DISPENSER HAVING ELECTRONIC ACTUATION DETECTION

Abstract

A dispenser for dispensing a pharmaceutical medium, including a sensor for sensing a dispensing operation and an electronic processing circuit for sensing and further processing a signal caused by the sensor. In order to simplify the design, the sensor is part of a sensor unit, which has a radio transmitter for producing a radio signal, and the processing circuit has a radio receiver, which designed to receive the radio signal produced by the radio transmitter.

Claims

1. A dispenser for dispensing a pharmaceutical medium, comprising a sensor for sensing a dispensing operation and an electronic processing circuit for sensing and further processing a signal caused by the sensor, wherein the sensor is part of a sensor unit, which has a radio transmitter for producing a radio signal, and the processing circuit has a radio receiver, which is designed for receiving the radio signal produced by the radio transmitter.

2. The dispenser as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sensor unit is assigned a conversion device for the conversion of mechanical energy into electrical energy, this conversion device preferably being identical to the sensor.

3. The dispenser as claimed in claim 1, wherein the radio transmitter and the radio receiver are arranged no more than 10 cm apart from one another.

4. The dispenser as claimed in claim 1, wherein the dispenser has a receiving shaft, in which a container is inserted, at least the sensor being arranged within the receiving shaft end at least the processing circuit being arranged outside the receiving shaft.

5. The dispenser as claimed in claim 1, wherein the circuit for sensing and further processing a signal of the sensor is designed as a reusable unit for changing coupling with a subassembly of the dispenser that comprises the sensor unit.

6. The dispenser as claimed in claim 1, wherein the radio transmitter is designed for producing a radio signal on the basis of the Bluetooth standard, the Wibree standard, the ANT+ standard or the Zigbee standard.

7. The dispenser as claimed in claim 1, wherein the electronic circuit is designed for counting dispensing operations.

8. The dispenser as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sensor is designed for sensing the movement of an actuating handle or a structural element mechanically coupled to the actuating handle with respect to a housing or the movement of a container inserted in the housing of the dispenser.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] Further aspects and advantages emerge from the claims and the following description of two exemplary embodiments of the invention, which are explained with reference to the figures, in which:

[0020] FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of a dispenser according to the invention and

[0021] FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment of a dispenser according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

[0022] FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of a dispenser according to the invention. This is configured in the manner of an MDI (Metered Dose Inhaler). It has a plastic housing 10, which has an approximately cylindrical receiving region 12 and also a mouthpiece 14 angled with respect thereto. The receiving region 12 is designed for receiving a container 20. This container 20 has in turn a liquid reservoir 22 and an outlet stub 24, which are displaceable with respect to one another. In this case, the container is designed in such a way that, by pressing down the liquid reservoir 22, a relative displacement with respect to the outlet stub 24 takes place, by which a defined amount of the medium previously stored in the liquid reservoir 22 is dispensed through the outlet stub 24. The outlet stub 24 is accommodated in a receptacle 16a, which belongs to the housing 10 and is adjoined by a dispensing channel 16b. The receptacle 16a and the dispensing channel 16b are provided in a restrictedly displaceable housing portion 16, which is connected to surrounding parts of the housing 10 by means of a thin-walled attachment region 18. The housing portion 16 is therefore restrictedly movable with respect to the cylindrical region 12 and the mouthpiece 14 of the dispenser.

[0023] For sensing dispensing operations, the dispenser has a sensor unit 30, which is joined onto the housing 10 below the movable housing portion 16. This sensor unit 30 comprises a printed circuit board 32, mounted on which is a piezo stack 34, which is arranged directly underneath the housing portion 16. Connected to the piezo stack 34 is an intermediate energy store 36, for example in the manner of a capacitor. This in turn is coupled to a simple radio transmitter 38 in the manner of a 1 GHz oscillating circuit.

[0024] Provided on the outer lateral surface of the cylindrical receiving region 12 of the housing 10 is a processing circuit 40, which has an energy source 42 in the form of a button cell, a processing circuit 44 and a radio receiver 46. Additionally provided is an LC display 48, which is connected to the circuit 44. The processing circuit 40 is inserted in a housing 50, which has been pushed into a mounting 12b on the outer side of the cylindrical receiving region 12.

[0025] When the dispenser is actuated by pressing down the liquid reservoir 22, there is a displacement of the outlet stub 24 with respect to the liquid reservoir 22 and also a displacement of the housing portion 16 with simultaneous compression of the piezo stack 34. The compression of the piezo stack 34 has the effect of generating electrical energy, which is stored in the capacitor 36. The container 20 and the sensor unit 30 are made to match one another in such a way that the energy generated by the piezo stack 34 in the capacitor 36 reaches an energy level that is sufficient for the operation of the radio transmitter 38 shortly before the displacement of the liquid reservoir 22 with respect to the outlet stub 34 is sufficient to bring about the dispensing operation. Consequently, the emission of a radio pulse by the radio transmitter 38 occurs shortly before the dispensing operation.

[0026] This radio pulse is received by the radio receiver 46 and passed on to the circuit 44. The latter adds to the number of previous dispensing operations stored in it the one that has just been registered and indicates the result on the LC display 48 for a short time period of several seconds or minutes.

[0027] The design of the system with a radio transmitter 38 and a radio receiver 46 achieves the effect that an optimum arrangement both of the sensor 34 and of the display 48 is possible without the problems involved in the arrangement of lines that usually arise in this case having to be taken into consideration.

[0028] The embodiment of FIG. 2 is identical to that of FIG. 1 with regard to most aspects. The main difference is that in the case of this second embodiment the sensor unit 30 also has an energy source 31 in the form of a battery and that a simple probe 33 is provided instead of the piezo stack. Furthermore, the radio transmitter 39 and the radio receiver 47 in the case of this second exemplary embodiment are designed as bidirectionally communicating Bluetooth radio units.

[0029] The electrical energy for operating the radio device 39 on the sensor unit consequently does not have to be made available by the dispensing operation, and the mechanical energy thereby introduced into the system made available in a converted form, but instead the electrical energy comes directly from the battery 31.