Multiple Lock Dental Floss Holder and Spool Enclosure Assembly Therefor

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to the field of oral hygiene, and more particularly to a MULTIPLE LOCK DENTAL FLOSS HOLDER AND SPOOL ENCLOSURE ASSEMBLY THEREFOR for receiving a spool of dental floss and dispensing and retaining a length of the dental floss in a taut condition.

2. Description of the related art including information disclosed under 27 CFR .sctn.1.97-1.99

The dental profession has long recognized the benefits of regular use of dental floss in home dental care and oral hygiene programs. Heretofore, people have either chosen one of many dental floss holding devices that have been previously known, or they hold and maneuver dental floss with their fingers. The later procedure often involves wrapping the dental floss around the fingers, sometimes resulting in pain as flossing proceeds; the method of holding and manipulating dental floss with the fingers is also wasteful of flossing material, and is somewhat difficult, the degree of difficulty in part depending upon the relative size of fingers and mouth, dexterity, and patience.

Various dental floss holders have been developed to facilitate holding and tensioning the dental floss, and to facilitate the urging of dental floss between the teeth. Although in the prior art some dental floss holders are of disposable design, reusable dental floss holders utilizing commonly available dental floss are more often cost effective. Of the currently more popular reusable dental floss holders which are of low-cost construction, and which use widely available dental floss, most have a pair of spaced arms at the end of a supporting handle. A length of dental floss is strung between the ends of the spaced arms which have floss-receiving notches at their terminal ends. The ends of the dental floss are secured in some fashion or another, generally either by winding around a button or protrusion on the handle, or pulling the ends of the dental floss into inwardly tapered notches of frictional securing slots on the handle. These dental floss holders have only limited success commercially for a number of reasons, often including inadequate securing and/or tensioning of the dental floss and/or a design not easily maneuvered in the back of the mouth, and/or a design wasteful of dental floss, and/or a design with too much bulk and discomfort in use. Further, some prior art dental floss holders which use commonly available dental floss material require tie-down, knotting, loop-making, or other special treatment of one or both of the dental floss ends.

Additionally, many prior art dental floss holders do not fit commonly available toothbrush holders or cannot be hung from a hook which results in the device being stored out of site in for example, a medicine cabinet or a drawer or closet. Experience has shown that if the device is not conveniently displayed in full sight, it is not used on a regular basis and dental hygiene suffers.

In the present invention, there is disclosed a dental floss holder for receiving a spool of dental floss and dispensing and retaining a length of the dental floss in a taut condition by multiple means for maintaining tautness of the dental floss and a spool enclosure assembly therefor.

In U.S. Pat. No. 4,901,742 to Olson there is disclosed a dental flosser-dispenser which includes a pistol-grip shaped handle portion and a bow portion extending therefrom for holding a length of tension of floss between its tip and an anchoring mechanism. A spool of dental floss is provided in the handle and includes a detente system for selectively paying out new floss from the spool and anchoring the spool in place while the device is being used for flossing. An alternative embodiment of this dental floss dispenser may include a pistol-grip shaped handle portion in an elongate neck portion supporting a U-shape armature. The detente means for selectively permitting the floss to be unwound from the spool supported in the handle portion. Specifically, the handle portion includes housing halves that are fastened together whereby a hub member receives a spool of floss positioned over the hub and a screw having a finger-grip is accessible from the outside of the housing for tightening and loosening the flossing spool.

In U.S. Pat. No. 4,729,392 to Tenny there is disclosed an improved dental floss holder having a comparatively inflexible elongate member supporting two flexible spaced arms at opposite ends, and supporting an inflexible spaced arm between. A single length of dental floss is fastened near the terminal end of either flexible arm, then wrapped around the inflexible spaced arm, then fastened at the flexible spaced arm at the opposite end. This provides two taut and useable lengths of dental floss, either of which may be used for flossing while the other end of the dental floss holder is used as a handle. This dental floss holder utilizes buttons/protrusions in combination with frictional securing slots to thereby obtain two taut and useable lengths of dental floss in tandem when the dental floss holder has been strung for use.

In U.S. Pat. No. 4,141,519 to Tarrson et al there is disclosed a spool of thread, such as dental floss, which is housed in a holder. The thread or floss is wound on a bobbin having a hollow, cylindrical hub area. A crutch for controlling the bobbin rotation comprises a split post having an enlarged cross section near the center thereof. This split post fits into the hollow cylindrical hub area of the bobbin with the post squeezed slightly to provide a desired amount of friction between the central posts and the cylindrical hub walls. The friction keeps the bobbin from unwinding, however the friction is not so great that it keeps the thread or floss from pulling smoothly and evenly from the bobbin. In this way the spool is secured to prevent it from rotating or unwinding when the thread is not being removed from the spool.

The MULTIPLE LOCK DENTAL FLOSS HOLDER of the present invention comprises a body having a handle portion, an intermediate portion for housing a spool of dental floss, and a forked end portion including two spaced arms, each arm having at least one floss receiving slot at a distal end thereof whereby a taut length of dental floss can be held in the slots across a span between the arms. The intermediate portion has a through bore opening on one side into a spool receiving cavity and on the other side onto an irregular surface. The body is cooperative with a spool enclosure piece or a spool enclosing base which is received into the spool receiving cavity. The spool enclosure piece has an annular cavity about a central hub for receiving a spool of dental floss. In this embodiment, the hub extends through the through bore of the intermediate portion for connection with an end cap adjacent the irregular surface of the intermediate portion. In spool enclosing base embodiments a positional pin or a connection pin extends through the through bore of the intermediate portion for connection with a latching cap or an end cap, respectively, adjacent the irregular surface of the intermediate portion. In all arrangements, the MULTIPLE LOCK DENTAL FLOSS HOLDER of the present invention detentes the floss to keep it taut by four positive locking mechanisms, namely: (1) gripping means including the irregular surface (preferably a series of concentric annular grooves) of the intermediate portion for selectively locking in place a length of dental floss between an end cap or latching cap and the irregular surface of the intermediate portion wherein the end cap or latching cap has a cooperative irregular surface for coupling in a mating engagement with the adjacent irregular surface of the intermediate portion and is capable of axial movement upon a hub or a positional pin or a connection pin to a position of non-mated engagement or to a position of mated engagement of the cooperative irregular surfaces to thereby, respectively, selectively allow release or capture of a length of dental floss between the cooperative irregular surfaces of the end or latching cap and adjacent intermediate portion; (2) coupling means between the end cap or latching cap and the hub or positional pin or connection pin permitting selective pressure against a length of dental floss positioned between the end cap or latching cap and the irregular surface of the intermediate portion wherein a spool enclosure piece or a spool enclosing base and the end cap or latching cap are oppositely aligned from each other at separate ends of the hub or positional pin or connection pin, the distal end of the hub or positional pin or connection pin being received in a central cavity or bore of the end cap or latching cap such that the spool enclosure piece or spool enclosing base and end cap or latching cap are capable of depression towards each other by the fingers of a user to thereby place additional pressure upon a length of dental floss to prevent slippage; (3) means for unidirectional dispensing and collection of thread to prevent release of tension in the dispensed dental floss comprising the spool enclosure piece or spool enclosing base having an annular skirt rearwardly extending from a flange cap, the external surface of which includes either a plurality of guide teeth cooperative with a ratcheting mechanism or a plurality of ratcheting mechanisms in the side wall of the spool receiving cavity of the intermediate body portion or a ratcheting mechanism or a plurality of ratcheting mechanisms cooperative with a plurality of guide teeth in the side wall of the spool receiving cavity of the intermediate body portion, to allow rotation of the spool enclosing piece in one direction only while preventing rotation in an opposite direction that would release the tension on the floss; and (4) after the floss has been threaded through the slots of the forked end portion, it is passed through a slit on the upper surface of the flange cap of the spool enclosure piece or spool enclosing base and knotted to securely fasten the floss to the flange cap so that when the flange cap is rotated in its one direction new floss is dispensed from the spool and used floss is collected under the flange of the flange cap.

The SPOOL ENCLOSURE ASSEMBLY for use in a dental floss holder having a through bore opening on one side into a spool receiving cavity and on the other side onto an irregular surface comprises a spool enclosure piece or spool enclosing base dimensioned to be received in the spool receiving cavity which has an annular cavity about a central hub, a plurality of legs, or a central seating hub for receiving a spool of dental floss. The central hub of the spool enclosure piece or a positional pin or connection pin having one end thereof retained in the spool enclosing base extends through the through bore of the dental floss holder to cooperate with an end cap or latching end cap having an irregular surface for coupling in a mating engagement with the irregular surface of the dental floss holder such as to establish a position of non-mated engagement or a position of mated engagement of the irregular surfaces to thereby, respectively, selectively allow release or capture of a length of dental floss between the irregular surface of the end cap or latching end cap and the irregular surface of the dental floss holder.

The present invention has numerous advantages over prior art dental floss holders and dispensers. For example, some floss holders fail to have positive locking mechanisms and therefore floss is allowed to give when forcing it between tightly opposing teeth thereby rendering the same non-functional. The multiple positive locking mechanisms of the present invention are designed to maintain a length of dental floss in a taut condition. Further, some floss holders have complicated threading instructions which make the product difficult to use and therefore, tend to lead to discontinued use. Other floss holders require the floss to be threaded, knotted, or wrapped with respect to each usable length of floss. In this regard, each time floss is dispensed, one must unwrap the old floss, cut it off and re-thread the floss holder. By comparison, the present invention is easier to use because it needs only to be threaded one time and the thread is not removed until the entire spool has been dispensed. Further, some floss holders have a problem with the floss coming off the holder during use. The present invention preferably provides for a U-shape forked end portion including two spaced arms made to be more rigid, thus preventing flexing of the two spaced arms under pressure and a loss of floss tautness, allowing the floss to come off one or both of the spaced arms. Additionally, the spaced arms have generally deeper floss receiving guide slots and the floss is threaded in such a fashion as to wrap around the two spaced arms, inside to outside and outside to inside respectively, which forces the floss to follow the contour of the spaced arms thus preventing sagging of the floss and its dislodgement from the spaced arms. Still further, unlike some floss holders which are designed to be completely disposable, the body of the subject MULTIPLE LOCK DENTAL FLOSS HOLDER is reusable, while the SPOOL ENCLOSURE ASSEMBLY therefor may serve as a separate reusable or disposable packaging to house a replacement spool of floss. Further, although some floss holders require 12 to 18 inches of floss per use, the present invention by comparison requires as little as two inches of floss per use. One must simply advance the floss only the distance necessary to replace the length of dental floss held taut between spaced arms to replace old floss with new floss. Still further, some floss holders do not fit well in the hand and are difficult to properly orient for flossing. The present MULTIPLE LOCK DENTAL FLOSS HOLDER is of reduced bulk, and streamlined with the forked end portion preferably extending from the body at an oblique angle to the handle for easy insertion and manipulation in the mouth. Also, the handle of the body is of streamlined shape and preferably has a hole such that it can be stored in a toothbrush holder or hung from a hook. Still further, although some floss holders are complicated requiring several parts that are either difficult to mold and/or assemble, the present invention consists of a contiguous body and a spool enclosure assembly which may be inexpensively mass produced and easily assembled.

According to the present invention there is provided a dental floss holder for receiving a spool of dental floss and dispensing and maintaining a length of the dental floss in a taut condition comprising:

a body having a handle portion, an intermediate portion for housing a spool of dental floss, and a forked end portion including two spaced arms, each arm having at least one floss receiving slot at a distal end thereof whereby a taut length of dental floss can be held in the slots across a span between the arms, the intermediate portion having a through bore opening on one side into a spool receiving cavity and on the other side onto an irregular surface;

a spool enclosure piece received in the cavity and having an annular cavity about a central hub for receiving a spool of dental floss, the hub extending through the through bore, and an end cap connected to the hub adjacent the irregular surface;

coupling means between the end cap and the hub permitting selective pressure against a length of floss positioned between the cap and the irregular surface;

gripping means including the irregular surface for selectively locking in place the length of dental floss positioned between the cap and the irregular surface; and

means for unidirectional dispensing and collecting the dental floss across the arms to prevent release of tension in the dispensed length of dental floss.

In another embodiment, the dental floss holder includes a spool enclosing base, received in the spool receiving cavity, which has an annular cavity about a plurality of legs for receiving a spool of dental floss, wherein the legs are capable of encapturing and retaining the distal end of a positional pin inserted therebetween. The positional pin has a stem extending through a central bore of a latching end cap and the through bore of the intermediate portion. This embodiment likewise has coupling means, gripping means, and means for unidirectional dispensing and collecting the dental floss.

In a preferred embodiment the dental floss holder includes a spool enclosing base, received in the spool receiving cavity, which has an annular cavity about a central seating hub for receiving a spool of dental floss, wherein the central seating hub is capable of encapturing and retaining the distal end of a connection pin inserted therein. The connection pin has a stem extending through a central bore of an end cap and the through bore of the intermediate portion. This embodiment likewise has coupling means, gripping means, and means for unidirectional dispensing and collecting the dental floss.

According to the present invention there is also provided a SPOOL ENCLOSURE ASSEMBLY for use in a dental floss holder having a through bore opening on one side into a spool receiving cavity and on the other side onto an irregular surface which comprises a spool enclosure piece or spool enclosing base dimensioned to be received in the spool receiving cavity that has an annular cavity about a central hub, a plurality of legs, or a central seating hub for receiving a spool of dental floss. The central hub of the spool enclosure piece, or a positional pin or connection pin having one end thereof retained in the spool enclosing base, extends through the through bore of the dental floss holder to cooperate with an end cap or latching end cap having an irregular surface for coupling in a mating engagement with the irregular surface of the dental floss holder such as to establish a position of non-mated engagement or a position of mated engagement of the irregular surfaces to thereby, respectively, selectively allow release or capture of a length of dental floss between the irregular surface of the end cap or latching end cap and the irregular surface of the dental floss holder.

Additional features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description and the accompanying figures illustrating the preferred embodiment of the invention, the same being the present best mode for carrying out the invention.

FIG. 1 is a top view of the multiple lock dental floss holder constructed according to the teachings of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view, is taken along line 2--2 of FIG. 1 and shows a spool enclosure assembly exploded from a contiguous body.

FIG. 3 is a top view of the contiguous body of a multiple lock dental floss holder similar to FIG. 1, but showing a different handle and different floss receiving slots at the distal end of the two spaced arms.

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the contiguous body of the multiple lock dental floss holder shown at FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of an alternative spool enclosure assembly comprising a spool enclosing base capable of engagement with the distal end of a positional pin designed to accommodate axial movement of a latching end cap thereon to establish a locked position as shown at FIG. 5A or an unlocked position as shown at FIG. 5B for a multiple lock dental floss holder.

FIG. 6 is a side view of a preferred embodiment of the multiple lock dental floss holder constructed according to the teachings of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a side view of the preferred embodiment of the multiple lock dental floss holder illustrated at FIG. 6 and shows a spool enclosure assembly and a spool of dental floss exploded from a contiguous body.

FIG. 8 is a bottom view of one embodiment of a spool enclosing base of the spool enclosure assembly of the preferred embodiment of the multiple lock dental floss holder shown at FIGS. 6 and 7.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the spool enclosing base shown at FIG. 8, and is taken along line 9--9 of FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a top view of the intermediate portion of the contiguous body of an alternative embodiment of the multiple lock dental floss holder shown at FIG. 3 and shows a plurality of gear teeth at the inside wall surface of a spool receiving aperture of the intermediate portion.

FIG. 11 is an alternative embodiment of the spool enclosing piece or base wherein an annular flange skirt of the spool enclosing piece or base is provided with a plurality of ratcheting mechanisms for interaction with the plurality of gear teeth at the inside wall surface of the spool receiving aperture of the intermediate portion shown at FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the connection pin of the preferred embodiment multiple lock dental floss holder shown at FIGS. 6 and 7.

FIG. 13 is a top view of a through bore end cap of the spool enclosure assembly of the preferred embodiment multiple lock dental floss holder and shows a plurality of concentric annular grooves surrounding a through bore.

FlGS. 14A, 14B, and 14C are, respectively, side perspective, bottom, and top views of the preferred multiple lock dental floss holder showing the same bearing a taut length of dental floss held in floss guiding slots.

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown therein a top view of a multiple lock dental floss holder 10 of the present invention. Dental floss holder 10 comprises a contiguous body 12 having a handle portion 14 an intermediate portion 16 including spool enclosure piece 18, and a forked end portion 20 having two spaced arms 22 and 24, each arm having at least one floss receiving slot 26 and 28 respectively at a distal end thereof whereby a taught length of dental floss can be held in the slots 26 and 28 across the span between arms 22 and 24.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view, is taken along line 2--2 of FIG. 1 and shows a spool enclosure assembly 30 exploded from contiguous body 12. The spool enclosure assembly 30, and contiguous body 12 may be fabricated of various thermoplastic materials such as polypropylene, polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, nylon, or ABS Plastic by conventional injection molding techniques known to those skilled in the art. The intermediate portion 16 of contiguous body 12 has a through bore 32 opening on one side into a spool receiving cavity 34 and on the other side to an irregular surface 36. The spool enclosure assembly 30 cooperates with intermediate portion 16 to enclose a spool of dental floss therein. The spool enclosure assembly 30 comprises a spool enclosure piece 38 dimensioned to be received in the spool receiving cavity 34 of the intermediate portion 16. The spool enclosure piece 38 has an annular skirt 40 rearwardly extending from a flange cap 42. Annular skirt 40 has at its external surface a plurality of guide teeth, such as guide teeth 44 and 46 shown in FIG. 2, which are cooperative with a ratcheting mechanism 48 in the side wall 50 of the spool receiving cavity 34 of the intermediate portion 16 to allow rotation of the spool enclosure piece 38 in one direction only while preventing rotation in its opposite direction. The spool enclosure piece 38 has an annular cavity 52 about a central hub 54 within the annular skirt 40 for receiving a spool of dental floss.

Central hub 54 is an integral piece, however, for purposes of illustration, it is shown exploded at FIG. 2 with connector piece 56 separated from central hollow bore 58 of central hub 54. Connector piece 56 may be solvently bonded into central hollow bore 58 of central hub 54, and in this regard the external wall of central hub 54 may be provided with a slit extending into the central hollow bore of the hub such that air is dissipated therethrough during insertion of said connector piece 56 into the central hollow bore 58 of the hub. The integral central hub 54 with connector piece 56 extends through the through bore 32 of the intermediate portion 16 which opens on one side into the spool receiving cavity 34 and on the other side to an irregular surface 36.

FIG. 2 shows that the central hub 54, particularly the distal end 60 of connector piece 56, cooperates with end cap 62 to constitute coupling means between the end cap 62 and central hub 54 permitting selective pressure against a length of dental floss positioned between the end cap 62 and irregular surface 36 of intermediate portion 16. In this regard, central hub 54 extends through the through bore 32 of the intermediate portion 16 such that the distal end 60 of the central hub 54 can be received in central cavity 64 of end cap 62. Central cavity 64 has two diameters, namely a first narrower diameter 66 at upper frictional point portions 70 and 72 of the cavity and a second greater diameter 68 at the lower portion 74 of central cavity 64. The first and second diameters 66 and 68 permit selective pressure against a length of dental floss positioned between the end cap 62 and the irregular surface 36 since, as the spool enclosure piece 38 and end cap 62 are oppositely aligned from the other at separate ends of central hub 54, when the distal end 60 of the central hub is received in central cavity 64 of end cap 62, the spool enclosure piece and end cap are capable of depression towards each other by the fingers of a user to apply selective pressure against the length of dental floss. Specifically, distal end 64 of central hub 54 upon encountering the first narrower diameter of end cap central cavity 64 at upper frictional point portions 70 and 72 will laterally outwardly display the upper frictional point portions 70 and 72 allowing the distal end 60 to pass axially below the same until the distal end is received in the second greater diameter lower portion 74 of central cavity 64 of end cap 62. The annular groove 76 of end cap 62 may be removed and replaced with a trough (such as trough 150, shown at FIGS. 5A and 5B) in order to promote additional laterally outward flexing of the upper frictional point portions 70 and 72 of the end cap 62 when the distal end of the hub is received into the central cavity of the end cap. The greater diameter lower portion 74 of central cavity 64 of the end cap 62 is of a length greater than the length of the distal end 60 such that when the distal end is fully seated within the greater diameter lower portion 74 of the central cavity 64 there is preferably approximately an eighth of an inch of space between the proximal edge 78 of distal end 60 and upper frictional point portions 70 and 72. Since spool enclosure piece 38 and end cap 62 are oppositely aligned from the other at separate ends of the central hub 54, the additional spacing within the second greater diameter of central cavity 64 of the end cap 62 allows the end cap 62 and spool enclosure piece 38 to be depressed towards each other by the fingers of a user to apply selective pressure against a length of dental floss positioned between the irregular surface 36 of intermediate portion 16 and end cap 62.

FIG. 2 also shows that an irregular surface 36 of intermediate portion 16 cooperates with a complimentary irregular surface 80 of an end cap 62 to achieve a mated engagement comprising gripping means that selectively allows release or capture of a length of dental floss positioned between irregular surface 36 of intermediate portion 16 and end cap 62. In this regard, end cap 62 is capable of limited axial movement upon central hub 54 due to the additional depth of spacing with respect to the distal end 60 within the greater diameter lower portion 74 to a position of non-mated engagement or to a position of mated engagement of the irregular surfaces 36 and 80 to thus thereby, respectively, selectively allow release or capture of a length of dental floss between the irregular surface 36 of intermediate portion 16 and the adjacent irregular surface 80 of end cap 62.

The particular configuration of irregular surface 36 of intermediate portion 16 and adjacent complimentary irregular surface 80 of end cap 62 may be of various embodiments, so long as they cooperate with each other to achieve a mating engagement. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the adjacent complimentary irregular surface 80 of end cap 62 may comprise a first plurality of concentric angular grooves 86, 84, 82, and 76 on its inwardly facing external surface for coupling in a mating engagement with a correspondingly cooperative second plurality of concentric angular grooves 88, 90, 92, and 94 on the external surface of the irregular surface 36 of intermediate portion 16. In this structure, end cap 62 is capable of limited axial movement upon the central hub 54 to a position of non-mated engagement or to a position of mated engagement to thereby, respectively, selectively allow release or capture of a thread of dental floss between the first and second plurality of cooperative concentric angular grooves. As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the first and second plurality of cooperative concentric angular grooves shown at FIG. 2 may be replaced with a male/female mating structure of various configurations wherein a male or female portion of an irregular surface of end cap 62 is capable of being received, respectively, into a female or male portion of irregular surface 36 of intermediate portion 16 to achieve a mating engagement. The teaching of the present invention and claims thereof contemplate any irregular surfaces cooperating to achieve a mating engagement.

Referring now to FIGS. 5A and 5B, there is shown in cross-sectional view an alternative spool enclosure assembly 96 for use with respect to a contiguous body of the multiple lock dental floss holder as illustrated at FIGS. 1, 3, 4, 6 and 7. Spool enclosure assembly 96 consists of a spool enclosure base 98, a positional pin 100 and a latching end cap 102. The positional pin 100 has a pair of notches 104 and 106 disposed near distal end 108, a stem 110, a first set of notches 112 and 114 defining a locked position of the positional pin disposed in said stem 110, and a second set of notches 116 and 118 defining a unlocked position near proximal head 120 of the positional pin. Distal end 108 of positional pin 100 can be set between spool enclosing base legs 122 and 124 which have inwardly facing notch retaining members 126 and 128 to frictionally hold distal end 108 between legs 122 and 124 to integrate spool enclosure base 98 with positional pin 100. When the positional pin is placed through central through bore 130 of latching end cap 102, the stem of the positional pin is of sufficient length to extend through the through bore 32 of the intermediate portion 16 of the contiguous body of the multiple lock dental floss holder in its various embodiments to be engaged with the spool enclosing base 98 when the spool enclosure base is received in the spool receiving cavity 34 of intermediate portion 16 to enclose a spool of dental floss in the annular cavity 132 which is bordered on the outside by spool enclosing base annular skirt 134 and inwardly by legs 122 and 124. Latching end cap 102 has an inwardly facing irregular surface 136 cooperative with a complimentary irregular surface of the intermediate portion of the multiple look dental floss holder in its various embodiments to achieve a mating position therewith. For example, irregular surface 136 of latching end cap 102 shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B may consist of a plurality of concentric angular grooves 140, 142, 144, 146 and 148 which terminates laterally inwardly into annular trough 150 adjacent to brace projections 152 and 154. Brace projections 152 and 154 cooperate with lock position notches 112 and 114 or unlock position notches 116 and 118 of stem 110 of the positional pin 100 to selectively engage the positional pin in either an locked position shown at FIG. 5A wherein dental floss is secured between the joined irregular surfaces of the intermediate portion of the contiguous body and latching end cap or an unlocked position shown at FIG. 5B where floss may be freely advanced between separated irregular surfaces. The locked position of FIG. 5A, where brace projections 152 and 154 are set into lock position notches 112 and 114 of positional pin stem 110, provides for a joining of the irregular surface of the latching end cap to the irregular surface of the intermediate portion of the contiguous body while the unlocked position of FIG. 5B, where brace projections 152 and 154 are set into unlock position notches 116 and 118 of positional pin stem 110, provides for a separation of the irregular surfaces. The distance between lock position notches 112 and 114 and unlock position notches 116 and 118 corresponds to the distance of travel of the seating surface 119 of proximal head 120 to and from the stop ledge 117 of end cap 120. When the spool enclosure assembly 96 is in the unlocked position shown at FIG. 5B, a user may push in on the outside portion of end cap 120 to disengage brace projections 152 and 154 from unlock position notches 116 and 118 of stem 110 into lock position notches 112 and 114 to achieve the locked position shown at FIG. 5A. When the spool enclosure assembly 96 is in the locked position, a user may push in on positional pin 100 to disengage brace projections 152 and 154 from lock position notches 112 and 114 of stem 110 into unlock position notches 116 and 118 to achieve the locked position shown at FIG. 5B.

The coupling means between latching end cap 102 and legs 122 and 124 permitting selective pressure against a length of dental floss positioned between latching end cap 102 and the irregular surface of the contiguous body intermediate portion comprises spool enclosing base 98 and latching end cap 102 being oppositely aligned from the other at separate ends of positional pin 100 with the stem 110 of the positional pin being received in central through bore 130 of the latching end cap such that the spool enclosing base 98 and latching end cap 102 are capable of depression towards each other by the fingers of a user to apply selective pressure against said length of dental floss.

FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate a preferred embodiment of the contiguous body of the MULTIPLE LOCK DENTAL FLOSS HOLDER constructed to the teachings of the present invention.

As observed at FIGS. 3 and 4, the contiguous body 156 of the preferred embodiment of the MULTIPLE LOCK DENTAL FLOSS HOLDER is similar to the previous embodiments excepting that the handle thereof is provided with a plurality of elongated holes 157 through 164 to dissipate heat and reduce cost of molding, and the forked ends portions of the two spaced arms have different floss receiving slots 166 and 168 conducive to the proper directional positioning and orientation of the length of dental floss disposed therein.

FIG. 6 illustrates in side view a preferred embodiment of a contiguous body and spool enclosure assembly of the present invention. FIG. 7 illustrates in an inverted side view the MULTIPLE LOCK DENTAL FLOSS HOLDER and SPOOL ENCLOSURE ASSEMBLY of FIG. 6 and shows the spool enclosure assembly and a spool of dental floss exploded from a contiguous body.

The spool enclosure assembly 170 shown exploded from the contiguous body 156 at FIG. 7 includes spool enclosing base 172 which has an annular skirt 174 rearwardly extending from flange cap 176. The external surface annular skirt 174 includes a plurality of guide teeth 175 cooperative with a single ratcheting mechanism or a plurality of ratcheting mechanisms in the side wall of the spool receiving cavity of the intermediate portion of the contiguous body of the multiple lock dental floss holder to allow rotation of the spool enclosure piece in one direction while preventing rotation in its opposite direction.

At FIG. 8 there is illustrated a bottom view of one embodiment of spool enclosing base 172 of the spool enclosure assembly 170 shown at FIGS. 6 and 7. Between the annular skirt 174 and a central seating hub 178 of the spool enclosing base 172 is an annular cavity 194 which is dimensioned to receive the dental floss spool 180 shown at FIG. 7. Central seating hub 178 is capable of encapturing and retaining in a forced fit the distal end 188 of a connection pin 190 inserted therein. As best shown in the bottom view of FIG. 8, central seating hub 178 consists of a plurality of legs 182, 183, 184 and 185 rearwardly extending from flange cap 176 and equidistantly separated and spaced from each other by apertures 187, 189, 191, and 193 to thereby define a central receiving aperture 186. As best shown in FIG. 9, which is a cross-sectional view of the spool enclosing base 172 shown at FIG. 8 taken along line 9--9 thereof, each of the plurality of legs, such as legs 182 and 183, has a latching lip 195, 197 near leg end surface 199 and 201 respectively. The latching lip of each of the plurality of legs cooperates with the taper 203 of distal end 188 of connection pin 190 (see FIG. 12) to encapture and retain in a forced fit distal end 188 when connection pin 190 is inserted in central seating hub 178. Specifically, central receiving aperture 186 is disposed in axial alignment with seating end surface 192 of the distal end 188 of connection pin 190. When distal end 188 is inserted into central seating hub 178, end surface 192 contacts the latching lip of each of the plurality of legs (such as latching lips 195 and 197 shown at FIG. 9) and outwardly laterally displays the same until distal end 188 is fully seated in central receiving aperture 186 whereupon, due to the taper 203 of distal end 188, the latching lips return to their pre-displacement position to encapture and retain distal end 188. In this regard, the latching lips define a first narrower diameter to the central seating hub which is temporarily displayed to allow entry of the distal end 188 into a second greater diameter of the central seating hub. Apertures 187, 189, 191, and 193 promote the outward lateral display of the plurality of legs.

As shown at FIG. 12, the connection pin 190 has stem 196 which consists of distal end 188, intermediate portion 198 and bottom portion 200 which terminates into pin head 202. Connection pin 190 cooperates with spool enclosing base 172 and end cap 204. The stem 196 of the connection pin 190 extends through a central bore 206 of end cap 204 (see FIG. 13) and also the through bore of the intermediate portion of the contiguous body in its various embodiments such that distal end 188 of the connection pin 190 can be encaptured and retained in central seating hub 178 of the spool enclosing base 172.

The preferred embodiment of the multiple lock dental floss holder establishes coupling means, gripping means, and means for unidirectional dispensing and collecting of dental floss similar to the previous embodiments of the present invention.

In particular, the gripping means may include end cap 204 (shown at FlG. 13) having a central bore 206 and an irregular surface 208 for coupling in mated engagement with an adjacent complimentary irregular surface of the intermediate portion of a contiguous body of the multiple dental floss holder. Connection pin 190 is capable of axial movement with respect to the end cap 204 to establish a position of non-mated engagement or a position of mated engagement of the end cap irregular surface to an adjacent irregular surface of the intermediate portion of a contiguous body of the multiple dental floss holder to thereby, respectively, selectively allow release or capture of a length of dental floss therebetween. As pin head 202 of the connection pin 190 extends preferably approximately one-eighth inch above the externally facing outer surface of end cap 204 when distal end 188 of connection pin 190 is retained in central seating hub 178 of spool enclosing base 172, pressure applied on pin head 202 by a user's thumb causes connection pin 190 to travel to a point where pin head 202 is flush with the externally facing outer surface 208 of the end cap 204 (see FIG. 6). In so traveling, it moves the opposing spool enclosure piece by a distance equivalent to the travel of the pin and disengages the opposing complimentary irregular surfaces of the end cap and the intermediate portion of the contiguous body. By pressing down on the end cap 204, the travel of connection pin 190 is reversed and the irregular surfaces are engaged effectively locking a length of floss between the complimentary irregular surfaces. The operation of connection pin 190 and end cap 204 to establish a position of non-mated engagement or a position of mated engagement of the end cap irregular surface to an adjacent irregular surface of the intermediate portion of a contiguous body is thus similar to the spool enclosure assembly 96 discussed above in reference to FIG. 5A and 5B; however, rather than utilizing braces projections of latching end cap 102 to cooperative with the open or closed position notches of positional pin 100, the lock and unlock position of connection pin 190 and end cap 204 is established by the distance of travel of pin head 202 to and from the externally facing outer surface 208 of the end cap 204.

Similar to other embodiments previously discussed, coupling means between end cap 204 and connection pin 190 permitting selective pressure against a length of dental floss positioned between end cap 204 and the irregular surface of the contiguous body intermediate portion comprises spool enclosing base 172 and end cap 204 being oppositely aligned from the other at separate ends of connection pin 190 with the stem 196 of the connection pin 190 being received in the central bore 206 of end cap 204 such that the spool enclosing base 172 and end cap 204 are capable of depression towards each other by the fingers of a user to apply selective pressure against the length of dental floss.

As shown in FIG. 9, the means for unidirectional dispensing and collection of thread may include the spool enclosing base 172 having an annular skirt 174 rearwardly extending from a flange cap 176, the external surface of which includes a plurality of guide teeth 210 cooperative with a ratcheting mechanism (such as ratcheting mechanism 48 shown in FlG. 3) or a plurality of ratcheting mechanisms in the side wall of the spool receiving cavity of the intermediate portion of the contiguous body to allow rotation of the spool enclosing base in one direction only while preventing rotation in an opposite direction. Alternatively, as shown at FIG. 10, the means for unidirectional dispensing and collection of dental floss thread can comprise the side wall 212 of the spool receiving cavity 34 of the intermediate portion 16 of the contiguous body having a plurality of guide teeth 214 cooperative with a ratcheting mechanism or a plurality of ratcheting mechanisms on the outer wall surface of the annular skirt of alternative embodiment spool enclosing base 226 (as shown at FIG. 11) to likewise allow rotation of the spool enclosing base in only one direction while preventing rotation in its opposite direction.

Whether the gear teeth are cooperative with one or more ratcheting mechanisms are located in the intermediate portion of the body or the spool enclosing base, it is preferable that the gear teeth be of a sufficient number such as 60 gear teeth placed at 6.degree. increments about the 360.degree. annular cap.

The means for unidirectional dispensing and collecting of dental floss across the spaced arms to prevent release of tension of the dispensed length of dental floss in the various embodiments of the multiple lock dental floss holder will require a user to properly dispense and orientate an initial length of dental floss. FIGS. 14A, 14B and 14C illustrate a proper setting of dental floss in the preferred embodiment of the MULTIPLE LOCK DENTAL FLOSS HOLDER. Referring now to FIGS. 14A and 14B after dental floss is dispensed from floss spool 180 initially downward past the through bore 32 of the intermediate portion 16 of the various contiguous body embodiment of the present invention, the floss thread 230 then extends along bottom surface 232 of end portion 20 of the contiguous body to an intermediary point 234 on the bottom surface of one spaced arm 236. As shown at FIG. 14C, the thread 230 then wraps around arm 236 commencing at intermediate point 234 and continuing through near distal end point 238 where, as shown at FIG. 14B, the thread of dental floss 230 is received into floss receiving slot 240 of arm 236 and is directed at a right angle to opposing floss receiving slit 242 of arm 244. The thread is then directed from opposing floss receiving slit 242 upward to an upper surface point 246 on arm 244 whereupon the thread wraps around in a reverse direction to the inside of arm 244 to lower surface point 248 of arm 244 where the thread diagonals to a thread receiving point 250 of spool enclosing base 172. In the initial threading of dental floss, the floss is threaded from receiving point 250 through and beyond the length of floss slot 252 of spool enclosing base 172 so that the floss can be knotted and reeled back to knot set point 254 of floss slot 252 by rotation of spool enclosing base 172. The continued unidirectional rotational movement of spool enclosing piece 172 will send thread along the thread path heretofore described providing a taut length of dental floss between the spaced arms while collecting old thread around neck 256 under flange cap 176.

The contiguous body of the preferred embodiment of the MULTIPLE LOCK DENTAL FLOSS HOLDER may contain a groove path for receiving a properly dispensed and orientated length of dental floss as well as indicia, such as groove path 247 and raised directional arrow 249 of FIG. 14A, for directing the user to properly dispense and orientate the length of dental floss into the groove path.

The present invention provides a multiple lock central floss holder of two piece construction namely a body and a spool enclosure assembly. The body need not be discarded but can be repeatably used with replacement spool enclosure assemblies containing a spool of dental floss. The relatively simple construction of the multiple lock dental floss holder may be made at minimized cost of plastic resins suitable for injection molding.

It is believed that the MULTIPLE LOCK DENTAL FLOSS HOLDER AND SPOOL ENCLOSURE ASSEMBLY THEREFOR of the present invention in its described embodiments and with its attended advantages will be fully understood from the foregoing description, and that changes may be made in form, construction, and arrangement of the several parts thereof without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention or sacrificing any of the attendant advantages. The preferred embodiments illustrated are not intended to be exhausted or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is only to be limited as necessitated by the accompanying claims.