US 4,907,583 AGranted

Device in powder inhalators

AssigneeAktiebolaget Draco

InventorsKjell I. L. Wetterlin, Risto Virtanen, Jan A. R. Andersson

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Abstract

Device in a previously known powder inhalator intended for inhalation of an air flow which contains pharmacologically active compound in micronized form. The powder inhalator comprises a nozzle unit (2) with a nozzle aperture (2a) as well as a container unit (3) with a releasing or dosing unit (6) for delivering the active compound. The air flow generated by inhalation is at least partly aspirated through an air conduit (7) located in the container unit (3), which conduit extends from an air inlet (8), communicating with the environment, via said releasing or dosing unit (6), up to said nozzle unit (2). According to the invention, deflector devices are stationarily arranged in the container unit (3) and/or in the nozzle unit (2), said deflector devices, for example in the shape of a helical channel portion (13), being arranged to create a powerful deflecting movement for the purpose of disrupting said powder particles into the respirable particle size distribution (less than 5 .mu.m).

Claims10

Dependent claims

In a powder inhalator for inhalation of an air flow generated at inhalation having a container containing a pharmacologically active compound in atomized or micronized form, a conduit extending through the container and having an air inlet, means for delivering a dose of the compound to the conduit, an outlet from the conduit for outflow of the compound in an air flow admitted at least partly through the air inlet, and a nozzle having a nozzle aperture and communicating with the conduit outlet, the conduit and nozzle together forming a channel for delivery of the compound upon inhalation, the improvement comprising deflector means in the channel for imparting a strong deflecting and accelerating movement to the flow of air and compound through the channel relative to the axis of the channel, wherein the deflector means are stationarily affixed in the channel along at least one section thereof between the dose delivery means and the nozzle aperture, the deflector means having at least a substantial radial extent towards the axis of the channel such that the radial extent of any open space along the axis of the channel adjacent the deflector means is small compared to the radial extents of the deflector means, the deflector means thereby acting to promote disintegration of powder aggregations into particles within the respirable range by causing collisions of such aggregations with the deflector means and with each other.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.