Claims
- 1. A de-agglomerator for use with a breath-actuated dry powder inhaler including a dry powder delivery passageway and a dry powder reservoir for exposing a predetermined amount of dry powder to the dry powder delivery passageway, the de-agglomerator comprising:
an inner wall defining a swirl chamber extending along an axis from a first end to a second end; a dry powder supply port in the first end of the swirl chamber for providing fluid communication between a dry powder delivery passageway of an inhaler and the first end of the swirl chamber; at least one inlet port in the inner wall of the swirl chamber adjacent to the first end of the swirl chamber providing fluid communication between a region exterior to the de-agglomerator and the first end of the swirl chamber; an outlet port providing fluid communication between the second end of the swirl chamber and a region exterior to the de-agglomerator; and vanes at the first end of the swirl chamber extending at least in part radially outwardly from the axis of the chamber, each of the vanes having an oblique surface facing at least in part in a direction transverse to the axis; whereby a breath induced low pressure at the outlet port causes air flows into the swirl chamber through the dry powder supply port and the inlet port.
- 2. A de-agglomerator according to claim 1, wherein the vanes comprise four vanes extending from a hub aligned with the axis to the wall of the swirl chamber.
- 3. A de-agglomerator according to claim 1, wherein the swirl chamber includes cross-sectional areas arranged transverse to the axis, the cross-sectional areas decreasing from the first end to the second end of the swirl chamber.
- 4. A de-agglomerator according to claim 3, wherein the cross-sectional areas of the swirl chamber decrease monotonically.
- 5. A de-agglomerator according to claim 1, wherein the inner wall of the swirl chamber is convex.
- 6. A de-agglomerator according to claim 1, wherein the dry powder supply port faces in a direction substantially parallel to the axis.
- 7. A de-agglomerator according to claim 1, wherein the outlet port extends substantially transverse to the axis.
- 8. A de-agglomerator according to claim 1, wherein the at least one inlet port extends in a direction substantially transverse to the axis.
- 9. A de-agglomerator according to claim 8, wherein the swirl chamber includes generally circular cross-sectional areas coaxially arranged about the axis, and the at least one inlet port extends substantially tangential to the circular cross-sectional areas.
- 10. A de-agglomerator according to claim 9, wherein the at least one inlet port comprises two diametrically opposed inlet ports.
- 11. A de-agglomerator according to claim 1, wherein the vanes include an anti-static additive.
- 12. A de-agglomerator according to claim 1, assembled from a cup-like base closed with a cover, wherein the base defines the inner wall, the second end of the chamber and the outlet port, the cover defines the first end of the chamber, the vanes and the supply port, and the inlet port is defined by both the base and the cover.
- 13. A breath-actuated dry powder inhaler including a de-agglomerator according to claim 1, and further comprising:
a dry powder delivery passageway providing fluid communication between a region exterior to the inhaler and the dry powder supply port of the de-agglomerator; and a dry powder reservoir for exposing a predetermined amount of dry powder to the dry powder delivery passageway; whereby an air flow through the dry powder delivery passageway and the dry powder supply port will entrain dry powder from the dry powder reservoir into the swirl chamber.
- 14. An inhaler according to claim 13, wherein the dry powder delivery passageway includes a venturi adjacent the dry powder reservoir.
- 15. An inhaler according to claim 13, further including dry powder in the dry powder reservoir.
- 16. An inhaler according to claim 13, wherein the dry powder comprises a medicament composition having at least one active agent medicament adhered to a particulate carrier.
- 17. A method of de-agglomerating dry powder from a breath-actuated dry powder inhaler prior to inhalation of the dry powder by a patient, comprising:
directing a first breath-actuated air flow for entraining a dry powder from an inhaler into a first end of a chamber extending longitudinally between the first end and a second end, the first air flow directed in a longitudinal direction; directing a second breath-actuated airflow in a substantially transverse direction into the first end of the chamber such that the air flows collide and substantially combine; deflecting a portion of the combined air flows in a substantially longitudinal direction towards a second end of the chamber; directing the remaining portion of the combined air flows in a spiral path towards the second end of the chamber; and delivering all the combined air flows and any dry powder entrained therein from the second end of the chamber to a patient's mouth.
- 18. A method according to claim 17, wherein the second breath-actuated air flow is directed tangentially into the first end of the chamber.
- 19. A method according to claim 17, wherein a third breath-actuated airflow is directed in a substantially transverse direction into the first end of the chamber such that the third air flow collides and substantially combines with the first and the second air flows.
- 20. A method according to claim 17, wherein the combined air flows and any dry powder entrained therein are delivered from the second end of the chamber to a patient's mouth in a substantially transverse direction.
- 21. A method according to claim 17, wherein the combined air flows are constricted between the first end and the second end of the chamber.
- 22. A method according to claim 17, wherein the combined air flows are monotonically constricted between the first end and the second end of the chamber.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application claims priority to co-pending provisional U.S. patent application Ser. No. 60/213,668, filed Jun. 23, 2000 (entitled “Breath-Actuated Dry Powder Inhaler”), provisional U.S. patent application Ser. No. 60/213,667, filed Jun. 23, 2000 (entitled “Pre-Metered Dose Magazine for Breath-Actuated Dry Powder Inhaler”), and co-pending provisional U.S. patent application Ser. No. 60/213,382, filed Jun. 23, 2000 (entitled “De-Agglomerator for Breath-Actuated Dry Powder Inhaler”). Each of these co-pending applications is assigned to the assignee of the present disclosure and incorporated herein by reference.
Provisional Applications (3)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60213668 |
Jun 2000 |
US |
|
60213667 |
Jun 2000 |
US |
|
60213382 |
Jun 2000 |
US |