U.S. patent application number 13/114211 was filed with the patent office on 2011-11-24 for cover for medical inhaler.
This patent application is currently assigned to RADFORD INSTITUTE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD. Invention is credited to Marina Jane Pullin.
Application Number | 20110284601 13/114211 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 44971661 |
Filed Date | 2011-11-24 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110284601 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Pullin; Marina Jane |
November 24, 2011 |
Cover for Medical Inhaler
Abstract
A cover for a medical inhaler, including a substantially tubular
portion formed of flexible insulating material and including first
and second openings at respective ends of the tubular portion,
wherein the tubular portion is sized and shaped to receive a
medical inhaler inserted through either the first or second
openings of the tubular portion. A method for manufacturing a cover
for a medical inhaler is also disclosed.
Inventors: |
Pullin; Marina Jane;
(Adelaide, AU) |
Assignee: |
RADFORD INSTITUTE AUSTRALIA PTY
LTD
Adelaide
AU
|
Family ID: |
44971661 |
Appl. No.: |
13/114211 |
Filed: |
May 24, 2011 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61347588 |
May 24, 2010 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
224/251 ;
29/463 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A45C 2011/007 20130101;
A45F 5/02 20130101; A45F 5/021 20130101; A61M 2209/06 20130101;
Y10T 29/49893 20150115; A45F 5/00 20130101; A45F 2200/0566
20130101; A61M 15/009 20130101; A61M 2205/59 20130101; A45C 11/00
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
224/251 ;
29/463 |
International
Class: |
A45F 5/00 20060101
A45F005/00; B21D 39/02 20060101 B21D039/02 |
Claims
1. A cover for a medical inhaler, the medical inhaler having a
removable canister and a mouthpiece, the cover comprising a
substantially tubular portion formed of flexible insulating
material and including first and second openings at respective ends
of the tubular portion, wherein the tubular portion is sized and
shaped to receive the medical inhaler inserted through either the
first or second openings of the tubular portion.
2. The cover of claim 1, wherein the tubular portion is formed of a
unitary piece of the flexible insulating material.
3. The cover of claim 1, wherein the first opening is sized and
shaped to allow the canister to be removably inserted into the
medical inhaler.
4. The cover of claim 1, wherein the second opening is angled to
conform to the orientation of the mouthpiece of the medical
inhaler.
5. The cover of claim 1, wherein the second opening is sized and
shaped to allow a lid be to removably placed on the mouthpiece of
the medical inhaler.
6. The cover of claim 1, wherein the first and/or second openings
include an elasticized collar portion.
7. The cover of claim 1, wherein the cover includes an attachment
arrangement for external attachment of the cover.
8. The cover of claim 7, wherein the attachment arrangement is a
loop tag adapted to provide a suitable attachment point for a key
ring, lanyard, belt loop or the like.
9. A method for manufacturing a cover for a medical inhaler
comprising: forming a unitary piece of flexible insulating
material, the unitary piece having a top edge portion and a bottom
cut out portion, the unitary piece further including respective
side edge portions; and joining the unitary piece of flexible
insulating material along the respective side edge portions to form
a substantially tubular portion, wherein the top edge portion
corresponds to a first opening of the cover and the bottom cut out
portion corresponds to a second opening of the cover, wherein the
tubular portion is sized and shaped to receive the medical inhaler
inserted through either the first or second openings of the tubular
portion.
10. The method for manufacturing a cover as claimed in claim 9,
wherein the respective side edge portions are arranged
substantially symmetrical to each other about a mid line extending
from the top edge portion to the bottom cut out portion.
11. The method for manufacturing a cover as claimed in claim 9,
wherein the top edge portion and the bottom cut out portion
includes an elasticized portion.
12. The method for manufacturing a cover as claimed in claim 10,
wherein the top edge portion and the bottom cut out portion
includes an elasticized portion.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to medical inhalers.
In a particular form the present invention relates to a cover for a
medical inhaler.
BACKGROUND
[0001] Medical inhalers are portable devices which are able to
deliver medication in predetermined doses through manual
application. The medication may be in the form of an aerosol in
powder and/or liquid form. Typically a medical inhaler includes a
generally cylindrical shaped housing which may be gripped by a
recipient having an opening at one end to receive a canister
containing the medication and a mouthpiece extending outwardly from
the opposite end of the housing. In operation, the recipient places
the mouthpiece of the device to their mouth and while gripping the
housing of the inhaler depresses the canister downwardly causing
the canister to dispense a metered dose of the medication in
aerosol form under pressure which the recipient then breathes
in.
[0002] A common form of inhaler is an asthma inhaler where the
canister contains a medication for the treatment of asthma symptoms
which functions to reduce the inflammation of the lungs associated
with an asthma attack. A typical canister can deliver up to 200
doses of medication where each dose is of the order of 100
micrograms. For severe asthma sufferers, the effect of not being
able to dispense their asthma medication may be life threatening in
the event of an asthma attack. Often children are particularly at
risk from these types of severe attacks and as a consequence asthma
sufferers are taught at an early age to carry their medical inhaler
around with them at all times.
[0003] As children are often sensitive to the opinion of their
peers it is desirable that any carrying means or cover be visually
appealing as well as functional so as to encourage a child to carry
the inhaler. In the event of an emergency medical episode such as a
severe asthma attack it is also desirable that any cover or
carrying means for a medical inhaler does not unduly affect the
ability for a recipient to quickly access and apply the inhaler to
dispense the medication or where appropriate replace an empty
canister. In addition, as the canister contains a medically active
component/constituent it is also desirable that the carrying means
or cover where possible limit large temperature fluctuations to the
canister.
SUMMARY
[0004] In one aspect there is provided a cover for a medical
inhaler, the medical inhaler having a removable canister and a
mouthpiece, the cover comprising a substantially tubular portion
formed of flexible insulating material and including first and
second openings at respective ends of the tubular portion, wherein
the tubular portion is sized and shaped to receive the medical
inhaler inserted through either the first or second openings of the
tubular portion.
[0005] In another form, the tubular portion is formed of a unitary
piece of the flexible insulating material.
[0006] In another form, the first opening is sized and shaped to
allow the canister to be removably inserted into the medical
inhaler.
[0007] In another form, the second opening is angled to conform to
the orientation of the mouthpiece of the medical inhaler.
[0008] In another form, the second opening is sized and shaped to
allow a lid be to removably placed on the mouthpiece of the medical
inhaler.
[0009] In another form, the first and/or second openings include an
elasticized collar portion.
[0010] In another form, the cover includes an attachment
arrangement for external attachment of the cover.
[0011] In another form, the attachment arrangement is a loop tag
adapted to provide a suitable attachment point for a key ring,
lanyard, belt loop or the like.
[0012] In a further aspect there is provided a method for
manufacturing a cover for a medical inhaler comprising: [0013]
forming a unitary piece of flexible insulating material, the
unitary piece having a top edge portion and a bottom cut out
portion, the unitary piece further including respective side edge
portions; and [0014] joining the unitary piece of flexible
insulating material along the respective side edge portions to form
a substantially tubular portion, wherein the top edge portion
corresponds to a first opening of the cover and the bottom cut out
portion corresponds to a second opening of the cover, wherein the
tubular portion is sized and shaped to receive the medical inhaler
inserted through either the first or second openings of the tubular
portion.
[0015] In another form, the respective side edge portions are
arranged substantially symmetrical to each other about a mid line
extending from the top edge portion to the bottom cut out
portion.
[0016] In another form, the top edge portion and the bottom cut out
portion includes an elasticized portion.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0017] An illustrative embodiment of the present invention will be
discussed with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:
[0018] FIG. 1 is a side view of a cover for a medical inhaler in
accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present
invention;
[0019] FIG. 2 is an underside perspective view of the cover
illustrated in FIG. 1;
[0020] FIG. 3 is a top perspective view of the cover illustrated in
FIG. 1;
[0021] FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the cover illustrated in FIG.
1;
[0022] FIG. 5 is a top view of the cover illustrated in FIG. 1;
[0023] FIG. 6 is a first end view of the cover illustrated in FIG.
1;
[0024] FIG. 7 is a second end view of the cover illustrated in FIG.
1;
[0025] FIG. 8 is a plan view of a unitary piece of material used to
fabricate the cover illustrated in FIG. 1;
[0026] FIG. 9 is a front perspective view of the cover illustrated
in FIG. 1 depicted in an in use configuration with a medical
inhaler; and
[0027] FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a method for manufacturing a cover
for a medical inhaler in accordance with a further illustrative
embodiment of the present invention.
[0028] In the following description, like reference characters
designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views
of the drawings.
TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION
[0029] Referring now to FIGS. 1 to 7, there are shown various views
of a cover 100 for a medical inhaler according to an illustrative
embodiment. In this embodiment, cover 100 includes a substantially
tubular portion 110 formed of a flexible insulating material which
in this illustrative embodiment is formed from a synthetic rubber
such as Neoprene.TM.. As would be appreciated by those of ordinary
skill in the art a variety of different flexible insulating
materials may be used including but not limited to natural rubber,
Spandex.TM., Lycra.TM. or composites of these or other suitable
materials.
[0030] In this embodiment, the flexible insulating material has a
thickness of 5 mm but depending on environmental requirements and
the type of material with its associated resiliency and insulating
characteristics, the thickness may range from 0.2 mm to 10 mm.
These flexible materials may be sourced in many different colours
and their association with surfing and diving culture enhances
their appeal to younger users of medical inhalers. These materials
may also be readily screen printed with attractive designs or
logos, thereby allowing younger (or older) users of these devices
to select or personalise their cover according to their own
taste.
[0031] Referring now also to FIG. 9, the tubular portion or body
110 includes a first opening 120 from which extends the canister
220 of the medical inhaler 200 and a second opening 130 which in
this illustrative embodiment is angled to conform to the
orientation of the mouthpiece 230 of the medical inhaler 200 and
further to allow the cap (not shown) of the medical inhaler 200 to
be removably placed on the mouthpiece 230. The tubular portion 110
and openings 120, 130 of the cover 100 are sized and shaped to
receive the medical inhaler 200 which can be simply inserted
through either of the openings 120, 130 in the appropriate
orientation and manipulated until cover 100 is in place as
illustrated in FIG. 9.
[0032] Once cover 100 is in place the first opening 120 allows the
canister to be easily removed should this be required. Due to the
resilience of the flexible insulating material, cover 100 provides
a tight or snug fit between tubular portion 110 and the body 210 of
medical inhaler 200. In this illustrative embodiment, each of the
openings 120, 130 further includes resilient collar portions 125,
135 which function to prevent movement of the medical inhaler 200
once the cover has been put on. In addition, collar portions 125,
135 further trap or confine an insulating layer of air between the
body 210 of medical inhaler 200 and tubular portion 110 of cover
100.
[0033] Cover 100 further includes an attachment arrangement for
external attachment of the cover which in this embodiment is a loop
tag 140 which is attached to tubular portion 110 and provides a
convenient attachment point for key rings, lanyards, belt loops and
the like. As would be appreciated by those of skill in the art,
other attachment arrangements are contemplated to be within the
scope of the invention including attachment regions such as
Velcro.TM. or the like which attach to a corresponding attachment
portion which may be located in a handbag or on an item of worn
clothing. Similarly, various hooking arrangement, clips or press
release attachments may be employed.
[0034] Referring now to FIG. 10, there is shown a flowchart of a
method 400 for manufacturing a cover for a medical inhaler
according to a further illustrative embodiment. At step 410, and
referring to FIG. 8, a unitary piece of flexible insulating
material 160 such as has been described above is formed having a
top edge portion 161 and a bottom cut out portion 162 and
respective side edge portions 163, 164 which in this illustrative
embodiment are arranged substantially symmetrical to each other
with respect to mid line 300 that extends from the top edge portion
161 to bottom cut out portion 162. In this illustrative embodiment,
top edge portion 161 and bottom cut out portion 162 further include
elasticised portions.
[0035] At step 420, the unitary piece of flexible insulating
material is joined along the respective side edge portions 163, 164
to form a cover 100 such as depicted in FIGS. 1 to 7 having a
tubular portion 110, where the top edge portion 161 of the material
160 corresponds to the first opening 120 of the cover 100 and the
bottom cut out portion 162 corresponds to the second opening 130.
In this manner, tubular portion 110 is sized and shaped to receive
a medical inhaler inserted through either the first or second
openings 120, 130. Elasticised portions of top edge portion 161 and
cut out portion 162 then correspond to collar portions 125, 135 of
openings 120, 130.
[0036] In this illustrative embodiment, edges 163, 164 are first
joined together using an appropriate adhesive which is then
overlaid by reinforcing stitching in a similar manner to that
employed for the fabrication of wetsuits. As would be apparent to
those of ordinary skill in the art, other suitable joining or
attachment arrangements may be used as appropriate. Loop tag 150 is
then stitched to the end of the seam 150.
[0037] Cover 100 provides a number of advantages over the prior art
including the ease of applying the cover 100 to a medical inhaler
200 by inserting the medical inhaler through one of the openings of
the cover 100. As the cover 100 fits tightly and snugly to medical
inhaler 200 there is little risk that they will become separated.
Furthermore, the tightness of the fit, the conforming shape of the
cover 100 and the insulating nature of the flexible material
reduces the sensitivity of the medical inhaler to temperature
fluctuations which may adversely affect the contents of the inhaler
depending on its constituents.
[0038] As has been described previously, cover 100 may be easily
fabricated from a unitary piece of material which provides cost
saving in its manufacture. Of importance to younger users is the
attractive and appealing design of cover 100 which acts as a
"wetsuit" to their medical inhaler. This is further enhanced by the
ability to easily manufacture cover 100 in a vast range of
different appearances. This ensures a greater compliance with
younger users who are more likely to keep their inhaler about their
person.
[0039] It will be understood that the term "comprise" and any of
its derivatives (eg. comprises, comprising) as used in this
specification is to be taken to be inclusive of features to which
it refers, and is not meant to exclude the presence of any
additional features unless otherwise stated or implied.
[0040] The reference to any prior art in this specification is not,
and should not be taken as, an acknowledgement of any form of
suggestion that such prior art forms part of the common general
knowledge.
[0041] Although an illustrative embodiment of the present invention
has been described in the foregoing detailed description, it will
be understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiment
disclosed, but is capable of numerous rearrangements, modifications
and substitutions without departing from the scope of the invention
as set forth and defined by the following claims.
* * * * *