CY1308A

CY1308A - Device for dispensing medicaments

Info

Publication number: CY1308A
Application number: CY130880A
Authority: CY
Original assignee: Glaxo Group Ltd
Priority date: 1979-12-06
Filing date: 1980-12-05
Publication date: 1985-12-06
Also published as: GB2064336A; GB2064336B

Description

1

GB 2 064 336 A

1

SPECIFICATION

Device for dispensing medicaments

, 5 This invention relates to inhalation devices by which powdered medicaments can be orally or nasally administered to a patient.

It is well known to administer powdered medicaments to the lung bronchioles of a patient by means 10 of inhalation devices having mouthpieces which enable the medicament to be inhaled through the mouth of the patient. The "mouthpiece" may if desired, be modified so that it is possible to inhale through a nostril of the patient. The medicament in 15 such cases is supplied in gelatine capsules which are inserted in the device and opened in some suitable way after which inhalation through the mouthpiece will cause the powdered medicament to be released from the capsule and pass into the patient. 20 Capsules containing such medicaments are generally of gelatine and of elongated "torpedo" shape and are constructed in two parts, one of which (called the capsule body) is partly enclosed within the other (called the capsule cap). The contacting por-25 tions of the two capsule parts are often provided with grooves and/or ribs which have the effect of "locking" the two capsule parts together. The inhalation devices for use with such capsules normally have a chamber arranged to receive a capsule con-30 taining the medicament. An air inlet aperture, or a plurality of such apertures, lead into the chamber in a generally transversal direction and airfrom the chambercan be inhaled through a nozzle. The air inlet aperture or apertures is/are so arranged that the 35 air flow caused by inhalation through the nozzle will cause the contents of an opened capsule within the chamberto be released and withdrawn through the nozzle.

According to the present invention, there is pro-40 vided a device comprising a body shell defining a portion of a chamber which has a nozzle at a forward end and which is open at the rear end, a sleeve fitted on the outside of the body shell and rotatable with respect to it and having a rear wall closing the open 45 rear end of the chamber, a capsule retaining means extending through the said rear wall of the sleeve into the chamber and having an external entry opening for a capsule at the rear of the sleeve, an abutment fixed inside the chamber in such a position 50 with respect to the capsule retaining means that a capsule retained in the retaining means and projecting from it into the chamber will engage the abutment when the sleeve is rotated with respect to the body shell thereby to separate the projecting portion '55 of the capsule from the remainder of the capsule, a guard for preventing the separated portion of the capsule from passing through the nozzle and an air inlet opening extending through the said rear wall of the sleeve into the chamber. A stop may be provided 60 to limit the rotation of the sleeve with respect to the body shell.

An embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying schematic drawings in which: Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a device accord-65 ing to the invention.

Figure 2 is an exploded elevation,

Figure3 isa rearviewof the device,

Figure 4 isa section on the line A-A of Figure 2,

and

70 Figure 5 is a view similarto Fig 1 illustrating a modification.

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, an inhalation device is conveniently, but not essentially of a plastics material. The device comprises a cylin-75 drical body shell 1, the interior of which defines a portion of a cylindrical capsule-receiving chamber2. Secured to one end of the body shell, herein considered to be the forward end, is a nozzle or mouthpiece 3. A perforated guard 4, which defines the front 80 end of the chamber 2, is fixed inside the body shell 1 and prevents portions of a capsule inside the chamber2 being withdrawn throughthe mouthpiece 3 when a patient inhales. An abutment 5 serving as a stop for a purpose hereinafterto be described, is 85 located on the outside of the body shell 1. This stop or abutment 5 projects to the rear of a shoulder 6 extending around the body shell 1 atthe rearof the mouthpiece 3. The rear end ofthe body shell 1 is open.

90 A cylindrical sleeve 7 is fitted on the rear end portion ofthe body shell 1. The sleeve is both rotatable and axially slidable on the body shell 1. The sleeve has a rear end wall 8 which closes the open rear end ofthe body shell 1 and thus of the chamber 2. The 95 sleeve 7 has a recessed forward end, the recess being formed by a part cylindrical extension ofthe sleeve. The sleeve 7 may be slid off the rear end portion ofthe body shell 1 to provide access to the interiorof the chamber2, but when the device is in 100 use by a patient, the forward or recessed end ofthe sleeve abuts againstthe shoulder6 atthe rearend of the mouthpiece thereby to define a slot 9 in which the stop 5 is located. The ends ofthe recess in the forward end ofthe sleeve form abutments 10 against 105 which the stop 5 can engage when the sleeve 7 is rotated in one direction or other with respect to the body shell so that rotation ofthe sleeve 7 is limited.

A capsule retaining means 11 in the form of a tube is arranged at, and extends through, the rear end 110 wall 8 ofthe sleeve 7. Aforward end portion ofthe retaining means 11 extends into the rearend ofthe sleeve 7, i.e. into the chamber 2, as clearly shown in Figure 1 ofthe drawings. The retaining means 11 has a passage 12 which opens atthe forward end into 115 the chamber 2 and atthe rearend opens"externally ofthe rear wall 8 ofthe sleeve. A capsule may be entered through the open rear end of this passage and retained in the passage. The retaining means 11 is of such a length that when the sleeve 7 is in its 120 fully forward position on the body shell 1 and a capsule is pushed, preferably body first, into the passage 12, the capsule cap (CC) will be retained in the retaining means and the capsule body (CB) will protrude into the chamber as illustrated in Figure 1. The 125 retaining means 11 may be a separate member fitted into the rear wall 8 of the sleeve 7 or it maybe, as illustrated, an integral part ofthe sleeve 7, i.e. the tube 11 and the sleeve 7 may be a single moulding. As shown in Figure 3, the passage 12 in the retaining 130 means 11 is substantially square in cross-section.

BNSDOCID: <GB__2064336A_I_>

2

GB 2 064 336 A

2

The size and shape ofthe passage 12 is such thatthe retaining means 12 will squeeze and deform at least part ofthe overlapping portions ofthe capsule body {CB) and the capsuie cap (CC), thereby to break or 5 weaken the lock between the two capsule parts.

An abutment in the form of a fin or rib 13 is fixed to the inside ofthe body shell 1. The abutment 13 and the retaining means 11 are so disposed with respect to each other that when the body (CB) of a capsule 10 which has been inserted into the passage 12 ofthe retaining means projects from the retaining means into the chamber 2, the projecting body (CB) ofthe capsule will engage a side ofthe fin or rib 13 when the sleeve 7 is rotated with respect to the body shell 15 thereby to separate the two capsule parts. The forward separated capsule portion will, of course, fall into the chamber 2 and the remainder ofthe capsule will of course be retained in the passage 12 ofthe capsule retaining means.

20 Below the retaining means 11, isan airinlet formed by two arcuate slots 14 extending through the rear wall 8 ofthe sleeve and opening into the chamber 2. Alternatively, the slots 14 may be replaced by a single linear or arcuate slot or by a row 25 of holes or by a single round hole or a group of holes not arranged in rows. When air is aspirated by a patientthrough the nozzle or mouthpiece 3, the capsule portion (CB) separated from the remainder of the capsule and disposed in the chamber 2 will be 30 agitated. This agitation serves to empty powder from the separated capsule body (CB). The abutment 13 will assist in this because it acts as a "kick-bar" in thatthe capsule body repeatedly collides with the rib. The agitation and vibration produced by such 35 collision assists in the operation of emptying medicament from the portion ofthe capsule in the chamber 2. Medicament in the portion of the capsule remaining in the retaining means wili of course be withdrawn as the patient aspirates through the 40 mouthpiece or nozzle 3.

If desired, the fin or rib 13 may be shorter than as illustrated in Figure 1, and only of sufficient length to engage the projecting portion (CB ofthe capsule held in the retaining means 11 and a separate "kick-45 bar" or a plurality of such kick-bars may then, if desired, be provided.

In the modification illustrated in Figure 5, the retaining means 11 opens into a compartment 15 which is a rearward extension ofthe sleeve 7 and 50 which is closed by a removable cover 16. The compartment may have a suitable air inlet and/orthe cover may be removed when the device is in use. The cover has pusher means in the form of an inwardly projecting ring 17 of sufficient depth to 55 engage the cap (CC) of a capsule engaged in the entry opening ofthe retaining means 11 and press it forward when the cover is fitted in its closed position. To make this possible, the wall ofthe retaining means has lead-in portion with a suitable groove so 60 thatthe ring 17 can enterthe opening. When a new capsule is inserted in the retaining means, the entering capsule body (CB) will push the capsule cap (CC) ofthe previously used capsule orof the retaining means and into the chamber.

65 In a further modification, the pusher means is not a ring but is a peg orthe like engageable with a capsule in the retaining means.

Claims

1. An inhalation device by which powdered medicaments can be orally or nasally administered ; to a patient comprising a body shell defining a portion of a chamber which has a nozzle at a forward end and which is open atthe rear end, a sleeve fitted on the outside ofthe body shell and rotatable with respect to it and having a rear wall closing the open rear end ofthe chamber, a capsule retaining means extending through the said rear wall ofthe sleeve into the chamber and having an external entry opening for a capsule at the rear of the sleeve, an abut- • ment fixed inside the chamber in such a position with respect to the capsule retaining means that the ' capsule retained in the retaining means and projecting from it into the chamber will engage the abutment when the sleeve is rotated with respect to the body shell thereby to separate the projecting portion ofthe capsule from the remainderof the capsule, a guard for preventing the separated portion ofthe capsuie from passing through the nozzle, and an air inlet opening extending through the said rear wall of the sleeve into the chamber.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1, which has a stop to limit rotation ofthe sleeve with respecttothe body shell.

3. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the body shell has a rearwardly directed shoulder from which a stop extends rearwardly and the sleeve has a recessed forward end engaged with the shoulder to define a slot in which the stop is located, the stop being engaged with opposite ends ofthe slot when the sleeve and body shell are rotated with respect to one another thereby to limit relative rotation between the sieeve and the body shell.

4. A device as claimed in any ofthe preceding claims wherein the sleeve has atthe rear an extension compartment into which the entry opening of the retaining means opens, the extension compartment having a removable cover provided with pusher means which, when the cover is fitted to the extension compartment, engages the end of a capsule retained in the retaining means, pushes the capsule in forwards.

5. A device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the , pusher means is an annular ring inside the cover.

6. An inhalation device by which powdered medicament can be orally or nasally administered to a patient substantially as herein described with »

reference to the accompanying drawings. -

Printed for Her Majesty's Stationery Office by The Tweeddale Press Ltd.,

Berwick-upon-Tweed, 1981.

Published at the Patent Office. 25 Southampton Buildings. London, WC2A1 AY,

from which copies may be obtained. *;70;75;80;85;90;95;100;105;110;115;BNsaaya*fiBllll^^iafiAl