NASAL POWDER DELIVERY DEVICE

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a nasal powder dispensing device.

[0002] Nasal powder dispensing devices are well known. They generally comprise a reservoir containing one or more doses of powder, dispensing means, and a nasal dispensing head intended to be inserted into a nostril of a user, said nasal dispensing head comprising a dispensing orifice. The dispensing means generally comprise an air flush. When the dispensing device is actuated, a dose of powder is dispensed into a nostril of the user by means of the airflow generated by the air flush.

[0003] A disadvantage with these prior art devices concerns the complexity of the device, in particular the number of parts to be manufactured and assembled.

[0004] Another disadvantage concerns the reliability of the device, which can depend heavily on how the user operates the device. Thus, the performance of the air flush can be dependent on the user, for example on the force and / or speed of actuation, which is not always optimal.

[0005] Documents US5395032, US4017007, EP3682922, EP0407276, EP0575239, WO9311818, WO9946055, WO0245866, WO2005120617, WO2007141203, WO2015001281, WO2017118827 and WO2019220062 describe devices of the state of the art.

[0006] The present invention aims to provide a nasal powder dispensing device which does not reproduce the aforementioned drawbacks.

[0007] The present invention aims to provide a nasal powder dispensing device which is reliable in use.

[0008] The present invention also aims to provide a nasal powder dispensing device in which the performance of the air flush is substantially independent of the user and his manner of actuating the device.

[0009] The present invention also aims to provide a nasal powder dispensing device which is simple and inexpensive to manufacture and assemble.

[0010] The present invention therefore relates to a nasal powder dispensing device comprising a reservoir containing a single dose of powder, a nasal dispensing head comprising a dispensing orifice intended to be inserted into a nostril of a user, an actuating member axially movable relative to said head when said device is actuated, and an air flush generating, upon actuation, a flow of compressed air to dispense said dose of powder into said nostril through said dispensing orifice, said air flush comprising an air chamber, formed by a hollow axial cylinder, and an air piston which, upon actuation, slides in a sealed manner in said hollow axial cylinder to compress the air contained in said air chamber, said device comprising an insert forming said air piston and cooperating, in the rest position, in a sealed manner with said reservoir,said insert being axially movable relative to said reservoir between its rest position and an actuating position, in which it no longer cooperates in a sealed manner with said reservoir, said reservoir comprising a cylindrical part of said dispensing head, said cylindrical part comprising in its lower part a radial recess on its radially internal surface and a piston on its radially external surface, said insert comprising a central body provided with a radial shoulder projecting radially outwards, said radial shoulder cooperating in the rest position in a sealed manner with a lower axial end of said cylindrical part of said dispensing head and cooperating in the actuating position with said radial recess.,

[0011] Advantageously, said device comprises a removable cover which, in the rest position, closes and protects said dispensing orifice and therefore the dose of powder contained in said reservoir.

[0012] Advantageously, said hollow axial cylinder of said air flush is integral with said actuating member mounted to slide relative to said dispensing head.

[0013] Advantageously, said hollow cylinder of said air flush comprises, at a lower axial end, a radial cutout forming a cylinder portion of larger diameter, so that said air piston cooperates in a sealed manner with said hollow cylinder until it reaches said cutout, where it no longer cooperates in a sealed manner, allowing compressed air to escape from said air chamber to form said flow of compressed air used to expel said dose of powder from said reservoir.

[0014] Advantageously, said insert is moved from its rest position to its actuation position at the start of the actuation stroke, and said flow of compressed air is generated at the end of the actuation stroke.

[0015] These and other features and advantages will become more clearly apparent from the following detailed description, given with reference to the attached drawings, given as non-limiting examples, and in which: there figure 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a nasal powder dispensing device according to an advantageous embodiment, in the rest position before actuation, the figure 2 is a view similar to that of the figure 1 , at the start of actuation, and the figure 3 is a view similar to those of the figures 1 et 2 , at the end of actuation.

[0016] In the description, the terms "axial" and "radial" refer to the longitudinal axis A of the device shown in the figure 1 . The terms "top", "bottom", "upper" and "lower" refer to the upright position of the device shown in the drawings.

[0017] The invention applies to single-dose powder devices such as those shown in the figures. Of course, other types of single-dose devices are also conceivable.

[0018] The device shown in the figures comprises a reservoir 10 containing a single dose of powder.

[0019] A nasal dispensing head 20 is associated with the reservoir 10, said head being intended to be inserted into a nostril of a user. The nasal dispensing head 20 comprises a dispensing orifice 21, preferably oriented axially. It also advantageously comprises a finger rest 22 extending radially to facilitate actuation. A nasal tip 23 extends axially upwards from said finger rest 22 and ends at said dispensing orifice 21. This nasal tip 23 is of reduced radial dimension so that it can be inserted into a nostril at the time of actuation. On the opposite side of the finger rest 22, a skirt 25 extends axially downwards from said finger rest 22.

[0020] The reservoir 10 is defined at least in part by a cylindrical part 27 of the dispensing head 20. As can be seen in the drawings, this cylindrical part 27 is advantageously arranged radially inside the skirt 25 while being coaxial therewith. In its lower part, the cylindrical part 27 comprises on its radially internal surface a radial recess 28 and on its radially external surface a piston 29, the functions of which will be described below. In the example of the figures, the piston 29 comprises an O-ring fixed in a suitable housing, but it could be produced in any suitable manner, for example in the well-known form of a sealing lip.

[0021] The device further comprises an air flush 30 generating, upon actuation, a flow of compressed air to dispense the dose of powder into said nostril through the dispensing orifice 21. The air flush 30 comprises an air chamber 31 and an air piston 32 sliding in a sealed manner in said air chamber 31 to compress the air contained in said air chamber 31 and thus generate said flow of compressed air.

[0022] The air chamber 31 is formed by a hollow axial cylinder 33 which is integral, preferably in one piece, with an actuating member 35 mounted to slide relative to the dispensing head 20. The lower axial side of said hollow cylinder 33 is closed and its upper side is open and closed by said air piston 32.

[0023] The hollow cylinder 33 has at its lower axial end a radial cutout 34 which forms a cylinder portion of larger diameter. Thus, the air piston 32 cooperates in a sealed manner with the hollow cylinder 33 until it reaches said cutout 34, where it no longer cooperates in a sealed manner, allowing the compressed air to escape to form the compressed air flow of the air flush used to expel the dose of powder from the reservoir.

[0024] The actuating member 35 comprises an external sleeve 36 coaxial with said hollow cylinder 33 and defining a space between them.

[0025] The skirt 25 is advantageously arranged to slide in the space defined between said hollow cylinder 33 and said external sleeve 36. In this implementation, the external sleeve 36 and / or the hollow cylinder 33 may comprise precompression means 37, such as one or more radial projection(s), cooperating with said skirt 25. These precompression means 37 require the user to exert a predetermined actuating force in order to be overcome. Advantageously, the skirt 25 comprises at its lower axial end a radial profile 26 cooperating with said precompression means 37 at the very start of actuation. Typically, from a predetermined actuation force, the radial profile 26 of the skirt 25 can pass over the radial projection 37. Such precompression in the suddenly released user's hand ensures that actuation will be achieved completely, without the risk of partial actuation.

[0026] Advantageously, the external sleeve 36 and / or the hollow cylinder 33 may comprise retaining means 38, such as one or more radial projection(s), to ensure that the dispensing head 20 is held on the actuating member 35.

[0027] In the rest position, the radial profile 26 of the skirt 25 is advantageously wedged between the projections 37 and 38 of the actuating member 35.

[0028] In the example shown in the figures, the reservoir 10 is formed inside the dispensing head 20, and is open at its two axial ends. In the rest position, the reservoir 10 is closed at its upper axial end by a removable cover 40, visible in the figure 1 . This cover 40 serves to close and protect the dispensing orifice 21 and the reservoir 10, and therefore the dose of powder that it contains. The lower axial end of the reservoir 10 is closed by an insert 50.

[0029] This insert 50 comprises a central body 51 provided with a radial shoulder 55 projecting radially outwards. The radial shoulder 55 cooperates in the rest position in a sealed manner with the lower axial end of the cylindrical part 27 of the dispensing head 20. During actuation, the insert 50 is slightly moved axially upwards relative to the head 20 towards its actuation position, in which the radial shoulder 55 then cooperates with the radial recess 28. In this actuation position, the air flow generated by the air flush 30 can then pass around said radial shoulder 55 and carry with it the powder contained in the reservoir 10.

[0030] The air piston 32 of the air flush 30 is advantageously formed on said insert 50.

[0031] In the example of the figures, the air piston 32 comprises an O-ring fixed in a suitable housing of said insert 50, but it could be made in any suitable manner, for example in the well-known form of a sealing lip.

[0032] The operation of the dispensing device will now be described with reference to the figures.

[0033] In resting position, visible on the figure 1 , the dose of powder placed in the reservoir 10 is protected on the one hand by the removable cover 40 positioned on the head 20 and on the other hand by the insert 50 in the sealed closure position relative to the head 20.

[0034] When a user wishes to use the device, he removes the removable cover 40 and inserts the nasal tip 23 of the head 20 into a nostril.

[0035] To actuate the device, he places his fingers on the finger rest 22 of the head 20 and his thumb on the bottom of the actuating member 35, and exerts an axial actuating force between his fingers and his thumb.

[0036] The precompression means 37 require the user to exert a predetermined force to trigger the actuation.

[0037] When this predetermined force is exerted, the head 20 can move axially downwards relative to the actuating member 35. The resistance exerted by the air chamber 31 on the air piston 32 being greater than that exerted by the head 20 on the insert 50, at the start of actuation the insert 50 does not move relative to the actuating member 35, and it is the head which moves slightly relative to the actuating member 35 and relative to the insert 50. This has the effect of moving the insert 50 from its sealed closure position into its actuating position in which the radial shoulder 55 is arranged in the radial recess 28, as visible in the figure 2 .

[0038] In this position, the lower axial end of the cylindrical part 27 of the head 20 comes into contact with the air piston 32, and a continuation of the axial movement of the head 20 relative to the actuating member 35 will therefore axially move the insert 50 relative to the actuating member 35, with consequently a movement of the air piston 32 in the air chamber 31, which compresses the air contained in the air chamber.

[0039] When the air piston 32 reaches the radial cutout 34, at the end of the actuation stroke, the compressed air can escape from the air chamber 31 to expel the dose of powder contained in the reservoir 10.

[0040] The present invention therefore makes it possible to produce a single-dose powder dispensing device with only three constituent parts, namely the dispensing head 20, the actuating member 35 and the insert 50, and a removable part, namely the cover 40. The manufacture and assembly of the device are therefore particularly simple and inexpensive.

[0041] In addition, the air flush is independent of the user, because regardless of the force or speed of actuation, the compressed air flow is only released at the end of the actuation stroke, therefore always with the same performance, particularly in terms of pressure and flow rate.

[0042] The present invention has been described with reference to an advantageous embodiment, but it is understood that a person skilled in the art can make any modifications thereto, without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. Device for nasal delivery of powder having a reservoir (10) containing one single dose of powder, a nasal delivery head (20) having a delivery orifice (21) intended to be inserted into a nostril of a user, an actuating member (35) axially displaceable with respect to said head (20) during the actuation of said device, and an air expeller (30) generating, during the actuation, a flow of compressed air to deliver said dose of powder into said nostril through said delivery orifice (21), said air expeller comprising an air chamber (31), formed by a hollow axial cylinder (33), and an air piston (32), which during actuation, slides sealingly into said hollow axial cylinder (33) to compress the air contained in said air chamber (31), characterised in that said device comprises an insert (50) forming said air piston (32) and interacting sealingly in a rest position with said reservoir (10), said insert (50) being axially displaceable with respect to said reservoir (10) between its rest position and an actuation position, in which it no longer interacts sealingly with said reservoir (10), said reservoir (10), comprising a cylindrical part (27) of said delivery head (20), said cylindrical part (27) having in its lower part, a radial recess (28) on its radially internal surface and a piston (29) on its radially external surface, said insert (50) having a central body (51) provided with a radial shoulder (55) projecting radially outwards, said radial shoulder (55) interacting sealingly in a rest position with a lower axial end of said cylindrical part (27) of said delivery head (20) and interacting in an actuation position with said radial recess (28).

2. Device according to claim 1, comprising a removable cap (40) which, in a rest position, closes and protects said delivery orifice (21) and therefore the dose of powder contained in said reservoir (10).

3. Device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said hollow axial cylinder (33) of said air expeller (30) is integral with said actuating member (35) slidingly mounted with respect to said delivery head (20).

4. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said hollow cylinder (33) of said air expeller (30) has, at a lower axial end, a radial cutout (34) forming a cylinder part of a greater diameter, such that said air piston (32) interacts sealingly with said hollow cylinder (33) until it reaches said cutout (34), where it no longer interacts sealingly, enabling the compressed air to be discharged from said air chamber (31) to form said flow of compressed air used to expel said dose of powder from said reservoir (10).

5. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said insert (50) is displaced from its rest position to its actuation position at the start of the displacement of said actuating member (35), and said flow of compressed air is generated at the end of the displacement of said actuating member (35).