Disposable Flosser Head Attachment for Water Floss Pick Hygiene
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional flossing devices with water flow can spread bacteria from the mouth or other sources, leading to hygiene issues due to repeated use, as they are not easily sanitized.
Innovation Solution
A disposable flosser head attachment that fits into a water flosser tip, allowing conversion into a water floss pick, featuring a handle portion with a concave support member and a hollow passage for water flow, along with sealing and lock mechanisms, and made of polymeric materials for easy handling and cleaning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a reusable water flosser tip is used continuously, then water flow for flossing is maintained, but bacterial accumulation and hygiene issues occur
Solution Approach 1:
The flossing device is divided into separable components: a reusable water flosser tip and a disposable floss attachment. This segmentation allows the water flow mechanism to be reused while the floss attachment, which contacts the mouth, is discarded after single use to prevent bacterial accumulation.
Solution Approach 2:
The floss attachment is designed as a disposable component that is discarded after single use. This eliminates the need to clean and sanitize the flossing contact points, thereby preventing bacterial growth while maintaining continuous availability of clean flossing surfaces through replacement.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a disposable flosser is used, then hygiene is maintained, but the device cannot be reused and creates waste
Solution Approach 1:
The device is segmented into a reusable water flosser tip and a disposable floss attachment. This allows the majority of the device (water flow mechanism) to be reused multiple times, reducing waste, while only the small floss attachment is discarded to maintain hygiene.
Solution Approach 2:
The reusable water flosser tip serves multiple functions across different floss attachments: it provides water flow, supports the floss attachment, and can be used with different types of floss attachments. This multi-functionality maximizes reuse and minimizes waste.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the floss attachment is made disposable, then bacterial growth is prevented, but the device complexity increases due to replacement mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The floss attachment is extracted as a separate, removable component from the water flosser tip. This extraction allows for simple replacement without requiring disassembly of the entire device, maintaining ease of use while preventing bacterial growth through disposable contact surfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The floss attachment is designed to fit within the water flosser tip structure, with the floss attachment nested in the handle portion. This nesting arrangement allows for simple insertion and removal of the floss attachment without requiring complex mechanisms, maintaining device simplicity while enabling disposable use.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for performing dental hygiene includes a concave support member integrally coupled to an upper end of a handle portion, and a floss attachment coupled to the concave support member between a first end and a second end of the concave support member. A hollow passage extending from a lower end of the handle portion to the second end of the concave support member is provided, which receives a water flosser tip such that water from the water flosser tip traverses and exits from an aperture shaped end of the hollow passage at the second end of the concave support member onto the floss attachment in a direction substantially parallel to the floss attachment for the apparatus to work as a water floss pick.