Fixed-Riser Inhalation Device for Viscous Aerosol Flow
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing inhalation devices face challenges in efficiently delivering nebulized aerosols of higher viscosities with high reproducibility due to small diameters and high flow resistance, particularly affecting the delivery of viscous liquids and requiring complex check valve designs.
Innovation Solution
A hand-held inhalation device with a pumping unit featuring a riser pipe as a piston, a hollow cylinder, and a lockable energy storage mechanism, allowing for high-pressure delivery of aerosols through an impingement-type nozzle, enabling larger check valve dimensions and robust connections for viscous liquids.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If a moveable piston with small diameter is used in the pumping chamber, then the device can be compact and portable, but the flow resistance increases and viscous liquids cannot be delivered efficiently
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of moving the piston as in conventional designs, this invention inverts the approach by keeping the piston fixed and moving the pumping chamber over it. This allows the pumping chamber to have a larger diameter without increasing the overall device footprint, thereby reducing flow resistance while maintaining compactness.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the dimensional relationship between components by allowing the pumping chamber to move in a direction perpendicular to the piston axis, rather than moving the piston along its axis. This dimensional shift enables larger chamber dimensions without proportionally increasing device length.
2Volume of moving object
If a small diameter piston is used, then the device remains compact, but the check valve becomes difficult to fabricate with sufficient tightness
Solution Approach 1:
By inverting the moving component from piston to pumping chamber, the check valve can be positioned in the stationary pumping chamber where it can be fabricated with larger dimensions and standard tolerances, making tight sealing much easier to achieve compared to fitting a small check valve on a moving piston.
3Volume of stationary object
If the pumping chamber has small volume, then the device is compact, but the delivery of viscous liquids is slow and imprecise
Solution Approach 1:
The invention makes the pumping chamber dynamic by allowing it to move over the fixed piston, enabling variable chamber volume during the pumping cycle. This dynamic configuration allows sufficient volume for viscous liquid handling while maintaining compact overall device size through the oscillating motion.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to the field of inhalation devices for liquids. In particular, the invention relates to an inhalation device having improved flow characteristics. A inhalation device for medically active liquids (F) for generation of an aerosol comprises a housing (1), inside this housing (1) a reservoir (2) for storing a liquid (F), a pumping device with a hollow cylinder (9) providing a pumping chamber (3) for the generation of a pressure inside said pumping chamber (3), wherein the pumping chamber is fluidically connected with the reservoir (2) via an inlet check valve (4) which blocks in direction of the reservoir (2), a riser pipe (5) which can be received with at least one reservoir-facing, interior end (5A) in said hollow cylinder (9), and a nozzle (6) which is connected liquid-tight to an exterior end (5B) of the riser pipe (5), wherein the volume of the pumping chamber (3) is changeable by means of relative motion of the cylinder (9) to the riser pipe (5), and is characterised in that the riser pipe (5) is immobile and firmly attached to the housing (1) and to the nozzle (6), whereas the hollow cylinder (9) is moveable relative to the housing (1) and to the nozzle (6). The invention also discloses a method for the generation of an aerosol of a medically active liquid (F) by means of an inhalation device.