Oral appliance for improving breathing and method of constructing same
First Claim
1. A device for improving a user'"'"'s breathing, comprising:
- an upper arch adapted to receive at least some of the user'"'"'s upper teeth;
a lower arch adapted to receive at least some of the user'"'"'s lower teeth; and
a deformable material coupling the upper arch to the lower arch, the deformable material comprising an aliphatic polyester bonded to the upper and lower arches to fix the lower arch in a forward position relative to the upper arch.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A device (10) for improving a user'"'"'s breathing includes an upper arch (12) that is adapted to receive at least some of the user'"'"'s upper teeth and a lower arch (14) that is adapted to receive at least some of the user'"'"'s lower teeth. A deformable material (16) couples the upper arch (12) to the lower arch (14) and includes an aliphatic polyester. The deformable material (16) is bonded to the upper arch (12) and bonded to the lower arch (14) to fix the forward position of the lower arch (14). The aliphatic polyester may include a polycaprolactone polymer. The deformable material (16) may be placed in a deformable state to allow the lower arch (14) to be adjusted to a new position.
425 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A device for improving a user'"'"'s breathing, comprising:
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an upper arch adapted to receive at least some of the user'"'"'s upper teeth;
a lower arch adapted to receive at least some of the user'"'"'s lower teeth; and
a deformable material coupling the upper arch to the lower arch, the deformable material comprising an aliphatic polyester bonded to the upper and lower arches to fix the lower arch in a forward position relative to the upper arch. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
wherein R is an aliphatic hydrocarbon.
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5. The device of claim 1, wherein the aliphatic polyester comprises a homopolymer of caprolactone initiated with a diol.
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6. The device of claim 1, wherein the deformable material is delivered to at least one arch while the arch is in the user'"'"'s mouth.
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7. The device of claim 1, wherein the deformable material is delivered to the upper and lower arches while the deformable material is in a liquid state.
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8. The device of claim 1, wherein the deformable material is chemically bonded to the upper and lower arches.
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9. The device of claim 1, wherein the deformable material further comprises a second polymer.
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10. The device of claim 1, wherein the upper and lower arches are selected from the group consisting of custom arches and non-custom arches.
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11. A device for improving a user'"'"'s breathing, comprising:
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an upper arch adapted to receive at least some of the user'"'"'s upper teeth;
a lower arch adapted to receive at least some of the user'"'"'s lower teeth; and
a polycaprolactone polymer material chemically bonded to both the upper and lower arches to secure the lower arch in a fixed forward position relative to the upper arch, the device operable to position the user'"'"'s lower jaw forward when the device is inserted into the user'"'"'s mouth to improve the user'"'"'s breathing, the deformable material operable to be placed in a deformable state to allow the fixed forward position of the lower arch to be adjusted to a new fixed forward position.
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12. A method of constructing a device for improving a user'"'"'s breathing, comprising:
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coupling a deformable material comprising an aliphatic polyester to an upper arch adapted to receive at least some of the user'"'"'s upper teeth;
coupling the deformable material to a lower arch adapted to receive at least some of the user'"'"'s lower teeth; and
allowing the deformable to bond to the upper and lower arches to secure the forward position of the lower arch. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
placing the deformable material in a deformable state; and
adjusting the lower arch to a new position.
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14. The method of claim 12, wherein the aliphatic polyester comprises a polycaprolactone polymer.
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15. The method of claim 12, wherein the aliphatic polyester has the formula:
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wherein R is an aliphatic hydrocarbon.
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16. The method of claim 12, wherein the aliphatic polyester comprises a homopolymer of caprolactone initiated with a diol.
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17. The method of claim 12, further comprising delivering the deformable material to at least one arch while the arch is in the user'"'"'s mouth.
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18. The method of claim 12, wherein allowing the deformable material to bond comprises allowing the deformable material to chemically bond to the upper and lower arches.
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19. The method of claim 12, wherein the deformable material further comprises a second polymer.
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20. The method of claim 12, wherein the upper and lower arches are selected from the group consisting of custom arches and non-custom arches.
Specification