AU2013101174A4 - A Device for Encouraging Nose Breathing - Google Patents

Abstract

A device for encouraging nose breathing includes an elongate, flexible sealing member that is dimensioned to cover a user's mouth in a manner in which the user is encouraged to nose breath. The sealing member defines a generally planar body and a sealing formation that projects from a peripheral region of the body. The sealing formation is configured to at least partially embed itself into a corresponding facial region of the user so that when the sealing member bears against an oral region of the user, a passage of air into the user's mouth is substantially inhibited. A securing arrangement can be fastened to the sealing member and engages at least one of a head and neck of the user so that, in use, the sealing member can so bear against said oral region.

Description

1 A DEVICE FOR ENCOURAGING NOSE BREATHING FIELD [0001] The invention relates to a device for encouraging nose breathing. SUMMARY [0002] According to various exemplary embodiments there is provided a device for encouraging nose breathing, the device comprising an elongate, flexible sealing member that is dimensioned to cover a user's mouth in a manner in which the user is encouraged to nose breath, the sealing member defining a generally planar body and a sealing formation that projects from a peripheral region of the body, the sealing formation configured to at least partially embed itself into a corresponding facial region of the user so that when the sealing member bears against an oral region of the user, a passage of air into the user's mouth is substantially inhibited; and a securing arrangement that can be fastened to the sealing member and that engages at least one of a head and neck of the user so that, in use, the sealing member can so bear against said oral region. [0003] The sealing member may have an overall length of between 60 mm and 110 mm and an overall width of between 30 mm and 80 mm. [0004] The sealing member may have an overall length of between 80 mm and 90 mm and an overall width of between 50 mm and 60 mm. [0005] The body may be generally elliptical. [0006] According to further various embodiments, there is provided a device for encouraging nose breathing, the device comprising an elongate, flexible sealing member that is dimensioned to cover a user's mouth in a manner in which the user is encouraged to nose breath, the sealing member defining a generally planar body so that when the sealing member bears against an oral region of the user, a passage of air into the user's mouth is substantially inhibited; and 2 a securing arrangement that can be fastened to the sealing member and that engages at least one of a head and neck of the user so that, in use, the sealing member can so bear against said oral region. [0007] The securing arrangement may be a harness that is configured to fit about the user's head and neck and which is configured to exert a directionally adjustable force on each end of the sealing member. DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0008] Figure 1 shows a front view of an exemplary embodiment of a sealing member of a device for encouraging nose breathing. [0009] Figure 2 shows a sectioned view through 11-11 in figure 1. [0010] Figure 3 shows a schematic sectioned view through Ill-Ill in figure 1. [0011] Figure 4 shows a detailed view of a sealing formation of the sealing member. [0012] Figure 5 shows a side view of an exemplary embodiment of a device for encouraging nose breathing. [0013] Figure 6 shows a front view of the device of figure 5. DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS [0014] In figures 1, 2 and 3, reference numeral 10 generally indicates an exemplary embodiment of a sealing member of a device for encouraging nose breathing. An example of the device is generally indicated by reference numeral 12 in figures 5 and 6. [0015] The sealing member 10 is of a unitary, one-piece construction. In this example, the sealing member 10 is moulded. The sealing member 10 is moulded of an elastomeric material. An example of a suitable material is silicone. Another example of a suitable material is latex, or similar. Thus, the material can be natural or synthetic. In another example, the sealing member 10 can be moulded of a plastics material. Generally, the material can be selected to have hypoallergenic properties. Furthermore, the material is selected to have a resilient flexibility that is similar to human flesh. For example, the material is selected to have a softness that is equivalent to a softness of human flesh. This facilitates a comfortable fit of the sealing member 10.

3 [0016] The sealing member 10 includes a body 14. The body 14 is planar and has a thickness of between about 1 mm and 4 mm. More particularly, the body 14 has a thickness of between about 2 mm and 3 mm. The body 14 is elliptical in shape. The body 14 also has an arcuate transverse profile, as shown in figures 2 and 3 taken across both the longitudinal and transverse axes of symmetry 17, 19. [0017] An overall length of the body 14 is between about 60 mm and 110 mm. More particularly, the overall length of the body 14 is between about 80 mm and 90 mm. An overall width of the body 14 is between about 30 mm and 80 mm. More particularly, the overall width of the body 14 is between about 50 mm and 60 mm. [0018] The longitudinal axis of symmetry 17 traces a line with a diameter of between about 60 mm and 120 mm. More particularly, the axis of symmetry 17 traces a line with a diameter of between about 80 mm and 100 mm. The transverse axis of symmetry 19 traces a line with a diameter of between about 80 mm and 120 mm. More particularly, the transverse axis of symmetry 19 traces a line with a diameter of between about 90 mm and 110 mm. [0019] A sealing formation 16 extends from a peripheral region 18 of the body 14. As can be seen in figures 4 and 7, the sealing formation 16 is configured to extend or project from the body 14 so that when the sealing member 10 bears against a facial region 20 of a user, the sealing formation 16 partially embeds itself into the facial region 20. As a result, passage of air past the sealing formation 16 and into the user's mouth is substantially inhibited. The sealing formation 16 extends at roughly 90 degrees to the body 14. A contact edge 17 of the sealing formation 16 has a thickness of between about 1 mm and 3 mm. More particularly, a thickness of the contact edge 15 is between about 1.5 mm and 2 mm. [0020] Ends 32 of frontal straps 30 are connected to the body 14 at 22 for securing the sealing member 10 to the facial region 20. The frontal straps 30 can form part of any suitable securing arrangement. An example of a suitable securing arrangement is indicated generally with reference numeral 24 in figures 5 and 6. [0021] As can be seen in figures 2 and 4, a fastener 54 is used to fasten each strap 30 to the body 14. The fastener 54 can take a number of different forms. In one example, the fastener 54 is a fastener known as a Chicago screw, binding post, 4 bookbinding screw or inter-screw. Such fasteners have two components that engage each other with respective male and female shanks 56. Each of the components has one of the male and female shanks 56 and a head 58 fixed to the shank 56. The male shank is threaded into the female shank so that the heads 58 can be driven towards each other, so clamping items to be connected to each other. Thus, in this example, the shanks 56 extend through the straps 30 and the body 14. An external head 58.1 defines a tool engagement formation 60. An internal head 58.2 is substantially flat. In order to fasten the straps 30 to the body 14, the heads 58 are driven towards each other by screwing the external head 58.1 towards the internal head 58.2 with a suitable tool that engages the formation 60. [0022] The fastener 54 can be of a number of suitable materials. A suitable material would be stainless steel. [0023] The securing arrangement 24 is in the form of a harness 25 that engages a user's head 26 and neck 28. [0024] The harness 26 has the frontal straps 30. Opposite ends 32 of the straps 30 are secured to a front surface 34 of the sealing member 10 in the manner described above. [0025] Instead, the ends 32 can be secured to the front surface 34 in a manner in which the integrity of the sealing member 10 is not breached. This can be by way of a suitable adhesive or with a welding process. [0026] The harness 26 has a central upper strap 36 that is fastened to the frontal strap 30 intermediate the ends 32 of the frontal strap 30 so that the central upper strap 36 can extend back over a crown of the user. [0027] Ends of an intermediate strap 38 are connected to respective side portions 40 of the frontal strap 30. The intermediate strap 38 therefore extends about the back of the user's head 26. The intermediate strap 38 is elasticised. Thus, the tension in the intermediate strap 38 can serve to impart an upward force on opposite ends of the sealing member 10. [0028] The central upper strap 36 connects the frontal strap 30 and the intermediate strap 38.

5 [0029] The harness 26 has a lower strap assembly 42. The frontal strap 30 defines a slotted opening 44 at each end, at or near the sealing member 10. The lower strap assembly 42 includes a first strap 46 that is looped through one of the slotted openings 44 and a second strap 48 that is looped through the other of the slotted openings 44. The first strap 46 is of a heavy duty elastomeric material. The second strap 48 is of a heavy duty non-slip webbing material. [0030] The assembly 42 includes a releasable connector 50 that connects the first and second straps 46, 48 together. The connector 50 allows the straps to be released for removal of the harness 25 and sealing member 10. [0031] The connector 50 incorporates an adjustment mechanism 51 that engages the second strap 48 so that an overall length of the strap assembly 42 can be adjusted to accommodate different users. [0032] It will be appreciated that the lower strap assembly 42 can be used to adjust a direction of force that is exerted on the ends of the sealing member 10. Thus, the sealing member 10 can be adjusted to suit different wearers to achieve a substantially airtight obstruction. [0033] The material of the sealing member 10 together with the dimensions set out above allow the sealing member 10 to flex to accommodate the shape of the wearer's oral region. [0034] It is generally accepted that nose breathing instead of mouth breathing has health benefits. The sealing member 10 can be used to encourage nose breathing by inhibiting mouth breathing. The inventor(s) envisages that this would occur primarily while the user is sleeping. [0035] The inventor envisages that overall performance of the sealing member 10 can be optimised by: a. Selection of an appropriate size of the sealing member 10 and formation 16. b. Proper positioning of the sealing member 10 over a mouth of a wearer to achieve an optimal location.

6 c. Adjustment of a tension set up by the harness 25. [0036] The inventor(s) envisages that a particular use for the sealing member 10 is to treat sleep apnoea. As is known, obstructive sleep apnoea is a potentially serious sleep disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep. A common type of obstructive sleep apnoea occurs when the throat muscles intermittently relax and block the airway during sleep. A sign of such a problem is snoring. [0037] A number of devices and apparatus had been developed for treating sleep apnoea. A Continuous Positive Airways Pressure (CPAP) machine is one such device. A number of disadvantages exist with such a machine. For example, exhaling must occur against the pressure generated by the machine. This can be inefficient. Also, the machine requires connection to an electrical supply which can be inconvenient. [0038] Other devices include chin straps and other devices that are used to adjust temporarily the position of various portions of the anatomy to facilitate breathing. [0039] The inventor(s) has found that training an apnoea sufferer to breathe through his or her nose can be an effective treatment of the problem. [0040] The inventor(s) submits that there are other problems associated with mouth breathing. These can include various types of headaches, hypertension without other known clinical causes, chronic ear and sinus infections. [0041] The inventor(s) submits that there can be significant health benefits with nose breathing. These result from the air being naturally moisturised, humidified and filtered. Furthermore, as air passes through the nasal passage, mixing of the air with nitric oxide produced in the nasal sinuses has significant benefits. Nitric oxide is known to be a vasodilator. As a result, breathing through the nose results in an increase in efficiency as the nitric oxide is secreted into the nasal passages and is inhaled. [0042] Mouth breathing, on the other hand, can result in the intake of dry, un humidified air without the benefits of nitric oxide. As a result, the ability of mouth breathing to deliver fully oxygenated blood to the cells is reduced when compared with nose breathing. [0043] The inventor(s) has found that it is useful to achieve proper sealing of the sealing member 10 with the facial region of the user. This has been achieved in testing 7 particularly with the use of the sealing formation 16 that embeds itself in the facial region. The inventor(s) has found that leakage of air into the mouth can reduce the efficiency and performance of the sealing member 10 resulting in a reduction in effectiveness. [0044] The inventor(s) has carried out a number of tests. The inventor(s) has found that wearers can "re-learn" breathing by wearing the sealing member 10. In particular, it was found that having worn the sealing member 10 for a certain amount of time, it was possible for the wearers to nose breathe without the use of the sealing member 10. [0045] The inventor(s) envisages that a further use of the sealing member 10 is to enable or train a person to breathe with full or near full capacity as opposed to shallow breathing. The inventor(s) submits that deeper breathing provides benefits such as treating impeded speech and enhancing voice projection. [0046] The sealing member 10 together with the securing arrangement 24 is simple to operate and does not require electricity. Furthermore, they are lightweight and are suited for use by travellers. [0047] The sealing member 10 together with the securing arrangement 24 is significantly less expensive than a CPAP machine. [0048] Throughout the specification, including the claims, where the context permits, the term "comprising" and variants thereof such as "comprise" or "comprises" are to be interpreted as including the stated integer or integers without necessarily excluding any other integers. [0049] It is to be understood that the terminology employed above is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The described embodiments are intended to be illustrative of the invention, without limiting the scope thereof. The invention is capable of being practised with various modifications and additions as will readily occur to those skilled in the art. [0050] Various substantially and specifically practical and useful exemplary embodiments of the claimed subject matter, are described herein, textually and/or graphically, including the best mode, if any, known to the inventors for carrying out the claimed subject matter. Variations (e.g., modifications and/or enhancements) of one or more embodiments described herein might become apparent to those of ordinary skill in 8 the art upon reading this application. The inventors expect skilled artisans to employ such variations as appropriate, and the inventors intend for the claimed subject matter to be practiced other than as specifically described herein. Accordingly, as permitted by law, the claimed subject matter includes and covers all equivalents of the claimed subject matter and all improvements to the claimed subject matter. Moreover, every combination of the above described elements, activities, and all possible variations thereof are encompassed by the claimed subject matter unless otherwise clearly indicated herein, clearly and specifically disclaimed, or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. [0051] The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., "such as") provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate one or more embodiments and does not pose a limitation on the scope of any claimed subject matter unless otherwise stated. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non claimed subject matter as essential to the practice of the claimed subject matter. [0052] The use of words that indicate orientation or direction of travel is not to be considered limiting. Thus, words such as "front", "back", "rear", "side", "up", down", "upper", "lower", "top", "bottom", "forwards", "backwards", "towards", "distal", "proximal", "inner", "outer" and synonyms, antonyms and derivatives thereof have been selected for convenience only. The inventor envisages that various exemplary embodiments of the claimed subject matter can be supplied in any particular orientation and the claimed subject matter is intended to include such orientations. [0053] Thus, regardless of the content of any portion (e.g., title, field, background, summary, description, abstract, drawing figure, etc.) of this application, unless clearly specified to the contrary, such as via explicit definition, assertion, or argument, or clearly contradicted by context, with respect to any claim, whether of this application and/or any claim of any application claiming priority hereto, and whether originally presented or otherwise: a. there is no requirement for the inclusion of any particular described or illustrated characteristic, function, activity, or element, any particular sequence of activities, or any particular interrelationship of elements; b. no characteristic, function, activity, or element is "essential"; 9 c. any elements can be integrated, segregated, and/or duplicated; d. any activity can be repeated, any activity can be performed by multiple entities, and/or any activity can be performed in multiple jurisdictions; and e. any activity or element can be specifically excluded, the sequence of activities can vary, and/or the interrelationship of elements can vary. [0054] The use of the terms "a", "an", "said", "the", and/or similar referents in the context of describing various embodiments (especially in the context of the following claims) are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. The terms "comprising," "having," "including," and "containing" are to be construed as open-ended terms (i.e., meaning "including, but not limited to,") unless otherwise noted. [0055] Moreover, when any number or range is described herein, unless clearly stated otherwise, that number or range is approximate. Recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value and each separate subrange defined by such separate values is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. For example, if a range of 1 to 10 is described, that range includes all values therebetween, such as for example, 1.1, 2.5, 3.335, 5, 6.179, 8.9999, etc., and includes all subranges therebetween, such as for example, 1 to 3.65, 2.8 to 8.14, 1.93 to 9, etc. [0056] Accordingly, every portion (e.g., title, field, background, summary, description, abstract, drawing figure, etc.) of this application, other than the claims themselves, is to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not as restrictive, and the scope of subject matter protected by any patent that issues based on this application is defined only by the claims of that patent.

Claims (5)

1. A device for encouraging nose breathing, the device comprising an elongate, flexible sealing member that is dimensioned to cover a user's mouth in a manner in which the user is encouraged to nose breath, the sealing member defining a generally planar body and a sealing formation that projects from a peripheral region of the body, the sealing formation configured to at least partially embed itself into a corresponding facial region of the user so that when the sealing member bears against an oral region of the user, a passage of air into the user's mouth is substantially inhibited; and a securing arrangement that can be fastened to the sealing member and that engages at least one of a head and neck of the user so that, in use, the sealing member can so bear against said oral region.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1, in which the sealing member has an overall length of between 60 mm and 110 mm and an overall width of between 30 mm and 80 mm.

3. A device as claimed in claim 2, in which the sealing member is generally elliptical and has an overall length of between 80 mm and 90 mm and an overall width of between 50 mm and 60 mm.

4. A device for encouraging nose breathing, the device comprising an elongate, flexible sealing member that is dimensioned to cover a user's mouth in a manner in which the user is encouraged to nose breath, the sealing member defining a generally planar body so that when the sealing member bears against an oral region of the user, a passage of air into the user's mouth is substantially inhibited; and a securing arrangement that can be fastened to the sealing member and that engages at least one of a head and neck of the user so that, in use, the sealing member can so bear against said oral region.

5. A device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the securing arrangement is a harness that is configured to fit about the user's head and neck and which is configured to exert a directionally adjustable force on each end of the sealing member.