Dispensing package for a viscous product

Abstract

A package for containing and dispensing a viscous product such as toothpaste. The package includes a cylindrical container with a wall extending across an end of the container, such end serving as a dispensing end, and the wall has an opening which is surrounded by a spout through which the viscous product is dispensed. A pumping piston is positioned within the container near the dispensing end to subdivide the container into a reservoir below the pumping piston and a staging area above the pumping piston and in communication with the discharge spout, and to pump viscous product through the discharge spout by the movement of the pumping piston toward the discharge spout. The pumping piston is advanced toward the discharge spout by an oscillatable dispensing pump in the form of a first class lever which has a button at one end and a pumping piston engaging element extending from the other end, with biasing means being provided to bias the dispensing pump and the pumping piston back to initial, non-pumping positions. The inside surface of the container wall has recesses for the flow of viscous product from the reservoir toward the staging area when the pumping piston is not in its pumping stroke as well as an aperture in the pumping piston for the same purpose, such aperture being sealed by the pumping piston engaging element during a pumping stroke.