Consort Medical Limited

Bespak Plc

Richard Iain Harrison

Andrew Christopher Wright

Simon Ingram

Daljit Singh Ohbi

Colin John Dickens

Hilde Rachel Maria Pollet

A hand-held dispenser for dispensing a pharmaceutical product is disclosed. The dispenser has a housing providing a duct. A frangible membrane is provided in the duct. A probe with a piercing tip is mounted in the duct and arranged such that, in use the piercing tip pierces the frangible membrane. An air compression device is provided to compress air for expelling a pharmaceutical product through the probe and a channel is provided to substantially equalise the pressure in the air compression device and the pressure above the frangible membrane. The ability to substantially equalise the pressure in the bellows and the pressure above the frangible membrane on the sheath provides for a mote consistent release of pharmaceutical product when the frangible membrane is pierced. This is because the compressed air from the bellows which expels the pharmaceutical product through the probe does not encounter a sudden change in pressure as it passes the pierced frangible membrane with the entrained pharmaceutical product. In use, when compressed air is used to expel a pharmaceutical product through the probe, the air path through the probe has a lower resistance than the channel to substantially equalise the pressure in the air compression device and the pressure above the frangible membrane. This ensures that the majority of the compressed air is used to expel the pharmaceutical product. The piercing tip preferably comprises a generally annular cutting edge on an end portion of the probe with an interruption in the generally annular cutting edge.

Dispenser

A container or vial () for a fluid, the container () comprising a casing defining an interior for storage of the fluid and a closure member (). The closure member () comprises a body and at least one resilient projection () to seal in a storage condition an outlet of the casing, wherein upon an increase in the pressure of the interior of the container () the at least one resilient projection () is deflected to accommodate outflow of fluid through the outlet. The pressure in the interior of the container () may be increased by displacing the closure member () into the container () or by displacing some other element such as a bung () into the container (). The container () and closure member () may be used in a dispenser () and the closure element may be used in a valve ().

Closure member

The present invention relates to a disposable dispensing apparatus for delivering a powdered product nasally or orally. The apparatus comprises a housing () defining an outlet () and a shaft () having a storage chamber () therein for a product provided with a first inlet () and a first outlet (). A sheathing means () is slidably mounted on the shaft and has a second inlet () and a second outlet closed by a frangible membrane (). There is also provided a variable volume means () operatively connected to the shaft. The shaft is movable, on operation of the variable volume means to reduce the variable volume so as to pressurize gas in an interior of the variable volume means, from an initial storage position in which the first and second inlets are out of alignment so as to close a gas flow path, to a dispensing position in which the first and second inlets are brought into alignment by action of the housing against the sheathing means. At the same time, the frangible membrane is ruptured by the shaft so as to open the gas flow path, such that pressurized gas from the interior of the variable volume means is discharged along the gas flow path comprising the first and second inlets, storage chamber, second outlet and first outlet, to thereby entrain powdered product and dispense it through the housing outlet.

Growing community of inventors

Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom

Richard Iain Harrison