Trigger mechanism for an inhaler

Inventors

Howgill, Stephen J.

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Assignees

Kindeva Drug Delivery LP

Member
Kindeva Drug Delivery
Kindeva Drug Delivery

Kindeva Drug Delivery is a contract development and manufacturing organization specializing in advanced drug delivery systems including pulmonary, nasal, injectable, transdermal, and intradermal therapies. Services range from formulation and analytical development to commercial-scale, Annex 1-compliant GMP manufacturing across global facilities. The company brings integrated expertise in regulatory strategy, device engineering, process and technology transfer, and quality assurance, with a focus on sustainable solutions such as low-GWP propellants and microneedle patch platforms. Kindeva supports complex, patient-centric, and environmentally optimized therapies from product conception through commercialization.

Publication Number

US-11497866-B2

Patent

Publication Date

2022-11-15

Expiration Date


Abstract

A breath-responsive metered dose inhaler having a trigger mechanism for triggering delivery of a medicament and a trigger mechanism chassis for locating the trigger mechanism within the inhaler, the trigger mechanism including a breath responsive member moveable upon inhalation of the user from a primed position in which the inhaler is prevented from delivering medicament, to a triggered position in which the medicament is delivered to the user, a spring which is flexible along its longitudinal axis, wherein the spring is configured to bias the breath responsive member from its triggered position to its primed position by flexure along its longitudinal axis.

Core Innovation

The document describes a breath-actuated metered dose inhaler trigger mechanism in which a breath responsive member is movable upon inhalation of the user from a primed position in which the inhaler is prevented from delivering medicament, to a triggered position in which the medicament is delivered to the user. A trigger mechanism chassis locates the trigger mechanism within the inhaler, and after triggering the breath responsive member returns toward the primed position.

The core mechanical bias is provided by a spring having a longitudinal axis that is flexible along the longitudinal axis and that comprises a pre-load bend along the longitudinal axis when the breath responsive member is in the primed position. The spring biases the breath responsive member from the triggered position towards the primed position by flexure along the longitudinal axis of the spring, with emphasis on spring force and sensitivity/return characteristics compared with conventional coordination approaches and conventional compression-spring approaches.

The document further describes an implementation architecture that includes a helical spring with flexure arranged to straighten, with a preload bend in the primed state, and mechanical coupling using ends attached to a chassis and configured to bias via flexure along the longitudinal axis. A toggle mechanism is used to latch and unlatch the breath responsive member, and mechanical follow-through is provided using tracks and bosses to allow pMDI valve total travel despite tolerance variation.

Claims Coverage

The independent claim scope covers one breath-responsive metered dose inhaler arrangement with a primed-to-triggered delivery transition and a spring bias mechanism using a longitudinally flexing, pre-loaded bend spring. Dependent claims further narrow the spring type and flexure form, add a toggle mechanism architecture, impose functional constraints on spring loading during return, and specify that the breath-responsive member is a vane.

Breath responsive metered dose inhaler with primed and triggered positions

A breath responsive member is movable upon inhalation of the user from a primed position in which the inhaler is prevented from delivering medicament, to a triggered position in which the medicament is delivered to the user, with a trigger mechanism chassis locating the trigger mechanism within the inhaler.

Longitudinal-axis flexible pre-load bend spring return via longitudinal flexure

A spring having a longitudinal axis is flexible along the longitudinal axis and comprises a pre-load bend along the longitudinal axis when the breath responsive member is in the primed position, wherein the spring biases the breath responsive member from the triggered position towards the primed position by flexure along the longitudinal axis of the spring.

Across the independent claim scope, delivery is controlled by breath-responsive movement between primed and triggered positions, and return is biased by a longitudinally flexing, pre-loaded bend spring that flexes along its longitudinal axis to move the breath responsive member back toward the primed position.

Stated Advantages

Provides protective benefits against exhaled moisture/bacteria.

Aims for consistent spring force and sensitivity/return characteristics.

Supports low-friction manufacture goals.

Mechanical follow-through allows pMDI valve total travel despite tolerance variation.

Documented Applications

Compatibility with a mechanical dose counter (WO2015/006292).

Use as a breath-actuated trigger mechanism in a pressurized metered dose inhaler architecture (pMDI).

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