DEVICE FOR CLEANING INTERDENTAL SPACES |
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申请号 | US12239168 | 申请日 | 2008-09-26 | 公开(公告)号 | US20090014025A1 | 公开(公告)日 | 2009-01-15 |
申请人 | Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Lyulyev; Sergey Maikovich Pavelko; Svetlana Ivanovna Shkurenko; | 发明人 | Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Lyulyev; Sergey Maikovich Pavelko; Svetlana Ivanovna Shkurenko; | ||||
摘要 | Individually packaged coils of dental floss are packed in a succession of separable. The package can be a tubular sheet structure with segments formed between transverse lines of attachment at which the floss is cut and the segments are separable by a lateral perforation. Tearing a separated single segment in half allows the floss to be extended between the free ends of the floss, each captured in the remaining portions of the weld lines at opposite ends of the segment. The segments can be formed from two facing sheets with welds along both lateral edges and across the transverse lines between segments. Alternatively, an integral sheet can be folded to form one lateral edge and attached at the other edge. The sheet material can be polymer coated paper or a transparent plastic. | ||||||
权利要求 | We claim: |
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说明书全文 | This is a continuation in part of international application PCT/RU2006/000153, filed Mar. 31, 2006, and designating the United States. The invention concerns oral hygiene devices for cleaning inter-dental spaces and in particular concerns lengths of dental floss packaged in a folded tube. The tube is segmented to carry single use loops of floss between spaced lines of separation. A tear notch is disposed between the separation lines. Devices have been attempted for cleaning inter-dental spaces, comprising containers for coiled floss. Commonly marketed dental floss containers generally have some sort of body for feeding lengths of floss from a supply, and means associated with a holder and a working part, for attaching an end of the floss. These means can be arranged at an opening of a holder provided in the floss storing unit. Such means are arranged where the base of an elongated basic wedge joins the holder, the floss storage unit being arranged on the outer surface of the holder and connected to the base of an additional elongated wedge fixed without tension, as a floss end stop, as in RU Patent No. 2077872, dated Oct. 18, 1993. A device for cleaning inter-dental spaces comprising floss packed sealingly with end portions for holding it is arranged in a package with sewn-on an additional support as disclosed in RU Patent No. 2257867, dated Dec. 29, 2003). Prior art technical solutions are characterized by relatively complicated technological processes for packaging the floss. The strength and other properties of the floss are impaired during the sewing of the support with the floss and due to a “peeling effect,” involving formation of dust from the floss, which dust may be left in the inter-dental spaces violating hygienic standards, and even enter the gastrointestinal tract. According to the present disclosure, an improved floss packaging technique involves a simplified technological process for packaging the floss, ensuring sealed and hygienic properties of the floss through transportation and potentially long storage to the point of use, eliminating the “peeling effect,” and breaks, sharp bends and the like, to preserve the elasticity of the floss, and in general to provide for a packaging structure that on the one hand is technologically simple, and on the other hand provides certain conveniences that facilitate access to the product and enable the floss to be appropriately manipulated by the user. Floss packaging attempts comprising short coils of floss packaged individually, are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,986,289 and 5,322,077, among others. These products are examples of prior attempts to package one-use short lengths of floss in containers that protect the floss from dust and dirt during storage and shipment. The product is produced by providing indefinitely elongated sources of floss and of two sheets of material that will face opposite sides of the package. Single use lengths of floss are coiled and spaced by short straight lengths of floss. The successive coils and intermediate straight lengths are captured between the facing sheets, which can comprise paper material, for example. The facing sheets can be adhered to one another linearly along both opposite edges, and also transversely exclusively at the straight lengths of floss. The packaging also can be perforated or otherwise weakened transversely at the straight length zones, and the floss also can be cut at these zones, so as to divide the successive still-attached product into individual packages. The product can be separated into individual use segments by ripping across the transverse weakened lines (e.g., perforations). When ready to use the product, the user tears open the package in one direction or another and obtains access to the floss. The floss is pulled out from the coil, typically by pulling the ends that were captured between the facing sheets at the weakened lines, and elongated for manual insertion into spaces between the teeth. It is an object of the invention to achieve optimally simplified manufacture of conveniently deployed individual portions of dental floss. This object is achieved in a device for cleaning inter-dental spaces, comprising a floss in a sealed pack wherein opposite ends extending from a coil of floss are fixed at perforations or similarly weakened lines between the individual portions, and a tear line for opening each of the packages is preferentially defined by a transverse notch spaced between successive weakened lines between the packages. As a result, when the packages are torn open and the covering material at the ends of the packages are pulled away from one another to extend the floss from the coil, the free ends of the floss are captive in the separated portions of the packaging material, forming tabs. According to another development, the sealed package is embodied in the form of a two-layer strip subdivided into individual sections, each of which is welded along the circumference thereof by means of a weld seam and which are separated from each other by a weakened line, and the floss is arranged in each section in the form of a plurality of windings, and the end portions of the floss are led out of each section to the opposite sides of the package in such a way that the floss is able to pass from one section to another, and the floss is pre-cut at the passing point. Advantageously, however, the package can be made from a single sheet of facing material rather than two facing sheets. The single sheet is twice the lateral width of the package and is folded along a longitudinal line such that a generally tubular enclosure is made but requires that the package be welded only along one lateral edge, and also transversely at spaced lines that form the borders between individual packages and also tabs that capture the fee ends of the floss As made in two layers, preferably as one folded structure, both layers of the sheet material of the package are made of polymer coated paper. Additionally or alternatively, one layer of the package can comprise a paper or coated paper and the other can comprise a transparent thermo-packaging material enabling the user to see the coil of floss. The tear mark or notch provided on one or both of the lateral sides of each section enables the package to be separated transversely at the coil. Preferably, the tear mark comprises a notch on the lateral edge that is opposite from the elongated longitudinal fold. Thus in manufacturing, the notch can extend laterally inwardly, by only a portion of the lateral thickness of the weld seam. Thus the floss is fully enclosed in packaging until the individual package is torn open. Additional aspects will be apparent from the following discussion of exemplary embodiments. There are shown in the drawings a number of embodiments and aspects of the invention as presently preferred. It should be appreciated that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and combinations of aspects that are presented as examples, and is capable of additional embodiments in accordance with the invention as claimed. In the drawings, A device for cleaning inter-dental spaces is shown throughout the drawings using the same reference numbers to identify the same elements in the successive embodiments and views. Referring to Each section 3 is welded by means of a weld seam 4 along at least part of its circumference as necessary to form a substantially complete enclosure for the floss, but for the extreme ends of the floss that continued from one section to the next during manufacture but are cut between the sections at transverse weakened lines 5. At these lines 5 separating the packaging into individual segments, the sheets of material on opposite sides of the package are affixed, for example by use of adhesive or more preferably by heat or ultrasonic welding of material coated with or infused with a thermoformable plastic. The weakened line 5 can be perforated or pinched or similarly weakened, preferably along a line that is spaced from the edges of the weld, so that when the weakened line 5 is torn across, the free ends of the floss in both adjacent segments remain captive in the portion or the weld line that remains with their respective segments. In the embodiment shown in Floss 6 is placed in each section 3 between the layers in the form of a plurality of coils with at least one and preferably several substantially overlapped windings 7. The end portions 8 of the dental floss 6 are led out of each section to the opposite sides of section 3 and are arranged in the package in such a way that they continue or pass from one section to the next. The dental floss 6 is cut at the passing point to facilitate separation of the sections. Cutting of the floss 6 at a point within the thickness of the weld line can be part of forming the weakened line 5 for separating the segments into individual units. An advantageous length for the floss is 25-26 cm, which is an optimal value for one-time use after which the package and floss are discarded. The even arrangement of the windings 7, without sharp folds, preserves the quality of the dental floss and facilitates insertion between and movement in inter-dental spaces. For convenience when opening the device, a tear mark 10 is provided in the form of a notch on one of the free sides 9 of each section. The sealed two-layer package 1 may be made with two layers of polymer coated paper, for example, paper manufactured in accordance with standardized Russian Material Specification No. TU 54-34-003-00334095-98. The sealed two-layer package 1 may be made such that one of the layers consists of paper, for example, paper according to the above-mentioned TU specification, and the other layer consists of a transparent thermo-packaging material manufactured according to standardized Russian Material Specification No. GOST 10354-82. Stomatological (intra-oral) aspects can be incorporated in the dental floss and/or the packaging, such as various coatings and various additives, fragrances, drug preparations, etc. The device is used for cleaning inter-dental spaces in the following manner. One section can be separated from the others along the weakened line (e.g., perforation) 5 between the segments. Tearing open is performed along the tear mark 10 on one of the free sides 9 of the separated section between the longitudinally spaced lines 5 that demarcate the segments. This releases the coils of dental floss 6, which can be pulled out and elongated freely while the fixed end portions 8 of the dental floss remain captive in the material at the weld seams 4 of the section. The floss is ready to use and can be manipulated handily using the portions of the paper still affixed to the ends of the floss as finger tabs. The other sections 3 of the sealed package remain in the device until the next time of use. The device for cleaning inter-dental spaces is compact, easy to manufacture and use, makes it possible to pull out the floss freely without entanglement, preserving the uniformity of action of the therapeutic effect and all the properties of the floss that are relevant for the consumer. The foregoing discussion and the embodiments illustrated in the drawings illustrate several examples, but it should be appreciated that the invention is not limited to theses examples and may be varied as provided in the attached claims. |