Winchell

Claim 1

A MECHANICAL HEART SUBSTITUTE FOR A NATURAL HEART, COMPRISING A FIRST IMPERMEABLE CASING OF MATERIAL COMPATIBLE WITH THE TISSUE OF THE BODY OF A LIVING BEING, AND OF A SIZE TO FIT WITHIN THE CHEST CAVITY OF A LIVING BEING AFTER REMOVAL OF THE NATURAL HEART, SAID CASING HAVING SPACED OPENINGS, A SQUEEZING MECHANISM IN THE CASING TO CIRCULATE BLOOD THROUGH THE BODY AND LUNGS OF SAID LIVING BEING, NIPPLES EXTENDING THROUGH THE OPENINGS IN THE CASING FOR CONNECTION AT ONE END TO NATURAL BLOOD VESSELS, MOTOR DRIVE MEANS ARRANGED TO BE WORN EXTERNALLY OF SAID LIVING BEING, ANOTHER CASING ADDAPTED TO BE SUPPORTED EXTERNALLY ON THE CHEST OF A LIVING BEING, SAID OTHER CASING ENCLOSING SAID MOTOR DRIVE MEANS, DRIVE SHAFT MEANS CONNECTING THE MOTOR DRIVE MEANS AND SAID MECHANISM, SAID FIRST CASING HAVING A TUBULAR EXTENSION ARRANGED TO EXTEND THROUGH ONE OF SAID OPENINGS AND TO EXIT FROM THE BODY OF SAID LIVING BEING AND DETACHABLY CONNECTED TO SAID OTHER CASING SAID DRIVE SHAFT BEING, AXIALLY DISPOSED IN SAID TUBULAR EXTENSION, AT LEAST ONE FLEXIBLE, SEALED PLASTIC BAG DISPOSED IN FIRST CASING, SAID BAG HAVING UPPER AND LOWER CHAMBERS, SAID BAG HAVING OPENINGS THEREIN, VALVE MEANS BETWEEN THE CHAMBERS ADAPTED TO CLOSE WHEN PRESSURE ES EXERTED UPON THE LOWER CHAMBER AND TO OPEN UPON RELEASE OF SAID PRESSURE, THE OTHER END OF THE NIPPLES BEING CONNECTED TO THE OPENINGS IN THE BAG IN HERMETIC SEALS THEREWITH, SAID NIPPLES COMMUNICATING WITH THE BAG ON EACH SIDE OF THE VALVE MEANS, SAID MECHANISM COMPRISING A PIVOTALLY MOUNTED SPRING-BIASED PLATE DISPOSED ALTERNATELY TO COMPRESS AND RELEASE SAID LOWER CHAMBER, A ROLLER ABUTTING SAID PLATE TO CONTROL RECIPROCAL MOVEMENT OF THE PLATE, SAID DRIVE SHAFT BEING OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO THE ROLLER FOR ROTATION THEREOF, TWO SETS OF BATTERIES DISPOSED IN SAID OTHER CASING, FIRST ELECTRIC MEANS NORMALLY CONNECTING ONE SET OF BATTERIES TO THE MOTOR TO ENERGIZE THE SAME, AND AUTOMATIC SWITCH MEANS FOR DEACTIVATING ONE SET OF BATTERIES AND CONNECTING THE OTHER SET OF BATTERIES TO THE MOTOR WHEN ONE SET OF BATTERIES FALLS IN VOLTAGE BELOW A PREDETERMINED MAGNITUDE.