Inhaler Used Bister Nesting and Crushing Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional inhalation devices that store a strip of blisters for medicament delivery often require users to separate and discard used blisters, leading to contamination risks and device size issues, as they either extend out of the device or jam due to long strips.
Innovation Solution
An inhaler design that retains used blisters within the housing by compressing or crushing them, using mechanisms like concertina folding and crushing rollers to minimize volume, and a movable dividing wall to separate clean and contaminated regions, allowing for a compact and contamination-free device.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Duration of action of moving object
If a long strip of blisters is stored in the inhaler to enable repeated use, then the device can be used multiple times without frequent reloading, but the strip may extend out of the housing or jam due to excessive length
Solution Approach 1:
The patent stores the entire strip of blisters in a coiled configuration within the housing, nesting the strip upon itself like a spring. This allows a long strip to be compacted into a small space, enabling multiple doses to be stored without the strip extending outside the device or causing jamming issues.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If used blisters are retained within the housing to avoid user contact and contamination, then contamination risk is reduced, but the device size increases due to storage space requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The housing includes a dedicated chamber with a coiled spring mechanism that nests used blisters in a compact configuration. This allows used blisters to be retained within the device for contamination prevention while minimizing the volume required for their storage through the coiled arrangement.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms the storage problem by changing from linear storage to three-dimensional coiled storage. The used blisters are arranged in a coiled spring configuration, utilizing vertical and radial space rather than linear extension, thereby reducing the overall device volume while maintaining contamination prevention.
3Weight of stationary object
If the inhaler is designed to be compact and lightweight, then portability and ease of carrying are improved, but the capacity to store multiple doses is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The strip of blisters is stored in a coiled configuration within the housing, allowing multiple doses to be nested compactly. This enables the device to maintain a lightweight and portable form factor while still accommodating a sufficient number of doses for repeated use throughout the day.
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 solution enables a compact, user-friendly inhaler that maintains environmental protection and prevents contamination, allowing for seamless integration of used blisters without the need for user contact or external disposal, while indicating when all doses have been taken.
Implementation Method 1
a coiled spring biased in a direction to co-operate with the coiled strip of blisters to eject the coiled strip of blisters from the housing when all the blisters have been used
Data Source
Figure 1(a)~1(b)
Figure 2
Figure 3(a)~3(b)
AI summary
An inhaler is disclosed, the inhaler comprising a housing to receive a strip of blisters each containing a dose of medicament and an actuator to sequentially move each blister into alignment with means for opening a blister to enable a user to inhale the dose. The inhaler includes means to compress, crush, tear, cut-up and/or fold the used blisters.