Tongue depressor

Claim 1

IN A DENTAL TONGUE DEPRESSOR, FRAME MEANS COMPRISING AN ELONGATED ROD-LIKE MEMBER HAVING AN INVERTED U-SHAPED MEDIAL PORTION, ONE LEG OF SAID U-SHAPED PORTION DEPENDING THEREFROM TO EXTEND EXTERNALLY BELOW THE CHIN OF A PATIENT, THE LOWER END OF THE OTHER LEG TERMINATING IN A TUBULAR PORTION EXTENDING GENERALLY HORIZONTALLY AWAY FROM SAID ONE LEG AND ADAPTED TO BE DISPOSED IN THE PATIENT''S MOUTH, A SLOT ALONG THE UPPER SURFACE OF SAID HORIZONTALLY EXTENDING TUBULAR FRAME PORTION, A GENERALLY UPRIGHT CONCAVO-CONVEX PLATE HAVING AN ENLARGEMENT ALONG ITS LOWER EDGE WIDER THAN SAID SLOT, SAID SLOT EXTENDING TO THE END OF SAID TUBULAR PORTION FOR INTRODUCING SAID PLATE LENGTHWISE THEREIN, SAID PLATE MEMBER ENGAGING IN ASSEMBLED ENDWISE RELATION WITH SAID FRAME PORTION BY MOVEMENT OF SAID ENLARGEMENT INTO SAID TUBULAR PORTION WITH SAID PLATE MEMBER HELD UPRIGHT BY SAID SLOT, SAID PLATE MEMBER BEING REVERSIBLE WITH RESPECT TO SAID TUBULAR PORTION TO PRESENT THE CONCAVE SURFACE THEREOF TOWARD EITHER SIDE OF THE PATIENT''S MOUTH, A GENERALLY HORIZONTAL PLATE MEMBER AND MEANS ENGAGING THE SAME WITH SAID DEPENDING LEG OF SAID FRAME MEMBER FOR RELATIVE ANGULAR ADJUSTMENT ABOUT THE AXIS OF SAID LEG AND FOR ADJUSTMENT LENGTHWISE THEREOF, AND A SINGLE ADJUSTMENT-LOCKING MEANS FOR SECURING THE HORIZONTAL PLATE AND DEPENDING LEG IN FIXED RELATIVE POSITIONS BOTH ANGULARLY AND LENGTHWISE OF SAID LEG, SAID EXTENDING LOWER PORTION OF SAID OTHER LEG AND SAID HORIZONTAL PLATE BEING RELATIVELY POSITIONABLE TO CLAMP THE DEPRESSOR TO THE LOWER JAW OF THE PATIENT.