Need an electrical/mechanical mechanism to extract toothpaste from a toothpaste tube

[CharlieP]

For a project im looking at designing an automatic toothpaste dispenser for the disabled and am stuggling to design or find an existing mechanism to effectivly dispence the toothpaste. Any help would be appreciated, be it advice, suggestions or a mechanism idea itself.

 

[s.weinberg]

First idea that pops into my head is a roller that moves over the toothpaste back to front.

 

[TWeakley]

They alrady exist. Here's one, similar to roller type mentioned by another: http://www.mosup.com/product-2784010/automatic-toothpaste-dispenser-snesor-soap-dispenser/

 

[John Bouvier]

How about inserting the tube into a sealed container that you can pressurize by a few psi (enough to force the tube to extrude the paste) A lever valve mechanism will allow you to dispense paste and should be a simple motion for someone with most disabilities.

 

[nilsbj]

Or 2 rollers, one from each side. What kind of activation are you thinking of?

 

[s.weinberg]

The reason I was thinking one roller, besides simplicity, was to push the toothpaste to the cap end as it empties.

For activation, it could be simple, like a push button, or something fancier, like a photo or IR sensor that would activate when the brush was in position.