Multi-motion dental flosser
First Claim
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1. A dental flossing tool comprising:
- a housing;
an inner fork pivotally supported on the housing and having two tines which receive teeth to be cleaned therebetween, each tine having guides for guiding the transfer of dental floss from a distal end portion of one tine to a distal end portion of the opposite tine wherein the floss forms a movable span therebetween;
a dispensing spool rotatably supported on the housing for dispensing a strand of dental floss passing to the fork;
a take-up spool rotatably supported on the housing for retrieving dental floss passing from the fork;
means for reciprocating the fork up and down relative to the teeth;
means for producing continuous rotary motion of a drive shaft;
a speed-reduction gear train drivingly connecting the take-up spool with the drive shaft for continuous slow rotation of the spool; and
floss traversing means cooperative with the speed-reduction gears for traversing the floss across the take-up spool for level-winding to produce a continuous slow and substantially unvarying advancement of the floss strand.
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Abstract
A dental hygiene device for cleaning between teeth wherein dental floss is advanced, across a span between the tines of a fork, to a motorized level-winding take-up spool. The fork is reciprocated by the motor, resulting in two-dimensional movement of the floss within the span. The moving fork is shielded to prevent contact with oral tissues. Motor speed is varied by a potentiometer operated by way of a trigger. The floss span can be held taut, during passage between tightly contacting teeth, by a brake operated by way of the trigger. An adjustable drag connected to a contamination protected dispensing spool controls floss tension.
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Citations
10 Claims
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1. A dental flossing tool comprising:
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a housing; an inner fork pivotally supported on the housing and having two tines which receive teeth to be cleaned therebetween, each tine having guides for guiding the transfer of dental floss from a distal end portion of one tine to a distal end portion of the opposite tine wherein the floss forms a movable span therebetween; a dispensing spool rotatably supported on the housing for dispensing a strand of dental floss passing to the fork; a take-up spool rotatably supported on the housing for retrieving dental floss passing from the fork; means for reciprocating the fork up and down relative to the teeth; means for producing continuous rotary motion of a drive shaft; a speed-reduction gear train drivingly connecting the take-up spool with the drive shaft for continuous slow rotation of the spool; and floss traversing means cooperative with the speed-reduction gears for traversing the floss across the take-up spool for level-winding to produce a continuous slow and substantially unvarying advancement of the floss strand. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A dental flossing tool comprising:
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a housing; an inner fork pivotally supported on the housing and having two tines which receive teeth to be cleaned therebetween, each tine having guides for guiding the transfer of dental floss from a distal end portion of one tine to a distal end portion of the opposite tine wherein the floss forms a movable span therebetween; a dispensing spool rotatably supported on the housing for dispensing a strand of dental floss passing to the fork; a take-up spool rotatably supported on the housing for retrieving dental floss passing from the fork; means for reciprocating the fork up and down relative to the teeth; means for producing continuous rotary motion of a drive shaft; a speed-reduction gear train drivingly connecting the take-up spool with the drive shaft for continuous slow rotation of the spool; floss traversing means cooperative with the speed-reduction gears for traversing the floss across the take-up spool for level-winding to produce a continuous slow and substantially unvarying advancement of the floss strand; a ratchet wheel fixedly connected to the dispensing spool; a trigger switch pivotally mounted to the housing and movable between an ON position and an OFF position; and a pawl operatively connected to the switch wherein the pawl engages the ratchet wheel to lock the dispensing spool and the floss span when the switch is in the OFF position so that the floss span can be forced through tight spots between adjacent teeth, the pawl disengaged from the ratchet wheel when the switch is in the ON position. - View Dependent Claims (9)
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10. A dental flossing tool comprising:
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a housing; an inner fork pivotally supported on the housing and having two tines which receive teeth to be cleaned therebetween, each tine having guides for guiding the transfer of dental floss from a distal end portion of one tine to a distal end portion of the opposite tine wherein the floss forms a movable span therebetween; a dispensing spool rotatably supported on the housing for dispensing a strand of dental floss passing to one of the tines; a take-up spool rotatably supported on the housing for retrieving dental floss passing from the opposite tine; means for reciprocating the fork up and down relative to the teeth; means for producing continuous rotary motion of a drive shaft; a speed-reduction gear train drivingly connecting the take-up spool with the drive shaft for continuous slow rotation of the spool; floss traversing means cooperative with the speed-reduction gears for traversing the floss across the take-up spool for level-winding to produce a continuous slow and substantially unvarying advancement of the floss strand; a disk fixedly connected to the dispensing spool; an adjustable screw supported by the housing; and a drag spring positioned between the disk and the screw such that the screw and spring impart a selective amount of spring drag on the dispensing spool such that the floss span will safely yieldingly slacken by drawing from the dispensing spool if the span is applied to oral tissues with greater than a predetermined amount of force, thereby protecting soft tissues.
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Specification