WO2010122522A1

WO2010122522A1 - Tongue depressor

Info

Publication number: WO2010122522A1
Application number: PCT/IB2010/051785
Authority: WO
Inventors: Marius Willie Pieter Venter
Original assignee: Marius Willie Pieter Venter
Priority date: 2009-04-24
Filing date: 2010-04-23
Publication date: 2010-10-28

Abstract

This invention relates to a tongue depressor (10) that can be used in medical or dental care, the depressor comprising a body (12), defining a handling zone (14), which allows a user to grasp the body, and a tongue depressing zone (18), which is opposite the handling zone and operatively in contact with the tongue of a subject (22) under medical or dental examination. The invention is characterized in that it includes a figure (24), standing proud of the body and facing towards the tongue depressing zone, the figure having a distinctive shape and configuration that can be viewed by the subject, so as to distract the subject, during examination.

Description

TONGUE DEPRESSOR

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to healthcare instruments. In particular this invention relates to a tongue depressor for use in dental or medical care.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

A tongue depressor is a hand-held tool or implement especially used by medical practitioners to depress a person's tongue to allow for examination of the mouth and throat of the person. A tongue depressor is also often used by dental professionals during the performance of an examination of a person's oral cavity and teeth.

Typically, a tongue depressor consists of a thin and flat wooden blade that is smoothed and rounded at both ends. An advantage of the wooden tongue depressor is that is relatively affordable and disposable after a single use. The problem, however, is that wood resources are becoming scarcer with time and tons of waste are accumulating on landfills, therefore, many manufacturers have considered alternative recyclable materials when manufacturing disposable products such as tongue depressors.

A tongue depressor manufactured from plastics material allows re-use of the depressor provided it is subjected to modern sterilization methods after use. Thus, both expendable and nonexpendable tongue depressors are known in industry and they, at least to a certain extent, have shown to be satisfactory over the years.

Nevertheless, the tongue depressors described above remains unappealing and unattractive tools with no further function than to hold down a person's tongue during a medical or dental examination. It is also known that many children and adults dislike having a wooden or plastic spatula pressed against their tongues and halfway up their throats.

Therefore, it is believed that many unpleasant doctor or dentist visits can be turned into pleasant experiences by providing an alternative tongue depressor for use in medical and dental care.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with this invention there is provided a tongue depressor for use in medical and dental care, the depressor comprising:

an elongate body defining a handling zone which allows a user to grasp the body and a tongue depressing zone, opposite the handling zone, which is operatively in contact with a person's tongue; and

a figure, fitted to the body, standing proud thereof and facing towards the tongue depressing zone, the figure having a distinctive shape and configuration so as to appeal to the eye of a beholder.

In an embodiment of the invention there is provided for the body to be generally thin and flat with a smoothed surface all around, the handling and tongue depressing zones terminating in smooth rounded edges.

In an embodiment of the invention there is provided for the figure to be adapted for clipping onto the handling zone, alternatively the figure is integrally formed with the rest of the body in a mould. In an embodiment of the invention the figure is two-dimensional or three-dimensional; alternatively, the figure is a three-dimensional representation of an animal; further alternatively, the figure is a three-dimensional action figure toy.

In an embodiment of the invention there is provided for the figure to include eyes staring in a direction along the body of the tongue depressor towards the tongue depressing zone; alternatively, the eyes are enlarged relative to the rest of the figure.

In an embodiment of the invention there is provided for the tongue depressing zone to be impregnated or alternatively coated with a substance having an effect on sensory receptors on a surface of the tongue; alternatively, for the tongue depressing zone to be impregnated or alternatively coated with a substance having a medicinal effect when consumed; further alternatively, for the tongue depressing zone to be impregnated or alternatively coated with a substance to treat and prevent anxiety disorders.

In an embodiment of the invention the body includes at least one illuminating device for illuminating a confined target zone proximate the tongue depressing zone; alternatively, the at least one illuminating device is located within the eye of the figure.

In an embodiment of the invention at least one anti-slip formation is provided on the handling zone thereby allowing the user to easily grip the tongue depressor.

In an embodiment of the invention the tongue depressor is manufactured from a plastics material.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is now described by way of example with reference to the accompanying non-limiting diagrammatic drawings. In the drawings:

Figure 1 a shows a perspective view of a tongue depressor for use in medical and dental care, in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention; Figure 1 b shows a perspective view of a tongue depressor for use in medical and dental care, in accordance with a second embodiment of the invention;

Figure 2 shows a side view of the tongue depressor shown in Figure 1 a when inserted into a person's mouth;

Figure 3 shows a plan view of the tongue depressor shown in Figure 1 a;

Figure 4 shows a side view of the tongue depressor shown in Figure 1 a;

Figure 5 shows respective side and front views of the tongue depressor shown in

Figure 1 a with a figure releasably connected to a body portion of the tongue depressor; and

Figure 6 shows respective side and front views of the tongue depressor shown in

Figure 1 a with a figure integrally formed with the body portion of the tongue depressor.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings, like numerals generally indicate like components, unless otherwise indicated. Unless inconsistent with the context, an expression which denotes any gender includes the other gender.

In Figure 1a and Figures 2 to 5 of the drawings, reference numeral 10 generally refers a tongue depressor for use in medical and dental care in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention. The tongue depressor 10 is a hand-held aid particularly adapted for use by medical practitioners or dental professionals to depress a person's tongue to allow for examination of the mouth and throat of the person.

The depressor 10, as shown in Figure 1 a, includes an elongate body 12 defining a handling zone 14 which allows a user 16, such as a doctor or dentist, to grasp the body 12 as shown in Figure 2. The depressor 10 further includes a tongue depressing zone 18, opposite the handling zone 14, and operatively in contact with a tongue 20 of a person 22. Typically the person 22 is a patient visiting a doctor's consulting rooms or an individual in need of dental care visiting a dentist's rooms. It is also envisaged that the depressor 10, according to the invention, could be used in diagnosing mouths or throats of animals instead of that of children and adults.

The depressor 10 also includes a figure 24, fitted to the body 12, standing proud thereof and facing towards the tongue depressing zone 18. The figure has a distinctive shape and configuration so as to appeal to the eye of the person 22. In the case of animals, a representation of meat or that of a bone could, for example, replace figure 24. This figure or figure 24 may also be provided with a distinctive and attractive smell.

As can be seen from the drawings, the body 12 is generally thin and flat with a smoothed surface 26 all around. The handling and tongue depressing zones 14, 18 also terminate in smooth rounded edges 28 thereby ensuring that the person 22 is not hurt when the depressor 10 is inserted into and inadvertently comes into contact with parts of the person's mouth other than his tongue 20. It will be appreciated that the body 12 may take different dimensions, i.e. different lengths and widths so that persons of different age groups could be examined.

It will be appreciated that the figure 24 could be manufactured and marketed separately from the body 12. In such a case the figure 24 may be clipped onto or pressure fitted to the handling zone 14. Such a clip on figure 24 is shown in Figure 5 of the drawings.

As can be seen from Figure 5, the handling zone 14 includes a groove 36 formed in an upper surface thereof for matingly receiving a complementary shaped tongue 38. The tongue 38 forms part of the figure 24 and is shaped and configured to operatively allow a friction fit between the figure 24 and the body 12. Thus, for example, groove 36 defines sidewalls 40 in the upper surface of the handling zone 14, as shown in Figure 1 a, against which outer surfaces of the figure 24 can matingly abut. These sidewalls 40 may also be shaped to converge toward each other so that the width of the groove 36 is gradually decreased further away from tip 42 of the edge 28 to allow the figure 24 to be slid into the groove 36 from the tip 42 towards the tongue depressing zone 18 until friction between the sidewalls 40 and the outer surfaces of the figure 24 secure the fitting of figure 24 to the handling zone 14. Means by which figure 24 is clipped onto the handling zone is also believed to fall within the spirit and scope of the invention.

In another embodiment of the invention as shown in Figure 6 of the drawings, figure 24 is integrally formed with the rest of the body 12. A mould (not shown) will typically be used to shape and dimension figure 24 when combined as one unit with the body 12.

Although it is envisaged that figure 24 may be a two-dimensional figure 240 or a representation on a planar surface such as depicted in Figure 1 b of the drawings, the applicant believes that a three-dimensional figure 24, as shown in the remainder of the Figures, will be preferable.

In Figures 1 to 6 of the drawings, figure 24 is a three-dimensional representation of an animal, in particular, an animal usually found in a zoo or game reserve. The animal is typically selected from, but not limited to, the group consisting of giraffes, elephants, tigers, crocodiles, lions, zebras, buffalos, rhinos, leopards and cheetahs. The applicant believes that should the figure 24 take the shape of a three-dimensional action figure toy, capable of attracting the attention of the person 22, it will also fall within the spirit and scope of the invention. Similarly, a two or three dimensional representation of a plant or that of a real life person or even food is believed to fall within the ambit of this invention.

An important aspect of the invention is that figure 24 includes eyes 30. The eyes 30 are enlarged relative to the rest of the figure so as to be more pronounced. The eyes 30 are also staring in a direction along the length of body 12 of the depressor 10 towards the tongue depressing zone 18. Thus, the eyes 30 create an impression that, when the depressor 10 is aligned for insertion into the person's 22 mouth or located within the mouth of the person 22, the eyes 30 of the figure 24 are looking straight at the person 22.

Further, with reference to Figures 1a, 1 b, 3 and 4, the tongue depressing zone 18 is covered with a substance, shown as the shaded area on the upper surface of the tongue depressing zone 18, having an effect on sensory receptors on a surface of the tongue. It is envisaged that the tongue depressing zone 18 may be impregnated with the substance by manufacturing the zone 18 from a porous material which allows pores of the zone 18 to become saturated with the substance after thorough soaking thereof in the substance. However in this embodiment of the invention, the substance is only coated onto the smooth surface of the body 26 that it forms part of the tongue depressing zone 18. The impregnated or coated substance may be a liquid or powder such as sugar coating or other pleasant tasting coating.

Conveniently, the tongue depressing zone 18 may also be impregnated or coated with a substance having a medicinal effect when consumed. It is foreseen that a pharmaceutically effective amount of a pharmaceutical such as aspirin, antibiotic and the like may be applied onto the surface 26 in zone 18. It is also envisaged that the tongue depressing zone 18 can be impregnated or alternatively coated with a pharmaceutically effective amount of an anxiolytic to treat and prevent anxiety disorders.

In a further embodiment of the invention the body 12 includes at least one illuminating device (not shown) such as a light emitting diode (LED) for illuminating a confined target zone proximate the tongue depressing zone 18. The LED may be clipped onto the flat surface 26 of the body 12, permanently mounted within the body 12 especially if the body 12 is made from a transparent material, or may be located within the eyes 30 of figure 24.

An anti-slip formation (not shown) may also be provided on the handling zone 14 which will allow the user 16 to easily grip the depressor 10 when a person's tongue need to be depressed. The anti-slip formation may be a recess defined on the handling zone 14 or may be formed on sides of figure 24. Alternatively, the anti-slip formation may comprise a plurality of studs projecting from the handling zone 14 itself of from sides of figure 24.

In an embodiment of the invention the tongue depressor 10 is manufactured from a plastics material. Typically, the handling zone 14 is more rigid than the tongue depressing zone 18 in order to accommodate and support figure 24.

In an embodiment of the invention the tongue depressor 10 is manufactured from recyclable materials so that it is not only labeled for single use, but can also be cleaned, sterilized and tested for re-use in accordance with prescribed Food and Drug Administration guidelines. Preferably, figure 24 may be re-used and clipped onto disposable tongue sticks or depressors.

While preferred embodiments of the invention are shown and described, it will be understood that it is not intended to limit the extent of the invention, but rather it is intended to cover all modifications and alternate methods, including: methods, for manufacturing components of the depressor 10 falling within the spirit and the scope of the invention.

The applicant believes that the tongue depressor 10 of the present invention, at least in part, addresses shortcomings in known tongue depressing spatulas and the like.

Claims

1. A tongue depressor that can be used in medical or dental care, the depressor comprising:

a body defining a handling zone, which allows a user to grasp the body, and a tongue depressing zone, which is opposite the handling zone and operatively in contact with the tongue of a subject under medical or dental examination; and

a figure, standing proud of the body and facing towards the tongue depressing zone, the figure having a distinctive shape and configuration that can be viewed by the subject, so as to distract the subject, during examination.

2. The tongue depressor of claim 1 , characterised in that the body is elongate and flat with the handling and tongue depressing zones terminating in smooth rounded edges.

3. The tongue depressor of claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the figure includes securement means for securing the figure to the handling zone.

4. The tongue depressor of claim 3, characterised in that the securement means clips, or slides, onto the handling zone.

5. The tongue depressor of claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the figure is integrally formed with the rest of the body.

6. The tongue depressor of any of claims 1 to 5, characterised in that the figure is a representation of an animal, a plant, a person, foodstuff, or an action figure toy.

7. The tongue depressor of claim 6, characterised in that the figure is either a two- dimensional or a three-dimensional figure.

8. The tongue depressor of claim 7, characterised in that the figure includes eyes configured and positioned to stare in a direction along the length of the body of the tongue depressor towards the tongue depressing zone.

9. The tongue depressor of claim 8, characterised in that the eyes are enlarged relative to the rest of the figure.

10. The tongue depressor of claim 9, characterised in that the tongue depressing zone is impregnated or coated with a substance having an effect on sensory receptors on a surface of the tongue of the subject.

1 1. The tongue depressor of claim 9, characterised in that the tongue depressing zone is impregnated or coated with a substance having a medicinal effect when consumed by the subject.

12. The tongue depressor of claim 9, characterised in that the tongue depressing zone is impregnated or coated with a substance to treat and prevent anxiety disorders.

13. The tongue depressor of any of claims 1 to 12, characterised in that the body includes at least one illuminating device for illuminating a confined target zone proximate the tongue depressing zone.

14. The tongue depressor of claim 13, characterised in that the at least one illuminating device is located within the eye of the figure.

15. The tongue depressor of claim 14, characterised in that the at least one anti- slip formation is provided on the handling zone to allow the user to easily grip the tongue depressor.

16. The tongue depressor of claim 15, characterised in that the body and/or the figure is manufactured from a plastics material or from wood.

17. The tongue depressor of claim 16, characterised in that the subject is either a child, adult, or animal.

18. A healthcare instrument for use in examining a subject in need of medical or dental care, the healthcare instrument comprising:

a body defining a handling zone, which allows a user to grasp the body, and a tongue depressing zone, which is opposite the handling zone and operatively in contact with the tongue of the subject; and

a figure, standing proud of the body and facing towards the tongue depressing zone, the figure having a distinctive shape and configuration so as to appeal to the eye of the subject.