical or similar parts.

Many other advantages and features of the present invention will become manifest to those versed in the art upon making reference to the detailed description and the accompanying sheets of drawings in which a preferred structural embodiment incorporating the principles of the present invention is shown by way of illustrative example.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective-view diagram showing the body of a tape dispenser according to a first embodiment of the present invention when the body is unfolded.

FIG. 2 is a perspective-view diagram showing the body of the tape dispenser of FIG. 1 when it is folded.

FIG. 3 is a sectional-view diagram showing the inside of the tape dispenser of FIG. 1 with a tape roll inside the body.

FIG. 4 is a perspective-view diagram showing the body of a tape dispenser according to a second embodiment of the present invention when the body is unfolded.

FIG. 5 is a perspective-view diagram showing the body of the tape dispenser of FIG. 4 when it is folded.

FIG. 6 is a perspective-view diagram showing a conventional tape dispenser.

FIG. 7 is a perspective-view diagram showing another conventional tape dispenser.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following descriptions are exemplary embodiments only, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability or configuration of the invention in any way. Rather, the following description provides a convenient illustration for implementing exemplary embodiments of the invention. Various changes to the described embodiments may be made in the function and arrangement of the elements described without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

A tape dispenser according to a first embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. The tape dispenser has an integrally formed body 10 that can be unfolded as shown in FIG. 1 and folded into a hollow casing with a front opening as shown in FIG. 2. The body 10 has two opposing major sides, each having a protrusion 11 on an inner surface of the major sides. When the body 10 is folded, the two protrusions 11 jointly form a hub for a tape roll 20 (see FIG. 3). The adhesive tape therefore could be pulled out of the body 10 from the tape roll 20 via the front opening and then cut by a saw-tooth cutting edge 13 positioned at a front edge of a bottom side of the body 10. Please note that the saw-teeth of the cutting edge 13 could be further sharpened by gradually decreasing its thickness towards their tips.

A first major side has a curved recession 12 along a front edge boarding on said front opening. On the other hand, a cover 14 is extended from a second major side opposite to the first major side. The cover 14 is appropriately shaped and perforated so that it could be bended to cover entirely the front opening, the cutting edge 13, and the recession 12. As such, the tape roll 20 is tightly closed inside the body 10, achieving a high degree of storage safety and usage sanitation.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show a tape dispenser according to a second embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated, the cover 14 is hinged to or extended from a front side of the body 10 by a perforation 15. The two major sides of the body 10 have corresponding curved recessions 12 along their front edges bordering on the front opening, respectively. The cover 14 is appropriately shaped so that the front opening, the cutting edge 13, and the recessions 12 could be tightly closed and sealed inside the body 10 when the cover 14 is closed. Furthermore, the cutting edge 13 could be positioned slightly into the body 10 and a protection rim 16 extended from a front bottom edge of the cover 14 is arranged to cover the cutting edge 13 entirely and to provide additional safety guard against the sharp teeth of the cutting edge 13. The protection rim 16 could be designed so that it snaps onto the bottom side of the body 10 to achieve reliable locking of the cover 14 to the body 10.

According to the foregoing description, a tape dispenser according to the present invention has the tape roll and the cutting edge as well completely sealed inside the tape dispenser's body to prevent the tape roll from contamination when the tape dispenser is not used and to prevent a user accidentally cut by the tape dispenser. By opening the removable cover of the tape dispenser, the adhesive tape could be easily and conveniently accessed as the conventional tape dispensers.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together may also find a useful application in other types of methods differing from the type described above.

While certain novel features of this invention have been shown and described and are pointed out in the annexed claim, it is not intended to be limited to the details above, since it will be understood that various omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and in its operation can be made by those skilled in the art without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Claims

1. A tape dispenser, comprising:

a hollow body having a hub for the installation of a tape roll inside said body and a front opening, at least a first major side having a recession along a front edge of said first major side bordering on said front opening;

a saw-tooth cutting edge positioned along a front edge of a bottom side of said body; and

a removable cover connected to said body covering said front opening and said recession when said cover is closed, and exposing said tape roll from said front opening and said recession when said cover is opened.

2. The tape dispenser according to claim 1, wherein said cover is extended from a second major side of said body opposing to said first major side.

3. The tape dispenser according to claim 1, wherein said cover is extended from a front side of said body; and said cover is connected to said body by one of a hinge and a perforation.

4. The tape dispenser according to claim 1, wherein saw teeth of said cutting edge has gradually decreasing thickness towards the tips of said saw teeth.

5. The tape dispenser according to claim 1, wherein said cover has a protection rim along a front bottom edge to conceal said cutting edge.