Counter that can be inserted into an inhaler device

Abstract

The invention relates to a counter (1) which can be inserted into an inhaler device (2), wherein the counter (1) has a housing (11) comprising a housing cover (12), a housing side wall (13) and a housing base (14), wherein electronic components (K), such as a memory element (27), a microcomputer (26) and a display (22), are arranged in the housing (11) for detecting and displaying a count. In order to specify a further improved counter of the type in question, according to the invention a switch (29) is provided in the housing (11), which can be acted upon to trigger a counting process, wherein the switch (29) can be actuated by a movable section (39) of the housing (11) which can be operated from the outside, wherein furthermore a plunger (52) connected to the housing (11) is provided for operating on the section (39), which plunger can be moved from a position remote from the section (39) into a position in which it bears against the section.

Description

/ J Description Counter that can be inserted into an inhalation device field of technology

[0001] The invention relates to a counter that can be inserted into an inhalation device, wherein the counter has a housing with a housing top, a housing side wall and a housing bottom, wherein furthermore electronic components, such as a storage element, a microcontroller and a display, are arranged in the housing for recording and displaying a count. State of the art

[0002] Counters of the type in question are used in particular in inhalation devices for medical aerosol therapy in the treatment of respiratory diseases. In this context, counters are known that are designed to electronically record each inhalation and to electronically display the number of inhalations already performed or still to be performed. For example, reference is made to WO 2014 / 031853 Al (US 2014 / 0053833 Al). Summary of the invention

[0003] In view of the aforementioned state of the art, the task is to specify a counter of the type in question which is advantageously designed with a simple structure.

[0004] According to a first inventive concept, one possible solution to the problem is given in a counter, where the focus is on the fact that in 31110R2PCT 23.03.2026 a switch is provided in the housing which can be actuated to trigger a counting process, wherein the switch can be actuated by a movable section of the housing which can be actuated from the outside, wherein a plunger connected to the housing is further provided to act on the section, which can be moved from a position away from the section to a position adjacent to the section.

[0005] The switch provided within the housing can, preferably, be an electronic microswitch, which can accordingly be part of one of the electronic components in the housing. During inhalation, this switch is indirectly actuated by a plunger located outside the housing, with the energy supplied by the plunger being transferred to actuate the switch via the movable section of the housing.

[0006] The resulting indirect actuation of the switch allows for the creation of a counter housing that essentially protects the components within, and in particular the electronic components, from the surrounding environment. It is also possible to design the housing to completely encapsulate the electronic components from the environment. With regard to encapsulation, but also independently of it, it is desirable that as little moisture and / or dust as possible can penetrate the interior.

[0007] The movement of the plunger to act on the section can, preferably, be derived from the usual movement of a reservoir used in the inhalation device during an inhalation procedure. The reservoir can also be a cartridge. 31110R2PCT 23.03.2026. The reservoir or cartridge preferably contains pharmaceutical agent under pressure. The plunger is connected to the counter, in particular to the counter housing, in every displacement position.

[0008] When using and arranging the counter in the inhalation device, the counter is positioned below the reservoir. In many cases, the counter is activated by pressing on the reservoir. The reservoir then simultaneously moves the counter downwards, resulting in the described switching event. This switching event can be derived from the movement relative to a stationary device housing.

[0009] Overall, the counter design can be relatively simple, with all components relevant for counting and displaying the data arranged in or on the housing. This also simplifies the installation of such a counter in the inhalation device.

[0010] Further features are explained below, also in the figure description, often in their preferred relation to the solution described in general or to other features. However, they may also be related to only individual features already described or to the respective feature described further, or they may be independent of their significance.

[0011] The housing of the counter may have a through-opening extending from the top to the bottom of the housing and having a geometric longitudinal axis. Through this through-opening, according to... 31110R2PCT 23.03.2026 In one possible design of the inhalation device, a nozzle section on the device engages, in which a valve part of the reservoir containing the pharmaceutical medication is received and supported. This results in the counter being positioned, under normal handling and use of the inhalation device, below the reservoir inserted into the device, thereby surrounding the valve part of the reservoir and / or the nozzle section of the device housing in a ring-like fashion. The opening can be formed by a portion of the housing wall, thus allowing for encapsulation.

[0012] According to a preferred embodiment, the movable section is made of a flexible material. The flexibility of the movable section can result from the material chosen for the movable section alone, or from the movable section together with the housing area surrounding it. However, it is even more preferred that only the movable section be flexible, while the surrounding housing area is comparatively rigid.

[0013] With regard to the movable section, a design made of a flexible, resilient plastic may be preferred, the material thickness of which is selected such that, due to compressive stress on the plunger, movement of the entire movable section or a portion thereof can occur, for example, by forming a bulge or the like. Furthermore, the movable section, consisting of a flexible material, may, for example, have a material thickness of, for example, 0.5 to 2 mm perpendicular to its surface area. POM, for example, could be used as a material in this respect. 31110R2PCT 23.03.2026 (Polyoxymethylene) may be used, hn Otherwise, a housing may consist of, for example, PE (polyethylene).

[0014] In a further embodiment, the movable section can be part of the housing base. Furthermore, the movable section, like the housing base as a whole, can extend essentially in a transverse plane to the aforementioned geometric longitudinal axis of the through-opening. With regard to the movable section, this extension is particularly evident when the surface is directed outwards towards the plunger and interacts with the plunger during counting.

[0015] For the preferably direct action on the switch provided in the counter housing, an actuating cam can be formed on the inside of the movable section of the housing, extending from the movable section into the interior of the housing. The actuating cam can be a separate component connected to the movable section of the housing, for example, in the case of a movable section made of a flexible material, in the form of a hard plastic part attached to it. However, the actuating cam can also, preferably, be formed integrally with the movable section and / or be made of the same material.

[0016] The plunger can also be designed with a spring element. This spring element can, in particular, serve to return the plunger from a position acting on the moving section back to a resting position away from that section. During the inhalation process and the associated triggering of the counting function, the spring element preferably generates the spring restoring force. 31110R2PCT 23.03.2026

[0017] In this context, it can further be provided that the spring element is snap-fitted to the housing of the counter. This can, and preferably, be a snap-fit ​​connection that cannot be released by the user. Alternatively, a locking mechanism that cannot be released without damage can also be provided.

[0018] For this purpose, the spring element can further have a locking cam that is received in a locking opening in the housing side wall. Such a locking opening is preferably designed such that, in order to preserve the encapsulation of the housing interior, it does not extend all the way into the housing interior.

[0019] In a further embodiment, the spring element can have two spring arms which, particularly when viewed from a perspective where the longitudinal axis of the through-hole is essentially a point, extend towards each other in a V-shape. The two spring arms can, for example, form an angle of approximately 15° to 90° with each other and preferably bear against the housing of the inhalation device, particularly during inhalation and, correspondingly, during counting.

[0020] Furthermore, the spring arms can be formed from a pin, which extends perpendicularly or at an acute angle to a plane spanned by the spring arms. A geometric longitudinal axis of the pin can run in the same direction as the longitudinal axis of the through-hole of the counter housing.

[0021] The spring arms, together with the pin, can be arranged in an essentially LT-shaped configuration, with the spring arms forming at least approximately 31110R2PCT 23.03.2026 form the U-shaped legs running in the same direction and the pin forms the U-shaped bridge connecting the U-shaped legs.

[0022] In one possible embodiment, the locking cam, which enables the entire spring element to be fixed to the housing, can be formed on the pin. The locking cam can point from the pin in a direction that essentially corresponds to the orientation of the spring element or the spring arms as a whole relative to the pin.

[0023] The plunger acting on the movable section of the housing during a counting process can be formed on one of the spring arms. Furthermore, the plunger can be formed in one piece and / or from the same material as the corresponding spring arm.

[0024] The housing can, preferably, include a compartment for a power storage device. The power storage device serves to supply electrical power to the electrical components used in the housing for counting inhalation events, in particular the microcontroller, the memory element, and the display.

[0025] The mounting can be provided on the housing. A preferred embodiment is one in which the mounting is located inside the housing, so that the energy storage device is also preferably housed within the essentially encapsulated housing together with the other electronic components. 31110R2PCT 23.03.2026

[0026] The energy storage device can be designed as an essentially cylindrical section-shaped battery cell. Alternatively, the energy storage device can be designed, for example, in the form of a so-called button cell (coin cell).

[0027] In one possible configuration, if the energy storage device is cylindrical, it can be arranged transversely within the housing with respect to a cylindrical axis of the energy storage device, in the direction of extension of the through-opening. With regard to the typical orientation of the inhalation device during handling, this results in the energy storage device being aligned along a vertical plane.

[0028] Preferably, the housing accommodates two energy storage devices. Both energy storage devices are preferably designed as essentially cylindrical segmented battery cells. Furthermore, it is preferred that the two energy storage devices have an identical design.

[0029] The energy storage devices can thus be arranged with their cylindrical axes perpendicular to the direction of extension of the through-opening, and according to a further development, the cylindrical axes of both energy storage devices can run at an angle of less than 180° to each other in a view in which the longitudinal axis of the through-opening is represented as a point. In this respect, for example, an angle of 90 to 120° between the cylindrical axes can be included.

[0030] In particular, a plate-like PCB board can be arranged within the housing for the arrangement of electronic components, especially the memory element, the microcontroller, and the display. This printed circuit board has two sides. 31110R2PCT 23.03.2026

[0031] The display can be located on an outward-facing side of the PCB board. The display can be, and preferably is, an LCD (liquid crystal display), or, for example, a 7-segment liquid crystal display. An e-paper display (e-shelf label, ESL) can also be used.

[0032] A viewing window is provided in the housing of the counter, and possibly also in the housing of the inhalation device, on the display side. This window can be positioned on the mouthpiece side of the inhalation device housing.

[0033] The switch (microswitch) in the housing can also be moved essentially perpendicular to the movement of the plunger and / or the actuating cam. Thus, a movement of the plunger and / or the actuating cam that is essentially oriented along the longitudinal axis of the through-hole can result in an actuating movement of the switch that is perpendicular to this axis.

[0034] The through-hole of the counter can, in its installed state, have an upper opening section and a lower opening section, with the lower opening section extending through to a side wall of the housing. The spring element with the plunger can be located adjacent to the lower opening section. The switch can also be located within the housing in the area of ​​the lower opening section.

[0035] Furthermore, a counter that can be inserted into an inhalation device may also be provided, wherein the counter has a housing with a housing top, a housing side wall and a housing bottom, and wherein electronic components are further used for recording and displaying a count, 31110R2PCT 23.03.2026 such as a memory element, a microcontroller and a display, in which housings are arranged, wherein, in addition, a switch is provided in the housing which can be actuated to trigger a counting process, wherein the switch for counting the recording of a use of the inhalation device can be actuated by an actuating cam extending inside the housing and formed on the inside of a movable section of the housing, for which purpose the section can be actuated from the outside by means of a plunger connected to the housing and located outside the housing, which can be actuated from a position away from an outside of the section to a position adjacent to the section, whereby actuation of the switch by means of the actuating cam is achievable without the plunger penetrating the section.

[0036] The ranges or value ranges or multiple ranges specified above and below also include, with regard to the disclosure, all intermediate values, particularly in 1 / 10 increments of the respective dimension, and possibly also dimensionless values. For example, the specification 0.5 to 2 mm also includes the disclosure of 0.6 to 2 mm, 0.5 to 1.9 mm, 0.6 to 1.9 mm, etc., and the disclosure of 90 to 120° also includes the disclosure of 90.1 to 120°, 90 to 119.9°, 90.1 to 119.9°, etc. This disclosure can serve, on the one hand, to delimit a specified range boundary from below and / or above, or alternatively or additionally, to disclose one or more singular values ​​from a respective specified range. Brief description of the drawings

[0037] The invention is explained below with reference to the accompanying drawing, which, however, only represents one embodiment. The drawing shows: 31110R2PCT 23.03.2026Fig. 1 an inhalation device equipped with a counter in perspective view, relating to an inhalation readiness position; Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of the counter with an associated storage container; Fig. 3 shows the counter in a perspective exploded view; Fig. 4 shows the view against a PCB board of the counter according to arrow IV in Figure 3; Fig. 5 shows the view according to arrow V in Figure 2 towards the counter; Fig. 6 shows a side view towards the counter according to arrow VI in Figure 5, with the counter housing shown partially broken open; Fig. 7 shows the enlargement of area VII in Figure 6; Fig. 8 shows the section along line VIII-VIII in Figure 5; Fig. 9 shows the section along line IX-IX in Figure 5; Fig. 10 shows the section along line XX in Figure 9; Fig. 11 shows a spring element of the counter in a view according to arrow XI in Figure 3; 31110R2PCT 23.03.2026 Fig. 12 the inhalation device, the counter and the storage container in an exploded longitudinal section view; Fig. 13 shows the section through plane XIII in Figure 1; Fig. 14 shows the section along line XIV-XIV in Figure 13; Fig. 15 shows the section along line XV-XV in Figure 14; Fig. 16 shows a representation corresponding to Figure 13, but relating to a position during the inhalation process; Fig. 17 is a sectional view according to Figure 15, but relating to the position according to Figure 16. Description of the embodiments

[0038] The following is shown and described, initially with reference to the illustrations in Figures 2 and 3, a counter 1 for an inhalation device 2, as shown in Figure 1, for example.

[0039] The inhalation device 2 is used for the portioned dispensing of sprayable substances, in particular pharmaceutical substances, and especially inhalable medications.

[0040] For this purpose, the inhalation device 2 has a housing 3 into which a reservoir 4 containing the sprayable substance can be inserted. This reservoir 4 is axially displaceable within the housing 3 relative to it along a longitudinal axis x of the housing. 31110R2PCT 23.03.2026

[0041] As can be seen, for example, in Figure 3, the reservoir 4, associated with a reservoir head 5, can have a central valve tube 6 extending coaxially to the reservoir 4. Medication is dispensed via the latter by an axial relative movement between the reservoir 4 and the device housing 3.

[0042] During normal use of the inhalation device 2, the upper section of the device housing 3 is shaped like a shaft. A housing section oriented approximately perpendicular to this shaft extension forms a mouthpiece 7. The latter can be closed by a cover cap when the inhalation device 2 is not in use.

[0043] The valve tube 6 of the reservoir 4 is supported in an associated tubular nozzle section 8 of the device housing 3, while the reservoir 4 is axially movable within the shaft-like section of the device housing 3 surrounding the reservoir 4.

[0044] The nozzle section 8, which clamps the valve pipe 6 of the reservoir 4 and is formed within a lower housing section associated with the mouthpiece 7, is provided with a flow channel 9 with a reduced diameter compared to a section receiving the valve pipe end, which is fluidically connected to the valve pipe 6, wherein the end of the flow channel 9 facing away from the valve pipe 6 points towards the mouthpiece 7 (see also Figure 13).

[0045] Preferably centrally located below the opening-side end wall 10 of the storage container 4, and more preferably overlapping the valve tube 6, the counter 1 is arranged. This serves to register and display the 31110R2PCT 23.03.2026 dispensing operations performed, depending on the opening or dispensing strokes of the storage container 4.

[0046] The counter 1 is shown in a perspective exploded view in Figure 3. The counter 1 initially comprises a pot-shaped housing 11 with a circumferential housing wall 13 and a housing base 14, which housing 11 can be closed by a housing cover 12. The housing wall 13 and the housing base 14 can be formed in one piece and preferably of a single material.

[0047] As can be seen, for example, from the sectional view in Figure 8, the housing wall 13 can, with the exception of a housing end wall 15 which preferably runs in a straight line in this cross-section, essentially follow a circular line in a plan view.

[0048] In its operating position, the housing 11 is centrally penetrated by a sleeve section 16 molded onto the inside of the housing roof 12. The sleeve section 16 defines a through-opening 17 that extends from the housing roof 12 to the housing base 14 and has a longitudinal axis y. In the operating and assignment position of the counter 1 in the inhalation device 2, this longitudinal axis y corresponds to the overall longitudinal axis x of the housing.

[0049] The through-opening 17 has, in its installed state, an upper opening section 18 and a lower opening section 19. The upper opening section 18 opens freely into the surface of the housing roof 12 facing the end wall 10 of the storage container 4 in its installed state, while the lower opening section 19 opens both towards the housing base 14 and into - 31110R2PCT 23.03.2026 with reference to the longitudinal axis y - radial direction to the housing wall 13 runs freely.

[0050] In the installed state, the nozzle section 8 of the device housing 3 engages in the passage opening 17 in the area of ​​the lower opening section 19. In the installed state, the valve tube 6 extends into the passage opening 17 through the upper opening section 18, with the plug connection between the valve tube 6 and the nozzle section 8 being located within the axial extent of the passage opening 17.

[0051] Within the housing interior, which is essentially encapsulated to the outside by the housing wall 13, the housing cover 12, the housing base 14, and the sleeve section 16 surrounding the through-opening 17, a PCB board 20 is further arranged, essentially in relation to the housing end wall 15. This may be a so-called 3-layer board.

[0052] A display 22 is arranged on the PCB board 20 on an outward-facing side 21, i.e., facing the housing end wall 15. This can be an LCD display. The arrangement of the display 22 is chosen such that its display can be read from the outside through a transparent window 24 inserted in a recess 23 in the housing end wall 15.

[0053] In the installed state, the display 22 of the counter 1 is further assigned to the device housing 3, in particular in the shaft area of ​​the device housing 3, facing the transition to the mouthpiece 7, a window-like opening 55 is provided through which the user can look at the display of the display 22 through the window part 34 of the counter housing 11. 31110R2PCT 23.03.2026

[0054] In the illustrated embodiment, in the installed state, further electronic components K are arranged and interconnected on the PCB board 20 opposite the previously described plate side 21, such as a microcontroller 26, a memory element 27, an LCD driver 28 for the display 22 and an electronic switch 29 in the form of a microswitch.

[0055] Furthermore, the housing 11 provides a receptacle 30 for energy storage devices 31. As shown in the illustrations, two energy storage devices 31 can be provided, which are preferably essentially cylindrical segment-shaped battery cells 32, for example, in the form of so-called button cells. The arrangement of the battery cells 32 in the receptacle 30 is such that a cylindrical axis z of each battery cell 32 runs transversely to the longitudinal axis y of the through-opening 17. The cylindrical axes z of both battery cells 32 are also arranged at an angle α to each other, as can be seen, for example, in Figure 8, which corresponds to approximately 100 to 120°. In addition, the cylindrical axes z, in their radial inward extension with respect to the housing 11, can intersect the longitudinal axis y perpendicular to it.

[0056] Each battery cell 32 in the receptacle 30 has spring contacts 33 for electrically connecting the battery terminals. These spring contacts 33 are also electrically connected within the receptacle 30 to contact lugs 34 that, in the installed state, extend essentially transversely to the longitudinal axis y of the through-hole 17, for electrically connecting contacts 35 provided on the PCB board 20 (see also the enlarged views in Figure 3). This arrangement provides the electrical supply to the components on the PCB board 20. 31110R2PCT 23.03.2026

[0057] The switch 29 is arranged in an area of ​​the PCB board 20 facing the base of the housing 14. The switch 29 has a switching finger 37 projecting freely from a switch housing 36, which is provided with a contact surface 38 that, in an unactuated position of the switch 29, forms an acute angle of, for example, approximately 45° with a plane extending transversely to the longitudinal axis y (compare, for example, Figure 15).

[0058] Associated with the switch 29, a movable section 39 is formed in the base of the housing 14. As also shown, this can be a separate component made of a flexible material, such as an elastically resilient soft plastic material, which may be positioned in the area of ​​a base opening 41 of the housing 11, which is otherwise preferably made of a hard plastic, optionally with the interposition of a mounting frame 40.

[0059] On the inside of the movable section 39, an actuating cam 42 extends in a finger-like manner into the housing interior of the counter 1. This cam can, preferably, be formed in one piece and, moreover, preferably in a single material with the movable section 39 or its plate-shaped section 43 which closes the bottom opening 41.

[0060] A free end face 44 of the actuating cam 42 is arranged facing the actuation surface 38 of the switch 29.

[0061] On the outside of the housing 11, a further component of the counter 1 is a spring element 45. This element has, firstly and essentially, two spring arms 46 extending towards each other in a V-shape in a plan view as shown in Figure 11. These are connected to each other. 31110R2PCT 23.03.2026 Spring arms 46 in the area of ​​a pin 47, whose geometric axis t in the installed state preferably runs in the same direction as the longitudinal axis y of the through-opening 17, correspondingly in the usual operating position essentially in a vertical direction.

[0062] The geometric axis t of the pin 47 described above can, as can be seen for example in Figure 9, form an acute angle β of, for example, about 30 to 45°, relative to an unloaded basic position of the inhalation device 2, to a plane E spanned by the spring arms 46.

[0063] A locking cam 48, which in the installed state projects essentially radially inwards, is further formed on the pin 47 for locking interaction with a locking opening 49 in the area of ​​the housing wall 13. By means of this locking interaction, the spring element 45 is held on the housing 11, enabling the counter housing 11 to be displaced relative to the spring arms 46, which in this position are supported, particularly in the area of ​​their free ends 50, on the facing inner surface of the device housing base 51.

[0064] A finger-like plunger 52, directed towards the underside of the housing base 14 facing the spring arms 46, is preferably integrally formed on one of the spring arms 46 and, optionally, also preferably of a single material. Its free end face 53 points towards the outer surface 54 of the movable section 39 (see Figure 15).

[0065] Counter 1 is not connected to the storage container 4, so that when storage container 4 is removed from the device housing 3, counter 1 remains in the device housing 3. Rather, counter 1 31110R2PCT 23.03.2026 only held in the device housing 3 by encompassing the nozzle section 8 through the sleeve section 16 of the counter housing 11 and due to at least partial circumferential support via the housing wall 13 on the facing inner wall surface of the device housing 3, wherein support is provided on the bottom side via the spring arms 46 on the facing device housing bottom 51.

[0066] In this case, a rotation protection of the inserted counter 1 is preferably provided by the engagement of a rib 56 formed on the inside of the device housing 3 of the mouthpiece 7, which engages in a wedge-shaped groove 57 of the counter housing 11 in a substantially form-fitting manner.

[0067] The storage container 4 inserted into the device housing 3 is held in the usual manner in or on the nozzle section 8 by means of the valve tube 6, and rests on the facing surface of the counter housing 11.

[0068] When an actuation stroke of the reservoir 4 is performed and the reservoir is thereby vertically displaced towards the nozzle section 8 (arrow a in Figure 16), the counter 1, in particular the housing 11 with the components encapsulated inside, is pushed forward over the end wall 10 of the reservoir head 5, this with corresponding relative displacement of the housing 11 to the spring element 45, which is supported on the base 51 on the side of the device housing (see also Figure 17).

[0069] The axial displacement of the housing 11 relative to the spring element 45 described above also results, even when the spring element 45 is supported on the device housing base 51, in a partial pivot displacement of the spring arms 46 relative to the pin 47 by a temporary, transverse direction. 31110R2PCT 23.03.2026 of the axis t running axis u. This results in a superimposed downward displacement of the housing 11 and pivoting displacement of the spring arms 46 about the axis u, wherein the plunger 52 provided on one spring arm 46 with its end face 53 comes into contact with the facing outer surface 54 of the movable section 39 and elastically deforms it in the course of the displacement in such a way that the actuating cam 42 molded on the inside with its end face 44 comes into contact with the actuation surface 38 of the switch 29 and thus pivots the corresponding switching finger 37 into a contact position that can be detected electronically via the microcontroller 26 (see arrow b in Figure 17).

[0070] This results in an indirect actuation of the switch 29 by the spring-arm-side plunger 52 via the interposition of the movable section 39 of the housing 11, which is provided with the actuating cam 42. The movement of the plunger 52 and / or the actuating cam 42, which runs essentially along the longitudinal axis y of the through-opening 17 or is oriented on this longitudinal axis y, is essentially perpendicular to the movement of the switch 29, in particular its switching finger 37.

[0071] By actuating switch 29, the actuation stroke performed is detected and recorded. The number of actuation strokes performed, or preferably the number of remaining possible actuation strokes (starting from a maximum number of actuation strokes), is stored in the memory element 27 and displayed in the display 22.

[0072] The display 22 can be read through the opening 55 in the housing, particularly in the unactivated position of the inhalation device 2, i.e. in the unlowered position of the reservoir 4 (and thus of the counter 1), and furthermore in a preparation position for carrying out an inhalation. 31110R2PCT 23.03.2026

[0073] The aforementioned design of the counter 1 allows for the external actuation of an electronic switch 29 located within the counter 1, without a plunger 52 acting on the switch 29 penetrating the housing 11. Instead, the plunger movement is transmitted to a movable transmission element on the housing side – here, the movable section 39 – in order to act upon the switch 29 provided in the housing 11. This enables complete encapsulation of the housing interior containing the electronic components, which is completely enclosed externally by the housing wall 13, on the top and bottom sides by the housing top 12 and the housing bottom 14 with the movable section 39, and radially internally by the sleeve section 16 forming the through-opening 17. 31110R2PCT 23.03.2026 List of reference symbols 1 counter, 29 switches 2 inhalation devices 30 intake 3 device housings 31 power storage units 4 storage containers 32 battery cells 5 Container head 33 Spring contact 6 Valve pipe 34 Contact flag 7 Mouthpiece 35 Contact 8 Nozzle section 36 Switch housing 9 Flow channel 37 Switch finger 10 End wall 38 Impact surface 11 Housing 39 Movable section 12 Housing top 40 Mounting frame 13 Housing wall 41 Bottom opening 14 Housing base 42 Actuating cam 15 Housing end wall 43 Section 16 Sleeve section 44 End face 17 Through opening 45 Spring element 18 upper opening section 46 spring arm 19 lower opening section 47 pins 20 PCB boards, 48 ​​locking lugs 21 Plate side 49 Locking opening 22 Display 50 free end 23 Recess 51 Device housing base 24 Window part 52 Plunger 25 plate side 53 end face 26 microcontrollers 54 external surface area 27 Storage element 55 Breakthrough 28 LCD drivers, 56 ribs 31110R2PCT 23.03.202657 Nut y longitudinal axis z cylinder axis a Arrow E plane b Arrow u axis a angle t axis ß angle x longitudinal axis of the housing 31110R2PCT 23.03.2026

Claims

24 / 27 Claims 1. A counter (1) that can be inserted into an inhalation device (2), wherein the counter (1) has a housing (11) with a housing top (12), a housing side wall (13) and a housing bottom (14), wherein electronic components (K), such as a storage element (27), a microcomputer (26) and a display (22), are further arranged in the housing (11) for recording and displaying a count, characterized in that a switch (29) is provided in the housing (11) which can be actuated to trigger a counting process, wherein the switch (29) can be actuated by a movable section (39) of the housing (11) which can be actuated from the outside, wherein a plunger (52) connected to the housing (11) is further provided for acting on the section (39), which can be moved from a position away from the section (39) to a position adjacent to the section.

2. Counter according to claim 1, characterized in that the housing has a through-opening (17) extending from the housing top (12) to the housing bottom (14) and having a longitudinal axis (y).

3. Counter according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the movable section (39) is made of a flexible material.

4. Counter according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the movable section (39) is part of the housing base (14). 31110R2PCT 23.03.20265. Counter according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that an actuating cam (42) extending inside the housing (11) and formed on the inside of the movable section (39) of the housing (11) is provided.

6. Counter according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the plunger (52) is formed on a spring element (45).

7. Counter according to claim 6, characterized in that the spring element (45) is snap-fit ​​connected to the housing (11) and / or the spring element (45) has a locking cam (48) which is received in a locking opening (49) of the housing side wall (13) and / or the spring element (45) has two spring arms (46) extending substantially in a V-shape towards each other.

8. Counter according to claim 7, characterized in that the spring arms (46) are formed starting from a pin (47) which extends perpendicularly or at an acute angle to a plane (E) stretched by the spring arms (46).

9. Counter according to claim 8, characterized in that the locking cam (48) is formed on the pin (47) and / or the plunger (52) is formed on one of the spring arms (46).

10. Counter according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the housing (11) has a receptacle (30) for an energy storage device (31). 31110R2PCT 23.03.202611. Counter according to claim 10, characterized in that the receptacle (30) is provided inside the housing (11) and / or the energy storage device (31) is designed as a substantially cylindrical section-shaped battery cell (32).

12. Counter according to claim 11, characterized in that the battery cell (32) is arranged in the housing (11) transversely in the extension direction of the through-opening (17) with respect to a cylinder axis (z) of the battery cell (32).

13. Counter according to claim 10, characterized in that two energy storage devices (31) are included in the housing (11).

14. Counter according to claim 13, characterized in that both energy storage devices (31) are designed as substantially cylindrical section-shaped battery cells (32).

15. Counter according to claim 14, characterized in that the energy storage devices (31) are arranged with their cylinder axes (z) transversely to the direction of extension of the through-opening (17) and / or the cylinder axes (z) of the energy storage devices (32) run at an acute angle (a) to each other.

16. Counter according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a plate-like PCB board (20) is arranged in the housing (11), wherein, preferably, the display (22) is arranged on an outwardly facing plate side (21) of the PCB board (20). 31110R2PCT 23.03.2026

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