KR102562986B1 - Exercise equipment for strengthening upper airway muscle funtion - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention, according to the shape of the oral cavity inside the oral cavity is formed in a convex curved surface shape upward, the body formed so that the upper surface is in contact with the hard palate; It is possible to provide an upper airway muscle function strengthening exercise mechanism including; and a plate-shaped tooth plate that protrudes outward from the lower end of the front portion of the body and can be positioned between the lower teeth and the upper teeth.

Description

Upper airway muscle function strengthening exercise equipment {EXERCISE EQUIPMENT FOR STRENGTHENING UPPER AIRWAY MUSCLE FUNTION}

The present invention relates to an upper airway muscle function strengthening exercise device.

Sleep apnea is a phenomenon in which breathing stops during sleep. Clinically, it refers to a sleep disorder in which there is no breathing for more than 10 seconds during sleep more than 5 times per hour or more than 30 times per 7 hours. According to previous studies, about 2-4% of middle-aged adults have symptoms of sleep apnea, which is similar to the prevalence of asthma and diabetes. In the case of the United States, 20% of the adult population shows symptoms of snoring, and about 50% of them show symptoms of sleep apnea. Sleep apnea can cause several complications. Specifically, such sleep apnea can cause cardiovascular complications such as excessive daytime sleepiness, poor concentration, decrease in oxygen saturation in arterial blood (O2saturation) and hyperactivity of the sympathetic nervous system, such as hypertension, arrhythmia, stroke, and myocardial infarction. It is known to cause heart attack and sudden death.

In particular, obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is the most common form of sleep apnea and has various causes such as enlarged tonsils, enlarged adenoids, size and functional abnormalities of the soft palate and tongue.

Obstructive sleep apnea is a disease that causes complications such as high blood pressure, heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, and diabetes with a high frequency, and shows a prevalence of about 70% in snoring patients. Obstructive sleep apnea is rare in other mammals in its natural state. One of the reasons for this is that humans have to use various consonants and vowels as a language necessity during the evolutionary process, so a resonant cavity that can make various combinations is needed, and the relative length from the soft palate to the vocal cords is long. This area is not supported by the surrounding skeleton and is surrounded by soft tissues such as the soft tissue such as the soft palate, tongue, and palate, so it is easily narrowed, and when partial blockage occurs due to obesity or enlarged tonsils, especially during inspiration during sleep Since the activity of the muscles of the palate, which widens the airway, is much lower than at the time of awakening, there is a problem that the upper airway is further narrowed and blocked.

Republic of Korea Patent Publication No. 10-2012-0040329 (2012.04.27.)

The present invention is to provide an upper airway muscle function strengthening exercise device capable of preventing muscle relaxation through target muscle strength exercise in obstructive sleep apnea, which occurs as a result of muscle relaxation of the palate, tongue, and neck.

In addition, it is to provide an upper airway muscle function strengthening exercise device that is designed to be used to improve obstructive sleep apnea and can significantly reduce snoring.

In addition, the muscle strength of the tongue (tongue), the soft palate, and the neck are increased through dorsal side exercises, burn fat, and increase tension in the muscles of the soft palate and palate while swallowing saliva to strengthen the upper respiratory tract muscle function. It is to provide an upper airway muscle function strengthening exercise device that can significantly reduce snoring through target muscle development of the tongue and tongue.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the body is formed in a convex curved shape upward according to the shape of the oral cavity, the upper surface of which is in contact with the hard palate; It provides an upper airway muscle function strengthening exercise mechanism including; and a plate-shaped tooth plate that protrudes outward from the lower end of the front portion of the body and can be positioned between the lower teeth and the upper teeth.

In addition, the body, the palate support portion formed in a curved shape that can be in contact with the hard palate of the palate inside the upper teeth; a soft palate support part extended in a curved shape protruding upward by a predetermined length from the hard palate support part and contacting the soft palate of the palate; And an adjustment groove formed in the hard palate support portion as a groove having a predetermined width and a predetermined length rearward from the center where the front teeth of the upper teeth are located. It is possible to provide an upper airway muscle function strengthening exercise device characterized in that it can be opened or gathered in a predetermined width.

In addition, the interlock plate is installed at a distance from each other on both sides of the control groove, and is installed along the lower edge of the hard palate support along the tooth arrangement, characterized in that the width increases from the front to the rear. It is possible to provide an upper airway muscle function strengthening exercise device.

In addition, the upper airway muscle function strengthening exercise mechanism may be provided in the upper airway muscle function strengthening exercise mechanism, characterized in that an auxiliary groove formed to a predetermined depth from the front end to the rear end along the circumference of the grip plate.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to prevent muscle relaxation through target muscle strength exercise in obstructive sleep apnea, which occurs as a result of muscle relaxation in the palate, tongue, and neck area.

In addition, it is designed for use in improving obstructive sleep apnea and can significantly reduce snoring.

In addition, the muscle strength of the tongue (tongue), the soft palate, and the neck are increased through dorsal side exercises, burn fat, and increase tension in the muscles of the soft palate and palate while swallowing saliva to strengthen the upper respiratory tract muscle function. Through targeted muscle development of the tongue and tongue, snoring can be significantly reduced.

1 is a front perspective view of an upper airway muscle function strengthening exercise device according to an embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 2 is a view showing a rear perspective view of the upper airway muscle function strengthening exercise device according to an embodiment of the present invention
Figure 3 is a view from above of the upper airway muscle function strengthening exercise device according to an embodiment of the present invention
Figure 4 is a left side view of the upper airway muscle function strengthening exercise device according to an embodiment of the present invention
Figure 5a is a front view of the upper airway muscle function strengthening exercise device according to an embodiment of the present invention
Figure 5b is a rear view of the upper airway muscle function strengthening exercise device according to an embodiment of the present invention
6 is a diagram schematically showing a wearing state of an upper airway muscle function strengthening exercise device according to an embodiment of the present invention
7 is a view showing an upper airway muscle function strengthening exercise device further comprising an auxiliary frame according to an embodiment of the present invention
8 is a view showing an air pocket according to FIG. 7

Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, this is only an example and the present invention is not limited thereto.

In describing the present invention, if it is determined that a detailed description of the known technology related to the present invention may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention, the detailed description will be omitted. In addition, the terms to be described below are terms defined in consideration of functions in the present invention, which may vary according to the intention or custom of a user or operator. Therefore, the definition should be made based on the contents throughout this specification.

The technical spirit of the present invention is determined by the claims, and the following examples are only one means for efficiently explaining the technical spirit of the present invention to those skilled in the art to which the present invention belongs.

1 is a front perspective view of an upper airway muscle function strengthening exercise device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a rear view of the upper airway muscle function strengthening exercise device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. 3 is a view from above of an upper airway muscle function strengthening exercise device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is an upper airway muscle function strengthening exercise device according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a left side view of (1), Figure 5a is a front view of the upper airway muscle function strengthening exercise device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 5b is an upper airway muscle function strengthening exercise device according to an embodiment of the present invention ( 1), and FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically showing a wearing state of the upper airway muscle function strengthening exercise device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1 to 6, the upper airway muscle function strengthening exercise device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a body 10 and an engagement plate 20. In addition, the upper airway muscle function strengthening exercise device 1 may be made of a medical TPU material.

The body 10 may be formed in a curved shape convex upward according to the shape of the oral cavity, and the upper surface may be formed to contact the roof of the mouth. Specifically, the upper surface of the body 10 may be in contact with the hard palate and the soft palate.

The body 10 may protrude in a gently curved shape while the center portion protrudes upward. For example, the body 10 may be formed in a shape in which an elliptical sphere is cut into 1/4.

The body 10 may include a hard palate support 11 , a soft palate support 12 , an adjustment groove 13 and a tongue muscle location space 14 .

The hard palate support 11 may be formed in a curved shape that can contact the hard palate of the palate inside the upper teeth. The hard palate support 11 may be located in front of the soft palate support 12 in the body 10. In addition, the hard palate support 11 may occupy more than 1/2 of the entire area of the body 10 . Therefore, the hard palate support portion 11 may be in contact with the hard palate inside the upper teeth.

The soft palate support 12 is formed to extend backward in a curved shape protruding a predetermined length upward from the hard palate support 11 and can contact the soft palate of the palate. That is, the soft palate support 12 may be formed concavely protruding upward from the hard palate support 11 . Soft palate support 12 may be formed in the rear than the hard palate support 11 in the body (10).

The control groove 13 may be a groove formed at the left and right center of the body 10 and having a predetermined length from the front to the rear. Specifically, the control groove 13 may be formed in a central portion facing the front teeth of the upper teeth in the hard palate support 11 to a predetermined width and formed as a groove with a predetermined length backward. In addition, the width of the control groove 13 may decrease from the front to the rear.

Both sides of the hard palate support 11 can be opened or gathered by a predetermined width along both lateral directions by the control groove 13 . Therefore, it can be adjusted according to the size of the hard palate for each user. For example, when the left and right width of the user's hard palate is narrow, the hard palate support portions 11 on both sides of the control groove 13 may be converged inward, or when the left and right width of the user's hard palate is relatively wide, the control groove 13 ) The width of the hard palate support 11 can be adjusted by widening or narrowing it so that the hard palate support 11 on both sides spreads outward from each other.

The tongue muscle location space 14 may be formed on the lower side of the lower surface of the body 10 . That is, the user's tongue may be located in the cave-shaped space formed on the lower side of the body 10 .

The engagement plate 20 may be formed in a plate shape protruding outward from the lower end of the front portion of the body 10 . The bite plate 20 is in the form of a plate having a predetermined thickness that can be positioned between the lower teeth and the upper teeth.

Specifically, a pair of the two engagement plates 20 may be installed spaced apart from each other on both sides of the control groove 13 of the body 10 . That is, it may be installed on the left and right sides of the body 10 on both sides of the control groove 13 of the gripping plate 20, respectively. The bite plate 20 may be installed along the lower edge of the hard palate support 11 along the tooth arrangement. That is, the bite plate 20 may be positioned between the upper teeth and the lower teeth so that the user can bite the bite plate 20 .

In addition, the engagement plate 20 may be formed such that its width increases from the front end 21 (ie, front) to the rear end 22 (ie, rear). This is that the width of the bite plate 20 increases toward the rear end 22 so that the bite plate 20 can be bitten up to the molars according to the arrangement of the teeth and the characteristics of the teeth.

An auxiliary groove 23 may be formed in the engagement plate 20 .

The auxiliary groove 23 may be a groove formed to a predetermined depth from the front end 21 to the rear end 22 along the circumference of the gripping plate 20 . Specifically, the auxiliary groove 23 is formed from the front end 21 to the rear end 22 of the grip plate 20, and may be a slit-shaped groove formed between the left and right widths. Saliva and air may flow through the auxiliary groove 23 .

In addition, since the gripping plate 20 is connected to the lower end of the body 10, as shown in FIG. 4, when viewed from the side, between the gripping plate 20 and the rear end 22 of the body 10 A connection step 24 may be formed.

The wearing method of the upper airway muscle function strengthening exercise device 1 is as follows.

First, wet your mouth with water to wet the oral mucosa. Thereafter, the upper airway muscle function strengthening exercise device 1 is inserted into the oral cavity, and the lower surface of the body 10 is pressed forward and upward through the tongue muscles so that the body 10 touches the hard palate and soft palate of the roof of the mouth. there is. In other words, it is pushed in the direction of the front teeth using the intraoral muscles in the anterior direction. Therefore, the body 10 can be brought into contact with the palate from the palate at the back of the front teeth. After that, the user closes his mouth and lightly bites the bite plate 20 with his teeth. At this time, since saliva needs to be swallowed frequently, an increase in saliva secretion can increase the training effect. That is, an increase in saliva in the oral cavity is a desirable phenomenon. During use of the instrument, saliva increases and is frequently swallowed. This response is a desirable effect of promoting muscle development of the soft palate and tongue. In other words, while wearing the upper airway muscle function strengthening exercise device 1 while swallowing a needle, the upper airway muscle function can be strengthened.

In this way, you can exercise for 15 minutes a day, 3 times a day for 5 minutes each.

7 is a view showing an upper airway muscle function strengthening exercise device 1 further including an auxiliary frame 30 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is a view showing an air pocket 40 according to FIG. 7 .

Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, the upper airway muscle function strengthening exercise device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an auxiliary frame 30, an air pocket 40, and a water bottle. (50) may be further included.

Auxiliary frame 30 may be mounted on the inside of the body (10). Specifically, the auxiliary frame 30 may be mounted on the lower surface of the body 10 . The auxiliary frame 30 may be formed in a semicircular tubular shape with a diameter increasing toward the rear. That is, the auxiliary frame 30 may be formed in a form in which the lower portion of a tube whose diameter gradually increases is cut in half. The upper surface of the auxiliary frame 30 is formed in a size corresponding to the circumference of the lower surface of the body 10, and the upper surface of the auxiliary frame 30 may be mounted in close contact with the lower surface of the body 10. That is, the outer circumferential surface of the auxiliary frame 30 may be formed to correspond to the inner circumferential surface of the body 10 in which the tongue root location space 14 of the body 10 is formed. When the auxiliary frame 30 is installed on the lower side of the body 10, the tongue muscle may be located inside the lower side of the auxiliary frame 30.

In addition, the front portion of the auxiliary frame 30 may have a groove shape formed to correspond to the portion where the control groove 13 of the body 10 is formed.

In addition, a plurality of supply holes 31 may be formed in the auxiliary frame 30 . The supply hole 31 may communicate with a purified water bottle 50 to be described later.

The auxiliary frame 30 is formed to a predetermined thickness, and an air pocket 40 and a water bottle 50 may be installed therein.

Air pockets 40 may be installed on both left and right sides of the inner side of the auxiliary frame 30, respectively. The air pocket 40 is inflated in volume by air injection and presses the body 10 upward, so that the body 10 presses the roof of the mouth to increase the effect of muscle function strengthening exercise.

Each air pocket 40 may be composed of a lower plate 41, a side plate 42 and a top plate 43.

The lower plate 41 forms the lower surface of the air pocket 40 and may be formed of a hard material that does not expand even when air is injected into the air pocket 40.

Side plate 42 is installed along the circumference of the lower plate 41 may form the side of the air pocket (40). The side plate 42 may be formed of a hard material that does not expand even when air is injected into the air pocket 40 .

The top plate 43 forms the upper surface of the air pocket 40, and may expand as air is injected into the air pocket 40. That is, the top plate 43 may be formed of a deformable material that can inflate according to the amount of air injected. In addition, a plurality of pleats 431 may be formed on the top plate 43 .

The wrinkles 431 are wrinkles formed in a predetermined area of the top plate 43 . When the top plate 43 is inflated according to the amount of air injected into the air pocket 40, the pleats 431 may be unfolded and inflated. In addition, when the top plate 43 is contracted as the air is discharged, wrinkles may be formed again in the pleat 431 . In this way, the pleat 431 may increase an area in which the top plate 43 can be expanded.

The air pocket 40 is formed so that only the upper plate 43 expands according to the amount of air injected, thereby pressurizing the body 10 and stimulating the roof of the mouth through the pressurization of the body 10 to stimulate the upper airway muscle function. can be strengthened.

Air discharge inside the air pocket 40 may be discharged through a predetermined air hole formed in the front portion of the auxiliary frame 30, so that it is discharged to the user's mouth so that it is discharged out of the mouth.

The water bottle 50 may be installed inside the auxiliary frame 30 and communicate with the supply hole 31 formed in the auxiliary frame 30 between the two air pockets 40 .

The purified water container 50 may contain a predetermined amount of purified water therein. In this state, in conjunction with the user terminal, a predetermined amount of purified water may be discharged through the supply hole 31 at predetermined time intervals according to a signal.

The purified water bottle 50 is detachably formed from the auxiliary frame 30, so that the user can wash and replenish purified water.

By supplying a predetermined amount of purified water at predetermined time intervals through the purified water bottle 50 and the supply hole 31, water is formed in the user's mouth so that the purified water can be continuously swallowed. That is, by frequently swallowing purified water while wearing the upper airway muscle function strengthening exercise device 1, the same effect as that of swallowing saliva can be generated.

Although representative embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications are possible to the above-described embodiments without departing from the scope of the present invention. . Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments and should not be defined, and should be defined by not only the claims to be described later, but also those equivalent to these claims.

1: upper airway muscle function strengthening exercise equipment
10: body 11: hard palate support
12: soft palate support 13: control groove
14: tongue root location space 20: interlocking plate
21: front end 22: rear end
23: auxiliary groove 24: connection step
30: auxiliary frame 31: supply hole
40: air pocket 41: lower plate
42: side plate 43: top plate
431: wrinkle part 50: water bottle

Claims (4)

a body formed in an upwardly convex curved shape according to the shape of the roof of the mouth in the oral cavity, so that the upper surface is in contact with the hard palate; and
Including,
the body,
A hard palate support formed in a curved shape that can contact the hard palate of the palate inside the upper teeth;
a soft palate support part extended in a curved shape protruding upward by a predetermined length from the hard palate support part and contacting the soft palate of the palate; and
In the hard palate support, a groove is formed with a predetermined width from the center where the front teeth of the upper teeth are located and a predetermined length to the rear, and the width decreases from the front to the rear, so that both sides of the hard palate support are formed in both directions. It includes; a control groove that allows a predetermined width to be spread or gathered along the
The bite plate,
One pair is installed spaced apart from each other on both sides of the control groove so that a pair is installed on the left and right sides of the body, and is installed along the tooth arrangement along the lower edge of the hard palate support, and the width increases from the front end to the rear end. formed to widen
In the bite plate,
Strengthening upper airway muscle function, characterized in that an auxiliary groove in the form of a slit formed along the circumference of the bite plate to a predetermined depth from the front end to the rear end and extending from the front end to the rear end between the width of the bite plate. Fitness equipment. delete delete delete

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