The present invention will be explained in more detail in the following with reference to the figures, in which:
FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of a device for cleaning an oscillatable membrane of an inhalation therapy device according to the invention;
FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment of the cleaning device according to the invention of an inhalation therapy device according to the invention;
FIG. 3 shows a third embodiment of a cleaning device according to the invention of an inhalation therapy device according to the invention;
FIG. 4A shows an inhalation therapy device with a membrane aerosol generator;
FIG. 4B shows a fourth embodiment of the cleaning device according to the invention of an inhalation therapy device according to the invention.
FIG. 1 shows a first advantageous embodiment of a device according to the invention for cleaning an oscillatable membrane of a membrane aerosol generator of an inhalation therapy device. The shown cleaning device 1 comprises a liquid supply means 2 for supplying a cleaning liquid to the aerosol side of a membrane 3. According to the invention, the cleaning liquid is supplied to that side of the membrane 3 on which the aerosol generated by the membrane aerosol generator is usually released during nebulisation of a liquid.
In addition to the oscillatable membrane 3, the membrane aerosol generator 4 comprises an oscillation generator 5 that consists, in the shown embodiment, of a ring-shaped substrate 6 and a ring-shaped piezo-electric element 7 connected therewith. In the shown embodiment, the oscillation generator 5 thus has a rotationally symmetrical basic structure whose axis of rotation lies in the drawing plane of FIG. 1.
As is furthermore shown by FIG. 1, connecting lines 8a, 8b are on the one hand connected with the oscillation generator 5 and, in accordance with the invention, are on the other hand connected with an oscillation activating means 9 for activating oscillations of the membrane.
According to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the oscillation activating means 9 supplies an electric control signal to the oscillation generator 5 of the membrane aerosol generator 4. When the control signal is supplied, the oscillatable membrane 3 is caused to oscillate by the oscillation generator 5 and the cleaning liquid is conveyed, according to the invention, from the aerosol side of the membrane 3 through the membrane 3 to the liquid side of the membrane 3.
As is shown by FIG. 1, the cleaning liquid conveyed through the openings of the membrane is advantageously collected in a collecting receptacle 10, on which the membrane aerosol generator 4 is suitably arranged or attached. For example, according to FIG. 1, the ring-shaped substrate 6 is fixed at its outer periphery in a groove 10a of the collecting receptacle 10.
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the liquid supply means 2 is realised in the form of a hollow cylinder that is open at both front ends. One of the front ends of the hollow cylinder 2 is positioned such that this front end is tightly sealed by the membrane 3 or the membrane aerosol generator 4. A ring-shaped seal 11 is furthermore advantageously arranged on the front end facing the membrane, said seal abutting the membrane 3 or the membrane aerosol generator 4 in such a manner that a cleaning liquid filled into the hollow cylinder does not escape at the front end of the hollow cylinder facing the membrane but is rather disposed on the membrane 3. Provided that the hollow cylinder has a sufficient weight of its own to obtain the leak tightness (with or without seal 11) to be achieved for supplying the cleaning liquid, further measures for fixing the liquid supply means 2 are not necessary. However, fixings for the liquid supply means 2 can be alternatively (or additionally) provided, which reliably hold the liquid supply means 2 in the position suitable for supplying the cleaning liquid.
FIG. 2 shows a second advantageous embodiment of a cleaning device according to the invention. In the cleaning device 1 shown in FIG. 2, the liquid supply means 2 for supplying a cleaning liquid to the aerosol side of the membrane 3 is formed in the shape of a funnel. Furthermore, the funnel-shaped liquid supply means 2 is configured integrally with a lid 12 that is fixed to the collecting receptacle 10 so as to be pivotable about an axis 13. In the closed state, the funnel-shaped liquid supply means 2 is positioned such that the free open end 2a abuts the membrane 3 or the membrane aerosol generator 4 so that a cleaning liquid filled into the funnel-shaped liquid supply means 2 is disposed on the membrane 3. A seal 11 is advantageously provided at the free open end of the liquid supply means 2 in order to prevent an undesirable escape of the cleaning liquid from the volume limited by the liquid supply means 2 and the membrane 3.
So that the membrane aerosol generator 4 can be removed from and inserted in the cleaning device 1 according to the second embodiment, the liquid supply means 2 can be pivoted together with the lid 12 about the axis 13. The membrane aerosol generator 4 is detachably fixed to an accommodating member 15 provided in the collecting receptacle, for example an adapted opening in the surface of the collecting receptacle 10 facing the lid, by means of one or more holding devices 16 that, for example, clamp the membrane aerosol generator 4.
As in the first embodiment, supply of the cleaning liquid in the second embodiment also occurs, in accordance with the invention, to the aerosol side of the membrane 3, i.e. to that side on which the aerosol generated by the membrane aerosol generator is usually released during nebulisation of a liquid. If the membrane aerosol generator 4 is activated and the membrane 3 is thus caused to oscillate, the cleaning liquid exits on the other side of the membrane 3, i.e. on that side on which the liquid to be nebulised is normally disposed in the nebulising mode.
As in the first embodiment, a control signal is supplied to the membrane aerosol generator 4 by an oscillation activating means 9 via connecting lines 8a and 8b.
FIG. 3 shows a third embodiment of a cleaning device 1 according to the invention. In this embodiment, the membrane aerosol generator 4 is arranged vertically rather than horizontally in the cleaning device in order to demonstrate that the method according to the invention can also be carried out if the membrane 3 of the membrane aerosol generator is not arranged horizontally. The membrane 3 of the membrane aerosol generator 4 can ultimately be arranged as desired provided that the cleaning liquid is supplied to the aerosol side of the membrane 3 of the membrane aerosol generator 4 with the help of the liquid supply means 2 and the membrane 3 is caused to oscillate such that the cleaning liquid is conveyed from the aerosol side to the liquid side of the membrane 3.
In the third embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the liquid supply means 2 is a container that is slanted in parts and has a vertical opening which is arranged such that the cleaning liquid is disposed on the aerosol side of the membrane 3. A seal 11 is preferably provided at the opening of the liquid supply means 2, which prevents an undesirable escape of the cleaning liquid at the site of contact between funnel/seal and membrane/membrane aerosol generator.
As is indicated by the arrow A in FIG. 3, part I of the cleaning device 1, in which the liquid supply means 2 is formed, can be pivoted about a rotational axis, which exposes the accommodating member 15 for the membrane aerosol generator 4 that is formed in another part II of the cleaning device 1. The membrane aerosol generator 4 is placed in the accommodating member 15 and is thereby connected with connecting lines 8a and 8b, via which a control signal is introduced to the membrane aerosol generator 4. When the first housing part I of the cleaning device 1 is pivoted into the position shown in FIG. 3, the membrane aerosol generator 4 or the membrane 3 is fixed in the accommodating member since the seal 11 acts mechanically on the membrane aerosol generator 4. The second housing part II of the cleaning device 1 according to FIG. 3 serves as a collecting chamber 10 for the cleaning liquid conveyed through the membrane.
FIG. 4A shows an inhalation therapy device 100 with a membrane aerosol generator 4, which comprises, in addition to the membrane 3, an oscillation generator having a ring-shaped substrate 6 and a ring-shaped piezo-electric element 7 that are connected with one another and with the membrane 3 in such a manner that the membrane 3 is caused to oscillate if the oscillation generator 5 is stimulated to oscillate by an electric control signal. The electric control signal is supplied via supply lines 8a, 8b that are connected to a control device 101 of the inhalation therapy device 100. The liquid to be nebulised is filled into a liquid reservoir 102 of the inhalation therapy device and is disposed on the liquid side of the membrane 3 in the nebulising mode. If a control signal is supplied to the membrane aerosol generator 4 by the control device 101, the membrane 3 is caused to oscillate, and the liquid to be nebulised is thus transported from the liquid side to the aerosol side of the membrane 3. The aerosol is released by the membrane aerosol generator 4 into a mixing chamber 103, from which a patient inhales the aerosol via a mouthpiece 104. Even though the mouthpiece 104 is shown integrally in FIG. 4A, it can, in many cases, be removed from the mixing chamber 103.
In an inhalation therapy device configured in this manner, the cleaning device according to the invention comprises, as is shown in FIG. 4B, a liquid supply means 2 that is in the form of a tube that is inserted into the mouthpiece 104 of the inhalation therapy device. The length of the liquid supply means 2 depends on the size of the mouthpiece 104 and the mixing chamber 103 and is configured to be long enough that an open front end of the liquid supply means 2 reaches the membrane 3 such that the seal 11 provided on this front end abuts the membrane 3 or the membrane aerosol generator 4. If the mouthpiece 104 can be removed from the mixing chamber 103, the dimensions of the tube-like liquid supply means 2 can also be adapted to the mixing chamber 103.
The liquid supply means 2 preferably has a stop 16 that abuts the opening edge of the mouthpiece 104 or the mixing chamber 103 of the inhalation therapy device and thus prevents the liquid supply means 2 from being inserted too far into the inhalation therapy device 100, thereby damaging the membrane 3 or the membrane aerosol generator 4. Furthermore, the tube 2 is preferably tapered so as to facilitate insertion into the mouthpiece or the mixing chamber and to obtain at one end a front end cross-section that is adapted to the membrane 3 or the membrane aerosol generator 4 and to obtain at the opposite end a front end cross-section that is adapted to the opening of the mouthpiece 104 or the mixing chamber 103.
In the tube 2 that forms the liquid supply means of the cleaning device according to the invention in the fourth embodiment, the cleaning liquid is filled in such that it is disposed on the aerosol side of the membrane 3 during the cleaning process. The membrane 3 is caused to oscillate by the control device 101, which is also used to control the membrane aerosol generator 4 for the generation of an aerosol. The control device 101 of the inhalation therapy device 100 is thus advantageously also used for cleaning. If a control signal is supplied to the membrane aerosol generator 4 by the control device 101, the membrane 3 is caused to oscillate, and thus the cleaning liquid supplied to the aerosol side of the membrane 3 with the help of the liquid supply means 2 is transported through the membrane 3 and collected in the liquid reservoir 102. The liquid reservoir 102 of the inhalation therapy device 100 thereby serves as a collecting receptacle 10 for the cleaning liquid conveyed through the membrane 3. However, in order to prevent the cleaning liquid collected in the liquid reservoir 102 being inadvertently nebulised and inhaled, the lid of the liquid reservoir 102 should preferably be removed during cleaning. In order to collect the cleaning liquid then exiting the liquid reservoir, a separate collecting receptacle 10 must be provided. In this manner, the further advantage that no cleaning liquid is inadvertently nebulised, which is inherent to all the embodiments according to the invention, is also reliably achieved in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4B.
It is of particular advantage in the last described fourth embodiment of a cleaning device according to the invention that the cleaning liquid is supplied to the aerosol side of the membrane since it is prevented in this manner that a cleaning liquid filled into the liquid reservoir is inadvertently nebulised and inhaled. Supplying the cleaning liquid to the aerosol side of the membrane prevents the inhalation therapy device possibly being used to nebulise a liquid.
Furthermore, the fourth embodiment is advantageous because the control device 101 of the inhalation therapy device 100 is used as an oscillation activating means 9 according to the invention in order to cause the membrane 3 to oscillate so that the cleaning liquid is transported from the aerosol side to the liquid side. The control device of an inhalation therapy device can also be used in the embodiments described beforehand to supply the control signal to the membrane aerosol generator so that the membrane is caused to oscillate in order to effect the desired transport of the cleaning liquid from the aerosol side to the liquid side of the membrane. However, in a cleaning device according to the invention, a control means that is independent of the inhalation therapy device can also be used as an oscillation activating means, which provides the opportunity to supply other control signals, for example in other frequency ranges or with other waveforms. However, it has been shown that good cleaning results are achieved if the control device of the inhalation therapy device is used under the operating conditions that are also used for nebulisation of the liquid in order to generate an aerosol.
A highly effective method for cleaning an oscillatable membrane 3 of a membrane aerosol generator 4 of an inhalation therapy device can be carried out with a cleaning device according to the invention. Furthermore, a cleaning liquid is supplied according to the invention to the aerosol side of the membrane 3. This means that supply occurs on that side of the membrane on which the generated aerosol exits in the normal nebulising mode of the membrane aerosol generator. Furthermore, the membrane 3 is caused to oscillate according to the invention in such a manner that the cleaning liquid is conveyed through the openings of the membrane 3 to the liquid side of the membrane.
Distilled water, ethanol or a solvent or another suitable liquid can be used as the cleaning liquid.
According to the invention, activation of the membrane oscillations preferably occurs at the frequency that is also used for nebulising a liquid in the normal nebulising mode. However, control can also take place in another manner such that the control signal supplied during cleaning of the membrane differs from the control signal of a nebulising mode, in particular as regards amplitude, frequency and frequency change during cleaning, duration and sequence of the activation periods.
Patent Application
20080006264
