Dry Powder Inhaler Spring-Loaded Strip Winding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing dry powder inhalers face issues with dosage precision and reproducibility, risk of overdose, and inefficient delivery of medication to the lungs, along with complexities in design and storage of used blister strips, which can lead to blockages and improper winding.
Innovation Solution
A dry powder inhaler design featuring an elongated flexible strip with individually sealed reservoirs, where each actuation advances the strip and opens a reservoir using a needle triggered by inhalation, with a spring-loaded mechanism for independent pulling force to manage strip winding, ensuring precise dosing and minimizing the risk of overdose and blockages.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If individual pre-dosed reservoirs are used to ensure better sealing, then the sealing of powder is improved, but the device complexity increases due to the need for strip advancement mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The invention divides the medication supply into individual pre-dosed reservoirs arranged on a strip, with each reservoir hermetically sealed until use. This segmentation ensures that each dose is independently sealed and protected, while the strip structure allows systematic advancement through the device.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention employs a disposable strip containing multiple individual reservoirs that is advanced through the device and discarded after use. This approach simplifies the overall device structure by eliminating complex cleaning and sterilization mechanisms, while ensuring each reservoir maintains its seal until the moment of use.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the strip of blisters is advanced by pulling at the front end to prevent poor winding, then the winding quality is improved, but the risk of blockage increases due to increasing diameter of the worn band
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of pulling at the front end of the strip, the invention inverts the approach by anchoring the front end to a rotatable receiving element and applying pulling force through a spring mechanism. This reversal allows the strip to be drawn through the device in a controlled manner, with the spring providing constant tension to maintain proper winding without the blockage risks associated with front-end pulling.
Solution Approach 2:
The rotatable receiving element automatically winds the used portion of the strip as it is advanced through the device. The spring-loaded mechanism self-regulates the tension and winding process, eliminating the need for manual intervention or complex control systems while maintaining consistent winding quality throughout the strip's progression.
3Measurement precision
If the dose is loaded into the expulsion duct before inhalation, then the dosage precision is improved, but the risk of overdose increases if the user drops or shakes the inhaler between loading and inhalation
Solution Approach 1:
The invention performs preliminary actions by hermetically sealing each dose in individual reservoirs on the strip before use. The dosing mechanism is prepared in advance with the strip loaded into the device, but the actual dose transfer to the expulsion duct occurs only at the moment of inhalation through automated piercing and dispensing, eliminating the window of vulnerability to accidental loss or contamination.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces an intermediary sealed reservoir system between the storage strip and the expulsion duct. Each reservoir acts as a protected intermediary that maintains dose integrity until the precise moment of use, when automated mechanisms pierce the reservoir and transfer the dose directly to the expulsion duct, preventing any manual handling that could cause loss or contamination.
4Quantity of substance
If a strip of blisters is used to contain multiple doses, then the quantity of doses stored is improved, but the space required increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The invention employs a nested structure where individual reservoirs are arranged in sequence on a flexible strip that can be rolled or folded within a compact housing. The strip itself is designed to be space-efficient, with reservoirs positioned to maximize density while allowing smooth advancement through the device, effectively nesting multiple doses within a minimal volume.
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 provides reliable, precise, and reproducible dosing with enhanced delivery efficiency to the lungs, while maintaining compact size and ensuring the integrity and sealing of doses, and optimizing the storage and winding of used blister strips to prevent blockages.
Implementation Method 1
said receiving element being fixed to a loaded spring adapted to exert a force on said receiving element to bias it in rotation, so that said receiving element exerts a pulling force on said elongated strip
Data Source
Figure 1~3
Figure 4~8
AI summary
A fluid product dispensing device, comprising a body (10), the said device also comprising an elongated flexible strip (20) having a plurality of tanks (21) each containing a dose of the liquid or powdery product, tank opening means (30) for opening respective tanks during each operation, first displacement means (40) for displacing in a forward direction the said flexible strip (20) prior to/or during and/or after each operation, to bring a full tank opposite the said tank opening means, and second displacement means (45) for displacing a full tank (21) against the said opening means (30) during each actuation of the device, the front end (25) of the said flexible strip (20), in the displacement direction of the belt, being fixed to a rotably mounted receiving element (50), the said receiving element (50) being fixed to a charged spring (500) adapted to apply a force on the said receiving element (50) for rotating it, such that the said receiving element (50) applies a pulling force on the said horizontal belt (20), the said pulling force being independent from the said first and second displacement means (40, 45).