Pressurised inhalers
First Claim
1. A metered dose inhaler comprising means for receiving a pressurised medicament canister;
- and a breath-actuated latch mechanism arranged in use to latch said canister in a depressed condition and further to release said latch in response to inhalation through the inhaler by a user, thereby releasing said canister from a depressed condition to dispense a metered dose.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A pressurised medicament canister has a valve which dispenses a metered dose upon being released from a depressed condition. An inhaler device adapted for use with the canister has a breath-actuated latch mechanism arranged in use to latch the canister in a depressed condition and further to release the latch in response to inhalation through the inhaler by a user. Additionally, a dose counter for counting the number of doses dispensed from the canister comprising a counter member having a helical toothed track which is incrementally advanced each time a dose is dispensed from the canister. Also a valve for the canister comprising a sliding seal delimiting the metering chamber and slidable relative to a nozzle member, said sliding seal being biased in use to reduce the volume of the metering chamber substantially to zero once the metering chamber has been vented to the atmosphere.
57 Citations
36 Claims
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1. A metered dose inhaler comprising means for receiving a pressurised medicament canister;
- and a breath-actuated latch mechanism arranged in use to latch said canister in a depressed condition and further to release said latch in response to inhalation through the inhaler by a user, thereby releasing said canister from a depressed condition to dispense a metered dose.
- View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19)
- 9. A breath-actuated inhaler comprising a mouthpiece, a mouthpiece cover and an air inlet, the mouthpiece cover being arranged such that as it is brought over the mouthpiece it acts on a flap to hold the flap in a position where it closes the air inlet.
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12. An inhaler comprising a mouthpiece, a mouthpiece cover and an air inlet wherein the mouthpiece cover is movable from a first position in which it covers said mouthpiece to a second position in which it forms a guard over said air inlet to prevent blockage thereof in use.
- 17. A metered dose inhaler for receiving a pressurised medicament canister and comprising a dose counter for counting the number of doses dispensed from said canister said dose counter comprising a counter member having a toothed track arranged substantially in a helix and means for incrementally advancing said counter member via said toothed track for each time a dose is dispensed from said canister.
- 21. A pressurised canister for dispensing a metered dose of fluid therefrom having a valve comprising a sliding nozzle member biased towards a rest position but moveable against said bias to a priming position in which a metering chamber is defined within the valve such that when said nozzle member is released a metered dose is dispensed, the valve further comprising a sliding seal delimiting said metering chamber and slidable relative to the nozzle member, said sliding seal being biased in use to reduce the volume of the metering chamber substantially to zero once the metering chamber has been vented to the atmosphere via the nozzle member.
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26-32. -32. (canceled)
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33. A valve for a canister said valve comprising a metering chamber, an inlet for fluidly communicating with the interior of a canister and a hollow nozzle resiliently biased into a first position in which the nozzle is in fluid communication with the metering chamber, but moveable against said resilient bias into a second position in which the inlet is in fluid communication with the metering chamber.
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34. (canceled)
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35. An inhaler device comprising means for latching a canister in its depressed condition and means for releasing said latch upon inhalation by a user, thereby releasing said canister from its depressed condition.
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36. A pressurised canister for a metered dose inhaler comprising a resiliently biased nozzle and arranged to dispense a metered dose of fluid from said nozzle upon releasing the nozzle from its depressed condition, wherein said canister comprises a valve including a metering chamber and a hollow nozzle resiliently biased into a first position in which said nozzle is in fluid communication with the metering chamber, said nozzle being moveable against said resilient bias to a second position in which the metering chamber is in fluid communication with the interior of the canister.
Specification