US3659589A

US3659589A - Spirograph mouthpiece

Info

Publication number: US3659589A
Application number: US857876A
Authority: US
Inventors: Jack R Lambert
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1969-09-15
Filing date: 1969-09-15
Publication date: 1972-05-02
Anticipated expiration: 1989-05-02

Abstract

A disposable mouthpiece for use with a spirometer and like instruments having an air conduit containing an impeller, which is supported within the conduit by a cap that also functions to antiseptically seal one end of the air conduit. The air conduit is adapted to be inserted into a spirometer for engagement of a drive shaft of the spirometer with the impeller. The impeller is designed to rotate the shaft when the cap is removed and air is blown through the conduit.

Description

United States Patent Lambert 1 May2, 1972 [54] SPIROGRAPH MOUTHPIECE [72] Inventor: Jack R. Lambert, 42 The Great Road,

Bedford, Mass. 01730 [52] US. Cl ..128/2.08, 73/229 [51] Int. Cl. ..A6lb 5/08 [58] Field of Search ..128/2.08, 145.8; 73/229 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS R26,654 8/1969 Lee et al... .....73/229 820,259 5/1906 Renvoize. 128/208 966.050 8/1910 Ramage... 128/208 1.799.635 4/1931 Nuebling. ..73/229 1.850.901 3/1932 Sturtz, Jr 73/229 X 1,964,784 7/1934 Nelson et a1 ..73/229 2,837,083 6/1958 Lanooy ..128/2.08

3,329,021 7/1967 Quesinberry et a1. ..73/229 3,392,724 7/1968 Cowley 128/1458 3,526,133 9/1970 Love et a1.. ..73/229 3,530,857 9/1970 Miczka ..128/145.8

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 150,201 9/1962 U.S.S.R. ..128/2.08

Primary Examiner-Richard A. Gaudet Assistant ExaminerKyle L. Howell Att0rney--Wo1f, Greenfield & Sacks [57] ABSTRACT A disposable mouthpiece for use with a spirometer and like instruments having an air conduit containing an impeller, which is supported within the conduit by a cap that also functions to antiseptically seal one end of the air conduit. The air conduit is adapted to be inserted into a spirometer for engagement of a drive shaft of the spirometer with the impeller. The impeller is designed to rotate the shaft when the cap is removed and air is blown through the conduit.

10 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures l 37 21V l I 35 srmoomn MOUTHPIECE RELATED APPLICATION This is a continuationin-part of application Ser. No. 861,539 filed Aug. 21, 1969.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION spirometers and like instruments are commonly used in the medical and paramedical fields for measurement of lung capacity. These instruments are ordinarily used by blowing into a mouthpiece so that various parameters of lung capacity may be measured. Because these instruments are used successively by different people, it is necessary to provide antiseptic mouthpieces for successive use. In the spirometers heretofore available, antiseptic mouthpieces might comprise simply disposable length of tubes that are adapted to fit over another tubular member. More recently, however, there has been developed a compact, portable spirometer described in my copending application Ser. No. 738,517, filed June 20, 1968, now US. Pat. No. 3,555,555. This spirometer is designed as a portable unit and functions on a principle different from spirometers heretofore designed. In this newly designed spirometer, various lung capacity parameters are measured in part by rotation of a shaft in response to an input flow of air. In the original design of that spirometer, the input shaft was rotated by an impeller fixed to the shaft. That arrangement, however, had certain limitations which arose in part because the impeller was attached to the input shaft.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved mouthpiece for a spirometer and like instruments, and in particular to provide an improved disposable mouthpiece that is useful in connection with a spirometer of the type described in application Ser. No. 738,517, filed June 20, 1968, now US. Pat No. 3,555,555. A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved disposable mouthpiece design for use with spirometers and like instruments which incorporates a self-contained impeller that is designed to be secured to an operating component of the spirometer upon assembly for use.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved spirometer mouthpiece that is essentially a selfdestructing mouthpiece unit so that it can only be used once in connection with a spirometer.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved mouthpiece for use with spirometers and like instruments in which the mouthpiece may be sterilized prior to assembly and maintained in a sterile condition until actual use.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved mouthpiece for a spirometer that contains a sterilized impeller adapted to be impaled upon drive mechanisms of a spirometer upon assembly for use.

In the present invention there is provided a disposable mouthpiece that includes an air conduit within which is positioned an impeller. Means are provided for supporting the impeller within the conduit in a position for engagement with a drive shaft of a spirometer. A sealing means or cap is provided for the conduit to maintain it in sterile condition with the sealing means preferably supporting the impeller in a position for aligned impalement upon an input shaft of a spirometer upon assembly with the spirometer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS The foregoing objects and advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an end view looking from the end opposite the cap of a mouthpiece embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is an elevational detail of an impeller used in the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT An air conduit 10 comprises preferably an elongated tubular member having preferably a uniformly thick wall that is open at its opposite ends 11 and 12. An annular lip 13 is formed on the inner surface 14 of end 12 of the tubular member. End 12 may have a rounded cross section, as illustrated at 15. The other end 11 of tubular member 10 is formed with an inwardly flared annular bulge 16 that is designed to retain the impeller 20 within the interior 21' of the tubular member 10.

The impeller 20 is formed with a cylindrical core 21 having a wall of uniform cross-sectional dimension. The core 21 is integrally formed with four radially extending

blades

22, 23, 24, and 25. These blades, best illustrated in FIG. 3, are of uniform thickness and extend the length of the core 21. The blades extend helically about the core 21 over a radial arc of with one end 27 of one blade axially aligned with the other end 28 of the next adjacent blade. The radial length of the blades are such as to permit frictional engagement of the blades at their ends closest to end 12 of the tubular member 10 with lip 13. When secured in this position, the impeller is spaced slightly inwardly, as illustrated in FIG. 2, from the extreme edge of the end 12 of the tubular member, with the cylindrical core 21 coaxially supported with the tubular member 10.

An outer casing 30 is coaxially arranged about the tubular member 10. This outer casing comprises an annular wall 31. One end of this annular wall 31 is open and is formed with an outwardly extending peripheral flange 33 that is preferably rectangular in cross section. The wall 31 tapers in cross section from a narrow thickness near flange 33 to a thickened portion remote therefrom. The end of the casing 30 remote from annular flange 33 is closed by a bottom wall 34. An aperture 35 in the bottom wall 34 is coaxially aligned with the aperture 36 of the cylindrical core 21. The aperture 35 is formed by an extension 37 of the bottom wall 34, which extension 37 extends inwardly from wall 34 to a point short of or spaced from the adjacent end of core 21. The cross-sectional diameter of aperture 35 is preferably slightly greater than the cross-sectional diameter of the aperture 36, with the

apertures

35 and 36 aligned with one another.

The outer casing 30 is integrally formed and secured in fixed spaced relation to tubular member 10 by suitable support means. These support means may comprise four

webs

40, 41, 42, and 43. The webs, preferably radially arranged with respect to the axis of tubular member 10 at 90 to one another, extend lengthwise of the casing 30 from the bottom wall 34 to a point close to the open end of the casing 30. These four webs define air passages 45 from the impeller to the outer periphery of the tubular member 10 adjacent the flange 33.

A cap 50 closes the open end 11 of the tubular member 10 and provides support means for the impeller 20. In this arrangement, the cap 50 is formed with an annular wall 51 closed at one end by a bottom 52 and opened at the other end 53. Open end 53 is formed with a shoulder 54 designed to frictionally receive and engage flange 33 in a sealed arrangement. The tubular member 10 extends to but just short of wall 52. A supporting post 55 extends inwardly from wall 52 within tubular member 10. The post 55 terminates in a supporting pin 56, which is coaxial with the post and tubular member 10. The supporting pin 56 frictionally engages and fits within the core 21. This pin 56 thus cooperates with lip 13 to secure the impeller with the aperture 36 in precise alignment with aperture 35.

When the mouthpiece is initially manufactured, it may be assembled, as illustrated in FIG. 2. The aperture 35 may, if desired, be covered with a strippable adhesive or other means so that the interior of the mouthpiece may be maintained under sterile conditions. When the mouthpiece is to be used with a spirometer of the type previously described or other suitable instruments, the covering, if any, over the aperture 35 is removed. The unit is then inserted into the spirometer so that the operating or drive shaft 35 of the spirometer is moved into the aperture 35. The diameter of the shaft of the spirometer should be slightly less than the diameter of aperture 35, but such as to provide a frictional forcefit on the core 21 when the shaft is moved into the aperture 36. When the shaft is so arranged, the impeller is disengaged from frictional engagement with flange 13 as it moves axially inwardly to tube 10. The shaft thus has the impeller frictionally supported on it. The cap 50 is removed, freeing the pin 56 from the impeller. Ordinarily, the casing 30 is designed to engage a suitable supporting ring or collar so that the casing 30 is rigidly supported on the spirometer by such a ring or collar, while the shaft of the spirometer supports the impeller 20. The operator blows through the open end 11 of the tubular member after removal of the cap 50, causing operation of the spirometer. After suitable use, the mouthpiece may be removed. Upon removal, the impeller 20 is freed from the shaft of the spirometer as the shaft is withdrawn through aperture 35. The impeller at this stage, however, is free of the flange l3, and of course, free of pin 56 since the cap had previously been removed. The impeller is thus loose within the tubular member 10; and consequently, aperture 36 is no longer aligned with aperture 35 and the unit cannot readily be used once again.

What is claimed is: 1. A mouthpiece comprising: a casing, an air conduit, an impeller disposed within said air conduit, said casing having means holding one end of said air conduit, said air conduit having means at said one end thereof for retaining said impeller, and a cover disposed about the other end of said air conduit closing said casing, whereby said casing and cover together define an enclosure for said conduit and impeller, said casing including means defining a wall at one end thereof remote from said cover having an aperture therein which is coaxial with a center axis of said impeller. 2. The mouthpiece of claim 1 wherein said cover includes means for supporting said impeller.

3. The mouthpiece of claim 2 wherein said supporting means includes a post extending interior of said air conduit and contacting said impeller.

4. A mouthpiece comprising: an impeller, an air conduit having means at one end thereof at least temporarily retaining the impeller within the air conduit,

and a casing having a wall at one end and being substantially open at the other end and including elongated support webs extending inside said casing and terminating near said other end,

said support webs holding said one end of said air conduit,

said wall having an aperture therethrough which is coaxial with a center axis of said impeller. 5. The mouthpiece of claim 4 wherein said support webs included four webs disposed from an inner surface of said casing at one from the next.

6. The mouthpiece of claim 4 wherein said means for retaining includes an inwardly extending annular lip disposed at said one end. I

7. A mouthpiece for engagement with an external shaft comprising:

an air conduit, an impeller within said conduit, a casing surrounding and supporting one end of said conduit,

and a removable protective cover at the other end of said conduit closing said casing, whereby said casing and cover together define an enclosure for said conduit and said impeller said casing including means defining a shaft-aligning aperture at an end of said casing remote from said cover and coaxial with said impeller, said cover including means for supporting said impeller.

8. The mouthpiece of claim 7 wherein said means for supporting said impeller is integral with said cover and includes a post extending axially into said air conduit with a portion thereof in engagement with said impeller when said cover is closed over said casing.

9. The mouthpiece of claim 7 including a plurality of webs interconnecting said casing and air conduit supporting said air conduit in spaced relation to an outer portion of said casing.

10. The mouthpiece of claim 7 including means supporting said casing coaxially about said air conduit and defining therewith an annular air passage in fluid communication with said impeller.

i I i

Claims

1. A mouthpiece comprising: a casing, an air conduit, an impeller disposed within said air conduit, said casing having means holding one end of said air conduit, said air conduit having means at said one end thereof for retaining said impeller, and a cover disposed about the other end of said air conduit closing said casing, whereby said casing and cover together define an enclosure for said conduit and impeller, said casing including means defining a wall at one end thereof remote from said cover having an aperture therein which is coaxial with a center axis of said impeller.

2. The mouthpiece of claim 1 wherein said cover includes means for supporting said impeller.

4. A mouthpiece comprising: an impeller, an air conduit having means at one end thereof at least temporarily retaining the impeller within the air conduit, and a casing having a wall at one end and being substantially open at the other end and including elongated support webs extending inside said casing and terminating near said other end, said support webs holding said onE end of said air conduit, said wall having an aperture therethrough which is coaxial with a center axis of said impeller.

5. The mouthpiece of claim 4 wherein said support webs included four webs disposed from an inner surface of said casing at 90* one from the next.

6. The mouthpiece of claim 4 wherein said means for retaining includes an inwardly extending annular lip disposed at said one end.

7. A mouthpiece for engagement with an external shaft comprising: an air conduit, an impeller within said conduit, a casing surrounding and supporting one end of said conduit, and a removable protective cover at the other end of said conduit closing said casing, whereby said casing and cover together define an enclosure for said conduit and said impeller, said casing including means defining a shaft-aligning aperture at an end of said casing remote from said cover and coaxial with said impeller, said cover including means for supporting said impeller.