Patent ID: 7882845

Claim:
A flossing device with internal floss feed comprising: a flossing head adapted for insertion into the human mouth, an assembly housing, said assembly housing having a longitudinal axis and supporting in side by side relation a drive axle pin and an axle pin, each pin having a longitudinal axis, whereby each of the pins is supported such that they can rotate about their respectively longitudinal axes and such that said axle pin can slide towards and away from said drive axle pin, said assembly housing being hollow and including two longitudinally extending slots in the housing, and opposite ends of each of said axle pin and said drive axle pin traversing a respective one of said slots and being supported thereby such that they can slide along the slots and rotate relative thereto, a handle adapted for being gripped by the human hand and having structure for holding a spool of floss, a body connector, said body connector having a first end and a second end, said handle being removably attached to said first end of said body connector, and said assembly housing being fixedly attached to said second end of said body connector, a feed system for feeding said floss to said flossing head, said feed system comprising said drive axle pin, a feed drive gear having a diameter and being rigidly affixed to a first end of said drive axle pin and a feed gear rigidly affixed to a first end of said axle pin, said feed gear being in interconnecting, geared juxtaposition with said feed drive gear, whereby floss can pass between said feed drive gear and said feed gear only by rotating said feed drive gear and said feed gear, such that said floss is pulled from said spool and advanced beyond said feed drive gear and said feed gear, spanning structure for spanning said floss between two points on said flossing head, said spanning structure sized for insertion of said floss between the teeth of a user, said spanning structure comprises a pair of tines at an end of said flossing head at a distance from said assembly housing, a return system for returning a used portion of said floss from said flossing head, said return system comprises said axle pin, a return gear having a diameter and being rotatably affixed to a second end of said axle pin and a return drive gear fixedly affixed to a second end of said drive axle pin, and further comprises a flexible tensioner positioned to exert pressure against said axle pin to push it towards the drive axle pin, urging said return gear in interconnecting, geared juxtaposition with said return drive gear, whereby said floss can pass between said return gear and said return drive gear such that said floss is pulled from said tines and advanced beyond said return gear and said return drive gear, said flexible tensioner being located within said hollow assembly housing and including an axle groove which abuts and exerts pressure against said axle pin to push it towards said drive axle pin, advancing structure for advancing said floss through said feed system and said return system.