Assymetric inhaler
AssigneeVectura Delivery Devices Limited
InventorsStephen William Eason, Raymond Anthony Edgson, Quentin John Harmer, Roger William Clarke
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An inhaler for producing an inhalable aerosol of a powdered medicament includes an aerosolizing device in the form of a vortex chamber (1). The vortex chamber (1) has a curved wall (12), a tangential inlet port (3) and an axial exit port (2). The radius R of the vortex chamber (1) decreases with angular extend θ. The reduction in effective cross-sectional area of the vortex chamber accelerates the gas flow between the inlet (3) and the outlet (2) to reduce deposition of the medicament.
Claims43
An inhaler for producing an inhalable aerosol of a powdered medicament comprising an aerosolising device in the form of a vortex chamber having an axis and being defined, at least in part, by a wall which forms a curve about the axis, the vortex chamber having a cross-sectional area in a plane bounded by the axis, the plane extending in one direction radially from the axis at a given angular position (θ) about the axis,
- wherein the vortex chamber has a substantially tangential inlet port and a substantially axial exit port, and
- said cross-sectional area of the vortex chamber decreases with increasing angular position (θ) in the direction, in use, of gas flow between the inlet port and the exit port.
An inhaler for producing an inhalable aerosol of a powdered medicament comprising an aerosolising device in the form of a vortex chamber having an axis and being defined, at least in part, by a wall which forms a curve about the axis, the vortex chamber having a substantially tangential inlet port and a substantially axial exit port, wherein the vortex chamber is further defined by a base, and the distance (d) between the base and a plane which is normal to the axis and is located on the opposite side of the base to the exit port increases with radial position (r) relative to the axis.
An inhaler for producing an inhalable aerosol of a powdered medicament, the inhaler comprising:
- a chamber defined by a top wall, a bottom wall, and a lateral wall, the lateral wall being curved about an axis which intersects the top wall and the bottom wall, the chamber enclosing a cross-sectional area defined by the axis, the top wall, the bottom wall and the lateral wall;
- the chamber having an inlet port and an outlet port, the inlet port being tangent to the lateral wall, the outlet port being co-axial with the axis, the cross-sectional area decreasing with increasing angular position from the inlet port in a direction of a gas flow through the inlet port.
An inhaler for producing an inhalable aerosol of a powdered medicament, the inhaler comprising:
- a chamber including a wall, a base, an inlet port and an exit port, the chamber having an axis that is co-axial with the exit port and intersects the base, the wall being curved about the base, the inlet port being tangential to the wall, a height between the base and a plane normal to the axis at the exit port decreasing as a radial position from the axis to the inlet port increases.
A method of inhaling an aerosol of a powdered medicament, the method comprising:
- generating an air flow through an inlet port of a chamber;
- directing the air flow through the chamber, the chamber having an axis and a wall curved about the axis, the air flow rotating about the axis;
- and
- directing the air flow through an exit port of the chamber, wherein a direction of the air flow through the inlet port is tangential to the wall, and a direction of the air flow through the exit port is parallel to the axis,
- and wherein a cross-sectional area of the air flow through the chamber is in a plane normal to the air flow and decreases with increasing distance from the inlet port.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.