US 12,226,280 B2
Direct fabrication of orthodontic appliances with 4D printing
Avi Kopelman, Palo Alto, CA (US); Chunhua Li, Cupertino, CA (US); Michael Christopher Cole, Longmont, CO (US); Blaine Carter, San Jose, CA (US); and Matthew Durban, San Jose, CA (US)
Assigned to ALIGN TECHNOLOGY, INC., San Jose, CA (US)
Filed by ALIGN TECHNOLOGY, INC., San Jose, CA (US)
Filed on Jan. 21, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/248,355.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/964,001, filed on Jan. 21, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2021/0220087 A1, Jul. 22, 2021
Int. Cl. A61C 7/08 (2006.01); A61C 7/16 (2006.01); B33Y 10/00 (2015.01); B33Y 50/02 (2015.01); B33Y 80/00 (2015.01)
CPC A61C 7/08 (2013.01) [B33Y 50/02 (2014.12); B33Y 80/00 (2014.12); A61C 7/16 (2013.01); B33Y 10/00 (2014.12)] 18 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An oral appliance for repositioning teeth of a patient, the oral appliance comprising:
a polymeric shell having a plurality of tooth receiving cavities shaped to receive the teeth of the patient; and
a force generating component within the polymeric shell of a first of the plurality of tooth receiving cavities, the force generating component is configured to generate a force in response to a stimulus in order to reposition one or more teeth of the patient;
wherein the appliance, the plurality of teeth engaging structures, and the force generating component comprise a sequentially polymerized plurality of layers directly fabricated together using a 3D additive manufacturing process, and
wherein the force generating component comprises a push-pull component within the polymeric shell of the first of the plurality of tooth receiving cavities and configured to push a tooth from a first location in a first direction and pull the tooth from a second location in the first direction at the same time.