Container, nebulizer and use

• US 10,716,905 B2
• Filed: 12/20/2018
• Issued: 07/21/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 05/07/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Company Kg (C.H. Boehringer Sohn AG & Co. KG)
• Original Assignee: Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Company Kg (C.H. Boehringer Sohn AG & Co. KG)
• Inventors: Eicher, Joachim, Graessl, Herbert, Janetzko, Mike, Jung, Andree, Meisenheimer, Martin, Wachtel, Herbert, Winkler, Robert Gerhard, Wuttke, Gilbert, Yu, Ying
• Primary Examiner(s): Douglas, Steven O
• Application Number:
  US16/227,959
• Publication Number:
  US 20190117914A1
• Time in Patent Office: 579 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 11/007 Syringe-type or piston-type sprayers or atomisers
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 15/0026 Hinged caps
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 15/0035 Piercing means
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 15/0041 with movable piercing or cutting means
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 15/0065 Inhalators with dosage or measuring devices A61M15/0028 takes precedence; dosage devices incorporated in aerosol cans B65D83/52
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 15/0068 Indicating or counting the number of dispensed doses or of remaining doses
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 15/0073 on a ring
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 15/0076 on a drum
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 15/0081 Locking means
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 15/009 using medicine packages with incorporated spraying means, e.g. aerosol cans pocket atomiser of the injector type A61M11/08
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2202/0468 non-physiological
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/123 with incorporated reservoirs
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/273 preventing reuse, e.g. of disposables
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/586 Ergonomic details therefor, e.g. specific ergonomics for left or right-handed users
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2207/00 Methods of manufacture, assembly or production
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2207/10 Device therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 11/0054 Cartridges, i.e. containers specially designed for easy attachment to or easy removal from the rest of the sprayer attachment arrangements between pump and container B05B11/1043
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 65/02 by heating, with or without pressure
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 65/08 using ultrasonic vibrations non-plastics element to plastics elements B29C65/645
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 65/081 having a component of vibration not perpendicular to the welding surface
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 65/082 : Angular, i.e. torsional ultrasonic welding
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 65/1406 : Ultraviolet [UV] radiation
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 65/16 : Laser beams
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 65/18 : using heated tools
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 65/48 : using adhesives , i.e. using supplementary joining material; solvent bonding
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 65/4845 : Radiation curing adhesives, e.g. UV light curing adhesives
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 65/568 : using a swaging operation, i.e. totally deforming the edge or the rim of a first part to be joined to clamp a second part to be joined
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/54 : Joining several hollow-preforms, e.g. half-shells, to form hollow articles, e.g. for making balls, containers; Joining several hollow-preforms, e.g. half-cylinders, to form tubular articles
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/71 : characterised by the composition of the plastics material of the parts to be joined welding bar compositions B29C65/125
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/742 : to metals or their alloys
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 66/7422 : Aluminium or alloys of aluminium
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2055/02 : ABS polymers, i.e. acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene polymers
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2705/02 : Aluminium
• CPC Class Codes: B29L 2031/7142 : Aerosol containers
• CPC Class Codes: G06M 1/02 : Housing for measuring instruments in general G01D

Abstract

A container, a nebulizer and a use of an indicator device are described, where the container comprises an indicator device fixedly mounted on the bottom of the container, the container is arranged within the nebulizer and the container can be detached by grabbing the indicator device.

Claims

1. A container (3) for a nebulizer (1), the container (3) containing a fluid (2), and the container (3) comprising:

a housing (29); and

an indicator device (25) for at least one of counting, indicating a number of uses performed, and indicating a number of uses still possible with the container (3),

wherein the indicator device (25) comprises an indicator housing (31) which is inseparably connected with the housing (29) opposite to at least one of an outlet and a head (28) of the container (3),

wherein at least one of the indicator device (25) and the indicator housing (31) is connected to the container (3) via ultrasonic forming, which softens but does not melt a portion of the at least one of the indicator device (25) and the indicator housing (31) such that the portion is deformed over a corresponding portion of the container (3), and

wherein the indicator device (25) or the indicator housing (31) includes a gripping section (32), which extends over a protrusion of the container (3) or into an indention at the housing (29) of the container (3), thereby facilitating connection of the indicator housing (31) of the indicator device (25) to the housing (29) of the container (3).

2. The container (3) according to claim 1, wherein the housing (29) is made of metal and the indicator housing (31) is made of plastic.

3. The container (3) according to claim 1, wherein the gripping section (32) includes an at least partially annular collar which extends over the protrusion of the container (3), where the protrusion is located at a base of the container (3).

4. The container (3) according to claim 1, wherein the indicator housing (31) is secured against rotation relative to the housing (29) of the container (3).

5. The container (3) according to claim 1, wherein the housing (29) of the container (3) comprises a rotationally asymmetrical section, which secures the indicator housing (31) against rotation relative to the housing (29) of the container (3).

6. The container (3) according to claim 5, wherein rotationally asymmetrical section includes at least one of an indentation, a protrusion, and a flattening (75).

7. The container (3) according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the indicator device (25) and the indicator housing (31) comprises at least one of a riffle (77), an indention (78), and a projection (79).

8. A nebulizer (1) for dispensing a fluid (2), the nebulizer (1) comprising a replaceable container (3) containing the fluid (2), the container including:

a housing (29)

a nebulizer housing (24) for receiving the container (3); and

a housing part (18) which is detachable from the nebulizer housing (24) for replacing the container (3); and

an indicator device (25) for at least one of counting, indicating a number of uses performed, and indicating a number of uses still possible with the container (3),

wherein the indicator device (25) comprises an indicator housing (31) which is inseparably connected with the housing (29) opposite to at least one of an outlet and a head (28) of the container (3),

wherein at least one of the indicator device (25) and the indicator housing (31) is connected to the container (3) via ultrasonic forming, which softens but does not melt a portion of the at least one of the indicator device (25) and the indicator housing (31) such that the portion is deformed over a corresponding portion of the container (3),

wherein the container (3) is moveable axially within the nebulizer housing (24) during nebulization,

wherein the indicator housing (31) is separable from the nebulizer housing (24) and housing part (18), so that the indicator device (25) is replaceable together with the container (3), and

wherein the indicator device (25) or the indicator housing (31) includes a gripping section (32), which extends over a protrusion of the container (3) or into an indention at the housing (29) of the container (3), thereby facilitating connection of the indicator housing (31) of the indicator device (25) to the housing (29) of the container (3).

9. The nebulizer (1) according to claim 8, wherein the housing (29) is made of metal and the indicator housing (31) is made of plastic.

10. The nebulizer (1) according to claim 8, wherein the gripping section (32) includes an at least partially annular collar which extends over the protrusion of the container (3), where the protrusion is located at a base of the container (3).

11. A method of forming a container (3) for a nebulizer (1), the container (3) containing a fluid (2), and the container (3) comprising:

(i) a housing (29); and

(ii) an indicator device (25) for at least one of counting, indicating a number of uses performed, and indicating a number of uses still possible with the container (3), where the indicator device (25) includes an indicator housing (31), the method comprising;

inseparably connecting the indicator housing (31) with the housing (29) opposite to at least one of an outlet and a head (28) of the container (3),

connecting at least one of the indicator device (25) to the indicator housing (31) via ultrasonic forming with the container (3), which softens but does not melt a portion of the at least one of the indicator device (25) and the indicator housing (31) such that the portion is deformed over a corresponding portion of the container (3), and

forming or bending a gripping section (32) of the indicator device (25) or the indicator housing (31) over a protrusion of the container (3) or into an indention at the housing (29) of the container (3), thereby facilitating connection of the indicator housing (31) of the indicator device (25) to the housing (29) of the container (3).

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the housing (29) is made of metal and the indicator housing (31) is made of plastic.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein the gripping section (32) includes an at least partially annular collar which extends over the protrusion of the container (3), where the protrusion is located at a base of the container (3).

14. The method according to claim 11, further comprising:

moving a tool for forming or bending the gripping section (32) longitudinally over the container (3) towards the protrusion of the container (3) or the indention at the housing (29) of the container (3).

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the tool comprises a conical end section for forming the gripping section (32) radially inwardly towards the protrusion of the container (3) or the indention at the housing (29) of the container (3).

16. The method according to claim 11, further comprising using an ultrasonic sonotrode for connecting at least one of the indicator device (25) and the indicator housing (31) via ultrasonic forming with the container (3).

17. The method according to claim 16, further comprising exciting molecular vibrations at least one of longitudinally, transversally, elliptically, and torsionally in a material of the gripping section (32) during the ultrasonic forming.

18. A container (3) for a nebulizer (1), the container (3) containing a fluid (2), and the container (3) comprising:

a housing (29); and

an indicator device (25) for at least one of counting, indicating a number of uses performed, and indicating a number of uses still possible with the container (3),

wherein the indicator device (25) comprises an indicator housing (31) which is inseparably connected with the housing (29) opposite to at least one of an outlet and a head (28) of the container (3),

wherein at least one of the indicator device (25) and the indicator housing (31) is connected via ultrasonic forming with the container (3), and

wherein the housing (29) is made of metal and the indicator housing (31) is made of plastic.