Usage indicator

• US 20060163276A1
• Filed: 12/22/2003
• Published: 07/27/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Acrux DDS Pty Ltd (Acrux Limited)
• Original Assignee: Acrux DDS Pty Ltd (Acrux Limited)
• Inventors: Oretti, John Ernest, Wong, Kon Euan
• Granted Patent: US 7,232,043 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 222/36
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 37/00 Other apparatus for introducing media into the body for reproduction or fertilisation A61B17/425; apparatus for iontophoresis or cataphoresis A61N1/30; Percutany, i.e. introducing medicines into the body by diffusion through the skin salt baths A61H33/04
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 11/108 Means for counting the number of dispensing strokes

Abstract

A substance dispensing device associated with a usage indicator is disclosed. The device includes a substance storage container and a pump operable to dispense substance from the container. The usage indicator includes a movable member that is movable in response to operation of the pump. The movable member includes an indicator providing a visual indication of the extent to which substance has been dispensed from the device.

Claims

1. A substance dispensing device configured to indicate the extent to which said substance has been dispensed therefrom, said device comprising:

a substance storage container for containing said substance to be dispensed;

a pump, whereby each operation of said pump will dispense a predetermined percentage of said substance stored in said substance storage container;

an actuator biased towards a rest position and movable from said rest position to effect each operation of said pump and return to said rest position to enable subsequent operations of said pump; and

a usage indicator including a movable member responsive to each operation of said pump, and indicator means associated with said movable member providing a visual indication of the extent to which said substance has been dispensed from said substance storage container.

2. A substance dispensing device according to claim 1 wherein said movable member is moved in response to movement of said actuator away from said rest position.

3. A substance dispensing device according to claim 2, wherein said movable member is moved in response to movement of said actuator back to said rest position, whereby said movements of said movable member in response to movement of said actuator away from and back to said rest position represents a single operation of said pump.

4. A substance dispensing device according to claim 3, wherein said substance dispensing device includes an axis, said actuator is moved in the direction of said axis and said movable member is rotated about said axis, said actuator including drive means and said movable member includes reactive means cooperating with said drive means to convert said axial movement of said actuator to rotational movement of said movable member about said axis.

5. A substance dispensing device according to claim 4, wherein said drive means includes a pair of axially spaced lugs formed with said actuator and said reactive means includes two series of teeth formed with said movable member, one of said two series of teeth for each of said pair of lugs, said pair of lugs being spaced axially so that only one of said pair of lugs can engage a tooth of its respective series of teeth at any one time.

6. A substance dispensing device according to claim 5, wherein said number of said two series of teeth is selected according to the number of operations of said pump required to substantially exhaust said substance from said substance storage container.

7. A substance dispensing device according to claim 6, wherein said movable member comprises a first movable member, and said usage indicator includes a second movable member, said second movable member cooperating with said first movable member to move only after said first movable member has completed one revolution, whereby complete revolution of both said first and second movable members represents the number of operations of said pump required to substantially exhaust said substance from said substance storage container.

8. A substance dispensing device according to claim 1, including interlock means cooperable with said usage indicator, whereby said interlock means is activated after a predetermined number of operations of said pump to prevent further operation of said pump.

9. A substance dispensing device according to claim 1 including a hollow body for accommodating said substance storage container, said pump and said usage indicator, said hollow body having an aperture through which said indicator means is viewed.