Patent ID: 6056763
Filing Date: 2000-05-02
Classification: A61B

Abstract:
A tongue scraper comprising:a) a handle portion configured to be gripped by a user in one hand with a proximal end and a distal end while the handle includes two side edges extending a length of the handle,b) two resilient fork members attached to the distal end of the handle and extending parallel to each other and from the side edges of the handle, the fork members each having a distal end and a proximal end with a blade engagement groove formed in the proximal end of each fork member,c) a spring loaded notched adjuster positioned between the two fork members and about midway between the proximal and distal ends of the fork members which provides a means for incrementally adjusting the distance between the two fork members, the notched adjuster comprises: an elongated female cylinder with an open end and a closed end fixedly mounted to an inside edge of one of the fork members with a spring positioned in an interior of the cylinder and wherein the cylinder opening includes a protruding perimeter inner edge; a notched male elongated piston dimensioned to be received by the cylinder opening wherein the notched male elongated piston includes numerous evenly spaced circumferential notches with one end fixedly mounted to an inside edge of the other fork member and the other end received by the female cylinder while the protruding perimeter inner edge of the female cylinder is resiliently engaged by one of the numerous evenly spaced notches and wherein the protruding perimeter edge and the numerous evenly spaced circumferentially spaced notches are dimension so that when a user urges the two fork members together and overcomes the resilient engagement of the protruding perimeter inner edge and one of the numerous evenly spaced notched and the spring the male piston is pushed into the female cylinder thereby positioning the fork members closer together, andd) a flexible tongue scrapper blade with mounting ends received by the blade engagement grooves on each of the fork member distal ends, the blade is of a length so that in order to mount on the fork distal ends the blade must be forced in an arched orientation.