HK1076610B - Dry powder inhaler - Google Patents

Description

Dry powder inhaler

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an inhaler for absorbing medicament in dry powder form and to a specially designed single dose blister strip (blister strips) for use with the inhaler.

Background

Currently used inhalation devices can be classified into two types:

1. the medicament powder is stored in a container from which a measured amount of powder can be taken out by a specific mechanism. For example, EP0069715 describes a device in which powder is measured at a given amount using openings in a rotatable disk, which openings are introduced by the rotating disk into an airway or channel through which air is inhaled.

2. The measured amounts of the drug powder may be stored separately in specific containers. For example, GB2242134 describes a device which uses flexible strips to define a plurality of chambers (pockets), each containing a dose of medicament which can be inhaled. The device comprises a chamber in which the tape is housed, an opening station (openingstation) which houses means for peeling apart the two sheets or tape, and an outlet through which the user inhales the medicament.

The main drawbacks of the above and similar devices are: a. the user cannot visually verify whether he has completely absorbed the entire dose of medicament; they operate through complex internal mechanisms.

Disclosure of Invention

An advantage of the present invention is that the user can visually detect whether a medicament is present in the blister of the strip before inhalation and verify whether it has absorbed the entire dose of medicament after inhalation. Furthermore, the device is simple to manufacture and easy to operate.

The apparatus of the present invention comprises three components: an inlet through which powder is inhaled; a blister strip support surface; and a tape storage compartment (component) containing a plurality of blister tapes. These three parts can be connected to each other and can be opened independently. The support surface includes: mounting points for mounting the blister strip with the aid of a mounting arrangement; a cavity (cavity) which accommodates the blister of the strip; and a tape guide that ensures proper and secure placement of the tape on the surface.

The single dose blister strip consists of two pieces that can be peeled off from each other. The base sheet has a blister for receiving the powder and a mounting arrangement for mating with mounting points of the support surface. The cover sheet seals the base sheet only in the area around the blister.

The principle of this application is that the user reliably mounts the blister strip on the mounting surface, pulls the cover plate of the blister away by applying a slight force, inspects the contents of the blister, inhales the medicament and finally verifies that it has absorbed the entire dose.

Drawings

Fig. 1-8 illustrate examples of the present invention. Wherein:

FIG. 1 shows different views of one example of an inhaler;

FIG. 2 shows an inlet piece of the apparatus and its components;

FIG. 3 shows a portion of the apparatus housing the area where the blister is placed;

figure 4 shows a blister storage compartment;

figure 5 shows a single dose blister strip and the way it is put together;

FIG. 6 shows the process of exposing the powder in the blister;

figure 7 shows the flow of air and powder during inhalation;

figures 8 and 9 show other examples of inhalers in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The inhaler (fig. 1) comprises three basic components, a mouthpiece a with a cover, a component B with a surface on which a blister strip is placed, and a blister strip storage component C. These parts are connected to each other and can be opened independently.

The inlet piece (fig. 2) comprises parts 1, 2 and 3. Part 1 locks part 2 therein and part 2 locks part 3 therein.

The component 1 is the outer part of the inlet piece and has an air opening at its base.

The component 2 is a cylinder with a wider base. The top end of the cylinder has an opening 4 which serves as an outlet for powder to be discharged from the device. Within the cylinder there is an array 5, which may be spiral or other shape, through which the inhaled air-borne powder is expelled. At the base of the component 2, half of the end of the array 5 is blocked by the surface 6.

The part 3 is also a cylinder with a wider top. The interior of the component 3 is divided into two chambers 7 and 8 by a vertical plane 9. The base of the member 3 contacts the blister. Which has two holes 10 and 11, one on each side of the partition element 9. The holes 11 may be provided with a screen to block the path of larger particles. The chamber 7 is provided with holes 10 and is blocked at its top by the surface 6. Furthermore, the chamber 7 is provided with holes 12, which serve as air inlets.

The single dose blister strip is placed on the mounting face of component B (fig. 3). The surface has: a protrusion 13 serving as a mounting point; a cavity 14 which receives a blister of the strip; and a tape guide system, in this particular example 15, 16. The protrusions, cavities and guide system allow the tape to be correctly aligned on the surface of the component B and ensure its secure placement during use of the device.

The lower part of component B may serve as a storage compartment for the blister strip.

The tape storage component C (fig. 4) may have different shapes and may have a grid depending on the number of tapes it holds, e.g. 30 or 60.

The blister strip (fig. 5) comprises two sheets (fig. 5A) made of a suitable material, such as PVC, aluminum, polyamide, paper, polyester, vinyl rubber. One of the two pieces is a base sheet 17 having a blister 18 for receiving the powder and a mounting hole 19. The other is a cover sheet 20, as shown (dark part in fig. 5B), which is secured to the substrate, for example by heat bonding and air sealing only in the area around the blister 18. The sheet 20 is then folded by rotating it 180 degrees about the axis DE, exposing the aperture 19 and covering the flat surface of the blister 18 (fig. 5C).

The process of exposing the powder contained in the blister is carried out in two steps (figure 6).

In the first stage (fig. 6A), and when the mouthpiece is open, the user secures the strap on the support surface of the component B by placing the holes 19 around the projections 13. The blister 18 is then placed in the cavity 14 with the aid of the guides 15 and 16.

In the second stage (fig. 6B), the user closes the mouthpiece and pulls the flap 20 in the direction shown by the arrow until it is completely removed.

At this point and after lifting the mouthpiece, the user can verify that the powder contained in the blister 18 has been exposed and is available for inhalation (fig. 6C). The user then simply closes the inlet and inhales. Finally, by opening the mouthpiece again, the user can visually check whether he has inhaled the medicament.

During inhalation (fig. 7), inhaled air enters the inlet piece through the air openings and then enters the chamber 7 through the holes 12. From there, the air carries the powder located in the blister 18 through the hole 10 and then through the hole 11 to the chamber 8. From there the powder leaves the apparatus via arrangement 5.

Fig. 8 shows another example of the present invention. The mounting point for mounting the blister strip to surface B is a cavity 21. The mouthpiece a comprises a protrusion 22 which, when the mouthpiece is closed, enters the cavity 21 and thereby secures the blister. In this case, the blister is placed on surface B and the hole 19 is located on the cavity 21. Alternatively, the blister aperture 19 may be replaced by a cavity.

Fig. 9 shows another embodiment of the present invention. In this case the mounting assembly for the blister strip is an arrangement 23 which is placed in the openings 24 of the guides 15 and 16 of the surface B.

Obviously, the shape and position of the mounting points and of the cavities and guides on surface B can be varied in many ways, which enables a proper and reliable mounting of the blister. All such different embodiments are also within the scope of the present invention.

Further embodiments of the inhaler may include its use through the nose. This may be achieved by replacing the inlet piece with a suitable mounting piece.

Claims (6)

1. An assembly of a dry powder inhaler device for inhalation of a medicament and a single dose blister strip,

the blister strip comprising a base sheet (17) and a cover sheet (20), said base sheet (17) defining a blister (18) containing dry powder, said cover sheet (20) being hermetically sealed to said base sheet in a region surrounding said blister (18),

the device has, an inlet piece (A) through which the dry powder is inhaled; a component (B) with a blister strip support surface comprising a blister receiving cavity (14) for receiving a blister (18); and a tape storage compartment (C),

the blister strip support surface further having mounting points (13, 21, 24) and strip guides (15, 16),

the base sheet of the single-dose blister strip further comprises a mounting arrangement (19, 23),

said inlet piece (A) being openably connected to said part (B),

the dry powder is exposed by pulling the cover sheet (20) away from the base sheet (17).

2. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the inlet is closed for dry powder absorption.

3. An assembly according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the mounting points are protrusions (13) which combine with mounting holes (19) of the base sheet (17) of the blister strip as a mounting array.

4. The assembly of claim 1 or 2,

the mounting point is a blister mounting cavity (21) into which a projection (22) of the inlet piece (a) enters when the inlet piece is closed, and the base sheet of the blister strip has mounting holes (19) as a mounting array which are located above the blister mounting cavity (21).

5. The assembly of claim 1,

said inlet piece (A) comprising three parts (1, 2, 3), wherein the first part (1) locks the second part (2) therein, the second part (2) locks the third part (3) therein,

said first part (1) being the outer part of the inlet piece and having an air opening at its base,

the second part (2) is a cylinder with a wider base, the top of the cylinder having an outlet for the dry powder to exit from the device, and the inside of the second part (2) has a helical arrangement, half of the end of the helical arrangement being blocked by a surface (6) at the base of the second part (2), the base of the second part (2) being locked to the top of the third part (3),

the third part (3) is a cylinder with a wider top and with a hole (12) as an air inlet, the inside of the third part (3) is divided by a vertical plane (9) into two chambers (7, 8) whose top with the air inlet (12) is blocked by a surface (6), and wherein the base of the third part (3) has two holes (10, 11), one on either side of the vertical plane (9), the two holes (10, 11) contacting the blister when the blister strip is inserted into the device.

6. The assembly of claim 1,

the cover sheet (20) of the blister strip is secured to the substrate so as to be air tight in the region around the blisters (18) and then the cover sheet (20) is folded by rotation through 180 degrees about the axis so as to cover the flat surfaces of the blisters (18) and expose the mounting apertures (19) as a mounting array.