Percussion instrument used in respiratory therapy

Claim 1

A hand-held, manually operated percussion instrument for use in delivering percussion to the chest wall of a human individual during respiratory therapy, comprising: a main body member formed of resilient material and including a sidewall portion and an end cap portion, the sidewall and end cap portions being integrally connected and sealed together to define an interior chamber within the main body member; the sidewall portion terminating at a lower base edge which circumscribes an opening into the interior chamber, the base edge generally extending within a plane; the sidewall portion including an exterior surface and a continuous interior wall surface, the interior wall surface being spaced in relation to the exterior surface, the interior wall surface extending upwardly from the base edge; the end cap portion including a generally flattened continuous interior end wall surface and an exterior surface, the interior end wall surface extending generally transversely across the interior wall surface of the sidewall portion, the interior end wall surface also extending generally in parallel and spaced apart planar relation with respect to the plane defined by the base edge; the interior wall surface of the sidewall portion and the interior end wall surface of the end cap portion thereby defining a continuous interior chamber extending concavely into the main body member from the opening circumscribed by the base edge; and a sealing cuff of resilient and compressible material attached to and extending outwardly from the base edge, the sealing cuff thereby also circumscribing the opening into the interior chamber, the material of the sealing cuff being more resilient than the material of the main body member, the sealing cuff defining a contact surface adapted for contacting and sealing against the chest wall of the human individual during use, the transverse width of the contact surface when in contact with the chest wall being generally greater than the transverse width between the interior wall surface and the exterior surface of the sidewall portion at the base edge.