The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jan. 31, 2023
Filed:
Apr. 10, 2019
Align Technology, Inc., San Jose, CA (US);
Avi Kopelman, Palo Alto, CA (US);
Ryan Kimura, San Jose, CA (US);
Yaser Shanjani, Milpitas, CA (US);
Jeremy Riley, Mountain View, CA (US);
Jun Sato, San Jose, CA (US);
Bob Grove, San Jose, CA (US);
Reza Shirazi Aghjari, San Jose, CA (US);
Align Technology, Inc., San Jose, CA (US);
Abstract
Releasable and removable palatal expander apparatuses for expanding a patient's palate ('palatal expanders') and methods of using and making them. These releasable palatal expanders are adapted for ease in removal by the patient or caregiver, and may include a breach region configured to predictably bend or break when a pulling force is applied. The palatal expander apparatuses described herein may include one or more locks for locking the palatal expander onto the patient's teeth. The lock(s) may be unlocked to release the palatal expander from the teeth. A lock may include a control for manually unlocking the lock. Unlocking the locks may allow the palatal expander to automatically disengage from the patient's teeth.