US 11,701,486 B2
Patient interfaces
Fadi Karim Moh'd Mashal, Auckland (NZ); Kirstin Elizabeth Middelkoop, Auckland (NZ); Roheet Patel, Auckland (NZ); Peter David Alexander Bearne, Auckland (NZ); Mark Andrew Thompson, Auckland (NZ); Amit Galgali, Auckland (NZ); Michael John Henri Cox, Auckland (NZ); Gregory James Olsen, Auckland (NZ); Mark Arvind McLaren, Auckland (NZ); Max Leon Betteridge, Auckland (NZ); and Bruno Sintive, Auckland (NZ)
Assigned to Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Limited, Auckland (NZ)
Appl. No. 15/316,814
Filed by Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Limited, Auckland (NZ)
PCT Filed Jun. 17, 2015, PCT No. PCT/IB2015/054560
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Dec. 6, 2016,
PCT Pub. No. WO2015/193821, PCT Pub. Date Dec. 23, 2015.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/013,445, filed on Jun. 17, 2014.
Prior Publication US 2017/0246411 A1, Aug. 31, 2017
Int. Cl. A61M 16/06 (2006.01)
CPC A61M 16/0605 (2014.02) [A61M 16/06 (2013.01); A61M 16/0616 (2014.02); A61M 16/0683 (2013.01); A61M 2210/0618 (2013.01); A61M 2210/0625 (2013.01)] 22 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A mask assembly for use in providing positive pressure respiratory therapy, the mask assembly comprising:
a mask seal comprising a wall having an inner surface opposite an outer surface and a wall thickness defined between the inner surface and outer surface, the mask assembly also comprising a mask shell, the mask seal being connected to the mask shell;
the mask assembly being configured to be fully positioned lower than a bridge of a nose of a face of a user, the mask assembly also being configured to provide an exposed bridge of the nose of the user;
the mask seal comprising a nasal region comprising at least one nasal opening, the mask seal further comprising an upper front portion positioned vertically higher than the mask shell, the upper front portion extending in a lateral direction across a front side of the mask seal, the nasal region of the mask seal comprising an upper surface defined by a central portion of an outer surface of the mask seal, a first paddle extending upward relative to the upper surface on a first side of the nasal region and a second paddle extending upward relative to the upper surface on a second side of the nasal region, the first paddle comprising a first upper ridge at a vertical apex of the first paddle, the second paddle comprising a second upper ridge at a vertical apex of the second paddle, the first paddle being configured to contact a first side of the nose of the user and the second paddle configured to contact the other a second side of the nose of the user, the upper surface being located between the first paddle and the second paddle;
a wall surface of the first paddle comprising a first elongate area of increased wall thickness relative to the upper surface of the nasal region and a wall surface of the second paddle comprising a second elongate area of increased wall thickness relative to the upper surface of the nasal region, each of the first elongate area of increased wall thickness and the second elongate area of increased wall thickness comprising a generally triangular shape with a base of the generally triangular shape being positioned closer to the face of the user than a tip of the generally triangular shape, the first elongate area of increased wall thickness and the second elongate area of increased wall thickness extending in a fore-aft direction between a first end and a second end, the first elongate area of increased wall thickness extending along the first upper ridge of the first paddle, the second elongate area of increased wall thickness extending along the second upper ridge of the second paddle, the first elongate area of increased wall thickness joining a first laterally outward-facing surface portion of the first paddle and a first laterally inward-facing surface portion of the first paddle, the second elongate area of increased wall thickness joining a second laterally outward-facing surface portion of the second paddle and a second laterally inward-facing surface portion of the second paddle, and each of the first laterally inward-facing surface portion and the second laterally inward-facing surface portion having a curved shape that is concave facing an interior of the mask seal.