US2896639A - Dental cleaners - Google Patents

Description

INVENTOR ATTORNEY United States Patent O DENTAL CLEANERS Margaret EE. Fleming, Niagara Falls, N.Y., assignor to John Stuart Fleming, Niagara Falls, N .Y.

Application \ctober 1, 1956, Serial No. 613,247 1 Claim. (c1. 132-9'3) The invention relates to dental cleaners for dislodging food particles from between adjacent teeth. 'This application is related to the application Serial Number 559,071, filed January 13, 1956, for Dental Cleaners.

An object of the invention is to provide a dental cleaner consisting of a strip of thin flexible paper having a supercial thin coating of water repellant reinforcing material upon both sides thereof, said strip having opposite parallel cushioned soft edges extending along it as borders, each of said soft edges being beveled and having the pulp of said paper exposed upon one side thereof and having said coating upon its non-beveled side supporting said soft edge against undue vertical yielding during movement of said strip between adjacent teeth, the beveled side of one of said soft edges being located upon one side of said strip, the beveled side of the opposite soft edge being located upon the opposite side of said strip.

Another object is to provide said strip with a plurality of weakened tear lines indented in said coating, dening minor dental cleaner strips adapted to be torn from the major strip along said indented tear lines, the indentation of the tear lines in said coating facilitating an accurate tear along said lines.

Other objects and advantages will appear hereinafter or will be obvious.

The invention consists in the novel construction and combinations of parts as hereinafter set forth in the claim.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a plan view of the major strip before being divided by the tear lines into minor strips.

Figure la is an edge view of the same.

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1, showing the weakened tear lines.

Figure 2a is an edge view of the same.

Figure 3 is a section on a much enlarged scale of a fragment of the paper having the opposite soft edges.

Figure 4 is a plan view of the same.

In the drawings, 1 designates the dental cleaner, consisting of a major strip 1 of thin flexible paper having a thin superficial coating 2 of water repellant reinforcing material upon both sides thereof, said strip having opposite parallel cushioned soft edges 3 extending along it as borders, each of said soft edges being beveled and having the pulp of said paper exposed upon one side 4 thereof and having said coating upon its non-beveled side supporting said soft edge against undue vertical yielding during movementvof said strip between adjacent teeth, the beveled side of one of said soft edges being located upon one side of said strip, the beveled side of the opposite soft edge being located upon the opposite side of said strip, as shown in Fig. 3, each soft edge being protected by the related coating.

A strip of thin exible paper is capable of being torn from a major strip of said paper along scored or indented 2,896,639 Patented `liuly 28, 1959 rice weakened tear lines of said major strip to provide the torn strip with a cushioned soft edge extending along it as a border, but the tear tends to depart from the tear line. The indentation of the weakened. tear line in said coating 2 reduces this tendency and facilitates making an accurate tear along the weakened line.

Said major strip 1 is provided with a plurality of weakened tear lines 5 indented in said coating 2, defining minor dental cleaner strips 6, adapted to be torn from said major strip along said lines 5, said indentation facilitating making an accurate tear along the weakened line.

The superficial thin coating 2 of water repellant reinforcing material such for example as a silicone or a wax may be applied to said paper in any suitable manner. Said coating 2 has substantially no penetration in the paper. Said exible paper may be sized to close its pores, it may be calendered between calender rolls to make it smooth and compact, and it may be of long ber to increase its tensile strength. Said coated paper must be thin enough to enable said strip to be movable between adjacent teeth. Said coating 2 is such as to not greatly increase the thickness of said paper, nor to prejudice the softness of said edge 3, nor to prejudice the iiexibility of said strip in dental cleaner use. Said soft edge being weak without said coating requires said coating to support it against undue yielding in dental cleaner use. As shown, the beveled side 4 of one soft edge is located upon one side of said strip 3, the beveled side of the opposite soft edge being located upon the other side of said strip, so that for this purpose said strip needs said coating 2 upon both sides thereof to provide said coating upon the non-beveled side of each of its opposite soft edges. The location of the beveled side of the soft edge 3 upon one or the other side of said strip depends upon the manner in which said strip is torn along the weakened tear line.

The right is reserved to modifications coming within the scope of the claim.

I claim:

A dental cleaner, consisting of a major strip of thin flexible paper having a superficial thin coating of water repellant reinforcing material upon both sides thereof, said strip having opposite parallel cushioned soft edges extending along it as borders, each of said soft edges being beveled and having the pulp of said paper exposed upon one side thereof and having said coating upon its non-beveled side supporting said soft edge against undue vertical yielding during movement of said strip between adjacent teeth, the beveled side of one of said soft edges being located upon one side of said strip, the beveled side of the opposite soft edge being located upon the opposite side of said strip, said major strip being provided with a plurality of weakened tear lines indented in said coating defining minor dental cleaner strips adapted to be torn from said major strip along said indented tear lines, the identation of said tear lines in said coating facilitating an accurate tear along said lines.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Fleming Nov. 27, 1956

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