Mouthguard including a protection portion having heating and softening features

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11273360-B2
Application number	US-201916363860-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 25, 2019
Priority date	Sep 30, 2016
Publication date	Mar 15, 2022
Grant date	Mar 15, 2022

Abstract

A mouthguard according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes an occlusion portion that is configured to be disposed between and engaged by at least some of the upper teeth and at least some of the lower teeth of a wearer. The mouthguard further includes a protection portion coupled to the occlusion portion. The protection portion is configured to be disposed laterally and anteriorly relative to the upper teeth of the wearer. The protection portion includes an interior surface that is configured to face toward the teeth of the wearer. The protection portion further includes an exterior surface opposite the interior surface and configured to face away from the teeth of the wearer. At least a portion of the exterior surface is a textured surface.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A mouthguard comprising:
an occlusion portion configured to be disposed between and engaged between at least some of the teeth of a wearer, the occlusion portion comprising:
a base comprising a first material having a first hardness, the first material comprising polycaprolactone;
a bite layer coupled to the base and configured to be engaged by at least some of the upper teeth of the wearer, the bite layer comprising a second material having a second hardness, the second hardness being less than the first hardness, the second material comprising a copolymer of ethylene and vinyl acetate (EVA);

a protection portion coupled to the occlusion portion, the protection portion configured to be disposed laterally and anteriorly relative to the teeth of the wearer, the protection portion comprising:
an interior surface configured to face toward the teeth of the wearer; and
an exterior surface opposite the interior surface and configured to face away from the teeth of the wearer, at least a portion of the exterior surface being a textured surface.

2. The mouthguard of claim 1 , wherein the protection portion further comprises a plurality of through holes extending from the interior surface to the exterior surface.

3. The mouthguard of claim 2 , wherein at least some of the plurality of through holes are arranged in a row.

4. The mouthguard of claim 3 , wherein at least some of the plurality of through holes are arranged in a column.

5. The mouthguard of claim 2 , wherein at least some of the plurality of through holes are arranged in a column.

6. The mouthguard of claim 2 , wherein the exterior surface has an open area percentage, the open area percentage being a percentage of the total area of the through holes to the total area of the exterior surface, including the through holes, and the open area percentage being in a range from 15 percent to 1 percent.

7. The mouthguard of claim 2 , wherein the plurality of through holes comprises:
a first row of through holes; and
a second row of through holes disposed inferiorly to the first row of through holes.

8. The mouthguard of claim 1 , wherein the bite layer is a superior bite layer, and the occlusion portion further comprises an inferior bite layer coupled to the base and configured to be engaged by at least some of the lower teeth of the wearer, the inferior bite layer comprising a third material having a third hardness, the third hardness being less than the first hardness.

9. The mouthguard of claim 8 , wherein the protection portion has a first thickness between the interior surface and the exterior surface, the superior bite layer has a second thickness extending in a superior-inferior direction, and the first thickness is greater than the second thickness.

10. The mouthguard of claim 9 , wherein the inferior bite layer has a third thickness extending in a superior-inferior direction, and the first thickness is greater than the third thickness.

11. The mouthguard of claim 10 , wherein the first thickness is in a range from 150 percent to 50 percent greater than the third thickness.

12. The mouthguard of claim 8 , wherein the third material comprises one of a copolymer of ethylene and vinyl acetate (EVA), thermoplastic rubber, and polypropylene.

13. The mouthguard of claim 9 , wherein the first thickness is in a range from 150 percent to 50 percent greater than the second thickness.

14. The mouthguard of claim 1 , wherein another portion of the exterior surface is a smooth surface.

15. The mouthguard of claim 14 , wherein the textured surface has a first waviness height, the smooth surface has a second waviness height, and the second waviness height is less than the first waviness height.

16. The mouthguard of claim 15 , wherein the first waviness height is greater than or equal to 0.3 mm and the second waviness height is less than 0.3 mm.

17. The mouthguard of claim 14 , wherein the smooth surface is a first smooth surface, and the exterior surface comprises:
a left posterior portion comprising the first smooth surface;
a right posterior portion comprising a second smooth surface; and
an anterior portion coupling the left posterior portion to the right posterior portion, the anterior portion comprising the textured surface.

18. The mouthguard of claim 1 , wherein the textured surface comprises a plurality of blind recesses.

19. The mouthguard of claim 18 , wherein the plurality of recesses each comprise at least one of a diamond shape, a hexagon shape, a square shape, and a circle shape.

20. The mouthguard of claim 19 , wherein another portion of the exterior surface is a smooth surface.

21. The mouthguard of claim 1 , wherein the protection portion has a first thickness between the interior surface and the exterior surface, the bite layer has a second thickness extending in a superior-inferior direction, and the first thickness is greater than the second thickness.

22. The mouthguard of claim 21 , wherein the first thickness is in a range from 150 percent to 50 percent greater than the second thickness.

23. The mouthguard of claim 1 , wherein the protection portion comprises the first material.

Assignees

• Shock Doctor Inc

Inventors

• Turkbas Jay

Classifications

• A63B2071/086

  Mouth inserted protectors with breathing holes · CPC title

• A63B71/085 Primary

  Mouth or teeth protectors (A63B71/081 takes precedence) · CPC title