Medical appliance for percussive respiratory therapy

Claim 1

A medical appliance for use in percussive respiratory therapy, said apparatus comprising: an open ended cup-like enclosure means in the shape of a truncated cone for substantially sealing pneumatically with the body surface of a person by resiliently conforming to the body contour upon impact; a portion of said cone being adapted to provide gripping means for the user, said gripping means including: two opposing concave regions on opposite sides of the cone for holding it between two fingers; and surface irregularities on the substantially planar exterior surface below the concave regions for enhancing the grippability of the appliance with the other fingers of the user; said open end of the cone defining an inward curling semi-circular lip; and a resiliently deformable annular ring defining a groove therein to communicate with the interior and exterior portions of said curling semi-circular lip, said annular ring also defining a cavity filled with compressible gasseous vapor in the portion of the ring in communication with the exterior portion of the curling semi-circular lip, for cushioning the impact of said appliance upon the body of a patient.