Patent Application
20200046927
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This invention relates to a device and method of breathing assistance.
Snoring is the vibration of respiratory structures and the resulting sound due to obstructed air movement during breathing while sleeping. In some cases, the sound may be soft, but in most cases, it can be loud and unpleasant. Snoring during sleep may be a sign, or first alarm, of very serious breathing disorders.
Obstructive respiratory disorders entail apnea (respiratory arrest) causing the sleeping person to wake up. Frequent apnea prevents the sleeping sufferer from entering recuperative deep sleep. As a result, sufferers incurring apnea during their sleep are sleep-deprived during the day: social problems may arise at work and in the worst case fatal accidents may be incurred.
Devices for carrying out the therapy of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) are known in the state of the art. However, these machines can be bulky and cumbersome to use. In addition, a sleep study must often be conducted before a user may obtain a CPAP device.
In CPAP therapy, a constant, excess pressure is fed to a patient through a nasal mask. When the excess pressure is properly selected, it keeps the upper airway fully open overnight and as a result obstructive respiratory disorders do not arise. In part the required pressure depends on the sufferer's sleep stage and his/her body position.
Breathing assistance devices that do not use positive airway pressure are known in the art. Some are placed in the user's mouth (See U.S. Pat. No. 5,277,202 an “Easy fit anti-snoring device” and U.S. Pat. No. 3,132,647 an “Anti-snoring device”); some are even fitted to the user's head (See U.S. Pat. No. 7,331,349 a “Method and device for the prevention of snoring and sleep apnea”); and some are fitted in the user's nostrils (See U.S. Pat. No. 2,672,138 a “Device to promote nasal breathing and prevent snoring”). However, all these devices have their limitations in that they become loose during the night or even fall completely out of place, rendering them useless. Therefore, a need exists for a fitted breathing apparatus that stays in place and will assist in the user's breathing throughout the night and motion of the user.
In this respect, the breathing assistance system, specifically the apparatus and methods, according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of allowing a user to easily combat a snoring problem or other sleep or breathing disorder.
Therefore, it can be appreciated that there exists a continuing need for a new and easy to use breathing assistance device for use in combatting snoring and other breathing disorders. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.
In one embodiment, the claimed invention is a self-stabilizing breathing assistance apparatus comprising a pump apparatus, a plurality of tubes for insertion through the nostrils into the nasal passageway and a release valve capable of releasing the gas or liquid within the apparatus or plugging the gas or liquid within the apparatus. A gas such as air or oxygen may be used in particular embodiments. A liquid such as water may be used in particular embodiments.
In one particular embodiment, the pump apparatus may comprise a pump, a valve, and an inflation chamber. The pump is capable pumping a gas or a liquid. In a preferred embodiment, the valve is a check valve. In other embodiments, the valve may be a clack valve, non-return valve, reflux valve, or one-way valve. The valve is capable of receiving a pump that unilaterally pumps a gas or a liquid through the valve into an inflation chamber. In inflation chamber may be comprised of a rigid and supportive material such as hard plastic or metal.
There is at least one inner tube and at least one outer tube. In a preferred embodiment, the inner tube is semi rigid and composed of a bendable plastic so as to bend through the user's nostril and into the nasal passageway. In a preferred embodiment, the outer tube is flexible and inflatable. The outer tube may be comprised of an inflatable material such as plastic or rubber.
The outer tube is sealed at the distal end and attached to the inflation chamber at the proximal end, thereby allowing sealed inflation by the pump apparatus. The device is inserted through the user's nostril and into the user's nasal passageway. Once inserted in its deflated state, the device may then be inflated to affix itself inside the user's nostril and nasal passageway. When inflated, the outer tube is rigid and pressed against the user's nasal passageway thereby anchoring the apparatus and allowing a fixed breathing passageway for the user through the inner tube.
Use of the claimed device includes a method of opening the nasal passageway for increased and consistent airflow. The method comprises insertion of the un-inflated device through the user's nostril or nostrils and into the user's nasal passageway. The device may be between 1 and 4 inches in length depending on the size of the user's nose and the user's preferred depth of insertion.
Once the un-inflated device is inserted, the pump may be attached to the valve. The pump then pumps a gas or liquid through the valve and into the inflation chamber thereby filling the inflation chamber and the attached outer tube or tubes. As the outer tube or tubes fill, they inflate to press against the walls of the user's nasal passageway and the user's nostril. In one embodiment, the pump may be operated until the outer tube or tubes touch the inner walls of the user's nostril and nasal passageway. In another embodiment, the outer tube or tubes may be inflated further to physical expand the user's nostril and nasal passageway.
In a preferred embodiment, the outer tube or tubes are inflated an amount sufficient to hold the device in the user's nose. At which point, the pump may be removed from the valve. The user may then freely breathe through the inner tube or tubes of the device.
In a preferred embodiment, the user may remove the device by un-inflating the outer tube or tubes and pulling the device out of the user's nasal passageway and nostril. In one embodiment, un-inflation may be accomplished by removing a plug on the inflation chamber. In another embodiment, un-inflation may be accomplished by activating a release on the valve.
These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following descriptions, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where:
In the Summary of the Invention above and in the Detailed Description of the Invention, and the claims below, and in the accompanying drawings, reference is made to particular features of the invention. It is to be understood that the disclosure of the invention in this specification includes all possible combinations of such particular features. For example, where a particular feature is disclosed in the context of a particular aspect or embodiment of the invention, or a particular claim, that feature can also be used, to the extent possible, in combination with and/or in the context of other particular aspects and embodiments of the invention, and in the invention generally.
All of the compositions and/or methods disclosed and claimed herein can be made and executed without undue experimentation in light of the present disclosure. While the compositions and methods of this invention have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, it will be apparent to those of skill in the art that variations may be applied to the compositions and/or methods and in the steps or in the sequence of steps of the method described herein without departing from the concept, spirit, and scope of the invention. All such similar substitutes and modifications apparent to those skilled in the art are deemed to be within the spirit, scope, and concept of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
The term “comprises” and grammatical equivalents thereof are used herein to mean that other components, ingredients, steps, etc. are optionally present. For example, an article “comprising” (or “which comprises”) components A, B, and C can consist of (i.e., contain only) components A, B, and C, or can contain not only components A, B, and C but also one or more other components.
Where reference if made herein to a method comprising two or more defined steps, the defined steps can be carried out in any order or simultaneously (except where the context excludes that possibility), and the method can include one or more other steps which are carried out before any of the defined steps, between two of the defined steps, or after all the defined steps (except where the context excludes that possibility).
The term “at least” followed by a number is used herein to denote the start of a range beginning with that number (which may be a range having an upper limit or no upper limit, depending on the variable being defined). For example, “at least 1” means 1 or more than 1. The term “at most” followed by a number is used herein to denote the end of a range ending with that number (which may be a range having 1 or 0 as its lower limit, or a range having no lower limit, depending upon the variable being defined). For example, “at most 4” means 4 or less than 4, and “at most 40%” means 40% or less than 40%. When, in this specification, a range is given as “(a first number) to (a second number)” or “(a first number)-(a second number),” this means a range whose lower limit is the first number and whose upper limit is the second number. For example, 25 to 100 mm means a range whose lower limit is 25 mm, and whose upper limit is 100 mm.
As shown in
As shown in
In a preferred embodiment, the breathing tubes 114 are semi-rigid. The breathing tubes 114 are further structurally supported by the inflation chamber 110. The proximal end 118 of the breathing tubes 114 are divided from the distal end 120 of the breathing tubes 114 by the inflation chamber 110. The internal tubes 114 are hollow such that air can easily travel through them as the user breathes. Said air may be oxygen, carbon dioxide, or a mixture as the user breathes and inhales and exhales. The breathing tubes 114 protrude through the inflation chamber 110, exposing their proximal ends 118 and hollow openings 116 to the user's environment. In a preferred embodiment, air travels through the breathing tubes 114 from the proximal end 118 to the distal end 120 and into the user's nasal cavity as the user inhales. As the user exhales, air travels from the user's nasal cavity through the breathing tubes 114 from the distal end 120 to the proximal end 118 and out into the user's environment through the exposed hollow openings 116. As depicted in
In a preferred embodiment, the distal end 120 of the breathing tubes tapers such that it is narrower than the proximal end 118. This may allow for easier insertion through the user's nostril and into the nasal cavity 300 as many user's nasal cavity may narrow as it deepens. Also in a preferred embodiment, the breathing tubes 114 are curved from their proximal end 118 to their distal end 120, allowing easier insertion through the user's nostrils and into the nasal cavity 300.
As shown in
In one embodiment, the inflation tubes 112 are sealed at their distal end to the breathing tubes 114 such that gas or liquid remains once it is pumped into the inflation tubes 112. In a preferred embodiment, the inflation tubes 112 are sealed on their outer edges to the outer edge of the inflation chamber 122. This allows the exposed chamber created within the inflation tubes 112 to be exposed to the inflation chamber 110.
In a preferred embodiment, as the inflation chamber 110 is filled with gas or liquid, the cavity between the breathing tubes 114 and the inflation tubes 112 fills with said gas or liquid. In a preferred embodiment, gas or liquid is pumped by a pump 100 unidirectionally through the check valve 104 into the inflation chamber 110 and into the inflation tubes 112. In one embodiment, the inflation tubes 112 are comprised of an expanding material that expands as gas or liquid is pumped into the inflation tubes 112. When gas or liquid is pumped into the inflation chamber 110 and inflation tubes 112, it is trapped from deflating by the check valve.
As shown in
In one embodiment, the release plug 106 may be removed or inserted into the release hole 108 by mechanical or electrical means. In one embodiment the release plug 106 may be removed or inserted into the release hole 108 by the user or may be controlled autonomously.
In another embodiment, gas or liquid may be released from the inflation chamber 110 and inflation tubes 112 by the check valve 104. In such an embodiment, the check valve would comprise of a release mechanism. In one embodiment, the check valve release mechanism may be operated mechanically or electrically. In one embodiment, the check valve release mechanism may be operated by the user or autonomously.
As depicted in
As depicted in
In a preferred embodiment, once the breathing tubes 114 and inflation tubes 112 have been inserted into the nasal passageway 300, the pump 100 is then activated to pump gas or liquid unilaterally through the check valve 104 and into the inflation chamber 110. As the inflation chamber 110 fills with gas or liquid, the inflation tubes 112 inflate with said gas or liquid. As the inflation tubes 112 inflate, they expand and press against the lining of the nasal passageway 300.
In one embodiment, as the inflation tubes 112 press against the nasal passageway 300, the nasal passageway 300 is further opened or expanded. In a preferred embodiment, once the inflation tubes 112 are inflated enough to secure themselves to the nasal passageway 300, then the pump 100 may be removed from the check valve 104. In another embodiment, the pump 100 is permanently affixed to the check valve 104.
In a preferred embodiment, as the inflation tubes 112 expand against the nasal passageway 300, they secure the entire apparatus to the nose. Once secured, the user can breathe through the breathing tubes 114 without the breathing tubes 114 shifting or falling out of the user's nasal passageway 300 or nostrils 210.
In one embodiment, the breathing tubes 114 and inflation tubes 112 are removed from the user's nostrils 210 and nasal passageway by deflating the inflation tubes 112 and freeing the device. In one embodiment, said deflation may occur by removing a release plug 106 from a release hole 108 on the inflation chamber 110. In another embodiment, said deflation may occur by engaging a release mechanism on the check valve 104.
Once deflated, the inflation tubes 112, breathing tubes 114, and entire apparatus may be removed from the user's nasal cavity 300 and nostrils 210.
