Piston driven one shot grease dispenser

Abstract

The device and method are for one shot greasing of tractor trailer fifth wheels and other structures. The device has an upper tube and a lower tube where the upper tube acts as a piston to push down on the lower tube to dispense a grease supply. The lower tube bottom, or a bottom cap connected thereto, has a plurality of dispensing orifices. Preferred embodiments include a stop mechanism to prevent relative movement of the upper tube and lower tube prior to dispensing, and a removable seal on the bottom that prevents grease release until the seal is removed.

Claims

1. A piston driven one shot grease dispenser, which comprises: a) a lower tube, being a supply tube, said lower tube having an open top and having a side wall, and having a bottom with a plurality of dispensing orifices; b) a supply of grease in said lower tube for dispensing; c) an upper tube, being a piston, and tightly, movably nested within said top of said lower tube, said upper tube having a closed top and closed bottom; d) a removable stop mechanism located on at least one of said supply tube and said upper tube to inhibit movement between said lower tube and said upper tube; and, e) a removable seal located on said lower tube bottom to prevent undesired dispensing of said supply of grease; wherein a user may remove said stop mechanism and seal, secure said lower tube and press said upper tube downwardly to dispense said supply of grease from said lower tube.

2. The piston driven one shot grease dispenser of claim 1 wherein said side wall includes finger grips.

3. The piston driven one shot grease dispenser of claim 1 wherein said bottom is a separate component with a bottom side wall being attached to said lower tube side wall.

4. The piston driven one shot grease dispenser of claim 3 wherein said bottom side wall includes finger grips.

5. The piston driven one shot grease dispenser of claim 1 wherein said lower tube and upper tube are constructed of a material selected from the group consisting of cardboard, paper, plastic, metal and combinations thereof.

6. The piston driven one shot grease dispenser of claim 1 wherein said orifices are elongated.

7. The piston driven one shot grease dispenser of claim 1 wherein said upper tube and said lower tube have a top view cross section shape selected from the group consisting of circular, oval, square, and rectangular.

8. The piston driven one shot grease dispenser of claim 1 wherein said upper tube is a hollow tube.

9. The piston driven one shot grease dispenser of claim 1 wherein said bottom is a flat bottom and said dispensing orifices have maximum opening cross section of two cm.

10. The piston driven one shot grease dispenser of claim 1 wherein said stop mechanism and said removable seal are a single component selected from the group consisting of a plastic wrap, a child resistant plastic wrap, an outside container, and a child resistant outside container.

11. A method of greasing a fifth wheel trailer receiver of a vehicle, which comprises: I.) providing a piston driven one shot grease dispenser that includes: a) a lower tube, being a supply tube, said lower tube having an open top and having a side wall, and having a bottom with a plurality of dispensing orifices; b) a supply of grease in said lower tube for dispensing; c) an upper tube, being a piston, and tightly, movably nested within said top of said lower tube, said upper tube having a closed top and closed bottom; d) a removable stop mechanism located on at least one of said supply tube and said upper tube to inhibit movement between said lower tube and said upper tube; and, e) a removable seal located on said lower tube bottom to prevent undesired dispensing of said supply of grease; II.) removing said stop mechanism and said seal; III.) securing said lower tube and applying said lower tube bottom to a fifth wheel; IV.) pressing said upper tube downwardly to dispense said supply of grease to said fifth wheel and moving said dispenser relative to said fifth wheel.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the piston driven one shot grease dispenser of claim 1 wherein said side wall includes finger grips.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein the piston driven one shot grease dispenser of claim 1 wherein said bottom is a separate component with a side wall and is attached to said lower tube side wall.

14. The method of claim 13 the piston driven one shot grease dispenser of claim 3 wherein said bottom side wall includes finger grips.

15. The method of claim 11 the piston driven one shot grease dispenser of claim 1 wherein said lower tube and upper tube are constructed of a material selected from the group consisting of card board, paper, plastic, metal and combinations thereof.

16. The method of claim 11 the piston driven one shot grease dispenser of claim 1 wherein said orifices are elongated.

17. The method of claim 11 the piston driven one shot grease dispenser of claim 1 wherein said upper tube and said lower tube have a top view cross section shape selected from the group consisting of circular, oval, square, and rectangular.

18. The method of claim 11 the piston driven one shot grease dispenser of claim 1 wherein said upper tube is a hollow tube.

19. The method of claim 11 the piston driven one shot grease dispenser of claim 1 wherein said bottom is a flat bottom and said dispensing orifices have maximum opening cross section two cm.

20. The method of claim 11 the piston driven one shot grease dispenser of claim 1 wherein said stop mechanism and said removable seal are a single component selected from the group consisting of a plastic wrap, a child resistant plastic wrap, an outside container, and a child resistant outside container.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

[0040] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention and together with the detailed description serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings:

[0041] FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of the devices and methods of the present invention;

[0042] FIG. 2 shows a front view of a preferred embodiment of a present invention piston driven one shot grease dispenser;

[0043] FIG. 3 shows a front oblique view of the present invention piston driven one shot grease dispenser of FIG. 2, but with the pull tab stop removed;

[0044] FIG. 4 shows a front cut view of the present invention piston driven one shot grease dispenser of FIG. 3, in a mode where the bottom seal has been removed and the grease is being dispensed;

[0045] FIGS. 5, 6, 7 and 8 show bottom views of various dispensing arrangements that may be used in the present invention devices and methods;

[0046] FIG. 9 shows a front view of an alternative preferred embodiment of the present invention piston driven one shot grease dispenser with external finger grips;

[0047] FIG. 10 shows a front view of an alternative preferred embodiment of the present invention piston driven one shot grease dispenser with a separate walled bottom component with optional external finger grips attached thereto; and,

[0048] FIG. 11 shows an oblique bottom view of another embodiment of a present invention piston driven one shot grease dispenser with a tapered dispensing bottom.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0049] The present invention piston driven one shot grease dispenser methods and devices have been created to allow a single grease application to fifth wheels when needed in a simple single-handed effort.

[0050] FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of the devices and methods of the present invention. Block 1 shows the present invention piston driven one shot grease dispenser with a lower tube, block 3, which contains grease supply, block 5, and has dispensing orifices, block 7, on its bottom with a removable seal, block 11. There is also an upper tube, block 9, which functions as a piston and is positioned in the lower tube. There is a stop mechanism, block 13, that prevents the lower tube and the upper tube to have relative movement until the stop mechanism is removed.

[0051] Also in FIG. 1 is the method of greasing a fifth wheel trailer receiver, block 15. The method includes providing a grease dispenser, block 17, that was described above in blocks 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 and 13. The next step is removing the stop mechanism and the removable seal, block 19 and then holding the lower tube while pushing the upper tube toward the lower tube to dispense the grease supply onto the fifth wheel, block 21.

[0052] FIG. 2 shows a front view of a preferred embodiment of a present invention piston driven one shot grease dispenser 30a. Dispenser 30a includes lower tube 31 that has an open top 35, a side wall 33 and a bottom 37 with dispensing orifices on bottom 37, but concealed by removable seal 55 with pull handle 57. Removable seal 57 may be an adhesive strip or a rigid plastic or metal bottom cap that is adhered to or forced fitted or snapped or screwed onto bottom 37. There is also an upper tube 47 with a solid side wall 43, a solid bottom (not shown) and a solid top 47. This may be hollow or solid throughout but as a practical matter is a hollow tube that acts as a pusher or piston to force the dispensing of the grease supply. The grease supply is contained within lower tube 31 but is concealed in this field. There is also a removable strip 53 which may be adhered to or attached to one or both of upper tube 41 and lower tube 31 to prevent relative movement. When removable strip 53 is removed, then the tubes may have movement relative to one another to dispense the grease.

[0053] FIG. 3 shows a front oblique view of the present invention piston driven one shot grease dispenser 30b of FIG. 2, previously designated as piston driven one shot grease dispenser 30a that includes the removable strip 53, but here with the removable strip 53 removed. With this is an oblique front view with components that are shown in FIG. 2, identically numbered. Additionally, bottom 37 is now exposed and reveals a plurality of dispensing orifices 39 after removable seal 55 has been removed.

[0054] FIG. 4 shows a front cut view of the present invention piston driven one shot grease dispenser 30c of FIG. 3, previously designated as dispenser 30b, but now in a mode where the bottom seal has been removed and the grease is being dispensed. Identical parts common to those in the preceding Figures are identically numbered. Additionally, fingers 57 and 59 are holding lower tube 31 and in this cut version, grease supply 51 is shown. Thumb 53 pushes down on upper tube 41 while lower tube 31 is being held so as to push grease streams 53 through orifices 39 on bottom 37. Typically this is done against or very close to a portion of a fifth wheel for proper greasing. Although these drawings suggest a cylindrical shape, the components may have a top view foot print shape of any desire, such as round, oval, square, rectangular, polygonal, irregular or otherwise.

[0055] FIGS. 5, 6, 7 and 8 show bottom views of various dispensing arrangements that may be used in the present invention devices and methods. In these figures, bottoms 60, 70, 80 and 90 are illustrated, respectively. Referring to FIG. 5, bottom 60 is circular in shape and has a dispensing plate 61 with a plurality of orifices 63. The orifices 63 are generally round. Referring to FIG. 6, bottom 70 is oval in shape and has a dispensing plate 71 with a plurality of orifices 73. The orifices 73 are generally rectangular. Referring to FIG. 7, bottom 80 is square in shape and has a dispensing plate 81 with a plurality of orifices 83. The orifices 83 are generally oval. Referring to FIG. 8, bottom 90 is rectangular in shape and has a dispensing plate 91 with a plurality of orifices 93. The orifices 93 are generally triangular.

[0056] FIG. 9 shows a front view of an alternative preferred embodiment of the present invention piston driven one shot grease dispenser 100 with an upper tube 103, a lower tube 101 and with external finger grips 105 and 107. This embodiment has the stop mechanism and the removable seal already removed and it is ready for dispensing. Index finger 109 and middle finger 11 are placed under finger grips 105 and 107, respectively, as shown. Thumb 113 presses down on the top of upper tube 103 which acts as a piston and pushes grease out of the bottom.

[0057] FIG. 10 shows a front view of an alternative preferred embodiment of the present invention piston driven one shot grease dispenser 120. This version has three main components, mainly, upper tube 129, lower tube 121 and bottom cup 123. Bottom cup 123 is glued, screwed, or otherwise attached to lower tube 121 and contains a side wall that not only stabilizes bottom 131, but also supports finger grips 127 and 129. This dispenser 120 is otherwise functional in the same manner as dispenser 100 shown in FIG. 9 and described above. This dispenser 120 has three main components instead of two to its exoskeleton, and it provides additional structural support and ease of filling, as well as the optional external finger grips 127 and 129 attached thereto.

[0058] FIG. 11 shows an oblique bottom view of another preferred alternative embodiment present invention piston driven one shot grease dispenser 140. It includes an upper tube 141 and a lower tube 143 with finger grips 145 and 147. Both upper tube 141 and lower tube 143 have tapered (truncated inverted cone) bottoms such as lower tube bottom 149. The seals have been removed to exhibit the dispensing orifices such as dispensing orifice 151. The tapered bottoms will force the grease to the center at the dispensing orifices to provide a more concentrated and controlled release of the grease.

[0059] Although particular embodiments of the invention have been described in detail herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to those particular embodiments, and that various changes and modifications may be effected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims. For example, the actual shape of the main housing may be any of numerous possibilities as long as its functionality as described is not affected adversely.