Vibrating blister
AssigneeBoehringer Ingelheim International GmbH
InventorsAndree Jung, Stephen Terence Dunne
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Disclosed is an inhaler and a method for using the inhaler for the inhalation of a formulation from a carrier. The carrier contains the formulation in a receptacle and is set oscillating by an air current. An improved or defined delivery and nebulisation of the preferably powdered formulation is made possible by the fact that the carrier is set oscillating in defined manner, the formulation is dispensed through a cover element having three to five holes and/or the air current flows onto a fin associated with the carrier and flows past at least substantially only one flat side of the carrier.
Claims19
An inhaler (1) for the inhalation of a formulation (2) comprising a carrier (3) in the form of a belt, strip, blister or film, wherein:
- at a resting position, the carrier (3) is planar and extends longitudinally along a longitudinal axis,
- the carrier (3) comprises a free end, an opposing end, and a spring portion (4) located between the free end and the opposing end that is deformable by spring resilience, where the spring portion (4) includes a relatively stiff elastic characteristic that imparts a corresponding relative stiffness in the carrier (3),
- the carrier (3) includes an oblique fin (5) extending obliquely with respect to the longitudinal axis from the free end of the carrier (3) at least when the carrier is at the resting position, and
- the opposing end of the carrier (3) is fixed such that air current (L) flowing parallel to the longitudinal axis of the carrier (3) sets the free end of the carrier (3) into motion transversely with respect to the longitudinal axis, and the spring resilience of the spring portion (4) opposes the motion of the free end of the carrier (3) transversely with respect to the longitudinal axis and in combination with continued air current (L) sets the carrier into oscillation (S) by way of a resonance vibration established by the corresponding relative stiffness in the carrier (3) provided by the relatively stiff elastic characteristic of the spring portion (4).
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.