Inhalant medicator

• US 6,273,086 B1
• Filed: 08/04/1999
• Issued: 08/14/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 02/06/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Dott Limited Company, Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Dott Limited Company, Unisia Jecs Corporation (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: Yanagawa, Akira, Nakamura, Shigemi, Ohki, Hisatomo, Ishizeki, Kazunori, Yazawa, Yoshiyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Weiss, John G.
• Assistant Examiner(s): PATEL, MITAL B
• Application Number:
  US09/355,759
• Time in Patent Office: 741 Days
• Field of Search: 128/203.12, 128/203.15, 128/200.14, 128/200.24, 128/203.21, 128/203.25, 128/203.23, 128/203.24, 128/205.21, 128/203.19, 604/58
• US Class Current: 128/203.21
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 15/002 with air flow regulating means
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 15/0028 using prepacked dosages, one for each application, e.g. capsules to be perforated or broken-up
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 15/0033 Details of the piercing or cutting means
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2202/064 Powder
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2206/16 Rotating swirling helical flow, e.g. by tangential inflows

Abstract

An inhalant medicator comprises a medicator body having a granular medicine accommodation chamber and an inhalant port, and air passageways disposed in the medicator body and communicating the inhalant port via the granular medicine accommodation chamber to the atmosphere for supplying granular medicines into the inhalant port. Also provided is a granular medicine diffusion means located downstream of the granular medicine accommodation chamber for efficiently diffusing the granular medicines. A cylindrical adapter 10 is detachably installed in the inhalant port 9. The granular medicine diffusion means comprises a granular medicine diffusion chamber 11 formed in the adapter, an adapter inlet passageway tangentially radially extending from the circumference of the diffusion chamber 11 for creating turbulent flow in the diffusion chamber, and an adapter outlet passageway intercommunicating the diffusion chamber and the inhalant port and having a diametrically-enlarged outlet passage portion, for good dispersion of the granulated medicines flowing out of the diffusion chamber into the inhalant port.

Claims

1. An inhalant medicator comprising:

a medicator body formed at one axial end with a granular medicine accommodation chamber and at another axial end with an inhalant port for inhalation of powder and granular medicines;

air passageways disposed in the medicator body and intercommunicating an atmosphere side and the inhalant port via the granular medicine accommodation chamber for supplying the powder and granular medicines stored in the granular medicine accommodation chamber of the medicator body into the inhalant port; and

a granular medicine diffusion means disposed in the medicator body and located downstream of the granular medicine accommodation chamber for diffusing the powder and granular medicines, flowing out of the granular medicine accommodation chamber through the air passageways into the inhalant port;

the medicator body having an adapter detachably installed in the inhalant port;

the granular medicine diffusion means comprising a granular medicine diffusion chamber formed in the adapter and extending in an axial direction of the adapter, an adapter inlet passageway fluidly disposed between the granular medicine diffusion chamber and the air passageways for creating turbulent flow in the granular medicine diffusion chamber and an adapter outlet passageway intercommunicating the granular medicine diffusion chamber and the inhalant port; and

the adapter inlet passageway of the granular medicine diffusion means comprising an inlet passage offsetting with respect to a central axis of the granular medicine diffusion chamber and extending radially tangentially from a circumference of the granular medicine diffusion chamber, and opening to the granular medicine diffusion chamber at an innermost end of the inlet passage.

2. The inhalant medicator as claimed in claim 1, wherein the adapter outlet passageway of the granular medicine diffusion means comprises a diametrically-enlarged outlet passage portion diametrically enlarged from the granular medicine diffusion chamber toward the inhalant port to an extent substantially identical to a size of opening of the inhalant port.

3. An inhalant medicator comprising:

a medicator body formed at one axial end with a granular medicine accommodation chamber and at another axial end with an inhalant port for inhalation of powder and granular medicines;

air passageways disposed in the medicator body and intercommunicating an atmosphere side and the inhalant port via the granular medicine accommodation chamber for supplying the powder and granular medicines stored in the granular medicine accommodation chamber of the medicator body into the inhalant port; and

a granular medicine diffusion means disposed in the medicator body and located downstream of the granular medicine accommodation chamber for diffusing the powder and granular medicines, flowing out of the granular medicine accommodation chamber through the air passageways into the inhalant port;

the medicator body having an adapter detachably installed in the inhalant port;

the granular medicine diffusion means comprising a granular medicine diffusion chamber formed in the adapter and extending in an axial direction of the adapter, an adapter inlet passageway fluidly disposed between the granular medicine diffusion chamber and the air passageways for creating turbulent flow in the granular medicine diffusion chamber, and an adapter outlet passageway intercommunicating the granular medicine diffusion chamber and the inhalant port; and

the air passageways comprising an inflow air passageway having an inflow passage extending in an axial direction of the medicator body and a radial bore extending in a radial direction of the medicator body for communicating the granular medicine accommodation chamber with the atmosphere, and an outflow air passageway having an outflow passage extending in the axial direction of the medicator body and a second radial bore extending in the radial direction of the medicator body for communicating the granular medicine accommodation chamber with the adapter inlet passageway.

4. An inhalant medicator comprising:

a medicator body formed at one axial end with a granular medicine accommodation chamber and at another axial end with an inhalant port for inhalation of powder and granular medicines;

air passageways disposed in the medicator body and intercommunicating an atmosphere side and the inhalant port via the granular medicine accommodation chamber for supplying the powder and granular medicines stored in the granular medicine accommodation chamber of the medicator body into the inhalant port; and

a granular medicine diffusion means disposed in the medicator body and located downstream of the granular medicine accommodation chamber for diffusing the powder and granular medicines, flowing out of the granular medicine accommodation chamber through the air passageways into the inhalant port;

the medicator body having an adapter detachably installed in the inhalant port;

the granular medicine diffusion means comprising a granular medicine diffusion chamber formed in the adapter and extending in an axial direction of the adapter, and adapter inlet passageway fluidly disposed between the granular medicine diffusion chamber and the air passageways for creating turbulent flow in the granular medicine diffusion chamber, and an adapter outlet passageway intercommunicating the granular medicine diffusion chamber and the inhalant port; and

the adapter inlet passageway comprising a plurality of circumferentially-equidistant spaced inlet passages offsetting with respect to a central axis of the granular medicine diffusion chamber and extending radially tangentially from the circumference of the granular medicine diffusion chamber, and opening to the granular medicine diff-usion chamber at their innermost ends.