Abstract:
A device and method for its use for cleaning teeth. An uninterrupted floss-type loop, is supported by an implement. The implement includes a handle portion sized to be gripped by a user and a pair of extensions emanating from the handle portion and terminating in spaced-apart terminal ends. A stem is located in and supported by the handle portion being biased away from the terminal ends, the floss-type loop being sized to pass over the terminal ends and the stem to provide the floss-type material under tension between the pair of extensions.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0001]    The present invention deals with a device for cleaning teeth and a method for its use. The invention includes floss in the form of an uninterrupted loop maintained by an implement under pressure to enable teeth to be cleaned and optionally for a new segment of floss to be advanced so that each passage of floss between teeth is fresh and not subjected to debris from previous cleaning strokes. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    It is generally agreed upon by the dental community that plaque which remains on teeth after brushing is a major of cause of tooth and gum issues and that flossing is an effective way for removing plaque and gingivitis. 
         [0003]    Floss can be composed of monofilaments such as depicted in  FIGS. 2B and 2C  as segments  24  and  25  or as a bundle of thin filaments such as illustrated as element  23  in  FIG. 2A . The floss can either be uncoated ( FIG. 2B ) or coated with a wax  26  which could contain an antibacterial agent or sodium fluoride to increase the effectiveness of the floss and to make it easier to pass between adjacent teeth. In use, the floss is gently inserted between teeth and pressed against their insides ideally close to the gums of a user. Most dental floss is composed of either plastic (nylon, PTFE, or polyethylene) or woven fibers and, as noted above, can be flavored or unflavored, waxed or unwaxed. 
         [0004]    Most commonly, dental floss is applied by holding a linear strand of the material between a user&#39;s fingers or by stringing the floss onto a forked-like instrument. The floss is guided between teeth and under one&#39;s gum line to remove particles of food stuck and plaque that adheres to dental surfaces. 
         [0005]    There are various prior art suggestions for producing floss in the form of continuous loops rather than as string like linear segments. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,371,133 to Gant, issued on Apr. 16, 2002, discloses an endless loop in the form of an extrusion-molded thermoplastic polyurethane having a high degree of elasticity. A user will stretch the loop of flossed material causing it to thin, thus promoting its passage between adjacent teeth. U.S. Pat. No. 4,523,600 to Donovan, issued on Jun. 18, 1985, teaches the use of a loop of floss material which includes a joint where the ends of the floss have been connected to one another by knotting, causing there to be a protruding tail section, or by overlapping ends resulting in a thickened joined area which the patentee alleges assists in improving the effectiveness of the floss. 
         [0006]    A limitation in flossing unrecognized by the prior art is the result of the application of the same segment of floss in proceeding from tooth to tooth. As floss is used between teeth, it becomes contaminated with food debris and the like which is carried along thus compromising its effectiveness. To provide an unused segment of floss as one proceeds from tooth to tooth, one would have to unwind a portion of the floss from one finger and take up the slack in a second finger when linear floss is used by hand. This is obviously cumbersome and is an operation which is rarely carried out by a user. Even when a forked appliance is employed, the segment of floss made available during the flossing operation remains static. 
         [0007]    The present invention is intended to provide an improvement over prior art flossing by providing a convenient device for not only flossing between teeth but by presenting a fresh unused segment of floss each time a subsequent tooth is flossed. 
         [0008]    These and further objects will be readily apparent when considering the following disclosure and appended claims. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0009]    A device and method for its use for cleaning teeth. An uninterrupted floss-type loop is supported by an implement. The implement includes a handle portion sized to be gripped by a user and a pair of extensions emanating from the handle portion and terminating in spaced-apart terminal ends. A stem is located in and supported by the handle portion being biased away from the terminal ends, the floss-type loop being sized to pass over the terminal ends and the stem to provide the floss-type material under tension between the pair of extensions. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
         [0010]      FIGS. 1A ,  1 B and  1 C are plan views of floss-type loops of different dimensions for use in practicing the present invention. 
           [0011]      FIGS. 2A ,  2 B and  2 C are illustrations of materials useful in creating the floss-type loops of  FIGS. 1A ,  1 B and  1 C. 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  is a partial view of a thumb wheel and biased stem useful in practicing the present invention. 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  is a top plan view of the present invention incorporating the detailed thumb wheel arrangement shown in  FIG. 3 . 
           [0014]      FIG. 5  is a side view of a scalloped floss material as a preferred embodiment useful in practicing the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0015]    Novel features which are characteristic of the invention, as to organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof will be better understood from the following description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of example. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for illustration description only and are not intended as definitions of the limits of the invention. The various features of novelty which characterize the invention are recited with particularity in the claims. 
         [0016]    There has been broadly outlined more important features of the invention in the summary above and in order that the detailed description which follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form additional subject matter of the claims appended hereto. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which this disclosure is based readily may be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important therefore, that claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention. 
         [0017]    Certain terminology and the derivations thereof may be used in the following description for convenience and reference only, and will not be limiting. For example, words such as “upward,” “downward,” “left,” and “right” refer to directions in the drawings to which reference is made unless otherwise stated. Similar words such as “inward” and “outward” refer to directions toward and away from, respectively, the geometric center of a device or area and designated parts thereof. Reference in the singular tense include the plural and vice versa, unless otherwise noted. 
         [0018]    As noted previously, the present device operates with a floss-type loop which is uninterrupted as to provide a consistently uniform floss loop. As noted in  FIGS. 1A ,  1 B and  1 C, these loops can be of various sizes and employ a range of diameters, the intention being to provide an uninterrupted floss-type loop which is sized to fit between teeth of a user and be applied to and below a user&#39;s gum line to remove debris and plaque. 
         [0019]    Uninterrupted floss-type loops  11 ,  12 , and  13  are intended to be employed in a device in reference to  FIG. 4 . Device  40  includes a handle portion  41  optionally provided with thumb indent  57  and finger indents  56  to facilitate the gripping of handle  41  by a user. Uninterrupted floss-type loop  54  is installed onto device  40  as shown. It is a feature of the present device to provide uninterrupted floss-type loop  54  under tension to ensure that segment  60  intended to pass between a user&#39;s teeth is taut. As noted, uninterrupted floss-type loop  54  is triangulated between terminal ends  52  and  53  of extension pair  47  and  48  and stem  43  ( FIG. 3 ). Uninterrupted floss-type loop  54  travels over tracks  49  and  51  which act to guide uninterrupted floss-type loop  54  as illustrated. 
         [0020]    As noted above, it is important that uninterrupted floss-type loop  54  remain under tension. This is accomplished by biasing stem  43  away from terminal ends  52  and  53 . Stem  43  can be pushed or pulled away from these terminal ends, the means to do so not being an important feature of the present invention. One illustrated way of biasing stem  43  is shown in  FIG. 3 . In this non-limiting example, spring  45  pushes against lower hub wheel  40  causing the assembly in the form of lower hub wheel  40 , stem  43  and thumb wheel  42  to be biased in the direction of arrow  46 . As uninterrupted floss-type loop  54  is intended to wrap about stem  43 , its movement within open track  44  in the direction of arrow  46  causes floss-type loop  54  to be taut for the reasons stated previously. An added feature of this arrangement is that once uninterrupted floss-type loop  54  has been used, it can be easily removed from device  40  by pushing thumb wheel  42  towards extensions  47  and  48  facilitating removal of the floss from tracks  49  and  51  and shaft  43 . 
         [0021]    Another defining feature of the present invention is its ability to present an unused portion of the uninterrupted floss-type loop  54  between terminal ends  52  and  53  as segment  60  as a user proceeds to floss, from tooth pair to tooth pair. To date, there has been no convenient appliance which would facilitate the presentation of clean, unused floss as a user moves segment  60  from tooth to tooth. An appreciation of a convenient way to carry out this goal is illustrated in  FIG. 3 . 
         [0022]    In turning to  FIG. 3  it is noted that stem  43  is made part of an assembly which includes a means to rotate the stem, such as thumb wheel  42  although other means such as a ratcheted lever and the like could be used equally as well. If thumb wheel  42  is used as the means to rotate stem  43 , it can ideally be provided with score lines  55  at its perimeter such that a user could run one&#39;s thumb or forefinger in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction over the score lines which would, in turn, cause stem  43  to rotate and move uninterrupted floss-type loop  54 . The ability of the present device to do so is enhanced by the tension created on uninterrupted floss-type loop  54  by biasing stem  43  in the direction of arrow  46  as previously described. In use, one would grip handle  41  taking advantage of thumb indent  57  and finger indents  56  while moving the appliance to enable segment  60  to pass between adjacent teeth and down to or below a user&#39;s gum line. Prior to repeating this procedure on the next adjacent tooth pair, thumb wheel  42  would be rotated causing a fresh section of uninterrupted floss-type loop  54  to present itself as new segment  60  thus preventing any plaque, food particles or other contamination to be spread between teeth being flossed. 
         [0023]    As yet a further preferred embodiment, reference is made to  FIG. 5 . Specifically, floss-type loop  54  can be composed of floss-like material  70  of compositions such as described previously. However, floss-like material  70  is characterized as having hills  61  and  63  and valleys  62  and  64 , created by any one of well-known fabrication techniques, such as by biased embossing rollers. The scalloped profile as depicted in  FIG. 5 , when formed into loop  54  enhances the effectiveness of the flossing procedure as hills  61  and  63  and valleys  62  and  64  pass between adjacent teeth and over a user&#39;s gum line. As a preferred embodiment, stem  43  can be produced with scallopes or score lines  58 . If scalloped, it is ideal to match the scalloping to hills  61  and  63  and valleys  62  and  64  to assist in moving floss  70  as indicated. 
         [0024]    The above disclosure is sufficient to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to practice the invention, and provides the best mode of practicing the invention presently contemplated by the inventor. While there is provided herein a full and complete disclosure of the preferred embodiments of the invention, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction, dimensions, relationships, or operations as described. Various modifications, alternative constructions, changes and equivalents will readily occur to those skilled in the art and may be employed as suitable without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention. Such changes might involve alternative materials, components, structural arrangements, sizes, shapes, forms, functions, operational features or the like. Therefore, the above description and illustration should not be considered as limiting the scope of the invention, which is defined by the appended claims.