Bunnell, Incorporated

Roger L Atkins

A jet ventilator system for assisting a person's respiration includes a source of gas under pressure, a tracheal tube for insertion into the mouth and throat of the person, a jet nozzle disposed in the tracheal tube for directing gas pressure pulses toward the end of the tracheal tube inserted into the person's mouth, a primary delivery conduit coupled between the source of gas and the tracheal tube for delivering gas under pressure to the jet nozzle, a control unit coupled to the primary delivery conduit for selectively varying the flow rate through the jet nozzle, and an exhaust conduit coupled to the tracheal tube for carrying air exhaled by the person. The control unit includes a control delivery conduit coupled between the primary delivery conduit and the tracheal tube for delivering gas under pressure from the primary delivery conduit to the tracheal tube to a location near the jet nozzle, and an inhalation valve disposed in the control delivery conduit for selectively varying the pressure of gas flowing through the control delivery conduit to the tracheal tube and thus the gas flow rate through the jet nozzle. In this manner the inhalation valve controls the pressure pulses, both magnitude and frequency, present in the tracheal tube which are providing the ventilation for the person.

Jet ventilator system

A multiple state pinch valve selectively controls the flow rate of fluid flowing within a flexible, resilient pinch tube. The valve includes a housing, and two biased pivot arm pinchers pivotally mounted in the housing on opposite sides of the pinch tube. Two springs bias respective ones of the pivot arm pinchers toward one another to pinch the tube, and two electromagnetic force field generators are mounted in the housing to selectively attract respective pivot arms away from one another to thereby selectively release some of the pinching of the tube.

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Salt Lake City, UT, United States of America

Roger L Atkins