Mouth-guard with Liquid Insert for Hydration and Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing mouth-guards do not adequately address the need for comprehensive protection of teeth, arches, lips, and gums, nor do they effectively prevent concussions, while also failing to enhance the user's competitive performance.
Innovation Solution
A mouth-guard design featuring a main body with a channel, gum protrusions, and a slot, along with an insert containing liquid chambers and orifices that allow hydration and performance-enhancing substances to be delivered directly to the user's mouth, providing enhanced protection and performance augmentation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a traditional mouth-guard is used to protect teeth and gums, then protection is provided, but hydration and performance enhancement are not addressed
Solution Approach 1:
The mouthguard is designed to perform multiple functions: protection of teeth and gums, hydration through liquid chambers, and performance enhancement through nutrient delivery. This multi-functional design directly addresses the versatility improvement while managing complexity through integrated design.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines the protective mouthguard structure with hydration chambers and nutrient delivery systems into a single integrated device. The liquid chambers are embedded within the mouthguard body, merging protection and hydration functions into one unified system.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the mouth-guard includes liquid chambers and orifices for hydration, then performance is enhanced, but the device becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The liquid chambers are nested within the mouthguard structure, with chambers positioned inside the protective body. The orifices are integrated into the chamber walls, creating a nested configuration that delivers nutrients while maintaining a compact form factor.
Solution Approach 2:
The liquid chambers utilize flexible membranes and thin-walled structures to contain the liquid while allowing controlled delivery through orifices. This approach maintains structural integrity while enabling the hydration function with minimal added complexity.
3Reliability
If the mouth-guard is designed with multiple components for comprehensive protection, then protection effectiveness is improved, but manufacturing difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The mouthguard is divided into distinct functional components: a protective outer shell, internal liquid chambers, and orifice structures. This segmentation allows each component to be manufactured separately using optimized processes, then assembled into the final product, improving both protection effectiveness and manufacturing feasibility.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The mouth-guard effectively reduces injury to teeth and gums, prevents concussions, and enhances the user's physical performance by providing hydration and essential nutrients, thus addressing the limitations of existing mouth-guard technologies.
Implementation Method 1
each initial orifice is configured to transport liquid from the one or more liquid chambers to an orifice of the main body such that the liquid passes through the orifice of the main body into a user's mouth
Data Source
AI summary
A mouth-guard to be worn by a user includes a main body including a channel, one or more gum protrusions, and a slot; and an insert configured to be inserted into the slot. The insert for the mouth-guard includes one or more liquid chambers and one or more initial orifices on the surface of the insert where each initial orifice is configured to transport liquid from the one or more liquid chambers to an orifice of the main body such that the liquid passes through the orifice of the main body into a user's mouth.