Head Springs

Wire Head Spring -

There is a spring in all PEZ heads that causes the head to automatically "snap" back forward after it has been tilted back.  On older dispensers, this spring was a wire spring that looked like a coil with each end straighten out, as pictured below:

The wire head spring was held in place to the inner sleeve by either the steel hinge pin passing through the center of the coil, or by fitting in a pocket that was molded into the top of the inner sleeve.

 

 

Plastic Head Spring -

On newer dispensers, the older wire head spring was replaced with a plastic blade or leaf spring that is molded right onto the top of the inner sleeve.  The first version of this style of spring was a single leaf design. With use, the single leaf springs will fatigue and lose their "springiness".  When this happens, the head spring is no longer able to firmly hold the head in a closed position. This is called the "Floppy Head" syndrome. To help strengthen the plastic spring and to prevent a "Floppy Head", PEZ went to a multiple leaf spring design. Just like the single leaf, the multiple leaf spring is molded onto the top of the inner sleeve.  By having four leafs instead of one, the plastic spring is much stronger and able to keep from fatiguing as easily.