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EP-4736921-A2 - RESPIRATORY PRESSURE THERAPY DEVICE

EP4736921A2EP 4736921 A2EP4736921 A2EP 4736921A2EP-4736921-A2

Abstract

The present invention discloses a respiratory pressure therapy device comprising: an enclosure including a first portion and a second portion, the second portion configured to engage the first portion in an assembled configuration, the first portion including a first interior surface, a first exterior surface and a first intermediate surface located between the first interior surface and the first exterior surface, the second portion including a second interior surface, a second exterior surface and a second intermediate surface located between the second interior surface and the second exterior surface, and a constrainment arrangement comprising respective interior and exterior surfaces of the first and second portions being configured to abut against each other so as to limit lateral movement of the first portion and the second portion.

Inventors

  • MAZZONE, DAMIEN JULIAN

Assignees

  • ResMed Pty Ltd

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20211102

Claims (15)

  1. A respiratory pressure therapy device comprising: an enclosure including a first portion and a second portion, the second portion configured to engage the first portion in an assembled configuration, the first portion including a first interior surface, a first exterior surface and a first intermediate surface located between the first interior surface and the first exterior surface, the second portion including a second interior surface, a second exterior surface and a second intermediate surface located between the second interior surface and the second exterior surface, and a constrainment arrangement comprising respective interior and exterior surfaces of the first and second portions being configured to abut against each other so as to limit lateral movement of the first portion and the second portion.
  2. The respiratory pressure therapy device according to claim 1, further comprising a seal, wherein the seal comprises a flexible material, and wherein the seal is arranged for providing a compression seal between the first intermediate surface and the second intermediate surface in use, optionally wherein: a lateral dimension of the seal is smaller than a corresponding dimension of at least one of the intermediate surfaces; and/or compression forces during assembly act upon the seal in a direction generally transverse to the intermediate surfaces.
  3. The respiratory pressure therapy device according to any one of claims 1 to 2, further comprising, enclosed at least partially in the enclosure: a blower to provide a supply of air for respiratory pressure therapy; a user interface; an air inlet; and a suspension system arranged to suspend the blower; and an air outlet, optionally wherein the user interface is mounted on the first exterior surface.
  4. The respiratory pressure therapy device according to any one of claims 2 to 3, wherein the seal comprises a cross-section including a relatively thick region that provides a base for attachment to the first portion, and a relatively thin region that provides a free end or engagement surface for engagement with the second portion.
  5. The respiratory pressure therapy device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein, in the assembled configuration, the lateral movement on both sides of an engaged peripheral edge of each of the first and second portions, is constrained continuously for a length of the engaged peripheral edge, optionally wherein, in the assembled configuration, the lateral movement is constrained by way of a surface along the peripheral edge of one of the first portion engaging a surface along the peripheral edge of the second portion, along at least the portion of the peripheral edge, further optionally wherein, in the assembled configuration, the surfaces along the respective peripheral edges of each of the first and second portions engage with each other so that the engagement edge of each of the first and second portions constrains the lateral movement of the edge of the other of the first and second portions on both sides.
  6. The respiratory pressure therapy device according to claim 5, wherein, in the assembled configuration, the constrained engaged edge runs continuously along an entire periphery of the respiratory pressure therapy device.
  7. The respiratory pressure therapy device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the constrainment arrangement comprises a tongue and groove engagement arrangement between the first and second portions, optionally wherein the tongue and groove engagement arrangement is configured such that, in the assembled configuration, at least a portion of the tongue is received within the groove and the groove fits tightly on both sides of the tongue, thus creating a tortuous path for sound waves propagating through the tongue and groove engagement arrangement.
  8. The respiratory pressure therapy device according to any one of claims 2 to 7, wherein the seal comprises a flexible material engaged in a sealing arrangement along at least one peripheral edge of the first portion and the second portion, in the assembled configuration, optionally wherein, in the assembled configuration, the engaged peripheral edges and the seal form the compression seal.
  9. The respiratory pressure therapy device according to any one of claims 2 to 8, wherein the seal comprises at least one of the following cross-sectional shapes: substantially triangular, substantially circular, substantially D-shaped and substantially double chamfered.
  10. The respiratory pressure therapy device according to any one of claims 2 to 9, wherein the seal includes a cross-section comprising a portion having a dimension in any direction that is at least 1.5 mm, to limit sound penetration.
  11. The respiratory pressure therapy device according to any one of claims 2 to 10, wherein the constrainment arrangement comprises a tongue-and-groove arrangement and the seal is permanently attached to the groove or the tongue of the tongue-and-groove arrangement, optionally wherein the groove and/or the tongue is coated in a flexible material.
  12. The respiratory pressure therapy device according to any one of claims 2 to 11, wherein the seal comprises a creep-prone material, optionally wherein the seal comprises TPE, TPU or TPV.
  13. The respiratory pressure therapy device according to any one of claims 2 to 12, wherein the seal is overmolded onto a peripheral edge of at least one of the first and the second portions.
  14. The respiratory pressure therapy device according to any one of claims 2 to 13, wherein in an operational configuration of the respiratory pressure therapy device, there is a pressure difference between an inner side of the enclosure and ambient, along at least a portion of the engagement edge, and the engagement edge provides both a noise mitigation and a pneumatic seal between the pressurized enclosure and ambient.
  15. The respiratory pressure therapy device according to any one of claims 2 to 14, wherein the seal is a gasket.

Description

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in Patent Office patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever. 1 CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Nos. 63/108,946, filed November 3, 2020, 63/167,747, filed March 30, 2021, and 63/248,554, filed September 27, 2021, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 2 BACKGROUND OF THE TECHNOLOGY 2.1 FIELD OF THE TECHNOLOGY The present technology relates to one or more of the screening, diagnosis, monitoring, treatment, prevention and amelioration of respiratory-related disorders. The present technology also relates to medical devices or apparatus, and their use. 2.2 DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART 2.2.1 Human Respiratory System and its Disorders The respiratory system of the body facilitates gas exchange. The nose and mouth form the entrance to the airways of a patient. The airways include a series of branching tubes, which become narrower, shorter and more numerous as they penetrate deeper into the lung. The prime function of the lung is gas exchange, allowing oxygen to move from the inhaled air into the venous blood and carbon dioxide to move in the opposite direction. The trachea divides into right and left main bronchi, which further divide eventually into terminal bronchioles. The bronchi make up the conducting airways, and do not take part in gas exchange. Further divisions of the airways lead to the respiratory bronchioles, and eventually to the alveoli. The alveolated region of the lung is where the gas exchange takes place, and is referred to as the respiratory zone. See "Respiratory Physiology", by John B. West, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 9th edition published 2012. A range of respiratory disorders exist. Certain disorders may be characterised by particular events, e.g. apneas, hypopneas, and hyperpneas. Examples of respiratory disorders include Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), Cheyne-Stokes Respiration (CSR), respiratory insufficiency, Obesity Hyperventilation Syndrome (OHS), Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Neuromuscular Disease (NMD) and Chest wall disorders. Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), a form of Sleep Disordered Breathing (SDB), is characterised by events including occlusion or obstruction of the upper air passage during sleep. It results from a combination of an abnormally small upper airway and the normal loss of muscle tone in the region of the tongue, soft palate and posterior oropharyngeal wall during sleep. The condition causes the affected patient to stop breathing for periods typically of 30 to 120 seconds in duration, sometimes 200 to 300 times per night. It often causes excessive daytime somnolence, and it may cause cardiovascular disease and brain damage. The syndrome is a common disorder, particularly in middle aged overweight males, although a person affected may have no awareness of the problem. See US Patent No. 4,944,310 (Sullivan). A range of therapies have been used to treat or ameliorate such conditions. Furthermore, otherwise healthy individuals may take advantage of such therapies to prevent respiratory disorders from arising. However, at least some of these therapies and/or their implementations may have a number of shortcomings. 2.2.2 Therapies Various respiratory therapies, such as Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) therapy, Non-invasive ventilation (NIV), Invasive ventilation (IV), and High Flow Therapy (HFT) have been used to treat one or more of the above respiratory disorders. 2.2.2.1 Respiratory pressure therapies Respiratory pressure therapy is the application of a supply of air to an entrance to the airways at a controlled target pressure that is nominally positive with respect to atmosphere throughout the patient's breathing cycle (in contrast to negative pressure therapies such as the tank ventilator or cuirass). Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) therapy has been used to treat Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). The mechanism of action is that continuous positive airway pressure acts as a pneumatic splint and may prevent upper airway occlusion, such as by pushing the soft palate and tongue forward and away from the posterior oropharyngeal wall. Treatment of OSA by CPAP therapy may be voluntary, and hence patients may elect not to comply with therapy if they find devices used to provide such therapy one or more of: uncomfortable, difficult to use, noisy, expensive and aesthetically unappealing. Non-invasive ventilation (NIV) provides ventilatory support to a patient through the upper airways to assist the patient breathing and/or maintain adequate oxygen levels in the body by doing some or all of the work of breathing. The ventilatory support is provided via a no