US1003137A - Chin-support. - Google Patents

Description

W. R. HILL.

CHIN SUPPORT. APPLICATION run 0013, 1910.

' 1,003,137. Patented Sept. 12,1911.

5151293393, bwvszatar.

%014,4J M WZZfreaLZZHz'ZZ WILFRED R. HILL, OF OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA.

CHIN-SUPPORT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 3, 1910.

Patented Sept. 12, 1911.

Serial No. 584,999.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, l/VILFRED R. HILL, citizen of the United States, residing at Oakland, in the county of Alameda and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Chin-Supporters, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a device by which the mouth of a defunct person may be retained in a closed position after death and until rigor mortis has set in.

It consists of a clamp supported from the bony processes within the nostril, and adapted to engage the lower jaw and chin, with means to adjust the device.

It also comprises details of construction which will be more fully explained by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the invention as applied. Fig. 2 is a per spective view of a modified form of the support.

In most instances after death the aw drops, holding the mouth open and giving an unnatural appearance to the face. In his work of caring for the body, the embalmer is called upon to restore the natural expression of the features and in order to do this he must see to it that the mouth is not only closed naturally, but that it be held firmly in position until rigor mortis has set in, or the stiffening effect of the embalming fluid has taken place. A number of methods have been employed. A cloth tied around the head leaves ridges and marks upon the cheeks. A prop supporting the jaw braced from the clavicle or collar bone, not only leaves a deep indentation under the chin, but slips out of place when turning the head or moving the body, thereby breaking up the rigor or action of the fluid, before being fully set, and the process of stitching the jaws together often gives an unnatural pucker to the lips.

The object of my invention is to clamp the upper and lower jaw together by the simplest and most natural method, by entering the nasal openings in the skull with prongs A, or one opening with one prong to which a bar 2 is attached in a way that it will pass beneath the chin and lower jaw as at 3 and may be held in place by a natural leverage of the bar or by a set screw, lever, clamp or spring, as at A. In this way the mouth will remain closed during the process of. washing, dressing and embalming the body, the body may be moved at will, or the head placed in any position without displacing the clamp, and it may be left in place until the natural setting of the jaw has taken place.

The device comprises in its construction a pair of bars, 2, maintained in parallelism by an upper grip or bearing, 5, and a lower adjustable cross piece, 6, through each of which pieces, 5 and 6, the bars 2 may be slid and turned. Each bar 2 is curved outwardly and upwardly, as at 2, to carry the nose engaging transverse prongs, A, into a plane well to one side of the bar, 2, so that when the prongs A are inserted in the nostrils the curved portions, 2*, amply clear the projecting fleshy portion of the nose. If the device is to be applied to a small head the prongs A may be swung in the plates 5 and 6 toward each other and the cross-piece may he slid up the bars 2 to firmly close the mouth. The prongs A are offset to fit into the nasal passages without touching the lips or marking the nose, and the plate 6 slips up or down on the rods 2 and after being adjusted firmly the leverage caused by the pressure on the chin locks the device. A chin rest, 7 shaped to catch the point of the jaw is mounted on the hearing or slide plate, 6.

In Fig. 2, I have shown the bars 2 as connected by a web, 2 against which may be moved the screw 4- to lock the parts in ad justed relation.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A clamp or device adapted to engage the lower jaw and suspending attachments to engage with the nasal openings of the skull.

2. A device to retain the mouthin a closed In testimony whereof I have hereunto set condltlon, sald device lncludlng a member my hand in the presence of two subscribing 10 adapted to engage the chin or lower jaw, a witnesses.

member adapted to enter the nostrils and engage the bony processes of the head, said WILFRED HILL members being adjustable with relation to Witnesses:

each other, and means to secure them in E. J. HUGHES,

their adjusted position. F. A MULLA.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

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