Piezo inhaler
AssigneePonwell Enterprises Limited
InventorRobert Martin Voges
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An inhaler provides a controlled delivery of an inhalant and includes an inhaler housing and a mouthpiece coupled to the inhaler housing. A piezoelectric dispenser-head is coupled to the inhaler housing and configured to be coupled to the dispensing chamber. The piezoelectric dispenser-head includes an array of dispensing channels and an array of dispensing nozzles. The array of dispensing channels are formed with actuatable walls made at least partially of a piezoelectric material. Application of an electric field to selected side walls reduces a volume in an associated channel and creates a pressure pulse of flowable substance in the associated channel through a dispensing nozzle.
Claims51
An inhaler, comprising:
- an inhaler housing;
- a mouthpiece interconnected with said inhaler housing;
- a flowable substance container associated with said inhaler housing;
- a droplet ejection device fluidly interconnected with said flowable substance container, wherein said droplet ejection device comprises a plurality of droplet ejection orifices and a plurality of droplet ejection actuators which are independently actuatable;
- a programmable controller operatively interconnected with said droplet ejection device;
- and
- a heating means disposed within said inhaler housing.
A method for delivering droplets of a flowable substance from an inhaler to a patient, wherein said inhaler comprises a controller which is operatively interconnected with a droplet ejection device, wherein said droplet ejection device comprises a plurality of droplet ejection orifices and a plurality of droplet ejection actuators, and wherein said method comprises the steps of:
- providing said flowable substance to said droplet ejection device;
- executing a first programming step which comprises programming a controller which is operatively interconnected with said droplet ejection device, wherein said programming step comprises selecting which of said droplet ejection actuators should receive a first dose signal from said controller;
- directing said first dose signal to each of said droplet ejection actuators from said selecting step;
- discharging said flowable substance through said droplet ejection orifices associated with said droplet ejection actuators from said selecting step;
- generating droplets of said flowable substance from said discharging step;
- and
- inhaling said droplets provided by said generating step.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.