Dental Floss Holder with Locking Fork and Pre-loaded Cassette
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing dental floss holders are difficult to use, prone to tangling, and often require replacement after single use, lacking versatility for different types of floss and user convenience, especially for left-handed users and areas with tight spaces in the mouth.
Innovation Solution
A dental floss holder with a secure locking system and reduced friction elements, allowing easy replacement of floss without tangling, designed for use with various types of floss, including dental tape, and accommodating both right- and left-handed users, featuring a one-piece plastic housing with a fork-shaped design and a water-resistant cassette for efficient floss management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional dental floss holders are used, then flossing function is provided, but the floss becomes difficult to hold firmly, stretches or becomes tangled during use
Solution Approach 1:
The floss holder is divided into distinct functional segments: a holder body for stable positioning, a separate floss spool or cartridge for controlled dispensing, and a cutting mechanism for clean separation. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function optimally without interfering with others, preventing tangling and stretching while maintaining firm holding capability.
Solution Approach 2:
An intermediary mechanism (such as a ratchet system, controlled release spool, or friction-based regulator) is introduced between the floss and the user's hand. This intermediary controls the floss tension and movement, preventing it from stretching or tangling while allowing smooth manipulation during the flossing process.
2Reliability
If dental floss holders require installation before each use, then fresh floss is ensured, but time is consumed and the process becomes cumbersome
Solution Approach 1:
The floss is pre-loaded into cartridges or spools that are prepared in advance. Users simply attach these pre-prepared cartridges to the holder body, eliminating the need for manual floss installation each time. The preliminary preparation of floss sections in ready-to-use cartridges maintains freshness while dramatically reducing installation time and complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The design incorporates disposable or replaceable floss cartridges that are discarded after use. This eliminates the need for cleaning and maintenance of the floss storage mechanism, ensures each new cartridge provides fresh floss, and allows for extremely quick replacement by simply detaching one cartridge and attaching another, minimizing time loss.
3Ease of operation
If dental floss holders are designed for right hand users, then right-handed operation is optimized, but left-handed users experience inconvenience
Solution Approach 1:
The floss holder is designed with asymmetric features that can be easily reversed or flipped. The holder body, cutting mechanism, and cartridge orientation are configured so that the device can be mirrored to accommodate either right-handed or left-handed users. This asymmetric design with reversal capability provides optimized ergonomics for both hand preferences without requiring separate devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The floss holder incorporates universal design features that allow it to function effectively for both right-handed and left-handed users. The cartridge insertion mechanism, floss dispensing path, and cutting action are designed to work bidirectionally or can be easily reconfigured, making the single device universally applicable to users of any hand preference while maintaining optimal usability for each group.
4Productivity
If large pieces of floss are replaced at a time, then replacement frequency is reduced, but waste is created and precision is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The floss holder is designed to dispense and replace only the necessary partial length of floss required for effective flossing, rather than requiring replacement of entire long sections. The controlled dispensing mechanism allows precise delivery of the optimal floss length, and the cutting mechanism enables clean separation at the exact point needed, replacing only the used portion while preserving unused floss for continued use, thus reducing waste without increasing replacement frequency.
Data Source
AI summary
A floss holder includes a housing and a spindle for receiving floss and a fork having two ends between which the feed portion of the floss is secured for use. A first locking plate is operable for receiving a feed portion and a return portion of the floss upon a horizontal surface thereof. A second locking plate is operable to engage the first locking plate, where a distal end of the second locking plate engages the feed portion and the return portion to substantially constrain the feed portion of the floss on the fork and the return portion, applying tension along the feed portion and the return portion. A number of protrusions assist in retaining the feed portion and preventing the tape floss from slippage while reducing the friction around the fork; the protrusions are located at the base of the fork and inside the floss holder.