Improvements in or relating to Ether or similar Masks or Respirators.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 10th Nov., 1898-Accepted, 4th Feb., 1899
COMIDELE DI MUITIVATION.
Improvements in or relating to Ether or similar Masks or
Respirators.
I, DR. WILHELM WAGNER, of 58, Boxgraben, Aix-la-Chapelle, Germany, 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 relates to an ether or similar mask or respirator in which a funnel
shaped cover projecting inwards is provided with a valve opening inwards for
admitting ether or other anaesthetic and air for breathing, introduced into said
funnel shaped cover, and with very fine sieves or nets made of non-absorbent material
stretched across the interior of the receptacle-between said valve and an outlet
valve arranged laterally on the surface of the mask-for taking up and distributing
the ether.
The accompanying drawing shows a mask or respirator according to this
invention in vertical section.
This respirator or mask consists of a metal casing A closed at the top by a funnel
shaped cover B, the other side-which is applied to the face of the person to whom
the anaesthetic is to be administered-being suitably shaped and edged with a
packing or rubber tube to render it airtight when applied to the face.
The funnel shaped cover B is provided at its lowest point with an opening a
closed by a spring controlled non-return valve b in such manner as to allow air to
enter the interior of the mask but to prevent it from escaping. At the side of the
casing is arranged an opening c closed by a non-return valve d arranged outside and
working in the opposite direction, i.e. enabling air to escape, but preventing it
from entering.
Between the two valves there are stretched in the interior of the casing, in a
transverse direction, one or more very fine metallic nettings or gauze D). When
the mask is being used the anaesthetic falls onto and becomes distributed over said
nets. It not only moistens the fine threads but also fills up the meshes so that one
or more transverse layers of ether are thus produced in the casing.
When the mask is placed on the face of the person to be anaesthetised, atmo-
spheric air passes, when the patient is breathing, through the inlet valve into
the mask, but cannot enter the respiratory organs without passing through the
ether layers aforesaid and thus considerably accelerates the vapourising of the
ether. This vapourising is all the quicker since the ether is placed, not as in
ordinary respirators on absorbing material, such as gauze, flannel, sponge, wool,
etc. but on a non-porous material According to the laws of physics, all substances
having a great absorbing property, give up the substances absorbed with difficulty,
whereas the vapourisation of ether on the nets according to this invention is in-
comparably quicker.
Experiments with the new respirator have shown that a completely insensible
tate has been reached by means of ether in 1 to 4 minutes, whereas in other
espirators it requires a much longer time. Not only the ether alone quickly

page_text: becomes vapourised, but its vapourisation is accelerated by the admission of an
unlimited quantity of atmospheric air, so that the patient does not simply breathe
vapours of ether, but air saturated with ether.
The anaesthetic is, as already stated, supplied by introducing it into the funnel
shaped cover B, whence it enters the interior of the valve b and remains there as
long as the valve is closed. The valve opens only as long as breathing proceeds
in a regular manner; as soon however as the breathing ceases, the valve remains
closed and ether cannot penetrate into the interior of the respirator. By means
of this arrangement the valve constitutes a device for automatically regulating the
anaesthetic supply, which is of the highest importance as its admission, when
breathing has ceased, is not only undesirable, but dangerous to the life of the
patient.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent and in what manner
the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. An ether or similar mask or respirator having a non-return valve opening
inwards arranged at the lowest point of its funnel shaped cover, a non-return valve
opening outwards being arranged on the lateral surface of the casing and fine
sieves or nets of non-absorbing material being extended across the casing between
the valves.
2. An ether or similar mask or respirator substantially as described and illus-
trated in the accompanying drawing.
Dated this 10th day of November 1898.
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicant.