Improvements in Lung Testing Machines Actuated by a Coin.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 4th Feb., 1891
Complete Specification L. ft, 2nd July, 1891-Accepted, 29th Aug., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Lung Testing Machines Actuated by a Coin.
JAMES PARKER 10 Queen's Grove Road Chingford Essex Engineer do hereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
Essentially consisting of improvements in those kinds of lung testing machines in
which a fan is employed to test or gauge the amount of breath exhaled.
The wind or breath is conducted to the fan by a pipe (flexible by choice) and
conveyed into the box which surrounds the fan to portion of its circumference, the
fan wheel being encased and of a known size between each arm of the fan, the
amount of wind used can be estimated or gauged at each revolution of the fan,
the spindle of this fan works by friction upon the rim of another wheel of a known
diameter. Upon the spindle of this wheel a hand or pointer is secured, and as this
wheel is revolved the hand or pointer upon the spindle of this wheel moves over the
face of a dial graduated to suit the before mentioned fan capacity.
A lever is used so arranged that upon a penny or other coin being introduced
into the machine and caused to slide or is conducted down a shoot or slide into a
pot or receiver on the end of this lever (one side of this pot is hinged) so the weight
of the coin tips the lever and thus uncovers the nozzle of the wind pipe opposite the
fan, so that the machine can be used.
To remove the penny or coin I use a camb shaped wheel; upon which a crank
pin is secured, and from this pin I cause a small connecting rod to be pushed into a
funnel shaped opening at the back of the hinged money pot, so that upon the
movement of the connecting rod the said pot or receiver is caused to open and thus
discharge the coin the camb shaped wheel being secured upon the spindle of the
friction driven wheel.
The machine after use is brought back to zero or starting point upon the dial, by
making the friction wheel (previously described as being driven by the fan) slightly
heavier at one part or counterbalanced so that upon pushing a knob or projection
so arranged as to slightly release the spindle of the fan wheel from the said friction
wheel, the heavier side of the said friction wheel descends to the bottom, or in other
words the hand upon the dial returns to zero or the starting point.
Dated this 2nd day of February 1891.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Lung Testing Machines Actuated by a Coin.
JAMES PARKER of 10 Queen's Grove Road, Chingford in the County of Essex,
Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
This invention for improvements in lung testing machines actuated by a coin
relates to that class of machine known as spirometers and has for its object to
enable a person on the insertion of a certain coin of predetermined amount to test
the capacity of his or her lungs, and consists essentially of a rotary vane or reaction
wheel into or against which the exhaled breath is projected and which is connected

page_text: to an index pointer on a dial which indicates the number of revolutions made by
the said reaction wheel and consequently the volume of the breath exhaled.
Referring to the accompanying two sheets of illustrative drawings
Fig. 1 is a back elevation of a lung testing machine constructed according to this
invention and Figs. 2 and 3 are elevations of opposite ends of the same.
The breath exhaled from the operator is conveyed from the month to the tube a
by any suitable flexible or other tube.
The proper coin having been inserted in a slot at 6 passes down the race or
shoot c into an open bottomed guided pivotted at e to the bracket f and falls on
its edge onto the flap pivotted at h to the lever i fulcrumed at k so that the lever
and flap assume the position shown in dotted lines with the flap resting upon the
platform. On the back end of the lever i is a plate m with an inclined tail or
lip'n, which, when no coin is on the flap y covers the orifice of the tube a, but when
the flap g is depressed by a coin the plate is elevated into the position shown in
dotted lines in which position it is maintained so long as a current of air issuing
from the tube a impinges on the tail or lip n. The current of air after passing the
lip n impinges on the vanes of the reaction wheel o causing it to rotate while the
current continues. The wheel o is mounted on an arbor pone end of which is
pivotted in the bracket 7 whilst the other end works in a horizontal slot and is
held against an india-rubber or other ring on the discs by the rod t and spring u so
that, when the reaction wheel o is rotated by the action of the exhaled breath the
discs is rotated also and carries with it an index pointer which indicates on a
graduated dial the number of revolutions made by the wheel o and consequently the
volume of breath exhaled.
U
The spring el is attached to the axis of the discs by a cord ' which is wound up
on the axis of the wheel and puts the spring e' into tension, the spring el being made
as weak as possible so as not to sensibly affect the indications of the volumes of
breath. To the guide d is attached a lever we which when it and the discs are in
their initial positions is locked between the stop a on the bracket fand the pin y on
the disc s. When the discs begins to rotate this lever w is freed by the pin y
which allows the guide to turn under the action of the spring into a vertical
position carrying with it the coin from the flap y to the platform in which position
it is maintained until the pointer returns to its zero position. In this position,
that is on the removal of the coin from the flap g to the platform l, the lever i and
plate m are free to fall and are only kept up so long as the operator is blowing into
the apparatus by the pressure of the exhaled breath on the tail n; when the
operator stops blowing the machine is inoperative to a second person, the plate m
falling in front of the orifice a'; and any coin inserted into the coin shoot e simply
falls through and past the guide d into the shoot and is returned to the outside of
the machine.
To return the pointer to zero and render the machine again operative, a button
on the outside of the machine connected to the rod c¹ is pushed which by means of
the bracket d' forces the arbor p out of engagement with the disc s which being
free is quickly returned to its initial position by the spring e', the pin y striking the
lever and locking it between the pin y and stop .. The act of returning the
lever to its initial position causes the guide d to turn also and to push the coin
against the flap g which turns upwards on its pivots and so permits the coin to fall
between it and the platform into the box /
The foregoing description refers to the case of an exhalation of ordinary volume
which does not cause the disc s to rotate beyond a certain angle. When however
an exhalation exceeding a certain volume is discharged into the machine the coin is
not retained but is returned to the operator in the following manner. A second
ping is secured in the disc s in such a position that when the disc has been rotated
through the predetermined angle it strikes the lever and turns the guide with
it outward into the position shown in dotted lines which pushes the coin off the
platform whence it escapes through the shoot ¹ to the outside of the machine.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is:
1. In a lung testing machine: the employment of a vane or reaction wheel
rotated by the exhaled breath of the operator and actuating an index pointer to
indicate on a dial plate the volume of breath exhaled substantially as described for
the purpose set forth.
2. In a lung testing machine: the employment of a pivotted guide for receiving
the coin from the coin shoot held when free by a spring in a vertical position over
a platform, but which is displaced after the machine has been operated and is
returned to its normal position to deposit the coin in the machine till substantially
as described.
3. In a lung testing machine in which the current of exhaled breath acts on a
vane or reaction wheel, arranging in the course of the said current a plate which is
automatically removed on the insertion of a predetermined coin in the machine
substantially as described.
:
4. In a lung testing machine automatically returning the coin inserted in the
machine to the operator when the index reaches a certain predetermined position on
the indicating dial substantially as described.
5. In a lung testing machine: the employment of a pivotted guide for receiving
the coin from the coin shoot held when free by a spring in a vertical position over
a platform, but which is displaced when the index has reached a certain pre-
determined position on the indicating dial to return the coin to the operator
substantially as described.
6. In a lung testing machine: the employment of a lever having an end plate
normally covering the air orifice but capable of being displaced by the action of a
falling coin so as to place an oblique tail or lip in the path of the impinging
current of air by the action of which the said covering plate is held clear of the
air orifice until the cessation of the current when it falls and covers the said air
orifice and renders the machine inoperative until the insertion of a fresh coin
substantially as described.
7. The arrangement and construction of lung testing machines substantially as
described with reference to the drawings.
Dated this 2nd day of July 1891.
WHEATLEY & MACKENZIE,
40, Chancery Lane, W.C., Agents.