Bite block
OwnerLouis G. Kostinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A bite block that includes first and second members interconnected by screw threads on the respective members. The first member is a relatively rigid body having an open ended hole with internal screw threads on at least a portion of the length thereof. The second member is an elongate open ended sleeve having screw threads on the outer surface thereof that thread into the hole in the body member. A slit in the wall of the sleeve accommodates a reduction in the internal diameter of the sleeve. A selected one of the internal and external threads progressively decreases in diameter in a direction so as to cause the sleeve internal diameter to decrease as the sleeve is threaded into the body member.
Claims12
A bite block for use with a patient airway tube having a preselected outer diameter, said bite block comprising;
- (A) a first relatively rigid body member, an open ended hole of selected length extending through said body member, internal screw threads on at least a portion of the length of said hole;
- and
- (B) a second member comprising an elongate open ended sleeve having a preselected wall thickness and in a normal at rest state a preselected internal diameter, a slit in said wall that extends from one end thereof in a direction toward the opposite end, external screw threads on said sleeve extending from said one end in a direction toward said opposite end, said internal and external threads being inter-engagable in mating relation detachably interconnecting said sleeve and said body member, a selected one of said internal and external threads progressively decreasing in diameter so that with the bite block in an assembled state the sleeve internal diameter gradually decreases to a selected minimum diameter smaller than the outer diameter of a tube associated therewith as the sleeve is threaded into the body member.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.