US 12,409,015 B2
Intraoral appliances with cellular structures
Yaser Shanjani, Sunnyvale, CA (US); Jun Sato, San Jose, CA (US); and Ryan Kimura, 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. 30, 2024, as Appl. No. 18/427,260.
Application 18/427,260 is a division of application No. 16/147,031, filed on Sep. 28, 2018, granted, now 11,931,223.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/566,032, filed on Sep. 29, 2017.
Prior Publication US 2024/0245492 A1, Jul. 25, 2024
Int. Cl. A61C 7/08 (2006.01); A61C 7/00 (2006.01); A61C 7/22 (2006.01); A61C 7/36 (2006.01); A61C 8/00 (2006.01); A61C 19/00 (2006.01); B33Y 80/00 (2015.01); G05B 19/4097 (2006.01)
CPC A61C 7/08 (2013.01) [A61C 7/00 (2013.01); A61C 7/22 (2013.01); A61C 7/36 (2013.01); A61C 8/00 (2013.01); A61C 19/00 (2013.01); B33Y 80/00 (2014.12); G05B 19/4097 (2013.01); G05B 2219/42155 (2013.01)] 12 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A computer-implemented method for fabricating an intraoral appliance, the computer-implemented method executed by a processor, the computer-implemented method comprising:
receiving a digital representation of a patient's dentition;
identifying a treatment plan for the patient's dentition;
identifying a first elongation characteristic for one or more interproximal areas of the intraoral appliance, wherein the intraoral appliance is composed entirely of one or more cellular structures, and wherein the first elongation characteristic corresponds to a first apparent Young's modulus;
identifying a second elongation characteristic for one or more remainder areas of the intraoral appliance, wherein the second elongation characteristic corresponds to a second apparent Young's modulus less than the first apparent Young's modulus;
identifying a first cellular structure of the one or more cellular structures, the first cellular structure composed of a first one or more networks of interconnected unit cells, the first one or more networks of interconnected unit cells having the first elongation characteristic;
identifying a second cellular structure of the one or more cellular structures, the second cellular structure composed of a second one or more networks of interconnected unit cells, the second one or more networks of interconnected unit cells having the second elongation characteristic;
generating a digital model of the intraoral appliance, the digital model including a first representation of the first cellular structure at the one or more interproximal areas of the intraoral appliance, and a second representation of the second cellular structure at the one or more remainder areas of the intraoral appliance;
providing instructions to fabricate the intraoral appliance using the digital model; and
fabricating the intraoral appliance based on the instructions.