Portable spirometer
First Claim
1. A portable, hand-held spirometer comprising:
- a) a chassis;
b) an enclosed curved passageway in communication with said chassis including an inlet, and an outlet;
c) a vane pivotally mounted in said passageway, between said inlet and said outlet, and movable from a first position substantially closing off said passageway to a succession of other positions forming a widening gap between said vane and part of said passageway as said vane moves therethrough;
d) measuring means for measuring positions of said vane, as a function of time;
e) converting means for converting measured positions of said vane to diagnostic parameters;
f) reporting means for reporting the diagnostic parameters; and
g) biasing means for applying a variable bias to said vane to calibrate the spirometer.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A portable hand-held spirometer capable of being accommodated in a pocket or handbag, comprising a chassis, an enclosed curved passageway in communication with the chassis including an inlet, for receiving the forced expiration of the user, and an outlet, through which the expiration may be exhausted, a vane pivotally mounted in the passageway, between the inlet and the outlet, for moving under the influence of the user'"'"'s forced expiration from a first position closing off the passageway to a succession of other open positions forming an ever widening gap between the vane and part of the passageway as the vane moves therethrough, a bottom cover for incrementally measuring various positions of the vane, throughout its travel as a function of time, a device to convert the measurements to various diagnostic parameters applicable to the user'"'"'s lung condition, and a device to report the values.
86 Citations
32 Claims
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1. A portable, hand-held spirometer comprising:
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a) a chassis; b) an enclosed curved passageway in communication with said chassis including an inlet, and an outlet; c) a vane pivotally mounted in said passageway, between said inlet and said outlet, and movable from a first position substantially closing off said passageway to a succession of other positions forming a widening gap between said vane and part of said passageway as said vane moves therethrough; d) measuring means for measuring positions of said vane, as a function of time; e) converting means for converting measured positions of said vane to diagnostic parameters; f) reporting means for reporting the diagnostic parameters; and g) biasing means for applying a variable bias to said vane to calibrate the spirometer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A portable hand-held spirometer comprising:
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a) a chassis; b) a lower cover attached to the chassis and forming with the chassis an enclosed curved passageway of fixed radius including an inlet and inlet bore, and an outlet; c) a vane pivotally mounted in said passageway on a shaft and offset from the radius of curvature thereof and movable from a first position at one end of said inlet bore to a succession of other positions removed therefrom while forming an ever widening gap between said vane and part of said passageway as said vane rotates through said passageway; d) first means for incrementally measuring various positions of said vane, throughout its travel as a function of time; e) second means to convert said measurements to various diagnostic parameters applicable to the user'"'"'s lung condition; f) third means to report said parameters; g) an upper cover covering said first, second and third means; and h) a dual in-line package switch linked to the second means for pre-selecting the diagnostic parameters desired to be reported. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A portable spirometer comprising:
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a housing including a curved passageway having an inlet and an outlet; a vane pivotally mounted in said passageway, between said inlet and said outlet; a cam attached to and pivotable with said vane; a sensor arm contacting said cam; a Hall effect device and a magnet associated with the sensor arm for detecting positions of the arm and correspondingly positions of the vane; processing means, linked to the Hall effect device, for determining a diagnostic parameter; and reporting means for reporting the diagnostic parameter. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A spirometer comprising:
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a housing containing a curved passageway having a center of curvature; a vane pivotally mounted within the housing at a location offset from the center of curvature of the curved passageway; biasing means for biasing the vane to a first position against an inner end of a bore extending into the housing, the vane positioned substantially perpendicular to the bore when in the first position; and measuring means for measuring over time the position of the vane within the housing. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A spirometer comprising:
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a housing containing a curved passageway having a center of curvature; a vane pivotally mounted within the housing at a location offset from the center of curvature of the curved passageway; biasing means for biasing the vane to a first position against an inner end of a bore extending into the housing, the vane positioned substantially perpendicular to the bore when in the first position; a cam moveable with said vane; a sensor engaged against said cam; a Hall effect device and a magnet associated with the sensor arm for measuring positions of the sensor arm and corresponding positions of said vane; processing means linked to said Hall effect device, for converting positions of the sensor arm, as measured by the Hall effect device, to a diagnostic parameter; and reporting means linked to said processing means for reporting the diagnostic parameter.
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Specification