Dental floss dispensing and tensioning device
US7156110B2 · kind B2 · utility
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 14, 2004 |
| Grant date | Jan 2, 2007 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 13, 2025 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA61C15/046
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A hand-held dental floss holder, dispenser, floss tensioning, and floss advancing device. The device is configured with one end being a handle and the other being a pair of tips across which dental floss is spanned for presenting to inter-dental spaces. An internal supply of dental floss is housed inside the handle. The floss passes from the supply, moves around floss guides, wraps one or more times around a free spooling clutch spool, exits the body of the device through an opening and is directed to and across the tips of the device and is guided back to a collection spool rotationally connected to a manually-activated one way thumbwheel. In a first position, the gearing of a gear assembly and an internal clutch spool assembly causes the floss to tension when the thumbwheel is turned. In a second position, the disengagement of gearing allows the clutch spool to spool freely, allowing fresh floss to be substituted for used floss, when the thumbwheel is turned.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.