This non-provisional application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. ยง 119(a) to Patent Application No. 105214685 filed in Taiwan, R.O.C. on Sep. 23, 2016 and Patent Application No. 105218188 filed in Taiwan, R.O.C. on Nov. 28, 2016, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
The present invention relates to a medical rehabilitation tool, and in particular, to an oral dilator.
After an operation or radiotherapy is performed on a patient that is ill in the head, the neck, or the oral cavity, fibrosis easily occurs to tissues of parts of chewing muscles or the jaw joints nearby the oral cavity, thereby causing problems such as gnathospasmus and difficulty in opening a mouth, which leads to a decreased life quality of a patient. For example, it is difficult for a patient to have food, so that nutrients are insufficient; and it is difficult for a patient to clean parts of the oral cavity, thereby leading to oral mucositis, periodontosis, and bacterial infection.
It is proved by clinical trials that, a problem of difficulty in opening a mouth caused by fibrosis of tissues can be avoided through rehabilitation of opening a mouth; and a probability of about 40% of incidence of oral mucositis can be reduced. In addition, rehabilitation can facilitate food taking, cleaning, and application of a drug, thereby avoiding infection.
The existing oral rehabilitation tool is generally to pile spatulas, and to force to increase a muscle extension force, to achieve an effect of opening a mouth, or to form a shape of a clamp by using spatulas, to perform oral dilation. Because such a rehabilitation tool is hard to be automatically operated by a patient, operating such a rehabilitation tool needs help from others, and it is hard to control a force, it is easy to cause a patient to be painful. Therefore, the patient does not want to perform rehabilitation.
To resolve the problem in the prior art, this application provides an oral dilator that is suitable for a patient to perform an autonomous operation. The oral dilator includes a first body, a second body, a rotary member, and a positioning member. The first body includes a housing and a first duckbilled element. The second body includes a second duckbilled element corresponding to the first duckbilled element. The rotary member drives the second body to rotate. The positioning member is on the first body and selectively locks or unlocks the relative position between the first duckbilled element and the second duckbilled element when the second duckbilled element is driven to rotate by the rotary member.
In an embodiment, an oral dilator comprises a first body, a second body, a rotary member, and a positioning member. The first body comprises a housing and a first duckbilled element and the first duckbilled element is extended from the housing. The second body comprises a connecting portion and a second duckbilled element. The connecting portion is assembled with the housing. The second duckbilled element is extended from the connecting portion. The second duckbilled element is moved away from or toward the first duckbilled element for operating the oral dilator open or close. The rotary member comprises a central shaft and a gearwheel element. The gearwheel element includes an unidirectional gear row. The central shaft penetrates through the first body and the second body and connects to the gearwheel element. The rotary member drives to rotate the second body, and the second duckbilled element is moved for operating the oral dilator open or close. The positioning member is disposed on the first body and comprises a toggle block and a ratchet gear row. The toggle block controls an engagement of the ratchet gear row and the unidirectional gear row. The rotary member is only rotated along a single direction while the ratchet gear row engages with the unidirectional gear row.
In an embodiment, the housing includes a peripheral wall and an upper cover. The periphery wall is connected to the upper cover and forms an accommodation space therebetween. The peripheral wall is provided with an inserting groove which communicates to the accommodation space. The upper cover is provided with a first opening, the connecting portion is provided with a second opening, and the connecting portion of the second body is inserted to the inserting groove.
In an embodiment, the positioning member further includes a spring and a driving lever. The spring abuts against the ratchet gear row and an inner surface of the peripheral wall. The driving lever is extended out from a surface of the toggle block. When the driving lever is driven by power, the toggle block and the ratchet gear row are driven to move, and the spring is pressed, so that the unidirectional gear row is not in contact with the ratchet gear row. When the force on the driving lever is removed, an elastic force of the spring drive the toggle block and the ratchet gear row to be restored, so that the ratchet gear row engages with the unidirectional gear row. That is, when the driving lever is driven by power, the ratchet gear row gets away from the unidirectional gear row, so the gearwheel element can be freely rotate and not be limited. The second duckbilled element can be driven to move forward the first duckbilled element, such that the dilation angle between the first duckbilled element and the second duckbilled element can be reduced.
Further, the first body further includes a rear cover. The rear cover is fastened to at least one connection member extended from the lower surface of the upper cover, and seals the accommodation space. The rear cover is provided with a sliding groove, and the driving lever passes through the sliding groove and protrudes above the rear cover.
In an embodiment, the gearwheel element is provided with a third opening. The central shaft is pass through the first opening, the second opening, and a third opening.
In an embodiment, the oral dilator further includes a fastening bolt, wherein the first opening of the first body is provided with a first groove, the second opening of the connecting portion is provided with a second groove, the third opening is provided with a third groove, the first groove, the second groove, and the third groove are in communication, the fastening bolt is fastened to the first groove, the second groove, and the third groove and abuts against the central shaft.
In an embodiment, the rotary member further includes the rotary switch. The rotary switch is located at an upper surface of the upper cover, and two ends of the central shaft are connected to the rotary switch and the gearwheel element, respectively.
In an embodiment, the toggle block includes a first through-hole, and the ratchet gear row includes a second through-hole. The toggle block is pivotally connected to the ratchet gear row by using a latch passing through the first through-hole and the second through-hole.
In an embodiment, the oral dilator further includes a snap ring. The snap ring is in contact with a surface of the gearwheel element, and the central shaft is sleeved by the snap ring.
In an embodiment, the inserting groove is engraved with multiple graduations, and the graduations correspond to intersection angles between the first duckbilled element and the second duckbilled element.
In an embodiment, an oral dilator comprises a first body, a second body, a rotary member, and a positioning member. The first body comprises a housing and a first duckbilled element.
The housing comprises a peripheral wall and an upper cover. The periphery wall is connected to the upper cover and forms an accommodation space therebetween. The peripheral wall is provided with an inserting groove which communicates with the accommodation space. The upper cover is provided with a first opening and the first duckbilled element is extended from the housing. The second body comprises a connecting portion and a second duckbilled element. The connecting portion is inserted into the inserting groove. The connecting portion is provided with a second opening, and the second duckbilled element is extended from the connecting portion and corresponding to the first duckbilled element. The rotary member comprises a central shaft, a rotary switch and a rotary portion. The central shaft passes through the first opening and the second opening. The central shaft is connected to the rotary portion. The rotary portion is between the rotary switch and an upper surface of the upper cover. The rotary portion is provided with a first teeth portion. The rotary member is capable of being rotated to drive the second body to rotate. The positioning member comprises a second teeth portion disposed on a surface of the upper cover of the first body. The rotary member is locked when the second teeth portion engages with the first teeth portion.
In an embodiment, the oral dilator comprises a spring. The spring is located in the accommodation space. The central shaft is sleeved by the spring. The spring is in contact with a lower surface of the upper cover. The spring is not pressed when the first teeth portion engages with the second teeth portion. When the first teeth portion is moved away from the second teeth portion, an elastic force of the spring is formed to normally push the first teeth portion toward the second teeth portion.
In an embodiment, the oral dilator further comprises a fastening component. The fastening component is located in the accommodation space and sleeved by the spring. The fastening component fastens the central shaft.
In an embodiment, the first body further comprises a bottom cover. The bottom cover comprises a fastening groove to receive the fastening component. The bottom cover and the peripheral wall are connected to seal the accommodation space.
According to the oral dilator in the embodiments of this application, a structure of the oral dilator is ergonomic, so that a patient can operate the oral dilator without help from others. In addition, a positioning member of the oral dilator positions the opening angle between a first duckbilled element and a second duckbilled element. Accordingly, a dilation angle can be determined, thereby benefiting gradual mouth-opening rehabilitation and avoiding causing a painful feeling caused by excessive dilation. Moreover, rehabilitation situations can be observed and recorded, thereby encouraging the patient to use the oral dilator, avoiding fibrosis of chewing tissues, and improving food-taking and life quality of the patient.
The second body 20 includes a connecting portion 21 and a second duckbilled element 23. The connecting portion 21 has a round-plate shape, but the connecting portion 21 is not limited thereto. The connecting portion 21 is inserted into the inserting groove 117, and the connecting portion 21 is provided with a second opening 211. The second duckbilled element 23 is extended out from the connecting portion 21 and corresponds to the first duckbilled element 13. The first duckbilled element 13 and the second duckbilled element 23 are in a mutually-reflected form in this embodiment. The first duckbilled element 13 includes a first touch surface 131. The second duckbilled element 23 includes a second touch surface 231. When the first duckbilled element 13 is in contact with the second duckbilled element 23, the first touch surface 131 and the second touch surface 231 contact each other.
The rotary member 30 includes a central shaft 31, a rotary switch 33, and a gearwheel element 35. In this embodiment, a first end 311 of the central shaft 31 cooperates with a rotary switch 33. For example, the first end 311 may be a projection buckling with a lower part of the rotary switch 33, or the first end 311 cooperates with the rotary switch 33 in a form of a screw, a rivet, a plug, a latch, or the like, which is merely an example but not a limitation to the present invention. Therefore, after the central shaft 31 is connected to the rotary switch 33, the central shaft 31 passes through the first opening 119 and the second opening 211. A lower surface of the rotary switch 33 is in contact with an upper surface of the upper cover 113. In this embodiment, the gearwheel element 35 is a unidirectional gear and located at another side of the rotary switch 33 relative to the central shaft 31. The gearwheel element 35 is provided with a third opening 351 and a unidirectional gear row 353. The central shaft 31 passes through the third opening 351 and is connected to the gearwheel element 35. Further, a second end 313 of the central shaft 31 may be sleeved and fastened by using a snap ring 37. The central shaft 31 is sleeved by the snap ring 37, and the snap ring 37 is in contact with the gearwheel element 35, to cause that the central shaft 31 can rotate but cannot move. Further, in the first embodiment, the first body 10, the second body 20, the rotary switch 33, and the gearwheel element 35 are disposed around the central shaft 31.
In this embodiment, the positioning member 40 includes a toggle block 41 and a ratchet gear row 43. The toggle block 41 is disposed inside the accommodation space 115 on the first body 10, and may be, by using a fastening member 1133, fastened to a lower surface of the upper cover 113 or the connection member 1131 extended from a lower surface of the upper cover 113. The fastening member 1133 may be a screw, a rivet, a fastening bolt, or the like; the connection member 1131 may be a shaft tube, a buckling first body, or the like, which are merely examples but not limitations thereto. The ratchet gear row 43 is connected to the toggle block 41. For example, the ratchet gear row 43 is pivotally connected to the toggle block 41 by using a latch 45; the latch 45 passes through a second through-hole 431 of the ratchet gear row 43 and is fastened to a first through-hole 411 of the toggle block 41, which is merely an example, but is not limited thereto. The ratchet gear row 43 and the unidirectional gear row 353 may engage with each other. When the ratchet gear row 43 engages the unidirectional gear row 353, rotation of the gearwheel element 35 is limited. That is, the gearwheel element 35 can only step-rotate along the unidirectional gear row 353 in one direction, and cannot rotate in a reverse direction. In this case, the second duckbilled element 23 is far away from the first duckbilled element 13, thereby enlarging an intersection angle between the second duckbilled element 23 and the first duckbilled element 13. The intersection angle is limited, so that the second duckbilled element 23 cannot be moved in a reverse direction, to reduce the intersection angle.
In addition, the first body 10 further includes a rear cover 15. The rear cover 15 is fastened to at least one connection member 1131 extended from the lower surface of the upper cover 113 by using the fastening member 1133, and seals the accommodation space 115. The rear cover 15 bears the positioning member 40 and the gearwheel element 35. In this case, the connection member 1131 is a shaft tube, and the fastening member 1133 is a screw, which are merely examples but are not limitations thereto. The rear cover 15 is further provided with a sliding groove 151. The driving lever 413 passes through the sliding groove 151 and protrudes above the rear cover 15. That is, generally, during an operation, a user can operate the rotary switch 33 with one hand, and press the driving lever 413 with the other hand. The peripheral wall 111 is engraved with graduations 1117 at two sides of the inserting groove 117. The graduations 1117 correspond to rotated angles of the gearwheel element 35 and intersection angles between the second duckbilled element 23 and the first duckbilled element 13, to record rehabilitation cases.
As shown in
Further, referring to
The second body 20 includes a connecting portion 21 and a second duckbilled element 23. The connecting portion 21 has a round-plate shape, but the connecting portion 21 is not limited thereto. The connecting portion 21 is inserted into the inserting groove 117. The connecting portion 21 is provided with a second opening 211. The second duckbilled element 23 is extended out from the connecting portion 21 and corresponds to the first duckbilled element 13. The first duckbilled element 13 and the second duckbilled element 23 are in a mutually-reflected form in this embodiment. The first duckbilled element 13 includes a first touch surface 131. The second duckbilled element 23 includes a second touch surface 231. When the first duckbilled element 13 is in contact with the second duckbilled element 23, the first touch surface 131 and the second touch surface 231 contact each other.
The rotary member 50 includes a central shaft 51, a rotary switch 53, and a rotary portion 55. In this embodiment, the rotary portion 55 and the central shaft 51 may be integrally formed. The rotary portion 55 is formed by extending in a loop at an outer surface of one end of the central shaft 51. That is, the rotary portion 55 and the central shaft 51 together form an umbrella-shaped or a mushroom-like shaped structure, which is merely an example but not a limitation thereto. The rotary portion 55 and the central shaft 51 may be separate parts. The rotary portion 55 is between the rotary switch 53 and an upper surface of the upper cover 113. The rotary portion 55 and the rotary switch 53 may buckle each other, for example, buckle each other by using corresponding projection and groove, or by using corresponding buckling hook and buckling groove. The above is merely an example, but not a limitation thereto. The central shaft 51 passes through the second opening 119 and the first opening 211.
In addition, there is a first teeth portion 551 on a lower surface of the rotary portion 55. The positioning member 60 has a second teeth portion 601 disposed on an upper surface of the upper cover 113. When crests of the first teeth portion 551 engage with the valleys 603 of the second teeth portion 601, and crests of the second teeth portion 601 engages with the valleys 553 of the first teeth portion 551, the first teeth portion 551 are blocked by the second teeth portion 601, thereby stopping the rotation of the rotary portion 55.
Further, the oral dilator 2 in the embodiment further includes a spring 70 and a fastening component 75. The spring 70 and the fastening component 75 are located within the accommodation space 115. The central shaft 51 is sleeved by the spring 70, and the spring 70 is in contact with a lower surface of the upper cover 113. A fastening component 75 is in contact with the spring 70, and the central shaft 55 is fastened by the fastening component 75. The central shaft 51 may have a hollow-tube shape. The fastening component 75 is a combination of the screw 751 and the nut 753. The nut 753 is located at a central groove area of the rotary member 55, and corresponds to the second opening 119 and the first opening 211, which is merely used as an example. The nut 753 may also be located at the upper surface of the upper cover 113. The screw 751 passes through the central shaft 51 and buckles with the nut 753. The diameter of the head 7511 of the screw 751 is greater than the diameter of the central shaft 51, thereby fastening the rotary member 50 and the second body 20. In addition, the first body 10 further includes a bottom cover 19. The bottom cover 19 includes a fastening groove 191, to accommodate the fastening component 75, especially, the cap-edge portion 7511 of the screw 751. The bottom cover 19 and the peripheral wall 111 work together, to seal the accommodation space 115. In addition, the spring 70 is in contact with the cap-edge portion 7511 of the screw 751.
In addition, the peripheral wall 111 is engraved with graduations 1117 at two sides of the inserting groove 117. The graduations 1117 correspond to rotated angles of the rotary portion 55 and dilation angles between the second duckbilled element 23 and the first duckbilled element 13, as reference for recordation of rehabilitation.
According to the content disclosed in the foregoing embodiments, a structure of an oral dilator is ergonomic. A patient can operate the oral dilator without help from others. Moreover, a dilation angle between the duckbilled elements of the dilator can be determined and slightly adjusted by the patient, thereby benefiting gradual mouth-opening rehabilitation and avoiding causing a painful feeling caused by excessive dilation. It is convenient to observe rehabilitation situations, which facilitates use of a patient and further encourages the patient, thereby avoiding fibrosis of chewing tissues, and improving food-taking and life quality of the patient.
Although the present invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, the disclosure is not for limiting the scope of the invention. Persons having ordinary skill in the art may make various modifications and changes without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the preferred embodiments described above.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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105214685 | Sep 2016 | TW | national |
105218188 | Nov 2016 | TW | national |