Surgery – Body protecting or restraining devices for patients or infants – Antisnoring device
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-20
2001-08-28
Brown, Michael A. (Department: 3764)
Surgery
Body protecting or restraining devices for patients or infants
Antisnoring device
C128S857000, C602S902000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06279577
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is in the field of external medical devices adapted to be worn by a human to support appendages or body parts. The device more particularly is a chin support that retains the mouth of a person closed to enhance breathing through the respiratory passages of the nose. Other human body appendages, such as a finger, thumb, arm, toe, penis and female breasts, can be supported with the device of the invention.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Bandages and braces have been designed to keep a person's mouth closed during sleep and cause respiration to ensue exclusively through the nostrils during sleep. The nose and throat airways are the natural channels for respiration. A number of persons have developed the habit of using the mouth as an airway to the throat air passage which causes undue absorption of infectious airborne germs and particulates, dryness in the mouth, and snoring. An example of a head bandage to maintain a person's mouth closed is described by J. S. Baughman in U.S. Pat. No. 649,896.
A recent prior art appliance for preventing snoring and obstructive sleep apnea is disclosed by C. D. Anderson in U.S. Pat. No. 5,893,365 The background of the invention of U.S. Pat. No. 5,893,365 contains a detailed description of the conditions that predicate the problem of snoring and obstructive sleep apnea and methods and devices that mitigate and control snoring and sleep apnea.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The device of the invention is a supporter for human body appendages or parts that surround the appendage and applies pressure around the appendages to hold the appendages in desired positions. The supporter is a simple, cost effective and conservative medical device for the human chin, jaw, finger, thumb, foot, toe, arm, penis and female breasts.
When applied to a person's chin the supporter alleviates airway obstruction that may occur in a variety of situations such as sleep apnea, transport of unconscious persons and sedated persons. The obstruction of the airway passages is caused by a decrease in tone or relaxation of the muscles of the pharynx, mandible, and neck. The effect of this decrease is a collapsing inward and narrowing of the upper airway passages and the falling back of the tongue to occupy the pharyngeal air passage. There is a decrease in the activity of the genioglossus muscle that connects the base of the tongue to the point of the chin. This can cause snoring and airway passage obstruction or sleep apnea.
When the nasal passages are closed, the user breathes through the mouth. The nose airway passages remain congested while the interior of the mouth, tongue and lips become dry. Mouth breathing bypasses the natural filtration in the nose and reduces the sense of smell. The supporter applies pressure on the chin which retains the user's mouth closed so that air flows through the nasal airway passages. The natural structure of the nose filters the air to remove foreign particulates that can harm lung tissues. The air flowing in the nasal airway passages also relieves nasal congestion and improves the quality of sleep. The supporter when placed about a user's head relaxes the bones, joints, and muscles of the person's face to alleviate temporomandibular joint dysfunction.
The supporter includes a comfortable one-piece elastic member that in one usage fits around the face and chin of a human to overcome breathing and snoring problems. The elastic member keeps the mouth closed during the sleep state when snoring commonly occurs. While awake, the elastic member allows the user to breathe through the mouth talk., eat. drink or cough. The elasticity of the member allows a user with any head circumference and any shape of chin to use it comfortably. The supporter has no projecting structures on the side of the head that can cause the user discomfort while sleeping on the side or stomach. The lower portion of the elastic member has an opening for the chin to locate the chin and throat restraint members around the chin whereby the chin restraint members cannot be dislodged by the user toward the throat when the user moves during sleep. The elastic member is simple to construct, inexpensive, easy and safe to use, comfortable and effective.
The supporter has a lower first elastic member that fits under the chin that applies an upward force on the bottom of the chin to lift the tongue from the posterior pharyngeal wall to open the airway passage and retain the passage open. A front second elastic member joined to opposite portions of the lower elastic member extends across the front of the chin to retain the lower elastic member under the chin and forward of the user's throat. Side straps connected to the front and lower members extend upwardly adjacent opposite sides of the person's face and join with a top member that extends over the top of the person's head to retain the supporter on the head and apply pressure to the bottom of the chin. A pair of top members attached to the straps is used as an alternative to hold the supporter on a person's head. The straps that extend over the head can be provided with releasable connectors, such as Velcro fasteners, to allow adjustment of the supporter to fit different sizes and shapes of human heads.
REFERENCES:
patent: D. 331115 (1992-11-01), Stout
patent: D. 410089 (1999-05-01), Schiavoni
patent: 649896 (1900-05-01), Baughman
patent: 904760 (1908-11-01), Cutting
patent: 1113732 (1914-10-01), Archibald
patent: 1216679 (1917-02-01), Foster
patent: 1587558 (1926-06-01), Sheffield
patent: 1629892 (1927-05-01), Storms
patent: 1990411 (1935-02-01), Lowry
patent: 2294066 (1942-08-01), Baehler
patent: 2711730 (1955-06-01), Rogers
patent: 3312217 (1967-04-01), McKinstry
patent: 5031609 (1991-07-01), Fye
patent: 5687743 (1997-11-01), Goodwin
patent: 5787894 (1998-08-01), Holt
patent: 5834004 (1998-11-01), Lavore
patent: 5893365 (1999-04-01), Anderson
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