EP2992967A1

EP2992967A1 - Medicament dispenser

Info

Publication number: EP2992967A1
Application number: EP15170128.1A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Hyeck-Hee Lee; Markus Mahler; Ute Steinfeld; Frank Holzer
Original assignee: F Holzer GmbH
Current assignee: F Holzer GmbH
Priority date: 2014-09-02
Filing date: 2015-06-01
Publication date: 2016-03-09
Anticipated expiration: 2035-06-01
Also published as: DK2992967T3; PT2992967T; ES2811762T3; LT2992967T; HUE050640T2; RS60691B1; SI2992967T1; HRP20201339T1; CY1123125T1; EP2992967B1; PL2992967T3

Abstract

The present invention relates to a medicament dispenser comprising:
a sucking part (10) coupled to an upper portion of a container to suck a liquid medicament stored in the container;
a pumping part (209 coupled to one side of the sucking part (10) to perform a pumping operation, such that the medicament is discharged or sprayed by a predetermined setting amount; and
an outlet (30, 30') installed at an upper end of the pumping part (20) to release the medicament.

Description

FIELD

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a medicament dispenser, and more particularly, to a medicament dispenser capable of discharging a liquid medicament stored therein in the form of a drop by a constant amount or in the form of a spray by a constant amount through a pumping operation.

BACKGROUND

In general, dispensers are pumping devices which may pressurize gas, liquid or gel type of content stored in an airtight container which also are referred to as airless containers, and may dispense a constant amount thereof.
Recently, dispensers are used as containers for storing cosmetic products, perfumes, detergents, medical substances, pharmaceutical drugs, foods or the like.
A conventional dispenser is attached at an upper end of a container and includes a pumping part, a button part and a nozzle. When the button part is pushed, a shaft moves down against an elastic force of a spring, so that a content filled in a housing is discharged via an opening or a cylindrical hole, a hollow portion of the shaft, a connection tube and the nozzle. At this time, a ball is brought into contact with a stopper or a holding flange located at a lower end of the housing by a downward pressure of a fluid in the housing.
When the button part is released, the shaft moves up by the elastic force of the spring, and the opening or the cylindrical hole is closed to prevent the discharging of the content, and while a vacuum is formed in the housing, so that the content filled in the container moves the ball upward to open a valve and fills the housing.
When the button is repeatedly pushed, the above-mentioned motions are repeated, and the content is discharged.
However, such a conventional dispenser includes the ball made of a metal material, which results in increased production cost, and providing a valve structure including the ball further necessitates a post-process, causing a problem of a bothersome production process and reduced production efficiency.
Furthermore, in such a conventional dispenser, a residual content is left in the nozzle which contacts the air, thereby drying and coagulating, and changes in quality or spoils, causing a problem of clogging the nozzle with solidified contents.
An example of the technology to solve such problems is disclosed by the following document.
Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration in which a valve for creating a vacuum pressure within a path is provided such that a residual content that has been left in a nozzle hole without being ejected to the outside when an operating portion was pressed is drawn into a housing when the operating portion returns to its original position, whereby any residual content is prevented from remaining in the nozzle hole and changing in quality or clogging the nozzle hole.
On the other hand, recent years have seen fluid dispensers, such as nasal sprays, used to dispense or spray a constant amount of pharmaceutical drug stored in a container.
Moreover, Patent Document 2 describes a configuration of a fluid dispenser for spraying medication into the nose.
Further, Patent Document 3 describes a configuration of a fluid dispenser including a constant-rate pump, an inlet valve, and an outlet valve.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

Patent Document 1: Korean Patent No. 10-0889050
Patent Document 2: Korean Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 10-2010-0038328
Patent Document 3: United States Patent No. US7249693

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

PROBLEMS TO BE SOLVED BY THE INVENTION

However, the pump of the dispenser described in Patent Document 1 is not capable of drawing the residual content in the nozzle hole completely, and therefore, change in content quality and clogging of the nozzle hole can be prevented only to a limited degree.
Furthermore, the fluid dispenser described in Patent Document 2 is sealed with additional internal components such as front and back seal elements, and therefore, has drawbacks such as a complex product structure and increased production cost.
Therefore in the case where medication is dispensed or sprayed using a dispenser, conventional dispensers, including those of Patent Documents 1 and 2, are disadvantageous in that a residual content in the nozzle is contaminated with external bacteria, viruses and/or contaminants through permeation, and the medication needs to be treated with a preservative.
The fluid dispenser described in Patent Document 3 is used for a sterile fluid, and therefore, includes a means for decontamination in addition to the inlet valve, the outlet valve, and the valve ball, which is disadvantageous because of increased production cost.
There is some demand for development of a medicament dispenser, e.g., for the human eye, capable of dispensing medication in a drop format, rather than spraying medication; in the alternative there is also some demand for a medicament dispenser, e. g. for the human nose, capable of dispensing medication in a spray format.
The present invention has been devised to solve the above problems, and an objective thereof is to provide a medication dispenser capable of dispensing a constant amount of liquid medication in a drop format into the eye.
In addition the present invention has been devised to solve the above problems, and another objective thereof is to provide a medication dispenser capable of spraying a constant amount of liquid medication into the nasal cavity.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a medication dispenser in which medication contamination is prevented by blocking entry of external dust, foreign matter, viruses and bacteria in the course of dispensing or spraying medication.

SUMMARY

Therefore, it is an aspect of the present invention to provide a medicament dispenser capable of discharging a constant amount of liquid medicament in the form of a drop into eyes.
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a medicament dispenser capable of spraying a constant amount of a liquid medicament into the nose.
It is another aspect of the present invention to provide a medicament dispenser capable of preventing external dusts, foreign substances, viruses or bacteria from being introduced therein during a discharging operation of a medicament, and thus preventing contamination of the medicament.
Additional aspects of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a medicament dispenser includes a sucking part coupled to an upper portion of a container to suck a liquid medicament stored in the container, a pumping part coupled to one side of the sucking part to perform a pumping operation, such that the medicament is discharged by a predetermined setting amount, and an outlet installed at an upper end of the pumping part to release the medicament, wherein the pumping part prevents external dusts, foreign substances, bacteria or viruses from being introduced into the medicament stored therein.
In accordance with a preferred aspect of the present invention, a medicament dispenser includes a sucking part coupled to an upper portion of a container to suck a liquid medicament stored in the container, a pumping part coupled to one side of the sucking part to perform a pumping operation, such that the medicament is discharged by a predetermined setting amount, and a discharging part installed at an upper end of the pumping part and having an outlet port which is at a front end thereof and configured to discharge the medicament in the form of a drop, wherein the pumping part prevents external dusts, foreign substances, bacteria or viruses from being introduced into the medicament stored therein.
According to an alternative preferred embodiment of the present invention, a medicament dispenser includes a sucking part coupled to an upper portion of a container to suck a liquid medicament stored in the container, a pumping part coupled to one side of the sucking part to perform a pumping operation, such that the medicament is sprayed by a predetermined setting amount, and a spraying part installed at an upper end of the pumping part having a spray hole (nozzle) provided at a tip, the medicament dispenser being configured to discharge the medicament in the form of a spray, wherein the pumping part prevents external dusts, foreign substances, bacteria or viruses from being introduced into the medicament stored therein.
In case the medicament dispenser is configured to discharge a liquid medicament as drops, the pumping part may include a piston moved up and down according to up and down movement of the discharging part, a valve stem connected to a lower end of the piston, and an elastic member, which according to an preferred embodiment is a spring, coupled to an outer side of the valve stem to provide a restoring force to the discharging part, and the piston may be moved up, when the discharging part is moved down, such that the medicament delivered through a fluid passage formed in the valve stem is delivered to the outlet port side by the predetermined setting amount, and then moved down to prevent movement of the medicament.
In case the medicament dispenser is configured to spray a liquid medicament, the pumping part may include a piston moved up and down according to up and down movement of the spraying part, a valve stem connected to a lower end of the piston, and an elastic member, which according to an preferred embodiment is a spring, coupled to an outer side of the valve stem to provide a restoring force to the spraying part, and the piston may be moved up, when the spraying part is moved down, such that the medicament delivered through a fluid passage formed in the valve stem is delivered to the spray hole (nozzle) side by the predetermined setting amount, and then moved down to prevent movement of the medicament.
The sucking part may include a coupling body coupled to an upper end of the container, a housing coupled to a lower portion of the coupling body and having an inlet port which is at a lower portion thereof and through which the medicament stored in the container is introduced, and a check valve coupled to a lower portion of the housing to open and close the inlet port, and first and second control grooves configured to control the amount of the medicament introduced into the housing may be formed at an inner surface of the housing.
The discharging part may include a head base having an outlet port formed at an upper end thereof, a liner installed in a discharging passage formed in the head base and configured to deliver the medicament pumped by up and down movement of the piston to the outlet port side, a spring installed between the liner and the piston to provide or apply an elastic force to the piston, and a drop forming means configured to form the drop so that the medicament delivered to the outlet port is discharged in the form of the drop.
The drop forming means may include a contamination preventing member installed between a lower surface of an upper portion of the head base and an upper portion of the liner, and a drop forming groove formed at the lower surface of the upper portion of the head base, and the contamination preventing member may be formed of a material having a sterilizing function to prevent contamination of the medicament remaining at an inner upper portion of the head base, and a plurality of control protrusions configured to control an amount of medicament discharged so that the medicament is discharged in the form of the drop by the predetermined setting amount, when the medicament is discharged once, may be formed at an upper end of the liner.
The spraying part may include a head base having a spray hole (nozzle) provided at a top end, a liner provided in a spray passage formed within the head base to deliver the medicament pumped by the piston moving up and down toward the spray hole, a spring provided between the liner and the piston to provide or apply an elastic force to the piston, and vortex forming means for forming a vortex in the medication being transferred to the spray hole.
The vortex forming means may comprise or consist of an anti-contamination member provided between a bottom surface of an upper portion of the head base and an upper portion of the liner and vortex forming grooves formed in the bottom surface of the upper portion of the head base, the anti-contamination member is made from a material having a sterilizing function so as to prevent contamination of residual medication in the upper portion of the head base, and the liner has an adjustment protrusion at a top end to control an amount of medication to be sprayed such that a predetermined amount of medication is sprayed in a single spraying operation.
In each of the above mentioned cases a flange pushed by a user and a vertical part configured to cover an upper outer side of the sucking part may be formed at a lower portion of the head base, and a guide configured to form the discharging passage and a support member configured to support the guide may be formed at an inner side of the head base.
A plurality of coupling ribs may be formed on an outer circumferential surface of the liner to protrude, such that the liner is press-fitted into the guide of the head base, when the liner and the head base are assembled.
In case the medicament dispenser is configured to spray a liquid medicament, the liner preferably has formed in an outer circumferential surface a transportation path for causing the medicament transferred through pumping by the pumping part to flow toward the spray hole (nozzle) and a turning path for transferring the medicament flowing through the transportation path toward the spray hole after turning the medicament along the outer circumferential surface of the liner, and the pumping part and the turning path block external dust, foreign matter, viruses or bacteria from entering the medicament retained in the dispenser.
In case the medicament dispenser is configured to discharge a medicament in drop form the liner preferably has formed in an outer circumferential surface a transportation path for causing the medicament transferred through pumping by the pumping part to flow toward the outlet port and a turning path for transferring the medicament flowing through the transportation path toward the outlet port after turning the medicament along the outer circumferential surface of the liner, and the pumping part and the turning path block external dust, foreign matter, viruses or bacteria from entering the medicament retained in the dispenser.
In each case, a collecting port configured to discharge an exceeding amount of the medicament exceeding the predetermined setting amount and/or (if sucked in) air to an outer side of the housing and to collect the exceeded amount of the medicament into the container may be formed at one side of the housing.
A guide member coupled to a lower end of the valve stem may be provided in the coupling body, and the guide member may include a first coupling guide coupled to the lower end of the valve stem, a second coupling guide formed to be connected to an upper portion of the first coupling guide, and a connection member configured to connect the second coupling guide to the coupling body, and an upper end of the housing may be coupled to a space between the connection member and the second coupling guide.
A tapering portion of which a diameter is gradually increased toward a lower end thereof may be provided at a lower portion of the valve stem, and the tapering portion may be in close contact with an inner circumferential surface of the first coupling guide to prevent movement of the medicament when the valve stem is moved up.

EFFECT OF THE INVENTION

The medication dispenser according to the present invention renders it possible to cause a predetermined amount of liquid medication retained in a container to be dispensed in a drop format or sprayed format and hinder external dust, foreign matter, viruses or bacteria from entering the medicament retained in the medicament dispenser.
Therefore, the medicament dispenser according to the present invention allows medicament retained both in the container and the medication dispenser to be completely prevented from contamination, making it possible to retain and dispense in drop format or spray a medicament free of a preservative to prevent drug contamination and decay.
Accordingly, the medicament dispenser according to the present invention eliminates the need to add a preservative in the course of medication production, and therefore, it is possible to reduce the trouble in using drugs and also possible to prevent adverse effects on human bodies due to an addition of a preservative.
Further, the medicament dispenser according to the present invention may have an anti-contamination member provided in the dispensing passage or a spraying passage, respectively, so that residual medicament in the upper portion of the head base can be prevented from being contaminated.
Still further, when the medicament dispenser according to the present invention is to discharge the medicament in drop form it may have drop forming grooves provided at the top end of the head base, whereby when the medicament is dispensed, it is possible to achieve the effect of dispensing a predetermined amount of medication in a drop format.
Still further, when the medicament dispenser according to the present invention is to discharge the medicament as spray it may have vortex forming grooves provided at the top end of the head base in order to form a vortex when the medicament is sprayed, whereby it is possible to achieve the effect of controlling the amount of medication to be sprayed, the spray pressure, and the spray velocity with high precision.
Yet further, in the medicament dispenser according to the present invention, the liner preferably is formed so as to have an outer diameter corresponding to the diameter of the discharging passage or spray passage, respectively, and also may have multiple coupling ribs protruding from its outer circumferential surface, so that when the liner and the head base are put together, they can be coupled readily, and the coupling guide can be prevented from widening at its opening because of a change in pressure of the medication at the time of the medication being discharged in drop form or sprayed, respectively, from the medicament dispenser.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and/or other aspects of the invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a medicament dispenser according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2a is a cross-sectional view of the medicament dispenser of FIG. 1 for the discharge of drops of a medicament
Fig. 2b is an alternative medicament dispenser according to FIG. 1 in cross-sectional view for the discharge of drops of a medicament
FIG. 2c is yet another alternative medicament dispenser according to Fig. 1 in cross-sectional view for the discharge of a spray of a medicament
FIG. 3a is an exploded perspective view of the medicament dispenser of FIG. 1, configured as drop dispenser;
FIG. 3b is an exploded perspective view of the medicament dispenser of FIG. 1, configured as spray dispenser.
FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a check valve;
FIG. 5a is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A' of FIG. 3a;
FIG. 5b is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A' of FIG. 3b;
FIG. 6a is an enlarged perspective view illustrating a liner of FIG. 3a, which is seen at another angle;
FIG. 6b is an enlarged perspective view illustrating an alternative liner of FIG. 3a, which is seen at another angle;
FIG. 6c is an enlarged perspective view illustrating a liner of FIG. 3b, which is seen at another angle;
FIG. 6d is an enlarged perspective view illustrating an alternative liner of FIG. 3b, which is seen at another angle;
FIG. 7a is a view illustrating an operating state in which a head base of the medicament dispenser of FIG. 2a is moved down.
FIG. 7b is a view illustrating an operating state in which a head base of the medicament dispenser of FIG. 2b is moved down.
FIG. 7c is a view illustrating an operating state in which a head base of the medicament dispenser of FIG. 2c is moved down.

Hereinafter, a medicament dispenser according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
In the sense of the present invention the uses expressions and termini can be substituted by the following synonymous expressions:
The housing 12 also can be referred to as "pump housing" or "pump casing".
The check valve 13 can also be referred to as "lower valve" or "disc valve".
The valve stem 22 can also be referred to as "stem".
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a medicament dispenser according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the medicament dispenser of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the medicament dispenser of FIG. 1.
The perspective view of the medicament dispenser is more or less identical for both embodiments in which the medicament dispenser either is configured to discharge a medicament in form of drops or in form of a spray. Fig. 1 thus resembles both the medicament dispenser configured to discharge drops as well as a medicament dispenser configured to discharge a spray.
As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2a, 2b and 2c, the medicament dispenser according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a sucking part 10 coupled to an upper portion of a container (not shown) to suck a medicament stored in the container, a pumping part 20 coupled to the upper side of the sucking part 10 to perform a pumping operation, such that the medicament is discharged in the form of a drop or a spray by a predetermined amount, and a discharging part 30 installed at an upper end of the pumping part 20 and having an outlet port 312 at a front end thereof.
FIG. 2a, FIG. 2b and FIG. 3a show medicament dispensers which are designed to discharge a fluid medicament in form of drops, whereas the medicament dispenser according to FIG. 2c and FIG. 3b, is designed as spray dispenser.
As illustrated in FIGS. 2a, 2b and 2c and 3a and 3b, the sucking part 10 may include a coupling body 11 coupled to an upper end of a container, a housing 12 coupled to a lower portion of the coupling body 11, and a check valve 13 coupled to a lower portion of the housing 12 to open and close an inlet port 121 through which the medicament is introduced into the housing 12.
The coupling body 11 is formed in an approximately cylindrical shape, and a guide member 14 which guides up and down movement of a valve stem 22 provided at the pumping part 20 which will be described below is installed at an inner side of the coupling body 11.
The guide member 14 may include a first coupling guide 141 formed in an approximately cylindrical shape of which upper and lower surfaces are opened, and coupled to a lower end of the valve stem 22, a second coupling guide 142 formed to be connected to an upper portion of the first coupling guide 141, and a connection member 143 which connects the second coupling guide 142 to the coupling body 11.
The first coupling guide 141 serves to guide the up and down movement of the valve stem 22. To this end, the first coupling guide 141 may be formed to have a diameter corresponding to a diameter of the valve stem 22 at the position of the coupling guide 141.
For example, the first coupling guide 141 may be formed to be inclined downwardly toward an outer side, such that the diameter thereof is gradually increased toward a lower end thereof.
Meanwhile, at least one or more annular guides 145 may be formed at an inner circumferential surface of the first coupling guide 141 to prevent dusts, foreign substances, viruses, bacteria or the like from being delivered from an outer side and an upper space of the coupling body 11 to a lower space of the first coupling guide 141.
The second coupling guide 142 may be formed in the approximately cylindrical shape of which the upper and lower surfaces are opened, and may be formed to have a larger diameter than the first coupling guide 141.
An upper end of the second coupling guide 142 is inserted into a lower end of an elastic member 23 of the pumping part 20, which will be described below, to prevent the elastic member 23 from being moved in a diameter direction of the elastic member 23 and also to prevent the elastic member 23 from being separated undesirably. Preferably the elastic member 23 is a spring, such as a coil spring.
The connection member 143 may be formed in the cylindrical shape of which a lower surface is opened.
An upper end of the housing 12 is coupled to a space between the connection member 143 and the second coupling guide 142. A fixing portion 144 to which the upper end of the housing 12 is fixed may be formed at an inner circumferential surface of the connection member 143.
Meanwhile, the guide member 14 may partition between an upper space and a lower space of the coupling body 11 so that the medicament located at the lower space of the coupling body 11 is undesirably delivered to the upper space.
Also, a gasket 15 which fixes the upper end of the housing 12 to the inner side of the coupling body 11 and also seals between the container and the upper space of the coupling body 11 may be provided under the guide member 14.
The housing 12 is formed in a pipe shape of which a diameter is gradually increased toward an upper portion thereof.
An inlet port 121 through which the medicament stored in the container is introduced is formed at a lower portion of the housing 12, and a tube (not shown) which is installed at an inner side of the container to suck the medicament stored in the container may be connected to a lower end of the housing 12. Alternatively, the inlet port 121 is in direct fluid connection with the storage container without necessitating the presence of a tube.
An installation space 122 in which the check valve 13 is installed and a storage space 123 in which the medicament introduced from the container is temporarily stored may be provided at the inner side of the housing 12.
An amount of the medicament discharged from the discharging part 30 may be determined by a volume of the storage space 123.
When the medicament exceeding a predetermined setting amount is introduced into the storage space 123, first control grooves 124 which control the amount of the medicament moved to an outer upper portion of the check valve 13 and collected into the container and second control grooves 125 (Fig. 2a, 2b and 3a) which control the amount of the medicament moved to an inner upper portion of the check valve 13, when the check valve 13 is moved down, may be formed at an inner circumferential surface of the housing 12.
It is also possible that no second control grooves 125 are present (Figs. 2c and 3b). In this case, the housing 12 has control grooves 124 provided at its inner circumferential surface, such that when more than a predetermined setting amount of medicament is introduced into the storage space 123, the control grooves 124 control the amount of the medicament flowing outside the check valve 13 towards the top of the check valve 13 and being collected into the container as the check valve 13 moves down.
As illustrated in FIG. 3a, the plurality of first control groove 124 may be formed at the inner circumferential surface of the housing 12 to be spaced at regular or constant intervals, and the second control groove 125 may be formed above the first control grooves 124.
As described above, in the present invention, since the amount of the medicament introduced into the housing is controlled twice, the amount of the discharged medicament may be reduced, compared with a case in which the medicament is discharged in the form of the drop.
Meanwhile, in FIG. 3a, four first control grooves 124 are formed, and two second control grooves 125 are formed. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the number, sizes and shapes of the first and second control grooves 124 and 125 may be variously changed according to the amount of medicament to be discharged.
As shown in Fig. 3b, the control grooves 124 are formed at the inner circumferential surface of the housing 12 so as to be spaced apart at regular or constant intervals.
On the other hand, FIG. 3b shows four control grooves 124 being formed, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the number, the shape, and the size of the control grooves 124 can be changed or modified variously in accordance with the amount of medicament to be sprayed.
In any case a collecting port 126 which discharges the exceeding amount of the medicament and/or air (if e.g. sucked in) to an outer side of the housing 12 and collects it into the container, when the medicament exceeding the predetermined setting amount is introduced into the storage space 123, may be formed at an upper portion of the housing 12.
FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the check valve.
As illustrated in FIGS. 3a, 3b and 4, the check valve 13 is formed in the approximately cylindrical shape of which an upper surface is opened, and a valve seat 131 which opens or closes the inlet port 121 is provided at a lower side of the check valve 13.
A plurality of curved ribs 132 formed to be bent from an outer side toward a center portion, such that the check valve 13 is smoothly moved up and down according to the up and down movement of the valve stem 22, may be formed at an inner upper surface of the check valve 13.
In FIG. 4, three curved ribs 132 are formed. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and one or two or more curves ribs 132 may be provided, and also a shape thereof may be variously changed.
The pumping part 20 serves to prevent the external dusts, foreign substances, bacteria or viruses from being introduced into the medicament stored therein.
To this end, as illustrated in FIGS. 2a, 2b, 2c, 3a and 3b, the pumping part 20 may include a piston 21 moved up and down according to up and down movement of the discharging part 30 or spraying part 30', respectively , the valve stem 22 connected to a lower end of the piston 21, and the elastic member 23, especially a spring such as a coil spring, coupled to an outer side of the valve stem 22 to provide a restoring force to the discharging part 30.
The piston 21 is formed in an approximately cylindrical shape, located in an elevation space 321 of a liner 32 provided in the discharging part 30 or spraying part 30', respectively, which will be described below, to be in contact with a lower end of the liner 32, and moves up and down as the discharging part 30 or the spraying part 30', respectively, moves up and down, thereby opening/closing a fluid passage 221 formed in the valve stem 22.
The piston 21 may be molded using a soft synthetic resin material.
An insertion groove 211 in which a elastic member 34, such as a spring of the discharging part 30 or the spraying part 30', respectively may be inserted is present in the piston 21. The insertion groove 211 may be formed to be recessed downwardly from an upper surface of the piston 21 in a predetermined depth.
An opening and closing protrusion 213 which closes an upper end of the fluid passage 221 of the valve stem 22 may be formed at a lower portion of the piston 21.
The opening and closing protrusion 213 may be formed so that a diameter of an upper end thereof is larger than a diameter of the fluid passage 221, and may be tapered so that the diameter thereof is gradually reduced toward a lower end thereof, e.g. the opening and closing protrusion 231 can have a conical shape and the diameter of this conical protrusion is reduced in direction of the fluid passage 221 of the valve stem 22. The lower end of this conical protrusion 213 can partially enter the upper end of the fluid passage 221 and close the same comparable to a plug.
Therefore, the opening and closing protrusion 213 may be elastically deformed by its own elasticity when the fluid passage 221 of the valve stem 22 is closed, and may be restored to its original shape when the fluid passage 221 is opened.
Three annular protrusions 212 (which also can be referred to as sealing rings) may be formed at an outer circumferential surface of the piston 21 to be spaced at regular intervals and to be in close contact with a discharging passage 311 or the spraying passage 311', respectively
The annular protrusions 212 provided at upper and central portions of the outer circumferential surface of the piston 21 serve to prevent the medicament delivered to the lower portion of the piston 21 from being introduced into the elevation space 321 provided above the piston 21, and the annular protrusion 212 provided at a lower portion of the outer circumferential surface of the piston 21 serves to block a discharging hole 323 of the liner 32, which will be described below, when the piston 21 is moved down.
As described above, in the present invention, the plurality of annular protrusions may be formed at the outer circumferential surface of the piston 21 to smoothly move up and down the piston, while sealing a space between the piston and the liner.
Meanwhile, in the present invention, annular grooves may be formed at the outer circumferential surface of the piston, and then the annular protrusions may be coupled in each annular groove.
The valve stem 22 is formed in the cylindrical shape, and serves to pump and deliver the medicament temporarily stored in the storage space 123 of the housing 12 to the discharging part 30 or spraying part 30', respectively, while moved up and down by the up and down movement of the piston 21.
To this end, the fluid passage 221 which delivers the medicament from the storage space 123 to the discharging part 30 or spraying part 30', respectively is formed at the inner side of the valve stem 22.
An upper portion of the valve stem 22 may be located in the discharging passage 311 or spraying passage 311', respectively, of the discharging part 30 or spraying part 30', respectively, and a lower portion of the valve stem 22 may be coupled to the first coupling guide 141 of the coupling body 11.
At least one or more annular coupling protrusions may be formed at an upper outer circumferential surface of the valve stem 22 to increase a coupling force between the valve stem 22 and the guide 314.
A tapering portion 222 of which a diameter is gradually increased toward a lower end thereof is provided at the lower portion of the valve stem 22.
The tapering portion 222 is in close contact with the inner circumferential surface of the first coupling guide 141, when the valve stem 22 is moved up, and thus serves to prevent movement of the medicament.
The elastic member 23 is elastically deformed when the discharging part 30 or spraying part 30', respectively is moved down, and serves to provide a restoring force to a head base 31 provided at the discharging part 30 or spraying part 30', respectively, which will be described below.
To this end, a lower end of the elastic member 23 may be supported on an upper surface of the connection member 143 of the coupling body 11, and an upper end of the elastic member 23 may be supported on a lower surface of a support member 316 of the head base 31.
As illustrated in FIGS. 2a, 2b, 2c, 3a and 3b, the discharging part 30 or the spraying part 30', respectively, may include the head base 31 which forms an exterior and is moved up and down according to a user's operation, the liner 32 which is installed in the discharging passage 311 or spraying passage 311', respectively, formed in the head base 31 to deliver the medicament pumped by the up and down movement of the piston 21 to the outlet port 312 or spray hole 312', respectively, side of the head base 31, a elastic member 34, such as a spring which is installed between the liner 32 and the piston 21, and a drop forming means which forms a drop so that the medicament delivered to the outlet port 312 is discharged in the form of the drop or a vortex forming means for forming a vortex so that the medicament delivered to the spray hole 312' is discharged in the form of a spray. Preferably, the liner 32 comprises a cavity 321 into which the elastic member 34, preferably a spring 34 is insertable. This inserted spring 34 creates an pressure against the piston 21 and pushes the same against the outlet opening of the fluid passage 211 of the piston 21 so that the fluid passage 221 is kept in a closed state until the medicament dispenser is agitated, e.g. pressed by a user. When the medicament dispenser is agitated, a counter pressure of the fluid to be discharged is created inside the fluid passage 221 which is greater that the pressure generated by the elastic member 34, such as the spring 34 pushing against the piston 21, so that the piston is pushed away from the outlet opening of the fluid passage 221 of the piston 21 thus opening a pathway allowing the fluid to be discharged to move in direction of the outlet 30, 30'.
The head base 31 is formed so that a diameter thereof is gradually reduced toward an upper end thereof to discharge the medicament to eyes of a human body, or the like or to spray the medicament into the nasal cavity of a human body.
The outlet port 312 which discharges the medicament or the spray hole 312' which sprays the medicament by the predetermined setting amount may be formed at the upper end of the head base 31, and a flange 313 which is pushed by the user and a vertical part 315 which covers an upper outer side of the coupling body 11 may be formed at a lower portion of the head base 31.
A diameter of the outlet port 312 or the spray hole 312', respectively, may be set according to an experimental value to discharge or spray the predetermined setting amount of the medicament.
In an embodiment, the amount of the medicament which is discharged once may be set to about 0.02 to 0.05 ml, preferably about 0.03 ml.
Further, the diameter of the outlet port 312 may be set to about 1.5 to 2.0 mm, preferably about 1.7 mm.
In another embodiment, the amount of the medicament to be sprayed in a single spraying operation may be set to be from about 0.1 ml to about 0.2 ml, preferably, about 0.14 ml.
Further, the diameter of the spray hole 312' may be set to be from about 0.2 mm to about 0.4 mm, preferably, about 0.3 mm.
A distance between a lower surface of the flange 313 and an upper end of the coupling body 11 is an operating distance when the head base 31 and the valve stem 22 are moved up and down. That is, the upper end of the coupling body 11 serves as a stopper.
A guide 314 which forms the discharging passage 311 or spraying passage 311', respectively, and the support member 316 which supports the guide 314 are formed at an inner side of the head base 31, and the liner 32 and the upper portion of the valve stem 22 are disposed in the guide 314.
Meanwhile, FIG. 5a is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A' of FIG. 3a, whereas Fig. 5b is a cross-sectional views taken along line A-A' of FIG. 3b.
As illustrated in FIG. 5a, a drop forming groove 317 which reduces a discharging speed and a discharging pressure and thus forms the drop, such that the medicament is discharged by the predetermined setting amount through the outlet port 312, may be formed at an inner surface of the upper end of the head base 31.
That is, the drop forming means may include a contamination preventing member 33 installed between a lower surface of an upper portion of the head base 31 and an upper portion of the liner 32, and the drop forming groove 317.
For example, the drop forming groove 317 may include a plurality of grooves which is in communication with the outlet port 312.
In FIG. 5a, three drop forming grooves 317 are illustrated. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the number, a shape and a size of the drop forming grooves 317 may be variously changed.
The discharging passage 311 is formed to be in communication with the outlet port 312, and the outlet port 312 discharges the medicament delivered by the upward movement of the piston 21, when the head base 31 is moved down, in the form of the drop.
As shown in FIG. 5b, the head base 31 has vortex forming grooves 317 provided in an inner surface of its top end to form a vortex for the purpose of increasing the spraying velocity and pressure for the medicament to be sprayed through the spray hole 312.
More specifically, the vortex forming means consists of the vortex forming grooves 317' and a contamination preventing member 33 provided between the bottom surface of the upper portion of the head base 31 and the upper portion of the liner 32.
For example, the anti-contamination member 33 is produced in the form of a spring made with a material having a sterilization such as silver or silver compound such as silver salts.
Furthermore, the vortex forming grooves 317' are formed in the shape of a swirl.
FIG. 5b shows three vortex forming grooves 317', but the present invention is not limited to this, and the number, the shape, and the size of the vortex forming grooves 317 can be changed or modified variously.
The spraying passage 311' is formed in communication with the spray hole 312 from which to spray the medication transferred by the piston 21 moving up as the head base 31 moves down.
FIG. 6a is an enlarged perspective view illustrating the liner of FIG. 3a, which is seen at another angle.
FIG. 6b is an enlarged perspective view illustrating the liner employed by the medicament dispenser depicted in Fig. 2b.
FIG. 6c is an enlarged perspective view illustrating the liner of FIG. 3b, which is seen at another angle.
FIG. 6d is an enlarged perspective view of another embodiment of the liner in FIG. 6c or FIG- 3b.
As illustrated in FIGS. 2a, 3a and 6a, the liner 32 is formed in the approximately cylindrical shape, and the elevation space 321 in which the piston 21 is inserted to be moved up and down may be formed in the liner 32, and a coupling groove 322 in which an upper portion of the elastic member 34, such as a spring is coupled may be formed above the elevation space 321. this coupling groove for the elastic member 34 may be located inside a cavity 328 of the liner 32.
The discharging hole 323 which discharges the medicament delivered through the fluid passage 221 in the valve stem 22 according to the upward movement of the piston 21, when the head base 31 is moved down, to the outer side of the liner 32 may be formed at one side of the liner 32.
A transportation path 324 which moves the medicament discharged through the discharging hole 323 to the outlet port 312 side may be formed at an outer circumferential surface of the liner 32.
The upper portion of the liner 32 is formed to be stepped, such that a diameter thereof is smaller than that of a lower portion of the liner 32, and a plurality of control protrusions 325 which control the amount of medicament discharged so that the predetermined setting amount of the medicament is discharged in the form of the drop, when the medicament is discharged once, may be formed at an upper end of the liner 32.
Since each of the control protrusions 325 is formed to protrude from the upper end of the liner 32 toward the outlet port 312, a space which delivers the medicament to the outlet port 312 may be formed between the control protrusions 325.
Also, a plurality of coupling ribs 326 may be formed on the outer circumferential surface of the liner 32 in a vertical direction.
The coupling ribs 326 serve to allow the liner 32 to be press-fitted into the guide 314 of the head base 31, when the liner 32 and the head base 31 are assembled with each other, and thus to increase a coupling force between the liner 32 and the guide 314.
If an outer diameter of the liner 32 is formed to be larger than a diameter of the discharging passage 311, it is necessary to apply a high force in order to assemble the liner 32 and the head base 31, and the liner 32 and the guide 314 may be broken or damaged during an assembling operation.
Therefore, in the present invention, since the liner is formed to have the diameter corresponding to that of the discharging passage, and the plurality of coupling ribs are formed to protrude from the outer circumferential surface of the liner, the liner and the head base may be easily assembled, and an opening phenomenon of the coupling guide due to a pressure change of the medicament in an medicament discharging operation of the medicament dispenser may be prevented.
Fig. 6b resembles the liner as employed by the medicament dispenser displayed in FIG. 2b. This liner is basically constructed in identical manner composed with the liner shown in FIG. 6a, however comprises in addition a turning path 327, which will be discussed in greater detail in the following.
The turning path 327 is to turn or rotate the medicament discharged through the transportation path 324 along the outer circumferential surface of the liner 32 and then delivers the medicament to an the outlet port 312 side may be formed at the transportation path 324 formed at the upper portion of the liner 32.
Even though the external dusts, foreign substances, bacteria, viruses or the like are introduced from an outer side through the outlet port 312 side, the turning path 327 serves to increase a length of a flow path to the container and also to sharply reduce the moving speed thereof while turned or rotated through the turning path 327.
Therefore, the present invention may completely prevent the external dusts, foreign substances, bacteria and viruses penetrated from the outer side of the medicament dispenser from being introduced into the medicament stored in the medicament dispenser.
As shown in FIGS. 2b, 3b, and 6c, the liner 32 is formed generally in a cylindrical shape, and has provided therein the elevation space 321 in which the piston 21 is inserted to move up and down, and the elevation space 321 has a coupling groove 322 provided in its upper portion so as to be coupled to the upper portion of the elastic member 34, such as a spring.
Provided on one side of the liner 32 is the discharging hole 323 through which to eject the medicament transferred through the fluid passage 221 in the valve stem 22, to the outside of the liner 32 by the piston 21 moving up as the head base 31 moves down.
Furthermore, the liner 32 has a transportation path 324 formed on its outer circumferential surface to cause the medication ejected through the discharging hole 323 to flow toward the spray hole 312'.
The upper portion of the liner 32 is formed so as to decrease in diameter stepwise compared to the diameter of the lower portion, and the liner 32 has a control protrusion 325 formed at its top end to adjust the amount of medicament to be sprayed or discharged, such that a prescribed amount of medicament is sprayed in a single spraying operation or discharged in a single discharge operation, respectively.
In addition, the liner 32 has multiple coupling ribs 326 provided so as to protrude from the outer circumferential surface and extend in the vertical direction.
The function of the coupling ribs 326 is such that, in putting the liner 32 and the head base 31 together, the liner 32 is pressed and fitted in the guide 314 of the head base 31, resulting in an enhanced coupling force between the liner 32 and the guide 314.
If the outer diameter of the liner 32 is larger than the diameter of the spray passage 311', it is necessary to apply a high force in order to assemble the liner 32 and the head base 31, which might cause a problem where the liner 32 and/or the guide 314 are/is broken or damaged in the course of assembly.
Therefore, in the present invention, the liner is formed so as to have an outer diameter corresponding to the diameter of the spray passage and also have multiple coupling ribs protruding from its outer circumferential surface, so that when the liner and the head base are put together, they can be coupled readily, and the coupling guide is prevented from widening at its opening because of a change in pressure of the medication at the time of the medication being sprayed from the medicament dispenser.
In FIG. 6d, the structure of the liner differs from that shown in the perspective view of FIG. 6c, the same components will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and any overlapping descriptions will be omitted.
In FIG. 6d, the transportation path 324 formed in the upper portion of the liner 32 includes a turning path 327 formed to transfer the medication flowing out through the transportation path 324 toward the spray hole 312' after turning the flow around the outer circumferential surface of the liner 32.
If intrusion of any external dust, foreign matter, viruses or bacteria into the spray hole 312' occurs, the turning path 327 functions to cause the flow velocity of such an intrusion to be slowed down sharply in the course of turning along the turning path 327 because of an increased length of the flow path to the container.
Accordingly, this embodiment of the present invention renders it possible to completely block any external dust, foreign matter, viruses or bacteria having intruded into a medication dispenser from entering medication retained in the medication dispenser.
In any of the embodiments the upper and lower ends of the contamination preventing member 33 are supported by a stepped surface formed at the upper portion of the liner 32 and an inner lower surface of the head base 31, respectively.
The contamination preventing member 33 may form a vortex while moving the medicament moved to the upper portion of the discharging passage 311 or spraying passage 311', respectively to the outlet port 312 or spraying hole 312', respectively.
Upper and lower portions of the elastic member 34, such as a spring are inserted and installed into the coupling groove 322 of the liner 32 and the insertion groove 211 of the piston 21, respectively.
The elastic member 34, such as a spring provides the elastic force to the piston 21 which is moved up and down in the elevation space 321 of the liner 32.
Thus, before the user's operation is applied to the head base 31 and when the user's operation is released, the piston 21 closes the upper end of the fluid passage 221 formed in the valve stem 22.
Meanwhile, a cover (not shown) may be coupled above the head base 31 to prevent contamination around the outlet port 312 or the spraying hole 312', respectively.
Next, a coupling relation of the medicament dispenser according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.
First, the elastic member 34, such as a spring and the piston 21 are sequentially coupled to the inside of the liner 32, and the contamination preventing member 33 and the liner 32 are coupled in the head base 31, especially into the discharging passage 311 or the spraying passage 311', respectively
At this time, the liner 32 is press-fitted into the guide 314 of the head base 31 by the plurality of coupling ribs 326 formed on the outer circumferential surface of the liner 32.
In a state in which the valve stem 22 is located under the coupling body 11, the valve stem 22 is coupled so as to pass through the first coupling guide 141, and the elastic member 23 is installed at the outer side of the valve stem 22, and then the upper portion of the valve stem 22 is coupled to the discharging passage 311, or the spraying passage 311', respectively.
At this time, the upper end of the elastic member 23 is supported by a lower surface of the support member 316 of the head base 31, and the lower end of the elastic member 23 is supported by the upper surface of the connection member 143 of the coupling body 11 and then hooked and fixed to the upper end of the second coupling guide 142.
Therefore, the elastic member 23 may be stably fixed by the second coupling guide 142, and may be elastically deformed to provide the restoring force to the head base 31, when the head base 31 is moved down.
Then, the check valve 13 is installed in the installation space 122 of the housing 12, and the upper end of the housing 12 is coupled to a space between the connection member 143 and the second coupling guide 142 of the coupling body 11, and then the gasket 15 is coupled thereto so as to firmly fix the housing 12 to the coupling body 11.
An assembling operation is completed by coupling the tube to a lower end of the medicament dispenser assembled as described above, and then coupling the coupling body 11 to an upper end of the container.
Next, an operating method of the medicament dispenser according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 2a, 2b, 2c, 7a, 7b and 7c.
FIG. 7a is a view illustrating an operating state in which the head base of the medicament dispenser of FIG. 2a is moved down.
FIG. 7b is a view illustrating an operating state in which the head base of the medicament dispenser of FIG. 2b is moved down.
FIG. 7c is a view illustrating a working operating state in which the head base of the medicament dispenser of FIG. 2c is moved down.
First, as illustrated in FIG. 2a, before the user's operation is applied, the piston 21 is maintained in its lower position by the elastic force of the elastic member 34, such as a spring, and thus the discharging hole 323 formed at one side of the liner 32 and the upper end of the fluid passage 221 formed in the valve stem 22 are closed.
The tapering portion 222 of the valve stem 22 is in close contact with an inner surface of the first coupling guide 141 of the coupling body 11 and an inner surface of the housing 12, and thus the medicament is prevented from being moved to the upper space of the coupling body 11, or the external dusts, foreign substances, bacteria or viruses are prevented from being introduced into the housing 12.
As described above, the present invention can completely prevent the contamination of the medicament stored in the medicament dispenser, and thus can be used as the medicament dispenser for the medicament in which a preservative preventing the contamination and decomposition is not added.
Therefore, in the present invention, it is not necessary to add the preservative in a formulation process of the medicament, and also to prevent a harmful influence on a human body due to the addition of the preservative.
As illustrated in FIG. 7a, when the flange 313 is pushed by the user, and the head base 31 is moved down, the check valve 13 is moved down by a pressure generated while the valve stem 22 is moved down, and thus the inlet port 121 of the housing 12 is closed.
Therefore, the medicament stored in the storage space 123 of the housing 12 is moved along the fluid passage 221 formed in the valve stem 22 toward the discharging part 30.
As the piston 21 is moved up by a pressure of the medicament moved along the fluid passage 221 of the valve stem 22, the medicament moves the discharging hole 323 of the liner 32 and the transportation path 324 to the upper side of the discharging passage 311, and is moved along the contamination preventing member 33, the space between the control protrusions 325 of the liner 32, and the drop forming groove 317, and then discharged in the form of the drop through the outlet port 312.
In FIG. 7b principally the same medicament dispenser as displayed in FIG. 7a is depicted, however, the liner 32 in this case comprises a turning path 327. This liner already has been discussed in FIG. 6b in greater detail.
In this case, since the turning path 327 is formed at the transportation path 324 of the liner 32, the medicament turns or rotates along the outer circumferential surface of the liner 32 along the turning path 327 and then delivers the medicament the outlet port 312 side.
As described above, in the present invention, since the turning path is formed at the liner, the length of the moving route of the external dusts, foreign substances, bacteria or viruses is increased, and the moving speed is sharply reduced while rotating the turning path, and thus the external dusts, foreign substances, bacteria or viruses may be restricted from being introduced into the medicament.
The amount of the medicament discharged by a single down movement of the head base 31 may be controlled by a volume of the storage space 123 formed at the housing 12 and the first and second control grooves 124 and 125, a diameter of the discharging hole 323 formed at the liner 32 and a cross-sectional area of the transportation path 324, a size of the space between the control protrusions 325 and the diameter of the outlet port 312, or the like.
Another embodiment of the medicament dispenser is displayed in FIG. 7c. In this case the liner 32 comprised in the medicament dispenser is constructed as e. g. shown in FIG: 6c and thus the medicament dispenser is constructed to spray a liquid medicament.
FIG. 7 is a view illustrating a working state where the head base of the medication dispenser in FIG. 2 has moved down.
First, before the user's operation is applied, the piston 21 is maintained in its lower position by the elastic force of the elastic member 34, such as a spring, as shown in FIG. 2c, so that the discharging hole 323 provided on one side of the liner 32 and the upper end of the fluid passage 221 provided in the valve stem 22 are closed.
Thereafter, the taper portion 222 of the valve stem 22 tightly contacts the inner surface of the first coupling guide 141 of the coupling body 11 and the inner surface of the housing 12, thereby inhibiting the medicament from moving into the upper space of the coupling body 11 and also blocking external dust, foreign matter, bacteria and viruses from entering the housing 12.
In this manner, the present invention allows medication retained in a medication dispenser to be completely blocked from contamination so that the dispenser can be used with medication free of a preservative to prevent drug contamination and decay.
Accordingly, the present invention eliminates the need to add a preservative in the course of medication production, and therefore, it is possible to reduce the trouble and cost required for the process of drug production and also possible to prevent adverse effects on human bodies due to an addition of a preservative.
As illustrated in FIG. 7c when the user presses the flange portion 313 of the head base 31 so that the head base 31 moves down, the check valve 13 is moved downward by the pressure applied by the valve stem 22 moving down, so that the inflow port 121 of the housing 12 is closed.
Accordingly, the medicament retained in the storage space 123 of the housing 12 moves toward the spray portion 30' along the fluid passage 221 formed in the valve stem 22.
In this manner, the piston 21 is moved upward by the pressure of the medication moving along the fluid passage 221 of the valve stem 22, so that the medication moves to the upper portion of the spray passage 311' through the discharging hole 323 of the liner 32 and the transportation path 324 and then moves along the contamination preventing member 33 and the vortex forming grooves 317 to be sprayed from the spray hole 312' with a vortex formed therein.
Here, the amount of medication to be sprayed by a single operation of moving down the head base 31 is controlled, for example, by adjusting the volume of the retention space 123 and the adjustment grooves 124 provided in the housing 12, the diameter of the ejection hole 323 provided in the liner 32, the cross section of the transportation path 324, and the diameter of the spray hole 312.
At this time, the amount of the medicament discharged by a single down movement of the head base 31 may be controlled by a volume of the storage space 123 formed at the housing 12 and the first and second control grooves 124 and 125, a diameter of the discharging hole 323 formed at the liner 32 and a cross-sectional area of the transportation path 324, a size of the space between the control protrusions 325 and the diameter of the outlet port 312 or the spraying hole 312', respectively, or the like.
As described above, in the present invention, since the contamination preventing member is installed in the discharging or spraying passage, the contamination of the medicament remained at the inner upper portion of the head base may be prevented.
Furthermore in the present invention, compared with a case in which the medicament is sprayed, the diameter of the outlet port may be increased, and the discharged amount of the medicament may be reduced by forming the drop forming groove at the upper end of the head base, when the medicament is discharged, and the medicament may be discharged in the form of the drop by reducing a discharging pressure and a discharging speed.
When the medicament is discharged and thus a pressure of the upper portion of the discharging passage 311 is reduced, the piston 21 is moved down by the elastic force of the elastic member 34, such as a spring, and the fluid passage 221 of the valve stem 22 is closed.
Further, when the user's operation applied to the flange 313 is released, the head base 31 is moved up by the restoring force of the elastic member 23, and thus the valve stem 22 is also moved up.
At this time, a sucking force is generated at the storage space 123 in the housing 12, and thus the check valve 13 is moved up to open the inlet port 121, and the medicament stored in the container is introduced and stored into the housing 12 through the tube and the inlet port 121.
Meanwhile, if the amount of the medicament introduced into the housing 12 exceeds the predetermined setting amount, the exceeded amount of the medicament is collected in the container through the first control grooves 124 and the collecting port 126 of the housing 12.
Then, the user pushes the flange 313 by the number of times being discharged, and the medicament dispenser repeatedly performs the above-mentioned processes, and thus the medicament is discharged.
In the present invention, through the above-mentioned processes, the liquid medicament stored in the container may be discharged in the form of the drop by the predetermined setting amount, and the external dusts, foreign substances, bacteria or viruses may be prevented from being introduced into the medicament stored in the medicament dispenser.
Alternatively, in the present invention, vortex forming grooves may be provided at the top end of the head base in order to form a vortex when the medicament is sprayed, whereby the amount of medication to be sprayed, the spray pressure, and the spray velocity can be controlled with high precision.
Once the pressure within the upper portion of the spray passage 311' decreases as a result of spraying the medicament, the top end of the fluid passage 221 in the valve stem 22 is closed again by the piston 21 being moved downward by the elastic force of the elastic member 34, such as a spring.
Further, when the user's operation applied to the flange 313 is released, the head base 31 is moved up by the restoring force of the elastic member 23, and thus the valve stem 22 is also moved up.
At this time, a sucking force is generated at the storage space 123 in the housing 12, and thus the check valve 13 is moved up to open the inlet port 121, and the medicament stored in the container is introduced and stored into the housing 12 through the tube and the inlet port 121.
Meanwhile, if the amount of the medicament introduced into the housing 12 exceeds the predetermined setting amount, the exceeded amount of the medicament is collected in the container through the first control grooves 124 and the collecting port 126 of the housing 12.
Then, the user pushes the flange 313 by the number of times being discharged, and the medicament dispenser repeatedly performs the above-mentioned processes, and thus the medicament is discharged.
In the present invention, through the above-mentioned processes, the liquid medicament stored in the container may be discharged in the form of the drop by the predetermined setting amount, and the external dusts, foreign substances, bacteria or viruses may be prevented from being introduced into the medicament stored in the medicament dispenser.
Alternatively, the above process, the present invention renders it possible to spray a predetermined amount of a liquid medicament retained in a container and also block external dust, foreign matter, bacteria or viruses from entering the medication retained in a medication dispenser.
Although the present invention can be modified variously and have several embodiments, specific exemplary embodiments are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and will be described in detail in the detailed description. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments, and it should be understood that the present invention comprises all of equivalents and substitutes included in the technical scope and spirit of the invention.
That is, the embodiment is described using the medicament, but the present invention is not limited thereto.
For example, the present invention can be applied to a fluid dispenser having various shapes and purposes, which discharges a liquid fluid stored in the container, such as foods and medical substances as well as the medicaments.
The present invention is applied to the medicament dispenser capable of discharging the liquid medicament stored in the container by the predetermined setting amount in the form of the drop and preventing the dusts, foreign substances or viruses from being introduced into the medicament stored in the medicament dispenser.
As described above, according to the medicament dispenser of the present invention, the liquid medicament stored in the container can be discharged by the predetermined setting amount in the form of the drop, or, in the alternative as a spray, and the external dusts, foreign substances, bacteria or viruses can be prevented from being introduced into the medicament stored in the medicament dispenser.
Therefore, according to the medicament dispenser of the present invention, since the contamination of the medicament stored in the container and the medicament dispenser is completely prevented, it is possible to store and dispense the medicament in which the preservative preventing the contamination and the decomposition is not added.
Thus, according to the medicament dispenser of the present invention, since it is not necessary to add the preservative in the formulation process of the medicament, and also possible to prevent the harmful influence on the human body due to the addition of the preservative.
According to the medicament dispenser of the present invention, the contamination preventing member may be installed above the discharging passage or in the spraying passage, respectively, and thus the contamination of the medicament remained at the upper portion of the inner side of the head base can be prevented.
In particular, according to the medicament dispenser of the present invention, since the turning path is formed along the outer circumferential surface of the liner at the upper portion of the liner, even though the external dusts, foreign substances, bacteria or viruses are introduced from the outer side through the outlet port, the turning path 327 serves to increase a length of a moving route to the container and also to sharply reduce a moving speed thereof while rotated through the rotary passage, the length of the moving route to the container is increased, and the moving speed is sharply reduced while rotating in the turning path and thus the external dusts, foreign substances, bacteria or viruses can be restricted from being introduced into the medicament stored in the medicament dispenser.
Also, according to the medicament dispenser of the present invention, drop forming grooves may be formed at the upper end of the head base, and thus the medicament can be discharged in the form of the drop by the predetermined setting amount, when the medicament is discharged.
Also, according to the medicament dispenser of the present invention, since the liner may be formed to have the outer diameter corresponding to the diameter of the discharging passage, and the plurality of coupling ribs are formed to protrude from the outer circumferential surface of the liner, the liner and the head base can be easily coupled and assembled with each other, and the opening phenomenon of the coupling guide due to the pressure change of the medicament in the medicament discharging operation of the medicament dispenser can be prevented.

Although a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents.

[List of Reference Numerals]

10:	sucking part	11:	coupling body
12:	housing	121:	inlet port
122:	installation space	123:	storage space
124:	first control grooves	125:	second control grooves
126:	collecting port
13:	check valve	131:	valve seat
132:	curved rib	14:	guide member
141:	first coupling guide	142:	second coupling guide
143:	connection member	144:	fixing portion
145:	annular guide	15:	gasket
20:	pumping part	21:	piston
211:	insertion groove	212:	annular protrusion (sealing ring)
213:	opening and closing protrusion	22:	valve stem
221:	fluid passage	222:	tapering portion
23:	elastic member	30:	discharging part
30':	spraying part	31:	head base
311:	discharging passage	311':	spraying passage
312:	outlet port	313:	flange
312':	spray hole	314:	guide
315:	vertical part	316:	support member
317:	drop forming groove	317':	votex forming groove
32:	liner	321:	elevation space
322:	coupling groove	323:	discharging hole
324:	transportation path	325:	control protrusion
326:	coupling rib	327:	turning path
328:	cavity
33:	contamination preventing member	34:	spring

While the invention achieved by the present inventor has been described specifically with respect to the above embodiments, the present invention is not limited by the embodiments, and it is understood that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
More specifically, the above embodiments have been described with respect to the medication, but the present invention is not limited by the descriptions given herein.
For example, the present invention can be applied to fluid dispensers in various shapes and applications for spraying liquid fluids retained in containers, including not only pharmaceutical drugs but also food and cosmetics.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The present invention is applied to medication dispensers for spraying or discharging in drop form a predetermined amount of liquid medication retained in containers and blocking external dust, foreign matter, or bacteria from entering medication retained in the medication dispensers.

Claims

A medicament dispenser comprising:
a sucking part (10) coupled to an upper portion of a container to suck a liquid medicament stored in the container;

a pumping part (209 coupled to one side of the sucking part (10) to perform a pumping operation, such that the medicament is discharged or sprayed by a predetermined setting amount; and

an outlet (30, 30') installed at an upper end of the pumping part (20) to release the medicament.
The medicament dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the outlet (30, 30') is configured as
a discharging part (30) installed at an upper end of the pumping part (20) and having an outlet port (312) which is at a front end thereof and configured to discharge the medicament in the form of a drop, or
a spraying part (30') installed at an upper end of the pumping part and having a spray hole (312') provided at a tip.
The medicament dispenser according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the pumping part (20) includes a piston (21) moved up and down according to up and down movement of the discharging part (30) or the spraying part (30'), respectively, a valve stem (22) connected to a lower end of the piston (21), and an elastic member (23), such as a spring (23) coupled to an outer side of the valve stem (22) to provide a restoring force to the discharging part (30) or the spraying part (30'), respectively, wherein
the piston (21) is moved up, when the discharging part (30) or the spraying part (30'), respectively, is moved down, such that the medicament delivered through a discharging passage (311) or a spraying passage (311'), respectively, formed in the valve stem (22) is delivered to the outlet port (312) or the spray hole (312'), respectively, by the predetermined setting amount, and then moved down to prevent movement of the medicament.
The medicament dispenser according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the discharging part (30) or the spraying part (30'), respectively, includes a head base (31) having an outlet port (312) or a spray hole (312'), respectively, formed at an upper end thereof, a liner (32) installed in a discharging passage (311) or a spraying passage (311'), respectively, formed in the head base (31) and configured to deliver the medicament pumped by up and down movement of the piston (21) to the outlet port (312) or the spray hole (312'), respectively, an elastic member (34), such as a spring, installed between the liner (32) and the piston (21) or inside a cavity of the liner (32) to provide an elastic force to the piston (21), and a drop forming means (317) or a vortex forming means (317'), respectively, configured to form a drop so that the medicament delivered to the outlet port (312) is discharged in the form of the drop, or to form a vortex so that the medicament delivered to the spray hole (312') is discharged in the form of a spray, respectively.
The medicament dispenser according to the preceding claim, wherein the drop forming means (317) or the vortex forming means (317'), respectively, include a contamination preventing member (33) installed between a lower surface of an upper portion of the head base (31) and an upper portion of the liner (32) and a drop forming groove (317) or a vortex forming grove (317'), respectively, formed at the lower surface of the upper portion of the head base (31), and
the contamination preventing member (33) may be formed of a material having a sterilizing function to prevent contamination of the medicament remaining at an inner upper portion of the head base (31), and
a plurality of control protrusions (325) configured to control an amount of medicament discharged so that the medicament is discharged in the form of the drop or a spray, respectively, by the predetermined setting amount, when the medicament is discharged once, are formed at an upper end of the liner (32).
The medicament dispenser according to one of the preceding claims, wherein a flange (313) pushed by a user and a vertical part configured to cover an upper outer side of the sucking part (10) are formed at a lower portion of the head base (31), and
a guide (314) configured to form the discharging passage (311) or the spraying passage (311'), respectively, and a support member (316) configured to support the guide (314) are formed at an inner side of the head base (31).
The medicament dispenser according to one of the preceding claims, wherein a plurality of coupling ribs (326) is formed on an outer circumferential surface of the liner (32) to protrude, such that the liner (32) is press-fitted into the guide (314) of the head base (31), when the liner (32) and the head base (31) are assembled.
The medicament dispenser according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the sucking part (10) includes a coupling body (11) coupled to an upper end of the container, a housing (12) coupled to a lower portion of the coupling body (11) and having an inlet port (121) which is at a lower portion thereof and through which the medicament stored in the container is introduced, and a check valve (13) coupled to a lower portion of the housing (12) to open and close the inlet port (121), and first (124) and second control grooves (125) configured to control the amount of the medicament introduced into the housing (12) are formed at an inner surface of the housing (12).
The medicament dispenser according to one of the preceding claims, wherein a collecting port (126) configured to discharge an exceeded amount of the medicament exceeding the predetermined setting amount and/or air to an outer side of the housing (12) and to collect the exceeded amount of the medicament into the container is formed at one side of the housing (12).
The medicament dispenser according to one of the preceding claims, wherein a guide member (14) coupled to a lower end of the valve stem (22) is provided in the coupling body (11), and
the guide member (14) includes a first coupling guide (141) coupled to the lower end of a valve stem (22), a second coupling guide (142) formed to be connected to an upper portion of the first coupling guide (141), and a connection member (143) configured to connect the second coupling guide (142) to the coupling body (11), and
an upper end of the housing (12) is coupled to a space between the connection member (143) and the second coupling guide (142).
The medicament dispenser according to one of the preceding claims, wherein a tapering portion (222) of which a diameter is gradually increased toward a lower end thereof is provided at a lower portion of a valve stem, and
the tapering portion (222) is in close contact with an inner circumferential surface of a first coupling guide (141) to prevent movement of the medicament when the valve stem (22) is moved up.
The medicament dispenser according to one of the preceding claims, comprising a transportation path (324) configured to move the medicament delivered by a pumping operation of the pumping part (20) to the outlet port (312) or the spray hole (312'), respectively, and a turning path (327) configured to rotate the medicament moved through the transportation path (324) along an outer circumferential surface of the liner (32) and then to deliver the medicament to the outlet port (312) or the spray hole (312'), respectively.
The medicament dispenser according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the pumping part (10) prevents external dusts, foreign substances bacteria or viruses from being introduced into the medicament stored therein.