Ergonometric stethoscope chestpiece
First Claim
1. An ergonometric chestpiece for a stethoscope adapted to receive auscultatory sounds from a body and adapted to be coupled to an earpiece for a user, said chestpiece adapted to be grasped by a thumb and at least one finger of said user, comprising:
- said chestpiece having a bottom surface which is generally planar adapted to be placed near said body for receiving said auscultatory sounds;
said chestpiece having an upper portion opposite said bottom surface;
said upper portion having a raised center portion defining left and right indented gripping surfaces forming recesses defined by said left and right indented gripping surfaces and by a surface opposite said bottom surface, said left and right indented gripping surfaces adapted to receive said thumb and said at least one finger of said user, respectively;
said raised center portion forming a physical stop for said thumb and said at least one finger from contacting said body when said thumb and said at least one finger grasp said raised center of said upper portion;
said indented gripping surfaces being defined by left and right walls, each having a concave surface arcuate about an axis generally normal to said bottom surface;
said indented gripping surfaces further having an indented impression arcuate about an axis generally parallel to said bottom surface; and
said indented gripping surfaces each further having a protruding edge on a top surface of said raised center portion.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
An ergonometric chestpiece for a stethoscope adapted to receive auscultatory sounds from a body and adapted to be coupled to an earpiece for a user. The chestpiece is adapted to be grasped by a thumb and at least one finger of the user. The chestpiece has a bottom surface which is generally planar and is adapted to be placed near the body for receiving the auscultatory sounds. The chestpiece has an upper portion opposite the bottom surface. The upper portion has a raised center portion defining left and right indented gripping surfaces which form recesses defined by the left and right indented gripping surfaces and by a surface generally parallel to but opposite the bottom surface. The left and right indented gripping surfaces are adapted to receive the thumb and at least one finger of the user, respectively. The indented gripping surfaces have indented impressions adapted to be easily, securely and comfortably grasped by the thumb and fingers of the user. The indented gripping surfaces are each further defined by a protruding edge on the top surface of the raised center portion which prevent the fingers of the user from slipping upward and thus prevent the chestpiece from slipping out of the user'"'"'s hand. The raised center portion form a physical stop to prevent the thumb and fingers of the user from slipping forward and contacting the body when the thumb and the at least one finger grasp the raised center of the upper portion. The left and right walls may be concave. The ergonometric chestpiece may be generally circular and the left and right walls are cylindrically concave around axes generally orthogonal to the bottom surface. The top surface of the raised center portion may be sloped with respect to the bottom surface, the top surface being closer to the bottom surface at the front of the chestpiece than at the rear of the chestpiece.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. An ergonometric chestpiece for a stethoscope adapted to receive auscultatory sounds from a body and adapted to be coupled to an earpiece for a user, said chestpiece adapted to be grasped by a thumb and at least one finger of said user, comprising:
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said chestpiece having a bottom surface which is generally planar adapted to be placed near said body for receiving said auscultatory sounds; said chestpiece having an upper portion opposite said bottom surface; said upper portion having a raised center portion defining left and right indented gripping surfaces forming recesses defined by said left and right indented gripping surfaces and by a surface opposite said bottom surface, said left and right indented gripping surfaces adapted to receive said thumb and said at least one finger of said user, respectively; said raised center portion forming a physical stop for said thumb and said at least one finger from contacting said body when said thumb and said at least one finger grasp said raised center of said upper portion; said indented gripping surfaces being defined by left and right walls, each having a concave surface arcuate about an axis generally normal to said bottom surface; said indented gripping surfaces further having an indented impression arcuate about an axis generally parallel to said bottom surface; and said indented gripping surfaces each further having a protruding edge on a top surface of said raised center portion. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification