Patent Publication Number: US-2011066136-A1

Title: Use of pump to deliver a solution to reduce snoring

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present application claims priority to and the benefit of Chinese Application No. 200910211634.0, filed on 11 Sep. 2009, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     FIELD 
     The present disclosure generally relates to a dispensing a fluid, and in particular to a dispensing an anti-snoring solution in liquid form. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Snoring is an irritating condition where air movement during sleeping is obstructed. Snoring can be rather annoying and unpleasant. It can also cause sleep deprivation to both the person snoring and the persons around him. It is therefore beneficial to a person to reduce his snoring. 
     Most methods for reducing snoring revolve around clearing the blockage in the breathing passage. This is the reason snorers are advised to lose weight (to stop fat from pressing on the throat), stop smoking (smoking weakens and clogs the throat) and sleep on their side (to prevent the tongue from blocking the throat). A number of other treatment options are also available, ranging from over-the-counter aids such as nasal strips or nose clips, lubricating sprays, and “anti-snore” clothing and pillows. 
     These methods are not always efficient and more severe methods are often needed such as surgery, continuous airway pressure machine and antidepressant, which all affect a person&#39;s life to a great extent having to undergo surgery, always having a machine at hand or risking becoming addicted to an antidepressant drug. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , one common area where the air is obstructed is the pharynx  102 . Various medicines, drugs and traditional healing extracts are dispensed through the use of nasal or oral spray pumps. One particular example is nasal spray, which is most often distributed via a nozzle spray pump by inserting the nozzle into a person&#39;s nose and spraying in the nasal spray by pumping. 
     The pharynx  102  (or pharynxes) is an area where obstructions occur easily as it is relatively narrow. It is thus highly beneficial to focus on this area to prevent the obstructions and thereby reduce the snoring. It is common to reduce a swelling by administering a solution to it, which solution reduces the swelling and thereby reduces the obstruction. However, due to the position of the pharynx  102  and the anatomy of the head  101  of a person, the pharynx  102  can be difficult to reach. 
     Access through the oral cavity  103  is usually not comfortable for the person as it induces a gag reflex in a person. It is also difficult to apply any solution to the pharynx  102  as the oral cavity  103  leads to the esophagus and to the lungs as well thus risking that any solution administered reaches the stomach instead of the pharynx  102  as intended. If the solution reaches the stomach it might be without effect and if the solution reaches the lungs it might be highly unpleasant to the person. 
     Spraying a solution through the nasal cavity  105  is difficult as the spray causes most of the solution or to hit the walls of the nose  104  and the nasal cavity  105 . Furthermore the shape of the path up the nasal cavity  105  requires the solution to travel first up and then down along a specific path to be able to reach the pharynx  102  and it is difficult for a person to aim the spray pump  107  correctly to make sure that the sprayed solution does not hit the walls of the nose  104  or the nasal cavity  105 . 
     By making the inventive and insightful realization that by titling back the head  101  of a person, a clearer path from the nose  104  through the nasal cavity  105  to the pharynx  102  is achieved. However, the head  101  of a person and therefore also the nose  104  is now at an angle that is close to vertical making it even more difficult to administer a fluid using conventional means. It would be advantageous to overcome the prejudice of traditional spray methods and other solutions are difficult to administer at an angle and using a pump that is able to repeatedly deliver fluid even when at an angle to deliver a fluid to the pharynx  102  of a person. 
     A manner of non-intrusively reducing snoring would thus be useful in modern day society. 
     Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a system that addresses at least some of the problems identified above. 
     SUMMARY 
     As described herein, the exemplary embodiments overcome one or more of the above or other disadvantages known in the art. 
     One aspect of the exemplary embodiments relates to a method. In one embodiment the method includes delivering a fluid to a pharynx area through a nasal cavity by bringing a pump to a nasal passage of a nose at an angle of approximately −90 to 130 degrees relative a horizontal ground plane, and pumping a jet of the fluid through the nasal passage. 
     Another aspect of the disclosed embodiments relates to a use of a pump to administer a liquid solution to a pharynx area through a nose and a nasal cavity. In one embodiment the use includes a pump to provide a jet of a liquid solution from the pump, wherein the pump is configured to provide a jet stream of the liquid solution into the nasal cavity while the pump is positioned at an angle of approximately −10 to 90 degrees relative a substantially horizontal ground plane. 
     In a further aspect, the disclosed embodiments relate to a nasal fluid delivery system. In one embodiment, the nasal fluid delivery system includes a pump for delivering a liquid solution through a nose and nasal cavity to a pharynx area. The pump includes a nozzle configured to generate a jet stream of the liquid solution. The pump is configured to deliver the jet stream of the liquid solution while the pump is positioned at an angle relative to a substantially horizontal ground plane. 
     These and other aspects and advantages of the exemplary embodiments will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed solely for purposes of illustration and not as a definition of the limits of the invention, for which reference should be made to the appended claims. Moreover, the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale and unless otherwise indicated, they are merely intended to conceptually illustrate the structures and procedures described herein. In addition, any suitable size, shape or type of elements or materials could be used. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       In the drawings: 
         FIG. 1  is a side view of a person using a pump according to an embodiment; 
         FIG. 2  is a flowchart of an exemplary method according to an embodiment; 
         FIG. 3  is a cut out side view of an apparatus according to an embodiment; and 
         FIG. 4  is a series of views of a person using a pump according to an embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     Referring to  FIG. 1  an apparatus and a method of dispensing a fluid, such as an anti-snoring solution to the pharynx  102  in an efficient and effective manner will be described. The aspects of the disclosed embodiments provide for the dispensing of the fluid in the form of a jet stream even while the person&#39;s head  101  is titled back to a position that could be considered substantially or close to a vertical position with respect to the ground. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a person&#39;s head  101  at rest. In this example it will be assumed that the person is lying down, but the person may also be in another position with the head  101  leaned or tilted back. 
     The pharynx  102  (or pharynxes) is an area where obstructions occur easily as it is relatively narrow. It is thus highly beneficial to focus on this area to prevent the obstructions and thereby reduce the snoring. It is common to reduce a swelling by administering a solution to it which solution reduces the swelling and thereby reduces the obstruction. However, due to the position of the pharynx  102  in the head  101  of a person, the pharynx  102  can be difficult to reach with traditional forms of fluid dispensers. 
     Access through the oral cavity  103  is usually not comfortable for the person as it induces a gag reflex in a person. It is also difficult to apply any solution to the pharynx as the oral cavity  103  leads to the esophagus and to the lungs, and there is the risk that any solution administered reaches the stomach instead of the pharynx as intended. If the solution reaches the stomach it might be without effect and if the solution reaches the lungs it might be highly unpleasant to the person. 
     Spraying a solution through the nasal cavity  105  is difficult as the spray generally causes most of the solution or to hit the walls of the nose  104  and the nasal cavity  105 . Furthermore the shape up the passage of the nasal cavity  105  requires the solution to be able to travel first up and then down along a specific path to be able to reach the pharynx  102 . It is also difficult for a person to aim the spray pump correctly to make sure that the sprayed solution does not hit the walls of the nose  104  or the nasal cavity  105 . 
     By making the inventive and insightful realization that by titling back the head  101  of a person a clearer path from the nose  104  through the nasal cavity  105  to the pharynx  102  is achieved. However, the head  101  of a person and therefore also the nose  104  is now at an angle that is close to vertical relative to the ground, making it even more difficult to administer a fluid using conventional means. By further realizing and overcoming the prejudice that solutions are difficult to administer at an angle and using a pump that is able to repeatedly deliver fluid even when at an angle and to make the thinking leap of delivering a fluid in a jet instead of the traditional spray, the aspects of the disclosed embodiments provide a method of delivering a fluid to the pharynx  102  of a person is achieved. 
     As is shown in  FIG. 1 , the head  101  of a person is tilted backwards and a pump  107  is used to dispense a jet of fluid  106  which travels essentially along a path trough the nose  104  and nasal cavity  105  to reach the pharynx  102 . The method of providing the solution or fluid to the pharynx  102  is easy to use and non-obtrusive. For example, the risk of gagging is almost non-existent as the area in the back of the oral cavity is not tampered with and even if the person was to swallow some of the fluid the fluid would still have passed the pharynx  102  and thus have some effect for reducing any obstruction. 
     As the solution enters the pharynx area  102  it comes into contact with the mucus membranes which can then be caused to contract thereby reducing any obstruction caused by the mucus membranes. To ensure that the solution reaches the pharynx area  102  the fluid should be repeatedly dispensed by pumping 2 to 8 times. By pumping 4 to 6 times enough fluid will have reached the pharynx area  102  using a pump according to the method described herein. As a person goes to sleep every night it is important that the delivery of the solution or fluid is easy to execute and does not bring about any unpleasant side-effects or other unpleasantries such as the gag-reflex discussed above. 
       FIG. 2  shows a flowchart of a general method and use of a pump to deliver a fluid or solution  106  to the pharynx area  102  of a person which will now be described with simultaneous reference to  FIGS. 1 and 3 . 
     First the head  101  is tilted  210 . Secondly, a nozzle of a pump  107  carrying the fluid is brought  220  to the nose  104  so that the nozzle rests at an angle being vertical or even pointing downwards  230 , relative to the ground. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , a first angle marked as ALPHA indicates the angle of the pump  107  relative to the person  101 . The angle ALPHA needed to distribute the fluid to the pharynx  102  in accordance with the aspects of the disclosed embodiments varies from individual to individual, but is in the order of −30 to 30 degrees as seen from a center line X-X through the pump  107 . 
     The first angle is indicated in  FIG. 1  as ALHPA and denotes the angle at which the pump  107  is being held or positioned. Being substantially vertical means that ALPHA is close to 0 (zero). Different values of the ranges of the angle ALPHA can include for example, approximately −60 to 60 degrees; −50 to 50 degrees; −40 to 40 degrees; −30 to 30 degrees; −20 to 20 degrees; −10 to 10 degrees and −5 to 5 degrees. 
     The fluid is pumped  240  in a jet  106  through the nasal cavity  105  reaching  250  the pharynx area  102  and thereby the mucous membrane. In one embodiment, the pumping  240  is repeated 2 to 8 times (preferably 4 to 6 times) to ensure that enough fluid has reached the pharynx area  102 . The repetition of the pumping  240  is indicated in  FIG. 2  with a dashed line. 
     The pump  107  is of a kind capable of delivering fluid repeatedly while being held at an angle being close to vertical or even tilted upside down or slightly upside down. The nozzle  304  of the pump  107  is arranged to advantageously deliver or dispense the fluid in the form of a jet or jet stream, rather than a spray of fluid. 
       FIG. 3  illustrates one embodiment of a pump device  301  for a fluid dispenser  107  incorporating aspects of the disclosed embodiments. The pump  301  is to be attached to a container  302 . The container  302  is a vessel for carrying the fluid to be dispensed. 
     The pump  301  is able to repeatedly deliver the fluid even when tilted at angles close to vertical and while being upside-down. Examples of such pumps are the Aero Pump® AP3 dropper USD™ Art. nr. 3583/2007 pump head, and the Pfeiffer® SAP 78046 and SAP 75646 pump heads. The Aero Pump® AP3 dropper USD™ Art. nr. 3583/2007 pump head is shown in  FIG. 3 . 
     In one embodiment the pump  301  comprises a pump head  303  in which a nozzle  304  is arranged. The pump head  303  is also arranged with means  305  for a user to engage the pump head  303  and move it towards the container  302 . In this embodiment the engaging means  305  is a flange  305  protruding from the head  301 . 
     Inside the pump head  303  is a channel  307  through which the fluid to be dispensed can travel. The pump head  303  is movably coupled to a base or pump housing  306 . In one embodiment the pump head  303  is biased away from the pump housing  306  by a spring  308 . The spring  308  connects to a piston  309  that is arranged inside the pump house  306 . As pressure is applied to the flange  305  in a direction towards the container  302  the pump head  303  compresses the spring  308 . The spring  308  is compressed enough so that the force applied to the spring  308  is propagated through the spring  308  and acts on the piston  309  causing it to move. 
     The force required to move the piston  309  depends on a number of criteria such as for example, the spring coefficient of the spring  308  and the friction between the piston  309  and the pump housing  306  as well as the friction between the pump head  303  and the pump housing  306 . 
     Piston  309  in turn is biased by a second spring  310 . The force required to move piston  309  is therefore also dependant on the properties of the second spring  310 . The piston  309  is sealably arranged in one end of a chamber  311  so that the piston  309  seals on end of the chamber  311 . As the piston  309  moves inside the chamber  311  it reduces the volume of the chamber  311  thereby compressing any fluid contained in the chamber  311  causing it to travel up through a channel  307 ′ in the piston  309  and further through the head channel  307  and out through the nozzle  304 . 
     The nozzle  304  is arranged to deliver a jet of the fluid and not a spray. The use of a jet advantageously enables the fluid to reach further through the nasal cavity and thus allows more of the fluid to reach the pharynx of the person the fluid is being administered to. The disadvantages of using a spray include that most of the fluid would only reach the nose  104  and nasal cavity  105  of the person the fluid is being administered to and the fluid would thus not reach its intended target area and have little or none of the wanted or desired effect. 
     A one-way valve  312 , which in this embodiment is a ball valve  312 , is arranged at another end of the chamber  311  in relation to the piston  309 . In this embodiment the ball valve  312  is arranged at an opposite side from the piston  309 . The ball valve  312  is arranged to allow flow into the chamber  311  but not out of the chamber  311 . The chamber  311  is connected to a second chamber  313 , which in turn is connected to the container  302  via a one-way valve  314 . As the piston  309  is biased away from the chamber  311 , the pressure on the flange  305  is released, and an under pressure in the chamber  311  builds up causing the ball-valve  312  to open and allow new fluid to flow into the chamber  311 . The spring coefficient of spring  310  must therefore be high enough to allow the ball valve  312  to open. 
     As the ball valve  312  opens to allow fluid from chamber  313  to enter chamber  311 , the under pressure of chamber  311  is shared between the two chambers  311 ,  313  which causes the ball valve  314  to open and allow fluid from the container  302  to be drawn up into chambers  311  and  313 . 
     The arrangement with the two springs  308  and  310  has the advantage that to allow fluid to be dispensed through the nozzle a deliberate force is required as it needs to move the pump head  303  first enough to compress spring  8  and then to compress spring  310 . Using only one spring, the pump action is initiated whenever force is applied to the flange  305 , and the dispenser would easily dispense fluid against the user&#39;s will. 
     In one embodiment the second chamber  314  is connected to the container  302  via a channel  315 , which reaches to the bottom of the container  302  in order to ensure that the fluid in the container  302  is drawn into the second chamber  314 . This arrangement enables the pump  301  to deliver the fluid from the container  302  out through the nozzle  304  even when the pump  301  is tilted at an angle. 
     One fluid type solution that may be used with such a pump is Asonor®. The pump  301  and the container  302  together make up a dispensing unit for carrying and dispensing a liquid solution. Such a dispensing unit may be advantageously used for delivering a liquid solution for reducing snoring. 
       FIGS. 4   a - 4   d  show a series of positions taken by a person when dispensing the fluid. As shown in  FIGS. 4   a - 4   d , a second angle BETA indicates the angle of the user&#39;s nostrils relative the earth (or a horizontal plane). As a person lies down the second angle BETA increases. The angles BETA that gives the best results for providing the liquid to the pharynx  102  varies from person to person, but the second angle BETA is in the range or intervals of approximately −70 to 130 degrees; −60 to 120 degrees; −50 to 110 degrees; −40 to 100 degrees; −30 to 90 degrees; −20 to 80 degrees; −10 to 70 degrees; 0 to 60 degrees; 0 to 50 degrees; 0 to 40 degrees; 0 to 30 degrees; 20 to 60 degrees; 30 to 50 degrees and 40 to 45 degrees. 
     The first and second angles ALPHA and BETA are combined into a total angle at which the pump is being held relative the earth (or horizontal plane). Preferred values of the total angle are in the range of approximately 30 to 120 degrees. 
     In  FIGS. 4   a - 4   d , a line from the nostrils is indicated with a dashed line  404  and it is from this line  404  that the second angle BETA is measured relative to a horizontal plane. 
       FIG. 4   a  shows a person  401  sitting or standing upright—i.e., the head  101  is generally upright. As can be seen, the angle BETA is negative in this example. 
       FIG. 4   b  shows a person  401  leaning backwards slightly, i.e. the head  101  is angled backward. As can be seen the angle BETA is negative in this example. 
       FIG. 4   c  shows the head  101  of the person  401  leaning backwards. As can be seen, the angle BETA is negative and moving closer to being horizontal in this example. 
       FIG. 4   d  shows the head  101  of the person  401  leaning backwards heavily, or to a greater degree than shown in  FIGS. 4   a - 4   c . As can be seen the angle BETA is positive and closer to horizontal in this example. 
       FIG. 4   e  shows the head  101  of the person  401  substantially horizontal, such as for example, when the person  401  is lying down. As can be seen the angle BETA is positive in this example. 
       FIG. 4   f  shows an example where the head  101  of the person  401  is tilted back even further, such as when the person  401  is lying down and tilting his head further backwards. As can be seen, the angle BETA in this example is positive and close to vertical. 
     Thus, by realizing that the combination of tilting back ones head  101 , and administering the fluid  106  from a pump  301  using a jet nozzle  304  one is able to advantageously reach the pharynx area  102  in a non-intrusive manner which is easy to use. 
     The manner is also highly useful and intuitive for reducing snoring as the position the person  401  must assume is similar to lying down which the person  401  would do in any case as he goes to sleep. 
     Different persons have different anatomy and shape and the angle of an individual tilting the head back giving the best result cannot be predicted. Some people will find it most comfortable and efficient to use the pump “upside down”, other people will find it most comfortable end efficient to use the pump “upside up” and some people will find it most comfortable end efficient to use the pump in both ways. This, together with the delivery and the jet stream is the reason for that this solution is the only one there will work satisfyingly to deliver a jet of liquid to the pharynx area in an easy to use and non-intrusive manner. 
     The method and the use of the pump is thus highly simple and intuitive to use and goes against existing prejudice in the field of how solutions can be administered. 
     Snoring can vary in intensity from being a mere annoying condition to a health threatening clinical condition. 
     The merely annoying condition is usually treated superficially and the clinical conditions are usually treated with therapeutic methods such as surgery as has been discussed above. 
     The superficial treatments are not as effective as the invasive therapeutic treatments and to avoid undergoing extensive therapeutic treatment such as surgery to alleviate the annoying snoring a non-therapeutic use of the pump as has been described may be applied. The use is non-therapeutic in the sense that it alleviates an annoying condition. The non-therapeutic use is not applied to a severe health-threatening condition. 
     Thus, by using the method and pump as described above a more efficient administration and treatment is possible using non-invasive means and is therefore more comfortable to use in situations where the more severe treatments are not needed. 
     The teaching of the present application has numerous advantages. Different embodiments or implementations may yield one or more of the following advantages. It should be noted that this is not an exhaustive list and there may be other advantages, which are not described herein. For example, one advantage of the teaching of this application is that the fluid may be dispensed without causing any unpleasantries. It is intuitive and easy to use. It does not require any expensive machinery. And it reaches an area that is difficult to reach without affecting other areas to any harmful or annoying extent. 
     Although the teaching of the present application has been described in detail for purpose of illustration, it is understood that such detail is solely for that purpose, and variations can be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the teaching of this application. 
     Features described in the preceding description may be used in combinations other than the combinations explicitly described. 
     Whilst endeavouring in the foregoing specification to draw attention to those features of the invention believed to be of particular importance it should be understood that the Applicant claims protection in respect of any patentable feature or combination of features hereinbefore referred to and/or shown in the drawings whether or not particular emphasis has been placed thereon. 
     The term “comprising” as used in the claims does not exclude other elements or steps. The term “a” or “an” as used in the claims does not exclude a plurality. A unit or other means may fulfill the functions of several units or means recited in the claims.