Microstructured nozzle and production thereof
AssigneeBoehringer Ingelheim Microparts GmbH
InventorsKlaus Kadel, Lothar Keydel
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The invention relates to a nozzle for use in a device for administering a liquid medical formulation, to a method for producing the nozzle in the form of a microfluidic component and to a tool for producing microstructures of the microfluidic component. The nozzle is formed by a plastics plate with groove-like microstructures which are covered by a plastics cover on the longitudinal side in a fixed manner. The production method includes a moulding process in which a moulding tool is used, which moulding tool has complementary metal microstructures which have been produced from a semiconductor material in an electrodeposition process by means of a master component.
Claims18
A moulding tool (110), comprising:
- a metal plate having complementary microstructures (106b) or a metal foil (106f) with such complementary microstructures (106b), where the metal plate or the metal foil (106f) is a metal layer (106) produced in an electrodeposition process by means of a microstructured master component (101), and when separated from the master component (101), the complementary microstructures (106b) are complementary to microstructures on the master component (101);
- and
- a plurality of magnets (111) arranged in parallel and adjacent to one another in such a way that in each pair of adjacent ones of the plurality of magnets (111) alternate or differ with regard to their polarisation direction,
- wherein the metal plate or the metal foil (106f) is made of a ferromagnetic material and is retained at least partially magnetically in the tool by way of the plurality of magnets (111),
- the complementary microstructures (106b) are sized, shaped and positioned such that a micro-structured nozzle for use in a device for administering a liquid medical formulation is produce when the moulding tool (110) operates on plastics injection moulding material, and
- the micro-structured nozzle resulting from the complementary microstructures (106b) are the nozzle sized, shaped and positioned in a way suitable for atomisation of the liquid medical formulation.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.