| 摘要 |
An inhaler housing 10 has a body 16 for receiving the inhaler canister 12 and a mouthpiece 14 which is to be placed in the mouth of a user and through which a dose from the inhaler canister 12 is to be delivered. The body 16 and mouthpiece 14 are relatively movable between a carry configuration in which both mouthpiece 14 and body 16 are aligned or parallel, and a use configuration in which the mouthpiece 14 projects laterally from the body 16. In one embodiment the body 16 and the mouthpiece 14 are rotatably coupled to one another about an angled axis 18 so that by turning the mouthpiece 14 relative to the body 16 the inhaler housing is reversibly converted between the carry configuration and the use configuration. The inhaler housing 10 of this embodiment has a member (26, figure 1d) which is variably elastically deformed as the mouthpiece is 14 turned relative to the body 16, investing the member 26 with elastic potential energy which varies with the mouthpiece's rotational position with respect to the body and which has at least two minima corresponding to the carry configuration and the use configuration respectively, so that rotation of the mouthpiece 14 relative to the body 16 tends to stop when either of these configurations is reached. In other embodiments, the mouthpiece (314, fig 8d) may be removed and reattached to reconfigure the assembly. A flexible tube (112, fig 16) and a hinge arrangement (fig 19a) are also disclosed. |
