Abstract: A dental floss dispenser in a card format formed by a base panel having a shallow well surrounded by a peripheral ridge, and a face panel superposed on the base panel and bonded to the ridge. Adjacent the front end of the face panel are an aperture and a miniature cutting blade. Nested in the well is a supply of dental floss constituted by an unsupported flattened helical coil. The floss filament from which the coil is wound has a starting end at the front of the coil, the filament at the rear of the coil passing internally through the coil to emerge from its front as a pull out lead which is threaded through the aperture in the face panel. The starting end of the coil is bonded to adjacent convolutions and thereby prevent unwinding of the unsupported coil. To obtain a useable length of floss, the user pulls on the lead to partially unwind the coil and then cuts off the length on the blade.

Abstract: A dental floss dispenser in a card format formed by a base panel having a shallow well surrounded by a peripheral ridge, and a face panel superposed on the base panel and bonded to the ridge. Adjacent the front end of the face panel are an aperture and a miniature cutting blade. Nested in the well is a supply of dental floss constituted by an unsupported flattened helical coil. The floss filament from which the coil is wound has a starting end at the front of the coil, the filament at the rear of the coil passing internally through the coil to emerge from its front as a pull out lead which is threaded through the aperture in the face panel. The starting end of the coil is bonded to adjacent convolutions and thereby prevent unwinding of the unsupported coil. To obtain a useable length of floss, the user pulls on the lead to partially unwind the coil and then cuts off the length on the blade.

Abstract: A flat, dental floss dispenser in a credit card format having a flat coil of floss in a well within the dispenser. A cutting blade is formed as a tab projecting from a plate which is supported on a step projecting from the well bottom inside a peripheral edge. Wall members project from the well bottom and surround at least a portion of the plate. The blade is a substantially U-shaped tab raised from the plate and forms two spaced acute angular intersections at its line of intersection with the plate, one being larger than the other. The larger functions to cut the floss, and the smaller to retain the cut end on the dispenser. The supply coil has a wrapping to assist in maintaining its integrity during manufacturing and in the dispensing process and the floss is withdrawn through the center of the coil.

Abstract: A single-action ultra-thin cigarette lighter in a card-like format having a taper terminating in a blade-shaped bottom edge making it possible to wedge the lighter between the corresponding faces of the inner and outer wrappers of a standard crushable cigarette pack to serve as a stiffener therefor without significant deformation of the pack. The lighter includes a narrow reservoir for liquefied gas having front and rear walls whose width approaches that of the wrapper faces and whose length is somewhat shorter, the walls being inclined to form the taper. Mounted on top of the reservoir to seal the liquefied gas therein is a similarly narrow lighter assembly that includes a spark generator, a valve having an inlet extending into the reservoir below, and a movable hollow stem which is normally held in a closed position.

Abstract: A gas-fueled cigarette lighter having front and rear walls defined by plates which are joined together by a plurality of ribs to resist pressure produced by the gas, wherein the lighter has a flat ultra-thin format which lends itself to insertion between the inner and outer wrappers of a standard cigarette pack so that the smoker is never at a loss for a light and the inserted lighter functions as a stiffener to prevent crushing of the pack. The lighter is constituted by a card-like body having a shallow reservoir therein filled with liquified gas. Fitting into a corner cut-out in the body is a lighter assembly whose thickness is not greater than that of the body. The assembly includes a valve-controlled nozzle coupled to the reservoir and an adjacent thumb wheel against which a flint is pressed such that when the wheel is turned it abrades the flint to generate sparks that ignite vapor emitted from the nozzle.

Abstract: A dental floss dispenser in a credit card format permitting the dispenser to be conveniently carried in a wallet. The dispenser comprises a base panel having a peripheral ridge to define a shallow well within which is nested a supply of dental floss in flattened coil form. The leading end of the coil passes out of the well through an aperture and is caught by a lug adjacent an edge notch cut in the base panel. Anchored in the well is a blade whose cutting edge is exposed by the notch, whereby when floss is pulled out of the well to provide a usable length, the trailing end thereof may be cut by the blade. The dispenser is completed by a face panel bonded to the ridge to encapsulate the floss supply, the face panel having a corresponding notch.