Rotatable Inhaler Housing With Elastic Feedback Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional inhaler housings are cumbersome and difficult to carry due to their one-piece, elbowed design, which complicates reconfiguration for use and storage, and often require complex mechanisms that increase the device's lateral dimensions, making them less compact and more prone to damage.
Innovation Solution
A rotatably coupled inhaler housing with a mouthpiece and body that can be easily converted between a carry configuration and a use configuration, utilizing a pivotal coupling with elastically deformed features that provide stable positions and visual/haptic feedback, allowing for a compact and stable design.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a one-piece elbowed inhaler housing is used, then the device provides a ready-to-use configuration, but it becomes cumbersome and difficult to carry
Solution Approach 1:
The inhaler housing is divided into two separate parts: a body portion and a mouthpiece portion. These segments can be carried separately in a compact state, then assembled when needed. This segmentation allows the device to have reduced lateral dimensions for carrying while maintaining full functionality when assembled.
Solution Approach 2:
The housing transitions from a static one-piece design to a dynamic two-part system that can change configuration. The mouthpiece portion can be attached to or separated from the body, allowing the device to adapt between a compact carried state and an assembled ready-to-use state, resolving the contradiction between portability and ease of use.
2Length of moving object
If a complex reconfiguration mechanism is added to enable portability, then the device becomes easier to carry, but the lateral dimensions increase
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling features are integrated directly into the body and mouthpiece portions themselves, rather than adding separate complex mechanisms. The body includes a recess with coupling features, and the mouthpiece includes complementary coupling features, allowing direct attachment without additional components. This merging approach maintains compact dimensions while enabling simple reconfiguration.
Solution Approach 2:
The coupling features are designed to be self-aligning and self-latching. The recess in the body and the corresponding features on the mouthpiece automatically engage when brought together, eliminating the need for complex alignment mechanisms or additional fastening components. This self-service approach reduces both complexity and lateral dimensions.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a rotatable coupling mechanism is used, then the device can be reconfigured between carry and use modes, but the stability of configurations may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling features are designed with asymmetric geometry that provides different engagement characteristics for different configurations. The recess and complementary features on the mouthpiece are shaped to provide stable engagement in both the carried configuration and the ready-to-use configuration, ensuring that each configuration is securely maintained while still allowing intentional reconfiguration.
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
Enables quick and easy reconfiguration between carry and use modes, providing clear user feedback and maintaining stability, while reducing the device's lateral dimensions for improved portability and packaging efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
a member which is variably elastically deformed as the mouthpiece is turned relative to the body, investing the member with elastic potential energy which varies with the mouthpiece's rotational position
Data Source
Figure 1a~1d
Figure 2a~2c
Figure 3a~3c
AI summary
The invention relates to the type of housing (107 310, 410, 510) used to carry an inhaler canister (12) for delivery of an active agent. The inhaler housing has a body (16, 316, 416, 516) for receiving the inhaler canister and a mouthpiece (14, 314, 414, 514) which is to be placed in the mouth of a user and through which a dose from the inhaler canister is to be delivered. In one embodiment the body and the mouthpiece are rotatably coupled to one another so that by turning the mouthpiece relative to the body the inhaler housing is reversibly converted between a carry configuration in which the mouthpiece and body are mutually aligned, and a use configuration in which the mouthpiece projects laterally from the body. The inhaler housing has a member (26) which is variably elastically deformed as the mouthpiece is turned relative to the body, investing the member with elastic potential energy which varies with the mouthpiece's rotational position with respect to the body and which has at least two minima corresponding to the carry configuration and the use configuration respectively, so that rotation of the mouthpiece relative to the body tends to stop when either of these configurations is reached.