CN-122028880-A - External nasal dilator

Abstract

An external nasal dilator includes a flexible substrate having a top edge, a bottom edge, a left edge, and a right edge that collectively define an external perimeter of the external nasal dilator. The left recess is along the left edge and the right recess is along the right edge. The left and right recesses divide the flexible substrate into two laterally opposing upper lobes and two laterally opposing lower lobes. The upper section, which includes the two laterally opposed upper lobes, carries an upper elastic member that applies a first expansion force to the inner nasal flap. The lower section, which includes the two laterally opposing lower lobes, carries a lower elastic member that is different from the upper elastic member and applies a second expansion force to the outer nasal flap. The intermediate section longitudinally separates the upper elastic member from the lower elastic member.

Inventors

• E. A. Xinda
• B. A. Hagty
• K. ASAMI
• J. Barot
• J.Liang
• K. L. Schumacher
• J. T. Krazovich

Assignees

• 阿索有限责任公司

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20240905

Priority Date

20230906

Claims (20)

1. 1. An external nasal dilator configured to dilate laterally opposite internal and external nasal petals of a human nose, the external nasal dilator comprising: A flexible substrate having an adhesive rear surface for adhering the external nasal dilator to a person's nose, the flexible substrate having a top edge, a bottom edge, a left edge, and a right edge that together define an outer perimeter of the external nasal dilator, the left edge and the right edge converging inwardly toward each other to form a left recess along the left edge and a right recess along the right edge, the left recess and the right recess dividing the flexible substrate into two laterally opposing upper lobes and two laterally opposing lower lobes; An upper section of the flexible substrate comprising the two laterally opposing upper lobes and carrying an upper elastic member extending laterally from one upper lobe to the other upper lobe, wherein the upper elastic member applies a first expansion force to the inner nasal flap when the outer nasal dilator is adhered to the nose; The lower section of the flexible substrate including the two laterally opposing lower lobes and carrying a lower elastic member different from the upper elastic member and extending laterally from one lower lobe to the other lower lobe, the lower elastic member and the lower section being laterally elongated relative to the upper elastic member and the upper section, respectively, wherein the lower elastic member applies a second expansion force to the external nasal flap when the external nasal dilator is adhered to the nose, and A middle section of the flexible substrate extends laterally between and longitudinally separates the upper and lower resilient members, the left and right recesses being located in the middle section.
2. 2. The external nasal dilator of claim 1 wherein the middle section, right recess, and left recess separate a first expansion force at the upper leaflet from a second expansion force at the lower leaflet.
3. 3. The external nasal dilator of claim 1 wherein a surface area of the bonded rear surface on the lower section is greater than a surface area on the upper section.
4. 4. The external nasal dilator of claim 1 wherein the second expansion force is greater than the first expansion force.
5. 5. The external nasal dilator of claim 1 wherein a left convergence point defining an innermost edge of the left recess and a right convergence point defining an innermost edge of the right recess are closer to the upper resilient member than to the lower resilient member.
6. 6. The external nasal dilator of claim 1 further comprising a plurality of discrete slits through the intermediate section, the discrete slits being laterally spaced apart and longitudinally elongated.
7. 7. The external nasal dilator of claim 1 and further comprising: A pair of opposed slits extending longitudinally through the flexible substrate at laterally opposed ends of the lower resilient member, respectively, the opposed slits defining a pair of opposed tabs of the lower resilient member that guide the second expansion force, and Wherein the upper elastic member has a lateral length from its left end to its right end, and the distance between the opposing cutouts is smaller than the lateral length.
8. 8. An external nasal dilator configured to dilate laterally opposite internal and external nasal petals of a human nose, the external nasal dilator comprising: A flexible substrate having an adhesive rear surface for adhering the external nasal dilator to a person's nose, the flexible substrate having a top edge, a bottom edge, a left edge, and a right edge that collectively define an outer perimeter of the external nasal dilator; An upper section of the flexible substrate carries an upper resilient member extending laterally across the upper section; wherein the upper resilient member applies a first expansion force to the inner nasal valve when the outer nasal dilator is adhered to the nose; A lower section of the flexible substrate carries a lower elastic member that is different from the upper elastic member and extends laterally across the lower section, wherein the lower elastic member applies a second expansion force to the external nasal valve when the external nasal dilator is adhered to the nose; the middle section of the flexible substrate is between the upper elastic member and the lower elastic member extending transversely and longitudinally separating the upper elastic member from the lower elastic member; and A plurality of discrete slits pass through the intermediate section, the discrete slits being laterally spaced apart and longitudinally elongated.
9. 9. The external nasal dilator of claim 8 wherein: The left edge and the right edge converging inwardly toward each other to form a left recess along the left edge and a right recess along the right edge, the left recess and the right recess dividing the flexible substrate into two laterally opposing upper lobes and two laterally opposing lower lobes; the upper section includes the two laterally opposing upper lobes, and the upper resilient member extends laterally from one upper lobe to the other upper lobe; The lower section includes the two laterally opposing lower lobes, and the lower resilient member extends laterally from one lower lobe to the other lower lobe; the lower elastic member and the lower section being laterally elongated relative to the upper elastic member and the upper section, respectively, and The left recess and the right recess are located in the middle section.
10. 10. The external nasal dilator of claim 8 wherein the slit is longitudinally elongated toward a longitudinal midline of the external nasal dilator.
11. 11. The external nasal dilator of claim 8 wherein the slit is longitudinally elongated toward a longitudinal midline of the external nasal dilator at an angle of 15 ° to 75 ° relative to a lateral direction.
12. 12. The external nasal dilator of claim 8 wherein: The left edge and the right edge converging inwardly toward each other to form a left recess along the left edge and a right recess along the right edge, the left recess and right recess dividing the flexible substrate into two laterally opposing upper lobes and two laterally opposing lower lobes; the upper section includes the two laterally opposing upper lobes, and the upper resilient member extends laterally from one upper lobe to the other upper lobe; The lower section includes the two laterally opposing lower lobes, and the lower resilient member extends laterally from one lower lobe to the other lower lobe; The left recess and the right recess being located in the middle section, and The middle section, right recess and left recess separate a first expansion force at the upper lobe from a second expansion force at the lower lobe.
13. 13. The external nasal dilator of claim 8 wherein a surface area of the bonded rear surface on the lower section is greater than a surface area on the upper section.
14. 14. The external nasal dilator of claim 8 wherein the lower resilient member and the lower section are laterally elongated relative to the upper resilient member and the upper section.
15. 15. The external nasal dilator of claim 8 wherein: the bonded surface has a surface area on the lower section that is greater than a surface area on the upper section; The lower elastic member and the lower section being elongated transversely relative to the upper elastic member and the upper section, and The second expansion force is greater than the first expansion force.
16. 16. The external nasal dilator of claim 8 wherein: The left edge and the right edge converging inwardly toward each other to form a left recess along the left edge and a right recess along the right edge, the left recess and right recess dividing the flexible substrate into two laterally opposing upper lobes and two laterally opposing lower lobes; the upper section includes the two laterally opposing upper lobes, and the upper resilient member extends laterally from one upper lobe to the other upper lobe; The lower section includes the two laterally opposing lower lobes, and the lower resilient member extends laterally from one lower lobe to the other lower lobe; The left recess and the right recess being located in the middle section, and A left convergence point defining an innermost edge of the left recess and a right convergence point defining an innermost edge of the right recess are closer to the upper elastic member than to the lower elastic member.
17. 17. The external nasal dilator of claim 8 and further comprising: a pair of opposing cutouts extending longitudinally through the flexible substrate at laterally opposite respective ends of the lower resilient member, the opposing cutouts defining a pair of opposing tabs of the lower resilient member that guide the second expansion force, and Wherein the upper elastic member has a lateral length from its left end to its right end, and the distance between the opposing cutouts is smaller than the lateral length.
18. 18. The external nasal dilator of claim 8 and further comprising: A pair of opposed slits extending longitudinally through the flexible substrate at laterally opposed ends of the lower resilient member, respectively, the opposed slits defining a pair of opposed tabs of the lower resilient member that guide the second expansion force, and Wherein the upper elastic member has a lateral length from its left end to its right end, and the distance between the opposing cutouts is smaller than the lateral length.
19. 19. An external nasal dilator configured to dilate laterally opposite internal and external nasal petals of a human nose, the external nasal dilator comprising: A flexible substrate having an adhesive rear surface for adhering the external nasal dilator to a person's nose, the flexible substrate having a top edge, a bottom edge, a left edge, and a right edge that together define an outer perimeter of the external nasal dilator, the left edge and the right edge converging inwardly toward each other to form a left recess along the left edge and a right recess along the right edge, the left recess and the right recess dividing the flexible substrate into two laterally opposing upper lobes and two laterally opposing lower lobes; An upper section of the flexible substrate comprising the two laterally opposing upper lobes and carrying an upper elastic member extending laterally from one upper lobe to the other upper lobe, wherein the upper elastic member applies a first expansion force to the inner nasal flap when the outer nasal dilator is adhered to the nose; The lower section of the flexible substrate includes the two laterally opposing lower lobes and carries a lower resilient member, the lower resilient member being different from the upper resilient member and extending laterally from one lower lobe to the other lower lobe, wherein the lower resilient member applies a second expansion force to the external nasal flap when the external nasal dilator is adhered to the nose; An intermediate section of the flexible substrate extending transversely between and longitudinally separating the upper and lower resilient members, the left and right recesses being located in the intermediate section, and A left convergence point defining an innermost edge of the left recess and a right convergence point defining an innermost edge of the right recess, the left convergence point and the right convergence point being closer to the upper elastic member than to the lower elastic member.
20. 20. The external nasal dilator of claim 19 wherein the middle section, right recess, and left recess separate a first expansion force at the upper leaflet from a second expansion force at the lower leaflet.

Description

External nasal dilator Cross Reference to Related Applications The present disclosure claims priority from U.S. application Ser. No.63/536,791, filed on 6/9 at 2024, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Technical Field The present disclosure relates to the field of nasal dilators, and more particularly to external nasal dilators. Background The external nasal dilator aids in breathing through the nose. The external nasal dilator gently expands the nasal passages by applying an outward dilating force that supports the nasal passages from collapsing inward when the wearer inhales. Such a dilator consists of one or more strips of elastic material attached to an adhesive substrate. When the dilator is adhered to the skin of the nose, the resilient material acts as a spring, exerting an outward force on the nose during inspiration. Disclosure of Invention A problem with conventional commercially available external nasal dilators is that they only act on the internal nasal valve and essentially ignore the external nasal valve. There is a need for an improved external nasal dilator that applies a dilating force to both the internal and external nasal petals. It would also be advantageous to separate the expansion force applied to the inner nasal valve from the expansion force applied to the outer nasal valve and provide additional adhesive surface area on the portion of the outer nasal dilator that acts on the outer nasal valve. The novel external nasal dilator described herein addresses one or more of these issues. A first example of such an external nasal dilator is configured to dilate laterally opposite internal and external nasal petals of a human nose. The external nasal dilator includes a flexible substrate having an adhesive rear surface for adhering the external nasal dilator to a person's nose. The flexible substrate has a top edge, a bottom edge, a left edge, and a right edge that collectively define an outer perimeter of the outer nasal dilator. The left and right edges converge inwardly toward each other to form a left recess along the left edge and a right recess along the right edge. The left and right recesses divide the flexible substrate into two laterally opposing upper lobes and two laterally opposing lower lobes. The upper section of the flexible substrate includes the two laterally opposing upper lobes and carries an upper resilient member that extends laterally from one upper lobe to the other upper lobe. When the outer nasal dilator is adhered to the nose, the upper resilient member applies a first expansion force to the inner nasal valve. The lower section of the flexible substrate includes the two laterally opposing lower lobes and carries a lower elastic member that is different from the upper elastic member and extends laterally from one lower lobe to the other lower lobe. The lower elastic member and the lower section are laterally elongated relative to the upper elastic member and the upper section, respectively. When the external nasal dilator is adhered to the nose, the lower resilient member applies a second expansion force to the external nasal valve. The intermediate section of the flexible substrate extends laterally between and longitudinally separates the upper and lower elastic members. The left recess and the right recess are located in the middle section. The external nasal dilator may also include one or more of the additional features discussed below. The middle section, right recess, and left recess may separate a first expansion force at the upper lobe from a second expansion force at the lower lobe. The surface area of the bonded surface on the lower section may be greater than the surface area on the upper section. The second expansion force may be greater than the first expansion force. The left convergence point defining the innermost edge of the left recess and the right convergence point defining the innermost edge of the right recess may be closer to the upper elastic member than to the lower elastic member. A plurality of discrete slits may pass through the intermediate section, the discrete slits being laterally spaced apart and longitudinally elongated. A pair of opposing cutouts may extend longitudinally through the flexible substrate at laterally opposite ends of the lower resilient member, respectively. The opposing cutouts define a pair of opposing tabs of the lower resilient member that guide the second expansion force. The upper elastic member has a lateral length from its left end to its right end, and the distance between the opposing cutouts is less than the lateral length. A second example of such an external nasal dilator is configured to dilate laterally opposite internal and external nasal petals of a human nose. The external nasal dilator includes a flexible substrate having an adhesive rear surface for adhering the external nasal dilator to a person's nose. The flexible substrate has a top edge, a bottom edge, a left edge,