Patent · US Expired

Card type dental floss dispenser with releasably adhered floss coil

US5787907A · kind A · utility

13Cited by
8References
20Claims
0Family size

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateJun 16, 1997
Grant dateAug 4, 1998
Priority date
Expiry dateJun 16, 2017

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
  • CPC primaryA61C15/043
  • WIPO fieldMedical technology
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

A dental floss dispenser in a card format formed by a base panel having a shallow well surrounded by a peripheral ridge, and a face panel superposed on the base panel and bonded to the ridge. Adjacent the front end of the face panel are an aperture and a miniature cutting blade. Nested in the well is a supply of dental floss constituted by an unsupported flattened helical coil. The floss filament from which the coil is wound has a starting end at the front of the coil, the filament at the rear of the coil passing internally through the coil to emerge from its front as a pull out lead which is threaded through the aperture in the face panel. The starting end of the coil is bonded to adjacent convolutions and thereby prevent unwinding of the unsupported coil. To obtain a useable length of floss, the user pulls on the lead to partially unwind the coil and then cuts off the length on the blade. The bed of the well and a corresponding area on the inner surface of the top panel are each coated with a layer of pressure-sensitive adhesive which adheres to the convolutions of the nested coil to maintain its position and integrity. The tackiness of the pressure-sensitive adhesive is such tha…

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.