US2233087A

US2233087A - Stethoscopic instrument

Info

Publication number: US2233087A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1941-02-25
Anticipated expiration: 1958-02-25

Description

Feb. 25, 1941. J. J. TYNAN STETHOSCOPIC INSTRUMENT Filed Aug. 4, 1938

l

3 ,54 flllgflllll/ Patented Feb. 25, 1941 2,233,087

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE STETHOSCOPIC' INSTRUMENT James J. Tynan, Milton, Mass. Application August 4, 1938, Serial No. 222,993 2 Claims. (Cl. 181-24) This invention relates to improvements in dle portion of the single non-concealed body stethoscopic instruments. piece.

It is well known to practicing physicians that Before explaining in detail the present invenseveral stethoscopes of different forms and sizes tion it is to be understood that the invention is are required for auscultative examination of difnot limited in its application to the details of ferent parts of the human body, as well as grownconstruction and arrangement of parts illusup persons and children. Thus, a so-called bell trated in the accompanying drawing, since the body piece with an open sound-collecting space invention is capable of other embodiments and is the most practical for certain examinations, of being practiced or carried out in various Ways. 10 While a so-called diaphragm body piece with Also it is to be understood that the phraseology l0 a diaphragm covered sound-collecting space is or terminology employed herein is for the purmore practical for other examinations. Furtherpose of description and not of limitation, and more, the examination of a large area of the it is not intended to limit the invention claimed human body requires a larger body piece than herein beyond the requirements of the prior art. z5 the examination of apices, interspaces and other In the drawing: body parts of small area for which a small body Fig. 1 is an enlarged plan view of a stethopiece is more practical. Also, some physicians scopic instrument which embodies the present use two different forms of stethoscopes for exinvention. amining one and the same part of the body as, Fie. 2 is a cross-section through the instru- LU for instance, in cardiac examinations where a ment, taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1. l0 bell body piece registers primarily low-pitched Fig. 3 iS a SeCtiOn taken 0n the line 3-3 of murmurs and a diaphragm body piece registers Fig. 2.

primarily high-pitched murmurs, In Order t0 be Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the instrument with prepared for all contingencies, most physicians al1 the body pieces thereof in assembled relation.

25 have stethoscopes of diierent forms and of dif- Fig. 5 is a view of the instrument similar to 25 ferent sizes at their disposal. However, it is the Fig. 4, With One 0f the bOdy pieCeS remOVed. common experience of these physicians that they Fig. 6 SllOWS the instrument after all but one cannot readily nnd or reach a particular stetho- 01c the body pieCeS have been IeInOVed. scope because some stethoscopes of their collec- Fig. '7 illustrates another Way in which the 30 tion are usually misplaced or at least not Within present instrument can be used. 30 easy reach. Moreover, the acquisitions of sev- Referring to the drawing and more partioularIy eral stethoscopes involves considerable cost. t0 Figs. 1, 2 and 4, the'StethOSCOpiC instrument stethoscopes have also made their appearance COHSSS in the present instance Of a bell bOdLV on the market which come with interchangeable piece l0 hereafter Called bell piece, and two 35 body pieces, but they have not mitigated the diaphragm body pieCeS l2 end I4, hereafter 35 frequent confusion and inconvenience experi- Called diaphragm peCeS- The Connecting end enced by physicians when trying to find or reach I6 of any conventional ear tubes (not shown) for the proper body piece. It is also disturbing iS applied t0 a Shank I8 0f the bell piece lll and to a. physician to replace one body piece with is preferably removably Secured thereon by i0 another in the middle of an examination. means of the pin and bayOnet COImeCtiOn 20, 22 40 It is the primary aim and object of the presshown in Figs. 1 and 2. ent invention to provide a stethoscopical instru- The lJell pieCe l0 has a fluStO-Conioal Soundment which comprises body pieces of Several collecting space or cavity 24 which communicates forms and sizes that can be readily removed in Wlththe ear tubes through a Sound pm sage 26' 5 any number in order to have a particular body Carned by the bien plece 'u and prolectmg into 45 piece available for an examination After the ai? 'enlarged porglm 28 of the Sound passage 25 t ereof is a pin which is adapted to cooperate a 1 a e al i0 the instrument in one manipulation. Sma er or 1n ermedm e lap lragm place 2 so 0 It is also an Object of the present invention as to retain the latter on the bell piece Ill. 5

1 The diaphragm piece I2 is of the cross-secto construct the instrument 1n a manner that tional Shape best illustrated in Fig 2 and is pr0 all .but one. of the body pieces thereof conceal vided with an annular recess 36 in which is suittheir true 1dent1ty as Such and merely appear ably secured, as by cementing, a soft rubber ring 5 as awel] shaped and conveniently accessible han- 38 on which the vbell piece I becomes rmly 55 seated when its pin 30 is locked in the bayonet slot 32. The diaphragm piece I2 is also provided with a concave sound-collecting space or cavity 42 and a sound passage 40 which provides communication between said sound-collecting cavity 42 and the sound passage 26 of the bell piece IIJ in the manner illustrated in Fig. 2. The sound passage 4I) consists of a through-bore 44 which is disposed coaxially of the sound passage of the bell piece, and a transverse bore 45. Secured to the open end of the sound-collecting cavity 42 of the diaphragm piece I2 by means of a threaded retainer ring 48 is a diaphragm 58 which may be made of any suitable material such as mica. Rotatably mounted in the bore 44 of the diaphragm piece I2 is a sleeve valve 52, having an opening 54 in its in alignment with the bore 46. Axial removal of the sleeve valve 52 from the bore 44 ls prevented by chamfering one end of said bore as at 5E and by providing the adjacent end of the sleeve valve 52 with a crimp 58 which seats against the chamfered end 5B of the bore 44. The sleeve valve 52 is also provided with a knurled disc 60 by means of which it may be rotated. The disc 6D carries a pin G2 which projects into an arcuate groove 64 in the face BE of the diaphragm piece I2, whereby rotation of the sleeve valve 52 is limited from an angular position in which its opening 54 is completely out of communication with the bore 46 into a position in which said opening is completely in communication with said bore.

The next diaphragm piece I4 comprises a niember 10, having an annular rim 'I2 which passes over the retainer ring 48 of the intermediate diaphragm piece I2 at a sliding t. The member 'I0 is also provided with a concave soundcollecting space or cavity 14, to the open end 'I5 of which is secured a diaphragm 'I6 by means of an externally knurled and internally threaded reu t-ainer ring 'I8 (see Fig. 2). The member 'I3 is further provided with a tubular extension Sil which is in communication with the sound-collecting cavity 'I4 and is threadedly received at 82 in the bore 46 of the intermediate diaphragm' piece I2. rIhe tubular extension 8D thereby extends through a central aperture 84 in the diaphragm 50. To reenforce the centrally apertured portion of the diaphragm 5I), a preferably metallic ferrule B6 is applied to the diaphragm in the manner shown in Fig. 2. The member Il of the diaphragm piece I4 is also provided with an annular recess 88 in which is suitably secured as by cementing, a soft rubber ring 9i) on which the retainer ring 48 of the intermediate diaphragm piece I2 becomes firmly seated when the other diaphragm piece I4 is applied thereto.

The bell piece ID as well as the diaphragm I2 and I4 are preferably made of a light metal, such as aluminum, and chromium-plated.

1f the physician desires to examine large areas of the human body, he will use the diaphragm piece I4, i. e., he will use the instrument assembled as shown in Fig. 4. If an examination calls for a smaller diaphragm piece, the physician merely removes the larger diaphragm piece I4 by unscrewing the same from the smaller diaphragm piece I2. The physician then uses the assembled instrument shown in Fig. 5. Finally, if an eX- amination calls for a bell piece, the physician will remove the smaller diaphragm piece I2 merely by twisting the same suiciently to permit withdrawal of the pin from the bayonet slot 32 and then use the instrument in the manner shown in annular wall Fig. 6. If the examination calls immediately for a bell piece, the physician need not remove the larger diaphragm piece I `I from the smaller diaphragm piece I2, but removes both of them from the bell piece itl in one manipulation, i. e., by merely removing the bell piece ID from the assembled diaphragm pieces. I2 and I4. The replacement of any one of the removed body pieces on the instrument is equally as facile as the described removal thereirom. With the present instrument, a physician has also the choice to use only the two diaphragm pieces I2 and I4 (Fig. 7) on removing the bell body piece Il! therefrom and applying the ear tubes to the shank 34 or" the smaller diaphragm piece l2. It is for this reason ydat the shank CM is ci the same outside diameter as the .j ank ill ci the bell piece ID so that the conne g end lt oi one and the saine ear tubes may be applied to either' shank (Figs. 2 and 7). The bayonet slots til and in the bell piece I0 and the smaller diaphragm piece I2 are made identical so that the pin Ml of the connecting end iii oi the ear 'tubes also cooperate with thc bevo slot and lock the ear tubes to the smaller diaphragm piece I2 when the instrument o is used in the manner shown in Fig. 7. Also, as long anv one ci the diaphragm pieces I2 or I4 is used, the volume or the transmitter sound may be regulated by means oi the sleeve valve 52.

It ripper f' from Fig. 2 `that the various body pieces ci the `instrument are all in series communication with each other so that each body piece transmits sound as long as it is assembled in the instrument. It is this series communication of the body pieces lil, I2 and I4 which made it possible to give the instrument the neat appearance and practical shape which is particularly evident irom Fig. 4. Thus, the bell piece ID and part of the smaller diaphragm piece I2 form a convenient and easily accessible handle for the instrument when either of the two diaphragm pieces l2 or lil is used. The bell piece ID and the handle-forming part of the smaller diaphragm piece l2 are, moreover, sufficiently removed irom the application surfaces oi the diaphragm pieces I2 and I4 so as not to interfere in the least with the application of either diaphragm piece. The smaller diaphragm piece I?. still affords a very convenient grip even when the instrument is used in the manner shown in Fig. T.

I claim:

l. A stethoscopic instrument having in cornbination ear tu es and a plurality ci interconnected body pieces, said pieces including a bell piece connected at one end to the ear tubes and provide-:1 at its opposite end with a flared recessed portion, an intermediate piece having a shank projecting into the bell piece and a shoulder abutting said dared portion, said pieces having substantially horizontally disposed coaxial sound conduits therein, means for detachably connecting said shank to the bell piece, said intermediate piece having a normally extending portion provided at its outer with a cavity, said extending portion having a substantially vertical sound passage communicating with the conduit in said intermediate piece. and an end piece having a tubular portion extending into said passage, means detachably connecting the tubular portion to the intermediate piece, said end piece having a recessed cuter portion, a diaphragm closing said recessed portion, and means connecting said diaphragm to the end piece, said pieces being normally connected together to provide a unitary assembly, and being constructed and arranged so that when the end piece is removed, the adjacent piece constitutes the end piece for collecting and transmitting sounds to the ear tubes.

A stethoscopic instrument having in combination ear tubes and a plurality of interconnected body pieces, said pieces including a bell piece connected at one end to the ear tubes and provided at its opposite end with a iiared recessed portion, an intermediate piece having a shank projecting into the bell piece and a shoulder abutting said flared portion, said pieces having substantially horizontally disposed coaxial sound conduits therein, means for detachably connecting said shank to the bell piece, said intermediate piece having a normally extending portion provided at its outer end with a cavity, said extending portion having a substantially vertical sound passage communicating With the conduit in said intermediate piece, an apertured diaphragm connected to said depending portion, an end piece having a tubular portion extending through said apertured diaphragm into said passage, means detachably connecting the tubular portion to the intermediate piece, said end piece having a recessed outer portion, a diaphragm closing said recessed portion, and ineans for connecting said last-mentioned to the end piece, and a sleeve valve rotatably mounted in the conduit in the intermediate piece, said sleeve valve having an opening adapted to be moved into and out of registration with said passage, said sleeve valve also having a handle projecting beyond the end of said inter'. Aediate piece for actuating the valve to control the sound passing from the passage to the conduit, said pieees being normally connected together to provide a unitary assembly, and being constructed and arranged so that when the end piece is. removed, the adjacent piece constitutes the end piece for collecting and transmitting sounds to the ear tubes.

JAMES J. TYNAN.

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