Patent ID: 7101182

Claim:
A prophy angle, comprising: a body having a cylinder and a head portion associated with the cylinder; a drive system extending through the body, the drive system including: a drive shaft assembly extending through the cylinder; and a cup shaft assembly extending through the head portion and coupled to the drive shaft assembly, the cup shaft assembly further including a prophy cup disposed at one end thereof, the prophy cup in fluid communication with the body; and a paste feed assembly including: a piston assembly disposed within the body comprising a front face and a trailing surface, the trailing surface further including a plurality of teeth; and a piston movement assembly including a handle member, the handle member comprising: a second end associated with the piston assembly, a first end distally spaced therefrom and a pivot point positioned therebetween, wherein a rotation of the first end of the handle member about the pivot point rotates the second end, moving the piston assembly relative to the body, to, in turn, direct a paste positioned within the body to the prophy cup; the piston movement assembly further includes a piston engagement member, the piston engagement member further including at least one tooth engagement finger, the at least one tooth engagement finger capable of engaging at least one tooth of the trailing surface of the piston assembly; the piston engagement member coupled to the handle member such that movement of the handle member in a first direction imparts movement to the piston engagement member in a first direction, and movement of the handle member in a second direction imparts movement of the piston engagement member in a second direction; and the teeth of the trailing surface and the at least one tooth engagement finger configured such that movement of the at least one tooth engagement finger in a first direction imparts movement of the piston assembly in a first direction, and movement of the at least one tooth engagement finger in a second direction translates the at least one tooth engagement finger relative to the teeth of the trailing surface wherein, the piston engagement member further comprises a tube member from which the at least one tooth engagement finger extends, the tube member further including at least one follower associated therewith; and the handle member further including at least one cam surface associated with the second end thereof, the at least one cam surface interfacing with the at least one follower, to, in turn, impart slidable movement of the piston engagement member within the cylinder of the body.