CN112245078A

CN112245078A - Device for improving sleep respiratory obstruction

Info

Publication number: CN112245078A
Application number: CN202011054578.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 林庆其
Original assignee: Jiayin Medical Equipment Co ltd; Lotes Guangzhou Co Ltd
Current assignee: Jiayin Medical Equipment Co ltd; Lotes Guangzhou Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-05-21
Filing date: 2020-09-30
Publication date: 2021-01-22
Anticipated expiration: 2040-09-30
Also published as: CN113712725A; CN114795610A; CN112245078B; WO2021233066A1; CN113712725B

Abstract

The invention discloses a device for improving sleep respiratory obstruction, which comprises: a base, which is matched and fixed with the head of a user and is provided with a channel; the suction piece is provided with a flow passage which extends into the oral cavity of a user through the channel and can perform relative displacement in the channel, the flow passage is connected with a tongue fixing part, the tongue fixing part is arranged at the front end of the tongue of the user, and the suction piece is provided with a stopping part which can be arranged outside the oral cavity of the user and used for limiting the forward displacement of the tongue fixing part; the elastic piece is used for providing elastic force for the tongue fixing part to approach the base, and the elastic force is smaller than the adsorption force between the adsorption piece and the tongue of the user and is also smaller than the pulling force of the tongue of the user during the movement of the tongue; a negative pressure source which is communicated with the flow channel and provides negative pressure for the tongue of the user contacted with the tongue fixing part. The invention also discloses a device for improving sleep breathing obstruction, which does not depend on negative pressure to fix the tongue.

Description

Device for improving sleep respiratory obstruction

[ technical field ] A method for producing a semiconductor device

The present invention relates to a device for improving sleep breathing obstruction, and more particularly, to a device for pulling the tongue of a user outward.

[ background of the invention ]

Sleep apnea (Obstructive sleep apnea) is a symptom that when a patient sleeps, especially lies down, his respiratory tract is blocked by his own tongue and soft jaw, and thus the patient cannot breathe smoothly. The immediate cause of this condition is that when the patient sleeps, the tongue collapses rearward of the body due to gravity and relaxation of the body tissue, blocking the passage of the mouth and trachea, and the collapsing tongue also presses the patient's soft jaw, causing it to block the passage of the nasal and trachea. Obviously, the patient is difficult to breathe due to the obstruction of sleeping breathing, snoring easily occurs, and the life safety of the patient is even threatened.

The existing treatment schemes include a method of holding the tongue of the patient in the non-collapse position by clamping or sucking the tongue with a clamp under negative pressure, that is, a scheme of preventing the tongue of the patient from collapsing by an external mechanical device. The advantage of this mechanical solution is that the patient does not have to be charged with drug side effects or surgical injuries.

However, the existing mechanical treatment schemes pull the tongue of the patient to the outlet cavity through a clamp or negative pressure suction when in use, and keep the front end of the tongue outside the oral cavity, so as to ensure that the tongue of the patient does not collapse in the oral cavity. In addition, current mechanical treatment solutions often completely secure the user's tongue in the non-collapsed position, and the user may not move the tongue properly when using the device, which may cause tongue fatigue and may also result in the user not being able to use the tongue to assist in swallowing saliva. However, if the saliva is excessively accumulated, the respiration of the user is also affected.

Therefore, there is a need for an improved device for improving sleep respiratory obstruction that overcomes the above problems.

[ summary of the invention ]

In response to the problems encountered in the background art, the present invention provides a device that draws the tongue outward within the mouth and allows the tongue of the user to move appropriately.

In order to achieve the purpose, the invention adopts the following technical means:

an apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction, comprising: a base, which is matched and fixed with the head of a user, wherein the base is provided with a channel; the suction piece is provided with a flow passage which extends into the oral cavity of a user through the channel and can perform relative displacement in the channel, the flow passage is connected with a tongue fixing part which is arranged at the front end of the tongue of the user, and the suction piece is provided with a stopping part which is used for limiting the forward displacement of the tongue fixing part; the elastic piece is used for providing elastic force for the tongue fixing part to approach the base, and the elastic force is smaller than the adsorption force between the adsorption piece and the tongue of the user and is also smaller than the pulling force of the tongue of the user during the movement of the tongue fixing part; and the negative pressure source is communicated with the flow channel and provides negative pressure for the tongue of the user contacted with the tongue fixing part.

Furthermore, the flow channel is used for being positioned between the upper lip and the lower lip of the user, and the size of the flow channel in the vertical direction is smaller than that of the flow channel in the left-right direction.

Furthermore, the tongue fixing part is provided with a plurality of micro-flow passages, and the micro-flow passages are communicated with the flow channel and penetrate through the inner surface of the tongue fixing part.

Further, the micro-flow channel is obliquely arranged relative to the flow channel and is formed by drilling holes from the inner surface of the tongue fixing part through laser.

Furthermore, the tongue fixing part is provided with an air suction port, the air suction port is positioned on the inner surface of the tongue fixing part and faces the tongue of a user, the air suction port is communicated with the flow channel, negative pressure acts on the front end of the tongue of the user through the air suction port, and at least part of the tongue of the user is attached to the inner surface of the tongue fixing part.

Furthermore, the tongue fixing part is provided with a protection pad, the protection pad is positioned on the inner side of the tongue fixing part and faces the tongue of the user, and the protection pad is provided with a plurality of through holes so as to disperse the suction force of the negative pressure source to the tongue of the user.

Furthermore, a fixing convex part is convexly arranged at the front end of the protection pad, and the fixing convex part enters the flow channel and is fixed with the flow channel.

Furthermore, the tongue fixing part is provided with an accommodating space communicated with the flow passage so as to at least partially accommodate the tongue of the user from the front end of the tongue of the user when in use.

Furthermore, the tongue fixing part is provided with a notch formed by sinking forwards from the rear end of the tongue fixing part so as to provide the frenulum of the tongue of the user.

Further, the tongue fixing part comprises two notches, and the two notches are located on the upper side and the lower side of the tongue fixing part.

Further, the elastic member directly or indirectly exerts an opposite elastic force in the front-rear direction on the base and the suction member.

Further, the adsorption part comprises a joint, the joint is communicated with the flow channel and the negative pressure source, one end of the elastic part applies force to the base, and one end of the elastic part applies force to the joint.

Further, at least part of the joint, the elastic member and the flow passage are simultaneously accommodated in the passage.

Furthermore, the elastic piece is sleeved outside the flow channel, and the elastic piece is closer to the base relative to the flow channel, so that the elastic piece is prevented from interfering with the flow channel.

Further, the joint is connected with the flow passage through threads.

Further, the flow channel has at least one projection radially projecting from an outer surface thereof for mating with a mechanical device for assembling the flow channel and the connector.

Further, the stop part is arranged on the joint.

Furthermore, the joint is communicated with the negative pressure source through a connecting pipe, and the joint is provided with a step part to limit the sleeving amount between the joint and the connecting pipe.

Furthermore, the joint accommodates the connecting pipe, the inner surface of the joint is provided with an adhesive accommodating part, and the caliber size of the adhesive accommodating part is larger than the outer diameter size of the connecting pipe.

Furthermore, the joint comprises a sleeving part and a sliding part, the sliding part is accommodated in the channel, and the sleeving part is detachably connected with the sliding part and is fixed with the flow channel.

Further, the base includes an outer expanding portion that is positioned outside the mouth of the user and that is sized to be larger than the mouth of the user.

Further, the outer expanding portion has a plurality of mesh holes penetrating an outer surface and an inner surface of the outer expanding portion.

Further, the outer expanding portion is used for abutting the face area of the user except the lips, and comprises a main body covering the face of the user and a cushion assembled on the outer expanding portion, wherein the cushion is located between the main body and the face of the user when in use, part of the cushion is located above the upper lip of the user, and part of the cushion is located below the lower lip, and the cushion can elastically stretch and contract relative to the main body.

The adjusting part is connected to the base, one end of the elastic part is jointed with the adjusting part, the other end of the elastic part is jointed with the adsorption part, and the adjusting part can move back and forth relative to the base to adjust the expansion amount of the elastic part and the forward displacement of the adsorption part.

Further, the adjusting part includes a baffle and is located a holding tank in baffle rear, the holding tank runs through backward the adjusting part, the runner passes the baffle, the internal surface of holding tank is equipped with the internal thread, the surface of the front end of base is equipped with the external screw thread, be used for with the internal thread formation threaded connection of holding tank.

Furthermore, the adjusting piece also comprises an accommodating cavity positioned in front of the baffle, and the accommodating cavity accommodates the elastic piece.

Furthermore, the stopping part is arranged on the outer surface of the flow channel and limited by the baffle plate so as to limit the forward displacement of the tongue fixing part.

Furthermore, the device also comprises an adjusting piece positioned outside the oral cavity of the user, the adjusting piece is connected with the base, the adjusting piece can move back and forth relative to the base, and the stopping part is arranged on the outer surface of the adsorption piece and limited by the adjusting piece so as to limit the forward displacement of the tongue fixing part.

Furthermore, the elastic piece is accommodated in the adjusting piece, one end of the elastic piece is connected to the adjusting piece, the other end of the elastic piece is fixed to the adsorption piece, and the expansion amount of the elastic piece is kept unchanged in the process that the adjusting piece moves back and forth relative to the base.

Further, the adjusting member includes a screw portion accommodated in the channel, the screw portion is penetrated through from front to back to accommodate the elastic member and a part of the adsorbing member, the rear end of the elastic member applies force to the rear end of the screw portion, the adjusting member further includes an operating cover fixed to the front end of the screw portion, and the stopping portion and the operating cover block each other.

Further, the adsorption part comprises a joint, the joint is communicated with the flow channel and the negative pressure source, the joint comprises a sleeving part and a sliding part connected to the front end of the sleeving part, the sleeving part is in threaded connection with the flow channel, and the sliding part is fixed with the front end of the elastic part.

Further, the flow passage is communicated with the negative pressure source through a connecting pipe, the adjusting piece is provided with a through hole communicated with the channel, and the connecting pipe penetrates through the through hole.

Further, the front end of the adjusting member is also provided with a plurality of communication holes communicating with the passage for discharging the fluid entering the passage.

Further, the adjusting piece and the base are connected with each other through reverse hook threads, and at least one of the adjusting piece and the base is made of a flexible material.

Furthermore, the device also comprises an adjusting piece positioned outside the oral cavity of the user, the adjusting piece is connected with the adsorption piece, one end of the elastic piece is jointed with the adjusting piece, the other end of the elastic piece is jointed with the base, and the adjusting piece can move back and forth relative to the adsorption piece to adjust the expansion amount of the elastic piece.

Furthermore, the device also comprises a first adjusting piece and a second adjusting piece which are both positioned outside the oral cavity of the user, wherein the first adjusting piece is connected with the base and can move back and forth relative to the base, the second adjusting piece is connected with the adsorption piece and can move back and forth relative to the adsorption piece, one end of the elastic piece is connected with the first adjusting piece backwards, the other end of the elastic piece is connected with the second adjusting piece forwards, and the first adjusting piece and the second adjusting piece are used for adjusting the expansion amount of the elastic piece together.

Further, the base includes an inner extension portion disposed between the teeth and lips of the user, the inner extension portion being substantially U-shaped to conform to the oral structure of the user, at least one of an upper edge and a lower edge of the inner extension portion being recessed with a recess to provide a frenum of the user's lips.

Further, the base includes at least one mouthpiece.

Further, the base includes an upper shell and a lower shell, the channel being located between the upper shell and the lower shell, the lower shell being generally aligned above and below the upper shell; or the lower tooth socket protrudes forwards relative to the upper tooth socket, and the lower jaw of the user is pulled forwards by the lower tooth socket.

Furthermore, the device also comprises an occlusion part which is positioned at the outer side of the tongue fixing part and is arranged between the upper teeth and the lower teeth of a user when in use, so that the user can occlude the occlusion part, and the front end of the tongue fixing part exceeds the teeth of the user forwards, thereby increasing the forward displacement of the tongue fixing part.

Further, the tongue fixing part may move in other directions perpendicular to the anterior-posterior direction.

Further, the negative pressure source is connected to the flow passage through a connecting tube having a disengageable mechanism that is closer to the flow passage than the negative pressure source, the connecting tube being disconnected at the disengageable mechanism when the connecting tube is tightened.

Further, the device also comprises a fixing mechanism which is arranged on the negative pressure source so as to fix the negative pressure source with the body of the user or other static objects except the device.

Further, the cross-sectional area of the caliber of the flow channel is reduced at the position close to the tongue of the user, so that the tongue of the user is prevented from entering the caliber of the flow channel due to suction.

Furthermore, the negative pressure source is connected with the flow channel through a connecting pipe, the device further comprises an air pressure sensor, the air pressure sensor is communicated with the connecting pipe or the flow channel and detects air pressure in the connecting pipe or the flow channel, and a breathable waterproof piece is arranged between the air pressure sensor and the connecting pipe or the flow channel.

Compared with the prior art, the invention has the following beneficial effects: the tongue of the user is fixed by the negative pressure provided by the adsorption piece and the negative pressure source, so that the discomfort of the user is not easy to cause; due to the stop portion, the device can prevent the tongue of the user from collapsing, and meanwhile, the tongue of the user cannot be excessively pulled out of the lips of the user, so that discomfort of the user caused by excessively pulling the tongue of the user is avoided. In addition, the resilient member allows the user to properly move his or her tongue while preventing the user's tongue from collapsing, e.g., to move the tongue backward to assist in swallowing saliva, thereby preventing saliva from accumulating, and the device automatically returns the user's tongue to the non-collapsed position by the resilient force of the resilient member after the user completes the movement of his or her tongue.

An apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction, comprising: a base, which is matched and fixed with the head of a user, and is provided with a channel; the tongue traction piece enters the oral cavity of a user through the channel and can perform relative displacement in the channel, the tongue traction piece is connected with a tongue fixing part, the tongue fixing part is used for being fixed with the front end of the tongue of the user, and the tongue traction piece is provided with a stopping part for limiting the outward displacement of the tongue fixing part; the driving mechanism is used for driving the tongue fixing part to approach the base, and the driving force provided by the driving mechanism is smaller than the traction force of the tongue traction piece acting on the tongue of the user and smaller than the pulling force of the tongue of the user during the movement of the tongue traction piece.

Further, the tongue fixing part is provided with at least one expandable clamping part, the tongue traction piece is provided with a flow passage, the clamping part is communicated with an inflator pump or a liquid filling pump through the flow passage, and when the device is used, the clamping part expands and is attached to the tongue of a user due to inflation or liquid filling.

Further, the tongue fixing part is provided with a restraining cover which is used for accommodating the clamping part and the tongue of the user.

Further, the driving mechanism comprises a pneumatic cylinder, or an electromagnetic valve, or an elastic member, or a combination of any two of the three.

Due to the stop portion, the device can prevent the tongue of the user from collapsing, and meanwhile, the tongue of the user cannot be excessively pulled out of the lips of the user, so that discomfort of the user caused by excessively pulling the tongue of the user is avoided. In addition, the actuator mechanism prevents collapse of the user's tongue while allowing the user to properly move his or her tongue, e.g., rearwardly to assist in swallowing saliva, thereby preventing saliva accumulation, and the device automatically returns the user's tongue to the uncollapsed position via the actuator mechanism after the user has completed movement of his or her tongue.

A device for improving sleep breathing obstruction applied to a user's head, comprising: a base, which is matched and fixed with the head of a user, wherein the base is provided with a channel; the suction piece is provided with a hollow flow channel, the flow channel extends through the channel and enters the oral cavity of a user and can perform relative displacement in the channel, the flow channel is connected with a tongue fixing part, the tongue fixing part is in a cup shape which is attached to the tongue of the user, an accommodating space communicated with the flow channel is formed so as to accommodate the tongue of the user in a surrounding manner, and the suction piece is also provided with a stopping part which is positioned outside the oral cavity and used for limiting the forward displacement of the tongue fixing part; the tongue fixing part is configured to be adsorbed at the front end of the tongue part by using negative pressure during use and form a seal around the circumference of the tongue part of a user so that the negative pressure only acts on the tongue part of the user; the tongue fixing part is also configured to move freely along with the tongue of the user in the oral cavity when in use, and when the tongue is relaxed, the tongue fixing part drives the tongue of the user to move forwards until the stopping part is stopped; the elastic piece is used for providing elastic force for the tongue fixing part to approach the base, and the elastic force is smaller than the adsorption force between the adsorption piece and the tongue of the user and is also smaller than the pulling force of the tongue of the user during the movement of the tongue fixing part; and the negative pressure source is communicated with the flow channel and provides negative pressure for the tongue of the user contacted with the tongue fixing part.

The stopper part is arranged outside the oral cavity of the user, so that the structure of the device in the oral cavity of the user is simplified, the volume of the device in the oral cavity of the user is reduced, the foreign body sensation felt by the user is favorably reduced, and the comfort level of the user is improved. In addition, the actuator mechanism prevents collapse of the user's tongue while allowing the user to properly move his or her tongue, e.g., rearwardly to assist in swallowing saliva, thereby preventing saliva accumulation, and the device automatically returns the user's tongue to the uncollapsed position via the actuator mechanism after the user has completed movement of his or her tongue.

[ description of the drawings ]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a first embodiment of an apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a portion of the device of FIG. 1 secured to a user's head;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of a portion of the device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of FIG. 3 in combination;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the suction member of the device of FIG. 4 securing and pulling the user's tongue forward;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of the device of FIG. 4 with the suction member secured to the user's tongue and the user moving the user's tongue rearwardly;

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of a vacuum pump, a pressure sensor and a connecting tube in the negative pressure source of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of a second embodiment of the apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the base of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a schematic view of a third embodiment of an apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a schematic view of a fourth embodiment of an apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is an exploded view of FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 12;

FIG. 15 is an enlarged view of B in FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a schematic view of a fifth embodiment of the apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction of the present invention;

FIG. 17 is an enlarged view of FIG. 16 with the negative pressure source omitted;

FIG. 18 is a schematic view of FIG. 17 rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise;

FIG. 19 is an exploded view of FIG. 17;

FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view taken along line I-I of FIG. 17;

FIG. 21 is a schematic view of the adjusting member and the absorbing member shown in FIG. 20;

FIG. 22 is an enlarged view of portion J of FIG. 20;

FIG. 23 is a cross-sectional view of the tongue fixation portion of FIG. 17;

FIG. 24 is a schematic illustration of laser drilling of the microfluidic circuit of FIG. 23;

FIG. 25 is a schematic view of a sixth embodiment of an apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction of the present invention;

FIG. 26 is a schematic view of a seventh embodiment of an apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction of the present invention;

FIG. 27 is an exploded view of the tongue retractor of FIG. 26;

FIG. 28 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 26;

fig. 29 is a schematic view of fig. 28 in an operating state.

[ detailed description ] embodiments

For a better understanding of the objects, structure, features, and functions of the invention, reference should be made to the drawings and detailed description that follow.

Referring to fig. 1 to 6, a first embodiment of the device for improving sleep breathing obstruction of the present invention comprises a base 10 for fitting with the head of a user, an absorbing member 20 for absorbing the tongue T of the user, a driving mechanism for simultaneously engaging the base 10 and the absorbing member 20, two adjusting members 40 for adjusting the elastic force of the driving mechanism, and a negative pressure source 50 for providing a negative pressure to the absorbing member 20 to absorb the tongue T of the user. The two adjusting parts 40 are respectively a first adjusting part 40a and a second adjusting part 40b, both of which are disposed outside the oral cavity of the user, the first adjusting part 40a is connected with the base 10, and the second adjusting part 40b is connected with the adsorbing part 20. In this embodiment, the driving mechanism is an elastic member 30 of a spring. For convenience of the following description, the reference system with the head of the user as the direction, i.e., the face of the user as the forward direction, the top of the head of the user as the upward direction, and the left ear of the user as the leftward direction, is described.

As shown in fig. 3, the base 10 has a cylindrical portion 11, an outwardly expanded portion 12 connected to the rear of the cylindrical portion 11, and a passage 13 penetrating the cylindrical portion 11 and the outwardly expanded portion 12 in the front-rear direction, the cylindrical portion 11 being formed to protrude forward relative to the outwardly expanded portion 12.

As shown in fig. 2 and 5, when the device is used, it is necessary that the base 10 is fixed relative to the head of the user, and in the present embodiment, the outwardly expanding portion 12 has a main body 120 extending in the left-right direction from the cylindrical portion 11 to directly abut against the face area of the user other than the lips L, so that the entire base 10 is prevented from moving backward, thereby maintaining the front-rear position of the base 10. In order to prevent the outer expansion part 12 from closing the mouth of the user, the main body 120 of the outer expansion part 12 is provided with a plurality of meshes 121, and the meshes 121 penetrate through the outer surface and the inner surface of the outer expansion part 12 so as to facilitate the breathing through the mouth of the user who is partially difficult to breathe through the nose, wherein the inner surface of the outer expansion part 12 is a surface facing the face of the user, and the outer surface of the outer expansion part 12 is a surface facing away from the face of the user. In order to increase the contact area of the outer extension 12 with the face of the user, the outer extension 12 has a certain curvature and elasticity to fit the contour of the face of the user and to disperse the pressure applied by the outer extension 12 on the face of the user. In addition, in order to further improve the fixing effect of the base 10 and the head of the user, a fixing attachment 14 is connected to the left and right ends of the outer extension 12, in this embodiment, the fixing attachment 14 is a strap, the fixing attachment 14 and the outer extension 12 surround the head of the user, the base 10 is fixed in front of the mouth of the user, and the fixing attachment 14 pulls the left and right ends of the outer extension 12 to further fit the contour of the face of the user. In other embodiments, the attachment accessory 14 in the form of a strap may be suspended from the ear of the user. In other few embodiments, the outer extension 12 and the fixed attachment 14 are not required.

As shown in fig. 3 and 4, the outer surface of the cylindrical portion 11 has an external thread for engaging with the first adjustment member 40 a.

As shown in fig. 1, 5 and 6, the whole adsorbing member 20 can move back and forth relative to the base 10, and the adsorbing member 20 includes a flow passage 21 and a tongue fixing portion 22 connected to the flow passage 21. The flow channel 21 extends through the channel 13 and into the mouth of the user to convey the negative pressure generated by the negative pressure source 50 to the mouth of the user and to act only on the tongue T of the user, the flow channel 21 being relatively displaceable in the channel 13.

As shown in fig. 3 to 6, the adsorbing member 20 is provided with at least one stopping portion, in this embodiment, the outer surface of the flow channel 21 is provided with one stopping portion, which is defined as a first stopping portion 211, and the first stopping portion 211 cooperates with the first adjusting member 40a to limit the outward (i.e. forward) displacement of the tongue fixing portion 22. Since the tongue fixing portion 22 is expanded toward the periphery relative to the flow channel 21, the stopping portion may also be disposed at the front end of the tongue fixing portion 22, and is defined as a second stopping portion 220, so as to limit the outward (i.e., forward) displacement of the tongue fixing portion 22. Specifically, the second stopping portion 220 is located at the upper and lower sides of the junction between the tongue fixing portion 22 and the flow channel 21, and can be stopped at the inner sides of the upper teeth D or the lower teeth D of the user along with the movement of the tongue fixing portion 22, so as to limit the outward (i.e. forward) displacement of the tongue fixing portion 22. One of the first stopping portion 211 and the second stopping portion 220 can be selected to limit the outward (i.e., forward) displacement of the tongue fixing portion 22 when the device is in operation. Of course, the first blocking portion 211 and the second blocking portion 220 may be disposed on the adsorbing member 20 at the same time, or one of them may be selectively disposed, and the other is not disposed.

As shown in fig. 1, 4 and 5, in the present embodiment, the tongue fixing portion 22 is made of a flexible material, such as silicone, which is compatible with human body, and is shaped like a cup to fit the tongue T of the user, and has a receiving space 221 opened backward to receive the front end of the tongue T of the user from the front end of the tongue T of the user when the device is used. In order to give way to the tongue frenum of the user, the tongue fixing portion 22 is provided with two notches 222 formed by forward recession from the rear end of the tongue fixing portion, the two notches 222 are correspondingly located at the upper and lower sides of the tongue fixing portion 22, that is, one of the notches 222 is located below the accommodating space 221, and the other notch 222 is located above the accommodating space 221, so that the upper and lower directions of the tongue fixing portion 22 do not need to be considered when the tongue fixing portion is used by the user symmetrically. The inner surface of the tongue fixing part 22 facing the tongue T of the user, i.e. the inner surface defining the receiving space 221, is provided with an air suction opening 223, and the receiving space 221 is communicated with the flow passage 21 through the air suction opening 223, so that when the device is used, negative pressure is finally transmitted to the receiving space 221 and acts on the tongue T of the user received in the receiving space 221, so that the tongue T of the user is fixed to the tongue fixing part 22 by suction. Since the tongue fixing portion 22 circumferentially conforms to the cross-sectional profile of the user's tongue T, which is the peripheral edge of the cross-section of the user's tongue T in the left-right direction, and forms a seal, the negative pressure is transmitted only to the receiving space 221 and is not spread throughout the mouth, and since only the user's tongue T is received in the receiving space 221, the negative pressure acts only on the user's tongue T and does not act on other parts of the user. In other embodiments, the shape of the tongue fixing portion 22 is not limited to a cup shape or a pocket shape covering the tongue T of the user, and may be a plate-shaped structure attached to the upper surface of the tongue T of the user and having the plurality of suction ports 223 opened on the lower surface thereof.

As shown in fig. 4 to 6, in the present embodiment, the tongue fixing portion 22 includes an inner layer 224 relatively close to the tongue T of the user and an outer layer 225 relatively far away from the tongue T of the user and the inner layer 224 and the outer layer 225 are integrally molded. In other embodiments, the inner layer 224 and the outer layer 225 may be formed separately and combined with each other, and the material selected for the inner layer 224 is softer than the material selected for the outer layer 225 to improve comfort of the tongue fixation portion 22, or the thickness of the inner layer 224 is set to be thinner than the thickness of the outer layer 225 to make the inner layer 224 softer than the outer layer 225. A plurality of micro-flow passages 226 are distributed in the tongue fixing portion 22, and the micro-flow passages 226 are located between the inner layer 224 and the outer layer 225, penetrate through the inner surface and the outer surface of the inner layer 224, and communicate the flow channel 21 and the accommodating space 221. The openings of the micro flow channel 226 on the inner surface of the tongue fixing portion 22 are distributed around the air suction opening 223, and the aperture of the micro flow channel is smaller than that of the air suction opening 223, so as to disperse the negative pressure acting on the tongue T of the user, and avoid the discomfort of the user caused by the concentrated negative pressure acting on a small area of the tongue T of the user.

As shown in fig. 4 to 6, a protection pad 23 is disposed on the inner surface of the tongue fixing portion 22 facing the tongue T of the user for the user with more sensitive touch feeling of the tongue T. The protection pad 23 may be made of a flexible material such as foam, silicone, etc., and has a plurality of fine through holes 231. There is no step difference between the inner surface of the tongue fixing portion 22 and the inner surface of the protective pad 23, and the two surfaces form a continuous curved surface Q which fits the contour of the tongue T of the user. When the device is used, the protection pad 23 is placed in the receiving space 221 in advance, so that different users can replace the protection pad 23, after the tongue T of the user extends into the receiving space 221, the protection pad 23 extends in conformity with the shape of the tongue T of the user, there is no step difference between the inner surface of the tongue fixing portion 22 and the inner surface of the protection pad 23, the two surfaces form a continuous curved surface which fits the contour of the tongue T of the user, covers the front end of the tongue T, and separates the tongue T of the user from the air suction port 223 and the micro flow passage 226, respectively, and as negative pressure passes through the through hole 231 of the protection pad 23, the pressure of the negative pressure on the tongue T of the user is further weakened, thereby improving the comfort of the user. The outside of protection pad 23 with be formed with the intercommunication between the two of the inboard of tongue fixed part 22 the gap of runner 21, in this embodiment, the outer surface of protection pad 23 has to the convex a plurality of bumps 232 of the internal surface of tongue fixed part 22, bump 232 butt the internal surface of tongue fixed part 22, and then the surface of protection pad 23 with between the internal surface of tongue fixed part 22 and a plurality of form the intercommunication between the bump 232 the suction port 223 the gap to make the negative pressure can pass through protection pad 23 through-hole 231. Of course, in other embodiments, which are not shown in the drawings, the protection pad 23 may be designed to be fixed on the inner surface of the tongue fixing portion 22, and the protrusions 232 may be disposed on the inner surface of the tongue fixing portion 22, which is not limited thereto.

When negative pressure acts on the front end of the tongue T of the user and the protection pad 23 is not used, the tongue T of the user is attached to the inner surface of the tongue fixing part 22, and the front end of the tongue T closes the air suction port 223 and the micro flow path 226; when the protection pad 23 is used, the user's tongue T is attached to the inner surface of the protection pad 23, and the front end of the user's tongue T closes the through hole 231 of the protection pad 23. In other embodiments, the cross-sectional area of the aperture of the flow channel 21 may be set to be smaller near the tongue T of the user, that is, near the suction port 223, so as to avoid discomfort caused by the suction force entering the aperture of the flow channel 21 from the tongue T of the user, and the flow channel 21 may be branched to form a plurality of parallel thin tubes, or to form a flat shape similar to a "straight" section.

As shown in fig. 3 and 4, the suction member 20 includes a connector 24 at a front end thereof, the connector 24 is located outside the base 10 and one end thereof is fixedly connected to the flow passage 21, and the connector 24 is a tubular structure. In this embodiment, the joint 24 and the flow channel 21 are formed separately, and one end of the joint 24 is fixed to the end of the flow channel 21 in a sleeving and interference manner. The adapter 24 has external threads on its central outer surface for engaging the second adjustment member 40b, and is unthreaded at either end. In other embodiments, not shown, the joint 24 may be integrally connected with the flow channel 21, but not limited thereto.

As shown in fig. 4 to 6, the first adjusting member 40a has a cylindrical shape, and includes a baffle 411, an accommodating groove 412 located behind the baffle 411 and penetrating backward, and an accommodating cavity 413 located in front of the baffle 411 and penetrating forward. The inner surface of the receiving groove 412 is provided with an internal thread, the cylindrical portion 11 is threadedly coupled to the internal thread of the receiving groove 412 by the external thread, and the first adjusting member 40a is movable forward and backward relative to the base 10 along the thread only when the user rotates the first adjusting member 40 a. The accommodating chamber 413 accommodates the elastic member 30 and can accommodate the second adjusting member 40b when the absorbing member 20 is displaced relative to the base 10. The baffle 411 is provided with a through hole 414 penetrating in the front and back direction, the through hole 414 is communicated with the accommodating groove 412 in the back direction and is communicated with the accommodating cavity 413 in the front direction, the flow passage 21 passes through the through hole 414 of the baffle 411 and enters the accommodating cavity 413, but the baffle 411 is positioned in front of the first stopping part 211 to limit the position of the first stopping part, so that the length of the flow passage 21 entering the accommodating cavity 413 and the outward (i.e. forward) displacement of the tongue fixing part 22 connected to the flow passage 21 are limited. That is, the user can control the maximum outward displacement of the tongue fixing portion 22 by moving the first adjusting member 40a forward and backward, specifically, moving the first adjusting member 40a forward to move the baffle 411 forward increases the activity space of the first stopper 211, and further increases the maximum outward displacement of the tongue fixing portion 22, otherwise, the maximum outward displacement of the tongue fixing portion 22 can be decreased. In addition, the baffle 411 is also located in front of the cylindrical portion 11, so as to form a stop limit for the baffle, and limit the depth of the engagement between the cylindrical portion 11 and the receiving groove 412, or limit the backward adjustable stroke of the first adjusting member 40 a.

As shown in fig. 4 and 6, the second adjusting member 40b has a first hole 421 and a second hole 422 connected to a rear end of the first hole 421, the size of the second hole 422 is larger than that of the first hole 421, an internal thread is disposed in the first hole 421 and is matched with the external thread on the outer surface of the joint 24 to form a threaded connection, only when the second adjusting member 40b is rotated by a user, the second adjusting member 40b can move back and forth relative to the joint 24 along the thread, and the second hole 422 is used for receiving the elastic member 30. In this embodiment, the overall size of the second adjusting member 40b is smaller than the size of the accommodating cavity 413, so that when the first adjusting member 40a and the second adjusting member 40b are relatively displaced, the second adjusting member 40b can be accommodated in the accommodating cavity 413 and relatively move; in other embodiments, not shown, the size of the second hole 422 may be larger than the overall size of the first adjusting member 40a, so that when the first adjusting member 40a and the second adjusting member 40b are relatively displaced, the first adjusting member 40a is accommodated in the second hole 422, which is not limited thereto.

As shown in fig. 3 to fig. 6, in the present embodiment, the elastic element 30 is a compression spring, which is sleeved outside the portion of the flow passage 21 that is forward beyond the base 10 and is accommodated in the accommodating cavity 413 and the second hole 422, one end of the elastic element 30 is directly abutted to the front end surface of the baffle 411 in the backward direction, and the other end is directly abutted to the hole wall of the second hole 422 of the second adjusting element 40b in the forward direction. Of course, in other embodiments, other engagement means may be used to allow the elastic member 30 to provide elastic force to the first adjusting member 40a and the second adjusting member 40b, such as screws to fix the elastic member 30 to the first adjusting member 40a and the second adjusting member 40 b. When the device is used, the elastic member 30 is compressed by the first adjusting member 40a and the second adjusting member 40b to provide elastic forces in opposite directions, that is, the elastic member 30 provides a backward elastic force to the first adjusting member 40a and transmits the backward elastic force to the base 10, the elastic member 30 provides a forward elastic force to the second adjusting member 40b and transmits the forward elastic force to the adsorbing member 20 through the joint 24, so that the adsorbing member 20 moves forward relative to the base 10, the tongue T of the user fixed to the tongue fixing portion 22 is also moved forward, and the front end of the tongue T of the user is maintained at a position away from the soft jaw and throat of the user by the elastic force, and finally, the tongue T of the user is prevented from collapsing to cause sleep breathing obstruction. When the device is used, the second stopping portion 220 stops against the teeth D of the user, or the first stopping portion 211 stops against the stop 411, so that the tongue fixing portion 22 and the tongue T of the user do not extend out of the lips L of the user.

Obviously, when the device is used, the user is already in or intends to go to sleep, in which case the user's tongue T should be relaxed, that is to say the device acts with the aim of the relaxed tongue T of the user, the elastic force provided by the elastic member 30 being set to be only sufficient to pull the relaxed tongue T, which does not prevent the user from moving his tongue T against it. The user moving his tongue T here means that the user moves the tongue T by muscle activity as a motive force, not including the tongue collapsing of the user when relaxing. That is, when the user uses the device, the elastic force is smaller than the absorption force between the absorption member 20 and the tongue T of the user and smaller than the pulling force of the tongue T of the user during the muscle activity thereof, the tongue fixing portion 22 can freely move in the oral cavity along with the muscle activity of the tongue T of the user, and when the muscle of the tongue T is relaxed, the tongue fixing portion 22 drives the tongue T of the user to move forward until the first stopping portion 211 is stopped. In fact, the mouth of a normal user will secrete saliva all the time, while the user may move his tongue T backwards when swallowing saliva, either actively or subconsciously. Therefore, when the device is used, it does not interfere with the user's conscious or unconscious swallowing of saliva, thereby reducing saliva accumulation to some extent.

Some users may feel uncomfortable with the second stopping portion 220 abutting their teeth D or with too much spring force acting on their tongue T, as shown in fig. 4-6, and may change position by rotating at least one of the first and

second adjusting members

40a and 40b, thereby changing the spring force provided by the spring member 30 by changing the amount of compression of the spring member 30 by the two. In this embodiment, the pitch of the thread of the first adjusting member 40a is greater than the pitch of the thread of the second adjusting member 40b, i.e., one rotation is also used, and the amount of displacement of the first adjusting member 40a in the front-rear direction is greater than the amount of displacement of the second adjusting member 40b in the front-rear direction, so that different adjustment accuracies are provided for the user.

In other embodiments, both the first adjustment member 40a and the second adjustment member 40b are not required, and only one adjustment member may be provided. For example, embodiments may provide only the first adjustment member 40a, with the end of the resilient member 30 adjacent the user's mouth engaging the first adjustment member 40a and the end away from the user's mouth engaging the adapter 24; of course, it is also possible to provide only the second adjustment member 40b, such that the end of the resilient member 30 close to the user's mouth is engaged with the base 10, and the end away from the user's mouth is engaged with the second adjustment member 40 b. In other embodiments, the elastic member 30 is not limited to a compression spring, and an extension spring, an elastic rubber washer, or the like may be used as the elastic member 30, provided that the elastic force for pulling the tongue T of the user outward can be provided.

As shown in fig. 5 and 6, the device further has an occlusion part 60, the occlusion part 60 is located outside the tongue fixing part 22 and extends left and right in the direction in which the teeth D are arranged, and the hardness of the occlusion part 60 is greater than that of the tongue fixing part 22, and is configured to be located between the upper teeth D and the lower teeth D of the user when in use, so that the user can bite into the occlusion part 60, i.e. the tongue fixing part 22 is prevented from being directly bitten by the user to bite the tongue T thereof. The occlusion part 60 has various embodiments, for example, the occlusion part 60 can be sleeved on the flow passage 21, and the absorption member 20 can move back and forth relative to the occlusion part 60; or the bite part 60 is formed by protruding from the base 10 into the oral cavity of the user; alternatively, the engaging portion 60 and the tongue fixing portion 22 may be integrally formed, and the engaging portion 60 may be formed by extending from the outer surfaces of the left and right sides of the adsorbing member 20, but the engaging portion 60 and the tongue fixing portion 22 may be formed of two different materials.

As shown in fig. 1 to 3, in order to facilitate the user or the nursing staff to know the treatment effect of the device, the device further has a respiration sensor 70 disposed above the first adjusting member 40a, which can measure and record some physiological parameters related to respiration, such as respiration rate, respiration intensity, snore magnitude, etc. The user or the caregiver can determine whether the previous settings, such as the intensity of the negative pressure or the elastic force provided by the elastic member 30, satisfy the predetermined therapeutic effect according to the parameter records, and then adjust the settings.

As shown in fig. 1, the suction member 20 is connected to the negative pressure source 50 through a flexible connection tube 80. In some embodiments, the connection tube 80 has a flexible portion 81 near the flow passage 21 for the user to temporarily extend the length of the connection tube 80 for changing sleeping posture, etc., so as to prevent the connection tube 80 from being tightened to exert excessive force on the tongue T of the user, and the flexible portion 81 may be a section of corrugated tube, a section of flexible tube with good ductility, or a section of coil wound by the connection tube 80.

As shown in fig. 1, the connection tube 80 further has a check valve 82 for ensuring unidirectional air flow from the tongue fixing portion 22 to the negative pressure source 50, i.e. unidirectional transmission of negative pressure from the negative pressure source 50 to the tongue fixing portion 22.

As shown in fig. 1 and 7, the negative pressure source 50 includes a conventional electric vacuum pump 51 for generating negative pressure by pumping air, the connection pipe 80 extends into the negative pressure source 50 and is connected to the vacuum pump 51, so that the suction member 20 is directly connected to the vacuum pump 51, and the negative pressure generated by the vacuum pump 51 is directly transmitted to the flow passage 21 and the tongue fixing portion 22. In other embodiments, the negative pressure may be generated by a positive pressure air pump, in which the positive pressure air pump provides a continuous air flow to the other air passage, and the air passage 21 is connected to the air passage through a one-way valve to bypass the air passage, the one-way valve only allows air to flow from the air passage 21 to the air passage, the continuous air flow forms a low pressure in the air passage, and the air in the air passage 21 flows into the air passage through the one-way valve, so that the negative pressure is formed in the air passage 21 and the tongue fixing portion 22.

As shown in fig. 1, since there are many connecting parts between the negative pressure source 50 and the suction member 20, there may be manufacturing tolerance between the respective parts, or there may be some deviation in the fit between the tongue of the user and the tongue fixing portion 22 and the mutual assembly between the respective parts due to use loss, which may easily cause the airtightness of the device to be lower than the experimental test value in practical use. In order to maintain the magnitude of the negative pressure at a predetermined level, the device further comprises an air pressure sensor S, which is a commercially available small-volume air pressure sensor. In the present embodiment, the air pressure sensor S is disposed in the negative pressure source 50, as shown in fig. 7 and 8, the connection pipe 80 includes a main pipe communicating the vacuum pump 51 and the adsorbing member 20, and a branch pipe 84 communicating the main pipe and the air pressure sensor S, the air pressure sensor S detects air pressure therein and transmits data of the detected air pressure to a control unit (not shown), the control unit adjusts the operation power of the vacuum pump 51 according to the air pressure, the operation power of the vacuum pump 51 is increased when the air pressure is smaller than a predetermined value, and the operation power of the vacuum pump 51 is decreased when the air pressure is larger than another predetermined value. In other embodiments, the air pressure sensor S may be disposed to communicate with the flow passage 21.

As shown in fig. 7 and 8, in order to prevent the air pressure sensor S from being influenced by the liquid and vapor (referring to tiny water drops floating in the air, not gaseous water molecules) in the connection tube 80 or the flow channel 21, in this embodiment, a waterproof member 85 is provided in the branch tube 84, the size of the waterproof member 85 is significantly larger than the inner diameter of the branch tube 84 to ensure complete coverage of the cross section, and the waterproof member 85 is embedded in the tube wall by insert molding (insert molding) process to ensure the liquid tightness of the connection portion of the waterproof member 85 and the branch tube 84. The branch pipe 84 including the waterproof member 85 is formed separately from the main body of the connection pipe 80 and then assembled to the main pipe of the connection pipe 80. In other embodiments, an adhesive may be used to bond the flashing 85 within the branch conduit 84.

In the present embodiment, use is made of

A thin film is used as the waterproof member 85,

the material has waterproof and breathable properties and is widely applied to the field of outdoor products. The change of the air pressure occurring in said connecting tube 80 by means of

The air permeability of the waterproof member 85 made of a thin film is transmitted between the waterproof member 85 and the air pressure sensor S, whereby the air pressure sensor S relatively directly senses the air pressure change in the connection pipe 80 without being affected by the liquid and the water vapor in the connection pipe 80.

In other embodiments, the material (e.g., polyethylene) of the waterproof member 85 is not only waterproof but also prevents gas molecules from penetrating, and the waterproof member 85 is thin and flexible to reduce its thickness and deform in response to the pressure difference between two sides of the waterproof member 85, that is, the waterproof member 85 has waterproof, airtight, light and thin properties and is flexible to deform, so that the waterproof member 85 blocks the gas on two sides from flowing into each other. When the air pressure on both sides of the waterproof member 85 is equal, the waterproof member 85 is not deformed and remains flat; when the air pressure in the connection pipe 80 is smaller than the air pressure between the waterproof member 85 and the air pressure sensor S, the waterproof member 85 protrudes and deforms toward the connection pipe 80, the space between the waterproof member 85 and the air pressure sensor S becomes larger, and the air pressure decreases, so that the air pressure sensor S indirectly detects the information that the air pressure decreases in the connection pipe 80; on the contrary, when the air pressure in the connection pipe 80 is greater than the air pressure between the waterproof member 85 and the air pressure sensor S, the waterproof member 85 protrudes toward the air pressure sensor S, the space between the waterproof member 85 and the air pressure sensor S is reduced, the air pressure rises, and the air pressure sensor S detects the air pressure.

As shown in fig. 1, the negative pressure source 50 further has a protective cover 52 covering the outer surface thereof, and the protective cover 52 may be made of leather or silicone, etc. to buffer the impact that the negative pressure source 50 may receive during use.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 1, the device further comprises a liquid collecting mechanism C in communication with the connecting tube 80, wherein the liquid collecting mechanism C comprises a liquid collecting bag for collecting saliva accidentally flowing into the connecting tube 80 through the absorbent member 20.

As shown in fig. 1, in this embodiment, the apparatus further includes two fixing mechanisms 90, one of the fixing mechanisms 90 is a clip, and is sleeved on the connecting tube 80, so that in practical use, a user can fix the clip on a reliable stationary object to avoid excessive deflection or winding of the longer connecting tube 80.

Another securing mechanism 90, as shown in FIG. 1, is a strap that is attached to the protective sleeve 52 or held between the protective sleeve 52 and the outer surface of the source of negative pressure 50 to encircle and bind the source of negative pressure 50 to the body of the user.

As shown in fig. 9, a second embodiment of the apparatus for improving sleep breathing obstruction of the present invention is different from the first embodiment mainly in that: a portion of the base 10 needs to enter the mouth of the user when the device is in use, and therefore the base 10 is held differently from the user's head and the connection tube 80 is prevented from becoming taut.

As shown in fig. 9 and 10, the base 10 also has a cylindrical portion 11 having the same structure and function as the cylindrical portion 11 in the first embodiment, the base 10 further has a flat portion 15 connected to the rear end of the cylindrical portion 11 and an inner expanded portion 16 connected to the rear end of the flat portion 15, and the passage 13 penetrates the cylindrical portion 11, the flat portion 15 and the inner expanded portion 16 in the front-rear direction. The flat part 15 is provided to be located between the upper lip L and the lower lip L of the user when the device is used, so that the size of the flat part 15 in the up-down direction is smaller than that in the left-right direction to fit the shape of the lips L of the user. As for the passage 13 and the flow passage 21 passing through the flat portion 15, in order to fit the shape of the flat portion 15, the dimension thereof in the up-down direction is also smaller than the dimension thereof in the left-right direction. The inner expansion 16 is arranged to be located between the teeth D and lips L of the user when the device is in use, and the whole base 10 is fixed relative to the user's head by catching the gap between the teeth D and lips L of the user. In order to adapt to the oral cavity structure between the teeth D and the lips L of the user, the inner extension portion 16 is bent and extended along the outer sides of the teeth D of the user to be substantially U-shaped, the inner extension portion 16 is also extended up and down relative to the flat portion 15 to be embedded between the gums and the lips L of the user, and both the upper edge and the lower edge of the inner extension portion 16 are concavely provided with a recess 161 to give way to the frenum of the lips of the user. In other embodiments, the inner expansion 16 is not required.

In addition, as shown in fig. 9, in the present embodiment, a disengageable mechanism 83 may be used in place of the expansion part 81 in the first embodiment. The detachable mechanism 83 is a tubular structure to connect the interrupted connecting pipe 80, and two ends of the detachable mechanism 83 are sleeved in the connecting pipe 80. When the connecting tube 80 is tightened due to the user changing the sleeping posture, and when the tension of the connecting tube 80 is greater than the holding force between the connecting tube 80 and the detachable mechanism 83, the connecting tube 80 and the detachable mechanism 83 are disconnected, so that the tightened connecting tube 80 can avoid excessively pulling the tongue T of the user.

Fig. 11 shows a third embodiment of the apparatus for improving sleep breathing obstruction of the present invention. The base 10 of which also requires access to the user's mouth when the device is in use. The base 10 is provided with an upper facing 17 and a lower facing 18 which are positioned at the rear of the flat part 15, the channel 13 is positioned between the upper facing 17 and the lower facing 18, the upper facing 17 and the lower facing 18 are respectively provided with a containing groove 170 and 180 which correspondingly contain the teeth D of a user so as to correspondingly contain the upper row of teeth D and the lower row of teeth D of the user, the base 10 utilizes the upper facing 17 and the lower facing 18 to mutually clamp the teeth D of the user, and the whole base 10 is fixed on the head of the user. In this embodiment, to improve the comfort of the user, the inner surfaces of the receiving slots 170 and 180 are covered with a flexible material, such as silicon, which contacts the teeth D of the user and is softer than the materials of the upper shell 17 and the lower shell 18. Since the teeth D of the user are surrounded by the mouthpiece, the second stopper 220 abuts at least one of the upper mouthpiece 17 and the lower mouthpiece 18 instead of directly abutting the teeth D of the user when the device is used, and in this embodiment, the second stopper 220 abuts the upper mouthpiece 17 and the lower mouthpiece 18.

As shown in figure 11, in this embodiment, the upper shell 17 and the lower shell 18 are generally aligned above and below for use by the average user. In another embodiment, in response to a user with severe symptoms of sleep respiratory obstruction, the lower shell 18 may be configured to project forward relative to the upper shell 17 such that the lower shell 18 pulls the user's lower jaw forward, thereby displacing the user's tongue T attached to the lower jaw forward away from the user's throat.

As shown in fig. 11, in this embodiment, the device does not have any adjusting member 40, the base 10 has an enlarged portion 19 located outside the lips L of the user, the enlarged portion 19 is disposed around the flow channel 21 and forms an annular cavity 191 therebetween, the annular cavity 191 extends forward through the base 10, the enlarged portion 19 has a stop surface 192 at the rear end of the annular cavity 191, the structure of the joint 24 in this embodiment is similar to the structure of the joint 24 and the second adjusting member 40b in the first embodiment, the joint 24 is also tubular, the middle portion of the joint has a protrusion 241 protruding in the radial direction, the outer edge of the protrusion 241 extends backward to partially cover the enlarged portion 19 and the elastic member 30, the elastic member 30 is accommodated in the annular cavity 191 and the protrusion 241 and is sleeved outside the flow channel 21, the rear end of the elastic member 30 abuts the stopping surface 192 rearward, and the front end of the elastic member 30 directly abuts the rear end of the protruding portion 241.

Fig. 12 to 15 show a fourth embodiment of the apparatus for improving sleep breathing obstruction of the present invention. The device comprises a base 10 for fixing with the head of the user, a suction member 20 for pulling the tongue T of the user forward, an elastic member 30, a first adjusting member 40a for adjusting the forward displacement of the tongue T of the user, and a negative pressure source (not shown).

As shown in fig. 13 and 14, the general structure of the adsorbing member 20 is also similar to that of the first embodiment, and therefore the same structure is not repeated. As shown in fig. 14, in the present embodiment, the outer diameter of the flow channel 21 is significantly smaller than the caliber of the channel 13, that is, the flow channel 21 does not fill the channel 13, and a certain gap is formed between the flow channel 21 and the base 10, so as to provide a certain movement space for the adsorbing member 20 in the vertical direction or the horizontal direction.

As shown in fig. 13, the flow channel 21 includes a front section 21a and a rear section 21b located behind the front section 21a, and the front section 21a has a size in the vertical direction larger than that in the left-right direction and is in a vertical belt shape to increase the flexibility of the flow channel 21 in the left-right direction; the rear section 21b is formed in a horizontal band shape whose vertical dimension is smaller than the horizontal dimension, so as to increase the vertical flexibility of the flow path 21. When the front section 21a is bent and deformed left and right, the flow passage 21 is bent and deformed left and right accordingly; when the rear section 21b is bent and deformed up and down, the flow passage 21 is bent and deformed up and down. The flow passage 21 thus has a function of deforming in both the left-right direction and the up-down direction due to the difference in shape of the front section 21a and the rear section 21 b. On the contrary, when the flow path 21 is bent left and right, left and right deformation is concentrated on the front section 21 a; when the flow path 21 is bent up and down, the up-and-down deformation is concentrated on the rear section 21 b. The tongue fixing portion 22 is connected to the rear end of the flow channel 21, that is, the tongue fixing portion 22 is connected to the rear section 21b, so that the tongue fixing portion 22 can move in other directions perpendicular to the front-rear direction by the bending deformation of the flow channel 21, such as up-down, left-right, and the like, thereby ensuring the flexibility of the tongue fixing portion 22 and the tongue T of the user. Of course, in other embodiments, the front section 21a may be configured to have a horizontal band shape with a size in the up-down direction smaller than that in the left-right direction, and the rear section 21b may be configured to have a vertical band shape with a size in the up-down direction larger than that in the left-right direction, so that the tongue fixing portion 22 can move in other directions perpendicular to the front-back direction.

As shown in fig. 14 and 15, in the present embodiment, the front end of the flow path 21, i.e., the front side of the front section 21a, is cylindrical, and the joint 24 is housed, and the flow path 21 and the joint 24 are screwed together. The front end of the joint 24 extends beyond the flow channel 21 and radially protrudes relative to the portion accommodated in the flow channel 21 to form the protruding portion 241, and the front end of the protruding portion 241 serves as a stopping portion defined as a third stopping portion 242 for stopping the first adjusting member 40 a. The joint 24 receives and fixes the connection pipe 80, the inside of the rear end of the joint 24 is provided with a step 243, and the step 243 protrudes from the pipe wall of the joint 24 to limit the sleeving amount between the step 243 and the connection pipe 80 and prevent the connection pipe 80 from being excessively assembled and penetrating through the joint 24. An adhesive receiving portion 244 is disposed at the front end of the connector 24, i.e., inside the protruding portion 241, and the aperture size of the adhesive receiving portion 244 is larger than the outer diameter size of the connection tube 80 to receive a certain amount of adhesive, so that the connector 24 and the connection tube 80 are further fixed. In other embodiments, the outer diameter of the connecting tube 80 may be larger than the diameter of the joint 24, so that the connecting tube 80 and the joint 24 are fixed by interference fit, and the adhesive receiving portion 244 has a function of guiding the connecting tube 80 to be abutted against the joint 24.

As shown in fig. 14 and 15, a portion of the joint 24 that is connected to the runner 21 by a screw is defined as a socket 245, in this embodiment, the socket 245 is received in the runner 21, and in other embodiments, the socket 245 may receive the runner 21. The sleeve 245 is sleeved on the periphery of the connection pipe 80. The radially outer side of the protrusion 241 is defined as a sliding portion 246, and the surface of the sliding portion 246 is smoothed to reduce the frictional force when it contacts the inner wall of the cylinder part 11.

As shown in fig. 13 and 14, the protection pad 23 has a fixing protrusion 233 protruding forward, the fixing protrusion 233 passes through the air inlet 223 and enters the rear section 21b, the shape of the fixing protrusion 233 matches the shape of the rear section 21b, two interference portions 234 are respectively disposed on the upper and lower surfaces of the fixing protrusion 233 to increase the holding force between the fixing protrusion 233 and the rear section 21b, in the present embodiment, the interference portions 234 are protruding strips extending forward and backward, and may be provided as protruding dots or other shapes. In other embodiments, the interference portion 234 may be disposed on the inner surface of the pipe wall of the rear section 21b, and the surface of the fixing protrusion 233 may be even provided with a groove matching with the interference portion 234 to enhance the fixing between the fixing protrusion 233 and the rear section 21 b.

As shown in fig. 12 to 14, in the present embodiment, the base 10 is substantially the same as the first embodiment, except that two additional soft pads 122 are provided on the inner side of the outer expansion portion 12, i.e., the side facing the face of the user, and the soft pads 122 are made of a breathable material, such as sponge, to improve comfort of the outer expansion portion 12 while being attached to the face of the user, and to prevent the skin of the face of the user from being blocked from being breathable by being pressed by the outer expansion portion 12. In addition, since the front section 21a, the elastic member 30, and the joint 24 are simultaneously accommodated in the passage 13, the cylindrical portion 11 and the passage 13 are longer in this embodiment than in the first embodiment.

As shown in fig. 14, the elastic element 30 is sleeved outside the front section 21a, a front end of the elastic element abuts against the rear of the protruding portion 241, a rear end of the elastic element abuts against a stop block 131 in the channel 13, in this embodiment, the stop block 131 is integrally formed with the base 10, and therefore, in this embodiment, the elastic force of the elastic element 30 directly acts on the base 10 and the adsorbing element 20. In other embodiments, the elastic member 30 may be fixed to the base 10 and the suction member 20 by rivets or pins, or adhesives. In addition, in the present embodiment, the spring-type elastic member 30 is closer to the inner wall surface of the passage 13 than the flow passage 21, so as to avoid interference with the flow passage 21 when the elastic member 30 is deformed in the non-axial direction.

As shown in fig. 13 and 14, in the present embodiment, a protector 25 is detachably provided on the base 10 by assembly. The protector 25 includes a collar 251, the collar 251 is fitted over the cylindrical portion 11, the protector 25 extends rearward through the outer expanding portion 12 and is located on both left and right sides of the rear section 21b, and the protector 25 has a thickness greater than that of the rear section 21b to prevent the user's teeth D from directly biting into the flow channel 21 to bite out the flow channel 21.

As shown in fig. 12 to 14, in the present embodiment, the first adjusting member 40a is in the shape of a cylindrical sleeve, which is sleeved outside the cylindrical portion 11 and is connected with the cylindrical portion 11 by a screw, and a user can rotate the first adjusting member 40a to move along the cylindrical portion 11. The outer circumferential surface of the first adjusting member 40a is provided with a line extending back and forth to increase the friction force thereof. The first adjuster 40a is provided with a plurality of communication holes 415 around the through-holes 414 in the baffle 411 at the front end thereof, and the through-holes 414 and the communication holes 415 communicate with the passage 13. Wherein the aperture of the through hole 414 is gradually enlarged from the rear to the front, providing a certain swing space for the connection pipe 80 passing through the through hole 414. And the communication hole 415 is used to discharge the gas or liquid introduced into the channel 13. The front end of the first adjusting member 40a is used as the blocking plate 411 and the third blocking portion 242 to block each other, so that the user can move the first adjusting member 40a forward and backward to change the front and back positions of the blocking portion between the first adjusting member 40a and the third blocking portion 242, thereby adjusting the front and back positions of the whole absorbing member 20 and the tongue T of the user. Specifically, the user moves the first adjusting member 40a forward, the compression spring as the elastic member 30 is released and extends forward, the joint 24 is pushed and the whole absorbing member 20 is moved forward, and the tongue T of the user also follows the absorbing member 20 and moves forward until the third stopping portion 242 abuts against the blocking plate 411 again. Conversely, if the user moves the first adjustment member 40a rearward, the amount of forward displacement of the user's tongue T can be reduced.

In the present embodiment, the predetermined position of the tongue fixing portion 22 is located behind the teeth D of the user, but for some users with severe symptoms, the predetermined position may not be enough to solve the collapse of the tongue T. For such users, they may increase the amount of forward displacement of their tongue T by moving first adjustment member 40a forward. Generally, good results are obtained when the front end of the user's tongue T is advanced beyond the user's teeth D. In order to prevent the protective member 25 from blocking the tongue fixing portion 22 from moving forward, the protective member 25 needs to be detached before adjustment is performed, and in order to prevent the teeth D of the user from biting the tongue fixing portion 22, such user needs to use the biting portion 60.

As shown in fig. 12 to 14, in the present embodiment, two occlusion parts 60 are provided, the two occlusion parts 60 are connected to each other by a connecting part 61, the connecting part 61 is sleeved on the periphery of the tongue fixing part 22, each edge of the occlusion part 60 facing the upper side and the lower side of the teeth D of the user is provided with two limiting ribs 62, and the two limiting ribs 62 are configured to be located on the inner side and the outer side of the teeth D of the user when in use, so as to limit the occlusion part 60 between the upper teeth D and the lower teeth D of the user.

Most of the components of the device including the adjusting member 40, the base 10, the joint 24 and the flow passage 21 may be made of a flexible material, and if the threads of the components are integrally formed by the flexible material, the conventional thread profile, such as a triangular thread or a trapezoidal thread, cannot provide sufficient bonding strength, i.e., the mating conventional thread is easily stripped due to the deformation of the profile. As shown in fig. 15, in order to solve the above problem, the screw thread between the first adjusting member 40a and the base 10 and the screw thread between the socket 245 and the flow passage 21 are each a specially shaped "reverse-hooked" screw thread ST, which is characterized in that the width of the crest is greater than the width of the root in the axial direction of the screw thread. In the present embodiment, the profile of the reverse hooking thread ST is a "dovetail" shape, or an inverted trapezoid shape opposite to the conventional trapezoidal thread. In the dovetail-shaped reverse hook thread ST, the width of the thread form thereof gradually increases from the root to the crest in the axial direction of the thread, and the crest of the external thread and the crest of the internal thread are partially overlapped in the radial direction, that is, the crest of the external thread and the crest of the internal thread are mutually limited in the radial direction, thereby preventing the crests from being separated from the root of the thread engaged therewith. Therefore, the arrangement can prevent the sliding teeth between the two pairs of threads made of flexible materials from being separated. Of course, the thread form of the reverse hook thread ST is not limited thereto, and for example, the thread form may be T-shaped.

The flexible flow channel 21 and the flexible joint 24 can be assembled with each other by an automated mechanical device (not shown), in this embodiment, the flow channel 21 is sleeved outside the joint 24, in order to facilitate the mechanical device to position the flow channel 21 and fix the flow channel 21 when the flow channel 21 is assembled with the joint 24, as shown in fig. 13 and 15, the front end of the flow channel 21 has a plurality of protrusions 213 protruding radially on the outer surface thereof, and each protrusion 213 extends in the front-back direction to be matched with the mechanical device. In the embodiment where the flow channel 21 is sleeved in the connector 24, the protrusion 213 may be disposed on the outer surface of the connector 24.

Fig. 16 shows a fifth embodiment of the apparatus for improving sleep breathing obstruction of the present invention. It includes a base 10 for fitting with the head of the user, an absorbing member 20 for absorbing the tongue T of the user, a driving mechanism for simultaneously engaging the base 10 and the absorbing member 20, a first adjusting member 40a for adjusting the forward moving distance of the tongue T of the user, and a negative pressure source 50 for providing a negative pressure to the absorbing member 20 to absorb the tongue T of the user. Wherein the driving mechanism is an elastic member 30 of a spring. A respiration sensor 70 is assembled to the base 10. In this embodiment, the negative pressure source 50, the connecting tube 80 and the fixing mechanism 90 are the same as those of the first embodiment, and reference may be made to the first embodiment, which is not repeated herein.

As shown in fig. 17 and 20, the base 10 has a cylindrical portion 11, an outwardly expanded portion 12 connected to the rear of the cylindrical portion 11, and a passage 13 penetrating the cylindrical portion 11 and the outwardly expanded portion 12 in the front-rear direction, the cylindrical portion 11 being formed to protrude forward relative to the outwardly expanded portion 12. In this embodiment, the main body 120 of the outer expanding portion 12 is provided with a plurality of horizontally elongated mesh holes 121 parallel to each other, and the respiration sensor 70 is fixed to the outer expanding portion 12 through the mesh holes 121.

As shown in fig. 17 and 18, in the present embodiment, the entire outward expansion portion 12 is reduced as compared with the previous embodiments, and covers only the lips of the user and the peripheral region adjacent thereto. A plurality of the cushions 122 are fixed to the inner side of the outer expanding portion 12, i.e., the side facing the user. The upper end edge of the outer extension 12 has a recess 123 formed therein and recessed downward for providing a relief for the nose of a user. Two of the cushions 122 are positioned on the left and right sides of the recess 123 for contacting the skin of the user over the upper lips; another cushion 122 is located at the lower end of the outer expanded portion 12 for contacting the skin of the user beneath the lower lip.

As shown in fig. 18 and 19, each of the soft pads 122 includes a plurality of fingers 1221 protruding toward the face of the user, and the left and right sides of each of the fingers 1221 are perforated to form a hollow space, so that the fingers 1221 can be deformed by the hollow space and the flexibility of the fingers 1221, after contacting the face of the user, that is, the ends of the fingers 1221 are contracted toward the outer expanding portion 12 and the upper and lower sides of the fingers 1221 are expanded to absorb the pressure of the outer expanding portion 12 against the face of the user. Be located same a plurality of cushion 122 finger portion 1221 interval is arranged, from main part 120 is to user's face's direction, each the width gradually contracts about the finger portion 1221, correspondingly, adjacent two the width gradually increases about the interval between the finger portion 1221, so set up, makes a plurality of finger portion 1221 can comply with the radian of outer extension 12 and user's face. As shown in fig. 17 and 18, four corners of the outer side of the outer expansion part 12 are provided with four mounds 124, and the mounds 124 protrude from the outer surface of the main body 120 of the outer expansion part 12. Each pier 124 comprises a top portion 1241 and a handle portion 1242, the handle portion 1242 is connected to the outer surface of the main body 120 of the outer expansion portion 12, the top portion 1241 protrudes relative to the handle portion 1242, a slot (not shown) is formed between the top portion 1241 and the outer surface of the outer expansion portion 12 for cooperating with the fixing attachment 14, and the fixing attachment 14 is provided with a buckle 141 which is fastened to the handle portion 1242 and can rotate around the handle portion 1242. The top portion 1241 and the clasp 141 are stopped to limit the detachment of the attachment element 14 from the outer extension 12.

For most users, the collapsed position of the tongue and the maximum position that can be achieved by stretching the tongue do not coincide, and there is a space between them that can be used to relieve symptoms by simply removing the tongue from the collapsed position, however, the comfortable position of the tongue that each user can accept may not be the same in the aforementioned space, and therefore the device is provided with a first adjustment member 40a for the user to adjust itself.

As shown in fig. 19 and 20, the cylindrical portion 11 of the base 10 projects forward from the outer surface of the outer expanding portion 12, and the passage 13 penetrates the cylindrical portion 11 and the outer expanding portion 12 in the front-rear direction. In this embodiment, the cylindrical portion 11 has internal threads directly exposed to the passage 13 thereof, and the first adjustment member 40a includes a screw portion 416, also cylindrical, having an external thread on its outer periphery, received within the cylindrical portion 11 and engaged with the internal threads of the cylindrical portion 11. The front end of the screw part 416 is covered with an operating cover 417, the screw part 416 and the operating cover 417 are fixed by a screw 418, the outer circumference of the operating cover 417 has a stripe protruding in the front-rear direction to increase the friction force, and the user can manually twist the operating cover 417 to rotate the whole first adjusting member 40 a. In order to prevent the first adjustment member 40a from being excessively screwed into the cylindrical portion 11, the diameter of the operation cover 417 is larger than the inner diameter of the cylindrical portion 11, and the rear end of the operation cover 417 and the front end of the cylindrical portion 11 can be stopped from each other to form a limit.

As shown in fig. 19 and 20, in the present embodiment, the screw 418 penetrates into the operating cover 417 and the screw portion 416 at the same time, and as a transmission mechanism for the operating cover 417 to rotate the screw portion 416, a portion of the screw portion 416 corresponding to the screw 418 protrudes radially relative to other portions to form a positioning block 4161, which is matched with a positioning groove (not shown) of the operating cover 417, so as to facilitate alignment between the mounting holes of the screw 418 on the screw portion 416 and the operating cover 417. In addition, similarly to the fourth embodiment, the front end of the first adjusting member 40a is also provided with the through-hole 414 and the communication hole 415, and in this embodiment, the through-hole 414 and the communication hole 415 are provided in the operating cover 417.

As shown in fig. 19 and 20, the front end of the flow passage 21, the joint 24, the elastic member 30, and a portion of the connection pipe 80 are accommodated in the first adjustment member 40a, and the connection relationship among the flow passage 21, the joint 24, and the connection pipe 80 is referred to the fourth embodiment. In this embodiment, the rear end of the screw portion 416 is provided with a hook portion 419 protruding toward the axis thereof, the elastic member 30 is also a compressed spring, the rear end thereof abuts against the hook portion 419, the front end thereof is fixed to the joint 24, and the joint 24 is pushed to the front end of the first adjusting member 40a by providing an elastic force. As shown in fig. 20 and 21, when the user rotates the first adjusting member 40a to move forward and backward relative to the base 10, the rear end of the elastic member 30 directly follows the first adjusting member 40a to move forward and backward due to the contact with the hook portion 419, the front end of the elastic member 30 is linked with the rear end thereof, and the joint 24 drives the whole absorbing member 20 to move forward and backward along with the first adjusting member 40a, so as to adjust the forward and backward position of the tongue of the user. Since the two ends of the elastic member 30 simultaneously move in the same direction with the first adjusting member 40a for the same distance, that is, the amount of expansion and contraction of the elastic member 30 does not change with the movement of the first adjusting member 40a, the elastic force of the elastic member 30 does not change with the movement of the first adjusting member 40a, and the elastic force is transmitted to the tongue of the user through the suction member 20 as the traction force for pulling the tongue of the user forward, in this embodiment, the traction force applied to the tongue of the user remains stable, thereby avoiding the relaxation of traction on the tongue during the adjustment of the position of the tongue, and being beneficial to keeping the tongue of the user in the non-collapsed position.

As shown in fig. 22, the joint 24 is formed by assembling a coupling portion 245 and a sliding portion 246, which are formed separately, with each other. The sliding portion 246 is accommodated in the first adjuster 40a, the front end of the elastic member 30 is accommodated and fixed in the sliding portion 246, the front end of the sliding portion 246 serves as the third blocking portion 242 and is blocked by the operating cover 417 of the first adjuster 40a, one end of the sleeve portion 245 is detachably accommodated in the sliding portion 246 and is sleeved with the connection pipe 80, and the other end of the sleeve portion 245 is sleeved and fixed in the flow passage 21. In this embodiment, the sleeve 245 and the sliding portion 246 and the sleeve 245 and the runner 21 are connected to each other by threads, but the threads between the sleeve 245 and the sliding portion 246 are triangular threads with a larger pitch, and the threads between the sleeve 245 and the runner 21 are rectangular threads with a smaller pitch, so that the former is easier to assemble and disassemble with respect to the latter. Preferably, the size of the opening of the screw portion 416 at the hook portion 419 is greater than or equal to the maximum size of the front end of the flow channel 21 accommodated in the first adjuster 40a, so that after the sleeve portion 245 is separated from the sliding portion 246, the sliding portion 246 is left in the first adjuster 40a, the sleeve portion 245 and the flow channel 21 are withdrawn from the rear end (i.e., the end close to the user) of the first adjuster 40a, and the user can replace the other suction members 20 except the sliding portion 246 by using the screw thread between the sleeve portion 245 and the sliding portion 246, so that the user can purchase corresponding consumables to self-maintain the device. The flow passage 21 and the sleeve 245 can have sufficient elasticity, and the size of the flow passage 21 and the sleeve 245 is slightly larger than the size of the opening at the hook 419, so that the flow passage 21 and the sleeve 245 can pass through the opening at the hook 419 by virtue of the deformation of the flow passage 21 and the sleeve 245. In other embodiments, the sliding portion 246 can directly abut against the front end of the elastic member 30, and the sliding portion 246 can serve as a second adjusting member to adjust the amount of expansion and contraction of the elastic member 30.

As shown in fig. 23 and 24, in the present embodiment, the micro flow channel 226 may be formed by drilling a hole by the laser R from the inner surface of the tongue fixing portion 22 (i.e., the laser R is injected from the receiving space 221), so as to form a plurality of micro flow channels 226 with the same dense aperture size, the plurality of micro flow channels 226 are arranged in multiple rows, each row is arranged in multiple numbers, and each micro flow channel 226 has a diameter of 0.5mm and a uniform aperture, extends straight, and is disposed obliquely with respect to the flow channel 21. In order to avoid the laser R from burning excessively to damage the absorption member 20, a shielding member P is disposed in the flow passage 21 to block the laser R from passing through the flow passage 21, and it should be noted that the surface of the shielding member P should be treated to be non-reflective to the laser R.

The remaining structure of the fifth embodiment is substantially the same as that of the fourth embodiment, and is not described again.

In the foregoing embodiments, the elastic member 30 is used as the driving mechanism. In other embodiments, the driving mechanism may be in the form of a pneumatic cylinder, and the negative pressure maintained by the driving mechanism not only directly acts on the user's tongue T to fix the user's tongue T to the suction member 20, but also acts on the whole suction member 20, and the negative pressure continuously pulls the whole suction member 20 forward, and further pulls the user's tongue T outward to prevent the user's tongue T from collapsing. In other embodiments, instead of using the elastic force of the elastic member 30 or the pneumatic cylinder to maintain the negative pressure, the tongue T of the user may be pulled by using a magnetic force, for example, using a solenoid valve.

Referring to fig. 25, a sixth embodiment of the device for improving sleep breathing obstruction of the present invention is provided, in which the driving mechanism is similar to the first embodiment, and the elastic member 30 is used to drive the tongue T of the user to stretch outwards, but the mechanism for fixing the tongue T of the user is different from the previous embodiments. The base 10 of this embodiment also has the channel 13, a connecting rod 21A passes through the channel 13, a clamp 22A as a tongue fixing portion connected to the rear end of the connecting rod 21A, a front cover 23A connected to the front end of the connecting rod 21A, the elastic member 30 is a compression spring sleeved outside the connecting rod 21A, the rear end of the elastic member 30 abuts against the base 10, and the front end abuts against the front cover 23A. The clamp 22A, the connecting rod 21A and the front cover 23A serve as a tongue traction member 20A, wherein the front cover 23A receives the forward elastic force of the elastic member 30, the connecting rod 21A transmits the elastic force to the clamp 22A, so that the clamp 22A moves forward relative to the base 10, and thus the clamp 22A clamps the upper and lower sides of the tongue T of the user in the oral cavity of the user to fix the tongue T, and finally, the tongue T of the user is pulled outward. In the present embodiment, the front end of the holding portion 221A of the clamp 22A has two second stopping portions 220, which stop the teeth D of the user.

As shown in fig. 26 to 29, a seventh embodiment of the device for improving sleep breathing obstruction of the present invention includes a base 10, a tongue pulling member 20B movably passing through the base 10, a first adjusting member 40a connected to the base 10, a second adjusting member 40B connected to the tongue pulling member 20B, and an elastic member 30 disposed between the first adjusting member 40a and the second adjusting member 40B, wherein the elastic member 30 is used as a driving mechanism for providing a forward elastic force to the second adjusting member 40B to drive the tongue pulling member 20B to move forward relative to the base 10. The tongue retractor 20B has a flow channel 21 extending forward and backward, and a tongue fixing portion 22B connected to the flow channel 21, the flow channel 21 passes through a channel 13 of the base 10, and the tongue fixing portion 22B enters the oral cavity of the user to fix the tongue T of the user in use.

As shown in fig. 27 and 28, the outer surface of the flow passage 21 has the first stopping portion 211, which can limit the position of the first adjusting member 40a in the front-back direction, so as to limit the outward (i.e., forward) displacement of the tongue fixing portion 22B. The rear end of the flow channel 21 has a soft part 212, the wall of which is thinner than the rest of the flow channel 21, so that the soft part 212 is softer than the rest of the flow channel 21, allowing a certain degree of deformation. The tongue fixing portion 22B has two hollow clamping portions 221B, each of the clamping portions 221B is malleable and is communicated with the flow passage 21 through the flexible portion 212, the two clamping portions 221B are oppositely disposed up and down, and when the device is used, the two clamping portions 221B are correspondingly attached to the upper surface and the lower surface of the tongue T of a user. The surface of each clamping portion 221B that is attached to the tongue T of the user has a plurality of ribs 222B, and the ribs 222B extend in the left-right direction to increase the friction between the clamping portion 221B and the tongue T of the user. The tongue fixing portion 22B further has a restraining cover 223B, and the restraining cover 223B has elasticity to accommodate the two clamping portions 221B and the tongue T of the user at the same time when in use, so as to prevent the clamping portions 221B from separating from the tongue T of the user. In this embodiment, the rear edges of the holding portion 221B and the restraining cover 223B are both recessed with an opening 224B to accommodate the user's tongue frenulum.

As shown in fig. 28 and 29, when the device is used, the user's tongue T enters the restraining cap 223B and is located between the two holding portions 221B, in this embodiment, the holding portions 221B communicate with an inflator (not shown) through the flow passage 21, the holding portions 221B expand due to the inflation and apply pressure to the user's tongue T, so that the user's tongue T is held between the two expanded holding portions 221B, and therefore, when the elastic member 30 drives the tongue pulling member 20B forward, the tongue fixing portion 22B pulls the user's tongue T forward, thereby preventing the user's tongue T from collapsing. In other embodiments, the clamping portion 221B may be inflated by charging it with liquid.

In the sixth and seventh embodiments, the driving force provided by the driving mechanism 30 is smaller than the pulling force of the

tongue pulling member

20A, 20B on the tongue T of the user and smaller than the pulling force of the tongue T of the user during the movement thereof.

The device for improving the sleep breathing obstruction has the following beneficial effects:

(1) because the absorption piece 20 or the

tongue traction pieces

20A and 20B are provided with the stopping parts, the device can prevent the tongue T of the user from collapsing and can not pull the tongue T of the user out of the lips L of the user, so that the discomfort of the user caused by excessively pulling the tongue T of the user is avoided.

(2) The device allows the user to properly move his or her tongue T, for example, backward to assist in swallowing saliva, while preventing the user's tongue T from collapsing, and thus prevents the saliva from accumulating, and automatically restores the user's tongue T to the non-collapsed position by means of the elastic force of the elastic member 30, or the negative pressure in the pneumatic cylinder, or the mutually attractive magnetic force, when the user completes the movement of his or her tongue T.

(3) In some embodiments, the first adjustment member 40a and the second adjustment member 40b can facilitate the user to adjust the amount of the elastic force provided by the elastic member 30, and thus the pulling force applied to the tongue portion T.

(4) In some embodiments, the microfluidic channel 226 and the protective pad 23 can distribute the suction force of the negative pressure to the tongue T of the user, avoiding discomfort to the user.

(5) In some embodiments, the outer expanding portion 12 has a plurality of the mesh openings 121, which prevents the outer expanding portion 12 from sealing the mouth of the user, thereby facilitating breathing in the mouth of a user who has difficulty breathing in his nasal cavity, such as a patient with nasal obstruction.

(6) In some embodiments, the biting part 60 is disposed between the upper and lower teeth D of the user, and the hardness of the biting part 60 is greater than that of the absorption member 20, so as to prevent the absorption member 20 and the tongue T of the user fixed to the absorption member 20 from biting the tongue T thereof by excessive biting force.

(7) In some embodiments, when the user rotates the first adjusting member 40a to move the first adjusting member forward and backward relative to the base 10, the rear end of the elastic member 30 directly follows the first adjusting member 40a to move forward and backward due to the contact with the hook portion 419, the front end of the elastic member 30 is linked with the rear end thereof, and the joint 24 drives the whole absorbing member 20 to move forward and backward along with the first adjusting member 40a, so as to adjust the forward and backward position of the tongue of the user. Since the two ends of the elastic member 30 simultaneously move in the same direction with the first adjusting member 40a for the same distance, that is, the amount of expansion and contraction of the elastic member 30 does not change with the movement of the first adjusting member 40a, the elastic force of the elastic member 30 does not change with the movement of the first adjusting member 40a, and the elastic force is transmitted to the tongue of the user through the suction member 20 as the traction force for pulling the tongue of the user forward, in this embodiment, the traction force applied to the tongue T of the user remains stable, thereby avoiding the loosening of the traction on the tongue T during the adjustment of the position of the tongue T, and being beneficial to maintaining the tongue T of the user in the non-collapsed position.

The above detailed description is only for the purpose of illustrating the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and not for the purpose of limiting the scope of the present invention, therefore, all technical changes that can be made by applying the present specification and drawings are included in the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction, comprising:

a base, which is matched and fixed with the head of a user, wherein the base is provided with a channel;

the suction piece is provided with a flow passage which extends into the oral cavity of a user through the channel and can perform relative displacement in the channel, the flow passage is connected with a tongue fixing part which is arranged at the front end of the tongue of the user, and the suction piece is provided with a stopping part which is used for limiting the forward displacement of the tongue fixing part;

the elastic piece is used for providing elastic force for the tongue fixing part to approach the base, and the elastic force is smaller than the adsorption force between the adsorption piece and the tongue of the user and is also smaller than the pulling force of the tongue of the user during the movement of the tongue fixing part;

and the negative pressure source is communicated with the flow channel and provides negative pressure for the tongue of the user contacted with the tongue fixing part.

2. The apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction of claim 1, wherein: the flow channel is used for being located between the upper lip and the lower lip of a user, and the size of the flow channel in the vertical direction is smaller than that of the flow channel in the left-right direction.

3. The apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction of claim 1, wherein: the tongue fixing part is provided with a plurality of micro-flow passages, and the micro-flow passages are communicated with the flow channel and penetrate through the inner surface of the tongue fixing part.

4. The apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction of claim 3, wherein: the micro-flow passage is obliquely arranged relative to the flow passage and is formed by drilling holes in the inner surface of the tongue fixing part by laser.

5. The apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction of claim 1, wherein: the tongue fixing part is provided with an air suction port, the air suction port is positioned on the inner surface of the tongue fixing part and faces the tongue of a user, the air suction port is communicated with the flow channel, negative pressure acts on the front end of the tongue of the user through the air suction port, and at least part of the tongue of the user is attached to the inner surface of the tongue fixing part.

6. The apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction of claim 1, wherein: the tongue fixing part is provided with a protection pad, the protection pad is positioned on the inner side of the tongue fixing part and faces the tongue of a user, and the protection pad is provided with a plurality of through holes so as to disperse the suction force of the negative pressure source to the tongue of the user.

7. The apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction of claim 6, wherein: the front end of the protection pad is convexly provided with a fixed convex part, and the fixed convex part enters the flow channel and is fixed with the flow channel.

8. The apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction of claim 1, wherein: the tongue fixing part is provided with an accommodating space communicated with the flow channel so as to at least partially accommodate the tongue of the user from the front end of the tongue of the user when in use.

9. The apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction of claim 8, wherein: the tongue fixing part is provided with a notch formed by sinking forwards from the rear end of the tongue fixing part so as to provide the frenulum of the tongue of a user.

10. The apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction of claim 9, wherein: the tongue fixing part comprises two notches, and the two notches are located on the upper side and the lower side of the tongue fixing part.

11. The apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction of claim 1, wherein: the elastic member directly or indirectly applies an opposite elastic force in the front-rear direction to the base and the suction member.

12. The apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction of claim 1, wherein: the adsorption part comprises a joint which is communicated with the flow channel and the negative pressure source, one end of the elastic part applies force to the base, and one end of the elastic part applies force to the joint.

13. The apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction of claim 12, wherein: at least part of the joint, the elastic piece and the flow passage are simultaneously accommodated in the passage.

14. The apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction of claim 13, wherein: the elastic piece is sleeved outside the flow channel, and the elastic piece is closer to the base relative to the flow channel so as to avoid the interference of the elastic piece with the flow channel.

15. The apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction of claim 12, wherein: the connector is connected with the flow passage through threads.

16. The apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction of claim 12, wherein: the flow channel has at least one projection projecting radially from its outer surface for mating with a mechanical device that assembles the flow channel and the fitting.

17. The apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction of claim 12, wherein: the stopping part is arranged on the joint.

18. The apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction of claim 12, wherein: the joint is communicated with the negative pressure source through a connecting pipe, and the joint is provided with a step part to limit the sleeving amount between the joint and the connecting pipe.

19. The apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction of claim 18, wherein: the connector accommodates the connecting pipe, the inner surface of the connector is provided with an adhesive accommodating part, and the caliber size of the adhesive accommodating part is larger than the outer diameter size of the connecting pipe.

20. The apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction of claim 12, wherein: the joint comprises a sleeving part and a sliding part, the sliding part is contained in the channel, and the sleeving part is detachably connected with the sliding part and is fixed with the flow channel.

21. The apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction of claim 1, wherein: the base comprises an outer expanding part, wherein the outer expanding part is positioned outside the oral cavity of a user and has a size larger than that of the mouth of the user.

22. The apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction of claim 21, wherein: the outer expanding portion has a plurality of mesh holes penetrating an outer surface and an inner surface of the outer expanding portion.

23. The apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction of claim 21, wherein: the outer expanding portion is used for abutting the face area outside the lips of the user, and comprises a main body covering the face of the user and a cushion assembled on the outer expanding portion, wherein the cushion is located between the main body and the face of the user when in use, part of the cushion is located above the upper lip of the user, and part of the cushion is located below the lower lip and can elastically stretch and retract relative to the main body.

24. The apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction of claim 1, wherein: the adjusting part is connected to the base, one end of the elastic part is jointed with the adjusting part, the other end of the elastic part is jointed with the adsorption part, and the adjusting part can move back and forth relative to the base to adjust the expansion amount of the elastic part and the forward displacement of the adsorption part.

25. The apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction of claim 24, wherein: the adjusting part comprises a baffle and a containing groove located behind the baffle, the containing groove penetrates through the adjusting part backwards, the flow channel penetrates through the baffle, the inner surface of the containing groove is provided with an internal thread, and the outer surface of the front end of the base is provided with an external thread to be in threaded connection with the internal thread of the containing groove.

26. The apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction of claim 25, wherein: the adjusting piece further comprises an accommodating cavity located in front of the baffle, and the accommodating cavity accommodates the elastic piece.

27. The apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction of claim 25, wherein: the stopping part is arranged on the outer surface of the flow channel and limited by the baffle plate so as to limit the forward displacement of the tongue fixing part.

28. The apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction of claim 1, wherein: the device further comprises an adjusting piece located outside the oral cavity of the user, the adjusting piece is connected to the base and can move back and forth relative to the base, and the stopping portion is arranged on the outer surface of the adsorbing piece and limited by the adjusting piece and used for limiting the forward displacement of the tongue fixing portion.

29. The apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction of claim 28, wherein: the elastic piece is contained in the adjusting piece, one end of the elastic piece is connected to the adjusting piece, the other end of the elastic piece is fixed to the adsorption piece, and the stretching amount of the elastic piece is kept unchanged in the process that the adjusting piece moves back and forth relative to the base.

30. The apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction of claim 29, wherein: the adjusting piece comprises a screw rod part accommodated in the channel, the screw rod part penetrates through the channel front and back to accommodate the elastic piece and part of the adsorption piece, the rear end of the elastic piece applies force to the rear end of the screw rod part, the adjusting piece further comprises an operation cover fixed at the front end of the screw rod part, and the stopping part and the operation cover block each other.

31. The apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction of claim 29, wherein: the adsorption piece comprises a joint, the joint is communicated with the flow channel and the negative pressure source, the joint comprises a sleeving part and a sliding part connected to the front end of the sleeving part, the sleeving part is in threaded connection with the flow channel, and the sliding part is fixed with the front end of the elastic piece.

32. The apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction of claim 28, wherein: the flow channel is communicated with the negative pressure source through a connecting pipe, the adjusting piece is provided with a through hole communicated with the channel, and the connecting pipe penetrates through the through hole.

33. The apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction of claim 28, wherein: the front end of the adjusting piece is also provided with a plurality of communication holes communicated with the channel and used for discharging the fluid entering the channel.

34. The apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction of claim 28, wherein: the adjusting piece and the base are connected with each other through reverse hook threads, and at least one of the adjusting piece and the base is made of a flexible material.

35. The apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction of claim 1, wherein: the device also comprises an adjusting piece positioned outside the oral cavity of the user, the adjusting piece is connected with the adsorption piece, one end of the elastic piece is jointed with the adjusting piece, the other end of the elastic piece is jointed with the base, and the adjusting piece can move back and forth relative to the adsorption piece so as to adjust the expansion amount of the elastic piece.

36. The apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction of claim 1, wherein: the device also comprises a first adjusting piece and a second adjusting piece which are positioned outside the oral cavity of a user, wherein the first adjusting piece is connected with the base and can move back and forth relative to the base, the second adjusting piece is connected with the adsorption piece and can move back and forth relative to the adsorption piece, one end of the elastic piece is connected with the first adjusting piece backwards, the other end of the elastic piece is connected with the second adjusting piece forwards, and the first adjusting piece and the second adjusting piece are used for adjusting the expansion amount of the elastic piece together.

37. The apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction of claim 1, wherein: the base comprises an inner expanding part arranged between teeth and lips of a user, the inner expanding part is approximately U-shaped to conform to the oral cavity structure of the user, and at least one of the upper edge and the lower edge of the inner expanding part is concavely provided with a recess so as to allow the frenum of the lip of the user.

38. The apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction of claim 1, wherein: the base comprises at least one tooth socket.

39. The apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction of claim 38, wherein: the base comprises an upper facing and a lower facing, the channel is located between the upper facing and the lower facing, and the lower facing is generally aligned with the upper facing up and down; or the lower tooth socket protrudes forwards relative to the upper tooth socket, and the lower jaw of the user is pulled forwards by the lower tooth socket.

40. The apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction of claim 1, wherein: the device also comprises an occlusion part which is positioned at the outer side of the tongue fixing part and is arranged between the upper teeth and the lower teeth of a user when in use, so that the user can occlude the occlusion part, and the front end of the tongue fixing part exceeds the teeth of the user forwards, thereby increasing the forward displacement of the tongue fixing part.

41. The apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction of claim 1, wherein: the tongue fixing part can move towards other directions vertical to the front and back directions.

42. The apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction of claim 1, wherein: the source of negative pressure is connected to the flow passage by a connecting tube having a disengageable mechanism closer to the flow passage than the source of negative pressure, the connecting tube being disconnected at the disengageable mechanism when the connecting tube is tightened.

43. The apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction of claim 1, wherein: the device also comprises a fixing mechanism which is arranged on the negative pressure source so as to fix the negative pressure source with the body of a user or other static objects except the device.

44. The apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction of claim 1, wherein: the cross-sectional area of the caliber of the flow channel is reduced at the position close to the tongue of the user, so that the tongue of the user is prevented from entering the caliber of the flow channel due to suction.

45. The apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction of claim 1, wherein: the negative pressure source is connected with the flow channel through a connecting pipe, the device further comprises an air pressure sensor, the air pressure sensor is communicated with the connecting pipe or the flow channel and detects air pressure in the connecting pipe or the flow channel, and a breathable waterproof piece is arranged between the air pressure sensor and the connecting pipe or the flow channel.

46. An apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction, comprising:

a base, which is matched and fixed with the head of a user, and is provided with a channel;

the tongue traction piece enters the oral cavity of a user through the channel and can perform relative displacement in the channel, the tongue traction piece is connected with a tongue fixing part, the tongue fixing part is used for being fixed with the front end of the tongue of the user, and the tongue traction piece is provided with a stopping part for limiting the outward displacement of the tongue fixing part;

the driving mechanism is used for driving the tongue fixing part to approach the base, and the driving force provided by the driving mechanism is smaller than the traction force of the tongue traction piece acting on the tongue of the user and smaller than the pulling force of the tongue of the user during the movement of the tongue traction piece.

47. The apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction of claim 46, wherein: the tongue fixing part is provided with at least one expandable clamping part, the tongue traction piece is provided with a flow passage, the clamping part is communicated with an inflator pump or a liquid filling pump through the flow passage, and when the device is used, the clamping part expands and is attached to the tongue of a user due to inflation or liquid filling.

48. The apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction of claim 46, wherein: the tongue fixing part is provided with a restraining cover which is used for accommodating the clamping part and the tongue of the user at the same time.

49. The apparatus for improving sleep respiratory obstruction of claim 46, wherein: the driving mechanism comprises a pneumatic cylinder, an electromagnetic valve, an elastic piece or the combination of any two of the three.

50. A device for improving sleep breathing obstruction applied to a user's head, comprising:

the suction piece is provided with a hollow flow channel, the flow channel extends through the channel and enters the oral cavity of a user and can perform relative displacement in the channel, the flow channel is connected with a tongue fixing part, the tongue fixing part is in a cup shape which is attached to the tongue of the user, an accommodating space communicated with the flow channel is formed so as to accommodate the tongue of the user in a surrounding manner, and the suction piece is also provided with a stopping part which is positioned outside the oral cavity and used for limiting the forward displacement of the tongue fixing part;

the tongue fixing part is configured to be adsorbed at the front end of the tongue part by using negative pressure during use, and surrounds and adheres to the cross section contour of the tongue part of a user to form a seal, so that the negative pressure only acts on the tongue part of the user; the tongue fixing part is also configured to move freely along with the tongue of the user in the oral cavity when in use, and when the tongue is relaxed, the tongue fixing part drives the tongue of the user to move forwards until the stopping part is stopped;