WO2019050232A1

WO2019050232A1 - Apparatus for preventing mouth breathing

Info

Publication number: WO2019050232A1
Application number: PCT/KR2018/010208
Authority: WO
Inventors: 박영현; 최현진; 박준영; 박준원
Original assignee: 박영현; 최현진
Priority date: 2017-09-07
Filing date: 2018-09-03
Publication date: 2019-03-14
Also published as: KR102117495B1; KR20190027509A

Abstract

The present invention relates to an apparatus to be worn on the face to prevent snoring of the wearer and, more specifically, to an apparatus for preventing mouth breathing which can prevent mouth breathing of the wearer during sleep and prevent a temporomandibular joint disorder. The apparatus for preventing mouth breathing according to the present invention can prevent mouth breathing of the wearer during sleep, thereby preventing snoring and sleep apnea. Also, by applying pulling force to the base part of the mandible and thereby reducing pressure from mental protuberance or mental tubercle to a temporomandibular joint, the occurrence of a disorder in the temporamandibular joint and so forth can be minimized even in the case of long time wearing. Particularly, the purpose of the invention is to further increase the snoring treating effect by preventing a wearer wearing a mandibular forward movement device from unconsciously opening the mouth, when the apparatus for preventing mouth breathing according to the present invention is used together with the mandibular forward movement device.

Description

Oral Breathing Apparatus

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a face wear apparatus for preventing snoring of a wearer, and more particularly, to a mouth breathing prevention apparatus which can prevent a wearer's mouth breathing while preventing sleeping disorders.

When a person enters the sleep state, the muscles of the body are relaxed, especially when the tongue, uvula, soft palate, and tonsil in the oral cavity are relaxed and the airway is compressed. . In this state, the inhaled air passes through the narrowed airway, and the flow is accelerated. As a result, the surrounding soft tissue is vibrated to cause a snoring phenomenon that generates noise. If the snoring phenomenon becomes worse, the obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), which temporarily stops breathing during sleep, is accompanied by sleep apnea (OSA). Sleep apnea is defined as the number of Apnea Hyponea Index (AHI) combined with sleep apnea (Apnea: stopped air flow in mouth and nose for more than 10 seconds) and hyponea There are reports that hypoxaemia, increased carbon dioxide in blood, stroke, hypertension, heart beat abnormality, sudden death, etc., are also closely related to diabetes. In addition, snoring and sleep apnea interfere with sleep, resulting in chronic drowsiness during the day, causing chronic fatigue and impairing a person's ability to work.

Therefore, treatment methods for snoring and sleep apnea have been studied for a long time. Treatment methods can be classified into surgical treatment and non-surgical treatment. Surgical treatment is a method of widening the obstruction of the airway through surgery. There is a risk of surgery, possibility of postoperative complications and frequent recurrences, especially after surgery, Irreversible treatment. Non-surgical treatment methods include chemical methods such as pharmacotherapy and methods using a device such as a positive pressure device (CPAP) or a mandibular advancement device (MAD) or a snoring prevention band.

A positive pressure device is a kind of oxygen respiratory device, which is a therapeutic method that forcibly blows air into the airway to expand the airway obstruction. However, the pressure regulator is excellent in terms of efficacy, but has a disadvantage that it incurs a high inconvenience in the process of mounting on the user's face, and is inconvenient to carry while moving.

The mandibular forward movement device is a device to be worn in the oral cavity, and moves the user's mandible forward, thereby pulling the tongue attached to the mandible forward. As a result, the soft tissue around the back of the tongue spreads to secure the airway. If the airway is secured by the user wearing the mandibular forward movement device, the sucked air naturally flows into the airway, so that the surrounding soft tissue is not vibrated and the snoring sound disappears. With respect to such a mandibular advancement device, the present inventor has proposed a method for improving the performance of the mandibular advancement device, as disclosed in Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1301525 (upper and lower one-piece incisal snoring preventive oral appliance allowing small range movement of the mandibular jaw joint) -1463021 (oral appliance) has been registered. In this way, the amount of air entering the airway can be increased smoothly and normally, thereby making it possible to treat sleep apnea. However, since the mandibular forward movement device requires customization to fit the user's oral cavity structure, the manufacturing cost is high, and when the wearer wears the oral cavity, the oral cavity breathing which has been abnormally relied on is interrupted There is a possibility that the snoring is unknowingly opened on the surface of the sleep, and the snoring can halve the therapeutic effect.

On the other hand, considering the fact that the snoring prevention band is one of the causes of the snoring by the mouth breathing which the user opens the mouth while breathing during sleep, the band which is stretchable so that the user does not breathe in oral mouth during sleep And a lower jaw of the user is forcibly pulled.

Prior art relating to a device for preventing oral breathing during sleep include Registration No. 20-0420285 (snoring band for preventing snoring) and Registration No. 10-1608871 (inducing nasal breathing during sleep) And a mouth opening zone for the mouth). Registration Practical Newspaper No. 20-0420285 (snoring pulling band for preventing snoring) is a structure in which both ends of a band are fixed using a Velcro at the upper part of the head by pulling the middle of the band on the jaw and pulling upward No. 10-1608871 discloses a configuration in which an adjustable member for adjusting elasticity is additionally provided at both ends of a band earring portion for inducing nasal breathing during sleep. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional snare prevention band, and FIG. 1 (a) is a perspective view of a product released by a company A, and FIG.

However, when the mandibular mental protuberant or the mental tubercle portion is forcibly pulled as in the conventional snoring prevention band, it may be possible to reduce the mouth breathing of the wearer during sleep, Excessive load on the disk can cause pain in adjacent muscles such as sternocleidomastoid, trapezius, and masticatory muscles, including the temporalis muscle, and may cause temporomandibular joint disorders. Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the effect on the wearer's skull when a conventional snoring prevention band is worn. As shown in FIG. 2, the TMJ functions as a joint for connecting the jawbone and the head bone, and the muscles, the disc, and the jawbone jointly move together. In this case, If it occurs, it can cause side effects such as Temporomandibular Joint Disorder (TMD).

Prior art literature

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-1301525 (2013.09.02)

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-1463021 (Nov.

Registration Utility Model Publication No. 20-0420285 (Jun. 29, 2006)

Patent Registration No. 10-1608871 (Apr. 26, 2014)

Disclosure of the Invention The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a method for preventing the snoring of the wearer by preventing the oral breathing during sleep by pressing the lower base of the wearer upward, And an object of the present invention is to provide a prevention mechanism. In particular, the oral respiratory protection device of the present invention allows the wearer wearing the mandibular forward movement device to minimize the inconvenience while preventing the wearer from unintentionally opening the mouth, thereby further increasing the therapeutic effect of the snoring. There is a purpose.

In order to accomplish the above object, the oral respiratory protection device of the present invention comprises: a headband portion which is positioned so as to surround the crown of the wearer so as not to flow to the front or rear of the skull; A mandrel belt portion that acts on a wearer's mandible in an upward direction and that is connected to the headband portion and the mandible belt portion so as to be circularly arranged to horizontally extend a forehead and a rear skull portion of the wearer And a headband belt portion, wherein the mandible belt portion is made of a stretchable material so as to suppress oral breathing during sleeping of the wearer.

The parietal region may be a coronary suture region where the parietal bone and the frontal bone meet.

The mandrel belt portion may be configured so as not to be located in the jaw elevation or jaw nodule portion of the wearer in a natural wearing state.

The head belt portion, the mandible belt portion, and the headband belt portion may be integrally formed.

At least one of the headband belt, the mandible belt, and the headband belt may be detachable.

The removable structure may comprise velcro.

The stretchable material may be silicone or rubber.

According to the oral breathing prevention apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to prevent snoring and sleep apnea by preventing oral breathing during sleeping of the wearer. Further, by reducing the pressure on the jaw joints from the jaws and jaws by applying a pulling force to the lower base, it is possible to minimize the occurrence of disorders such as the jaw joints even in the case of wearing for a long time. In addition, when the oral respiratory prevention device of the present invention is used together with the mandibular forward movement device, the wearer wearing the mandibular forward movement device is prevented from unknowingly opening the mouth, There is a purpose.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional snare prevention band, wherein (a) is a perspective view of a product released by Company A, (b) is an example of a screen when it is worn,

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the effect of the conventional snare prevention band on the wearer's skull,

3 is a perspective view of an apparatus for preventing oral breathing according to an embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the effect of the present invention on the skull of a wearer wearing the oral respiratory protection device,

FIG. 5 is a view showing a state in which an appliance for preventing oral breathing according to an embodiment of the present invention is worn, wherein (a) is a front view, (b) is a side view,

6 is a view showing a state in which the apparatus for preventing oral breathing according to the embodiment of the present invention is worn together with the mandibular forward movement device.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the invention. The singular forms as used herein include plural forms as long as the phrases do not expressly express the opposite meaning thereto. As used in the specification, the term " comprising " embodies certain features, areas, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components and does not exclude other specific characteristics, And / or does not exclude the presence or addition of a group.

In the following detailed description, the orientations of "upper", "upper", "lower", "lower", "left" and "right" represent the relationship between the relative positions of each element illustrated in the figure, There is no intention to limit the invention. Furthermore, although the terms "first", "second", "third", "fourth" and the like are used in the following detailed description to describe various elements, regions or portions, And should not be limited by these terms. These terms are used only to distinguish one element, region or portion from another element, region or portion. Accordingly, the first element, region, or portion described below may be referred to as a second element, region, or portion without departing from the subject matter of the present invention.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms including technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Commonly used predefined terms are further interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the relevant technical literature and the present disclosure, and are not to be construed as ideal or very formal meanings unless defined otherwise.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

3 is a perspective view of an apparatus for preventing oral breathing according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 3, the oral respiratory protection device 100 of the present invention may include a head belt portion 110, a mandrel belt portion 120, and a headband belt portion 130.

The topsheet belt portion 110 closely contacts a predetermined region of the upper part of the wearer's skull and transmits a pressing force in a downward direction. It is preferable that the head belt portion 110 is mounted on a coronal suture portion corresponding to a joint portion between the frontal bone and the parietal bone so as not to flow to the front or back of the skull.

The lower belt portion 120 is located at the lower base of the wearer's lower jaw and is connected to the upper belt portion 110 to transmit the upward pressure. It is preferable that the mandibular belt portion 120 is not positioned at the jaw elevation and the jaw node portion so that the wearer's jaw joint does not apply pressure in the direction of the joint disk.

The headband belt unit 130 is formed in a circular shape such as a headband so that the forehead and the back skull of the wearer can extend in the horizontal direction. The headband belt unit 130 is connected to the headband belt unit 110 in the upward direction, And may be connected to the mandrel belt unit 130, respectively.

The headband belt part 110, the mandrel belt part 120 and the headband belt part 130 constituting the oral respiratory protection device 100 of the present invention may be integrally formed, And may be configured to be coupled using the same bonding portion 140. 3 shows a state where a part of the mandrel belt part 120 and a part of the headband belt part 110 are detachably joined to each other and the headband belt part 110 and the mandible belt part 120 are coupled to each other FIG. 3, the headband belt unit 110 and the headband belt unit 130 are integrally formed. However, the headband belt unit 110 and the headband belt unit 130 may be detachably attached to each other It will be possible. As described above, in the case where the joining portion is provided so that the constituent elements of the oral breathing prevention apparatus 100 of the present invention can be detachably attached, the wearer can adjust the regions to be coupled with each other, It is not necessary to provide a separate adjusting means for adjusting the angle of view.

The oral breathing prevention apparatus 100 of the present invention is a device for preventing oral breathing of the present invention when a wearer opens his / her mouth while breathing and opens his / her mouth in an upward direction to close the mouth and apply appropriate force to the mouth of the wearer, And can be made of silicone or rubber material. However, although the entire material needs elasticity, some of the entire area may be partially used with other materials such as plastic or metal for the purpose of joining, external decorating, and other purposes among the respective components.

In particular, the oral respiratory protection device 100 of the present invention can be used with a mandibular forward movement device that is worn on the wearer's mouth, in which case the wearer wearing the mandibular forward movement device is prevented from unconsciously opening his mouth, Snoring can increase the therapeutic effect even more.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the effect of the wearer on the skull when wearing the oral respiratory protection device of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 4, the oral breathing prevention apparatus 100 of the present invention is configured such that the wearer's skull is positioned such that the wearer's upper skull portion 110 is wrapped around a wearer's skull over a predetermined area, And the headband belt part 130 may be arranged in a circular shape so that the front of the wearer's forehead and the posterior skull part may extend in the horizontal direction.

The head belt 110 serves to support the oral breathing prevention device 100 of the present invention so that it can be stably positioned in front of the frontal bone or behind the bones of the parietal region in the vicinity of the crown of the skull of the wearer. For this purpose, it is preferable that the head belt 110 is located in a tubular suturing area where the frontal bone and the pelvic bone are in contact with each other. As described above, a region where the head belt portion 110 can stably be positioned in the backward direction of the bones of the parietal bone or in the front direction of the frontal bone centered on the tubular suture line can be referred to as a head belt zone.

The mandibular belt portion 120 is a portion that prevents the wearer from pulling the mouth of the wearer's mouth upward by pulling the mouth of the wearer in order to induce oral breathing even during sleeping. However, when the jawbone or the jaw node portion is pulled in the direction of the joint plate from the wearer's mandible, the jaw joint trouble of the wearer may be caused. Therefore, the mandible belt portion 120 is positioned at the lower base portion, It is preferable to configure it not to be positioned. As such, the limiting position located at the mandibular base without the mandibular belt portion 120 being located in the jaw bump or jaw node portion may be referred to as the mandibular belt line. The line of the mandible may be seen as a line separating the mandibular base from the jawbone / jaw nodule. Of course, since the oral breathing prevention apparatus 100 of the present invention is made of a material having elasticity, the wearer can force the mandibular belt 120 to be pulled to the jaw protuberance or the jaw node portion for positioning, The region where the mandrel belt portion 120 is naturally located in the wearer's mandible in a state in which the wearer does not apply force will be configured not to exceed the mandibular belt line.

The topsheet 110 and the mandibular belt 120 are arranged in the oral breathing prevention device 100 of the present invention. The topsheet belt 110 is positioned near the crown of the skull of the wearer, that is, The belt portion 120 is located at the lower base portion. In this case, since the tubular suture area is located near the center of the skull on the horizontal line, and the lower basal part corresponds to a position slightly in the jaws and jaws corresponding to the end of the mandible, 110 and the mandibular belt 120 will not be in a straight line but will have a constant gap. Therefore, when viewed from the side, the headband belt 110 and the mandrel belt 120 will have a structure in which extension lines do not overlap with each other, but are arranged at slightly shifted positions.

The headband belt part 130 is provided in such a manner that the headband belt part 110 and the mandrel belt part 120 are stably positioned on the head of the wearer so that the oral breathing prevention device 100 is prevented from flowing down in front of or behind the wearer's head It plays a role. It is preferable that the headband belt portion 130 is also formed in a predetermined region on the upper part of the eyebrow of the wearer so as not to slide toward the front of the wearer's head.

In such a structure, when the wearer opens his / her mouth during sleep to breathe his / her mouth, pulling the base of the mandible upwards restrains the orbital respiration, thereby preventing the snoring of the wearer, It is possible to prevent the occurrence of a failure. In addition, when the wearer uses the oral respiratory protection device 100 of the present invention together with the mandibular forward movement device, the wearer can be prevented from unintentionally opening the mouth during sleep, so that the snoring can further increase the therapeutic effect.

FIG. 5 shows a state in which the apparatus for preventing oral breathing according to the embodiment of the present invention is worn, wherein (a) is a front view and (b) is a side view. Referring to FIG. 5, since the mandibular belt 120 of the oral breathing prevention apparatus 100 of the present invention pulls upwards from the base of the mandible with respect to the mandibular belt line, It is possible to minimize the disturbance of the jaw joint. Since the head belt unit 110 is located in the head belt zone near the tubular suture where the pelvic bone and the frontal bone are joined to each other, the oral breathing prevention apparatus 100 can be stably fixed without flowing in the front or back direction of the skull. Since the headband belt part 130 has a certain thickness and is located above the eyebrow of the wearer, the headband belt part 130 can be more stably fixed to the wearer's head. As described above, the head belt unit 110, the mandrel belt unit 120, and the headband belt unit 130 of the oral breathing prevention device 100 of the present invention may be integrally formed, And may be configured to be able to be coupled using a joining means.

6 is a view showing a state in which the apparatus for preventing oral breathing according to the embodiment of the present invention is worn together with the mandibular forward movement device. Referring to FIG. 6, the wearer can additionally wear the oral respiratory protection device 100 of the present invention in a state in which the wearer wears the mandibular forward movement device 200 in the oral cavity including the maxillary and mandibular teeth of the tooth. The mandibular forward movement device 200 moves the wearer's mandible forward and as a result the soft tissue around the back of the tongue is stretched to secure the airway. Therefore, when the wearer wears the mandibular forward movement device 200 to secure the airway, the sucked air naturally flows into the airway, so that the surrounding soft tissue is not vibrated and the snoring sound may disappear. At this time, the mandibular forward movement device 200 unknowingly opens the mouth in the water due to the inconvenience that the wearer feels by wearing on the oral cavity, so that the snoring can halve the therapeutic effect. In the oral cavity respiratory prevention device 100 of the present invention, By wearing it, it is possible to prevent the wearer from unconsciously opening the mouth during sleep.

As described above, when the wearer wears the oral respiratory protection device 100 according to the present invention, the wearer pulls the mandible base in the upward direction so that the wearer does not spontaneously open the mouth during relaxation of the temporomandibular joint during sleep, The wearing effect of the mobile device can be improved. In addition, since the oral breathing prevention device 100 of the present invention is made of a stretchable belt, when the wearer is intentionally opening his mouth during sleep or in the face of water, the mouth is opened without a large resistance, . At this time, because it is located at the base of the mandible and transmits the pulling force, direct pressure is not applied to the jaws or the jaw nodule, and as a result, the jaw joint failure can be prevented from occurring in advance. Therefore, even if the oral breathing prevention apparatus of the present invention is worn for a long period of time, it is possible to prevent damage to the jaw joint or disorder of the jaw joint.

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, . Therefore, it should be understood that the above-described embodiments are illustrative in all aspects and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the detailed description and all changes or modifications derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and their equivalents are to be construed as being included within the scope of the present invention do.

10: snoring prevention band

100: mouth breathing prevention device 110: headbelt part

120: mandrel belt part 130: headband belt part

140: abutment 200: mandibular forward movement device

Claims

A topsheet belt portion positioned to surround the crown of the wearer so as not to flow to the front or rear of the skull;

A mandible belt portion located at a lower base of the wearer and acting to apply a force to pull the wearer's mandible in an upward direction; And

And a headband belt portion connected to the head belt portion and the mandible belt portion and arranged in a circular shape so as to surround the forehead and the back skull portion of the wearer in a horizontal direction,

Wherein the mandibular belt portion is made of a stretchable material so as to suppress oral breathing during sleeping of the wearer.
The method according to claim 1,

Wherein the parietal region is a tubular suture region where the pelvic bone and the frontal bone meet.
The method according to claim 1,

Wherein the mandibular belt portion is configured so as not to be positioned in a portion of a jaw bump or a jaw node of the wearer in a natural wearing state.
The method according to claim 1,

Wherein the head belt portion, the mandible belt portion, and the headband belt portion are integrally formed.
The method according to claim 1,

Wherein at least one of the head belt portion, the mandible belt portion, and the headband belt portion is detachable.
6. The method of claim 5,

Wherein the removable structure is made of velcro.
The method according to claim 1,

Wherein the stretchable material is silicone or rubber.