CN117205412B - Dose indicator - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides a dose indicating device, which belongs to the technical field of inhaler manufacturing, and comprises a shell and a base which are connected with each other; the dose indicating device also comprises a rotatable dose indicating ring which is coaxially arranged with the base, the periphery of the dose indicating ring is provided with a scale for displaying a count value, and the push rod actuates the dose indicating ring to rotate through a transmission mechanism; the dose indicator device comprises a locking mechanism arranged to prevent movement of the push rod after a predetermined number of uses of the inhaler. The dose indicator device of the present invention allows for an efficient and secure locking of a fluid container in case a predetermined number of uses has been reached or exceeded.

Description

Dose indicator

Technical Field

The invention relates to a dose indicating device, in particular to a dose indicating device for a soft mist inhaler, and belongs to the technical field of inhaler manufacturing.

Background

Inhalers typically include a spray assembly that pumps and atomizes fluid for inhalation by a user after a replaceable fluid container is mounted to the inhaler.

After installing the fluid container, the user may not be aware of the use of the fluid in the fluid container. When the fluid container stores a medicinal solution for treating chronic or acute symptoms, if the use is continued, it is likely that the ejection dose is unstable and a danger may occur in the case where the medicinal solution in the fluid container has reached or exceeded a predetermined number of uses. Thus, there is a need for a dose indicator device that is capable of displaying the number of uses or remaining uses of a fluid container.

The soft mist inhaler, respimt, without propellant, was developed and introduced by Bringen (BI), the earliest marketed respimt being a single use appliance, the 2019 respimt re-usable, which product has a reusable version, wherein a replaceable container containing a fluid can be inserted into the upper housing of the nebulizer and closed by the lower housing, by rotating the lower housing, the drive spring can be under tension, and the fluid can be pumped into the pressure chamber of the pressure generator. At the same time, the container moves downward within the sprayer. After manual pressing of a button, the drive spring is released and compresses the pressure chamber so that the fluid in the pressure chamber is under high pressure and eventually atomized through the nozzle, while the container moves upward. A dose indicator device is connected below the container, and a drive part at the bottom of the lower housing is designed to actuate the indicator device when the container is moved relative to the drive part, so that the indicator device can be used for counting and/or indicating the number of uses the container has performed or is still available. The dose indicator device is characterized in that the dose indicator device comprises a plurality of parts, each part needs to be manufactured precisely, the fault tolerance rate of the whole device is low, and the production cost is high.

There are also other types of dose indicators in the prior art which are designed to perform a dose indicating function by means of electronics, the use of which increases costs and may have problems with battery life. In addition, these dose indicators are relatively complex in construction, require a large number of small mechanical parts, are costly and are difficult to assemble.

In addition, while the dose indicator may allow the user to observe the usage of the inhaler, sometimes the user forgets to observe that if the fluid in the fluid container is near or has been exhausted, the emitted dose of the inhaler may be different from the predetermined dose, and there may be a risk that the user continues to use. Thus, there is a need for a dose indicator device that locks a fluid container after it has reached a predetermined number of uses and alerts the user to a new fluid container.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to solve the technical problems that the prior art is insufficient, and provides a dose indicator for an inhaler, and the dose indicator can be locked after a fluid container is used for a preset number of times by arranging a locking mechanism, so that the user is prevented from continuing to use when the fluid is nearly exhausted or is exhausted, and the medication safety is improved; in addition, the transmission mechanism of the invention can convert the up-and-down motion of the fluid container in the vertical direction into the rotary motion of the transmission wheel assembly in the vertical direction through the push rod and the push-pull rod when a user uses the inhaler, and then into the rotary motion of the dose indication ring in the horizontal direction. Through the fault-tolerant design among all the components, the invention can convert the longitudinal movement in a certain range into the rotation movement of the specific angle of the transmission teeth for different products or different batches of the same product even if the initial distance between the assembled fluid container and the driving part is different and/or the relative movement distance is different.

In a first aspect, the present invention provides a dose indicator device for an inhaler, the inhaler comprising a housing for receiving a fluid container and a spray assembly for atomizing the fluid, a base within the housing being provided with a drive for actuating the dose indicator device, the dose indicator device comprising an interconnected housing and base, and a cavity between the housing and the base; the dose indicating device is connected to the fluid container through the shell, a push rod accommodating part protruding towards the shell is arranged at the center of the base, a push rod hole penetrating through the base and the end face is formed in the center of the end face of the push rod accommodating part far away from the base, the push rod is movably arranged in the push rod hole in a penetrating mode, the dose indicating device further comprises a dose indicating ring which is coaxially arranged with the base and can rotate around the central shaft of the base, a scale used for displaying a count value is arranged on the periphery of the dose indicating ring, and the push rod actuates the dose indicating ring to rotate through a transmission mechanism; the dose indicator device further comprises a locking mechanism comprising a rotatable stop arranged to prevent movement of the push rod and/or rotation of the dose indicator ring after a predetermined number of uses of the fluid container.

Preferably, a viewing window is provided on a side of the housing, the viewing window being arranged in correspondence with the dose indicator ring.

In order to realize the movement and the resetting of the push rod, a blocking part is arranged on the push rod, an elastic component is further arranged between the push rod and the end face, one end of the elastic component is abutted to the blocking part, and the other end of the elastic component is abutted to the end face. In order to provide a sufficient distance of movement of the push rod, it is preferred that the stop is located at the bottom of the push rod.

Preferably, the locking mechanism has a rotatable stop, a vertically arranged stop rotating shaft is arranged on the base, the stop is rotatably sleeved on the stop rotating shaft, the stop comprises a supporting top, a limiting part and a pushing part, the supporting top and the limiting part are positioned on two sides of the stop rotating shaft, and the pushing part is arranged close to the dose indication ring.

In order to push the stop to rotate, the locking mechanism comprises a pushing member arranged at the inner periphery of the dose indicator ring, the pushing member being arranged to push the stop from a preset position to an abutment position after rotation of the dose indicator ring by a preset angle, the stop not preventing the push rod from moving in the preset position, the stop preventing the push rod from moving in the abutment position.

Preferably, the pushing member is a projection protruding from an inner periphery of the dose indicator ring towards the stopper, the projection being provided in correspondence with the pushing portion, the projection being provided to push the pushing portion after the dose indicator ring rotates by a preset angle.

Preferably, a stopper hole communicating with the push rod hole is provided on a side surface of the push rod accommodating portion, and the stopper hole is provided corresponding to the abutment portion, so that the abutment portion can pass through the stopper hole when the stopper rotates, does not pass through the stopper hole when in the preset position, passes through the stopper hole when in the abutment position, and protrudes at least partially out of the push rod hole.

Preferably, the bottom of the push rod is located above the stopper opening in the abutment position.

Preferably, the bottom of the push rod is located below the stopper opening in the abutment position.

In order to prevent the stopper from rotating unnecessarily, a limit mechanism is provided on the base, the limit mechanism being provided in correspondence with the limit portion, the limit mechanism being provided to hold the stopper in the preset position.

Preferably, the limiting part is a semicircular boss, the limiting mechanism is a limiting clamping groove arranged on the base, and the boss and the limiting clamping groove are correspondingly arranged in a matching manner.

Or, the limit mechanism is a spring plate which is arranged on one surface of the base facing the stop block and extends obliquely to the stop block, and a part of the stop block facing the spring plate is used as the limit part.

The base is provided with a protruding point for preventing the abutting portion from moving to a position far away from the opening of the stop block, and the protruding point abuts against the abutting portion when the stop block is at the preset position.

Preferably, the dose indicator device further comprises a stop which, when in the abutment position, prevents further rotation of the stop.

Further preferably, the stopper is a bump provided on the base.

Further preferably, a wall of the one side of the stopper opening may serve as a stopper.

Further preferably, the limit clamping groove can serve as a stop piece.

Illustratively, the transmission includes:

the push rod penetrates through one end of the push rod hole, which faces the shell, and is fixedly connected with the push rod; the push-pull rod comprises a push-pull rod base body, push rods and pull rods, wherein the push rods and the pull rods are positioned on two sides of the push-pull rod base body and are oppositely arranged, and the height of each push rod is smaller than that of each pull rod;

The transmission wheel assembly comprises a first transmission wheel, a second transmission wheel and a transmission shaft which is horizontally arranged; the first driving wheel is fixed in the middle of the transmission shaft and is positioned between the pushing rod and the pulling rod, the distance between the pushing rod and the pulling rod is smaller than the outer diameter of the first driving wheel, and the first driving wheel is arranged to be actuated by the pushing rod or the pulling rod to rotate in the same direction when the pushing rod moves up and down; the second driving wheel is fixed at the end part of the driving shaft;

the bottom of the dose indication ring is abutted with the base, and the top of the dose indication ring is provided with transmission teeth meshed with the second transmission wheel.

In a second aspect, the present invention provides a fluid container for an inhaler, the bottom of the fluid container being connected with a dose indicator device as described above.

Preferably, the fluid container is fixedly connected to the dose indicator device, and the fluid container and the dose indicator device are replaced together when the fluid container needs to be replaced.

In a third aspect, the present invention provides an inhaler having a housing for receiving a fluid container to which the above described dose indicator device is attached.

In a fourth aspect, the present invention also provides a method of counting and/or indicating the number of uses that have been performed or remain available for a fluid container in an inhaler by means of a dose indicator device as described above.

In a fifth aspect, the present invention also provides a dose indicator device having a structure as described in the first aspect of the invention, it being understood that the dose indicator device may be used with other devices or apparatus other than inhalers which require counting and/or display, provided that a drive is provided on the device or apparatus which can actuate the dose indicator device. Similarly, the dose indicator device may be connected to the fluid container by the housing, or may also be connected to other components in the device or apparatus by the housing, or even be present alone in the device or apparatus, as long as the drive part is able to actuate the dose indicator device in the movement that needs to be counted and/or displayed.

In summary, the present invention provides a dose indicator device, and a fluid container and inhaler using the same, which can be effectively and firmly locked after a predetermined number of uses of the fluid container by providing a locking mechanism, thereby preventing a user from continuing to use the fluid container when the fluid is nearly exhausted or has been exhausted, improving safety, and reminding the user to replace a new fluid container.

Furthermore, the locking mechanism of the present invention provides a double locking action, on the one hand locking the count of the dose indicator device by the stop preventing the push rod from moving up and down, and on the other hand preventing further rotation of the stop by the stop such that the push portion provides a reverse blocking action to the push member preventing rotation of the dose indicator ring and thus locking the indication of the dose indicator device.

In addition, the transmission mechanism of the invention can convert the up-and-down motion of the fluid container in the vertical direction into the rotary motion of the transmission wheel assembly in the vertical direction through the push rod and the push-pull rod when a user uses the inhaler, and then into the rotary motion of the dose indication ring in the horizontal direction. Through the fault-tolerant design among all the components, the invention can convert the longitudinal movement in a certain range into the rotation movement of the specific angle of the transmission teeth for different products or different batches of the same product even if the initial distance between the assembled fluid container and the driving part is different and/or the relative movement distance is different.

The technical scheme of the invention is described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural view of the inhaler of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the inhaler of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is an exploded schematic view of a dose indicator device of an inhaler according to the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view showing the internal structure of the dose indicator device of the inhaler.

Fig. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the dose indicator device in a ready-to-dose state.

Fig. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the dose indicator device in an activated dose state.

Fig. 7 is a schematic structural view of the drive wheel assembly.

Fig. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the first drive wheel.

Fig. 9 is a schematic view showing the engagement of the second drive wheel and the dose indicator ring.

Fig. 10 is a schematic diagram showing the cooperation of the viewing window with the dose indicator ring.

Fig. 11 is a top view showing the ratchet mechanism.

Fig. 12 is a schematic view showing an example of the lock mechanism with the stopper at the preset position.

Fig. 13 is a schematic view showing an example of the lock mechanism with the stopper in the abutting position.

Fig. 14 is a schematic view showing another example of the stopper of the lock mechanism in a preset position.

Fig. 15 is a schematic view showing another example of the lock mechanism with the stopper in the abutting position.

Fig. 16 is a structural schematic diagram showing an elastic structure of another example of the lock mechanism.

Detailed Description

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the structure of the inhaler of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the inhaler of the present invention; FIG. 3 is an exploded schematic view of a dose indicator device of an inhaler of the present invention; fig. 4 is a sectional view showing the internal structure of the dose indicator device of the inhaler; FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the dose indicator device in a ready-to-dose state; FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the dose indicator device in an activated dose state; FIG. 7 is a schematic view of the structure of the drive wheel assembly; FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the first drive wheel; FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing the engagement of the second drive wheel and the dose indicator ring; FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing the cooperation of a viewing window with a dose indicator ring; FIG. 11 is a top view showing the ratchet mechanism; FIG. 12 is a schematic view showing an example of a locking mechanism with a stop in a preset position; FIG. 13 is a schematic view showing an example of a locking mechanism with a stop in an abutment position; FIG. 14 is a schematic view showing another example of a locking mechanism with a stop in a preset position; FIG. 15 is a schematic view showing another example of a locking mechanism with a stop in an abutment position; fig. 16 is a structural schematic diagram showing an elastic structure of another example of the lock mechanism. As shown in fig. 1 to 16, the present invention provides a dose indicating device for an inhaler, which may be adapted for a reusable inhaler, including but not limited to RESPIMAT re-usable of Bringen (BI), or the inhalation device mentioned in patent document application No. 201880027066.6.

Illustratively, as shown in fig. 1 and 2, the inhaler 500 includes a housing for receiving a fluid container 600 (e.g., a vial) and a spray assembly 400 for aerosolizing a fluid, the bottom within the housing being provided with a drive portion 501 (e.g., a lever, a protrusion, etc.), the fluid container 600 completing one longitudinal reciprocation within the inhaler 500 during one aerosol inhalation using the spray assembly 400, the drive portion 501 being for driving or actuating a dose indicator device upon reciprocation of the fluid container 600. The structure of the inhaler 500 and the spray assembly 400 is conventional and will not be described in detail herein.

In this embodiment, the driving portion 501 is a cylindrical small rod extending upward from the bottom of the housing, and it is understood that in other embodiments of the present invention, the driving portion 501 may be fixedly connected or detachably connected to the bottom of the housing by a direct or indirect manner (for example, through another connecting member), and the shape of the driving portion 501 may also be other shapes, for example, a prismatic small rod, etc.

Currently, in the conventional inhaler 500, the fluid container 600 is moved along the central axis of the housing when the spray assembly 400 is used, so that the driving part 501 at the bottom of the housing is moved relative to the fluid container 600, and the driving part 501 actuates the dose indicator device at the bottom of the fluid container 600 during the relative movement, and the dose indicator device displays the number of times of use (hereinafter referred to as a count value) that has been performed or is still available. However, in actual production, there may be some deviation in the dimensions of the components such as the driving portion 501 and the dose indicator device, for example, the length of the cylindrical rod as the driving portion 501 and the height of the housing 100 of the dose indicator device may not be identical for different batches of products, which may result in a deviation in the initial distance between the driving portion 501 and the fluid container 600 (the bottom of which is connected with the dose indicator device) and/or a deviation in the relative movement distance after assembling the different batches of devices and the different batches of fluid containers 600, resulting in inaccurate display of the dose indicator device and low fault tolerance of the device. For another example, for different products, it is likely that fluid containers 600 with different gauges will be chosen, the height of the fluid containers 600 will likely be different, e.g. the same batch of inhalers 500 will be used to assemble different gauges of fluid containers 600, there will be a large difference in the initial distance between the drive part 501 and the fluid container 600 (with the dose indication device attached to its bottom) and/or a large difference in the relative movement distance, resulting in inaccurate or even failure of the dose indication device, the need to readjust the parameters of the components of the dose indication device, and poor device versatility.

The present invention provides a dose indicator device for an inhaler 500, as shown in figures 2-3, comprising a housing 100 and a base 200 connected to each other, and a cavity between said housing 100 and base 200. To accommodate most commercially available inhalers 500, the housing 100 is preferably cylindrical.

The dose indicator device is connected to the fluid container 600 through the housing 100. Illustratively, the end of the housing 100 remote from the base 200 is provided with a fluid container connection 110, the fluid container connection 110 being arranged coaxially (central axis) with the housing of the inhaler 500 for connecting a fluid container 600. In an embodiment of the present invention, the connection manner is a snap connection, and it is understood that other connection manners, such as direct connection or indirect connection, fixed connection or detachable connection, etc., can achieve the object of the present invention.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the fluid container connection portion 110 is fixedly connected to the fluid container 600, and the fluid container 600 is replaced together with the dose indicator device when the fluid container 600 needs to be replaced.

In this embodiment, the dose indicator device is connected to the bottom of the fluid container 600 by a fluid container connection 110, and the dose indicator device can reciprocate (move up and down) longitudinally with the fluid container 600.

The center of the base 200 is provided with a push rod accommodating portion 210 protruding towards the housing 100, a push rod hole 211 penetrating the base 200 and the end face 201 is provided in the center of the end face 201 of the push rod accommodating portion 210 away from the base 200, the push rod 220 is movably inserted into the push rod hole 211, and an elastic component 221 (including but not limited to a compression spring and the like) is further provided between the push rod 220 and the end face 201. Specifically, the push rod accommodating portion 210 has an accommodating space for accommodating the push rod 220, a stopper 222 is provided on the push rod 220 (in a direction away from the end surface 201), one end of the elastic member 221 abuts against the stopper 222, and the other end abuts against the end surface 201. The shape of the blocking portion 222 is not limited, and may be annular or other shape, so long as it can limit the elastic component 221. Preferably, the stop 222 is located at the bottom of the pushrod 220. A direction (a direction in which a central axis of the inhaler 500 is located, or a direction in which a central axis of the dose indicator device is located) extending from the base 200 to the fluid container connection portion 110 is defined as an up-down direction (a vertical direction, or a longitudinal direction), a direction orthogonal to the up-down direction is defined as a horizontal direction (a lateral direction as in left-right directions in fig. 2 and 3), and a direction indicated by an arrow a in fig. 2 and 3 is defined as an upper direction.

In this embodiment, the driving portion 501 is arranged coaxially with the push rod hole 211, and when the dose indicator device is moved downwards, the driving portion 501 abuts and pushes the push rod 220 to move upwards in the push rod hole 211 relative to the fluid container 600. Preferably, the length of the push rod 220 does not exceed the length of the push rod hole 211. Preferably, the push rod 220 does not protrude from a side of the base 200 remote from the housing 100.

The push rod 220 is fixedly connected to the push rod 310 through one end of the push rod hole 211 facing the housing 100. The push-pull rod 310 comprises a push-pull rod base 311, and a push rod 312 and a pull rod 313 which are positioned on two sides of the push-pull rod base 311 and are oppositely arranged. Specifically, the push-pull rod base 311 is fixedly connected to the push rod 220. The push rod 312 has a height (length in the direction of the central axis of the housing (i.e., in the vertical direction)) smaller than the height of the pull rod 313. In this embodiment, the push rod 312 and the pull rod 313 are disposed opposite to each other, which has better design flexibility for the height and shape of the push rod 312 and the pull rod 313 than other designs (such as a side arrangement), and is beneficial to improving the fault tolerance.

The pushing rod 312 comprises a pushing part 314, and the pushing part 314 is fixedly connected with the push-pull rod base 311 through a first vertical rod which is vertically arranged; the pulling rod 313 includes a pulling portion 315, and the pulling portion 315 is fixedly connected with the push-pull rod base 311 through a vertically arranged second upright rod. As can be seen from the above, in the vertical direction, the height of the pushing portion 314 is different from the height of the pulling portion 315, and the pushing portion 314 is lower than the pulling portion 315, i.e. the distance between the pushing portion 314 and the push-pull rod base 311 is smaller than the distance between the pulling portion 315 and the push-pull rod base 311. When the push rod 220 moves (moves up and down) in the push rod accommodating portion 210, the push rod 310 is driven to move (move up and down). In this embodiment, the pushing portion 314 is fixedly connected to the push-pull rod base 311 through two first upright rods, and the two first upright rods are respectively connected to two ends of the pushing portion 314; the pulling portion 315 is fixedly connected with the push-pull rod base 311 through two second vertical rods, and the two second vertical rods are respectively connected to two ends of the pulling portion 315. It will be appreciated that the first and second uprights may have other numbers, as long as the rotational movement of the first drive wheel 321 in the vertical direction is not affected.

The dose indicator device further comprises a driving wheel assembly 320, wherein the driving wheel assembly 320 comprises a first driving wheel 321, a second driving wheel 322 and a horizontally arranged driving shaft 323, the first driving wheel 321 is fixed in the middle of the driving shaft 323 and is positioned between the pushing rod 312 and the pulling rod 313, and the second driving wheel 322 is fixed at the end part of the driving shaft 323. To support the drive wheel assembly 320, the dose indicator device further comprises a drive wheel assembly holder 230, said drive wheel assembly holder 230 being fixed to the base 200. The drive wheel assembly 320 is rotatably disposed in the drive wheel assembly holder 230. Specifically, the driving wheel assembly holder 230 is disposed outside the push rod receiving portion 210 and has a driving shaft recess 231 for receiving the driving shaft 323, so that the driving shaft 323 can only rotate on the driving wheel assembly holder 230 without any movement in other directions, and the driving shaft 323 is parallel to the pushing portion 314 and the pulling portion 315. The invention is not limited to the specific configuration and location of the drive wheel assembly holder 230, and the drive wheel assembly 320 may be secured in other ways.

To ensure that the push-pull rod 310 is able to actuate the drive wheel assembly 320 and has a high tolerance, the distance D between the push rod 312 and the pull rod 313 is smaller than the outer diameter of the first drive wheel 321. Specifically, the ratio of the distance D to the radius R of the first drive wheel 321 ranges from 1.3 to 1.9, in some preferred embodiments from 1.4 to 1.6, and in some more preferred embodiments from 1.4 to 1.5.

The push-pull rod 310 and the driving wheel assembly 320 are matched in operation as follows: when the push-pull rod 310 moves upward (in a direction approaching the fluid container connection 110) (in a ready-to-dose state, i.e., when the fluid container 600 moves downward relative to the driving part 501, the driving part 501 pushes the push rod 220 upward relative to the fluid container 600, thereby moving the push rod 310 upward), the pushing part 314 of the pushing rod 312 located below moves upward, pushing the first driving wheel 321 to rotate (illustratively, counterclockwise rotation occurs as shown in fig. 5), at which time the pulling rod 313 does not block the rotation of the first driving wheel 321 and does not apply a force to the first driving wheel 321, or applies a slight force that does not affect the rotation of the first driving wheel 321. When the push-pull rod 310 moves downwards (in a direction away from the fluid container connection 110) (a dose-activated state, i.e. the fluid container 600 moves upwards relative to the driving part 501 under the action of a driving spring (not shown), the push rod 220 moves away from the driving part 501, the push rod 220 moves downwards relative to the fluid container 600 under the action of the elastic member 221, and thus the push rod 310 moves downwards), the pulling part 315 of the upper pulling rod 313 moves downwards, pulling the first driving wheel 321 to rotate (illustratively, counterclockwise rotation occurs as shown in fig. 6), at which time the push rod 312 does not block the rotation of the first driving wheel 321 and does not apply a force to the first driving wheel 321, or a slight force which does not affect the rotation of the first driving wheel 321 is applied. By repeating this, the first driving wheel 321 can rotate, and the up-and-down movement of the push rod 220 is converted into the rotation of the first driving wheel 321. In other words, the first driving wheel 321 is configured to be actuated to rotate in the same direction (i.e., to rotate in one direction, counterclockwise in the drawing, under the force of the pushing portion 314 and the pulling portion 315) when the push-pull rod 310 moves up and down.

In order to enable the push-pull rod 310 to push and pull the first driving wheel 321 more smoothly and to increase the fault tolerance, the ratio of the height difference Δh of the push-pull rod 310 (i.e., the height difference Δh of the push rod 312 and the pull rod 313) to the radius R of the first driving wheel 321 is in the range of 0.4 or more, or 0.5 or more, or 0.6 or more, or 0.7 or more, or 0.8 or more, or 0.9 or more, or 1 or more, and in some preferred embodiments, the ratio is in the range of 0.6 to 0.8. The ratio of the height H of the pushing rod 312 (i.e. the distance H between the top end of the pushing portion 314 and the push-pull rod base 311) to the radius R of the first driving wheel 321 is in the range of 0.6 to 1.3; in some preferred embodiments, the ratio ranges from 0.8 to 1.2; in some more preferred embodiments, the ratio ranges from 1.0 to 1.1.

In order to prevent the first drive wheel 321 from reversing, the dose indicator device is further provided with a stop pawl 101, which stop pawl 101 is, illustratively, arranged on the top surface of the housing 100, i.e. the surface provided with the fluid container connection 110, and extends towards the first drive wheel 321. In this example, the number of the locking pawls 101 is two, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and those skilled in the art may adjust the number, positions and structures of the locking pawls 101 according to actual situations. Preferably, the dose indicator device comprises 2 locking pawls 101, each extending to either side of a tooth of the first drive wheel 321.

In this embodiment, the pawl 101 is of a spring structure and has a minimum thickness at the teeth closest to the first drive wheel 321 (specifically, as shown in fig. 5-6, the thickness is reduced on the side closest to the push rod 312). When the first driving wheel 321 rotates in the same direction, the locking claw 101 is slightly elastically deformed and gives out sound feedback to prompt the user that the user performs atomization inhalation once; when the first driving wheel 321 rotates reversely, the locking claw 101 deforms greatly to generate a larger reaction force, so that the reverse rotation of the first driving wheel 321 is prevented.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the present invention is not limited to the specific shape of the first driving wheel 321, as long as the push-pull rod 310 can actuate the first driving wheel 321, i.e. as long as the other gear tooth can smoothly rotate below the pull rod 313 during the rotation process of pushing one gear tooth upward by the push rod 312, and the other gear tooth can smoothly rotate above the push rod 312 during the rotation process of pushing one gear tooth downward by the pull rod 313.

In other preferred embodiments of the present invention, the teeth of the first driving wheel 321 deflect toward the push rod 312. As shown in fig. 8, in the cross-sectional view, the line between the center of the tooth bottom (the portion near the center of the first transmission wheel 321) and the center of the first transmission wheel 321 and the line between the center of the tooth top (the portion far from the rotation axis of the first transmission wheel 321) (in the figure, the tooth top is a point) and the center of the first transmission wheel 321 exist at a deflection angle α of 0 ° to 70 °, in some preferred embodiments, 15 ° to 65 °, in some further preferred embodiments, 30 ° to 65 °, and in some further preferred embodiments, 45 ° to 55 °. Preferably, the (cross-sectional) edges of the teeth are curved. The advantage of such design is that on one hand, pushing part 314 and pulling part 315 are beneficial to provide more stable acting force for the gear teeth, and the stability of the whole device structure is improved; on the other hand, the shapes of the pushing part 314 and the pulling part 315 do not need the shape engagement of the gear teeth, so that the flexibility in design is improved, the fault tolerance rate in shape and size is higher, the method is particularly suitable for industrial production, and the production cost is reduced. On the other hand, the anti-reverse action of the locking claw 101 on the first driving wheel 321 is facilitated, as shown in fig. 5-6, when the first driving wheel 321 rotates in the same direction, when the gear teeth of the first driving wheel 321 contact with the locking claw 101, the deflection design of the gear teeth is more favorable for slightly elastically deforming the locking claw 101 toward the pulling rod 313, so that the first driving wheel 321 is further rotated in the same direction; when the first driving wheel 321 rotates reversely, when the gear teeth of the first driving wheel 321 are in contact with the locking claw 101, the deflection design of the gear teeth is more unfavorable for the deformation of the locking claw 101 towards the pushing rod 312, so that the locking claw 101 generates larger reaction force to prevent the reverse rotation of the first driving wheel 321.

In some embodiments of the invention, the pushing portion 314 and the pulling portion 315 are disposed horizontally. In other embodiments of the present invention, to further provide a more stable force to the gear teeth, the pushing portion 314 and the pulling portion 315 are disposed obliquely to the pushing rod 312 along the horizontal direction, as shown in fig. 6, and in a cross-sectional view, the surface of the pushing portion 314 and/or the pulling portion 315 contacting the gear teeth of the first driving wheel 321 forms an angle β with the horizontal (shown by a dotted line in the drawing), and the angle β is 0 ° to 60 °; in some preferred embodiments, the tilt angle β is 0 ° to 45 °; in some further preferred embodiments, the tilt angle β is 10 ° to 30 °; in some more preferred embodiments, the tilt angle β is 15 ° to 25 °.

The present invention is not limited to the number of teeth of the first driving wheel 321, and those skilled in the art may make design choices according to practical situations. By changing the number of teeth of the first driving wheel 321, the rotation angle of the first driving wheel 321 can be changed. Preferably, the number of gear teeth is 3 to 6.

To show the count (number of uses performed or still available) of the fluid container 600 in the inhaler 500, the dose indicator device further comprises a dose indicator ring 330 coaxially arranged with the base 200 and rotatable about the central axis of the base 200. Illustratively, the dose indicator ring 330 is annular in shape. The bottom of the dose indicator ring 330 abuts against the base 200, and the top is provided with a driving tooth 331 meshed with the second driving wheel 322. In order to define the position of the dose indicator ring 330, the base 200 is provided with a plurality of limiting pieces 240, and the plurality of limiting pieces 240 are surrounded on the periphery of the dose indicator ring 330 to avoid dislocation of the dose indicator ring 330. The dose indicator ring 330 is also provided with a scale on its outer circumference for displaying a count value, and by controlling the direction of rotation of the dose indicator ring 330 and the sequence of the scales, the number of uses that the fluid container 600 has been or is still available in the inhaler 500 can be displayed.

In order to facilitate the user to observe the count value, an observation window 120 is provided on the side surface of the housing 100, and the position of the observation window 120 is set corresponding to the position of the dose indicator ring 330.

When the push rod 220 moves up and down, the push rod 310 is driven to move up and down, the push rod 310 actuates the first driving wheel 321, the first driving wheel 321 drives the driving shaft 323 to rotate, the driving shaft 323 drives the second driving wheel 322 to rotate, and the second driving wheel 322 is meshed to drive the dose indicating ring 330 to rotate, so that dose indication is realized.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the number of teeth of the second driving wheel 322 and the number of teeth 331 of the dose indicator ring 330 are not limited, and those skilled in the art can design and select the present invention according to practical situations.

In some preferred embodiments of the invention, the number of teeth of the second drive wheel 322 is less than the number of teeth of the first drive wheel 321. In some embodiments of the present invention, the number of teeth of the second driving wheel 322 is 2 to 5; in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the number of teeth of the second driving wheel 322 is 2. The advantage of such design, utilize the different gear tooth numbers on the first drive wheel 321 and the second drive wheel 322, the transmission ratio of the adjustable device increases the flexibility of the whole device, on the one hand, can obviously reduce the number of corresponding drive teeth 331 on the dose indicating ring 330, thus can increase the structural strength of the drive teeth 331 in the limited space, has improved the structural stability of the device, has reduced production difficulty and manufacturing cost; on the other hand, the rotation angle corresponding to the single driving tooth 331 on the dose indicating ring 330 and the meshing space between the driving tooth 331 and the gear teeth of the second driving wheel 322 can be increased, so that the fault tolerance of the device is further improved.

The actuation of the dose indicator ring 330 is described below in connection with specific examples.

In this example, the number of teeth of the first driving wheel 321 is 5, 5 teeth are uniformly distributed on the periphery of the first driving wheel 321, the number of teeth of the second driving wheel 322 is 2, and an included angle between the two teeth is 144 °.

When the user uses the inhaler 500, the user atomizes once using the spraying assembly 400, the fluid container 600 moves back and forth once in the longitudinal direction, the push rod 220 moves up and down once under the action of the driving part 501 and the elastic assembly 221, and since the first driving wheel 321 has 5 teeth and the second driving wheel 322 has 2 teeth, the second driving wheel 322 actuates the dose indication ring 330 to rotate once when the push rod 220 moves up and down twice; thereafter, when the push rod 220 moves up and down three times, the second driving wheel 322 actuates the dose indicator ring 330 to rotate once, which in turn circulates. I.e. five nebulizations per use of the spray assembly 400, the dose indicator ring 330 is rotated twice.

It is obvious that the number of teeth of the first and second driving wheels 321, 322, as well as the number of driving teeth 331 of the dose indicator ring 330, can be varied by a person skilled in the art to vary the number of rotations and the angle of rotation of the dose indicator ring 330, and the invention is not particularly limited.

In order to prevent the dose indicator ring 330 from reversing, the dose indicator ring 330 is further provided with a ratchet mechanism at its inner circumference such that the dose indicator ring 330 can only rotate in the same direction (in one direction upon actuation of the second drive wheel 322) upon actuation of the second drive wheel 322, thereby preventing display errors. Specifically, the ratchet mechanism includes a ratchet 332 and a check pawl 333. Illustratively, the ratchet 332 is disposed on the inner circumference of the dose indicator ring 330, the non-return pawl 333 is disposed on the outer circumference of the push rod receiving portion 210, and the ratchet 332 and the non-return pawl 333 are disposed at the same height. In some embodiments of the invention, the number of the check pawls 333 is at least two; in some preferred embodiments of the present invention, the number of the check pawls 333 is two, and the check pawls are symmetrically arranged with respect to each other.

The counting and displaying accuracy of the dose indicator device of the present invention can be effectively ensured by the dual anti-reverse design, specifically, by preventing the reverse rotation of the first driving wheel 321 by the stop pawl 101 and preventing the reverse rotation of the dose indicator ring 330 by the ratchet mechanism.

While the above-described dose indicator device enables a user to learn about the use of the fluid container 600, the user sometimes forgets to observe it. When the fluid in the fluid container 600 reaches or exceeds a predetermined number of uses, particularly when the fluid is nearly depleted or has been depleted, if the user continues to use the fluid container 600 without timely replacement of a new fluid container 600, it is likely that the ejected dose will differ from the predetermined dose, possibly creating a medication hazard.

To avoid the above problems, the dose indicator device of the present invention further comprises a locking mechanism with a rotatable stop 340 arranged to prevent movement of the push rod 220 and/or further rotation of the dose indicator ring 330 after a predetermined number of uses of the fluid container 600. Note that the locking mechanism of the present invention may be applied not only to the inhaler 500 described above, but also to various prior art inhalers 500 having a drive portion 501 and/or a dose indicator ring 330, as long as the stop 340 of the locking mechanism may prevent movement of the drive portion 501 (or push rod 220) and/or the dose indicator ring 330.

For example, when the dose indicator device comprises a locking mechanism, the base 200 is provided with a vertically arranged stop rotation shaft 250, and the stop 340 is rotatably sleeved on the stop rotation shaft 250, so that the stop 340 can rotate in a horizontal direction. The stopper 340 includes a supporting portion 341, a limiting portion, and a pushing portion 343, where the supporting portion 341 and the limiting portion are located at two sides of the stopper rotation shaft 250, and the pushing portion 343 is disposed near the dose indicator ring 330.

The side surface of the push rod accommodating portion 210 is provided with a stopper opening (not shown) in communication with the push rod hole 211, and the stopper opening is disposed corresponding to the abutment portion 341, so that the abutment portion 341 of the stopper 340 may penetrate the stopper opening to abut against the push rod 220 when rotating, and the stopper 340 is located at an abutment position, and the abutment portion 341 abuts against the push rod 220 to prevent the push rod 220 from moving. In this embodiment, the abutment portion 341 does not pass through the stopper hole in the preset position, and the abutment portion 341 passes through the stopper hole and protrudes at least partially from the push rod hole 211 in the abutment position, thereby preventing the push rod 220 from moving up and down in the push rod hole 211.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the bottom of the push rod 220 is located below the stopper opening in the abutment position, and the abutment portion 341 passes through the stopper opening to prevent the push rod 220 from moving downward; in other embodiments of the present invention, the bottom of the pushrod 220 is located above the stopper opening in the abutment position, and the abutment portion 341 passes through the stopper opening to prevent upward movement of the pushrod 220; in other embodiments of the present invention, the abutment 341 prevents the driving portion 501 from contacting the push rod 220, thereby preventing actuation of the push rod 220 by the driving portion 501.

In addition, the hole wall of the hole of the stopper has a limiting effect on the rotation angle of the stopper 340, so that when the propping portion 341 is propped against the push rod 220, the stopper 340 cannot rotate continuously, and thus the pushing portion 343 provides a reverse blocking effect on the pushing member 334, the dose indicator ring 330 cannot rotate continuously, and locking of the dose indicator ring 330 is achieved.

In order to maintain the stopper 340 at the preset position before the dose indicator ring 330 rotates by a preset angle, a limiting mechanism configured to maintain the stopper 340 at the preset position is disposed on the base 200, and the limiting mechanism is disposed corresponding to the limiting portion, so that the stopper 340 is located at the preset position, and the stopper 341 does not pass through the stopper opening at the preset position, at this time, the stopper 340 does not affect the movement of the push rod 220.

It should be noted that, the specific structures of the limiting mechanism and the limiting portion of the present invention may be implemented in various forms.

For example, in an embodiment of the present invention, when the limiting portion is a semicircular boss 342, the limiting mechanism may be a limiting slot 251 provided on the base 200, and the boss 342 and the limiting slot 251 are correspondingly configured, so that the boss 342 is engaged in the limiting slot 251 when the stop 340 is at the preset position.

Alternatively, the limiting mechanism is an elastic structure (such as a strip-shaped or block-shaped plastic elastic sheet) protruding on the base 200. Specifically, the limiting mechanism is a spring plate 252 disposed on a surface of the base 200 facing the stop 340 and extending obliquely to the stop 340, and at this time, a portion of the stop 340 facing the spring plate 252 is used as the limiting portion, and the stop 340 can be temporarily fixed at a preset position by abutting the limiting portion and the elastic structure. When the stopper 340 is at the preset position, in order to prevent the abutment 341 from moving to a position far away from the stopper opening, the base 200 is further provided with a protruding point 253 for preventing the abutment 341 from moving to a position far away from the stopper opening, and the protruding point 253 abuts against the abutment 341 when the stopper 340 is at the preset position.

In order to push the pushing part 343 to rotate the stopper 340 from a preset position to an abutment position, the locking mechanism comprises a pushing member 334 arranged at the inner circumference of the dose indicator ring 330, the pushing member 334 being arranged to push the stopper 340 from the preset position to the abutment position after rotating the dose indicator ring 330 by a preset angle, the stopper 340 not preventing the push rod 220 from moving in the preset position, the stopper 340 preventing the push rod 220 from moving in the abutment position.

In this embodiment, the stop 340 is in the preset position before the dose indicator ring 330 rotates by the preset angle, and the pushing member 334 does not interact with the stop 340, and only after the dose indicator ring 330 rotates by the preset angle, the pushing member 334 contacts with the stop 340 to push the stop 340 from the preset position to the abutment position.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the pushing member 334 is a protrusion protruding from the inner circumference of the dose indicator ring 330 toward the stopper 340, the protrusion being disposed corresponding to the pushing portion 343, and the protrusion being configured to push the pushing portion 343 after the dose indicator ring 330 rotates by a predetermined angle. By rotating the dose indicator ring 330, the protrusion may be abutted against the pushing portion 343, and the continued rotation of the dose indicator ring 330 may push the stopper 340 to rotate, so that the abutment portion 341 may penetrate through the stopper opening and abut against the push rod 220 to prevent the push rod 220 from moving, and similarly, the pushing portion 343 may provide a reverse blocking effect on the pushing member 334, so that the dose indicator ring 330 may not continue to rotate, thereby locking the dose indicator ring 330, and finally, effectively and firmly locking the fluid container 600, thereby preventing misoperation of the user.

The preset angle can be adjusted by adjusting the initial position of the protruding block, so that the device is suitable for different use conditions.

It should be noted that the pushing member 334 is at a different height from the ratchet mechanism, and therefore, the pushing member and the ratchet mechanism do not affect each other.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the dose indicator device further comprises a stop which, when in the abutment position, prevents further rotation of the stop 340, while the push part 343 prevents further rotation of the push member 334, thereby enabling locking of the dose indicator ring 330. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the stop member is a bump provided on the base 200, and the stop 340 abuts against the bump when in the abutting position. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, as described above, the wall of the one side of the stopper opening may act as a stopper. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the limit slot 251 can also be used as a stop, and the stop 340 abuts against a portion of the limit slot 251 when in the abutting position.

The locking mechanism in the dose indicator device of the present invention provides a double locking action, on the one hand locking the count of the dose indicator device by the stop 340 preventing the push rod 220 from moving up and down, and on the other hand preventing further rotation of the stop 340 by the stop such that the abutment 343 provides a reverse blocking action to the push member 334 preventing rotation of the dose indicator ring 330, thereby locking the indication of the dose indicator device. Finally, in the case that the medicinal solution in the fluid container 600 has reached or exceeded the predetermined number of uses, the fluid container 600 is effectively and firmly locked, the user is prompted to replace the new fluid container 600, and the medication safety of the user is ensured.

The foregoing has shown and described the basic principles, principal features and advantages of the invention. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and that the above-described embodiments and the description are merely illustrative of the principles of the present invention, and various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, which is defined in the appended claims.

Claims (6)

1. A dose indicator device for an inhaler, the inhaler comprising a housing for receiving a fluid container and a spray assembly for atomizing a fluid, a bottom portion within the housing being provided with a drive portion for actuating the dose indicator device, characterized in that the dose indicator device comprises a housing and a base connected to each other, and a cavity between the housing and the base; the dose indicating device is connected to the fluid container through the shell, a push rod accommodating part protruding towards the shell is arranged at the center of the base, a push rod hole penetrating through the base and the end face is formed in the center of the end face of the push rod accommodating part far away from the base, the push rod is movably arranged in the push rod hole in a penetrating mode, the dose indicating device further comprises a dose indicating ring which is coaxially arranged with the base and can rotate around the central shaft of the base, a scale used for displaying a count value is arranged on the periphery of the dose indicating ring, and the push rod actuates the dose indicating ring to rotate through a transmission mechanism; the dose indicator device further comprises a locking mechanism comprising a rotatable stop arranged to prevent movement of the push rod after the fluid container has been used a predetermined number of times;

The base is provided with a vertically arranged stop block rotating shaft, the stop block is rotatably sleeved on the stop block rotating shaft, the stop block comprises a propping part, a limiting part and a pushing part, the propping part and the limiting part are positioned on two sides of the stop block rotating shaft, and the pushing part is arranged close to the dose indication ring;

the locking mechanism comprises a pushing member arranged on the inner periphery of the dose indicator ring, the pushing member being arranged to push the stop from a preset position to an abutment position after rotation of the dose indicator ring by a preset angle, the stop not preventing movement of the push rod in the preset position, the stop preventing movement of the push rod in the abutment position;

the pushing piece is a protruding block protruding from the inner periphery of the dose indication ring towards the stop block, the protruding block is arranged corresponding to the pushing part, and the protruding block is arranged to push the pushing part after the dose indication ring rotates by a preset angle.

2. Dose indicator device according to claim 1, characterized in that the side of the push rod receiving portion is provided with a stop opening communicating with the push rod hole, which stop opening is arranged in correspondence with the abutment portion such that the abutment portion can pass through the stop opening when the stop rotates, does not pass through the stop opening in the preset position, passes through the stop opening and protrudes at least partly out of the push rod hole in the abutment position.

3. Dose indicator device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that a stop mechanism is provided on the base, which stop mechanism is provided in correspondence of the stop portion, which stop mechanism is arranged to hold the stop block in the preset position.

4. A dose indicator device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the stop portion is a semi-circular boss, the stop mechanism is a stop slot provided on the base, and the boss and the stop slot are correspondingly provided in a matching manner.

5. A dose indicator device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the stop means is a resilient tab provided on a face of the base facing the stop and extending obliquely to the stop, the base being provided with a raised point for preventing movement of the abutment to a position remote from the stop aperture, the raised point being in abutment with the abutment in the predetermined position.

6. The dose indicating device of claim 1 further comprising a stop that prevents further rotation of the stop when in the abutment position.