Back to results
US 2023/0190414 A1Published application
Multilayer polymer sheets
AssigneeAlign Technology, Inc.
InventorsChunhua LI, Yan CHEN, Heinz PUDLEINER, Klaus MEYER, Joerg NICKEL, Craig PEHLERT
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Multilayer polymer sheets are provided, as well as related methods, systems, and appliances.
Claims30
A method of making a multilayer dental aligner for positioning a patient's teeth from a first arrangement toward a second arrangement, the method comprising:
- providing a multilayer sheet comprising:
- a first layer;
- a second layer;
- and
- a third layer;
- wherein the first layer consists of a co-polyester, the co-polyester having an elongation at break of greater than 70%;
- wherein the second layer consists of a thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer, the thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer having an elongation at break of greater than 200% and a hardness of about 60 A to about 85 D;
- and
- wherein the first layer has a hardness greater than the hardness of the second layer;
- providing a mold;
- thermoforming the multilayer sheet over the mold to form a plurality of tooth-receiving cavities configured to receive and reposition the patient's teeth from the first arrangement toward the second arrangement;
- and
- trimming excess material from the thermoformed multilayer sheet to form the multilayer dental aligner.
10 more elements
A multilayer dental aligner for positioning a patient's teeth from a first arrangement toward a second arrangement, the multilayer dental aligner comprising:
- a multilayer sheet comprising:
- a first layer;
- a second layer;
- and
- a third layer;
- wherein the first layer consists of a co-polyester, the co-polyester having an elongation at break of greater than 70%;
- wherein the second layer consists of a thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer, the thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer having an elongation at break of greater than 200% and a hardness of about 60 A to about 85 D;
- and
- wherein the first layer has a hardness greater than the hardness of the second layer;
- and
- wherein the multilayer sheet forms a plurality of tooth-receiving cavities configured to receive and reposition the patient's teeth from the first arrangement toward the second arrangement.
8 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.