Acoustic stethoscope

Claim 1

IN AN ACOUSTIC STETHOSCOPE HAVING A DIAPHRAGM CARRYING SOUND-RECEIVING HEAD WITH A CENTRALLY DISPOSED BOSS HAVING A SOUND-TRANSMITTING PASSAGEWAY THERETHROUGH, A DIAPHRAGM RECEIVING AND SECURING MEANS AND AN INTERMEDIATE PORTION BETWEEN THE BOSS AND ANNULAR DIAPHRAGM RECEIVING AND SECURING MEANS TAPERING DOWNWARDLY FROM A POINT IN SPACED RELATION BELOW SAID DIAPHRAGM RECEIVING MEANS TO THE CENTRAL BOSS PORTION, SAID INTERMEDIATE PORTION HAVING FORMED THEREIN CONCENTRIC PORTIONS THAT IN CROSS SECTION TAKE THE FORM OF A SERIES OF CONNECTED CONCAVE AND CONVEX PORTIONS, THE INNERMOST PORTION OF THE TAPERING INTERMEDIATE PORTION BEING DEFINED BY A GENERALLY FLAT IN CROSS SECTION PORTION HAVING A DIAMETER OF ABOUT ONE-THIRD THE DIAMETER OF THE SOUND-RECEIVING HEAD, THE COMBINATION THEREWITH OF A DIAPHRAGM OF CIRCULAR SHAPE AND HAVING AN ANNULAR PERIPHERAL PORTION SECURED TO SAID HEAD BY SAID DIAPHRAGM RECEIVING AND SECURING MEANS THEREON AND LYING IN A PLANE THAT EXTENDS PERPENDICULAR TO A CENTRAL AXIS EXTENDING THROUGH THE SOUND TRANSMITTING PASSAGE THROUGH SAID BOSS, A CENTRAL VIBRATION SENSING FLAT PORTION FOR APPLICATION TO THE BODY TO BE SENSED, SAID CENTRAL PORTION LYING ADJACENT AND SPACED OUTWARD FROM SAID PLANE AND OUTWARD OF SAID DIAPHRAGM RECEIVING AND SECURING MEANS AND AN INTERMEDIATE ANNULAR PORTION JOINING SAID CENTRAL VIBRATION SENSING PORTION AND SAID ANNULAR PERIPHERAL PORTION, SAID CENTRAL PORTION HAVING A DIAMETER EQUAL TO APPROXIMATELY ONETHIRD OF THE DIAMETER OF SAID DIAPHRAGM AND LYING OPPOSITELY DISPOSED FROM AND GENERALLY COEXTENSIVE WITH SAID GENERALLY FLAT IN CROSS SECTION PORTION OF SAID SOUNDRECEIVING HEAD, SAID INTERMEDIATE ANNULAR PORTION BEING MADE UP OF A PLURALITY OF SEQUENTIALLY AND INTEGRALLY CONNECTED ALTERNATING CONCAVE AND CONVEX IN CROSS SECTION RELATIVELY SMALL PORTIONS SIMILAR TO SAID CONCAVE AND CONVEX PORTIONS IN SAID SOUND-RECEIVING HEAD AND HAVING THE MAJOR PORTION OF SAID CONCAVE AND CONVEX SMALL PORTIONS OF SAID DIAPHRAGM CONSTITUTING SAID INTERMEDIATE PORTION LYING ON THE SAME SIDE OF SAID PLANE AS SAID CENTRAL VIBRATION SENSING FLAT PORTION AND EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY AND OUTWARDLY TO JOIN SAID ANNULAR PERIPHERAL PORTION, WHEREBY A SOUND-RECEIVING AND TRANSMITTING CHAMBER IS FORMED BETWEEN SAID DIAPHRAGM AND SAID SOUND-RECEIVING HEAD AND WHEREBY THE CENTRAL VIBRATION SENSING PORTION WHEN APPLIED TO A BODY TO BE SENSED MAY HAVE VARYING PRESSURE APPLIED THERETO THROUGH PRESSURE APPLIED TO THE DIAPHRAGM CARRYING SOUND-RECEIVING HEAD TO VARY THE CHARACTERISTICS OF SAID SOUND-RECEIVING AND TRANSMITTING CHAMBER.