Patent ID: 7836889
Filing Date: 2010-11-23
Classification: A61F

Abstract:
1. An airway maintenance apparatus for drawing a lower jaw forward to forcibly maintain an airway, the airway maintenance apparatus comprising: an upper-jaw side attachment to be attached to the upper jaw side in the oral cavity, and a lower-jaw side attachment to be attached to the lower jaw side in the oral cavity, provided separately from the upper jaw side attachment, wherein the lower-jaw side attachment is connected to the upper-jaw side attachment via a stepless adjusting device capable of moving in a stepless manner in the direction of drawing the lower jaw forward relative to the upper-jaw side attachment, the stepless adjusting device comprising: a bolt member provided with a turn operating portion at one end of a screw portion thereof, a bolt member retainer mounted on the upper-jaw side attachment in a vertically rotatable manner, and formed to allow the penetration of the screw portion of the bolt member, and not to allow the penetration of the turn operation portion, a nut member mounted on the lower-jaw side attachment, in which the screw portion of the bolt member penetrating the bolt member retainer can be screwed, and a fixing device, having an axial bolt and a nut, for fixing the bolt member retainer to the upper jaw side attachment at a specified angle, wherein the bolt member is formed not to allow axial movement thereof, relative to the bolt member retainer, and so that the lower-jaw side attachment can be moved forward and backward relative to the upper jaw side attachment by turning the bolt member, in a state where the bolt member is screwed into the nut member, the vertically rotatable manner of the bolt member retainer and the fixing device enables the bolt member retainer to be fixed at an angle, thereby permitting drawing of the lower jaw obliquely upward.