Anti-snoring devices and methods

Abstract

A first method for inhibiting snoring includes at least one layer of adhesive that is applied to a soft pallet to prevent vibration of the soft pallet. A second method employs a transdermal patch having an astringent or muscle-contracting drug thereon that is applied to the soft pallet. In a third method, the astringent or muscle-contracting drug is snorted by the user. In a fourth method, the astringent or muscle-contracting drug is applied to the soft pallet by an atomized nasal spray. In a fifth embodiment, a thin electrical device is positioned against the hard pallet in electrical communication with a pair of closely spaced apart electrodes that abut the soft pallet. A low, safe current between the electrodes stiffens the soft pallet and prevents it from fluttering. A denture-like device may be used to hold the thin electrical device in place.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] This invention relates, generally, to devices and methods that help people stop snoring during sleep. More specifically, it relates to devices and methods that inhibit vibration of the soft pallet as air flows past it.

[0004] 2. Description of the Prior Art

[0005] It is known that certain surgical techniques can eliminate the cause of snoring in some people. However, surgery is a rather drastic, expensive remedy that is not without risk.

[0006] A well-known anti-snoring treatment available over-the-counter is an oil solution that is sprayed onto the back of the mouth. The oil mixture includes olive oil, sunflower oil, almond oil, peppermint oil, and the like. Oil soluble vitamins such as Vitamin E may also be provided in the solution. The oil apparently lubricates the soft pallet at the back of the mouth and perhaps the tongue as well and such lubrication solves the problem for some people. However, some people report unsatisfactory results with such oils.

[0007] Some people snore because they are overweight. In an effort to lose weight, they lower their intake of high fat foods. Accordingly, the addition of approximately one teaspoon a day of high fat oil is undesirable.

[0008] Mechanical devices that suppress the tongue are also commercially available. These devices are about the size of a mouthpiece of the type worn by athletes engaged in contact sports. Many people find it difficult to sleep at night with such a device in their mouth. However, most of those who persist until they get used to the device are satisfied with the results.

[0009] What is needed, then, are non-surgical alternatives to oil-based and mouthpiece-reliant remedies. The alternative remedies should not require the user to ingest high fat oils or to get used to sleeping with a bulky mechanical structure in the mouth. Moreover, the alternative treatments should be effective, inexpensive and easy to use.

[0010] However, in view of the prior art taken as a whole at the time the present invention was made, it was not obvious to those of ordinary skill in this art how the needed devices and methods could be provided.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0011] The long-standing but heretofore unfulfilled need for non-surgical alternative snoring-suppressing devices and methods that do not rely upon oils and mouthpieces is now met by a new, useful, and nonobvious invention that is provided in five embodiments. Some of the five embodiments may be used with one another, i.e., the embodiments are not necessarily mutually exclusive although some of them are best used alone and not in conjunction with other devices and methods.

[0012] In a first embodiment, the soft pallet is made more rigid by the application thereto of a suitable adhesive. The increased rigidity inhibits fluttering of the soft pallet as the user breathes.

[0013] In a second embodiment, the soft pallet is made more rigid by application of an astringent or muscle-contracting drug delivered by a transdermal patch.

[0014] In a third embodiment, the astringent or muscle-contracting drug is provided in a powder form and “snorted” by the user so that it overlies the soft pallet.

[0015] In a fourth embodiment, the astringent or muscle-contracting drug is applied to the soft pallet by an atomized nasal spray.

[0016] In a fifth embodiment, a thin electrical device includes two conductors that extend or project outwardly from the transdermal patch. The electrical device is glued onto the hard pallet in such a way that the conductors extend into contacting relation with and rest against the soft pallet. The electrical device includes a low power DC source that generates a safe muscle-contracting current between the conductors to contract the soft pallet and thereby inhibit snoring.

[0017] A soft plastic device fits over the upper teeth and a web part thereof covers the roof of the mouth and retains the electrical device in sandwiched relation between the hard pallet and the web part. Moreover, the electrical device may be permanently affixed to the top of the webbing and the soft plastic device may be affixed to the hard pallet and teeth with a commercially available denture adhesive.

[0018] The primary object of this invention is to significantly advance the art of anti-snoring devices and methods.

[0019] A more specific object is to provide a method where snoring is inhibited by various means that are applied to the soft pallet and which prevent said soft pallet from vibrating when air passes thereover.

[0020] Another important object is to provide a method that harnesses the ability of very low electrical currents to contract the soft pallet so that it does not vibrate when air passes over it.

[0021] The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, combination of elements, and arrangement of parts that will be exemplified in the description set forth hereinafter, and the scope of the invention will be set forth in the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference is made to the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0023] FIG. 1 is a side elevational, sectional view of a human head depicting the first embodiment of the invention;

[0024] FIG. 2 is a side elevational, sectional view of a human head depicting the placement of the second embodiment;

[0025] FIG. 3 is a top plan view of an electrical device that generates a low, muscle-contracting current, together with a dental device suitable for holding the electrical device in its operable position; and

[0026] FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of the parts depicted in FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0027] Referring now to FIG. 1, it will there be seen that a soft pallet is denoted as a whole by the reference numeral 20. A fast-drying, non-toxic adhesive 10 is applied to soft pallet 20 by a suitable means such as an aerosol can, pump, or brush. The adhesive is preferably of the bioabsorbable type so that it is bioabsorbed within eight hours or so. Multiple layers of the adhesive may be built up in succession for those snorers requiring a higher degree of rigidity to prevent or attenuate vibration of their soft pallet.

[0028] In a second embodiment, depicted in FIG. 2, soft pallet 20 is made more rigid by application of a compound such as an astringent or muscle-contracting drug delivered by a transdermal patch denoted 30. Such a patch is preferably made of a cellulose material impregnated with a preselected astringent or muscle-contracting drug. The astringent or muscle-contracting drug makes soft pallet 20 tense or tighten up, i.e., contract or shrink, thereby inhibiting the fluttering of the soft pallet that causes snoring sounds. The compound could be provided in time-release form so that it lasts about eight hours, or it could be a compound that is released more quickly but which is effective for about eight hours.

[0029] Transdermal patch 30 could be made of a bioabsorbable material that is bioabsorbed in about eight hours so that it would be gone at the end of a sleep period. In the alternative, the transdermal patch could be made of a nonbioabsorbable material and removed at the end of a sleep period. The transdermal patch need not be applied as far back in the back of the user's throat as the adhesive of the first embodiment.

[0030] The transdermal patch of the second embodiment may be applied by an applicator of the type disclosed in co-pending patent application bearing Ser. No. 09/967,540 to the present inventor, filed Oct. 1, 2001, which patent application is hereby incorporated hereinto by reference.

[0031] In a third embodiment, the astringent or muscle-contracting drug is provided in a powder form and “snorted” by the user. In other words, the user positions the powdery substance near the nostrils and abruptly breaths in. This applies the astringent or muscle-contracting drug to the soft pallet from the upper or nasal side. FIG. 1 may be interpreted as depicting this third embodiment of the invention as well as the first embodiment thereof.

[0032] In a fourth embodiment, the astringent or muscle-contracting drug is applied to soft pallet 20 by an atomized nasal spray much such as Afrin® nasal spray. Such an application shrinks or tightens the soft pallet, stiffening it and thereby inhibiting breath-induced fluttering and the concomitant sounds of snoring. Again, FIG. 1 may be interpreted as depicting this embodiment of the invention as well as the first and third embodiments thereof.

[0033] In a fifth embodiment, depicted in FIGS. 3 and 4, a thin, light-in-weight electrical device 40 includes a DC battery, not shown, that generates a very low current that is used to contract the muscles of the soft pallet to prevent fluttering of said soft pallet. Device 40 includes first and second electrodes 42 and 44 that are in electrical communication with device 40 by means of electrically-insulated conductors 46 and 48, respectively. One of the electrodes is hot and the other is grounded so that a very low, safe current is established between them when they are in electrical communication with the unillustrated battery means.

[0034] Electrical device 40 may be adhered to the hard pallet or it may be held thereagainst by a soft plastic, denture-like device that includes a web 50 that extends overlies the hard pallet and over electrical device 40. Web 50 is supported by a teeth-engaging, groove-shaped member 52 that fits over the upper teeth of the user. In this way, thin electrical device 40 is held in sandwiched relation between the hard pallet and web 50.

[0035] Web 50 and teeth-engaging member 52 could be permanently affixed to the hard pallet and teeth of a user, respectively, by a suitable denture adhesive.

[0036] The method of the first embodiment includes the step of applying a suitable adhesive to the soft pallet. The method of the second embodiment includes the step of applying to the soft pallet a transdermal patch treated with an astringent or muscle-contracting drug in lieu of the flexible, untreated material of the first embodiment. The method of the third embodiment includes the step of snorting a powdered form of an astringent or muscle-contracting drug. The method of the fourth embodiment includes the step of spraying an atomized mist of a suitable astringent or muscle-contracting drug upon the soft pallet and the method of the fifth embodiment includes the step of passing a very low, safe current between two closely spaced apart electrodes that are in electrically conducting relation to the soft pallet.

[0037] All of the novel methods are nonsurgical and avoid the placing of large bulky items in the mouth.

[0038] It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, and those made apparent from the preceding description, are efficiently attained. Since certain changes may be made in the above construction without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matters contained in the foregoing description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

[0039] It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention that, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

[0040] Now that the invention has been described,

Claims

1. A method that inhibits scoring, comprising the step of spraying a soft pallet with a non-toxic adhesive that increases the rigidity of said soft pallet when said adhesive cures.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of repeating said spraying step at least once after said first-sprayed adhesive has cured to further increase the rigidity of said soft pallet.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of spraying said soft pallet with a bioabsorbable adhesive.

4. A device that inhibits snoring, comprising: a transdermal patch pretreated with a muscle-contracting compound; said transdermal patch disposed in overlying relation to a soft pallet; whereby said muscle-contracting compound causes contraction of said soft pallet so that said soft pallet does not flutter when a user is breathing.

5. The device of claim 4, wherein said compound is an astringent.

6. The device of claim 4, wherein said compound is a muscle-contracting drug.

7. The device of claim 4, wherein said compound is released over a preselected period of time.

8. The device of claim 4, wherein said transdermal patch is bioabsorbable.

9. A method for inhibiting snoring, comprising the step of providing a muscle-contracting compound in powdered form, positioning said powder near a user's nostrils, and said user abruptly breathing in so that the muscle-contracting compound is applied to the soft pallet region of the user.

10. A method for inhibiting snoring, comprising the step of spraying a muscle-contracting compound in atomized mist form on a soft pallet of a user so that the soft pallet is stiffened by the muscle-contracting compound and thus does not flutter as the user breathes.

11. An apparatus that inhibits snoring, comprising: a thin electrical device including a DC power source; a first and a second conductor extending from said thin electrical device; a first electrode formed on a distal free end of said first conductor and a second electrode formed on a distal free end of said second conductor; said first and second electrodes being disposed in electrically conducting relation to a soft pallet; said first electrode being in electrical communication with said DC power source and said second electrode being in communication with an electrical ground so that a small, safe current is established between said first and second electrodes; whereby said small, safe current causes stiffening of said soft pallet and whereby said stiffening inhibits fluttering of said soft pallet and thus inhibits snoring.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein said first and second conductors are electrically insulated.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising: a soft plastic web that overlies a hard pallet of a user and that retains said thin electrical device between said web and said hard pallet; and a teeth-engaging device that supports said web and that has a groove adapted to receive the upper teeth of said user; whereby said upper teeth of said user are positioned in said groove and whereby said web holds said thin electrical device in contacting relation to said hard pallet.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein said teeth-engaging device and said web are adapted to be adhered to said upper teeth and hard pallet, respectively.