Airway

Claim 1

A tongue retracting airway comprising elongate upper and lower body members disposed in generally parallel relation closely adjacent to each other and having substantially coterminous inner and outer end portions, said body members being adapted to be manually inserted in superimposed orientation into the mouth of an individual and similarly removed therefrom, and adapted further to overlay the tongue of such individual in the inserted position and being longitudinally curved to conform at least generally to the top surface of the tongue; extensions on the outer end portions of said body members of sufficient length to project from the mouth when said body members are fully inserted, at least one of said extensions having a laterally extending portion disposed to bear on the face of said individual in said fully inserted position to limit further insertion thereof; an elongate clamping member disposed longitudinally beyond the inner end portions of said body members; a pair of spaced hinge means spaced transversely with respect to the length of said airway, both of said hinge means being connected to said clamping member and each being connected to a respective one of said body members at the inner end of the latter whereby said clamping member extends into the throat of said individual in the fully inserted position of said airway; means holding and guiding said body members for limited longitudinal sliding movement of one body member relative to the other of said body members; and manually operable actuator means cooperable with said body members in the fully inserted position of said airway for sliding said one body member longitudinally back-and-forth relative to the other of said body members, said clamping member being connected to said body members by said hinge means such that sliding movement of said one body member in one direction with respect to the other acts through said hinge means to swing said clamping member to a nonaligned position with respect to said body members and toward the front of the throat and into pressed engagement with the latter at the base of the tongue to compress the latter forwardly, and sliding movement of said one body member in the opposite direction with respect to the other acts through said hinge means to swing said clamping member to an aligned position with respect to said body members and toward the back of the throat to release said tongue and to permit ready removal of said airway.