Electronic stethoscope system

Claim 1

An electronic pick-up device comprising: a hollow housing member constructed from a plastic material and including an exterior, cylindrically shaped pick-up portion and an interior, ring-shaped portion, said interior ring-shaped portion being disposed within said pick-up portion, said exterior and interior portions being in alignment along a common axis, said interior portion defining an interior cylindrically-shaped recess, said pick-up portion having an outer curvilinear surface and an inner, conically formed surface, which surfaces join to form a cylindrically formed outer edge, said conically formed surface extending from said outer edge to a central opening in said housing member, said conically formed surface defining an exterior recess, said central opening placing said exterior and interior recesses in communication with one another, said ringshaped portion being connected to the interior of the housing members at a location intermediate of said conically formed surface so that an interior ''''V'''' shaped groove is formed between the inner wall of said conically formed surface and said ring-shaped portion, a complementarily ''''V'''' shaped plastic member sized to fit in said ''''V'''' shaped groove, said plastic member having a flat surface which is perpendicular to said ring-shaped portion when said plastic member is in said groove, said flat surface lying in the same plane as said central opening, a dynamically responsive transducer disposed in the interior recess of said ring-shaped portion and centered with respect to said central opening, and a pressure bleed passage extending at right angles through said ring-shaped portion, said bleed passage being located between said transducer and said flat surface and opening to the interior of said hollow housing member.