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US 6,637,436 B2Granted
Oral appliance suitable for use as a sports guard
OwnerChristopher John Farrellinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A sports guard for fitting over the upper arch and teeth of a user is disclosed. The sports guard comprises broadly a base member of polyethylene and a layer of EVA encasing the polyethylene. The polyethylene and EVA show a surprising and unexpected affinity for each other. They are able to flex with each other and be heated and cooled without delaminating. This provides a solution to a longstanding problem in this art.
Claims9
An oral appliance comprising:
- a base member made of polyethylene having a generally U-shaped form corresponding to the outline of the arch of a user, the base member having inner and outer flanges interconnected by a web that defines at least one channel within which a row of teeth of a user are received;
- and
- a continuous layer of thermoplastic material that is EVA that surrounds and encases the base member and attaches to the base member whereby to define a teeth engaging element within each channel, the layer being capable of being moulded and shaped to suit the arch and teeth of a user by heating to a certain temperature.
A method of making an oral appliance, the method including:
- moulding a base member from polyethylene in a first moulding step in a first mould, the member having a generally U-shaped form corresponding to the outline of the jaw of a user and inner and outer flanges interconnected by a web that defines at least one channel within which an arch and associated row of teeth of a user are received;
- and
- removing the base member from the first mould and placing it in a second mould having a larger cavity than the first mould and moulding a continuous layer of thermoplastic material that is EVA onto the base member so that the base member is encased by and enclosed within the EVA to form a teeth engaging element within each channel that can be formed and shaped to suit the mouth of a user, the layer encasing the base member and bonding to the base member to form an integral body that resists delamination during use.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.