Inhaler Actuator Merging Indexing and Piercing Functions
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional inhalation devices are large, heavy, complex, and costly to manufacture, with limited capacity for storing blisters and requiring frequent replacement, making them difficult to use and assemble.
Innovation Solution
A simplified inhalation device design featuring a housing with a pivotally mounted actuator and piercing mechanism that indexes and pierces blisters sequentially, allowing for a larger number of blisters to be stored without increasing the device's size, with a focus on ease of operation and assembly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If conventional inhalation devices store a limited number of blisters, then the device size remains manageable, but the device requires frequent opening and replacement of blister packs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the indexing function and piercing function into a single actuator mechanism. When the actuator is pressed, it simultaneously indexes the blister strip to position the next blister and activates the piercing member to puncture the blister lid, eliminating the need for separate indexing and piercing actions
Solution Approach 2:
The actuator serves multiple functions: it acts as both the indexing drive mechanism and the piercing activation mechanism. This multi-functional design reduces the number of components and simplifies the overall device structure while enabling storage of larger blister packs
2Productivity
If the device stores a larger number of blisters, then fewer replacements are needed, but the device size increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a coiled or spiral arrangement of the blister strip within the housing, utilizing three-dimensional space efficiently. The blister strip winds around a spool or follows a spiral path, allowing many blisters to be stored in a compact cylindrical or rounded housing rather than requiring linear extension
Solution Approach 2:
The indexing wheel is rotatably mounted within the housing, and the blister strip is fed around this wheel. The actuator mechanism is nested within the housing structure, with the piercing member passing through the housing wall. This nested arrangement maximizes space utilization
3Ease of operation
If conventional devices use separate indexing and piercing mechanisms, then each function can be optimized, but the device becomes more complex and harder to operate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the indexing function and piercing function into a single actuator mechanism. When the actuator is pressed, it simultaneously indexes the blister strip to position the next blister and activates the piercing member to puncture the blister lid, eliminating the need for separate indexing and piercing actions
Solution Approach 2:
The actuator is designed to automatically perform both indexing and piercing in sequence through a single user action. The mechanical linkage ensures that the indexing wheel rotates to position the blister and the piercing member is simultaneously or subsequently activated without requiring separate user interventions
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The device provides a compact, user-friendly, and cost-effective solution for delivering medicaments, capable of holding multiple doses without frequent replacement, while reducing the complexity and size of the device.
Implementation Method 1
an actuator operable to cause the piercing member to pierce the lid of a blister
Implementation Method 2
when a user inhales through the mouthpiece, an airflow through the blister is generated to entrain the dose contained therein
Data Source
AI summary
An inhaler (1) is disclosed. It comprises a housing (2) to receive a strip (6) of blisters (6a) each having a puncturable lid (6c) and containing a dose of medicament for inhalation by a user, a mouthpiece through which a dose of medicament is inhaled by a user and, an actuator (3) operable to sequentially move each blister into alignment with a blister piercing member (7, 9). The actuator is also operable to cause the blister piercing element to puncture the lid of a blister such that, when a user inhales through the mouthpiece, an airflow through the blister is generated to entrain the dose contained therein and carry it but of the blister and via the mouthpiece into the user's airway.