CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims for the priority of the Chinese Patent Application No. 201710010782.0 filed on Jan. 6, 2017, the entire content of which is incorporated here by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of respiratory masks, particularly to a respiratory mask connector for connecting a connection pipe with a frame, and a respiratory mask.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Non-intrusive positive pressure ventilation is widely used in the treatment of respiratory problems such as obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), upper airway resistance syndrome (UARS) and congestive heart failure, etc. Such a treatment approach utilizes a fan to provide continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) or varying positive airway pressure to the patient through a tube line, instead of inserting a tube into the airway of the patient through a surgical operation.

The existing non-intrusive ventilation treatment process usually requires a respiratory mask. Respiratory masks may be categorized into nasal masks, oral-nasal masks, nasal cushion masks and facial masks, etc.

The typical structure of a respiratory mask comprises a frame, a cushion, a connection pipe, and a head band, etc. The cushion is fixed on the frame, and the cushion and the frame form a gas chamber; the connection pipe is connected with the frame to convey gas to the gas chamber; the head band is connected to the user's head to fix the respiratory mask on the user's head at an appropriate position.

In use, the cushion contacts with the user's face and achieves sealing against the face, and the user's mouth and/or nose are located in the gas chamber.

Owing to the fact that the user always moves his body or head when wearing the respiratory mask, the connection pipe may pull the frame of the respiratory mask, resulting in a poor sealing effect of the cushion and discomfort of the user.

In order to avoid or reduce the pulling of the connection pipe on the frame, the connection pipe and the frame are usually connected in a way that they can rotate with respect to each other in the prior art.FIGS. 1 and 2show two types of connection structures between the connection pipe and the frame in the prior art.

The connection structure between the connection pipe and the frame shown inFIG. 1enables the connection pipe1′ and the frame2′ to rotate with respect to each other within a range of 360 degrees in a plane, but such a connection structure has low degree of freedom of rotation, and attains a limited effect on reducing the pulling of the connection pipe1′ on the frame2′.

InFIG. 2, the connection pipe1′ and the frame2′ are connected by means of a ball-socket connection. Such a connection structure has higher degree of freedom of rotation, but on one hand, the connection pipe1′ may get loose easily if the opening of the connection between the frame2′ and the connection pipe1′ is too large; on the other hand, it is difficult to mold the rigid frame2′ if the opening of the connection between the frame2′ and the connection pipe1′ is too small.

Therefore, it is desirable to improve the connection structure between the connection pipe and the frame in the prior art, in order to solve at least one problem in the prior art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To overcome the drawbacks in the prior art, the present invention provides a novel respiratory mask connector for connecting the connection pipe with the frame of a respiratory mask, and a respiratory mask including the respiratory mask connector.

To attain the object described above, according to a first aspect of the present invention, the present invention provides a respiratory mask connector for connecting a frame with a connection pipe. The respiratory mask connector has a connection face and a spherical face, wherein:

the connection face is configured to be connected with the frame;

the spherical face is configured to be connected with a pipe head of the connection pipe through a ball-socket connection;

wherein, the connection face is one of the outer wall surface and inner wall surface of the respiratory mask connector, and the spherical face is the other of the outer wall surface and inner wall surface of the respiratory mask connector.

Preferably, the outer wall surface is fixedly connected with the frame, and the pipe head is connected with the inner wall surface through a ball-socket connection.

Preferably, the respiratory mask connector is disposed between the frame and the pipe head to separate the frame and the pipe head from each other.

Preferably, the frame has a frame spherical surface, and the pipe head is ball-socket fitted with the spherical face and the frame spherical surface.

Preferably, the respiratory mask connector is an elastic member.

Preferably, the respiratory mask connector is a thin-wall member in thickness of 0.7 mm-1.2 mm.

Preferably, the respiratory mask connector comprises a first connection portion and a second connection portion, wherein:

the first connection portion is configured to be fixedly connected with the frame;

the second connection portion is configured to be fixedly connected with a cushion of the respiratory mask.

Preferably, an open end of the respiratory mask connector oriented to the pipe head is flush with an open end of the frame oriented to the pipe head.

Preferably, the axial length of the pipe head is greater than half of the axial length of the respiratory mask connector.

Preferably, the rigidity of the frame is higher than the rigidity of the respiratory mask connector.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the present invention provides a respiratory mask, which comprises a connection pipe, a frame, a cushion, and the respiratory mask connector according to the present invention.

In the present invention, the connection face of the respiratory mask connector is connected with the frame, and the spherical face of the respiratory mask connector is connected with the pipe head through a ball-socket connection, so that the connection pipe can rotate with respect to the frame in several degrees of freedom. In addition, through the installation of the respiratory mask connector, the connection pipe is easy to install and can be effectively prevented from getting loose, and the problem that the frame is difficult to mold owing to the direct ball-socket connection between the frame and the connection pipe can be solved.

The respiratory mask connector in the present invention is simple in structure and convenient to assemble, involves low cost, and can be produced in mass production. Other features and advantages of the present invention will become clear through reading the following detailed description of the embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.

