Method and apparatus for treatment of snoring and sleep apnea

Abstract

An anti-snoring device that attaches to a specific area of the neck. The attachment means can be an adhesive, a clip or an implant. The device exerts a predetermined pulling force on this area of the neck, causing this area of the neck to expand outward from its normal position. This expansion opens a blockage in the throat of a sleeping person, thereby eliminating snoring and helping some people with obstructive sleep apnea.

1 . An anti-snoring device comprising: 
 at least one skin attachment means; and    means for exerting a predetermined pulling force on said skin attachment means such that when said skin attachment means is attached to a predetermined area of skin on the neck of a human, said pulling force expands said predetermined area of skin and causes a reduction in snoring in the human.    
   
   
       2 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein said skin attachment means includes an adhesive coated support member.  
   
   
       3 . The apparatus of  claim 2  wherein the predetermined area of skin is over a responsive point on the neck of said human.  
   
   
       4 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein said skin attachment means includes a mechanical clip means for grabbing said predetermined skin area.  
   
   
       5 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein said skin attachment means includes a magnetic implant below the surface of said predetermined skin area and a means of magnetically attracting said magnetic implant means.  
   
   
       6 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein said means for exerting said predetermined pulling force includes a bridge type anti-snoring apparatus with at least one support surface that exerts a pushing force on a jawbone area of the human.  
   
   
       7 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein said means for exerting said predetermined pulling force includes a cantilever type anti-snoring apparatus which exerts a pushing force on a jawbone area of said human and also exerts a pulling force on a cheek area of the human.  
   
   
       8 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein said means for exerting said predetermined pulling force includes an elastic connector means in compression attached to two of said skin attachment means.  
   
   
       9 . The apparatus of  claim 8  wherein said elastic connector is a bow coupling device and said skin attachment means includes an adhesive coated support member.  
   
   
       10 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein said means for exerting a predetermined pulling force includes an elastic connector means in tension which is attached to both an anchor point on the human and attached to said skin attachment means.  
   
   
       11 . An apparatus for treatment of restricted breathing in a human, said apparatus comprising: 
 at least one support member;    adhesive means for attaching at least a part of said support member to at least a predetermined part of the skin of throat stimulation area of a human; and    bias means to provide a predetermined pulling force to cause at least a portion of the said skin of the throat stimulation area to expand outward by at least 2.5 mm from its normal position, wherein the expansion of said skin modifies the throat such that the human exhibits a substantial improvement in said restricted breathing.    
   
   
       12 . An apparatus for treatment of restricted breathing in a human, said apparatus comprising: 
 a support member;    skin attachment means for attaching said support member to a predetermined area on the neck of a human; and    bias means for applying a pulling force to said support member and to the said neck area.    
   
   
       13 . The apparatus for treatment of restricted breathing in a human of  claim 12  wherein said skin attachment means comprises a mechanical clip.  
   
   
       14 . The apparatus for treatment of restricted breathing in a human of  claim 12  wherein said support member comprises a bridge type neck patch and said skin attachment means consists of an adhesive.  
   
   
       15 . The apparatus for treatment of restricted breathing in a human of  claim 12  wherein said support member comprises a cantilevered type neck patch.  
   
   
       16 . The apparatus for treatment of restricted breathing in a human of  claim 12  wherein said bias means comprises an elastic connector in tension.  
   
   
       17 . The apparatus for treatment of restricted breathing in a human of  claim 12  wherein said support member comprises a pair of skin attachment means connected together by an elastic connector in compression.  
   
   
       18 . The apparatus for treatment of restricted breathing in a human of  claim 12  wherein said support member is a magnet and said attachment means is magnetic attraction to a magnetic implant in said predetermined area of the neck of said human.  
   
   
       19 . A method for treatment of snoring, said method comprising the steps of: 
 providing at least one support member;    adhering the at least one support member to at least one predetermined area of the user's neck; and    applying a predetermined pulling force to the at least one support member to cause the predetermined area of the neck to expand outward by at least 2.5 mm and open the air passage in the user's throat.    
   
   
       20 . The method for treatment of snoring of  claim 19  wherein said step of providing a support member comprises providing a bridge type patch.  
   
   
       21 . The method for treatment of snoring of  claim 20  wherein said step of adhering the support member to a predetermined area of the user's neck comprises flattening the bridge type patch against the user's neck.  
   
   
       22 . The method of  claim 19  wherein said step of providing at least one support member includes providing two support members, and said step of adhering to at least one predetermined area of the neck includes the step of adhering at least one of the support members to skin of the throat stimulation area  
   
   
       23 . The method for treatment of snoring of  claim 22  wherein said step of applying a predetermined pulling force includes providing an elastic connector in compression and attaching the connector to the two support members.  
   
   
       24 . The method for treatment of snoring of  claim 19  wherein said step of adhering the at least one support member to at least one predetermined area of the user's neck includes the step of adhering the support member to the throat stimulation area.  
   
   
       25 . The method for treatment of snoring of  claim 19  wherein said step of adhering the at least one support member to the throat stimulation area includes the step of adhering the support member to a responsive point within the throat stimulation area.