Back to results
US 11,305,087 B2Granted
Positive-air-pressure machine conduit
AssigneeResMed Pty Ltd
InventorsPhilip Rodney Kwok, Donald Darkin
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A conduit for delivering a supply of gas under a positive pressure includes a conduit wall having a first conduit end and a second conduit end. The first conduit end is adapted to be attached to the supply of gas. The conduit wall is deformable between (a) an open condition in which the conduit wall defines a conduit passage along which the supply of gas can travel between the first conduit end to the second conduit end, and (b) a collapsed condition in which the conduit wall substantially collapses the conduit passage.
Claims55
An assembly for delivering a supply of pressurized gas to a patient for treatment of sleep disordered breathing, the assembly comprising:
- an interface configured to engage the patient's face to direct the supply of pressurized gas to an airway of the patient;
- and
- headgear to support the interface in a desired position on the patient's face, the headgear including:
- a pair of flexible conduits and a central portion disposed between the pair of conduits, the central portion being adapted to be in fluid communication with an air supply tube arranged to deliver the supply of gas to the central portion, the central portion being configured to be positioned on top of and in contact with the patient's head when the assembly is worn;
- the pair of flexible conduits being configured to support the interface in a desired position on the patient's face and to deliver the supply of gas to the interface in use, each conduit having a top portion in fluid communication with the central portion and a bottom portion detachably connected to, and in fluid communication with, a lateral side of the interface, each conduit being arranged to, in use, extend along and engage a respective side of the patient's head between the patient's eye and ear;
- the central portion being integrally formed with the pair of conduits to join the top portions of the conduits, the central portion and pair of conduits forming a unitary construction of a same material;
- and
- a head securement structure extending between the pair of flexible conduits and configured to engage a rear portion of the patient's head when the assembly is worn;
- and
- an air connector attached to the central portion and adapted to be connected to the air supply tube to deliver the supply of gas to the central portion, the air connector being relatively rigid as compared to the pair of conduits and the central portion and adapted to be positioned on top of the patient's head when the assembly is worn,
- wherein the conduits, the central portion and the interface form a ring with a ring-shaped gas passageway,
- wherein each conduit has an adjustable section along only a portion of the conduit, a length of the conduit being adjustable along the adjustable section thereby allowing a circumferential length of the ring to be adjusted when the assembly is donned so as to accommodate different patient head sizes, each adjustable section being arranged to directly contact the patient when the assembly is worn, and
- wherein the headgear does not include additional conduit tubing and does not include an additional securement structure beyond the head securement structure.
10 more elements
An assembly for delivering a supply of pressurized gas to a patient for treatment of sleep disordered breathing, the assembly comprising:
- an interface configured to engage the patient's face to direct the supply of pressurized gas to an airway of the patient;
- and
- headgear to support the interface in a desired position on the patient's face, the headgear including:
- a pair of flexible conduits and a central portion disposed between and joining the pair of conduits, the central portion being adapted to be in fluid communication with an air supply tube arranged to deliver the supply of gas to the central portion, the central portion being configured to be positioned on top of and in contact with the patient's head when the assembly is worn;
- the pair of flexible conduits being configured to support the interface in a desired position on the patient's face and to deliver the supply of gas to the interface in use, each conduit having a top portion in fluid communication with the central portion and a bottom portion detachably connected to, and in fluid communication with, a lateral side of the interface, each conduit being arranged to, in use, extend along a respective side of the patient's head between the patient's eye and ear,
- wherein the conduits, the central portion and the interface form a ring with a ring-shaped gas passageway,
- wherein each conduit has an adjustable section along only a portion of the conduit, a length of the conduit being adjustable along the adjustable section thereby allowing a circumferential length of the ring to be adjusted when the assembly is donned so as to accommodate different patient head sizes,
- wherein each adjustable section has opposing first and second ends in a direction along the length of the respective conduit, the first end of each adjustable section being relatively proximal the top portion of each respective conduit as compared to the second end of each corresponding adjustable section, the second end of each adjustable section being relatively proximal the bottom portion of each respective conduit as compared to the first end of each corresponding adjustable section, and
- wherein a width of each conduit at the first end of each respective adjustable section is larger than a width of the conduit at the second end of the adjustable section.
6 more elements
An assembly for providing respiratory therapy to a patient, the assembly comprising:
- an interface configured to deliver a flow of pressurized breathable gas to an airway of the patient;
- a pair of flexible conduits configured to support the interface and to deliver the flow of pressurized breathable gas to the interface, wherein the pair of flexible conduits are joined at a central portion that is fluidly connected to a shared inlet through which the flow of pressurized breathable gas is received into the pair of flexible conduits, wherein the pair of flexible conduits have longitudinal lengths that extend from the central portion to interface connectors configured to be fluidly connected to opposing sides of the interface, wherein the central portion is spaced apart from the interface such that, during delivery of the flow of pressurized breathable gas to the interface, the central portion is retained in a mounting position on a top of the patient's head by the pair of flexible conduits extending along opposing sides of the patient's head between the patient's eye and ear on each respective side, wherein the pair of flexible conduits include length adjustable structures along only a portion of the pair of flexible conduits that provide adjustability of the longitudinal lengths of the pair of flexible conduits, wherein the length adjustable structures have elasticity that permits resilient extension and contraction of the pair of flexible conduits to snugly fit the patient's head while retaining the interface in the mounting position to deliver the flow of pressurized breathable gas to the airway of the patient;
- and
- a rear strap configured to extend between the pair of flexible conduits and around only a portion of a circumference of the patient's head that is posterior an apex of the patient's head, wherein the rear strap is configured to connect to the pair of flexible conduits at fixed locations along the length of the pair of flexible conduits that, during delivery of the flow of pressurized breathable gas to the interface, are between (i) the central portion at the top of the patient's head and (ii) an axial plane at a top of the patient's ears,
- wherein the central portion, at its fluid connection to the inlet, is wider than adjacent portions of the pair of flexible conduits that are adjacent and connected to the central portion, the adjacent portions of the pair of flexible conduits being configured to be retained on top of the patient's head in the mounting position, and
- wherein, during delivery of the flow of pressurized breathable gas to the interface, the central portion and the adjacent portions contact the top of the patient's head such that an area of contact for the central portion is wider along a sagittal plane than areas of contact for the adjacent portions, and
- wherein the assembly does not include additional securement straps beyond the pair of flexible conduits and the rear strap.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.