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Eli Lewis
Eli Lewis · elilewis2029@u.northwestern.edu · elilewisportfolio.info/projects/handheld-tape-dispenser-patent

Engineering · 2024

Handheld tape dispenser, patent pending

A 3D-printed, one-piece dispenser that tears tape on a downward pull, with no metal blade.

Loaded with a roll of masking tape, run out to the tear tip

Loaded with a roll of masking tape, run out to the tear tip

Loaded with a roll of masking tape, run out to the tear tip

Kids at my makerspace didn't understand the tearing motion a normal dispenser needs, so I designed one that tears the tape when you pull it downward and holds the roll in the right orientation. It's one plastic piece with no metal blade, costs about 20 cents in material, and I'm the sole inventor on US 2025/0368466 A1 (pending).

Role
Solo

I was responsible for the design, the prototypes and the prior-art search.

Duration
Winter 2022 to filing, May 2024
Tools
fdm-3d-printing
Skills
human-centered-design, prototyping, inclusive-design, design-for-production, prior-art-search, patent-application

Goal & constraints

  • Tear on a downward pull with no metal blade: multi-part dispensers with metal blades are hard or unsafe for young children and people with limited motor skills.
  • Snap a roll on and off, and work in either hand.
  • One piece, in ABS, PETG, polycarbonate, resin or carbon fiber.

Process

  • Started in winter 2022, from my makerspace work with kids.
  • The final design is one plastic frame: a curved holder whose clip lets a roll snap on and off, an angled arm ending in the tear tip, and a notched handle (Figs. 1–5).
  • Printed about 10 prototypes; each one fixed what failed in the last. The first prints (gray and blue) had no handle and were awkward to hold, so I added one and refined it into finger notches that imply which way to hold it. The original serrated cutter, like most dispensers have, didn't work well, so I changed it to a single tapered point.
  • Tested it at my makerspace.
  • At 16 I started searching for conflicting patents, then filed through WilmerHale, which my school had connections to. Filed May 28, 2024 (application 18/676,150); published December 4, 2025.
Prints without a handle (gray, blue) beside two with the center handle (red)

Prints without a handle (gray, blue) beside two with the center handle (red)

Prints without a handle (gray, blue) beside two with the center handle (red)
Printed prototypes side by side; one purple version holds a roll of tape

Printed prototypes side by side; one purple version holds a roll of tape

Printed prototypes side by side; one purple version holds a roll of tape
Fig. 1 — isometric view

Fig. 1 — isometric view

Fig. 1 — isometric view
Fig. 2 — isometric, roll side

Fig. 2 — isometric, roll side

Fig. 2 — isometric, roll side
Fig. 3 — side view

Fig. 3 — side view

Fig. 3 — side view
Fig. 4 — side view, handle grooves

Fig. 4 — side view, handle grooves

Fig. 4 — side view, handle grooves
Fig. 5 — bottom view

Fig. 5 — bottom view

Fig. 5 — bottom view

Result

About $0.20 in material per dispenser

What I’d change

I'd make it stackable and add rollers around the tape axis to reduce friction.

Links

Print this page for a PDF copy (photos shrink to fit).

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