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US 8,256,416 B2Granted
Dispensing device
AssigneePfizer Inc.
InventorsPeter John Houzego, John Kelshaw Conway, Martin Douglas Pearl, Andrew Mark Bryant
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A device for dispensing individual doses of powder from respective pockets of a disc-shaped carrier by outwardly rupturing a lidding foil by means of pressure on an opposite side surface, the device providing individual respective deaggregation flow paths for each pocket, split airstreams allowing improved entrainment of powder, a cam mechanism for outwardly rupturing the pockets, an indexing mechanism linked to the cam mechanism and a dose counter.
Claims16
A device for dispensing individual doses of powder from respective packets of a carrier, the device including:
- a first support for a first carrier having first and second side surfaces opposite each other, an array of cavities in which respective pockets are formed and a first lidding sheet sealed to the first side surface;
- a first prodger member moveable towards and away from the second side surface of a supported first carrier between a retracted and an extended position;
- a cam member adjacent to and moveable generally parallel with the second side surface of a supported carrier between a rest position and a primed position;
- wherein the cam member has a first cam surface for engaging with the first prodger member such that movement of the cam member from the rest position to the primed position moves the prodger member from the retracted position to the extended position so as to press on the second side surface of a supported first carrier and outwardly rupture the first lidding sheet of the supported first carrier;
- a second support for a second carrier having first and second side surfaces opposite each other, an array of cavities in which respective pockets are formed and a first lidding sheet sealed to the first side surface, the first and second carriers being supported with respective second side surfaces facing each other;
- and
- a second prodger member moveable towards and away from the second side surface of a supported second carrier between a retracted and an extended position;
- wherein the cam member has a second cam surface for engaging with the second prodger member such that movement of the cam member from the rest position to the primed position moves the second prodger member from the retracted position to the extended position so as to press upon the second side surface of a supported second carrier and outwardly rupture the first lidding sheet of the supported second carrier.
5 more elements
A device for dispensing individual doses of powder from respective pockets of a carrier, the device including:
- a chassis;
- a first support mounted on the chassis for rotation about a central axis and for supporting a first carrier having cavities with respective pockets formed therein and arranged in a circular array centred on the central axis, the first support including an array of gear teeth centred on the central axis;
- a priming member mounted on the chassis for rotation about the central axis:
- and
- an intermittent-motion mechanism mounted on the chassis for interaction with the priming member and gear teeth of the first support such that rotation of the priming member from a first position to a second position causes rotation of the first support by a predetermined angle and rotation of the priming member back from the second position to the first position causes no rotation of the first support, wherein the intermittent-motion mechanism is a Geneva wheel rotatably mounted on the chassis on an axis offset from the central axis;
- and
- a second support mounted on the chassis for rotation about the central axis and for supporting a second carrier having cavities with respective pockets formed therein and arranged in a circular array centred on the central axis, the second support including an array of gear teeth centred on the central axis;
- wherein the Geneva wheel interacts with the gear teeth of the second support such that rotation of the priming member from the first position to the second position causes rotation of the second support by a predetermined angle and rotation of the priming member back from the second position to the first position causes no rotation of the second support.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.