US2653597A - Tongue depressor and mirror therefor - Google Patents

Description

Sept- 29, 1953 w. T. CANAN ,5

TONGUE DEPRESSER AND MIRROR THEREFOR Filed Dec. 9, 1949 2 x w w; ///1 I IN V EN TOR. 741. TE R T. CANAN BQQM A T TORNEY Patented Sept. 29, 1953 TONGUE DEPRESSOB AND MIRROR; THEREEQR Walter '1 Oman, PasadenaQCaHf.

Application December 9, 1949; SerhkNo. 11am;

This invention is concerned; with tongue depressers for medical, dental and household use and provides a rugged, simple device which is much more useful than the conventional tongue depr sser.

Tongue depressers are employed to hol the tq flgue or the lips out ofthe line of vision during inspections of the mouth. The ordinary tongue depr ss r s simples: nat stics rounded at one or hothends. HQwere there are frequent oc sions in which a satisfactory inspection of the mouth cannot be made because the view is still obstructed after the tongue or the lips have been moved as far as possible. My invention provides a tongue depresser in the form of an elongated substantially flat strip rounded on at least one end and provided with a mirror on one or both ends to aid in inspection.

The tongue depresser of my invention is particularly useful for people who wish to carry out an inspection of the mouth for themselves. Thus the person making an inspection of his mouth stands in front of a conventional mirror, places the end of the tongue depresser carrying the mirror inside the mouth and adjusts its position until he is able to see the particular area in the mouth in which he is interested. The inserted portion of the tongue depresser is used to depress the tongue or hold the lips out of the line of vision to the mirror.

The apparatus of my invention, in addition to being particularly useful in the home also saves time for doctors and dentists, since a single tool serves a dual purpose and avoids the use of a separate mirror in making mouth inspections.

The tongue depresser of my invention may be made of any rigid material but I prefer to mold it from transparent plastic. The mirror may be detachable or fixed, but preferably is fastened on the flat of the tongue depresser and countersunk, i. e. disposed in a recess, so that its outer surface is substantially flush with the flat of the tongue depresser.

I prefer to employ a mirror of the magnifying type so as to permit more careful inspection. Magnifying mirrors are well understood in the art and are simply mirrors having a convex reflecting surface.

These and other aspects of my invention will be understood thoroughly in the light of the following detailed description illustrated by the appended drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of one form of the tongue depresser of my invention;

2 Claims. (Cl. 1281-15) 2; is a side dewation. nadir in ection. o the tensile epresser f H s. 1..

E 3 is a clan another: te m; f: the depresser f. my int ntion:

t. i. a. f a ment r longitudina seen elevation thr ugh ne: and; a depresser of ma invention showing; a tree. at ror de achab y in. a

F 51s a. raamentarr plan v of a tongue depresser of my invention still. amine manner QI mirro a d s- 6 Shows a novel dinerhqlsier mm for use with the tongue depresser of the foregoing figures.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the tongue depresser comprises an elongated flat strip III of plastic that is relatively thin with respect to its width and has parallel sides throughout most of its length. One end ll of the depresser is spoon-shaped and wider than the shaft If. The two sides l3, H of this rounded enlarged end are bent upward slightly so as to make the depresser fit the tongue.

The other end of the tongue depresser is provided with a small rectangular mirror l5 mounted in a recess in the flat of the strip so that the upper surface of the mirror i flush with the adjoining strip surface.

When the tongue depresser is employed in the mouths of both children and adults, it is desirable to provide mirrors on both ends. Such a modification is illustrated in Fig. 3 wherein a tongue depresser is shown in the form of an elongated fiat strip of transparent plastic having one small rounded end I! and a larger rounded end l8 connected by a flat shank IS. A rounded mirror 20 of the magnifying type is fastened flat on the approximate center of the large rounded end and another magnifying mirror II is fastened flat on the approximate center of the smaller rounded end. Preferably, the two mirrors are recessed into the tongue depresser, so that the upper surfaces are flush with its upper surface.

Fig. 4 illustrates a way in which the mirror can be detachably mounted in the tongue depresser. Thus, the end 22 of a tongue depresser made of transparent plastic is provided with a flat recess in its end. The end walls 23, 24 of this recess slope inward, i. e. the recess is formed with reentrant angles. A mirror 25 of the translucent type is disposed in the recess. If it is desired to remove the mirror the tongue depresser is flexed until its two inner walls 23, 24

a ct

have moved sufllciently to permit the withdrawal of the mirror.

The use of a translucent or double mirror is desirable in this case since the plastic is transparent and permits the mirror to be seen either through the transparent tongue depresser shank or directly.

Fig. shows another manner in which a mirror maybe mounted in the tongue depresser. Thus a tongue depresser 26 generally similar to that of Fig. 1 has a convex mirror 21 held in a ring 28. This ring is provided with a shank 29 on one side which is threaded into one end, i. e. the smaller end of the tongue depresser, so that the mirror is approximately in line with the flat of the end.

To facilitate hanging the tongue depressers when they are not in use, I provide a holder (illustrated in Fig. 6) comprising a strip 40 of rigid material, preferably transparent plastic, bent in the form of a U and having notches M, 42 on its upper edge near the ends. A hole through the strip at the base of the U accommodates a screw 43 or other fastening device, by which the holder is mounted on a vertical surface, say a wall. The tongue depresser 44 is dropped into the notches with its big end 45 up, and is held in position because the maximum width of the big end is slightly greater than the spacing between notches.

The apparatus of the invention is rugged, simple and cheap to manufacture and extremely convenient for use in the home.

I claim:

1. A tongue depresser comprising an elongated relatively fiat strip of transparent material having a recess in the face thereof adjacent one end, and a translucent mirror having opposite reflecting surfaces located in said recess so that an image formed by the mirror can be seen either through the transparent strip or directly.

2. A tongue depresser comprising an elongated relatively flat strip of resilient transparent material having a recess in a face thereof adjacent one end with two opposing walls of the recess sloping outwardly from top to bottom, and a flat mirror having reflective surfaces on opposite face held in the recess, the arrangement being such that the mirror can be released from the recess by flexing the strip.

WALTER T. CANAN.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 539,076 McNaughton May 14, 1895 828,393 Emerson Aug. 14, 1906 886,746 Walter May 5, 1908 1,506,401 Young Aug. 26, 1924 2,525,181 Ransdell Oct. 10, 1950 OTHER REFERENCES 1937 Catalog of Stortz Instrument Co. of St. Louis, Mo., page 119. (Copy in Div. 55.)

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