KR20230131311A - Aerosol inhaler for throat care - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an aerosol inhaler for throat care that aerosolizes a liquid beneficial to throat health and allows the user to inhale it.
The present invention's aerosol inhaler for throat care includes a cartridge containing a beneficial liquid substance for throat health, a nebulizing device that applies energy to the beneficial liquid substance in the cartridge and atomizes it, and is detachable from the cartridge and includes setting condition information for the beneficial liquid substance. Therefore, it consists of an inhaler body including a processor that controls the operation of the nebulizing device to generate aerosol.

Description

Aerosol inhaler for throat care {AEROSOL INHALER FOR THROAT CARE}

The present invention relates to an aerosol inhaler for throat care, and particularly to an aerosol inhaler for throat care that aerosolizes a liquid that is beneficial to throat health and allows the user to inhale it.

The respiratory system is divided into a conducting zone, which is a passageway for air, and a respiratory zone, where direct gas exchange occurs. The conducting zone is comprised of the oral cavity, trachea, and bronchi. It refers to the bronchi and terminal bronchiole, and the respiratory area refers to the respiratory bronchiole, alveolar duct, alveolar sac, and alveoli. Inhalers, which are mainly used by patients with asthma or chronic lung disease, have the advantage of increasing the treatment effect and reducing side effects by delivering the drug directly to the airway. Depending on the properties of the drug, the inhaler is a metered dose inhaler (MDI). , dry powder inhaler (DPI), nebulizer, etc.

A nebulizer converts liquid medication into an aerosol, which is then inhaled through a face mask or tube that covers the nose and mouth.

Conventional nebulizers were used in hospitals/clinics/home by plugging in a power source, and both mask types and mouthpiece types were used, but there was no inhalation device for substances beneficial to the body other than medicinal solutions.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide an aerosol inhaler for throat care that aerosolizes a liquid beneficial to throat health and allows the user to inhale it.

The present invention's aerosol inhaler for throat care includes a cartridge containing a beneficial liquid substance for throat health, a nebulizing device that applies energy to the beneficial liquid substance in the cartridge and atomizes it, and is detachable from the cartridge and includes setting condition information for the beneficial liquid substance. Therefore, it consists of an inhaler body including a processor that controls the operation of the nebulizing device to generate aerosol.

In addition, the spray device is composed of a vibrator and a mesh, and the hole diameter of the mesh is preferably in the range of 7 to 20㎛.

Additionally, it is desirable for an aerosol inhaler to generate and discharge an aerosol within the range of 5 to 12㎛.

In addition, the setting condition information includes one spray amount (suction amount), and the one spray amount (suction amount) is preferably in the range of 0.05 to 0.15 mg.

In addition, the aerosol inhaler includes a heating unit that heats the beneficial liquid substance in the cartridge, and a temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the beneficial liquid substance and applies the temperature detection value to the processor, and the processor responds to the temperature detection value from the temperature sensor. It is desirable to control the heating part.

In addition, the setting condition information preferably includes the spraying temperature, and the processor controls the heating unit so that the temperature detection value from the temperature sensor is maintained at the spraying temperature.

Additionally, the spray temperature is preferably within the range of 40 to 65°C.

Additionally, the processor preferably controls the operation of the spray device to generate an aerosol when the temperature detection value is greater than or equal to the spray temperature.

In addition, the aerosol inhaler preferably has a display unit, and the processor displays an indication that inhalation is possible through the display unit when the temperature detection value is equal to or higher than the spray temperature.

In addition, the beneficial liquid substance preferably includes at least one extract of bellflower root, quince, chamomile, peppermint, propolis, eucalyptus, ginger, clove, cabbage, pear, honey, lemon, and lotus root.

The present invention has the effect of aerosolizing a liquid that is beneficial to throat health so that the user can inhale it.

Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of an aerosol inhaler using breathing according to the present invention.
Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the cartridge in aerosol generating operation.
Figure 3 is a control configuration diagram of the aerosol inhaler of Figure 1.

Below, the present invention is explained in detail through examples and drawings. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments, and should be understood to include various modifications, equivalents, and/or alternatives to the embodiments of the present invention. In connection with the description of the drawings, similar reference numbers may be used for similar components.

In this document, expressions such as “have,” “may have,” “includes,” or “may include” refer to the existence of the corresponding feature (e.g., a numerical value, function, operation, or component such as a part). , and does not rule out the existence of additional features.

In this document, expressions such as “A or B,” “at least one of A or/and B,” or “one or more of A or/and B” may include all possible combinations of the items listed together. . For example, “A or B”, “at least one of A and B”, or “at least one of A or B” (1) includes at least one A, (2) includes at least one B, or (3) it may refer to all cases including both at least one A and at least one B.

As used herein, expressions such as "first", "second", "first", or "second" may describe various elements in any order and/or importance, and may refer to one element as another. It is only used to distinguish from components and does not limit the components. For example, a first user device and a second user device may represent different user devices regardless of order or importance. For example, a first component may be renamed a second component without departing from the scope of rights described in this document, and similarly, the second component may also be renamed to the first component.

A component (e.g., a first component) is “(operatively or communicatively) coupled with/to” another component (e.g., a second component). When referred to as being “connected to,” it should be understood that any component may be directly connected to the other component or may be connected through another component (e.g., a third component). On the other hand, when a component (e.g., a first component) is said to be “directly connected” or “directly connected” to another component (e.g., a second component), It may be understood that no other component (e.g., a third component) exists between other components.

The expression “configured to” used in this document may mean, for example, “suitable for,” “having the capacity to,” or “having the capacity to.” It can be used interchangeably with ", "designed to," "adapted to," "made to," or "capable of." The term “configured (or set) to” may not necessarily mean “specifically designed to” in hardware. Instead, in some contexts, the expression “a device configured to” may mean that the device is “capable of” working with other devices or components. For example, the phrase "processor configured (or set) to perform A, B, and C" refers to a processor dedicated to performing the operations (e.g., an embedded processor), or executing one or more software programs stored on a memory device. By doing so, it may mean a general-purpose processor (eg, CPU or application processor) capable of performing the corresponding operations.

Terms used in this document are merely used to describe specific embodiments and may not be intended to limit the scope of other embodiments. Singular expressions may include plural expressions, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, may have the same meaning as commonly understood by a person of ordinary skill in the technical field described in this document. Among the terms used in this document, terms defined in general dictionaries may be interpreted to have the same or similar meaning as the meaning they have in the context of related technology, and unless clearly defined in this document, they may be interpreted in an ideal or excessively formal sense. It is not interpreted. In some cases, even terms defined in this document cannot be interpreted to exclude embodiments of this document.

In this embodiment, the liquid beneficial to throat health (hereinafter referred to as beneficial liquid substance) that is aerosolized by receiving energy is a vegetable raw material, and includes bellflower root, quince, chamomile, peppermint, propolis, eucalyptus, ginger, clove, cabbage, pear, It is a liquid containing at least one extract of honey, lemon, or lotus root. This liquid, which is beneficial to throat health, does not contain any of the following ingredients: triclosan, paraben, tar color, animal raw materials, mineral oil, MIT (methylisothiazolinone) / CMIT (methylchloroisothiazolinone).

Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of an aerosol inhaler for throat care according to the present invention.

The aerosol inhaler consists of a cartridge 100 that contains a beneficial liquid substance, and an inhaler body 200 in which the cartridge 100 can be detached and attached. In addition, the cartridge 100 may be provided separately from the mouthpiece 300 so that the mouthpiece 300 can be detached from the cartridge 100, or the cartridge 100 may be formed integrally with the mouthpiece 300. . The inhaler body 200 is formed with a mounting space for mounting and coupling the cartridge 100, and electrical connection terminals for electrical connection or contact with the cartridge 100 may be provided on the inner side of the mounting space.

The mouthpiece 300 may be provided integrally with the cartridge 100 or separately. When provided integrally, the mouthpiece 300 may be combined with the cartridge 100, for example, by ultrasonic fusion. , the cartridge 100 may optionally be provided with a structure that does not allow for refilling the liquid material.

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the cartridge in aerosol generating operation.

The cartridge 100 accommodates a beneficial liquid substance in the internal receiving space 130, has a transfer path 140 for transferring the received beneficial liquid substance to the spray space 145, and is mounted in the spray space 145 to provide a transfer path. A spray unit (aerosol generator) 120 that sprays the beneficial liquid material transferred through (140) to generate aerosol in the form of fine particles, and an discharge path that discharges the aerosol generated by the spray unit 120 to the outside. It includes an airflow path having at least 150. Arrows in the transport path 140 from the receiving space 130 to the spray space 145 indicate the transport of the beneficial liquid substance.

The airflow path of the cartridge includes an exhaust path 150 that connects the spray space 145 and the external space, and connects the external space and the spray space 145 to allow external air to flow into the spray space 145. An additional inflow path may be provided.

The spray unit 120 includes a vibrator (or mesh vibrator) that receives power and converts beneficial liquid substances into aerosol by vibration energy, or a heating unit that converts beneficial liquid substances into aerosol by thermal energy, and the size of the generated aerosol. It is composed of a mesh that controls the . The spray unit 120 is provided with a horn-shaped vibration transmitter, so that the vibration of the vibrator is transmitted through the vibration transmitter, so that the aerosolization of the beneficial liquid substance can be more quickly and strengthened.

The aerosol inhaler includes a power supply unit (power unit 230 in FIG. 3) for supplying power to the spray unit 120, and a processor ( It includes the processor 290 of FIG. 3, etc.

The transfer path 140 connects the cartridge accommodation space 130 and the spray space 145, and may be provided with a mechanical opening/closing structure or an electrical opening/closing structure (for example, an electrical valve structure, etc.).

The spray space 145 has a horn shape so that the generated aerosol can be concentrated and discharged through the discharge path 150. A mouth piece 300 is detachably mounted at the end (portion exposed to external air) of the discharge path 150.

The cartridge 100 is provided with a heating unit 160 in the receiving space 130 to heat the beneficial liquid substance. The heating unit 160 receives power from the inhaler body 200 and heats the beneficial liquid substance.

In the present invention, a mesh may be provided in the spray unit 120 or a mesh may be provided in the discharge path 150. The hole diameter of this mesh is within the range of 7 to 20㎛, and the aerosol inhaler discharges an aerosol with a size or diameter in the range of 5 to 12㎛ out of the discharge path 150.

In another embodiment, an aerosol inhaler may be composed of a respirator body including a nebulization space, a nebulizer, and an airflow path, and a liquid cartridge that is detachable from the respirator body and contains a beneficial liquid substance. The main body device has a case in which a spray space is formed. The case may be provided with an additional inflow path.

In another embodiment, only the receiving space 130 of FIG. 2 may be detachable from the cartridge 100 and exchanged.

Figure 3 is a control configuration diagram of an aerosol inhaler according to the present invention.

The cartridge 100 is provided to be replaceably mounted on the inhaler body 200 and includes a case having a receiving space and a plurality of electrical connection terminals 101 to 104 on one side of the case. The electrical connection terminal 101 includes a first sub electrical connection terminal 101a electrically connected to the first sub electrical connection terminal 201a connected to the power supply 240 for supplying power to the spray 120, and a heating It includes a second sub-electrical connection terminal 101b electrically connected to a first sub-electrical connection terminal 201b connected to the power supply unit 240 to supply power to the unit 160. The electrical connection terminal 102 is electrically connected to the electrical connection terminal 202 connected to the suction sensor 250, and the electrical connection terminal 103 is electrically connected to the electrical connection terminal 203 connected to the remaining amount sensor 252. And the electrical connection terminal 104 is electrically connected to the electrical connection terminal 204 connected to the temperature sensor 254. When the cartridge 100 is mounted on the inhaler body 200, it is electrically connected to the inhaler body 200 and can be controlled by receiving power from the inhaler body 200.

The storage space of the cartridge 100 may be divided by a partition wall to form a plurality of storage spaces.

The cartridge 100 includes a spray unit 120, and when mounted on the inhaler body 200, the spray unit 120 is connected to the first sub of the inhaler body 200 through the first sub electrical connection terminal 101a. It operates by receiving power (for example, a sine wave signal) from the electrical connection terminal 201a.

The spray unit 120 includes a vibrator element, for example, a piezoelectric mesh disk. Depending on the embodiment, the piezoelectric mesh disk is made of a thin mesh plate, and the vibrator has a structure in which a ring-type piezo element and a central mesh plate are electrically connected with a wire. Additionally, depending on the embodiment, the oscillator element includes a ceramic oscillator. The spray unit 120 may be configured as a means for generating heat energy, such as resistance heating or induction heating.

The heating unit 160 heats the beneficial liquid material by applying energy to the beneficial liquid material using at least one of various methods such as resistance heating, induction heating, or optical heating.

The respiratory body 200 includes an input unit 210 that acquires input from the user (e.g., power on/off, aerosol generation operation/stop, etc.) and applies it to the processor 290, and A display unit 220 that visually and/or audibly displays display information (e.g., remaining battery capacity, remaining amount of beneficial liquid substance, temperature of beneficial liquid substance, inhalable indication, etc.), and a power supply unit that supplies power ( 230) and a power supply unit (230) that supplies or blocks power from the power supply unit 230 to the liquid cartridge 100 through the first and second sub electrical connection terminals 201a and 201b under the control of the processor 290. 240), a suction sensor 250 that detects the user's suction through the electrical connection terminal 202 and applies the suction detection value to the processor 290, and a suction sensor 250 stored in the cartridge 100 through the electrical connection terminal 203. A remaining amount sensor 252 that detects the remaining amount of beneficial liquid substance and applies the remaining amount detection value to the processor 290, and a remaining amount sensor 252 that detects the temperature of the beneficial liquid substance in the cartridge 100 and applies a temperature detection value to the processor 290. A temperature sensor 254, a communication unit 260 that performs wired or wireless communication with an electronic communication device (e.g., smartphone, tablet, etc.), and an aerosol for a beneficial liquid substance is generated by controlling the above-mentioned components. It is configured to include a processor 290 that performs functions. However, the input unit 210, the power unit 230, and the communication unit 260 correspond to technologies naturally recognized by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains, and their detailed descriptions are therefore omitted.

The display unit 220 includes a display unit that displays information visually, such as an LED or LCD, a speaker that emits sound to express information audibly, and a vibrating unit, such as a vibration motor, that displays information tactilely. It is composed including.

The power supply unit 240 includes a boost converter that adjusts the voltage (level of voltage) applied from the power unit 230 by the voltage control signal of the processor 290 and applies it to the sine wave generator, and a boost converter that receives the voltage from the boost converter and supplies it to the processor. A sine wave signal with a frequency corresponding to the output control signal (e.g., PWM signal) of 290 is generated and supplied to the spray unit 120 through electrical connection between the electrical connection terminal 201 and the electrical connection terminal 101. It is composed of a sine wave generator, etc. The voltage control signal from the processor 290 corresponds to a signal for controlling the application and magnitude of the voltage (or peak-to-peak voltage) applied to the sine wave generator in the booster converter, and is provided from the processor 290. The output control signal corresponds to a signal for determining the frequency of the sine wave signal generated from the sine wave generator, and the spray unit 120 operates during the time when the output control signal is applied, and sprays during the time when the output control signal is not applied. Unit 120 stops operating.

In addition, the power supply unit 240 applies power to the heating unit 160 and independently supplies power to the spray unit 120 and the heating unit 160. That is, the power supply unit 240 may supply power only to the spray unit 120 or only the heating unit 160 under the control of the processor 290.

The inhalation sensor 240 is a sensor that detects the user's inhalation. When the processor 290 obtains an inhalation detection value corresponding to the user's inhalation, it controls the power supply unit 240 to generate an aerosol at a frequency or The operation of the spray unit 120 can be controlled by adjusting the magnitude of the voltage, and otherwise, the power supply unit 240 can be controlled so that aerosol is not generated.

The remaining amount sensor 252 detects the remaining amount of beneficial liquid substance stored in the cartridge 100 and applies the remaining amount detected value to the processor 290, and the processor 290 continues the aerosol generation operation or generates aerosol according to the remaining amount detected value. The operation can be stopped, the user can be notified of the remaining amount through the display unit 220, or an alarm can be displayed. Depending on the embodiment, the remaining amount sensor 252 is a pressure sensor and can detect the remaining amount by detecting a change in pressure in the receiving space of the cartridge 100 according to a change in the remaining amount of the useful liquid substance stored in the cartridge 100.

The processor 290 performs each aerosol generation operation and stop according to the aerosol generation operation input and stop input from the input unit 210, stores setting condition information for the beneficial liquid substance, and performs the aerosol generating operation according to the setting condition information. Perform or stop.

Setting condition information includes the type of beneficial liquid substance, spray temperature, spray amount (inhalation amount) on a one-time basis (recommended), spray amount (inhalation amount) on a daily basis (recommended), standard spray (inhalation) time, standard spray (inhalation) number, and standard. The suction interval, etc. can be checked and stored, and displayed through the display unit 220. Additionally, the processor 290 may obtain variable input from the input unit 210 and adjust the contents of the setting condition information. The processor 290 controls the heating unit 160 so that the spray temperature of the beneficial liquid material in the present invention falls within the range of 40 to 65°C. In the present invention, the processor 290 controls the spray unit 120 so that the standard spray amount (suction amount) per time is in the range of 0.05 to 0.15 mg.

In a state where power is supplied, the processor 290 receives the suction detection value from the suction sensor 250 and controls the power supply unit 240 to spray the spray unit 120 when the user is inhaling. Power is supplied to perform aerosol generation operation of beneficial liquid substances.

The processor 290 is configured to include at least one of the standard suction amount (spray amount) per time, the standard suction amount (spray amount) per day, the suction (spray) time based on spray temperature, the number of suction (spray) times, and the standard suction interval included in the setting condition information. Accordingly, the supply and cut off of power to the spray unit 120 and the heating unit 160 are controlled. The standard inhalation time includes a standard inhalation time corresponding to a single standard inhalation amount (recommended daily inhalation amount) and a daily standard inhalation time corresponding to a daily standard inhalation amount (recommended daily inhalation amount). In addition, the processor 290 stores correlation data about the operation time (suction time) and spray amount (suction amount) of the spray unit 120, checks the standard one-time suction amount, and uses the correlation data to determine the standard one-time suction amount. It is also possible to calculate the standard suction time, which is the time at which the corresponding spray unit 120 must be operated.

In order to spray a fixed amount for the recommended amount for one inhalation (one-time standard suction amount), the processor 290 checks the one-time standard suction amount or one-time standard suction time, and accordingly, powers the power supply unit 240 during the one-time standard suction time. ) is controlled to control the spraying unit 120 to perform a spraying operation.

Additionally, the processor 290 controls the power supply unit 240 according to the temperature detection value from the temperature sensor 254. More specifically, the processor 290 controls the power supply unit 240 to supply power to the heating unit 160 so that the temperature of the beneficial liquid material is maintained within a preset range from the spray temperature or the denominator temperature. The processor 290 compares the temperature detection value from the temperature sensor 254 with the spray temperature and, if the temperature detection value is higher than the spray temperature, indicates that inhalation is possible through the display unit 220. Additionally, the processor 290 may control the power supply unit 240 to supply power to the spray unit 120 to perform an aerosolization operation of the beneficial liquid substance only when the temperature detection value is equal to or higher than the spray temperature.

Additionally, the processor 290 may obtain remaining battery information from the power unit 230 and display it on the display unit 220.

The processor 290 controls the communication unit 260 to communicate with the electronic communication device, and provides information such as the type of beneficial liquid substance, intake information (current intake amount, intake amount per day and per time, number of intakes, intake interval, etc.) Control status information is transmitted to the electronic communication device through the communication unit 260.

The electronic communication device activates the built-in application and displays the received control status information so that the user can check it.

At least a portion of the device (e.g., processor or functions thereof) or method (e.g., operations) according to various embodiments is stored in a computer-readable storage media, for example, in the form of a program module. Can be implemented as stored instructions. When the instruction is executed by a processor, the one or more processors may perform the function corresponding to the instruction. A computer-readable storage medium may be, for example, memory.

Computer-readable recording media include hard disks, floppy disks, magnetic media (e.g. magnetic tape), optical media (e.g. CD-ROM, DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), magnetic media) It may include magnetic media (e.g., a floptical disk), hardware devices (e.g., ROM, RAM, or flash memory, etc.), etc. Additionally, program instructions may include strings such as those generated by the compiler. It may include not only machine language code but also high-level language code that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter, etc. The above-described hardware device may be configured to operate as one or more software modules to perform the operations of various embodiments, The same goes for the station.

The processor or functions provided by the processor according to various embodiments may include at least one of the above-described components, some of them may be omitted, or other additional components may be included. Operations performed by modules, program modules, or other components according to various embodiments may be executed sequentially, in parallel, iteratively, or in a heuristic manner. Additionally, some operations may be executed in a different order, omitted, or other operations may be added.

As explained above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described specific preferred embodiments, and anyone skilled in the art can use various Of course, modifications are possible, and such modifications fall within the scope of the claims.

100: Cartridge 200: Inhaler body

Claims (10)

a cartridge containing a liquid substance beneficial for throat health;
a spray device that applies energy to the beneficial liquid material in the cartridge to spray it;
An aerosol inhaler for throat care, characterized in that it consists of an inhaler body that is detachable from a cartridge and includes a processor that generates aerosol by controlling the operation of the nebulizing device according to the setting condition information of the beneficial liquid substance. According to claim 1,
The atomizing device consists of an oscillator and a mesh,
An aerosol inhaler for throat care, characterized in that the hole diameter of the mesh is in the range of 7 to 20㎛. According to claim 2,
The aerosol inhaler is an aerosol inhaler for throat care that generates and discharges an aerosol with a size ranging from 5 to 12㎛. According to claim 1,
Setting condition information includes one spray amount (suction amount),
An aerosol inhaler for throat care, characterized in that the one-time spray amount (inhalation amount) falls within the range of 0.05 to 0.15 mg. According to claim 1,
The aerosol inhaler has a heating unit that heats the beneficial liquid substance in the cartridge, and a temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the beneficial liquid substance and applies a temperature detection value to the processor,
An aerosol inhaler for throat care, wherein the processor controls the heating unit according to the temperature detection value from the temperature sensor. According to claim 5,
Setting condition information includes spray temperature,
An aerosol inhaler for throat care, wherein the processor controls the heating unit so that the temperature detection value from the temperature sensor is maintained at the spray temperature. According to claim 6,
An aerosol inhaler for throat care, characterized in that the spray temperature is within the range of 40 to 65°C. Paragraph 6
An aerosol inhaler for throat care, wherein the processor generates aerosol by controlling the operation of the spray device when the temperature detection value is higher than the spray temperature. According to claim 6,
The aerosol inhaler has an indicator,
An aerosol inhaler for throat care, characterized in that the processor displays inhalation possible through the display unit when the temperature detection value is higher than the spray temperature. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9,
An aerosol inhaler for throat care, wherein the beneficial liquid substance includes at least one extract of bellflower root, quince, chamomile, peppermint, propolis, eucalyptus, ginger, clove, cabbage, pear, honey, lemon, and lotus root.

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