IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF CAPS FOR INVALIDS OR PATIENTS
Year: 1871

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by David Sproul at the Office of
· the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 22nd June
.1871.
I, "DAVID SPROUL, of the City of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark,
North Britain, Artizan, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF CAPS FOR INVALIDS OR PATIENTS,”
to be as follows, that is to say:—
.
My said Invention has reference to new or improved constructions
of caps for patients or invalids for refrigerating or cooling their heads
when suffering. from inflammation or other ailments affecting the head
requiring such cooling in a more efficacious manner capable of being
regulated to various desired degrees of temperature or heat or cold instead
of the "ice caps," or other caps or moist cloths heretofore used for the
said purpose.

page_text: And the nature of my said Invention consists in the use and supplying
of a current of cold water or other liquid or fluid current by gravitation,
or by the well-known syphon action, or by other ordinary forcing or
drawing current action into an inlet tube or duct through a close, hollow,
or double cased cap made to fit the head round about and over the top
like a cowl or "skull cap" of two thicknesses of thin flexible waterproof
cloth, or of thin prepared sheet india-rubber with division seams or thin
flexible strips or bands attaching or cementing the said two-thicknesses
of the body of the cap at a little distance from each other, so as to leave
a thin circulating space for the liquid or fluid to wind round and over
the head in any curved or circuitous course or route desired (circularly
or spirally round the lower part of the head close to the forehead and
ears, and segmentally up over the crown) to and out through a discharge
or outlet tube or duct. The inlet tube and current is preferred to enter
the cap at the one temple or side of the forehead, and after passing over
the whole surface of the head to pass off at the other or outlet tube at
the other temple or side of the head; although this seems the most
convenient place for attaching the tubes for the patient with the head
lying back not to prevent the circulation of the cooling fluid, yet still
these tubes may be attached to the cap at other points or parts when
desired, and either the inlet or outlet tube is by preference provided with
a regulating tap or valve to regulate the flow of the fluid through the
cap in proportion to its temperature and the refreshing and refrigerating
action desired to be given to the patient's head..
When the refrigerating water or air current used through the body
of the cap is desired to moisten or act directly on the patient's head,
the whole or the part where such action is desired of the inner thickness
or body of the cap may be made of porous or perforated fabric or
material (not waterproof as herein-before stated), or of a corrugated
material and form next the head to allow the current to flow along the
surface of the head itself when preferred, making the band of the cap
elastic and a little tight round the lower part to prevent the escape of
the fluid in any direction except that desired towards the outlet dis-
charge pipe for the purpose.
When the fluid current employed, as the water or air, is not cold
enough at the ordinary atmospheric temperatures supplied from service
pipes or cisterns it could be cooled by allowing it to be passed or

page_text: supplied through a refrigerating box or chamber such as used for sup-
plying cold fluid currents for other purposes, and the pressure or velocity
of the supply can be regulated by weights on the supply vessel, but
these previous refrigerating and pressing arrangements would really form
no part of my said Invention proper except as applying thereto and
for the purposes of my said Invention.