Fluid dispensing unit

Claim 1

In a fluid dispensing unit comprising a shaped body structure having side walls, end walls, a top wall and a bottom opening defining a housing, there being a flange formed integral with the bottom of said side and end walls and encircling said opening, a porous pad member covering said opening and in sealed connection with said flange member, and an elongated frangible ampoule containing fluid carried in said housing and extending longitudinally thereof between said side walls, the body structure being of sufficiently flexible material to permit digitally applied squeezing together of said side walls to fracture said ampoule and release the fluid therein for transmission of same to and through said porous pad member, the improvement wherein said housing top wall has a central planar segment thereof stepped down relative to terminal segments of said top wall and merging with substantially right angularly disposed generally planar portions of said housing side walls to define an inverted housing channel structure of enhanced rigidity embracing said ampoule, the central segment of said top wall and right angularly disposed portions of said side walls intersecting at sharp corner juncture to provide fulcrum points whereby during the squeezing together of said side walls for fracturing said ampoule, upward bulging of said central segment is prevented, and side wall movement at least along lengths thereof coextensive with said top wall central segment is limited to pivoting of each toward the other about the respective fulcrum point.