Cuff for air delivery conduit

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9903371-B2
Application number	US-46196709-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 28, 2009
Priority date	Sep 17, 2008
Publication date	Feb 27, 2018
Grant date	Feb 27, 2018

Abstract

A cuff for an air delivery conduit includes a first end portion provided to a tube and a second end portion adapted to engage a tubular connector. The second end portion includes an entry surface that is curved or chamfered along its length to provide a lead in for inserting the second end portion onto the tubular connector in use. The entry surface provides an internal diameter that is larger than an external diameter of the tubular connector.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An air delivery conduit for use with an apparatus to deliver a supply of pressurized breathable air to a patient, the air delivery conduit comprising:
a flexible tube having a first end and a second end, the flexible tube including spiral ribbing from the first end to the second end; and
a one-piece cuff of continuous, homogeneous, and elastomeric material fixedly attached at each end of the flexible tube, each said one-piece cuff having a circular cross-section, and each said one-piece cuff comprising:
a first end portion having an internal surface fixed to an external surface of the flexible tube of the air delivery conduit and the spiral ribbing with a molded connection, and an external surface; and
a second end portion having an internal surface comprising the elastomeric material adapted to frictionally engage an exterior surface of a tubular connector and resist rotation of the one-piece cuff relative to the tubular connector,

wherein the second end portion includes an entry surface that is curved or chamfered along its length, the entry surface extending inwardly into the one-piece cuff from an outer edge of the second end portion to provide a lead-in for positioning the second end portion onto the tubular connector in use, and the entry surface providing an internal diameter that is dimensioned to be larger than an external diameter of the tubular connector, and
wherein the one-piece cuff further comprises a stop surface adjacent the first end portion and adapted to prevent the one-piece cuff from inserting onto the tubular connector beyond the depth of the stop surface, the stop surface being located at a maximum insertion distance of the tubular connector within the one-piece cuff.

2. The air delivery conduit according to claim 1 , wherein the internal diameter of the entry surface is dimensioned to be about 0.5 to 10 mm greater than the external diameter of the tubular connector.

3. The air delivery conduit according to claim 2 , wherein the internal diameter is dimensioned to be about 2-5 mm greater than the external diameter of the tubular connector.

4. The air delivery conduit according to claim 1 , wherein an annular bead is provided on the internal surface of the second end portion axially inward from the entry surface, the annular bead providing an intermediate surface having an internal diameter that is dimensioned to be smaller than the external diameter of the tubular connector.

5. The air delivery conduit according to claim 4 , wherein the intermediate surface is adapted to engage with a portion of the external surface of the tubular connector to retain the one-piece cuff on the tubular connector.

6. The air delivery conduit according to claim 5 , wherein the engagement of the intermediate surface with the portion of the external surface of the tubular connector is adapted to provide a gas tight seal.

7. The air delivery conduit according to claim 4 , wherein the internal diameter of the intermediate surface is dimensioned to be 0.1 to 5 mm less than the external diameter of the tubular connector.

8. The air delivery conduit according to claim 7 , wherein the internal diameter of the intermediate surface is dimensioned to be about 1 mm less than the external diameter of the tubular connector.

9. The air delivery conduit according to claim 4 , wherein the annular bead has a width that is dimensioned to be less than a maximum insertion distance of the tubular connector within the one-piece cuff.

10. The air delivery conduit according to claim 9 , wherein the annular bead has a width of less than about 12 mm.

11. The air delivery conduit according to claim 9 , wherein the width of the annular bead and the internal diameter of the intermediate surface are configured to provide a desired retention force to retain the one-piece cuff on the tubular connector under predetermined conditions.

12. The air delivery conduit according to claim 9 , wherein the width of the annular bead is less than about 50% of the maximum insertion distance of the one-piece cuff.

13. The air delivery conduit according to claim 4 , wherein the annular bead has a width that is tapered along its length, the annular bead having a larger width adjacent to the entry surface.

14. The air delivery conduit according to claim 4 , wherein the intermediate surface is flat in an undeformed state.

15. The air delivery conduit according to claim 4 , wherein the annular bead is structured to resiliently deform upon engagement with the tubular connector so as to provide a gas tight seal against the tubular connector and retain the one-piece cuff on the tubular connector.

16. The air delivery conduit according to claim 1 , wherein the stop surface is axially inward from an annular bead that is axially inward from the entry surface.

17. The air delivery conduit according to claim 16 , wherein the second end portion further includes an annular interior surface provided between the annular bead and the stop surface and having an internal diameter that is dimensioned to be between 0 to 5 mm greater than the external diameter of the tubular connector.

18. The air delivery conduit according to claim 17 , wherein the internal diameter of the annular interior surface is dimensioned to be substantially the same as the external diameter of the tubular connector.

19. The air delivery conduit according to claim 17 , wherein the internal diameter of the annular interior surface is dimensioned to be up to 1 mm greater than the external diameter of the tubular connector.

20. The air delivery conduit according to claim 1 , wherein the stop surface comprises a flanged face.

21. The air delivery conduit according to claim 1 , wherein the external surface includes grooves and a pair of raised finger grips, each raised finger grip comprising a single, continuous, and generally U-shaped protrusion projecting away from the external surface to facilitate manual attachment and detachment of the one-piece cuff to and from the tubular connector.

22. The air delivery conduit according to claim 21 , wherein the raised finger grips do not extend beyond an outermost diameter of the second end portion.

23. The air delivery conduit according to claim 1 , further comprising a thermistor adapted to connect to wires in the flexible tube.

24. The air delivery conduit according to claim 1 , wherein the flexible tube has an internal diameter of about 15 mm and the tubular connector is a standard 22 mm external diameter ISO-taper tubular connector.

25. The air delivery conduit according to claim 1 , wherein the internal surface of the first end portion of each one-piece cuff is fixedly attached to an exterior surface of the spiral ribbing.

26. The air delivery conduit according to claim 1 , further comprising a step portion extending externally and circumferentially about the one-piece cuff, the step portion positioned between the first end portion and the second end portion.

27. The air delivery conduit according to claim 1 , further comprising an external step portion positioned adjacent to the stop surface relative to the longitudinal axis of the one-piece cuff, the external step portion and the stop surface defining concentric circles.

28. The air delivery conduit according to claim 1 , wherein the first end portion has an external diameter that is less than an external diameter of the second end portion

Assignees

• Row Nathan John
• Earl Nicholas Andrew
• Virr Alexander
• Resmed Ltd

Inventors

• Row Nathan John
• Earl Nicholas Andrew
• Virr Alexander

Classifications

• A61M16/0875

  Connecting tubes · CPC title

• A61M16/0816 Primary

  Joints or connectors · CPC title

• F04D1/00 Primary

  Radial-flow pumps, e.g. centrifugal pumps; Helico-centrifugal pumps (adapted for pumping specific fluids F04D7/00; priming or boosting F04D9/00) · CPC title