Patent Application
20070125386
The present invention is directed toward a clip for attaching a strap to a mask, and more particularly to a pliant clip for attaching one or more straps to a gas transmission mask.
Several types of masks are commonly used to deliver air, oxygen, anesthesia or other gasses to or from a human patient's respiratory system. These masks are typically sized to fit over a patient's nose, nose and mouth or full face. Masks are commonly used for emergency care, emergency transport, critical hospital care or home health care. All types of masks designed to deliver a gas to or from a patient's respiratory system are collectively referred to herein as gas transmission masks.
Many gas transmission masks, particularly those used in home health care are held against a patient's face by a series of straps. Properly positioned straps can and are required to maintain correct mask position when a patient sleeps or engages in activities. For example, many varieties of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (“CPAP”) masks are available which deliver air into a patient's airway under positive pressure while a patient sleeps. A CPAP mask may be used to treat conditions ranging form chronic sleep apnea to habitual snoring.
Typically, straps are held to a gas transmission mask by one of many varieties of clips. Ideally, the clips are easily removed from the mask structure itself so that the straps may be readily connected and disconnected by a patient when a mask is put on or taken off.
The prior art clip 18 has a slot 20 appropriately sized to releasably secure an attachment strap. In addition, the prior art clip 18 features a keyhole opening 22 having a wide portion 24 and a narrow portion 26.
The wide portion 24 of the keyhole opening 22 of the prior art clip 18 will typically be sized to have a diameter which exceeds the cross-sectional dimension of the head 16 of the post 12. The narrow portion 26 of the keyhole opening 22 would typically be sized to have a diameter less than the cross-sectional dimension of the head 16, but equal to or slightly less than the cross-sectional dimension of the shaft 14. Thus, the prior art clip 18 could be attached to a mask 10 by placing the wide portion 24 of the keyhole opening 22 over the head 16 of a prior art post 12 and pulling laterally on the clip 18. Upon the application of sufficient lateral force, the shaft 14 could be made to snap fit into the narrow portion 26 of the keyhole opening 22, thus securing the clip and any associated strap to the mask 10. A strap could be removed by reversing these procedures.
Since a prior art clip as described above and shown in
The present invention is directed toward overcoming one or more of the problems discussed above.
One aspect of the present invention is a clip for receiving a post. The clip includes a body defining a hole having a diameter less than a select cross-section of the post. The body of the clip is made of a material which is sufficiently pliant to provide for the deformation of the hole to receive the post upon attachment or detachment of the clip to or from the post.
Another aspect of the present invention is a gas transmission mask including a post and a clip as described above for attaching a strap to the mask. The post may have a shaft and a head with a cross-sectional dimension of the head being greater than a cross-sectional dimension of the shaft. In addition, the hole may be substantially cylindrical. In this embodiment, the lengthwise axis of the cylindrical hole may be substantially equal in length to the length of the shaft.
The head of the post is typically located opposite the post's attachment to a mask. Typically the shaft will be cylindrical with the head being an expanded ball structure at one end of the shaft. However, the present invention is not limited to posts having this particular configuration. The clip may further include a slot defined by the body and sized to receive a strap.
The pliant body of the clip of any alternative embodiment the present invention may be made of a pliant thermoplastic such as synthetic rubber, silicone, thermoplastic resin, natural rubber or polyvinylchloride. The pliant body of the clip may be made of a material having a hardness of between 20-80 on the Shore “A” durometer scale.
Another aspect of the present invention is a method of attaching the clip to a gas transmission mask. The method includes providing a mask having both an attachment post as described above and a clip as described above. The method further includes attaching the clip to the post by axially inserting the post through the hole causing the pliant body of the clip to deform sufficiently to receive the post.
The hole of the clip utilized to implement the present method may be cylindrical and have a lengthwise axis substantially equal in length to the length of a shaft associated with the post. In such case the clip may be attached to the post by forcing the hole over the head causing the pliant body of the clip to deform sufficiently to receive the head allowing the head to pass through the hole such that the shaft is ultimately received within the cylindrical hole.
One aspect of the present invention as shown in
The clip 28 of the present invention is shown in detail in
As is shown in
The diameter D of the hole 32 will typically be less than a select cross-sectional dimension of the attachment post 36. As discussed above, the body 34 of the clip 28 will be made or fabricated from a material which is sufficiently pliant to allow the deformation of the hole to receive the post upon manual attachment of the clip to the post. In an embodiment where the post features a shaft 38 and a head 40, the diameter D may be less than a cross-sectional dimension of the head 40, but equal to or greater than a cross-sectional dimension of the shaft 38.
The clip 28 may further include a slot 42 sized to receive a strap. The hole 32 may be substantially cylindrical as is shown by phantom lines in
The clip 28 may feature a body made of any suitable pliant material. Pliant thermoplastics are readily available which could be used to implement a clip consistent with the present invention. For example, the body 34 of the clip 28 may be fabricated from materials including but not limited to: synthetic rubber, silicone, thermoplastic resin, natural rubber or polyvinylchloride. Applicant has determined that the clip will function appropriately as described herein if the body is manufactured from a material having a hardness rating of between 20-80 units on the Shore A durometer scale.
Another aspect of the present invention is a gas transmission mask 30 as shown in
In use, multiple clips 28 will typically be associated with multiple posts 36 for any given mask 30. In addition, each clip 28 will be associated with a strap, typically with one clip 28 associated with each end of a particular strap. A strap may be attached to a mask 30 by simply forcing the hole 32 in the pliant body 34 of the clip 28 over the appropriate post 36. As the post 36 is axially inserted through the hole 38, the pliant material of the body 34 deforms sufficiently to receive the post 36. If the post 36 is configured as is shown in
While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to a number of embodiments, it would be understood by those skilled in the art that changes in the form and details may be made to the various embodiments disclosed herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and that the various embodiments disclosed herein are not intended to act as limitations on the scope of the claims.
