Disposable diaphragm stethoscope
OwnerSergio Sanchez-Zambranoinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A stethoscope head for joining to an earpiece assembly. The head has a generally tubular neck for joining the head to the earpiece assembly. An anterior chamber has an open face with an aperture at its apex and an outer rim. The bell is adapted to gather and reflect sound originating at or near the open face toward the aperture. A thin disposable diaphragm has adhesive on one side for releasably adhering to the rim. A central chamber is adjacent the bell and connected to the bell by the aperture. The chamber is adapted to direct sounds from the aperture to the neck.
Claims18
A stethoscope head for joining to an earpiece assembly, comprising:
- a generally tubular neck for joining the head to the earpiece assembly;
- an anterior acoustic chamber and a posterior acoustic chamber connected by a body having an open face with a central passage, the body having an outer rim surrounding the anterior acoustic chamber;
- a thin, disposable diaphragm having adhesive on one side for releasably adhering to the rim thereby covering the anterior acoustic chamber;
- an acoustic tunnel extending from the posterior acoustic chamber through the neck for delivering sound waves to the earpiece assembly;
- and
- wherein the anterior acoustic chamber has reflective walls oriented to direct sound waves passing through the central passage into the tunnel.
A stethoscope comprising:
- a bowl shaped chamber with an open end and a rim about the circumference of the open end;
- a secondary chamber adjacent to the bowl shaped chamber and in acoustic communication with the bowl shaped chamber by a central passage;
- an acoustic tunnel extending outward from the secondary chamber, substantially at a right angle along a straight line to an axis of the bowl shaped chamber;
- wherein the secondary chamber has a first reflecting wall portion and a second reflecting wall portion, the first reflecting wall portion is located on an axis of the bowl shaped acoustic chamber oriented to reflect sound waves to the second wall portion which in turn is oriented to reflect sound waves into the tunnel.
A head for a stethoscope, for joining to an earpiece assembly comprising:
- a body having a neck portion for joining to the body to the earpiece assembly;
- a bell shaped anterior acoustic chamber and a posterior acoustic chamber in the body, connected by a central passageway, the body having a flat rim surrounding the anterior acoustic chamber;
- a diaphragm having adhesive on one side for releasable adhering to the rim thereby covering the anterior acoustic chamber;
- an acoustic tunnel extending from the posterior acoustic chamber through the neck at substantially a right angle along a straight line to an axis of the anterior chamber for delivering sound waves to the earpiece assembly;
- wherein the posterior chamber has a first reflecting wall portion and a second reflecting portion, the first reflecting wall portion is located on an axis of the anterior shaped acoustic chamber oriented to reflect sound waves to the second wall portion which in turn is oriented to reflect sound waves into the tunnel.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.