Surgery – Respiratory method or device – Means for mixing treating agent with respiratory gas
Patent
1997-01-03
1998-03-10
Millin, Vincent
Surgery
Respiratory method or device
Means for mixing treating agent with respiratory gas
12820312, 12820313, 12820321, A61M 1500
Patent
active
057249601
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an inhaler device for inhaling a substance in the form of a powder, and more particularly to an insert for accurately defining the measuring chamber of said inhaler device.
Powder inhalers are now very widespread, and one of their main applications lies in the field of pharmaceuticals, and in particular in the field of medication for treating asthma. One such inhaler is disclosed, in particular, in document EP-632 734.
Unfortunately, such medication is often very expensive and must be measured out accurately. In addition, dosage can vary between patients and also over a single course of treatment. It is therefore necessary to provide different inhaler devices depending on the quantity of substance that is to be dispensed.
To keep down the cost of manufacturing, and thus of selling, powder inhaler devices, it is consequently desirable during assembly to be able to vary in very simple manner the quantity of substance emitted on each occasion, i.e. to be able to vary the volume of the measuring chamber, with this being done by modifying as small a number of parts as possible.
DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
Documents WO-A-92/04068 and FR-2 700 279 disclose apparatuses each incorporating a measuring chamber that moves between a rest position where it is situated in the substance reservoir, and an actuation position where it is situated in the expulsion duct. The measuring chamber fills while in its rest position and is then displaced towards its actuation position by the user. That implementation suffers from several drawbacks: firstly it requires a complex mechanism for displacing the measuring chamber, thereby increasing the manufacturing cost of the apparatus; secondly since displacement of the measuring chamber needs to take place with relatively little lateral play, friction forces can arise that prevent the apparatus from operating properly; and further, during displacement of the measuring chamber, some of the substance can be lost, so dose reproducibility is not guaranteed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the invention is to provide means enabling the above-mentioned problem to be resolved while avoiding the above-mentioned drawbacks.
The present invention thus provides an inhaler device for inhaling substance in powder form, the device comprising a body, a compressed air pump including a pump body and a pump chamber, an expulsion duct connected via a flap valve to the pump chamber and opening out into an outlet endpiece through which the substance is dispensed, a substance reservoir connected to said expulsion duct, and a substance measuring chamber disposed fixedly in said expulsion duct, the device being characterized in that said measuring chamber comprises an insert having a top portion projecting into said expulsion duct in sealed manner through an opening provided for that purpose in said duct, said top portion of said insert being of a shape that is suitable for retaining a predetermined quantity of substance.
The term "fixedly disposed in said expulsion duct" means that the measuring chamber cannot be displaced out from the expulsion duct, but is on the contrary located at all times in said expulsion duct. Naturally, depending on its size, said measuring chamber may include end zones that extend beyond said expulsion duct, and it may also be deformable in configuration, while nevertheless permanently remaining disposed in the expulsion duct.
Preferably, while the substance is being expelled by the compressed air delivered by the pump to said expulsion duct, the measuring chamber is closed in sealed manner from the reservoir by means of a movable sealing device situated inside said reservoir.
Advantageously, said insert includes an undeformable bottom portion fixed to a support part, said support part being integral with the body of the device and having said expulsion duct passing therethrough, and a top portion extending said bottom portion and projecting into the expulsion duct in sealed manner, said top portion includi
REFERENCES:
patent: 2570774 (1951-10-01), Dairs
patent: 5250287 (1993-10-01), Cocozza
Millin Vincent
Srivastava V.
Valois S.A.
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