US 11,833,307 B2
Connector assembly for a patient interface
Luke Emmanuel Klinkenberg, Sydney (AU)
Assigned to ResMed Pty Ltd, Bella Vista (AU)
Appl. No. 16/966,690
Filed by ResMed Pty Ltd, Bella Vista (AU)
PCT Filed Feb. 1, 2019, PCT No. PCT/AU2019/050072
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Jul. 31, 2020,
PCT Pub. No. WO2019/148243, PCT Pub. Date Aug. 8, 2019.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/625,571, filed on Feb. 2, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2021/0030990 A1, Feb. 4, 2021
Int. Cl. A61M 16/08 (2006.01); A61M 16/06 (2006.01); A61M 16/00 (2006.01)
CPC A61M 16/0816 (2013.01) [A61M 16/0057 (2013.01); A61M 16/0633 (2014.02); A61M 16/0683 (2013.01); A61M 16/0616 (2014.02); A61M 2202/0208 (2013.01); A61M 2210/0618 (2013.01)] 21 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A patient interface to deliver a flow of air at a positive pressure with respect to ambient air pressure to an entrance to the patient's airways including at least the entrance of a patient's nares while the patient is sleeping, to ameliorate sleep disordered breathing, the patient interface comprising:
a seal-forming structure configured to form a seal with a region of a patient's face surrounding the entrance to the patient's airways;
a positioning and stabilising structure configured to provide a force to hold the seal-forming structure in a therapeutically effective position on a patient's head; and
a connector assembly configured to connect to an air circuit, the connector assembly comprising:
a ring member configured to be removably and releasably secured in an aperture of an attachment region of the patient interface; and
an elbow assembly configured to connect to the air circuit, the elbow assembly repeatedly connectable to and disconnectable from the ring member,
the elbow assembly including an elbow member and a clip member, the clip member comprising a separate and distinct structure from the elbow member,
wherein the elbow member and the clip member are separable, and comprise separately molded components that are subsequently connected to one another,
wherein the elbow member includes an exterior surface arranged outside an air flow path formed by the elbow member,
wherein the exterior surface of the elbow member includes a recess configured and arranged to receive at a least a portion of the clip member, and
wherein the clip member is configured and arranged to releasably connect the elbow assembly to the ring member, and the elbow member is configured and arranged to form a seal with the ring member when the elbow assembly and the ring member are connected to one another.