WO2008078034A2

WO2008078034A2 - Fluid product dispensing device

Info

Publication number: WO2008078034A2
Application number: PCT/FR2007/052469
Authority: WO
Inventors: Gérard PAPET
Original assignee: Valois Sas
Priority date: 2006-12-11
Filing date: 2007-12-10
Publication date: 2008-07-03
Also published as: WO2008078034A3; FR2909642A1; FR2909642B1

Abstract

The invention relates to a fluid product dispensing device comprising at least one tank (21) containing a fluid or powdery product, and opening means including a puncturing system (30) for said at least one tank (21), said puncturing system (30) being displaceable relative to said at least one tank (21) between a rest position, in which the puncturing system (30) is outside the tank (21), and a puncturing position in which said puncturing system (30) penetrates the tank (21), said puncturing system (30) including a hollow puncturing member (31) with at least one opening (32) and a covering member (300), said puncturing member (31) being capable of displacement relative to said covering member (300) between a covering position, in which said at least one opening (32) of said puncturing member (31) is covered and/or blocked by said sleeve (300), and an opening position in which said at least one opening (32) is open.

Description

Fluid dispensing device

The present invention relates to a fluid dispenser device, and more particularly to a dry powder inhaler.

Inhalers are well known in the state of the art. There are different kinds. A first type of inhaler contains a reservoir receiving a multitude of doses of powder, the inhaler being provided with dosing means allowing each actuation to separate a dose of this powder from the reservoir to bring it into an expulsion conduit to to be distributed to the user. Inhalers with individual reservoirs, such as capsules, which are to be loaded into the inhaler just prior to use thereof have also been described in the state of the art. The advantage of these devices is that it is not necessary to store all the doses inside the device, so that it can be reduced in size. By cons, the use is more complex, since the user is obliged to load a capsule in the inhaler before each use. Another type of inhaler is to package the doses of powder in pre-dosed individual tanks, then to open one of these tanks each actuation of the inhaler. This implementation ensures a better seal of the powder, since each dose is open at the time of its expulsion. To make these individual tanks, various variants have already been proposed, such as an elongated blister strip or blisters arranged on a rotating circular disk. All types of inhalers described above and existing have advantages and disadvantages related to their structure and operation. Thus, with some inhalers, there is the problem of accuracy and reproducibility of the dosage at each actuation. Similarly, the effectiveness of the distribution, that is, the portion of the dose that actually enters the user's lungs to have a beneficial therapeutic effect, is also a problem with a number of inhalers. One solution to this specific problem has been to synchronize the expulsion of the dose with the inhalation of the patient. Again, this could cause drawbacks, that generally in this type of device, the dose is loaded into an expulsion conduit prior to inhalation, and then the expulsion is synchronized with the inhalation. This means that if the user drops, shakes or unwantedly or improperly handles the inhaler between the time he or she changed the dose (either from a multi-dose reservoir or from an individual reservoir) and when inhaling, it may lose all or part of this dose, it may be distributed inside the device. In this case, there may be a high risk of overdose during the next use of the device. The user who will realize that his dose is not complete will charge a new dose into the device, and when inhaling this new dose, part of the previous dose lost in the device could then be expelled at the same time as the new dose, causing an overdose. Depending on the treatments considered, this overdose can be very harmful and it is an increasingly strong requirement of the authorities of all countries to minimize this risk of overdose. Regarding the opening of the individual tanks, it has been proposed to peel or peel off the closure layer. This has the disadvantage of difficult control of the forces to be applied to ensure full opening without the risk of opening the next tank, especially if the opening means must be actuated by inhalation. Another problem that arises with inhalers triggered by the inhalation of the user is that there may be a risk that the inhalation flow is insufficient to trigger the device and / or that after triggering, the flow decreases. too quickly, with the result that the distribution of the entire dose is no longer guaranteed.

The present invention aims to provide a fluid dispenser device, in particular a dry powder inhaler that does not reproduce the aforementioned drawbacks.

In particular, the present invention aims to provide such an inhaler that is simple and inexpensive to manufacture and assemble, reliable of use, guaranteeing an accuracy of dosing and a reproducibility of the dosage at each actuation, providing an optimal yield as for the effectiveness of the treatment, by allowing to distribute a large part of the dose at the level of the zones to be treated, in particular the lungs, safely and effectively avoiding the risks of overdose, of dimensions as small as possible, while ensuring a seal and absolute integrity of all doses until their expulsion.

The present invention also aims to provide such an inhaler triggered by inhalation, wherein the triggering of the device is ensured even in case of low inhalation.

The present invention also aims to provide such an inhaler triggered by inhalation which ensures a good distribution of the dose of powder contained in each tank.

The present invention therefore relates to a fluid dispenser device comprising at least one reservoir containing fluid or powder and opening means comprising a drilling system of said at least one reservoir, said drilling system being movable relative to at least one reservoir between a rest position, wherein said piercing system is outside the reservoir, and a piercing position, wherein said piercing system enters the reservoir, said piercing system comprising a hollow piercing member provided with at least one opening, and a cover sleeve, said piercing member being movable relative to said cover sleeve between a cover position, wherein said at least one opening of said piercing member is covered and / or closed by said sleeve, and an open position, wherein said at least one an opening is open.

Advantageously, said covering position of the piercing element corresponds to the rest position of said piercing system. Advantageously, said open position of the piercing element corresponds to the piercing position of said piercing system.

Advantageously, said sleeve is elastically deformable. Advantageously, said device comprises a plurality of reservoirs each containing a dose of fluid, especially dry powder, disposed on a common support, such as an elongated blister strip.

Advantageously, said device comprises a body provided with a dispensing orifice for dispensing fluid product to a user, said piercing element being fixed with respect to said body, said at least one reservoir and said sleeve being movable relative to said piercing element .

Advantageously, the displacement of the reservoir towards its piercing position is controlled by the inhalation of the user, so that the reservoir is simultaneously opened and emptied at the moment of inhalation.

Advantageously, said sleeve comprises a fixing portion fixed to a movable support member with respect to said piercing element, and a sealing portion adapted to cooperate with said at least one opening of the piercing element.

Advantageously, said closing portion, in the overlapping position, is supported elastically on the edges of said at least one opening.

Advantageously, said closing portion is formed by two flanks, substantially perpendicular to the overlap position, the connection point between said flanks penetrating, in the overlapped position, slightly inside said at least one opening.

These and other features and advantages of the present invention will appear more clearly in the following detailed description, with reference to the accompanying drawings, given by way of non-limiting examples, in which:

FIG. 1 represents a schematic cross-sectional view of a dispensing device according to an advantageous embodiment; FIG. 2 is a partially cut-away view of the upper part of the inhaler of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a partial schematic view of the drilling system according to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, in the rest position, and

- Figure 4 is a view similar to that of Figure 3, in the drilling position.

With reference to FIG. 1, there is shown an advantageous embodiment of a dry powder inhaler. This inhaler comprises a body 10 on which can be slidably mounted one or two cover portions (not shown) adapted to be opened to open and load the device. The body 10 may be approximately rounded in shape as shown in the figures, but it could have any other suitable shape. The body 10 comprises a mouthpiece or inhalation 1 defining a dispensing orifice through which the user will inhale during actuation of the device. The covers may open by pivoting about a common axis of rotation, but any other means of opening the device is possible.

The invention relates to a device containing at least one pre-dosed reservoir, that is to say containing a dose of fluid, in this case the powder, intended to be expelled during an actuation. Preferably, the device contains several reservoirs arranged on a common support. In the example of FIG. 1, this common support is formed by a strip 20 of individual reservoirs 21, also called blisters, made in the form of an elongated strip 20 on which the blisters 21 are arranged one behind the other, known way. These blisters 21 are not represented on the entire strip 20, so as not to overload the drawing for purposes of clarity. This blister strip 20 is advantageously constituted by a layer or base wall 22 forming the cavities 21 receiving the doses of powder, and a layer or closure wall 23 which sealingly closes each of said blisters 21. Before the first use, the blister strip 20 can be wound inside the body 10, preferably in a storage housing 11, and band drive means 40 are provided for progressively unwinding this blister strip and bring a respective individual reservoir or blister 21 into a dispensing position each time the device is actuated. The band portion 25 comprising the empty tanks is advantageously adapted to wind in another location of said body 10, preferably a receiving housing 15, as will be described in more detail below. Alternatively, the blisters 21 could be arranged on a rotating disk or the like.

The inhaler comprises reservoir opening means comprising a drilling system 30 of the blister closure layer. For example, the reservoir opening means advantageously comprise a piercing element or needle 31, preferably fixed relative to the body 10, and against which a respective blister 21 is moved at each actuation. The blister 21 is then pierced by said hollow needle 31, which penetrates into said blister to expel the powder, by means of the inhalation flow of the user.

Displacement means 40 are also provided in the device, and are adapted to move the blister strip 20 before and / or during and / or after each actuation of the device. Advantageously, these displacement means 40 are also adapted to move the empty tank 21 against said piercing system 30 during actuation. These displacement means 40 may be biased by an elastic element, such as a spring or any other equivalent elastic element, said elastic element being preloadable during opening of the device. Preferably, the displacement means 40 comprise an indexing wheel 40 which receives and guides the blisters. Rotation of this wheel 40 advances the blister strip 20. In a particular angular position, a given reservoir 21 is always in position to be opened by the opening means 30. Advantageously, means for positioning said wheel in rotation indexing 40 may be provided to accurately determine its angular position after each rotation. These positioning means may, according to an advantageous variant, comprise a projection or finger, one end of which cooperates elastically with notches provided around said wheel 40. Optionally, a complementary wheel could be provided to assist in guiding and / or driving the blister strip 20.

An actuation cycle of the device may be the following. When opening the device, the two lateral parts forming the cover are spaced apart from each other by pivoting on the body to open the device, and thus charge the device. In this position the indexing wheel 40 can not move towards the needle 30 because it is retained by appropriate locking means 100. It is during inhalation by the user through the mouthpiece 1 that these locking means are released, which then causes the displacement of said indexing wheel 40 towards the needle 31, and therefore the opening of a tank 21.

In the example shown, the reservoir 21 moves to its open position to be opened by the needle 31 which is fixed relative to the body. However, it is conceivable that this needle can also be movable during the opening phase of the reservoir 21. For example, the needle could move towards the reservoir 21 while the reservoir 21 moves towards the needle. In another variant, it could also be envisaged that the reservoir 21 and the needle move in the same direction during actuation, the reservoir 21 moving more rapidly in this direction so that it comes into contact with the needle to be opened.

As explained above, it is desirable that the actuation of the opening means is achieved by inhalation of the user. To effect this triggering by inhalation of the tank opening means, it is possible to provide an inhalation triggering system which advantageously comprises a unit 60 that can be displaced and / or deformable by inhalation, this unit 60 being suitable to release the blocking means 100. This unit 60 advantageously comprises a deformable air chamber 61. The inhalation of the user causes the deformation of said deformable air chamber 61, thus making it possible to release said blocking means 100 and therefore to allow the displacement of the indexing wheel 40 and a respective tank 21 towards its open position. The reservoir 21 is therefore open only at the moment of inhalation, so that it is simultaneously emptied. There is therefore no risk of loss of dose between the opening of the tank and its emptying. Other means of triggering by inhalation could also be used alternatively, for example by using a pivoting valve which, when the user inhales, pivots under the effect of the depression created by this inhalation, the pivoting of this valve causing the release of the locking means of the movable support means and thus the displacement of the reservoir towards the opening means.

According to the invention, the drilling system 30, with respect to which the reservoir 21 is movable between a rest position (visible in FIG. 3) and a piercing position (visible in FIG. 4), further comprises a sleeve of cover 300. This cover sleeve 300 is adapted to cooperate with the piercing element or needle 31 to selectively seal and discover the opening or openings 32 provided in said needle 31. This sleeve 300 is therefore movable relative to said needle 31 between a covering position, preferably corresponding to the rest position of the piercing system, and an opening position, preferably corresponding to the piercing position of the piercing system.

Advantageously, the sleeve 300 is secured to a support member 310 movable together with the reservoir 21 relative to the piercing element 31. Preferably, the sleeve 300 comprises a fixing portion 301, fixed to said support element 310, and a sealing portion 302 cooperating, in overlap position, with said at least one aperture 32 of the piercing member.

As can be seen in FIG. 3, the closing portion 302 may comprise two flanks, substantially perpendicular in the overlapping position, and which cooperate with the edges of the opening 32, the point of connection of the two flanks being able to penetrate slightly into said opening . The elasticity plates these two flanks against these edges to seal the opening 32. When the reservoir 32 (and thus the support member 310) moves towards the needle 31, the sleeve 300 is elastically deformed so that the opening (s) 32 is (are) discovered when the needle 31 enters the reservoir 21, as shown in Figure 4. The presence of this sleeve 300 closes the needle 31 in the rest position. Thus, when the user begins his inhalation, his entire inhalation flow serves to actuate the trigger system for inhalation 60. Thus, even a low inhalation flow may be sufficient to trigger the device. Similarly, the fact that the passage through the needle 31 is closed until the needle enters the blister 21 limits the flow losses before drilling, and thus provides a higher flow at the time of drilling , ensuring a good emptying of the blister even in case of low inhalation flow.

The inhaler further comprises a dispensing chamber 70 which is intended to receive the dose of powder after the opening of a respective tank 21. Advantageously, this dispensing chamber 70 is provided with at least one ball 75 which moves to the drum. inside said chamber 70 during inhalation, to improve the distribution of the air and powder mixture after opening a reservoir 21, in order to increase the efficiency of the device. It may be advantageous for the opening system 30, in particular the needle 31, to be formed directly on said distribution chamber 70, for example at the end of a channel 69 leading to said chamber 70.

After inhalation, when the user closes the device, all components return to their initial rest position. The device is then ready for a new cycle of use.

In another advantageous aspect of the inhaler, the individual reservoirs or blisters 21 are formed on an elongated strip 20, which at the beginning is mainly stored as a coil in a storage housing 11 within the body 10 of the device. Advantageously, this wound blister strip 20 is held by internal walls of said storage housing 11 without its rear end 28 (in the direction of movement of the blister strip 20) being fixed relative to 10, which allows an easier assembly of this blister strip coil inside the device. The blister strip 20 is moved by the user advantageously by means of the indexing wheel 40 which advantageously has at least one, preferably several recesses 41, whose shape corresponds to that of the blisters. Thus, when this indexing wheel 40 rotates, it drives the blister strip 20. No other drive system is required to move the blister strip 20 during each actuation. Of course, alternatively or additionally, it is possible to use other means for advancing the blister strip, for example by providing a profile on the lateral longitudinal edges of the blister strip, said profile being adapted to cooperate with means of blistering. appropriate training. Similarly, holes along the lateral edges of the blister strip could also be used to advance the blister strip by means of toothed wheels cooperating with said holes.

After opening one or more blister (s), the portion of the blister strip with the emptied containers must be able to be stored in an easy and non-cumbersome manner in the device. Advantageously, this used blister strip is automatically wound on itself to form a coil again. For example, the leading end 25 of this blister strip 20 may wrap around a receiving member 50.

Advantageously, the receiving housing 15 may comprise guide walls, in particular an outer guide wall 16, curved, for example cylindrical, against which will slide the blister strip 20. There may also be an internal guide wall 17 provided at the inlet of the receiving housing 15, and preferably extending approximately parallel to the outer guide wall 16 to form a guide channel 18 for the blister strip 20. These guide walls 16, 17 further promote This invention therefore makes it possible to provide a dry powder inhaler which notably provides the following functions: A plurality of individual doses of powder stored in sealed individual reservoirs, for example 30 or 60 doses stored on a coil-wound web;

The powder released by means of a piercing actuated by the inhalation of the user, this piercing of the blister being carried out by means of an inhalation detection system coupled to a preloaded release system;

Appropriately shaped drive means engaged with the blisters to effect movement of the blister strip at each actuation, and bring a new reservoir into a position in which it is intended to be opened by the appropriate opening means ;

• safe and reliable release and / or emptying, even in case of low inhalation. Other functions are also provided by the device of the invention as previously described. It should be noted that the different functions, even if they were represented as provided simultaneously on the various embodiments of the inhaler, could be implemented separately from each other. In particular, the inhalation triggering mechanism could be used regardless of the type of tank opening means, regardless of the use of a dose indicator, regardless of how individual reservoirs are arranged relative to each other. others, etc. The arming means and the trigger system by inhalation could be made differently. It is the same of the other constituent parts of the device.

Various modifications are also possible for a person skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

claims

1.- Fluid dispensing device comprising at least one reservoir (21) containing fluid or powder and opening means comprising a drilling system (30) of said at least one reservoir (21), said piercing system (30) being displaceable with respect to said at least one reservoir (21) between a rest position, wherein said piercing system (30) is outside the reservoir (21), and a piercing position, wherein said drilling system (30) penetrates inside the tank (21), characterized in that said piercing system (30) comprises a hollow piercing element (31) provided with at least one opening (32), and a cover sleeve (300), said piercing member (31) being movable relative to said cover sleeve (300) between a cover position, wherein said at least one opening (32) of said piercing member (31) is covered and / or closed r said sleeve (300), and an open position, wherein said at least one opening (32) is open.

2.- Device according to claim 1, wherein said covering position of the piercing element (31) corresponds to the rest position of said piercing system (30).

3.- Device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said open position of the piercing element (31) corresponds to the piercing position of said piercing system (30).

4.- Device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said sleeve (300) is elastically deformable.

5.- Device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said device comprises a plurality of reservoirs (21) each containing a dose of fluid, especially dry powder, disposed on a common support (20), such that an elongated blister strip.

6. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said device comprises a body (10) provided with a dispensing orifice (1) for dispensing fluid product to a user, said piercing element (31) being fixed relative to said body (10), said at least one reservoir (21) and said sleeve (300) being movable relative to said piercing element (31).

7.- Device according to claim 6, wherein the displacement of the reservoir (21) to its piercing position is controlled by the inhalation of the user, so that the reservoir (21) is simultaneously open and emptied at the time of inhalation.

8. A device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said sleeve (300) comprises an attachment portion (301) attached to a support member (310) movable relative to said piercing member (31), and a shutter portion (302) adapted to cooperate with said at least one aperture (32) of the piercing member (31).

9.- Device according to claim 8, wherein said sealing portion (302), in the overlap position, is resiliently supported on the edges of said at least one aperture (32).

10.- Device according to claim 8 or 9, wherein said closing portion (302) is formed by two flanks, substantially perpendicular to the overlap position, the connection point between said flanks penetrating, in overlapping position, slightly inside said at least one aperture (32).