Lung exercising apparatus and method

Claim 2

A lung exercising device comprising an expansible chamber, said chamber having inlet and outlet openings to permit the passage of gaseous fluid into and out of said chamber, means coupled to said chamber for sensing expansion of said chamber to a predetermined volume, an inlet conduit connected to said inlet opening, an inlet valve in said inlet conduit, said inlet valve being movable in a range between open and closed positions, first means for yieldably retaining said inlet valve in its open position to permit gaseous fluid to enter said chamber, restraining means to act oppositely of said first means for selectively urging said inlet valve through said range toward its closed position, an outlet valve, said outlet valve being connected to said outlet opening, actuable means coupled to said outlet valve, and said actuable means is operative to open said outlet valve when said sensing means senses said predetermined volume so that said gaseous fluid is exhausted from said chamber.

Claim 3

A lung exercising device in accordance with claim 1 wherein said inlet valve includes a vertically disposed, elongated stem, with said valve stem said restraining means include a plurality of weight means associated with said weight means being operative to selectively displace said elongated stem in response to the weight of said weight means.

Claim 4

A lung exercising device in accordance with claim 1 including a mouthpiece, a conduit connecting said mouthpiece to said inlet valve, and a pressure gauge connected between said inlet valve and said mouthpiece.

Claim 5

A lung exercising device in accordance with claim 3 wherein said conduit connecting said mouth piece to said inlet valve defines an aperture connecting its interior with the atmosphere, said aperture being disposed intermediate said pressure gauge and said mouth piece, and means for selectively closing said aperture.

Claim 6

A lung exercising device comprising a bellows, said bellows having inlet and outlet openings to permit the passage of gaseous fluid into and out of said bellows, an inlet conduit connected to said inlet opening, an inlet valve in said inlet conduit, said inlet valve being movable in a range between open and closed positions, first means for yieldably retaining said valve in its open position to permit gaseous fluid to enter said chamber, restraining means to act oppositely of said first retaining means for selectively urging said inlet valve through said range toward its closed position, a rod connected to said bellows for movement therewith, said rod supporting trip means, an outlet valve connected to said outlet opening, said outlet valve being movable between open and closed positions, an actuator for opening and closing said outlet valve, first and second spaced switches operably connected to said actuator for respectively opening and closing said outlet valve, means for supporting said switches adjacent said bellows for engagement by said trip means upon expansion and contraction of said bellows for selectively energizing and deenergizing said actuator, and at least one of said switches is adjustably mounted on said supporting means so that its position can be adjusted with respect to said other switch.

Claim 7

A lung exercising device comprising a bellows, said bellows having inlet and outlet openings to permit the passage of gaseous fluid into and out of said bellows, an inlet conduit connected to said inlet opening, an inlet valve in said inlet conduit, said inlet valve being movable in a range between open and closed positions, first means for yieldably retaining said valve in its open position to permit gaseous fluid to enter said chamber, restraining means to act oppositely of said first retaining means for selectively urging said inlet valve through said range toward its closed position, a rod connected to said bellows for movement therewith, said rod supporting trip means, an outlet valve connected to said outlet opening, said outlet valve being movable between open and closed positions, an actuator for opening and closing said outlet valve, first and second spaced switches operably connected to said actuator for respectively opening and closing said outlet valve, means for supporting said switches adjacent said bellows for engagement by said trip means upon expansion and contraction of said bellows for selectively energizing and deenergizing said actuator, and at least one of said switches is adjustably mounted on said supporting means so that its position can be adjusted with respect to said other switch.

Claim 8

A lung exercising device comprising an expansible bellows chamber, said bellows having a fixed wall and a movable wall and having inlet and outlet openings for gaseous fluid, a conduit connecting said inlet to a mouthpiece, an inlet valve in said conduit for restricting the flow of gaseous fluid into said bellows, said inlet valve being movable in a range between open and closed positions, means for normally biasing said inlet valve to its open position, said inlet valve including a movable portion and an elongated stem extending therefrom, weight means on said stem for opposing the force of said biasing means so that said valve may be selectively moved through said range to its closed position, an outlet valve movable between open and closed positions connected to said bellows outlet for venting said bellows to the atmosphere, an actuator, said actuator being operably connected to said outlet valve for moving it between said open and closed positions, support means, first and second spaced switches disposed in spaced linear relation to the direction of expansion of said bellows on said support means, trip means connected to said movable wall of said bellows for engaging and operating said switches when said bellows expands and contracts, said trip means including a rod positioned to engage said switches, and at least one of said switches includes adjustable mounting means for changing its position on said support relative to said other switch.

Claim 9

A lung exercising device comprising an expansible bellows chamber, said bellows having a fixed wall and a movable wall and having inlet and outlet openings for gaseous fluid, a conduit connecting said inlet to a mouthpiece, an inlet valve in said conduit for restricting the flow of gaseous fluid into said bellows, said inlet valve being movable in a range between open and closed positions, means for normally biasing said inlet valve to its open position, said inlet valve including a movable portion and an elongated stem extending therefrom, weight means on said stem for opposing the force of said biasing means so that said valve may be selectively moved through said range to its closed position, an outlet valve movable between open and closed positions connected to said bellows outlet for venting said bellows to the atmosphere, an actuator, said actuator being operably connected to said outlet valve for moving it between said open and closed positions, support means, first and second spaced switches disposed in spaced linear relation to the direction of expansion of said bellows on said support means, trip means connected to said movable wall of said bellows for engaging and operating said switches when said bellows expands and contracts, said trip means including a rod positioned to engage said switches, and at least one of said switches includes adjustable mounting means for changing its position on said support relative to said other switch.

Claim 10

A lung exercising device comprising an expansible chamber, said chamber having an inlet and an outlet for gaseous fluid, a conduit, said conduit having one end connected to said inlet so that gaseous fluid may be conducted into said chamber, an inlet valve in said conduit, said inlet valve being movable in a range between open and closed positions, means for biasing said inlet valve to said open position; weight means for selectively positioning said valve against the force of said biasing means in said range to restrict the flow of gaseous fluid into said expansible chamber, an outlet valve coupled to said outlet, said outlet valve being operative to vent said chamber to atmosphere, sensing means for sensing expansion of said chamber to a predetermined volume, and means for opening said outlet valve in response to signal means from said sensing means when said chamber has expanded to said predetermined volume.

Claim 11

A lung exercising device comprising an expansible chamber, said chamber having an inlet and an outlet for gaseous fluid, a conduit, said conduit having one end connected to said inlet so that gaseous fluid may be conducted into said chamber, an inlet valve in said conduit, said inlet valve being movable in a range between open and closed positions, means for biasing said inlet valve to said open position; weight means for selectively positioning said valve against the force of said biasing means in said range to restrict the flow of gaseous fluid into said expansible chamber, an outlet valve coupled to said outlet, said outlet valve being operative to vent said chamber to atmosphere, sensing means for sensing expansion of said chamber to a predetermined volume, and means for opening said outlet valve in response to signal means from said sensing means when said chamber has expanded to said predetermined volume.

Claim 14

A method in accordance with claim 8 including the step of varying the resistance of said means for resisting said displacement of said member after each rEpetition of said method so that the amount of force required to displace said member is varied.

Claim 17

A method of exercising the lungs in accordance with claim 10 including the step of measuring the volume of gases passing into said expansible chamber.