JPH03148483A - Suction-actuating aerosol distributor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide an inhalation device in which the aerosol medicament is sprayed by the inhalation effect of a patient by including a valve member to close an outlet at the closing position with the pressure of the metered dose in a chamber and to open the outlet at an opening position to enter the measured dose into a discharge spout, and a spraying device to move the valve member to an opening position to sense the inhalation. CONSTITUTION: A can 10 is pressed into a chamber 6 to operate a discharge valve of the can, and the measured dose medicament and propellant are placed in a hollow chamber 13 of a discharge pipe 12. A supply pipe 28 is sealed by a valve head 44. A patient holds the can 10 at a lower position, his mouth is set on a mouthpiece 18 for inhalation. The pressure in a hollow space 20 is dropped, a piston 34 is moved upward, an upper surface of a piston head is engaged with a disk 46, a wire 40 is moved upward, and the valve head 42 is detached from the sealed condition with an upper end face of the supply pipe 28. The measured dose medicament and propellant in the measuring chamber and the chamber 13 are passed through the supply pipe 28, and is mixed with the air to enter the hollow space 20 in the housing through a hole 38 in a skirt, and the measured dose medicament is inhaled by the patient.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a dispenser particularly suitable for dispensing and dosing doses of liquids. The primary use of this heel device is to dispense metered doses of drug-containing fluids in the form of an aerosol for inhalation therapy.

In particular, the invention relates to a dispensing device of the type in which a dose of medicament is taken in response to a patient's inhalation action.

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED BY THE INVENTION In medicine, dose inhaler devices are known for the treatment or alleviation of concomitant phenomena of respiratory diseases, such as asthma, which devices are generally removably mounted in a carrier. a pressurized aerosol dispensing container, and means for actuating a valve in the dispensing container to release a dose of drug-containing liquid into a chamber having a cap for patient use. Said valve actuation means may be a manual trigger device or the patient may press the rIIIi end of the container with a thumb or finger, but in either case the patient may operate the valve in order to maximize the use of the drug. The effect must be matched to that of inhalation.

Unfortunately, many patients who require this type of treatment are unable to match their breathing with the manual action of the valve.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a dose inhalation device of the type in which the release of aerosol medicament is actuated by the patient's inhalation action.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In one aspect, the present invention is used with a pressurized aerosol dispensing container, defining a can of said container and a storage chamber configured to receive a dose from said container. valve means for closing said outlet by the pressure of a dose in said chamber in a closed position and opening said outlet in an open position to allow a dose to pass from said chamber into a discharge spout; An inhalation-activated aerosol dispensing device is provided, including an ejection spout for inhalation by a user, and an ejection device responsive to user inhalation for moving said valve means to its open position.

In a preferred embodiment, the response of the piston unit to an inhalation action causes the medicament to actuate a valve that releases medicament from the storage means into the mouthpiece.

(Embodiments) Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention shown in the drawings will be described in detail.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the inhalation device 2 according to the invention includes a housing 4 having a chamber 6 of an aerosol medicament dispenser 8 inside it. The dispenser 8 includes a can 10 and a discharge tube 12, details of which are illustrated in 2nd vlJ.

Canister 10 contains a drug for inhalation therapy suspended or dissolved in a liquid aerosol propellant.

The interior of the can 10 communicates with a discharge pipe 12 via a discharge valve (not shown as it is a conventional valve), said valve having a metering chamber. The tube 12 has a transfer boat (not shown in the accompanying figures) which transfers the interior of the metering chamber of the valve and the interior of the tube 12 when and only when the tube 12 is moved inwardly relative to the can 10. communicate with.

The housing 4 is provided with a hole 14 coaxial with the chamber 6, into which the discharge tube 12 is engaged, the outer end surface of the tube 14 being connected to the hole 1.
contact with the shoulder 16 at the bottom of 4.

The housing 4 has a base mold discharge spout 18 and a hollow interior 2.
0. A vertically suspended short cylindrical section 22 is arranged in the chamber 6 and 14 axes below the level of the base 18, in which a hole 24 is formed.

A projection 26 extends into the hollow portion 20 and above the projection 26 the hole 14 extends. A delivery tube 28 defining a delivery chamber 29 is disposed within the bore 30 coaxial with the bore 14 and extends slightly above the shoulder 16 at the bottom of the bore 14 . A discharge orifice 32 communicates chamber 29 with hollow portion 20 of housing 4 and base 18 .

A piston 34 having a skirt 36 and a head 42 is disposed within the bore 24 of the suspended cylindrical portion 22 of the housing. A plurality of holes 38 are arranged along the outer circumference of the skirt 36.

A low friction sealing disc 39 is secured to the bottom of the projection 26 and a length of very thin strong wire 40 extends upwardly in frictional contact through this disc and into the interior of the delivery tube 28. The wire also extends downwardly and passes freely through the bore 41 of the head 42 of the piston 34.

A valve head 44 is attached to the upper end of the wire 40;
This valve head 44 is in sealing contact with the upper end face of the delivery tube 28 due to the weight of the piston 34 when the suction device is not in use. Two disks 46 and 48 are fixed above the wire 40, one disk 46 being located approximately midway along the length of the wire and the other disk 48 being at the lower end of the wire below the head 42 of the piston 34. Placed.

The can 10 slides up and down within the chamber 6 and can be moved manually by applying direct finger pressure against the end of the can, or can be provided with a lever device or screw arrangement. . In the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 1, a lever 50 is rigidly hinged by a pivot pin 52 into a bifurcated leg 54 on the housing, and manual rocking of the lever causes a protrusion 56 on the lever to be moved. It is pressed against the upper end of the can 10.

In use of the device, the patient pushes the can 10 into the chamber 6 as described above, thereby actuating the can's discharge valve. This allows a metered dose of drug and propellant to pass through the metering chamber of the valve and into the hollow chamber 13 of the discharge tube 12 above the delivery tube 28 . At this stage, the delivery tube 28 is sealed by the valve head 44.

The propellant in chamber 13 is considerably higher due to atmospheric pressure;
Thus, the valve hept 44 is pressed against the end of the tube 28, so that a seal is effected. It will be appreciated that the entire dose will not enter chamber 13 at this stage. this is,
Since chamber 13 is in communication with the metering chamber via said transfer port, a portion of the dose is retained within chamber 13 and a portion of the dose is retained within the metering chamber, the proportions of which are because it depends on the relative size of the chambers.

The patient inhales orally while holding canister 10 in the downward position, placing his or her mouth over mouthpiece 18 of the housing. By holding the can 10 in its lower position, the dose within the chamber 13 is prevented from escaping through the transfer port. The patient's inhalation action causes a pressure drop in the hollow interior 20 of the housing, so that the piston 34 is moved upwardly to the position shown in phantom in FIG. 40 is moved upwardly to remove the valve head 42 from sealing relationship with the upper end surface of the delivery tube 28. Since the cross-sectional area of the piston 34 is very large compared to the cross-sectional area of the valve head 44, a relatively small pressure difference across the piston head 42
is sufficient to overcome the much larger differential pressure before and after. The dose of drug and propellant in the metering chamber and chamber 13 of the discharge valve passes through the delivery tube 28 and then through the discharge orifice 3.
2 and mixes with the air entering the hollow interior 20 of the housing through holes 38 in the skirt of the piston. In this way, a fixed dose of drug is inhaled by the patient.

If desired, means (not shown), such as a 90° parallel screw, can be used to hold canister 10 in its lowered position during inhalation without the patient continuing to press lever 50.

In the embodiment described above, the weight of the piston is sufficient to return the wire and valve head to its lower position, yet light enough to be lifted by the patient's inhalation action. The friction of the sealing disc 39 against the wire 40 is limited to provide minimal resistance to axial movement of the wire, but is sufficient to seal the lower end of the delivery tube 28. Note that there is no need to provide a high degree of sealing between the sealing disc 39 and the wire. This is because the dose is traveling towards the discharge orifice 32 only in the area directly above the sealing disc 3 as well.

Alternatively, a flexible membrane can be used and secured to the underside of projection 26 and wire 40, for example by adhesive. Sufficient membrane bending will be obtained to raise the valve head 44 slightly to lift it from its seat on the delivery tube 28.

If necessary, a light compression spring 1 is inserted between the sealing disc 39 and the disc 46 as shown in FIG. 2a to spring the valve head 44 towards its seat on the delivery tube.
50 can be interposed. As a result, the valve head 4
4 is always seated on the delivery tube 28 before the dispenser is actuated by the patient, thus allowing the dose to enter the chamber 13 before the valve head 44 seals with the pressure within the chamber 13. The possibility of the first part of escaping is eliminated. The use of a spring also makes it impossible for the dose to exit chamber 13 by simply reversing the device after the dispenser has been actuated. If there were no spring, the dose would escape from the chamber 13 by the piston falling towards and impacting the disk 46.

If desired, the open end of the bore 24 of the cylindrical portion 22 may be provided with a grid, wire mesh or the like to secure the piston 3.
4 can be held in the hole 24. This is illustrated in FIG. 2a, where an end cap 152 with an air hole 154 is provided. Alternatively, the lower side of the cylindrical portion 22 can be provided with an annular rim pointing inwardly below the skirt of the piston. In either case, it is not necessary to secure the piston 34 to the wire 40, and the lower part of the wire and the disc 48 can be omitted. However, in this case a compression spring as described above is required to return the valve head 46 to the sealed position.

In another embodiment, the cylindrical portion 22 has a plurality of holes around its circumference, and the piston is reversed, with the head 42 of the piston on the underside, but with holes 38 along the circumference of the upwardly facing skirt of the piston. .

When the piston is in its lowest position, the hole in the cylindrical portion 22 is sealed by a continuous portion of the skirt 36. In this structure, the patient's inhalation action causes the piston to rise,
When the holes in the piston skirt are aligned with the holes in the cylindrical portion 22, air flows through these aligned holes to the mouthpiece.

In order to align the holes in the skirt with the holes in the cylindrical portion, a suitable spline structure may be provided between the piston 34 and the hole 24. Alternatively, the holes 38 can be interconnected by annular groups formed on the outer surface of the skirt.

In another embodiment, illustrated in FIG. 3, the intermediate chamber is loaded with a drug dose that is released into the mouthpiece by an electromagnetically actuated poppet valve actuated by the patient's inhalation action.

In FIG. 3, can 10 is placed within housing 104, with its discharge tube 12 extending into bore 114, which is connected to intermediate chamber 120 by a small diameter bore 116. This chamber 120 is connected to the base 118 by a discharge member 119, which discharge member 119 is connected to the valve seat 12.
1. It has a discharge orifice 121 surrounded by 2.

The poppet valve 124 has a light spring 12 toward the valve seat 122.
It is fired by 6. The poppet valve 124 slides within a hole 128 formed in the housing 104 and has another hole 130 directed toward said hole 128 from a cavity 132 formed in a cylindrical portion 134 of the housing. extend.

These holes 128, 130 are separated from each other only by a very thin web. A cylindrical part 138 of the piston unit is arranged in the bore 130 and the piston head 1
40 is normally engaged with the seat 142 and held by a light spring 144. Cavity 132 is connected to base 118 by passageway 146.

Poppet valve 124 and cylindrical portion 138 are configured to be magnetically attracted to each other.

To this end, the cylindrical portion 138 has a magnet or an element 139 of magnetized material, and the poppet valve includes a magnet or, if the element 139 is a magnet, consists of a magnetized material.

In operation of the device, the can 10 is depressed as described above to charge the intermediate chamber 120 with a dose of drug and propellant. When the patient then inhales through the mouthpiece 118, a pressure drop occurs within the cavity 132. The differential pressure on either side of piston head 140 is sufficient to overcome the action of spring 144 and move cylindrical portion 138 and its element 139 further into bore 130 and into contact with web 136 .

The proximity of element 139 acts to pull valve 1° 24 away from the sealed position in contact with valve seat 122, thus allowing the air and drug mixture that enters bypassing piston head 144 to be inhaled by the patient. be done.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1111if is a cross-sectional view of the inhalation device according to the present invention;
The figure is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a part of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1, and Fig. 2a is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a part of the
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the present invention, which is similar to the figure but shows some changes thereto. 8... Dispenser, 10... Can, 12... Discharge pipe, 13... Storage chamber, 14... Hole, 18...
... Spout, 28 ... Delivery pipe, 29 ... Delivery chamber, 32 ... Discharge orifice, 34 ... Piston (flow discharge device!), 39 ... Sealing disk, 42 ...
・Piston head, 124...Poppet valve, 139・
...Magnetic member, 140...Piston head.

Claims (1)

Claims: 1. for use with a pressurized aerosol dispensing container, comprising: a can of said container; means defining a storage chamber configured to receive a dose from said container and having an outlet; valve means for closing the outlet by the pressure of the dose in the chamber in a position and opening the outlet in an open position to allow the dose to pass from the chamber into the outlet spout; an outlet spout for inhalation by a user; an inhalation actuated aerosol dispensing device comprising: a discharge device responsive to user inhalation to move said valve means to its open position. 2. The container further comprises means for defining an aperture for receiving an outlet tube of a pressurized aerosol dispensing container, the storage chamber being at least partially defined within the outlet tube. The device described in. 3. The dose release device is a piston, one side of the piston receives the pressure in the discharge spout, and the other side of the piston receives atmospheric pressure, and said piston moves from the rest position to the valve open position in response to the suction action. 3. The device according to claim 1, wherein the device is movable up to a maximum of 100 degrees. 4. The piston according to claim 3, characterized in that the piston comprises at least one aperture, the aperture being substantially closed when the piston is in its rest position and open when the piston is in its valve open position. Device. 5. Apparatus according to any preceding claim, characterized in that the storage chamber communicates with the discharge spout via a delivery chamber and a discharge orifice, this communication being controlled by the valve means. 6. Apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that the dose release means is connected to the valve means by an actuating member passing through the delivery chamber. 7. The delivery chamber has an opening closed by a sealing disc, and the actuating member slidingly contacts an aperture of the sealing disc.
The device described in. 8. The device of claim 6, wherein the delivery chamber has an opening closed by a flexible membrane, and the actuating member passes through the membrane and is brought into close contact with the membrane. 9. During use of the device, one end of the delivery chamber extends into the discharge tube, and the valve means includes a valve member which is pressed against the end of the delivery chamber in the closed position. 9. The device according to claim 2 or any one of claims 5 to 8. 10. said valve means and said dose release device comprising means for magnetically interacting with each other when said dose release device is sensitive to inhalation by a user, said interaction causing said valve means to move to its open position; The device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: 11. Claims 1 to 1, characterized in that it includes means for returning the dose release device to its initial position after the user's inhalation action.
1. The device according to any one of 1.