VALVE MOUNTING ASSEMBLY FOR VOICE PROSTHESIS-CARTRIDGE AND RING

摘要

The valve mounting system of the invention incorporates a hard cartridge (20) with a groove (22) on its outer, distal surface and a slot (26) communicating distal from the end of the cartridge with the groove (22) and a specially configured elastomeric valve (10) attached to an outer band (12) with a short tab (14). The band (12) is positioned with the tab (14) aligned with the slot (26) and is stretched and is slid proximally over the cartridge (20) until the tab (14) enters the slot (26) and the band snaps into the seats in the groove (22). The tab can be disposed at an angle to the seat to preload the valve element (10) against the seat (40).