Abstract:
This invention relates to a protective mouthguard for use by athletes that incorporates a color customizable feature, allowing users to customize the visible color of the mouthguard. The invented protective mouthguard has a u-shaped base that will fit inside of a user&#39;s mouth. The front surface of the mouthguard can be visible when the mouthguard is worn by the user inside of his mouth. A colorable strip is placed inside a cavity in the front wall of the mouthguard and is visible through holes that are placed in the front wall.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims priority to provisional application No. 60/976,175 filed on Sep. 28, 2007, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0002]    This invention relates to a protective mouthguard for use by athletes that incorporates a color customizable feature, allowing users to customize the visible color of the mouthguard. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    Existing mouthguards are generally horseshoe or U-shaped, with inner and outer walls that form a trough or channel for the upper or lower teeth. The mouthguards are typically made of a type of resin, usually a thermoplastic that softens in boiling water allowing the user to customize the mouthguard to fit the user&#39;s mouth, while still maintaining shock absorbing properties. The mouthguards are generally produced using an injection molding process, during which the resin is injected at high pressure into a mold, which is the inverse of the product&#39;s shape. The mold is typically made from metal and precision-machined to form the features of the desired part. In the molding process, the design of the mold must account for the ability to remove the molded product from the mold without damaging or distorting the molded product. 
         [0004]    As many mouthguards are worn in team sports, it would be advantageous to have mouthguards that colored with the appropriate team colors. During the manufacturing process, a colorant, such as dye, can be added after the resin to produce different colors for the separate pieces that are injection molded. 
         [0005]    This form of color customization has some major disadvantages with regards to the production and mass manufacturing of the product. Each time the colorant is added, the entire injection molding process is lengthened, which in turn increases production costs. In addition, because a different colorant has to be used if different colored pieces are desired, the process is further lengthened, and a continuous process cannot be maintained. Since the colorization of the mouthguard must be done during the manufacturing process, any commercial mass manufacturer must accurately predict the amount of mouthguard that will sell for each color and make the right amount for each. Such a prediction is not practical. Any pre-colored mouthguards that have the wrong team colors will not be bought by the users. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    This invention solves the aforementioned problems by allowing the mouthguard user to color customize the mouthguard post-production and purchase. The mouthguard incorporates several different means in which a color piece or tab is secured to a designated area of the mouthguard, and is visible from the outside of the mouthguard. 
         [0007]    In general, the invented mouthguard is U-shaped to fit the shape of the user&#39;s mouth, with optional inner and outer walls creating a trough for the user&#39;s teeth. The mouthguard is made of a type of thermoplastic that will soften when heated to allow the user to fit the mouthguard to his mouth. The mouthguard has locations in which a color tab can be inserted that will be visible when the user has the mouthguard in his mouth. The locations can be slots in the mouthguard that will hold the color tab securely with appropriately placed holes to reveal the colored tabs. 
         [0008]    The use of the color tab/insert in the mouthguard provides an advantage over the use of coloration in the injection molding process. Because the color customization occurs after production of the mouthguard, the manufacturer can continuously produce one model per mold without any interruptions to the process. In addition, users of the mouthguard can switch the color tabs/inserts if they so choose, whereas the colorization during the injection molding process is permanent. 
         [0009]    The mouthguard may also include an optional tether located and extending out from the bottom of the mouthguard. The tether may be composed of the same material as the mouthguard. The tether will have an area directly attached to the tray bottom that will tear at a predetermined pull force for a desired tear away feature. The area could be thinner material or have perforations to weaken the area. Other means of affecting the area to ensure that the area will break before any other section of the tether can be used and still be within the scope of the invention. The tether piece will then thicken as it extends outward toward the wearer&#39;s facemask. Behind the area where the tether is designed to breakaway is a hole in the mouthguard. The hole is oval in shape while the tether is cylindrical or vice versa. The difference will allow the tether to have a friction fit within the hole. Once the tether is torn away, this creates a blind or invisible hole that is revealed so the user can replace the tether with a friction type fit, round tongue to oval shaped hole. 
         [0010]    The opposite side of the tether will feature a wrap around detail to attach to the users facemask found on most protective helmets. The wrap around detail involves a ratcheted system that will keep the tether loop created by looping the mouthpiece through the tether end opening and when pulled tight using the elastomer coefficient of friction characteristics and a mating mechanical ratcheted detail keeping the loop tightly wound around the user&#39;s facemask. The wrap around feature will have a pull away or break free force greater than that of the thin tear away area molded next to the tray bottom. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         [0011]      FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of the invented mouthguard in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  shows a perspective view of the same embodiment with the components separated from each other. 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  shows a front view of the same embodiment with the customizable color insert in the mouthguard. 
           [0014]      FIG. 4  shows a bottom view of the same embodiment. 
           [0015]      FIG. 5  shows a top view of the same embodiment. 
           [0016]      FIG. 6  shows a side view of the same embodiment. 
           [0017]      FIG. 7  shows a cross-sectional view of the bottom tray of the mouthguard of  FIG. 1  along the lines A-A. 
           [0018]      FIG. 8  shows a cross-sectional view of the mouthguard of  FIG. 1  along the lines B-B. 
           [0019]      FIG. 9  shows a front view of the color insert. 
           [0020]      FIG. 10  shows a cross-sectional view of the invented mouthguard in accordance with another embodiment of the mouthguard. 
           [0021]      FIG. 11  shows a perspective view of another embodiment with the components separated from each other. 
           [0022]      FIG. 12  shows a front view of yet another embodiment. 
           [0023]      FIG. 13  shows a top view of the same embodiment. 
           [0024]      FIG. 14  shows a side view of the same embodiment. 
           [0025]      FIG. 15  shows a perspective view of yet another embodiment. 
           [0026]      FIG. 16  shows a perspective view of yet another embodiment. 
           [0027]      FIG. 17  shows a perspective view of yet another embodiment. 
           [0028]      FIG. 18  shows a perspective view of yet another embodiment. 
           [0029]      FIG. 19  shows a perspective view of yet another embodiment. 
           [0030]      FIG. 20  shows a perspective view of yet another embodiment 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0031]    For the purposes of understanding the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings. It will be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended. Any alterations and further modifications in the described embodiments, and any further applications of the principles of the invention as described herein are contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates. 
         [0032]      FIGS. 1-8  depict one embodiment of the invention. The invented mouthguard  100  is composed of a base unit  102  and tether  104 . The base unit  102  is U-shaped to conform to a user&#39;s mouth and the tether  104  extends from the front of the mouthguard. On the top surface, base unit  102  has a trough  112  running along the inside of the U-shape to fit the user&#39;s upper teeth. In this embodiment, base unit  102  is comprised of three different portions: (1) a bottom tray  106 , (2) a top piece  108  and (3) a color insert  110 . 
         [0033]    The three components of the base unit are configured to fit together. The bottom tray  106  is U-shaped and will be sized to fit into the user&#39;s mouth. The bottom tray  106  has a double outer wall  116  (composed of inner wall  124  and outer wall  118 ) that can extend along the front of the mouthguard. If desirable, the double wall  116  can extend along the entire outside labial perimeter of the mouthguard, continuously or in sections. The inner and outer walls  124 ,  118  are placed closed together so that a thin space or slot exists between the two in which the color insert  110  can be placed. The outer wall  118  of the double wall  116  has holes  122  that reveal the color insert  110  when it is placed in the slot  120 . The holes in this embodiment are in the shape of an “X” and an “O”, though the invention is not limited to these shapes. 
         [0034]    Inner wall of the double wall has a “trap door” that encloses the slot to ensure that the color insert  110  is firmly set within the slot  120 . The trap door can be seen in detail in  FIG. 7 .  FIG. 7  is a cut-away depiction of the bottom tray  106  along lines A-A. As can be seen, outer wall  118  is a straight wall with holes  122  in it. Inner wall  124  has a lip  126  that projects toward outer wall  118 . Once the color strip is placed in the slot between the inner and outer walls, the projecting lip  126  will prevent the color insert from coming out of the slot. The location of projecting lip  126  is shown on inner wall, but it could easily be located on outer wall. 
         [0035]    Top piece  108  is also in a U-shape to conform to the user&#39;s mouth. Top piece  108  can have the trough  112  on its upper surface and the bottom surface will conform to the upper surface of the bottom tray  106 . Top piece  108  will also have a lip  114  that will come on top of the double wall  116 . Lip  114  will help to seal the slot  120  and prevent color insert  110  from coming out of the slot  120 . 
         [0036]    A typical color tab/insert can be seen in  FIG. 9 . It is made of a firm yet malleable material, such as plastic or rubber, and can come in different forms, such as, but not limited to, stickers, decals, or just plain tabs. It can be of all various colors, but is not limited to a solid color as it may include patterns of different sorts as well. This provides an additional advantage over existing mouthguards. With the current molding process, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to incorporate elaborate patterns of any sort, let alone mass produce mouthguards with such patterns. For commercialization purposes, a multitude of different colored inserts can be inexpensively manufactured and packaged with a single mouthguard product. 
         [0037]    Each component of base unit  102  can be easily manufactured using injection molding techniques. Other techniques, such as extrusion blow molding, injection blow molding, compression molding, thermal forming or cast pour molding process lost core molding can also be used. Bottom tray  106  can be composed of a relatively material that has some durability and flexibility, such as a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE). Bottom tray  106  will be molded first. Double wall  116 , slot  120 , holes  122  and lip  126  are all moldable features and mouthguard bottom tray  106  is easily removed from the mold. Bottom tray  106  will be capable of accepting a second shot of a softer, pliable material, such as ethylene vinyl acetate (“EVA”), on top of it to create top piece  108  during the injection molding process. In this process, the top piece will conform to the shape of the bottom tray  106  and the lip  114  can be shaped to cover both inner and outer walls  118 ,  124  of the bottom tray  106 . Color insert  110  can be easily manufactured in numerous colors and colored patterns to be included with the base unit  102 . It will be evident to one of skill in the art that any appropriate materials can be used for both the top and bottom pieces. 
         [0038]    To custom color the mouthguard, the user will choose the appropriately colored color insert  110  that corresponds to the team colors. In order to add the color insert  110 , the user must pull up the outer lip  114  of the top piece  108  and slide the insert into the slot  120 . The lip  114  will naturally return back to its original shape and cover both the tops of the inner and outer walls. Alternatively, the color strip can be placed into the slot  120  through appropriate openings in the side or bottom of the mouthguard. 
         [0039]    After inserting the color insert  110 , the user will custom fit the mouthguard by boiling the mouthguard in water. This boiling process will soften the top piece  108 . Afterwards, the mouthguard is placed in the user&#39;s mouth and the user will bite down onto the mouthguard to conform the mouthguard to the teeth. After the mouthguard has cooled, the top piece  108  will be cured and fitted to the user&#39;s teeth. In addition, the top piece  108  will be forced against the double wall  116  and on top of the double wall  116  to seal the slot closed. 
         [0040]    The configuration of the top piece  108  and the double wall  116  is best seen in  FIG. 8 .  FIG. 8  shows a cross-sectional view of the two components along line B-B. As can be seen in the detailed figure, the inner wall  124  and outer wall  118  are pressed against one another. This occurs, in part, from the pressure from the user biting down on the mouthguard during the customization process and the resilience of the top piece  108  after being cured through the boil and bite process. 
         [0041]      FIGS. 10-11  depict another embodiment that is a similar to the embodiment described above. Similar to that embodiment, the mouthguard base unit  201  comprises a top piece  202 , a bottom tray  203  and color insert  204 . The bottom tray  203  has a single outer wall  207  instead of a double wall. Single outer wall  207  has holes or revealed sections  206  in the front. Top piece  202  has an indented section  210  in the front of it to accommodate the color insert  204 . Color insert  204  will be placed in between the single outer wall  207  of bottom tray  203  and indented section  210  of the top piece  202 . During the customization process in which the mouthguard is boiled and custom fitted to the user&#39;s teeth, the color insert will be secured in between the top piece and the bottom tray. 
         [0042]      FIGS. 12-14  depict another embodiment in which the top piece  302  does not completely overlay the bottom piece  303 . The top piece  302  only has an outer wall that ends in a lip  307 . Only the front teeth come into contact with the top piece  302  at a bite portion  308 . The back teeth come into contact with the trough  304  of the bottom piece  303 . The bottom piece still has the holes  310  in the front of its outer wall  305 . The color insert can be seen through these holes  310 , as shown in  FIG. 12 . 
         [0043]      FIG. 15  depicts another embodiment. Unlike the embodiments described above, this embodiment is made of only one piece. Similar to the bottom piece of the first embodiment, this mouthguard  401  has a double outer wall  402  and an inner wall  403  that form a trough  404  for the user&#39;s teeth. The double wall  402  creates a slot  406  in which the color insert will fit. The outermost wall of the double wall  402  contains the holes  405 , and the color insert will be visible through these holes. 
         [0044]      FIG. 16  depicts another embodiment that is similar to the previously described embodiment. In this embodiment, the slot  506  created by the double wall  502  extends all the way to the rear of the mouthguard  501 . This allows the option of adding holes all along the outer wall, in addition to the holes  505  in the front, and using a longer color insert to sit in the slot. The insert will then be visible through these additional holes all along the outer wall. 
         [0045]      FIG. 17  depicts yet another embodiment that comprises just one piece  601 . It has an outer wall  602  and an inner wall  603 , forming a trough  604  for the user&#39;s teeth. In the outer wall  602 , there is a removable section  605  that contains the holes  606 . This creates a recess or compartment  607  within the front wall of the mouthguard in which the color insert is to be placed. After the color insert is placed in the recess, the removable section is fit back into the recess, thereby firmly securing the color insert. 
         [0046]      FIG. 18  depicts yet another embodiment that is made of only one piece  701 . The outer wall  702  has a slot  705  cut out in which the color insert  707  is inserted in from the side. The front of the outer wall  702  has holes  706  that penetrate to the back wall of the slot  705 . Once the color insert  707  is inserted into the slot  705 , the color will be clearly visible. 
         [0047]    Another means in which this invention can realize the advantage of mass production and easier customization by the user is to generally have a color strip attached to the outer surface of the labial wall of the mouthguard. This can be accomplished in a number of ways. Two such ways are depicted in  FIGS. 19 and 20 . Again, like the embodiments described above, these two embodiments are made of only one piece. However, on the outer surface of the outer wall are protrusions  805  and  905 , respectively, on which the color tabs will be attached. These protrusions take the shapes of knobs  805  and Ts  905 , respectively. With respect to the knobs  805 , the color tab  806  will have holes  807  to fit around the knobs, and that are spaced appropriately apart to allow the tab  806  to fit tightly against the face of the outer wall  802 . The Ts  905  of the other embodiment perform a similar function of securing the color tab  906  to the body  901 . The color tab  906  will likely have to be of greater thickness than the tabs/inserts of the previous embodiments so that it may include the sister connections  907  to the T-shaped protrusions  905 . Another means to accomplish this may be done by using a decal or sticker to stick to the front of the labial wall of the mouthguard, thereby eliminating the need for protrusions on the outer wall. 
         [0048]    The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or general characteristics thereof; therefore, the embodiments described herein are to be considered in all respects illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is to be indicated by the appended claims, rather than by the foregoing description.