Breath activated inhaler

摘要

An inhaler including an outlet and a plurality of sealed compartments containing medicament is disclosed. An opening mechanism is provided to open the compartment presently aligned with the outlet. An indexing mechanism sequentially aligns the compartments with the outlet. A latch is provided for latching the opening mechanism in an energized position. The latch cannot latch the opening mechanism before the indexing mechanism has aligned the next compartment with the outlet. A method of priming an inhaler and a method of dispensing a medicament from an inhaler is also disclosed.

主权项

1. An inhaler, comprising:
an outlet; a plurality of sealed compartments containing medicament; an opening mechanism having an energized position in which the opening mechanism is biased towards an unloaded position, wherein during movement from the energized position to the unloaded position the opening mechanism is configured to open a sealed compartment aligned with the outlet; an indexing mechanism for sequentially aligning the compartments with the outlet, wherein the indexing mechanism is adapted to align the next compartment with the outlet after the opening mechanism has been moved from the unloaded position to the energized position; a latch having a first position, in which the latch is configured to latch the opening mechanism in the energized position, and a second position, in which the latch is configured to allow the opening mechanism to be in said unloaded position, wherein the latch is at least partly arranged in a flow path such that an inhalation flow through the flow path affects the latch to move from the first position to the second position, wherein the latch is prevented from returning to the first position before the indexing mechanism has aligned the next compartment with the outlet; and a catch having a preventing position, in which the catch is configured to prevent the latch from reaching the first position, and a removed position, in which the catch is configured to allow the latch to reach the first position, wherein the catch is connected to and movable with the indexing mechanism.