A TONGUE DEPRESSOR

Technical Field

The present invention is related to tongue depressors used in mouths during patient examinations. The present invention, is specifically related to a special tongue depressor being produced with all kinds of materials having different shapes that are ergonomic in use both for the doctor and the patient, that are characterized by comprising nutrients with various vitamin content, or are coated with all kinds of materials such as chewing gum, or materials that can ensure oral disinfection and materials which comprise aromatic tastes made of normal sugar or of special aromas created with diabetic sweeteners produced especially for patients with diabetes, or coated with lozenge type materials which can soothe the throat of patients or fluoride type of materials which can protect teeth.

The special area which can be in different sizes from the tip to the mid section of the tongue depressor can be of normal presentation or could have various patterns, animal, plant motifs, human and cartoon hero motifs and various logo designs. Moreover, a more ergonomic usage can be created by producing the tongue depressor with a flat, inclined, oval, shape and all types of geometric shapes, with the handle part being produced from plastic, plastic derivatives, wood, wood derivatives, mica, mica derivatives, metal, metal derivatives, carton and carton derivatives, or from materials which can be recycled.

Prior Art

Nowadays, tongue depressors are frequently used apparatus in hospitals and policlinics, and are applied by doctors to the inner side of the oral cavity of patients. Tongue depressors are usually unattractive medical devices which are not wanted to be used by patients. To place such a foreign device inside a patient's mouth even for a few seconds and to press down on the tongue of the patient is a situation which is not desired by the patient. There are improvements applied in the previous technique in order to make the tongue depressors look more amiable and to ensure that they are used more ergonomically.

In the European Patent document numbered EP 092 08 34 of the known state of the art, tongue depressors with materials comprising aroma and flavoring which are positioned at the tip of said depressors have been described. In the Japanese Patent document numbered JP 2002 2727 46 of the known state of the art, a tongue depressor with a flavoring at one end and a wooden handle as the other end is described.

In the United States Patent document numbered US 5897492 of the known state of the art, a tongue depressor coated with material such as a flavoring at one end is described.

In the United States Patent document numbered US 2857908 of the known state of the art, a tongue depressor coated with sugar at one end is described.

There are some basic problems which have been faced in all applications described above. First of all, all tongue depressors which have a fixed body width are coated with a nutrient such as sugar. This situation leads the coated section to be thicker than the body and this difference of thickness may cause discomfort during an examination.

Another problem is that, tongue depressor bodies are flat and are not elastic. In this case, the doctor's own hand closes his vision during an examination and the doctor cannot see the oral cavity clearly. Another problem is that, during an examination, the sugar that has been coated can separate from the body of the tongue depressor and could break away. Especially in hot weather conditions, the sweet which becomes softer gets wet when it gets in contact with the mouth of the patient and the sweet can be separated from the body of the depressor. This case causes a serious danger to patients, and especially children who are being examined. In order to be able to overcome the problems described above, it has been deemed necessary to produce a new tongue depressor.

The aim of the Invention

The aim of the invention, is to provide a tongue depressor, with an end coated with a nutrient such as a sweet, and whose both ends are equal to each other in terms of width and height.

Another aim of the present invention is to provide a tongue depressor which enables the angle of vision to be wider during a doctor's examination as the body has an inclined structure.

Yet another aim of the present invention is to provide a tongue depressor which ensures that the coated sweet does not separate or break off from the body during an examination.

Another aim of the present invention, is to provide a tongue depressor whose body has similar taste of the sweet it has been covered with and which has similar scent, and is the same colour.

Detailed description of the Invention

The tongue depressor which has been provided in order to reach the aims of this invention has been shown in the attached figures, wherein said figures illustrate the following; Figure-1 Is a schematic view of the tongue depressor, of the prior art, showing its usage during an examination.

Figure-2 Is the schematic view of a tongue depressor of the prior art.

Figure-3 Is the schematic plan view of the tongue depressor subject to the invention.

Figure-4 Is the schematic plan view of the tongue depressor subject to the invention, without the sugar coating.

Figure-5 Is the schematic side view of the tongue depressor subject to the invention.

Figure-6 Is the schematic side view of the tongue depressor subject to the invention without the sugar coating.

Figure-7 Is the schematic view of the tongue depressor subject to the invention during an examination.

The parts comprising the tongue depressor subject to the invention have been numbered as shown below:

1. Tongue depressor

2. Body

3. Tip of the Body

4. Sweet

5. Tip hole of the body

6. Angular surface of the body

The tongue depressor (1) subject to the present invention, comprises

-a body having the shape of an inclined s by means of its angular body surface (6) having two tips;

-a body tip (3) which is thinner than the thickness of the body, which enables to fix the sweet (4) and which is located at one end of the body (2);

-a body tip hole (5) located on the body tip (3); -a sweet (4) coated on the tip of the body (3) located at one end of the body (2).

The body (2) of the tongue depressor subject to the invention, has an inclined s shape by means of its angular body surface (6). This situation enables the angle of vision of the doctor to be wider during an examination.

The schematic view of a tongue depressor belonging to the prior art has been shown in Figure 1 , during an examination. In this application the angle of vision of the doctor has been defined with an (X). The hand of the doctor holding the tongue depressor (1) significantly closes the angle of view.

The usage of the tongue depressor (1) subject to the invention having an angular body surface (6) has been shown during an examination, schematically in Figure 7.

The angle of vision which is (X) in this application is not blocked by the hand of the doctor as a difference to the one shown in the prior art.

This will enable the doctor to move more freely during an examination and to see the oral cavity better.

An angular body surface (6) is present on the body (2) in order to ensure that the doctor's hand does not close the angle of vision of the tongue depressor body (1). By means of this angular surface (6) the body has a shape of an inclined s. This situation ensures that the doctor's hand or the body of the depressor does not block the angle of vision.

In Figure 2, a schematic view of a tongue depressor belonging to the prior art is present. Both the thickness and width of the end part which is coated with various nutritious materials such as sugar and aromatic materials is higher than the thickness and width of the body (2). This results in problems, for example the coated section due to thickness difference can get tangled to the teeth when the depressor is being inserted and taken out of the mouth of the patient during an examination Figure 3 and Figure 5 on the other hand, show the side and plan view of the tongue depressor (1) subject to the invention. As it can be seen, as the sweet (4) is not directly coated on the body (2) in the tongue depressor according to the present invention, the thickness and width of the area coated with a sweet is equal to the thickness and the width of the body (2).

In order to provide such an equality, a body tip (3) which is smaller than the width of the body (2) and smaller than the thickness of the body (2) can be found at the end of the body (2) (Figure 4 and Figure 6). The sweet (4) is not covered on the body (2) but is located on the body tip (3) (Figure 3 and Figure 5).

A hole (5) is present on the body tip (3) of the tongue depressor (1) subject to the invention. During the melting of the sweet (4) and coating it on this body tip (3), the sweet (4) fills this hole (5) completely. By this means, the sweet (4) which fits into the body (2) like a key inside a lock will definitely not be dislocated from the body (2).

The body (2) of the depressor (1) subject to the present invention can be produced such that it is in compliance with the colour, scent and taste of the sweet (4) located at the body tip (3). Moreover instead of said sweet (4), aromatic tastes similar to normal sweets or special aromas produced from diabetic sweeteners provided especially for patients with diabetes, and/or lozenge type materials which may soothe the throat of the patient and/or food products from all kinds of materials which may help disinfect the mouth such as fluoride and various vitamins and its derivatives having different shapes can be used. This special are which can be provided in different sizes from the tip section to the mid section of the tongue depressor, can be of a normal presentation or could have various patterns, animal, plant motifs, human and cartoon hero motifs and various logo designs.