The disclosure relates in general to a tongue holding device, and more particularly to a tongue holding device having an image capturing element.
Conventionally, when a doctor checks the tissues of a patient's mouth cavity, the doctor will press the patient's tongue with a stick held at one hand and check the patient's mouth cavity with a flashlight held at the other hand. However, such operation is very inconvenient. Therefore, it has become an urgent need to provide a solution for conveniently checking the tissues of the mouth cavity.
The disclosure is directed to a tongue holding device capable of increasing the convenience for checking the tissues of the mouth cavity.
According to one embodiment, a tongue holding device is provided. The tongue holding device is for pressing a tongue within a mouth cavity to capture an image of the mouth cavity. The tongue holding device includes a holder, a tongue pressing portion and an image capturing element. The tongue pressing portion is disposed on the holder. The image capturing element is protrudingly disposed on the holder.
The above and other aspects of the disclosure will become better understood with regard to the following detailed description of the preferred but non-limiting embodiment(s). The following description is made with reference to the accompanying drawings.
In the following detailed description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosed embodiments. It will be apparent, however, that one or more embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are schematically shown in order to simplify the drawing.
The tongue holding device 100 includes a holder 110, a tongue pressing portion 120, an image capturing element 130, an illuminator 140, and a control circuit 150. Since both the tongue pressing portion 120 and the image capturing element 130 of the present embodiment are integrated in the same holder 110, the tongue holding device 100 can concurrently achieve the effects of pressing the tongue to expose the mouth cavity and capturing an image of the mouth cavity. Since the tongue pressing portion 120 and the image capturing element 130 are integrated in the same holder 110, the user can achieve the above two effects by operating the tongue holding device 100 with one single hand. Detailed structure of the tongue holding device 100 is disclosed below.
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The image capturing element 130 can capture an image of the tissues of a mouth cavity, such as the throat tissues. Thus, the user (such as a doctor) can check the tissues of the mouth cavity according to the captured image without directly checking the tissues of the mouth cavity using his/her naked eyes. In an embodiment, the image capturing element 130 can be realized by a camera or a video recorder. Besides, the image capturing element 130 is disposed on an end surface 110e of the holder 110 such that the illuminator 140 can capture the image in a direction pointed by the end surface 110e of the holder 110. Furthermore, the tongue holding device 100 can capture the image of the mouth cavity right in front of the end surface 110e of the holder 110. The user can capture a desired image of the mouth cavity by pointing the end surface 110e of the holder 110 towards the to-be-checked tissues. For example, if the user wants to check the patient's throat, the user only needs to point the end surface 110e of the holder 110 towards the throat to capture the image of the throat tissues. Since the tongue pressing portion 120 is disposed on the peripheral surface 110s of the holder 110, the user can use the tongue pressing portion 120 to push away the tongue to avoid the shooting sight of the image capturing element 130 being blocked by the tongue.
The illuminator 140 can illuminate the mouth cavity for the user to clearly check the tissues of the mouth cavity. The illuminator 140 is disposed on the end surface 110e of the holder 110, such that the illuminator 140 can emit a light in the direction pointed by the end surface 110e of the holder 110. Furthermore, the illuminator 140 can be used as a fill-in light for improving the quality of the image captured by the image capturing element 130. Moreover, the illuminator 140 can be disposed above, beneath, to the left, or to the right of the image capturing element 130. In the present embodiment, the quantity of the illuminator 140 can be one or more than one. If the quantity of the illuminator 140 is more than one, the illuminators 140 can be disposed surrounding the image capturing element 130.
The control circuit 150 can control the image capturing element 130 to start or stop capturing image and/or control the illuminator 140 to start or stop emitting a light. In the present embodiment, the control circuit 150 includes a monitor 151, a first touch key 152 and a second touch key 153.
The monitor 151 can display the picture or dynamic image captured by the image capturing element 130. Or, the monitor 151 can display a number of indicator lights respectively representing the connection status between the tongue holding device 100 and a number of external devices such as a notebook computer, a desktop computer, a mobile phone and a display. For example, when the tongue holding device 100 and the display are connected, a corresponding indicator light will be turned on to indicate that the tongue holding device 100 and the display are connected. The display connected to the tongue holding device 100 can display the picture or dynamic image captured by the image capturing element 130.
The first touch key 152 is for operating the image capturing element 130, and can be realized by such as a shutter. The second touch key 153 is for operating the illuminator 140, and can be realized by such as a light source power key. In addition, the first touch key 152 can provide multiple functions. For example, the first touch key 152 can provide different functions according to the duration for which the first touch key 152 is continuously activated. In another embodiment, the first touch key 152 can be used as a shutter and a power key. Under such design, the first touch key 152 can turn on/off the power of the tongue holding device 100 if the first touch key 152 is pressed for a longer duration, and can start or stop capturing an image if the first touch key 152 is pressed for a shorter duration. Similarly, the second touch key 153 also can provide multiple functions, and the control methods are similar to that of the first touch key 152, and the similarities are not repeated here.
The tongue pressing portion 220 includes a connecting portion 221 and a pressing portion 222 connected to each other. The tongue pressing portion 220 is connected to the holder 110 through the connecting portion 221. The connecting portion 221 is connected to but not parallel to the pressing portion 222. As indicated in
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The tongue pressing portion 320 can be a flexible tongue pressing portion or a hard tongue pressing portion. Let the flexible tongue pressing portion be taken for example. The flexible tongue pressing portion can match the deformation the tongue when pressed, such that the contact area between the flexible tongue pressing portion the tongue can be increased. In an embodiment, the tongue pressing portion 320 can be formed of rubber, plastics or metal. However, the material of the tongue pressing portion 320 is not limited thereto, and the tongue pressing portion 320 can be formed of any materials compactible with or not harmful to human body.
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The tongue holding device 400 includes a holder 110, a tongue pressing portion 420, an image capturing element 130, an illuminator 140, and a control circuit 150 (not illustrated). In the present embodiment, the tongue pressing portion 420 has a size D1 along the X axis, the holder 110 has a size D along the same X axis2, and the size D1 is larger than the size D2. That is, a portion of the tongue pressing portion 420 overlaps the holder 110, but the other portion of the tongue pressing portion 420 does not overlap the holder 110. Since the tongue pressing portion 420 provides a large pressing area, the contact area between the tongue pressing portion 420 and the tongue can be increased. As indicated in
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The tongue pressing portion 520 is an expandable portion, such as an airbag. The control circuit 550 further includes a third touch key 551 for controlling the tongue pressing portion 520 to expand or contract. In another embodiment, the control circuit 550 can dispense with the third touch key 551. Under such design, the tongue pressing portion 520 is controlled to expand or contract according to the duration for which one of the first touch key 152 and the second touch key 153 is activated. For example, by pressing one of the first touch key 152 and the second touch key 153 for a longer duration of the time, the tongue pressing portion 520 can be controlled to expand (the expanded tongue pressing portion 520 is illustrated in dotted lines) or contract. Furthermore, one surface of the tongue pressing portion 520 can be a convex surface or a concave surface. The shape of the tongue pressing portion 520 can be a circle, an ellipse, or a polygon such as a rectangle.
Additionally, the tongue pressing portion 520 includes a first portion 521 and a second portion 522, which are respectively disposed on two opposite sides of the holder 110. For example, the first portion 521 is disposed under the holder 110 for pressing the tongue, and the second portion 522 is disposed above the holder 110. The height H2 of the second portion 522 is smaller than the height H1 of the first portion 521. Since the height H2 of the second portion 522 is small enough, the palate of the testee's mouth cavity will not be touched by the second portion 522 and will avoid causing discomfort to the testee.
The tongue pressing portion 620 is a scalable member. For example, the tongue pressing portion 620 includes a first rod 621, a second rod 622, and a third rod 623. The first rod 621 has a first slide track 6211 and a first slide chute 6212; the second rod 622 has a second slide track 6221 and a second a slide chute 6222; the third rod 623 has a third slide track 6231 and a third slide chute 6232. The first slide track 6211 of the first rod 621 can be slidably connected to the slide chute 111r of the holder 110; the second slide track 6221 of the second rod 622 can be slidably connected to the first slide chute 6212 of the first rod 621; the third slide track 6231 of the third rod 623 can be slidably connected to the second slide chute 6222 of the second rod 622. Thus, the tongue pressing portion 620 is scalable with respect to the holder 110. In another embodiment, the tongue pressing portion 620 may further include another rod, which can be slidably connected to the third slide track 6231 of the third rod 623.
To summarize, the tongue holding device disclosed in the embodiments of the present disclosure, including a tongue pressing portion and an image capturing element, is capable of achieving both effects of pressing the tongue to expose the mouth cavity and capturing an image of the mouth cavity. In an embodiment, since the tongue pressing portion and the image capturing element are integrated in the same holder, the user can above two effects by operate the tongue holding device with one single hand. In another embodiment, the tongue pressing portion is protrudingly disposed on the peripheral surface of the holder, and will not interfere with the shooting sight of the image capturing element. In another embodiment, it does not matter whether the tongue pressing portion exceeds the end surface of the holder or not. In another embodiment, the tongue pressing portion, possessing flexibility, flexibly matches the hardness or deformation of the tongue. In another embodiment, the tongue pressing portion, possessing scalability, is capable of changing the length according to the depth of the to-be-checked tissues. Or, the tongue pressing portion can be a bump. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the shape and/or material of the tongue pressing portion are not restricted, and any shapes and/or materials enabling the tongue pressing portion to press the tongue would do. Besides, any one surface of the tongue pressing portion can be a convex surface or a concave surface. In other embodiments, the cross-section of the holder of the tongue holding device can be in the shape of a circle, an ellipse, or a polygon such as a rectangle. In another embodiment, the quantity of the illuminator of tongue holding device can be one or more than one.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the disclosed embodiments. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope of the disclosure being indicated by the following claims and their equivalents.