Aerosol Dispensing Apparatus with Magnetic Dose Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing aerosol dispensing apparatuses face challenges in accurately counting doses dispensed and remaining doses, leading to potential over or under dosing, especially in medicinal applications, due to stiffness or flexibility issues in pawl mechanisms and tolerance stack-up in valves.
Innovation Solution
The apparatus features a housing with two annular members and a cog system, where incremental rotations of the first annular member upon actuation cause the cog to rotate, accurately tracking doses through angled abutment surfaces and markings, ensuring precise dose counting and preventing actuation without sufficient force.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If pawls are made stiff to ensure reliable dose counting, then measurement reliability improves, but the apparatus may dispense a dose before the counter registers it due to insufficient flexing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical pawl-and-tooth system with a magnetic field-based sensing system. A magnet is attached to the rotating component, and a magnetic sensor detects its position and movement. This substitution eliminates the need for mechanical flexing and engagement, allowing for more precise and reliable dose counting without the trade-off between stiffness and registration accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a magnetic field as an intermediary between the mechanical movement and the counting mechanism. The magnet attached to the rotating component creates a magnetic field that is detected by the magnetic sensor, serving as an intermediary signal that accurately represents the mechanical movement without requiring direct mechanical engagement.
2Ease of operation
If pawls are made flexible to ensure smooth operation, then ease of operation improves, but the counter may register a dose before the medication dispenser has actually dispensed it
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical pawl-and-tooth system with a magnetic field-based sensing system. A magnet is attached to the rotating component, and a magnetic sensor detects its position and movement. This substitution eliminates the need for mechanical flexing and engagement, allowing for more precise and reliable dose counting without the trade-off between stiffness and registration accuracy.
3Measurement precision
If tolerance stack-up in valve and dose counter is reduced to improve counting accuracy, then measurement precision improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical pawl-and-tooth system with a magnetic field-based sensing system. A magnet is attached to the rotating component, and a magnetic sensor detects its position and movement. This substitution eliminates the need for mechanical flexing and engagement, allowing for more precise and reliable dose counting without the trade-off between stiffness and registration accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The magnetic sensing system serves multiple functions: it counts doses, tracks remaining doses, and provides accurate registration without requiring complex mechanical tolerances. This multi-functionality reduces the overall complexity of the valve and counter integration while maintaining high measurement precision.
Data Source
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AI summary
Aerosol dispensing apparatus comprising a housing in which a container can be located, an outlet leading from the housing, a receiving block having an inlet for receiving an outlet member of the container and a passage through which contents of the container may pass on their way to the outlet when the container is actuated. The housing contains a carriage in which the container is firmly gripped. The carriage is able to slide reciprocally within the housing as the container moves between rest and actuated positions and comprises a projection. The housing further comprises an abutment and is formed with an upper part which houses at least the container, in use, and a lower part comprising, at least, the outlet. The upper and lower parts are conjoined so that the lower part may rotate relative to the upper part between locked and unlocked positions, wherein in the locked position the abutment is aligned with the projection so as to prevent movement of the carriage into the actuated position of the container and in the unlocked position the abutment is out of alignment with the projection so as to allow movement of the carriage into the actuated position.