US888484A

US888484A - Mouth-prop.

Info

Publication number: US888484A
Application number: US41429108A
Authority: US
Inventors: Judah Leonard Gehorsam
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1908-02-05
Filing date: 1908-02-05
Publication date: 1908-05-26
Anticipated expiration: 1925-05-26

Description

PATENTED MAY 26, 1908.

J. L. GEHORSAM.

MOUTH PROP.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 6, 1908.

Jump/2':

ATTORNEY THE NORRIS PETERS co., WASHINGTON, n c.

"UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

.IUDAH LEONARD GEHORSAM, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

MOUTH-PROP.

Application filed February 5, 1908.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JUDAH LEONARD GE- HORSAM, a citizen of the United States, residing in borough of Brooklyn, city of New York, in the'county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Im rovements in Mouth-Props, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a prop or instrument for holding open themouth of a patient during a surgical operation performed in the mouth or throat.

In using mouth or jaw props as heretofore constructed, it often happens that after the patients mouth is opened and the prop is fixed in position, the patients mouth will yield still farther, and in consequence, the prop will loosen and dangle about, thus proving a serious annoyance and even a source of danger where a delicate operation is being performed, for instance in the throat of the patient.

One of the' principal objects of my invention is to overcome this difficulty, and to this end I have constructed a jaw prop which will automatically 0 on itself to follow the movement of the patients jaws during the further relaxation thereof as the operation within the mouth progresses so that there is no danger of the prop becoming loose and swinging about and distracting the surgeon. I further provide means for automatically locking the jaws of the instrument at any point to which they may open themselves under the circumstances recited.

The means for causing the jaws to be selfopening may be in the form of a spring coiled around the pivot of the jaws of the instrument and extending along the jaws to bear thereon and tensioned to separate them. I

further provide means for locking the jaws normally closed, so that they may be conveniently manipulated while introducing them between the jaws of the patient, this locking means being however releasable at the will of thesurgeon.

Upon the tips of the jaws of the instrument, I provide pads to engage the teeth of the patient, said pads preferably in the form of lead or other soft disks swiveled upon the tips of the instrument, so as to permit the latter to be swung to one side after it has been opened between the jaws of the patient, the swlveling of the pads insuring the teeth against injury while the instrument is being Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 26, 1908.

Serial No. 414,291.

swung to one side. When the instrument is closed, the pads preferably are inclined to each other to form a wedge-like arrangement for convenience in introducing between the patients jaws.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a surgical j'aw prop constructed in accordance with my improvements and partly open.v Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the instrument, which is illustrated as holding the patients jaws open, and also as swung to one side to be out of the way of the surgeon. Fig. 3 is a plan showing the instrument in place in the mouth of the patient, only the lower jaw of thepatient being illustrated. The dotted lines show howthe instrumentrnay be swung to one side after the jaws of the patient have been opened thereby. Fig. 4 illustrates the manner of introducing the tip of the instrument between the jaws of the patient. v

The mouth prop comprises aws l, 2 pivloted together at 3 and having handles 4, 5,

which are pressed together to 0 en the

aws

1, 2. The latter are formed wlth

flattened tips

6, 7, upon which are swiveled lead or like construction for convenience in inser;

tion between the upper and lower teeth of the patient, Fig. 4.

After the insertion of the instrument, the

handles

4, 5 are forced towards each other to open the aws of the patient. This operation is conveniently performed with the instru ment in a position shown in full lines in the plan at Fig. 3; and then the instrument is swung around to the dotted line position where it is out of theway of the sur eon. The

jaws

1 and 2 are bowed to leave a arg'e opening to give access to the patients mouth as at Fig. 2. If the patients jaws should further relax, a spring 11, coiled about the pivot 3 of the instrument and having ends 12,

13 lying within the

hollow jaws

1 and 2, and tensioned to press the latter a art, will cause the jaws to open automatical y to follow the excessive opening movement of the patients jaws, so that the instrument does not become loose.

A ratchet 14 is pivoted at 15 to the handle 5 and provided with fine teeth 16 to engage the edge 17 of a hole 18 in the handle 4, the

ratchet projecting through said hole and being pulled by a s ring 19 to cause the teeth 16 to engage saic edge 17. The function of the ratchet is to lock the

jaws

1, 2 open at any position to which they may be set by either the handles 4., 5 or the spring 11. It will be seen that the

jaws

1, 2 are selfopen ing by reason of the spring 11 and self-locking by reason of the ratchet 14 and spring 19. I provide also for locking the

jaws

1, 2 closed in the Fig. 4 position, this being accomplished by means of a jog or tooth 20 formed upon the end of the ratchet 14, to catch on the inner side, of the edge 17 when the

handles

4, 5 are pulled wide apart, thereby locking the handles in that position, and the jaws in the Fig. 4 position, as will be understood. A fingerpiece 21 forined u on the end of the ratchet wheel may be pulled back by the surgeon after the introduction of the instrument, as at Fig. 4, thereby releasing the

handles

4, 5 to permit them to be pressed towards each other.

Variations may be resorted to within the scope of the invention, and portions of the improvements may be used without others.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A mouth prop comprising a pair of jaws, a pair of handles connected thereto, a spring tensioned to open said jaws to follow the involuntary opening of the mouth of the patient, and means to automatically lock the jaws open at any position to which they are moved by said spring.

2. A mouth rop comprising a pair of jaws, a pair of hand es connected thereto, a spring tensioned to open said jaws to follow the involuntary opening of the mouth of the patient, and a finetoothed springpressed ratchet connected to the jaws to hold them open.

8. A mouth prop comprising a pair of jaws, a pair of handles connected thereto, a spring tensioned to open said jaws to follow the involuntary o ening of the mouth of the patient, and re easable means to lockthe aws in closed position.

4. A mouth prop comprising a pair of jaws, a pair of handles connected thereto, a spring tensioned to open said jaws to follow the involuntary opening of the mouth of the patient, and a fine-toothed spring-pressed ratchet connected to the jaws to hold them open, said ratchet also provided with a tooth to hold the jaws closed, and a finger piece to release the jaws.

5. A mouth rop comprising a pair of jaws, a pair of hand es connected thereto, a spring tensioned to open said jaws to follow the involuntary opening of the mouth of the patient, a spring tooth to hold the jaws closed, and a finger-piece to release the jaws.

6. A mouth rop comprising a pair of aws, a pair of handies connected thereto, a spring tensioned to open said jaws to follow the involuntary opening of the mouth of the patient, means to lock the jaws in closed position, and a finger-piece to release the jaws.

7. A mouth prop comprising a pair of selfopening and self-locking jaws having portions to engage the upper and lower teeth or jaws of the patient.

8. A mouth pro comprising a pair of selfopening and selfocking jaws having portions to engage the upper and lower teeth or jaws of the patient; releasable means being also provided to lock the jaws of the instrument together for insertion into the mouth of the patient.

9. A mouth prop comprising a pair of jaws each having a tooth-pad swiveled thereon to admit of the instrument being swung to one side while it holds open the jaws of the patient; said tooth-pads in the form of disks pivoted upon flat tips formed upon the jaws and arranged face to face, and a spring tensioned to open said aws to follow the involuntary opening of the mouth of the patient.

10. A mouth prop comprising a pair of jaws each having a tooth-pad swiveled thereon to admit of the instrument being swung to one side while it holds open the jaws of the patient; said tooth-pads in the form of disks pivoted upon flat tips formed upon the jaws and arranged face to face, and a spring tensioned to open said jaws to follow the involuntary opening of the mouth of the patient, and means to automatically lock the jaws of the instrument open at any position to which they are moved by said spring.

11. A mouth prop comprising a pair of self-o ening and self-locking jaws having swive ed pads to engage the upper and lower teeth or jaws of the patient. A

J. LEONARD GEHORSAM.

Witnesses:

JoHN O. SEIFERT, K. FRANKFURT.