Instrument for removing obstructions from the throat

Claim 1

A forcepslike instrument for removing obstructions from inside the throat by an unskilled person comprising two generally coextensive laterally spaced flexible arms joined to hinge means at one end and respectively having intermediate handle portions grippable manually for moving the arms toward each other in a direction transverse to the longitudinal direction of extent of the arms, the other ends of the arms having harmless hooklike portions similarly curved in the planes of the arms for conjoint self-guided insertion through a person''s mouth into his throat on opposite sides of a removable obstruction therein, said hooklike portions of the arms having inner sides facing each other; and a plurality of spaced wedge-shaped spurs on each of said inner sides, the spurs on said two inner sides extending toward each other for gripping said obstruction on opposite sides thereof when the hooklike portions of the arms are moved toward each other and means pivotally supporting the wedge-shaped spurs on the hooklike portions of the arms, so that the spurs turn in one direction opposite to the direction of insertion of the hooklike portions of the arms into a person''s throat to facilitate the sliding of the hooklike portions along opposite sides of the obstruction, and whereby the wedge-shaped spurs turn inwardly toward each other to engage in said obstruction when the hooklike portions move in said one direction while drawing obstructions out of the person''s throat.