Flossing device with advancing and tensioning mechanisms
US5495863A · kind A · utility
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | May 5, 1994 |
| Grant date | Mar 5, 1996 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 5, 2014 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA61C15/046
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A hand-held dental flossing device has a housing with a handle which may be held with one hand. A dental floss supply is located in the housing and a winding gear is rotatably mounted to the housing. A free end of the dental floss strand from the floss supply is threaded through the housing into a flossing arm of the housing where it passes an opening and returns into the housing to be attached to the winding gear. The housing has an opening where the winding gear extends therefrom and is accessible to the fingers of the user's hand. The winding gear has teeth which cooperate with a stopper to form a one-way ratchet gear. A floss tensioning button is located in the housing and has first and second ends extending from the housing. The first and second ends are accessible to the user's hand holding the handle of the flossing device. When in a first position, the tensioning button allows the floss strand to be readily advanced by winding the gear while in a second position, the floss strand is relatively taut so that winding the gear will even further tension the strand.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.