Dose indicating device

• US 8,074,594 B2
• Filed: 08/10/2009
• Issued: 12/13/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/15/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Trudell Medical International (Trudell Medical Limited)
• Original Assignee: Trudell Medical International (Trudell Medical Limited)
• Inventors: Lu, Winston Z.
• Primary Examiner(s): Johnson, Amy Cohen
• Application Number:
  US12/462,924
• Publication Number:
  US 20100095962A1
• Time in Patent Office: 855 Days
• Field of Search: 116305-307, 116/309, 116311-313, 116315-318, 116/334, 116/337, 116/284, 116/296, 116/298, 116/299, 128/200.23, 128/203.15, 128/205.23, 235/103, 235/106, 235/107, 235/117.R, 235/118, 235/117.A, 222/23, 222/30, 222/36, 222/38
• US Class Current: 116/307
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 15/0075 on a disc
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 15/0076 on a drum
• 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: G06M 1/163 with drums
• CPC Class Codes: G06M 1/241 Drums
• CPC Class Codes: G06M 1/248 Discs
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 11/23 the advertising or display material forming part of rotating members, e.g. in the form of perforations, prints, or transparencies on a drum or disc

Abstract

An indicating device suitable for indicating a number of metered dosages of a substance that have been dispensed from or remain in a container. The indicating device includes at least one primary indicator member having primary dosage indicia, configured as numeric indicia, and a second indicator member having secondaiy dosage indicia, configured with at least two different colors. The primary and secondary indicator members are coaxially mounted. In one embodiment, a device for dispensing dosages of the substance also includes a dispenser housing and a container.

Claims

1. An indicating device suitable for indicating a number of metered dosages of a substance that have been dispensed from or remain in a container, said indicating device comprising:

at least one primary indicator member comprising primary dosage indicia adapted to indicate a number of dosages of substance that have been dispensed from or remain in a container;

a secondary indicator member comprising secondary dosage indicia, wherein said secondary dosage indicia is adapted to indicate the number of dosages of substance that have been dispensed from or remain in the container;

wherein said primary and secondary indicator members are coaxially mounted and rotatable relative to each other, wherein said primary dosage indicia comprises numeric indicia and said secondary dosage indicia comprises at least two different colors; and

a first member moveably connected to a second member, wherein said first member is moveable relative to said second member along a longitudinal axis, and wherein said primary and secondary indicator members are rotatably mounted to said first member about said longitudinal axis and are rotatable in response to a predetermined number of relative movements of said first and second members.

2. The indicating device of claim 1 wherein said first member comprises a cap member and said second member comprises a base member.

3. The indicating device of claim 1 wherein said at least one primary indicator member comprises coaxially mounted first and second primary indicator members.

4. The indicating device of claim 3 wherein said numeric indicia comprises a first set of numbers divisible by ten disposed on said first primary indicator member and a second set of consecutive numbers from 0 to 9 disposed on said second primary indicator member.

5. The indicating device of claim 4 wherein said secondary indicator member is free of any numerical indicia.

6. The indicating device of claim 4 wherein said secondary indicator member rotates relative to said first primary indicator member at a ratio of 1:

2.

7. The indicating device of claim 1 wherein said at least one primary indicator member and said secondary indicator member are disposed in a housing having first and second viewing windows, wherein said primary dosage indicia are visible through said first viewing window and wherein said secondary dosage indicia are visible through said second viewing window, wherein said first and second viewing windows are spaced apart.

8. The indicating device of claim 1 wherein said secondary indicator member does not overlap said primary dosage indicia visible to the user.

9. The indicating device of claim 1 wherein one of said at least two different colors is selected from the group consisting of red, yellow and green.

10. The indicating device of claim 1 wherein said at least two different colors comprises red and green.

11. The indicating device of claim 1 wherein said secondary dosage indicia is adapted to indicate that less than a predetermined number of dosages of substance remain in the container.

12. A device for dispensing dosages of a substance from a container, the device comprising:

a dispenser housing having a longitudinally extending cavity and a well located at a bottom of said cavity, said housing having an exhaust port communicating with said well;

said container comprising a valve stem extending longitudinally therefrom and moveable between a closed position and an open position, said container containing a plurality of said dosages of said substance, said valve stem dispensing one of said plurality of said dosages when said valve stem is moved to the open position, said container disposed in said cavity of said dispenser housing and said valve stem received within said well, said container reciprocally moveable within said dispenser housing along said longitudinal extend of said cavity such that said valve stem is moved between said closed and said open positions by engagement with said well; and

an indicating device comprising;

at least one primary indicator member comprising primary dosage indicia indicating a number of dosages of substance that have been dispensed from or remain in said container; and

a secondary indicator member comprising secondary dosage indicia indicating the number of dosages of substance that have been dispensed from or remain in said container;

wherein said primary and secondary indicator members are coaxially mounted and rotatable relative to each other, wherein said primary dosage indicia comprises numeric indicia and said secondary dosage indicia comprises at least two different colors.

13. The device of claim 12 wherein said indicating device further comprises a first member moveably connected to a second member, wherein said first member is moveable relative to said second member along a longitudinal axis, and wherein said primary and secondary indicator members are rotatably mounted to said first member about said longitudinal axis.

14. The device of claim 13 wherein said first member comprises a cap member and said second member comprises a base member.

15. The device of claim 12 wherein said at least one primary indicator member comprises coaxially mounted first and second primary indicator members.

16. The device of claim 15 wherein said numeric indicia comprises a first set of numbers divisible by ten disposed on said first primary indicator member and a second set of consecutive numbers from 0 to 9 disposed on said second primary indicator member.

17. The device of claim 15 wherein said secondary indicator member rotates relative to said first primary indicator member at a ratio of 1:

2.

18. The device of claim 12 wherein said at least one primary indicator member and said secondary indicator member are disposed in a housing having first and second viewing windows, wherein said primary dosage indicia are visible through said first viewing window and wherein said secondary dosage indicia are visible through said second viewing window, wherein said first and second viewing windows are spaced apart.

19. The device of claim 12 wherein one of said at least two different colors is selected from the group consisting of red, yellow and green.

20. The device of claim 12 wherein said secondary dosage indicia is adapted to indicate that less than a predetermined number of dosages of substance remain in the container.

21. The device of claim 12 wherein said substance comprises a medicament.

22. The device of claim 21 wherein said container comprises a pressurized metered dose inhaler filled with said medicament.