Battlefield laryngoscope adaptor cap for flashlight
View Patent ↗A laryngoscope adaptor cap for use with existing government issue military flashlights designed for use in night time battlefield conditions. A filter disc filters out visible light and a light seal design prevents leakage of visible light from an assembled laryngoscope. The adaptor cap is crush resistant, impact resistant, has a high melting temperature, is disposable and allows the attachment of conventional laryngoscope paddles. It allows for night time endotracheal intubation in conjunction with military issue night vision goggles in the absence of visible light.
1. A battlefield laryngoscope adaptor cap for making a light tight seal with a flashlight comprising:
an opaque, non reflective, impact resistant cylindrical cap configured for mating engagement with a laryngoscope blade, having a first open end at the most proximal end of the cap and an opposing second closed distal end with an orifice defined therethrough so as to form an internal cavity having a depth, said internal cavity having a smooth completely tapered interior wall that tapers smaller in diameter from said first proximal open end towards said second end and has an inner circumferential flange at said second distal end, said second end having an outer face with a dado formed centrally thereon, said dado having two parallel dado walls each with a stopped groove formed therein as a cut and having a cylindrical bar extending between said dado walls;
a visible light restricting filter disc;
wherein said filter disc resides upon said flange into the interior cavity of said cylindrical cap so that a 100% light seal is made between a flashlight bezel ring and said adaptor cap interior wall without the bezel ring contacting the light restricting filter disc, and allows only infrared light to pass from said cavity through said orifice
said cap has a melting point that exceeds 212 degrees Fahrenheit,
said smooth completely tapered interior wall has a 1 degree taper and said cap is made of a 50% glass-fiber reinforced engineering thermoplastic material based on a composition of semi-crystalline Polyamide with a particularly aromatic Copolyamide such that the cap is extremely impact resistant, and non-shattering , having a tensile strength that is 18000 MPa dry as per ISO 527 standard and an impact strength of 80 kJ/m 2 dry as per ISO 179/1 eU, such that when said flashlight is mated to said cap by banging the flashlight into the adaptor cap against a hard surface, the adapter cap does not shatter and said completely tapered inner wall forms a light tight-seal with a bezel ring of said flashlight when inserted into said cavity.
2. The battlefield laryngoscope adaptor cap of claim 1 wherein said cap is fabricated from a crush resistant polymer.
3. The battlefield laryngoscope adaptor cap of claim 1 wherein said filter allows the passage of infrared light having a wavelength greater than 850 nm.
4. The battlefield laryngoscope adaptor cap of claim 3 wherein said bezel ring measures approximately 1.25 inches in diameter.
5. The battlefield laryngoscope adaptor cap of claim 1 wherein said cap has an overall length from second end to said first open end of approximately 1.625 inches.