Tweezers for the removal of parasites from animals

Claim 1

Tweezers for the removal of parasites from animals comprising: a pair of flexible legs fixedly joined at their upper ends; inwardly directed gripping portions on the distal ends of said legs; and said gripping portions being normally separated but being engageable by squeezing said legs to flex them toward each other; camming surfaces on the outside of said legs intermediate the ends thereof; said camming surfaces including: generally parallel open-leg, flat surfaces formed inward from the lateral surfaces of said legs toward the distal ends thereof; generally parallel, closed-leg, flat lock surfaces near the lateral surfaces of said legs toward the joint between them; and intermediate actuating surfaces diverging upward from said open-leg surface to said close-leg lock surfaces; said tweezers further including: a lock slide embracing said legs to slidably engage over said camming surfaces so that when raised from said open-leg surfaces it flexes said legs together and holds said gripping portions together when at said closed-leg lock surfaces; a thumb ring secured to the joint between said legs; a lateral extension on said lock slide the underside of which is engagable by a person's finger on one hand while the thumb of the same hand is positioned in said thumb ring thereby to raise said lock slide; and a knob fixed to the top of said thumb ring to be engaged by the thumb and a finger of said same hand while said lock slide is at said closed-leg lock surfaces to turn said legs about a longitudinal axis extending between them.