Patent ID: 7121278

Claim:
A bellows for use in a resuscitator, comprising: (a) a plurality of substantially rigid adjacent structural members coupled into a bellows structure, the bellows structure havinq a long and a short axis, wherein; (i) the short-axis constitutes a cross-section of the bellows structure, (ii) the bellows structure has an exterior and an interior surface, (iii) the interior surface forms a fluid chamber for accommodating a fluid, (iv) positioning the bellows structure to provide maximum potential volume of the fluid chamber constitutes an inflated condition of the bellows, (v) positioning the bellows structure to provide minimum potential volume of the fluid chamber constitutes a deflated condition of the bellows, and (vi) a force applied to the exterior surface of the bellows structure in a direction parallel to the short axis results in a decrease in volume of the fluid chamber, resulting in a dimensional decrease of the cross-section of the bellows structure, effectively transitioning the bellows from the inflated condition to the deflated condition, such that the bellows mechanically assists movement of fluid into and out of the fluid chamber.