Flexible valve for administering constant flow rates of medicine from a nebulizer

• US 5,655,520 A
• Filed: 08/23/1993
• Issued: 08/12/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 08/23/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: KOKO It LLC
• Original Assignee: Craig Jonathan Madden, Harvey James Howe, Richard Raphzel Rosenthal
• Inventors: Rosenthal, Richard Raphzel, Howe, Harvey James, Madden, Craig Jonathan
• Primary Examiner(s): Asher, Kimberly L.
• Application Number:
  US08/110,549
• Time in Patent Office: 1,450 Days
• Field of Search: 128/200.14, 128/200.18, 128/200.21, 128/203.12, 128/203.23-203.25, 128/204.24-204.26, 128/204.29, 128/205.11 , 128/205.24, 128/204.14, 138/45, 138/46, 482/13, 239/338, 239/370, 239/419.5, 239/428.5
• US Class Current: 128/203.12
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 11/06 of the injector type
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 15/002 with air flow regulating means
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 15/0086 Inhalation chambers
• 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 16/16 Devices to humidify the respiration air A61M16/1045 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 16/20 Valves specially adapted to medical respiratory devices
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 16/201 Controlled valves
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 16/208 Non-controlled one-way valves, e.g. exhalation, check, pop-off non-rebreathing valves
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 16/209 Relief valves
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 7/012 the sensing element being deformable and acting as a valve

Abstract

A nebulizer is improved by placing a flexible valve in the ambient air inlet tube. Inhalation suction and Venturi effect shut down the flexible valve in proportion to the strength of the inhalation. Thus, the same output flow rate is obtained even with variable strength inhalations. Medications can be properly administered by controlled inhalation flow rates. In an alternate embodiment a metered dose inhaler (MDI) is outfitted with a similar flexible valve. Once again the patient is forced to inhale at a constant flow rate, thus causing the medication to seep deeply into the lungs. In both embodiments the flexible valve is preferably shaped in a duck billed fashion with air flow flowing toward the narrow end of the duck bill.

Claims

1. In a mixing chamber having a gas inlet opening for input flow, a gas outlet opening for output flow, and an aerosol chamber having an atomized medication for mixing with the output flow, the improvement comprising:

a patient initiated variable vacuum on the gas outlet opening creating the output flow,

a flexible valve in the gas inlet opening;

said flexible valve further comprising a nozzle having means for varying its cross sectional area;

said nozzle further comprising flexible walls forming an orifice and having an exposure upstream to ambient pressure and exposure downstream to an aerosol chamber pressure, wherein said patient initiated variable vacuum reduces a cross-sectional area of the orifice by means of collapsing the flexible walls in proportion to an increased vacuum, resulting in a constant output flow rate of the atomized medication regardless of the patient initiated variable vacuum other than for a zero vacuum.

2. The improvement of claim 1, wherein said nozzle further comprises a flex point having a fixed diameter during all flow conditions, and said flexible walls further comprise a set of flexible lips angled toward one another with an end of minimal separation facing upstream of the flow.

3. The improvement of claim 2, wherein the variable vacuum further comprises an adult human'"'"'s inhalation pressure, and the output flow rate is a constant 0.5 liters per second.

4. A nebulizer comprising:

an inlet for ambient air flow therein;

an outlet for patient inhalation therefrom;

an aerosol chamber for receiving said ambient air and mixing an aerosol thereto;

a variable inhalation vacuum applied to the outlet by a patient;

a valve located in the inlet; and

said valve further comprising means for varying its orifice in proportion to the variable inhalation vacuum, resulting in a constant output flow rate of the atomized medication regardless of the patient initiated variable vacuum other than for a zero vacuum.

5. The nebulizer of claim 4, wherein the means for varying the orifice further comprises a flex point having a fixed diameter during all flow conditions, and a set of flexible lips angularly tapered toward one another, thereby forming a narrowed end facing upstream.