Nasal Dilator and Methods of Fabricating Medical Devices

Abstract

A nasal dilator comprises adjacent, substantially parallel resilient members having mid-sections substantially parallel to the dilator longitudinal centerline and end portions that diverge obliquely away from the centerline. The dilator may comprise a laminate of vertically stacked material layers that each have a different peripheral shape, and greater or lesser surface area, from that of the others. The dilator may comprise resilient members that diverge or curve symmetrically about the dilator longitudinal centerline such that a shape of a resilient member on one side of a lateral centerline is a mirror image of its shape on the opposite side of the lateral centerline.

I claim: 
     
         1 . A nasal dilator comprising:
 an engagement element comprising at least one of a base member or a cover member;   a functional element comprising at least two discrete, adjacent, spaced apart, substantially parallel resilient members having uniform width extending between terminal ends thereof, the resilient members having mid-sections substantially parallel to a longitudinal centerline of the nasal dilator, wherein   at least one of the at least two substantially parallel resilient members includes lateral end portions that diverge obliquely away from the longitudinal centerline of the nasal dilator and toward a nearest long edge of the nasal dilator.   
     
     
         2 . The dilator of  claim 1  wherein a first resilient member of the at least two resilient members extends from end to end in a straight line, a second resilient member of the at least two resilient members has opposite end portions that diverge obliquely away from the longitudinal centerline toward a nearest long edge of the nasal dilator; and
 wherein a plan view periphery of the nasal dilator is symmetric about a lateral centerline of the nasal dilator and asymmetric about the longitudinal centerline thereof. 
 
     
     
         3 . The dilator of  claim 1  wherein at least a different one of the at least two substantially parallel resilient members includes lateral end portions that diverge obliquely away from the longitudinal centerline of the nasal dilator and toward a different nearest long edge of the nasal dilator, the dilator further comprising:
 a third resilient member extending from end to end in a straight line, said third resilient member positioned between the at least two substantially parallel resilient members and parallel to the longitudinal centerline. 
 
     
     
         4 . The dilator of  claim 1  wherein:
 the engagement element comprises a base member having a first peripheral shape and a cover member having a second peripheral shape; 
 the functional element comprising at least two substantially parallel resilient members forms a third peripheral shape; and 
 wherein each of the peripheral shapes are different from each other, such that the cover member has a greatest surface area, the base member has a lesser surface area than the cover member, and a total surface area of all of the at least two substantially parallel resilient members is less than or equal to the lesser surface area of the base member. 
 
     
     
         5 . The dilator of  claim 1  wherein all of the resilient members have opposite end portions that diverge obliquely in a common direction toward a same long edge of the nasal dilator; and
 wherein a plan view periphery of the nasal dilator is symmetric about a lateral centerline of the nasal dilator and asymmetric about the longitudinal centerline thereof. 
 
     
     
         6 . The dilator of  claim 1  wherein the lateral end portions of the second resilient member are longer than a mid portion thereof. 
     
     
         7 . The dilator of  claim 1  wherein at least one resilient member has a first length, a first width, and a first thickness, and at least one other resilient member has a thickness exceeding the first thickness, a width at least equal to the first width, and a length at least equal to the first length. 
     
     
         8 . The dilator of  claim 1  wherein the engagement element comprises a thin, supple plastic film, and the at least two resilient members of the functional element are secured to a flat surface side thereof. 
     
     
         9 . The nasal dilator of  claim 1 , further comprising a protective release liner having a periphery extending outboard at least a portion of the nasal dilator periphery, the release liner periphery including a lip thereat for grasping by a user preliminary to using the dilator. 
     
     
         10 . A nasal dilator comprising a laminate of vertically stacked material layers, including:
 a base layer comprising a base member having a first peripheral shape;   a resilient layer comprising at least one resilient member having a second peripheral shape;   a cover layer comprising a cover member having a third peripheral shape; and   wherein each of the peripheral shapes are different from each other, such that the cover member has a greatest surface area, the base member has a lesser surface area than the cover member, and the at least one resilient member has a lesser surface area than the base member.   
     
     
         11 . The nasal dilator of  claim 10 , wherein the resilient layer comprises from one to six discrete, laterally adjacent, spaced apart, substantially parallel resilient members. 
     
     
         12 . A nasal dilator comprising:
 an engagement layer comprising at least one of a base member or a cover member; and   at least one oblong resilient member having roughly parallel long edges and a longitudinal resilient member centerline therebetween, wherein   the longitudinal resilient member centerline includes curves bending both left and right.   
     
     
         13 . The nasal dilator of  claim 12 , wherein the at least one oblong resilient member whose longitudinal resilient member centerline has curves bending both left and right, forms a shape that is symmetric about a lateral centerline of the dilator, such that a shape of the oblong resilient member on one side of the lateral centerline is a mirror image of a shape of the oblong resilient member on another side of the lateral centerline.