U.S. patent number 3,724,459 [Application Number 05/150,499] was granted by the patent office on 1973-04-03 for dual inhaler.
Invention is credited to Peter Leo Congro.
United States Patent |
3,724,459 |
Congro |
April 3, 1973 |
DUAL INHALER
Abstract
A two piece nasal inhaler comprising an integral case with a
cover hingedly joined and an insert for said case with two nostril
shaped protuberances mounted on a housing with a channel extending
through the protuberances and communicating with said housing. An
air passage is provided to permit the flow of air through the
housing and up through the protuberances.
Inventors: |
Congro; Peter Leo (San
Francisco, CA) |
Family
ID: |
22534825 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/150,499 |
Filed: |
June 7, 1971 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
128/203.22 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61M
15/0026 (20140204); A61M 15/08 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A61M
15/08 (20060101); A61m 015/08 () |
Field of
Search: |
;128/200,198,201,206,207,185 ;206/63.2 ;220/38.5,30 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Gaudet; Richard A.
Assistant Examiner: Dunne; G. F.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A nasal inhaler comprising:
a casing of isotatic polypropylene having upper and lower
members;
each of said upper and lower members having a bottom and peripheral
side and end walls;
said lower and upper members being integrally joined by an
integrally molded hinge member along one of the end walls of said
members;
an insert removably seated in said casing having side and end walls
supporting an upper platform;
said insert walls resiliently frictionally engaging the
complementary walls of said lower member;
adjacent said platform, shoulders extending only a portion of the
width of said lower member walls and resting thereon;
said platform having two hollow ogive projections asymmetrically
situated, so that the ogive projection closer to said hinge is
adjacent the edge of said platform, while the other ogive
projection is removed from the edge opposite said hinge member of
said platform, wherein the tops of the ogive projections are below
the arc formed by the outer edge of said upper member when rotated
about said hinge, and said platform has an aperture intermediate
said ogive projections;
said ogive projections being perforated at the top.
2. An inhaler according to claim 1, wherein said shoulders extend
substantially completely around said insert, said walls of said
lower member are thicker than said walls of said upper member, the
thickness being substantially equal to the width of said walls and
said shoulders.
3. A nasal inhaler according to claim 1, having a locating mark on
the end side opposite the end adjacent the hinge.
4. A nasal inhaler according to claim 1, wherein said casing has
two walls parallel said end walls and situated intermediate said
end walls so as to form three compartments, wherein the
perforations of said ogive projections and said aperture each
communicate with one of said compartments.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
Various types of nasal inhalers have been provided to permit the
inhalation of such medicaments as benzedrine, ephedrine, menthol,
camphor or other compounds which cause the mucous membranes to
constrict so as to relieve the nasal passages. The result is to
clear the head and reduce the feeling of congestion. Many of the
inhalers allow for inhalation in only one nostril. Others, are
large or bulky and not convenient for carrying in a purse or
pocket.
A desirable inhalator would provide for inhalation of both nostrils
simultaneously or each nostril individually. In addition, the
inhalator should be compact, and of a convenient shape and
dimension. Desirably, the inhaler should be simply contructed, of
as few parts as possible, and allow for repeated regeneration of
the inhalant in the inhaler. In addition, the inhaler should be
sturdy, so as to permit repeated use or abuse without breaking or
deterioration. Furthermore, a convenient passage for the flow of
air must be provided, through the absorbent containing the
medicament, so that the medication is easily drawn up into the
nasal passages.
2. Description of the Prior Art
U. S. Pat. Nos. 3,198,193 and 3,255,750 are indicative of inhalers
which have been described in the prior art.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A two piece apparatus is provided as a nasal inhaler comprising a
case with a cover integrally attached by a hinge to the case and a
housing insert having two protuberances shaped for convenient
nostril insertion communicating with a compartment superimposed
over a medicament absorbent. An air passage is provided to the
compartment so as to allow the flow of air through the absorbent
and up through the protuberances.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a prospective view of the inhaler with the top closed and
the ogive shaped protuberances shown in phantom.
FIG. 2 is a prospective view of the inhaler with the top open with
a hand and nostrils in phantom.
FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view of the inhaler.
FIG. 4 is a plan view of the inhaler with only a portion of the
cover shown.
FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view along the plane of line 5--5 in
FIG. 4.
FIG. 6 is a horizontal sectional view taken along the plane of line
6--6 in FIG. 3.
DESCRIPTION OF THE SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS
The inhaler of this invention is a compact two part apparatus of
rugged construction which can be easily and economically molded, so
as to provide smooth tight fitting parts.
The inhaler 10 will be carried in the closed position as a small
compact container, approximately the size of a cigarette lighter.
The cover 12 has four peripheral walls, two narrow side walls 14
and two wide side walls 16, each having a rhomboid shape with a
slight taper. The upper top wall 18 will be substantially
rectangular. Because of the tapered walls, the size of the upper
wall will be smaller than the opening at the bottom of the cover
12. A casing 20 has narrow side walls 22 and wide side walls 24.
The relationship in size of the cover 12 and the casing 14 is that
the edges of the cover and the compartment housing come together
when the inhaler is closed to form a substantially smooth juncture
at the joining surfaces 26 and 28. That is, the outer dimensions of
the bottom of the cover 12 and the top of the case 20 are
substantially the same.
It is convenient that the case 20 be of a heavier wall construction
than the cover 12. In this way, the apparatus is lighter, less
material is required, and a convenient lock is provided, which will
be described subsequently.
The cover 12 and case 20 are molded as a single unit having an
integral hinge 30. The hinge has a narrow plastic film 32
connecting two triangular ribs 34 which are integrally molded with
rear side walls 14a and 22a of the cover 12 and case 20
respectively.
An insert 36 is provided for insertion into the case 20. The insert
has spaced end walls 38 and 40 and side walls 42 and 44 of rhomboid
shape which fit snuggly into the case 20, engaging the inner walls.
The walls have an upper step 46 of enhanced thickness to provide a
shoulder 48. The shoulder 48 rests on the upper surface 50 of the
case 20. The thickness of the cover walls 14 and 16 are such, that
with the width of the shoulder 48, the total thickness equals the
thickness of the walls of the case 20. In this manner, the friction
between the sides of the cover 12 and the step 46 of the insert 36
provides locking, whereby the cover remains in the closed position
as indicated in FIG. 1. However, the smooth surface of the plastic,
provides only slight resistance to opening, so that the walls
disengageably engage.
The insert 36 has a flat platform 52 with an air opening 54.
Integrally molded with the platform 52 are ogive protuberances 56
and 58. The ogived shaped projections are hollow and have apertures
60 and 62 at their uppermost ends. The ogive protuberances are so
shaped so as to conveniently fit either into one or both nostrils
simultaneously without distorting the nostrils.
The ogive protuberance 56, which is distant from the hinge 30 is
spaced somewhat removed from the outer edge 64. This is necessary
to permit the cover 12 to move over the ogive protuberance when
closing, without encountering the ogive protuberance. In order to
provide the desired spacing between the ogive protuberances 56 and
58, the ogive protuberance 58 is more proximately spaced to the
inner edge 66. The ogive protuberance 56 and 58 communicate with
the compartment 68 which is divided into three rooms 70, 72, and 74
by partition walls 76 and 78. The walls provide added strength to
the insert 36. In addition, the room 72 serves as an air chamber so
that air may flow through aperture 54 downwardly through room 72
into the wadding 80 which is maintained in the bottom of the casing
20. The insert 36 only extends a portion of the way into the casing
20, so as to provide an area in which the cotton wadding 80 or
other absorbent material may be kept. In addition, the vapors of
the medicament are maintained in the rooms 70 and 74 which
communicate with the hollow areas 82 and 84 of protuberances 56 and
58 respectively. When, the protuberances are inserted in the
nostril, there is already available for immediate inhalation the
vapors present in the rooms and 70 and 74 and the hollow areas 82
and 84. The vapor, of course, will also extend into the area
enclosed by the cover 12. The cover prevents the continued
evaporation of the medicament, confining the medicament to the area
enclosed by the cover and minimizing the loss to the
atmosphere.
Since the protuberances are asymmetrically situated on the top
surface 52, a locating marker 86 is provided so as to identify the
outer side wall of the insert 36. Alternatively, a small
protuberance could be provided to enhance the holding of the cover
in the closed position.
In making the inhaler, two mold dies are used, one to form the
casing with the integral cover and the other to form the insert.
The dies are shaped so as to provide parts having a close fit, and
to allow for ease of assembly of the casing and insert. The casing
is molded from polypropylene or other suitable plastic which
provides the flexible integral hinge. Molding grade isotactic
polypropylene is readily available and can be obtained containing a
wide variety of dyes and stabilizers, so as to be molded to an
attractive durable object.
Conveniently, the compartment housing in its longest dimension will
be about 2 inches. That is, the top and bottom portion will each
have a height of about 1 inch. The housing will be about 1 1/2
inches wide at its longest dimension. The narrow width will be
approximately one-half inch. That is, the dimensions of the
rectangle at the outer edges of the cover and compartment housing
will be about 1/2 inch by 1 1/2.
The insert will extend downward into the casing about one-half inch
with about a 1/8 inch high shoulder. The protuberances will have a
height of about five-eighths inch with approximately a 1/4 inch
diameter of the flat surface at the top expanding to about 7/16
inch diameter at the surface of the compartment housing. These
dimensions, of course, could be varied widely, depending on the
size of the inhaler desired, but are found to provide an inhaler
which fits conveniently in the hand, in the nostrils, and is
conveniently carried, being similar in overall size to a cigarette
lighter.
The inhaler of the subject invention provides a small compact
convenient apparatus which can be economically manufactured on a
mass scale. The device is attractive, small enough to be carried in
a pocket or purse, prevents leakage or loss of the medicament, and
permits the easy replenishment of the medicament.
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