Inhalator-monitoring speaker

Abstract

To provide an inhalator-monitoring speaker used for an inhalator.SOLUTION: The inhalator-monitoring speaker comprises a base, a mount, and a sensor. The base includes: a top part where an open top is formed; and a trunk part where a cavity communicating with the outside through the open top is formed. The mount includes: a holding part disposed at the open top; and a mounting part connected to the holding part and having at least one slit formed between itself and the top part or the trunk part. The sensor is disposed at the base and is adjacent to the cavity.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention provides an inhaler monitoring speaker, and more particularly, to an inhaler monitoring speaker that can be filtered by a mechanical structure. [Background technology]

[0002] As air pollution becomes more serious, interest in respiratory tract diseases is also increasing, and among them, asthma and chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD) have high morbidity rates, require long-term control, and consume a lot of medical resources. The current main treatment for both asthma and COPD is the long-term use of inhaled medications by patients, and inhaled medications and the inhalers used in combination with them are becoming important pharmaceuticals and medical devices in related medical fields.

[0003] Inhaled medications are generally divided into spray types (metered dose inhalers, MDIs & soft mist inhalers, SMIs) and dry powder types (dry powder inhalers), each with its own dedicated inhaler. With the commonly used dry powder inhalers, the powdered medication is introduced into the inhaler by the patient's own inhalation force, where it is dispersed and atomized before being ingested. Therefore, if the patient's inhalation force is insufficient, the airflow that disperses and suspends the powder is insufficient, preventing the powdered medication from reaching the lungs. On the other hand, if the patient's inhalation force is too strong and the airflow is too fast, the medication enters the body before being fully dispersed and atomized, making it more likely to deposit in the throat or mouth, preventing it from reaching the lungs. In such cases, not only does the medication fail to achieve its therapeutic effect, but it is also more likely to cause adverse side effects. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor the inhalation force to ensure that it is within the appropriate range in order to simultaneously achieve the goal of atomizing the powdered medication and absorbing it into the body. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Most of the monitoring methods currently available on the market rely on the sound generated when a patient inhales to determine the range of suction power. However, because the sound emitted by an inhaler is small, external noise can easily be mixed in during use, resulting in inaccurate detection. For this reason, some manufacturers use analog or digital circuits to process audio signals received by a sound pickup device and filter out environmental noise. However, signal filtering cannot filter out noise with a specific direction. When filtering is performed using circuits or software, if the input sound itself contains noise, the output result is also susceptible to noise interference, affecting the detection results.

[0005] Therefore, the inventors have conducted extensive research and developed an inhaler monitoring speaker that filters directionally and through a mechanical structure to provide the effect of maintaining response strength.

[0006] The present invention provides an inhaler monitoring speaker for use in an inhaler, comprising a base, a mounting base, and a sensor. The base comprises an upper portion having an upper opening and a body portion having a cavity communicating with the outside through the upper opening. The mounting base comprises a holding portion disposed in the upper opening and a mounting portion connected to the holding portion and having at least one slit formed between the holding portion and the upper portion or the body portion. The sensor is disposed on the base and adjacent to the cavity.

[0007] In one embodiment, the top, body or mounting portion includes a sidewall, and the slit is The slit and sidewall are disposed adjacent the wall, and extend substantially along the longitudinal direction.

[0008] In one embodiment, the above-mentioned sensor is used to detect a target sound, and the slit and the target sound satisfy the following relationship:

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[0009] In one embodiment, the length of the slit is 50 mm or more and 150 mm or less, the height of the cavity is 15 mm or more and 80 mm or less, and the inner diameter of the cavity is 20 mm or more and 50 mm or less.

[0010] In one embodiment, the inhaler monitoring speaker is further used to simulate as an equivalent acoustic circuit, and the sensor is used to detect the target sound, and the configuration of the equivalent acoustic circuit satisfies the following relationship:

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[0011] In one embodiment, there are two slits, the mounting base defines a circumferential direction, and the two slits are arranged on opposite sides of the mounting portion in the circumferential direction.

[0012] In one embodiment, the inhaler monitoring speaker further includes a mating part connected to the holder and including at least one mating part, and the mounting base includes a clamp part defining a circumferential direction and connected to the holder and including a slope, the mating part and the clamp part being disposed on opposite sides of the mounting base in the circumferential direction.

[0013] In one embodiment, the above-mentioned mounting base further includes at least one elastic part, and the elastic part and the holding part are embedded in the top and are suitable for surrounding the inhaler together.

[0014] In one embodiment, the base further includes a bottom portion, the body portion is disposed between the top portion and the bottom portion, and the sensor is disposed inside the bottom portion and communicates with the outside of the base.

[0015] In one embodiment, the inhaler monitoring speaker further includes a presentation unit disposed on the barrel and electrically connected to the sensor.

[0016] As a result, when a patient uses an inhaler, the inhaler monitoring speaker of the present invention blocks high-frequency noise from a specific direction due to the sound shadow effect, and only high-frequency target sounds and low-frequency sounds from a specific direction are allowed to enter the cavity through the slits, and are then received and detected by the sensor, thereby achieving a filtering effect through the mechanical structure.

[0017] In order to make the above-mentioned features and advantages of the present invention more clearly understandable, the following embodiments are given in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0018] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic perspective view showing the cooperation between an embodiment of a suction device monitoring speaker according to the present invention and a suction device; FIG. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the inhaler in FIG. 1. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the inhaler monitoring speaker in FIG. 1. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a schematic top view of FIG. 3. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along the line XX in FIG. 4. [Figure 6]FIG. 2 is an equivalent circuit diagram simulating the inhaler monitoring speaker in FIG. 1. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0019] The above and other technical contents, features, and advantages of the present invention will be clearly explained below by a detailed description of preferred embodiments with reference to the drawings. Note that directional terms such as up, down, left, right, front, and rear referred to in the following embodiments are only directional terms with reference to the drawings. Therefore, the directional terms used are for illustrative purposes only and do not limit the present invention. Furthermore, in the following embodiments, identical or corresponding elements are denoted by identical or corresponding reference numerals.

[0020] Please refer to Figures 1 and 2. Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view showing the cooperation between an embodiment of an inhaler monitoring speaker according to the present invention and an inhaler. Figure 2 is a schematic perspective view of the inhaler in Figure 1. The inhaler monitoring speaker 1 of this embodiment is used in an inhaler 2, which is a dry powder inhaler for containing, for example, Symbicort Rapihaler vaporized propellant. The size of the inhaler monitoring speaker 1 corresponds to the size of the inhaler 2, so that when the inhaler 2 is assembled with the inhaler monitoring speaker 1, a user can lift and use both together without any difficulty when lifting them. As shown in Figure 2, the inhaler 2 includes a main body 22 and a base 24. The base 24 is connected to the main body 22 and may include a plurality of mating features 24a, such as ribs, arranged at equal intervals on the surface of the base 24.

[0021] Please refer to Figures 3 to 5. Figure 3 is a schematic perspective view of the inhaler monitoring speaker in Figure 1. Figure 4 is a schematic top view of Figure 3. Figure 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along the line XX in Figure 4. The inhaler monitoring speaker 1 of this embodiment includes a base 100 for forming a chamber that blocks environmental noise and conducts sound generated by the inhaler, a mounting base 200 that is disposed on the base 100 and for mounting the inhaler 2, and a sensor 500, which is, for example, a microphone connected to a digital circuit, that can receive sound generated by air passing through the internal space of the base 100 and convert it into a signal suitable for determination by the system.

[0022] In detail, the base 100 includes an upper portion 110 having an upper opening, a body portion 120 having a cavity 126 communicating with the outside via the upper opening, and a bottom portion 130 having a bottom opening (separated by a dotted line in FIG. 5). On the other hand, the mounting base 200 includes a holding portion 210 that defines a circumferential direction and is disposed at the upper opening and is, for example, substantially annular, and a mounting portion 220 that is connected to the holding portion 210 and has at least one slit 226 formed between the upper portion 110 and the body portion 120. In this embodiment, the slits 226 are formed, for example, between the upper portion 110 and the holding portion 220, and there are, for example, two slits 226, and these slits 226 are disposed on opposite sides of the mounting portion 220 in the circumferential direction. However, in the present invention, However, this is not limited to this, and depending on the sound emission position of the inhaler 2, only one slit 226 may be provided, or multiple slits 226 may be arranged asymmetrically around the circumference of the mounting portion 220, and the sensor 500 may be arranged at the bottom opening.

[0023] Specifically, when a user inhales medicine using the inhaler 2, noise from the external environment easily interferes with the sound sensor that detects the sound of gas inhaled by the inhaler 2, distorting the detection results. Conventional circuit-based filtering methods require processing of the original audio signals of environmental noise from all directions, which not only increases computational costs but also makes it difficult to completely filter the noise. In contrast, the inhaler monitoring speaker 1 of this embodiment has a slit 226 formed between the base 100 and the mounting base 200. When a user inhales medicine using the inhaler 2, a corresponding sound is generated, and the air around the slit 226 and the air in the cavity 126 in the base 100 vibrate synchronously. The vibrations are then detected by the sensor 500. Therefore, in the inhaler monitoring speaker 1 of this embodiment, not only is the sound emitted when the user inhales medicine directly detected by the sensor 500, but the upper portion 110, the body portion 120, and the mounting portion 220 provide a barrier so that side noise does not enter the cavity 126 and interfere with the detection results of the sensor 500.

[0024] 5, the upper portion 110 includes side walls 112 corresponding in number to the slits 226, the slits 226 are disposed adjacent to the side walls 112, and the slits 226 and the side walls 112 extend substantially along the vertical direction (i.e., the up-and-down direction in FIG. 5). With this configuration, only sound directly facing the slits 226 is transmitted to vibrate in the vertical direction through the air at the corresponding position, and sound perpendicular to the side walls 112 is blocked, thereby achieving the effect of receiving sound directionally.

[0025] Please also refer to Figure 6. Figure 6 is an equivalent circuit diagram simulating the inhaler monitoring speaker of Figure 1. In detail, in the present invention, by simulating the inhaler monitoring speaker 1 as an equivalent circuit, the following relational expression can be derived.

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[0026] where Psensor is the power generated at the sensor 500 by the target sound, and P slit is the power of the target sound when it is transmitted through the air in the slit 226, and P cavity is the power of the target sound when transmitted through the air to the cavity 126, and P radiation is the power consumed when the target sound converts the sound pressure in the air into the conduction velocity in the air, and P membrane is the power at which the sensing thin film of the sensor 500 vibrates, and P back is the power consumed when the air adjacent to the sensor 500 is compressed.

[0027] To simplify the model, the air inside the entire inhaler monitoring speaker 1 is "grounded," that is, the sensor 500 is placed at the bottom opening, so that the sensor 500 is placed inside the bottom 130 and simultaneously communicates with the outside of the base 100, and the pressure difference between them is equal to the pressure difference between the outside atmosphere and the pressure difference caused by conduction and vibration of the target sound. In this case, the mode in which the air inside the inhaler monitoring speaker 1 is simply compressed without vibrating can be simulated as a capacitance in the circuit, and the corresponding impedance is expressed by the following equation:

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[0028] where Z C is the impedance when the air inside the speaker (including the cavity 126 and the slit 226) is compressed as a volume, ω is the angular frequency of the target sound, C is the equivalent capacitance value, V is the equivalent volume of the air, ρ0 is the air density, S is the cross-sectional area of ​​the corresponding part, L is the vertical length of the air, and c is the speed of sound in the air.

[0029] On the other hand, since both ends are free, the air in the slit 226 can be simulated as an inductor in the circuit in addition to capacitance in a mode where it is not compressed and simply vibrates, and the corresponding impedance is expressed by the following equation:

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[0030] where Z L is the impedance when the air in the slit 226 vibrates as an inductor, and M A is the acoustic mass corresponding to the air in that portion. It is worth noting that by adjusting the length of slit 226, it is possible to filter out low-frequency noise directly opposite slit 226. Specifically, the height of currently commercially available monitoring speakers is between half the wavelength and five times the wavelength of the target sound; in other words, slit 226 formed in inhaler monitoring speaker 1 and the target sound also satisfy the following relationship:

number

[0031] Here, λ is the wavelength of the target sound, and l is the vertical length of the slit 226. However, in this case, since general simulation methods cannot be applied accurately, the slit 226 and the cavity 126 are simulated together as a dedicated T-shaped circuit for sound via a mechanical structure, and filtering can be performed using the configuration of the speaker itself. This is a major feature that was difficult to achieve with filtering using conventional digital circuits.

[0032] Regarding the part that converts the sound pressure in the air into impedance corresponding to the conduction velocity in the air (also called radiation impedance), since the product of the surface radius of the microphone of the sensor 500 and the wave number of the target sound is much smaller than 1, the radiation impedance at the input end of the sensor 500 is expressed by the following equation:

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[0033] where Z rad is the radiation impedance and R ris the real part of the impedance (equivalent resistance value), and X r is the imaginary part of the impedance, and is related to the angular frequency and the equivalent inductance value M r where k is the wave number and a is the characteristic radius of the target area. When some sound is generated from the inhaler 2, the sound is transmitted to the cavity 126 through either side of the slit 226 and received by the sensor 500. Therefore, by assigning the impedance of the slit 226 (including the inductance configuration and the capacitance configuration), the impedance of the cavity 126 (including the inductance configuration and the capacitance configuration), the radiation impedance, the impedance of the sensor 500, and the volume of the air outside the sensor 500 to the first impedance Z1, the second impedance Z2, the third impedance Z3, the fourth impedance Z4, and the equivalent capacitance C, respectively, and by assigning the power of the target sound to the equivalent power P, an equivalent circuit shown in FIG. 6 can be constructed.

[0034] In the overall equivalent circuit, the impedance of cavity 126, the radiation impedance, the impedance of sensor 500, and the equivalent capacitance C simulating the external air may be considered constant. In other words, by adjusting the size of the different slits 226, the first impedance Z1 can be adjusted to receive and amplify sound of a specific frequency. Therefore, if different users use different inhalers 2 and need to detect different suction force ranges, or if you want to set the detection section to a specific frequency, this can be achieved by adjusting the slits 226 of the inhaler monitoring speaker 1, greatly improving the flexibility of use of the inhaler monitoring speaker 1.

[0035] It is worth noting that the length of slit 226 is preferably 50 mm or more and 150 mm or less so that the viscous resistance of air passing through slit 226 can be ignored in the overall simulation circuit process. If there are multiple slits 226, the above length is the total length of all slits 226. Meanwhile, the height of cavity 126 is preferably 15 mm or more and 80 mm or less, and the inner diameter of cavity 126 is preferably 20 mm or more and 50 mm or less. Substituting the above-mentioned relational expressions, it is further obtained that the acoustic mass corresponding to the air in slit 226 satisfies the following relation:

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[0036] In order to more conveniently adjust the slit 226, in this embodiment, the mounting base 200 further includes at least one elastic portion 230, which is, for example, a partially annular structure positioned radially outward of the mounting base 200 relative to the holding portion 210, has elasticity, and is, for example, two in number, disposed on opposite sides of the mounting portion 220 in the circumferential direction, and the elastic portion 230 and the holding portion 210 are embedded in the upper portion 110. Inhaler monitoring speaker When the inhaler 1 and the inhaler 2 are assembled together, the elastic part 230 and the holding part 210 suitably surround the inhaler together, so that if a different size of the slit 226 is required to accommodate a different suction force or frequency, the user can remove the mounting base 200 from the base 100 by pressing the elastic part 230, and then replace it with another different type of mounting base 200 to change the size of the slit 226 to accommodate a different suction force and frequency.

[0037] In some embodiments, the inhaler monitoring speaker 1 may further include a mating component 400 connected to the holder 210 and including at least one mating component 410. In this embodiment, the mating component 410 is, for example, capsule-shaped and corresponds to the mating feature 24a of the base 24, while the mounting base 200 further includes a clamping component 240, for example, a resilient hook-shaped spring piece including a sloped surface 242, and the mating component 400 and the clamping component 240 are respectively disposed on opposite sides of the mounting base 200 in the circumferential direction. With this configuration, when the inhaler 2 is assembled to the inhaler monitoring speaker 1, the base 24 is guided by the sloped surface 242 to smoothly enter the holding component 210 and be mounted on the mounting component 220, and when assembly of the inhaler 2 is completed, the clamping component 240, which has been elastically bent under the force, is smoothly bent. The base 24 is repelled, and the hook-like structure clamps the base 24 in the axial direction, while the mating portion 410 is fitted between the mating features 24a, thereby preventing circumferential rotation of the inhaler 2 relative to the mounting base 200 and preventing relative positional deviation between the inhaler monitoring speaker 1 and the inhaler 2.

[0038] It is worth noting that, in this embodiment, the effect of fixing the inhaler 2 is achieved by arranging the mating parts 400 on one side of the mount 200 and the clamping parts 240 on the other side, but the present invention is not limited to this. In other embodiments, the mating parts 400 and the corresponding mating parts 410 may be arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction, or multiple clamping parts 240 may be provided and further ribs may be provided in the circumferential direction, thereby achieving the same effect of fixing the inhaler.

[0039] 3 and 5, the inhaler monitoring speaker 1 preferably further includes a display unit 300, such as a liquid crystal display panel, disposed on the body 120, and a control unit 600, such as a processor, and the display unit 300 is electrically connected to the sensor 500 by the control unit 600. With this configuration, if the suction force is lower or higher than a set threshold range, the signal output from the sensor 500 is determined by the control unit 600, and then a warning message is displayed in real time by the display unit 300 to notify the user to increase or decrease the suction force, thereby achieving the effect of effectively ingesting the powdered medicine.

[0040] As a result, the inhaler monitoring speaker 1 of this embodiment achieves the effect of directional reception of the target sound, as the cooperation between the base 100 and the slit 226 blocks noise from the sides and only allows sound from the direction directly facing the slit 226 to enter. Furthermore, by adjusting the size of the slit 226, target sounds corresponding to different suction forces and frequencies can be received, and the length of the slit 226 can be appropriately adjusted. Furthermore, low-frequency noise in the target sound can be filtered, while high-frequency noise with a large frequency difference from the target sound can be easily filtered, thereby significantly improving the detection performance of the inhaler monitoring speaker 1.

[0041] Although the present invention has been disclosed in the preferred embodiments as described above, those skilled in the art should understand that the above embodiments are for the purpose of explaining the present invention and do not limit the scope of the present invention. Furthermore, all modifications and replacements equivalent to the above embodiments should be considered to be included in the scope of the present invention, and as long as there is no conceptual contradiction or structural conflict, each of the above embodiments can be used in combination. The technical features of the present invention can be combined, substituted, omitted or modified as appropriate. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention is limited by the scope of the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0042] 1 inhaler monitoring speaker 100 base 110 Upper 112 Side wall 120 Torso 126 Cavity 130 Bottom 210 Holding part 220 Mounting section 226 Slit 230 Elastic part 240 Clamp section 242 Slope 300 presentation units 400 Mating part 410 Fitting part 500 sensors 600 Control Unit 2 Inhaler 22 Main Unit 24 Foundation 24a Mating Features C equivalent capacity P equivalent power XX cross section Z1-Z4 equivalent impedance

Claims

1. Used in an inhaler, and a base including an upper portion having an upper opening formed therein and a body portion having a cavity formed therein that communicates with the outside through the upper opening; a mounting base including a holding portion disposed in the upper opening and a mounting portion connected to the holding portion and having at least one slit formed between the holding portion and the upper portion or the body portion; a sensor disposed on the base and adjacent to the cavity; Includes an inhaler monitoring speaker.

2. the upper portion, the body portion, or the mounting portion includes a sidewall, the at least one slit is disposed adjacent to the sidewall, and the at least one slit and the sidewall extend substantially along a longitudinal direction; 2. The inhaler monitoring speaker of claim 1.

3. The sensor is used to detect a target sound, and the at least one slit and the target sound satisfy the following relationship:

3. The inhaler monitoring speaker of claim 2. [Equation 1] where l is the length of the at least one slit and λ is the wavelength of the target sound.

4. 2. The inhaler monitoring speaker of claim 1, wherein the length of the at least one slit is 50 mm or more and 150 mm or less, the height of the cavity is 15 mm or more and 80 mm or less, and the inner diameter of the cavity is 20 mm or more and 50 mm or less.

5. Furthermore, the sensor is used to simulate an equivalent acoustic circuit, and the sensor is used to detect target sound, and the configuration of the equivalent acoustic circuit satisfies the following relationship:

2. The inhaler monitoring speaker of claim 1. [Equation 2] (Here, P ｓｅｎｓｏｒ is the power generated at the sensor by the target sound, and P ｓｌｉｔ is the power of the target sound when transmitted through the air in the at least one slit, and P ｃａｖｉｔｙ is the power of the target sound when transmitted through the air in the cavity, and P ｒａｄｉａｔｉｏｎ is the power consumed when the target sound converts the sound pressure in the air into the conduction velocity in the air, and P ｍｅｍｂｒａｎｅ is the power with which the sensing film of the sensor vibrates, and P ｂａｃｋ is the power consumed when compressing the air adjacent to the sensor.)

6. the at least one slit is provided in two pieces, the mounting base defines a circumferential direction, and the two slits are respectively arranged on opposite sides of the mounting portion in the circumferential direction; 2. The inhaler monitoring speaker of claim 1.

7. The holding portion further includes a fitting portion connected to the holding portion and including at least one fitting portion; the mounting base includes a clamp portion that defines a circumferential direction and is connected to the holding portion and includes a sloped surface, and the fitting portion and the clamp portion are respectively disposed on opposite sides of the mounting base in the circumferential direction.

2. The inhaler monitoring speaker of claim 1.

8. the mounting base further includes at least one elastic portion, the at least one elastic portion and the holding portion being embedded in the upper portion and adapted to surround the inhaler together; 2. The inhaler monitoring speaker of claim 1.

9. the base further includes a bottom portion, the body portion is disposed between the top portion and the bottom portion, and the sensor is disposed inside the bottom portion and communicates with the outside of the base.

2. The inhaler monitoring speaker of claim 1.

10. a presentation unit disposed on the body and electrically connected to the sensor; 2. The inhaler monitoring speaker of claim 1.

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