DISPENSER WITH A RATTLE
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A metered dose inhaler (1) has a pressed aluminium vessel, to which is crimped at a neck (2) a valve housing (3) having a dispensing spout (4). Within the vessel is a piston (5), urged by a spring 6 into contact with the medicament liquid (7). A bearing ball (8) is included in the medicament liquid. As the medicament liquid is dispensed in successive doses, the piston is kept in contact with the liquid (7) by the spring (6), with an edge seal (9) ensuring that the liquid does not pass to the spring side of the piston. As the medicament liquid is dispensed, the piston begins to restrict the movement of the ball, until it is scarcely able to move longitudinally of the vessel. This change is discernible as a change in noise of the rattle. Thus the user can know whether there is plenty of medicament liquid left and when he needs to use a new inhaler.
80 Citations
50 Claims
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1-31. -31. (canceled)
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32. A dispensing container of the type defined, the container containing a pressurised liquid and a propellant gas, the container including:
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at least one rattle provided to be movable within the vessel for production of a noise when the container is acted on to induce the noise and at least one means for restricting movement (“
movement restrictor”
) of the rattle to one side of the movement restrictor or a part thereof,the arrangement being such that freedom of movement of the rattle is influenced by the movement restrictor and/or by the extent to which space in the vessel on the rattle'"'"'s side of the movement restrictor or a part thereof is no longer occupied by liquid dispensed from the container, whereby noise produced by the rattle varies in accordance with the amount of liquid in the container, at least as the liquid approaches final depletion towards the container being empty. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50)
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Specification