Inhaler for multiple use
First Claim
1. A multiple dose inhaler for a medicament in powdered form comprising:
- (a) a housing defining an inlet, an outlet spaced from said inlet, and an airflow path from said inlet to said outlet;
(b) an elongate carrier disposed within said housing, a first portion of which carries discrete doses of the medicament, said doses being spaced from one another at predetermined substantially equidistant intervals along the length of said elongate carrier;
(c) a dispensing wheel upon which said first portion of said elongated carrier is wound;
(d) a take-up wheel constructed to incrementally receive said elongate carrier from said dispensing wheel as it is unwound therefrom during use;
(e) an advancement mechanism constructed to incrementally advance said elongate carrier within said housing from said dispensing wheel to said take-up wheel when said inhaler is actuated for use;
(f) a brake constructed to releasably resist further advancement of said elongate carrier by said advancement mechanism after said elongate carrier has advanced an incremental distance substantially equal to said predetermined distance between said discrete doses; and
(g) a trigger constructed to engage and release said brake, allowing further advancement of said elongate carrier.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A multiple dose inhaler for the inhalation of a dry powder medicament is provided. The inhaler includes (a) a housing defining an inlet, an outlet spaced from the inlet, and an airflow path from the inlet to the outlet; (b) an elongate carrier disposed within the housing, a first portion of which carries discrete doses of the medicament, the doses being spaced from one another at predetermined substantially equidistant intervals along the length of the elongate carrier; (c) a dispensing wheel upon which the first portion of the carrier is wound; (d) a take-up wheel constructed to incrementally receive the elongate carrier from the dispensing wheel as it is unwound therefrom during use; (e) an advancement mechanism constructed to incrementally advance the elongate carrier within the housing from the dispensing wheel to the take-up wheel when the inhaler is actuated for use; (f) a brake constructed to releasably resist further advancement of the elongate carrier by the advancement mechanism after the elongate carrier has advanced an incremental distance substantially equal to the predetermined distance between the discrete doses; and (g) a trigger constructed to engage and release the brake, allowing further advancement of the elongate carrier.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A multiple dose inhaler for a medicament in powdered form comprising:
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(a) a housing defining an inlet, an outlet spaced from said inlet, and an airflow path from said inlet to said outlet; (b) an elongate carrier disposed within said housing, a first portion of which carries discrete doses of the medicament, said doses being spaced from one another at predetermined substantially equidistant intervals along the length of said elongate carrier; (c) a dispensing wheel upon which said first portion of said elongated carrier is wound; (d) a take-up wheel constructed to incrementally receive said elongate carrier from said dispensing wheel as it is unwound therefrom during use; (e) an advancement mechanism constructed to incrementally advance said elongate carrier within said housing from said dispensing wheel to said take-up wheel when said inhaler is actuated for use; (f) a brake constructed to releasably resist further advancement of said elongate carrier by said advancement mechanism after said elongate carrier has advanced an incremental distance substantially equal to said predetermined distance between said discrete doses; and (g) a trigger constructed to engage and release said brake, allowing further advancement of said elongate carrier. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A multiple dose inhaler for a medicament in powdered form comprising:
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(a) a housing defining an inlet, an outlet spaced from said inlet, and an airflow path from said inlet to said outlet; and
, within said housing,(b) an elongate carrier, a first portion of which carries discrete doses of the medicament, said doses being spaced from one another at predetermined substantially equidistant intervals along the length of said elongate carrier; (c) a dispensing wheel upon which said first portion of said elongated carrier is wound; (d) a take-up wheel constructed to incrementally receive said elongate carrier from said dispensing wheel as it is unwound therefrom during use; (e) an advancement mechanism constructed to incrementally advance said elongate carrier within said housing from said dispensing wheel to said take-up wheel when said inhaler is actuated for use, said advancement mechanism comprising a ratcheted wheel having a plurality of teeth; (f) a brake constructed to releasably resist further advancement of said elongate carrier by said advancement mechanism after said elongate carrier has advanced an incremental distance substantially equal to said predetermined distance between said discrete doses, said brake comprising a first pawl rotatably mounted for movement between a first position in which said first pawl engages said teeth of said ratcheted wheel and a second position in which said first pawl is free of said teeth; and (g) a trigger constructed to release said brake by engaging said first pawl and rotating it to said second position, allowing further advancement of said elongate carrier. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A method of delivering a finely divided powdered medicament to a human comprising the steps of:
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(a) providing an inhaler comprising; (i) a housing defining an inlet, an outlet spaced from said inlet, and an airflow path from said inlet to said outlet; (ii) an elongate carrier disposed within said housing, a first portion of which carries discrete doses of the medicament, said doses being spaced from one another at predetermined substantially equidistant intervals along the length of said elongate carrier; (iii) a dispensing wheel upon which said first portion of said elongated carrier is wound; (iv) a take-up wheel constructed to incrementally receive said elongate carrier from said dispensing wheel as it is unwound therefrom during use; (v) an advancement mechanism constructed to incrementally advance said elongate carrier within said housing from said dispensing wheel to said take-up wheel when said inhaler is actuated for use; (vi) a brake constructed to releasably resist further advancement of said elongate carrier by said advancement mechanism after said elongate carrier has advanced an incremental distance substantially equal to said predetermined distance between said discrete doses; and (vii) a trigger constructed to engage and release said brake, allowing further advancement of said elongate carrier; (b) causing the human to actuate said advancement mechanism to move a said dose into said airflow path; and (c) causing the human to inhale through said outlet to receive said dose through said outlet.
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Specification