The present invention concerns a liquid dispenser. In particular, the present invention concerns a liquid dispenser comprising a membrane body provided with at least one nozzle in apical position. In further detail, the present invention concerns a liquid dispenser comprising a membrane body provided with at least one nozzle in apical position to effectively spray human or animal body cavities.
The nasal cavities form the uppermost part of the respiratory tract and are separated by the nasal septum, which is an osteo-cartilaginous wall coated by mucosa. Each cavity is split into areas having different anatomical shapes according to their natural functions. A summary description of these areas is provided below.
The area of the nasal vestibule is the outermost part of the nose. The nasal vestibule is medially delimited by a rigid component, the nasal septum, and delimited laterally and at the top by an elastic component, the wings of the nose. The structures that compose the nasal vestibule give it the shape of an oval or elliptical funnel, the coronal section area of which tapers from the outside towards the inside. The nasal vestibule has the function of conveying the air inhaled towards the nasal cavity.
The valve area: the nasal valve or ostium internum is the transition point between the nasal vestibule and the nasal cavity. The upper part of the valve area is called nasal valve, and consists of the junction between the rigid component, namely the nasal septum, arranged medially, and the elastic component of the wing of the nose, arranged supero-laterally. It is the elastic structure that regulates the direction and flow rate of the air currents, during both inhalation and exhalation.
The area of the turbinates “nasal cavity”: each nasal cavity communicates at the front with the nasal vestibule through the nasal valve and at the rear with the nasopharynx through the choanal area; medially it is delimited by the nasal septum and laterally by the lateral wall from which bony convolutions called nasal turbinates, which are covered by a highly vascularized and innervated mucosa. There are generally 3 nasal turbinates in each nasal cavity-lower, middle and upper; they are positioned between the nasal septum and the lateral wall of the nasal cavity and delimit irregular spaces called lower meatus, middle meatus and upper meatus respectively. In the upper and middle part of the nasal cavity, below the cribriform plate, the air space of which is reduced to a width of 1-2 mm, is the olfactory region, located above the middle nasal turbinate, between the nasal septum and the lateral wall. The olfactory region is covered by olfactory epithelium, present only in this region. Each nasal cavity communicates, through small ducts, with the respective paranasal sinuses: the maxillary sinuses, the frontal sinuses and the anterior ethmoid sinuses are connected to the middle meatus; the rear ethmoid sinuses and the sphenoid sinuses open into the upper meatus.
The choanal area is the terminal part of the nasal cavity through which each nasal cavity communicates with the nasopharyngeal area. The nasopharyngeal area is very important since it communicates with the cavity of the middle ear through the Eustachian tube and due to the presence of the adenoid tissue.
The nasal mucosa consists of a pseudo-stratified epithelium in which the majority of the cells are ciliated cells, caliciform cells and basal cells; the epithelium rests on a basal membrane and the latter on the plate in which capillaries, arterio-venous anastomoses, seromucous glands and cavernous sinusoids are present. The cilia are immersed in a “sol” aqueous fluid, produced by the anterior serous glands, by the seromucous glands, by the transudate of the vessels and by the condensed water of the exhaled air; on the surface there is a very thin layer of sticky mucus, a sort of “gel” produced by the caliciform cells and by the seromucous glands. The pH of the nasal mucosa is approximately 5.5-6.5. The cilia move rhythmically at a frequency of 16/sec. i.e., 1000/min., determining the movement of the mucous surface layer towards the oropharynx which, in normal conditions, takes place in approximately 12 min. (the transport speed is extremely variable from 3 to 25 mm/min.); in children the mucous is carried towards the adenoids, increasing contact with the immune system. The mucociliary system serves to humidify, warm and cleanse the inhaled air. The body temperature is ideal for the ciliary movement. The temperature influences the mucociliary system: between 32 and 40° C. the ciliary movement reaches maximum functionality and remains constant. The mucociliary system constitutes a natural barrier which has the function of protecting against pathogens and cleansing the inhaled substances.
In normal conditions the nasal cavities perform the function of conditioning the inhaled air, warming it, humidifying it and cleansing it, and the exhaled air, reabsorbing heat and humidity. The nasal turbinates make these functions possible by giving the respiratory air a turbulent motion so as to increase the surface inside the nasal cavity in contact with the air.
There are many dispensers of medicated or pharmacologically active solutions on the market that can be used for washing with said solutions the inside of body cavities of humans and animals, including the nasal cavities, the oral cavity, the vaginal cavity and the external ear canal, without minimizing the multiplicity of use of said devices. A large part of said dispensers have been conceived and designed for washing the nasal cavities. Washing of the nasal cavities is performed by causing the washing solution to flow inside a nasal cavity passing through the nasopharynx and allowing the solution to flow out through the other nasal cavity. In this way any pathological secretions present are mechanically removed. Throughout the nasal washing the user must keep his/her head tilted forward and breath through the mouth which must remain open. This prevents some of the solution getting into the lower airways causing coughing and, in the most serious cases, bronchospasm. It is evident that these devices are not suitable for carrying out nasal washes on patients of all ages, in particular in babies or non-collaborative patients who tend not to tolerate nasal washes. In these cases, it is preferable to administer the solutions, also medicated, in the form of spray, aerosol or micronized. Of the known devices, the most effective one is the device produced by the applicant, applying the teachings contained in its own Italian patent IT 1318646, the teachings of which are considered incorporated in the present description for the sake of practicality. Said dispenser has a domed body constructed symmetrically with respect to two median planes that cross in a central axis and, at the apex, one or two openings respectively circular or semi-circular or elliptical through which a circular jet or two semi-circular or elliptical jets flow out respectively and are oriented directly onto the walls of the nasal cavity; in view of the extreme delicacy of the muco-ciliary system present on the surface of the nasal mucosa, said jets can damage the protective barrier formed by the muco-ciliary system and favour the penetration of pathogens. The search for alternative solutions that can avoid the negative effects described has induced the applicant to consider even more advanced embodiments of dispensers which on the one hand allow distribution of the washing liquid to be further increased and, on the other, provide an increase in the degree of turbulence of the liquid inside the anatomical cavities to be treated, which may be not only nasal, but oral, the external ear canals or the vaginal cavity, to define a new standard of dispensers optimized with medical solutions that limit and overcome the drawbacks typical of the known state of the art illustrated above. In order for washing of the nasal cavities to be effective, it is necessary for the washing liquid to be distributed inside the nasal cavity so as to reach the mucosa that covers the anatomical structures present, guaranteeing that the washing liquid is administered and diffused in such a way that the jet or the jets, carried into the nasal cavity, on the one hand do not alter the protective barrier formed by the muco-ciliary system present on the surface of the mucosa inside the nasal cavity and, on the other, are able to mechanically remove even dense mucus, dried mucus and any pathogens present.
Examples of liquid dispensers according to the known art to spray nasal cavities are known from the documents WO 96/29044 and WO 01/28607.
The present invention concerns a liquid dispenser according to claim 1; further embodiments of the liquid dispenser according to the present invention are defined by at least one subsequent dependent claim. In particular according to one embodiment, the liquid dispenser comprises a membrane body provided with at least one nozzle in apical position. In further detail, according to one embodiment, a liquid dispenser comprises a membrane body provided with at least one nozzle in apical position to effectively spray human or animal body cavities.
The object of the present invention is to provide a dispenser that is without the drawbacks described above and which therefore allows liquid solutions to be dispensed in the form of a jet of substantially nebulized liquid particles uniformly directed towards the described meatus (lower, middle and upper) and the entire mucosa that internally covers each nasal cavity in order to ensure complete spraying thereof.
The problems described above are solved by the present invention according to at least one of the claims.
According to some embodiments a liquid dispenser for medical uses is provided in which a first membrane body is shaped symmetrically with respect to a first frontal median plane and a second sagittal median plane intersected in a central axis and is delimited at the top by a dome; a second body being carried by said first body inside said dome in a position concentric to said axis; said second body having a lower hollow portion concentric with said axis and an upper portion which has a central duct and at least one first lateral duct terminating in said dome, respectively, with a flared central nozzle and at least a first lateral nozzle; said central nozzle having a lateral portion that extends laterally to said second sagittal median plane overlapping each said first lateral nozzle.
According to one embodiment, said central nozzle has a lateral portion which extends laterally to said second sagittal median plane totally overlapping each said first lateral nozzle.
According to one embodiment, a second lateral duct is obtained in said upper portion, where said second lateral duct ends in said dome in a polar symmetrical position relative to said central axis with a second lateral nozzle overlapping with said central nozzle.
According to one embodiment, said central nozzle is flared and has a first lateral portion and a second lateral portion arranged symmetrically relative to said second sagittal median plane, each of which overlapping at least partially one of said first lateral nozzle or second lateral nozzle.
According to one embodiment, each of said first lateral portion and second lateral portion totally overlaps one of said first lateral nozzle or second lateral nozzle.
According to one embodiment, said central duct has a conical shape with section decreasing towards said dome.
According to one embodiment, said first and second lateral ducts are developed on parallel planes.
According to one embodiment, said central nozzle has a section transversal to said axis having oval or rectangular shape.
According to one embodiment, said dome has externally at least one discharge groove.
According to one embodiment, a liquid dispenser for medical use is provided, in which a first membrane body is shaped symmetrically relative to a first frontal median plane and to a second sagittal median plane intersected in a central axis and is delimited at the top by a dome; a second body being carried by said first body inside said dome in a position concentric to said axis; said second body having a lower hollow portion concentric with said axis and an upper portion having a central duct and at least one first lateral duct ending in said dome, respectively, with a central nozzle and at least one first lateral nozzle; where the projection of said central nozzle on a plane perpendicular to said axis has an oval or rectangular shape, where said central nozzle has a first lateral portion, the projection of which on said plane perpendicular to said axis extends laterally relative to said second sagittal median plane, and where the projection on said plane perpendicular to said axis of said at least one first lateral nozzle is positioned entirely laterally relative to said second sagittal median plane.
According to one embodiment, the projection on said first frontal median plane of said at least one first lateral duct at least partially overlaps the projection on said first frontal median plane of said central duct.
According to one embodiment, the projection on said plane perpendicular to the axis of said at least one first lateral nozzle has an oval or rectangular shape.
According to one embodiment, said central nozzle has a second lateral portion, the projection of which on said plane perpendicular to said axis extends laterally with respect to said second sagittal median plane and symmetrically with respect to said projection on said plane perpendicular to said axis of said first portion of central nozzle.
According to one embodiment, said dispenser comprises a second lateral duct ending in said dome with a second lateral nozzle, the projection of which on said plane perpendicular to said axis is positioned entirely laterally relative to said second sagittal median plane.
According to one embodiment, the projection on said first frontal median plane of said at least one second lateral duct at least partially overlaps the projection on said first frontal median plane of said central duct.
According to one embodiment, the projection on said plane perpendicular to the axis of said at least one second lateral nozzle has an oval or rectangular shape.
According to one embodiment, said nozzle is flared and has a section increasing towards said dome.
According to one embodiment, said first and second lateral ducts are developed on parallel planes.
According to one embodiment, said dome has externally at least one discharge groove.
The invention will be better described with reference to some non-limiting embodiments in the attached figures, in which:
In
The dispenser 1 comprises a second body 20 which is carried by the first body 10 inside the dome 12 in a position concentric to the axis A through substantially radial ribs 15. The second body 20 has a lower hollow portion 22 (
With particular reference to
The central nozzle 2800 can have not only an oval shape but, while maintaining its flared configuration, can also be rectangular with rounded edges, circular, elongated polygonal, circular flattened along a diameter etc., without modifying the functionality of the dispenser or conditioning the scope of the present invention.
Further to the above description, the central nozzle 2800 is, in use, supplied with pressurised liquid, the speed of which increases until it reaches the smaller section, located at the base of the nozzle 2800, where the pressure reaches its minimum in accordance with Bernoulli's equation. At this point, the liquid reaches the flaring of the nozzle 2800 where the speed precipitates and the pressure increases causing expansion of the liquid that forms a fan-shaped jet. Said jet expands both in the direction of the first frontal median plane M and in the direction of the second sagittal median plane N in direct proportion to the widths of the nozzle 2800 measured along the directions identified by said planes (greater in the direction of the plane M and smaller in the direction of the plane N). The same thing happens to the liquid supplied to the first and second nozzles 2820 and 2840 through the lateral ducts 282 and 284, for the sequence of the respective first part 2822/2842 with constant section, narrowing 2824/2844 with decreasing section and part 2826/2846 inclined towards the axis A with slightly flared or substantially constant cross section. Therefore the liquid flowing out of the first and second nozzles 2820 and 2840 expands above the top 12′ of the dome 12 in substantially nebulized particles.
Further to the above description, the first and second nozzles 2820 and 2840 are shaped to direct at maximum the respective lateral jets against the respective lateral portions of the jet emitted from the central nozzle 2800 which correspond, respectively, to the first left-hand lateral portion 2801 of the central nozzle 2800 and the second right-hand lateral portion 2802. For this reason, each of the jets delivered by the first and second nozzles 2820 and 2840 strikes the corresponding lateral portion of the fan-shaped jet dispensed by the central nozzle 2800, producing a single jet which uniformly expands radially in all directions, reaching all the areas of the mucosa covering the nasal cavity, it would not be possible to reach said areas if the dispenser 1 were provided only with the central nozzle 2800, able to dispense a single jet, albeit fan-shaped, or only with the first and second lateral nozzles 2820 and 2840. Further to the above description, the jet resulting from the combination of the jets delivered under pressure by the central nozzle 2800 and by the first and second nozzles 2820 and 2840 will be indicated here and below by the expression “modified fan-shaped jet”.
Furthermore, with particular reference to
The use of the dispenser 1 can be easily understood from the above description and does not require further explanation. However, it may be useful to specify that the dispenser 1 is designed to be supplied with liquid under pressure. Furthermore, the first body 10 is shaped for easy treatment of the nasal cavities; the dome 12 is shaped to be pushed at least partially inside a nostril to be treated; once this pushing action has been applied, the outer wall of the dome 12 adheres to the inner walls of the nostril, widening them so that the central nozzle 2800 and the first and second lateral nozzles 2820 and 2840 (of the two lateral ducts 282 and 284) are univocally positioned at the inlet of the nasal cavity facing the 3 meatus.
With the dome 12 of the dispenser 1 kept still in said position, the dispenser 1 has the central nozzle 2800 and the first and second nozzles 2820 and 2840 in an appropriate position for spraying the lower, middle and upper meatus of the nasal cavities through the nozzle 2800 of the central duct 280 and the first and second lateral nozzles 2820 and 2840 with the medical liquid in the form of the “modified open fan-shaped jet”.
Lastly it is clear that variations can be made to the dispenser 1 described and illustrated above without departing from the scope of the present invention so that it can be used to administer solutions inside the vaginal cavity, oral cavity and outer ear canal.
For example, with reference to
The dispenser 1′ is functionally and aesthetically similar to the dispenser 1 but is provided with a central duct 280′ and two lateral ducts 282′ and 284′ which differ due to their respective geometry from the homologous ducts of the dispenser 1. In fact, in this case the central duct 280′ opens towards the outside with a flared central nozzle 2800′ having rectangular cross section, the geometrical shape of which is equal to the one described above with reference to the central nozzle 2800, to produce a fan-shaped jet which expands both in the direction of the first frontal median plane M and in the direction of the second sagittal median plane N in direct proportion to the widths of the nozzle 2800 measured along the directions identified by said planes. Below said central nozzle 2800′, the central duct 280′ has a rectangular section transversally to the axis A with decreasing shape and dimension from the bottom towards the dome 12. Also the lateral ducts 282′ and 284′ have a decreasing rectangular section towards the dome 12. At the base, on the side of the tapered portion 26, the lateral ducts 282′ and 284′ are arranged in a symmetrically polar manner relative to the axis A with reference to the sagittal plane N but end in a curved portion which is arranged laterally to said sagittal plane N on opposite quadrants, as illustrated in
With reference to the enlargement of
Furthermore, with reference to
The breakdown of the fan-shaped jet emitted from the central nozzles (2800, 2800′ and 2800″ respectively), due to the collision of the jets delivered by the first and second lateral nozzles (2820 and 2840, 2820′ and 2840′, 2820″ and 2840″ respectively) on the respective lateral portions of the fan-shaped jet, determines a fragmentation of the latter with modification and deviation, in all directions, of the particles that compose both the central fan-shaped jet and the lateral jets.
Therefore, the particles of the jet produced by said fragmentation are uniformly distributed inside the entire nasal cavity, also reaching those areas of the nasal mucosa which it was not possible to reach with the devices currently on the market and assuming a substantially nebulized form, with very delicate impact on the structures composing the mucosa covering the nasal cavities and in particular on the muco-ciliary system.
Furthermore, the pressure with which the washing liquid is delivered through any one of the dispensers described above can be manually controlled if it is the result of pressure exerted manually on a bottle delimited by flexible walls or by a bag (known and not illustrated for the sake of economy of drawing) that contain the liquid and are connected to the dispenser 1 through the lower portion 22 of the second body 20, and mechanically controlled if the action of the user is exerted on a control member known and not illustrated which determines the pressure variation in said bottle.
Any excess pressure is modulated through the groove 11, which allows discharge of the excess solution.
Further to the above description, it can be seen that a dispenser shaped as described above and therefore provided with a central nozzle elongated according to a given plane able to deliver a fan-shaped jet according to said plane with polar symmetry with respect to the central nozzle and two lateral nozzles arranged on opposite sides of said plane and facing lateral portions of the central nozzle allows, in use (or when all these nozzles are supplied with a liquid under pressure), a single jet in a “modified fan” shape to be produced, the width of which is a function of the width of the central nozzle and the degree of overlapping between the lateral portions of said central nozzle and the lateral nozzles. The arrangement of the lateral nozzles, polarly symmetrical with respect to the axis of the central nozzle, gives a sort of rotation to the jet delivered by the central nozzle, which maximizes deviation of the liquid particles delivered by the central nozzle producing the “modified fan-shaped jet” where the spatial distribution of the liquid particles above the top of the dispenser is maximized and, therefore, allows spraying of the mucosa of the cavity to be treated and, in the case of nasal cavities, the mucosa covering them throughout their extension.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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102020000000163 | Jan 2020 | IT | national |
This patent application is a U.S. National Phase Application under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of International Patent Application No. PCT/IB2020/062579, filed on Dec. 31, 2020, which claims priority from Italian patent application no. 102020000000163 filed on Jan. 8, 2020, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/IB2020/062579 | 12/31/2020 | WO |