Dental Flosser Dispenser with Gravity Biasing Slot
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing single-use dental flossers are exposed to airborne germs and dirt when retrieved from packaging, lacking a convenient and sanitary dispensing mechanism.
Innovation Solution
A refillable flosser dispenser with a housing and refill cartridge that sequentially dispenses dental flossers, using gravity or a mechanical bias to align flossers with a dispensing slot, ensuring single-flosser extraction while preventing contamination.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If flossers are stored in open packaging for easy access, then ease of operation is improved, but hygiene is compromised due to exposure to airborne germs and dirt
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a sealed pouch made of flexible material to enclose the flosser. This thin film barrier protects the flosser from airborne germs and dirt while allowing the pouch to be easily opened and closed for refilling and dispensing operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealed pouch creates a protected environment that isolates the flosser from the external contaminated atmosphere. By maintaining this barrier until the moment of use, the flosser remains free from airborne germs and dirt particles.
2Productivity
If multiple flossers are stored together in a package, then productivity is improved through bulk storage, but contamination risk increases due to finger contact during retrieval
Solution Approach 1:
The dispensing mechanism extracts a single flosser from the bulk storage at a time through a controlled opening. This extraction process allows bulk storage efficiency while preventing finger contact with multiple flossers, as only one is dispensed at a time through the narrow opening.
Solution Approach 2:
The dispensing opening acts as an intermediary mechanism between the bulk storage and the user's hand. It mediates the transfer of flossers in a controlled manner that prevents direct finger contact with the stored flossers, thereby reducing contamination risk.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If a dispensing mechanism is added to protect flossers, then hygiene is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The device is segmented into simple functional components: a sealed pouch for storage, a controlled opening for dispensing, and a closure mechanism. This segmentation allows each component to perform its function independently with simple design, avoiding unnecessary complexity while maintaining hygiene protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The dispensing mechanism is designed to be self-operating through simple user actions like opening the closure and allowing gravity or manual pressure to dispense the flosser. No complex motors, sensors, or automated systems are required, keeping the device simple while effective.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The dispenser provides a convenient, sanitary, and sequential dispensing system that protects flossers from germs and dirt, allowing easy refilling and use, enhancing user hygiene and convenience.
Implementation Method 1
The flossers within the channel and the cavity are positionally biased by a biasing force toward the dispensing-end wall for edgewise alignment with the dispensing slot
Implementation Method 2
In a typical embodiment situated for use, the housing and a refill cartridge inserted therein will be oriented such that the dispensing slot is beneath the closed first end of the cartridge; in this orientation, gravity may serve as the force biasing the flossers toward the dispensing slot
Data Source
AI summary
A Refillable dental flosser dispenser stores and sequentially dispenses a plurality of dental flossers each of which flossers has first and second sides and an edge extending between the first and second sides. The dispenser includes a housing having a refill end, a dispensing end and a housing side wall extending between the refill and dispensing ends. The housing side wall defines an internal storage cavity within which plural flossers are stored in a side-by-side serial arrangement. A dispensing-end wall combines with a housing side wall to define a side-emitting dispensing slot dimensioned so as to permit the edgewise withdrawal from within the storage cavity of only a single flosser at a time. Flossers within the storage cavity are positionally biased toward the dispensing wall for edgewise alignment with the dispensing slot such that, as each successive flosser is extracted from the storage cavity through the dispensing slot, each remaining flosser is incrementally advanced toward the dispensing-end wall by a distance corresponding to a single flosser width. A replaceable refill cartridge capable of containing plural flossers includes an open end through which flossers are sequentially fed into edgewise alignment with the dispensing slot.