Search

EP-4384324-B1 - VENTURI DEVICE HAVING A MULTI-INJECTION PORT FOR LIQUID FORMULA ATOMIZATION

EP4384324B1EP 4384324 B1EP4384324 B1EP 4384324B1EP-4384324-B1

Inventors

  • NZOUNZA, Patrycja
  • CARDON, Loic
  • PARK, WOO RAM

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20220715

Claims (9)

  1. An injection system (300) comprising a Venturi device (100) and a reservoir (200) with a single interior space containing a liquid formula (L) to be injected, the Venturi device (100) comprising: a longitudinal central axis (X 1 ); a mounting flange (160) on which the reservoir (200) containing liquid formula (L) is detachably mounted in a liquid-tight manner; and an internal passage (110) extending along the longitudinal central axis (X 1 ), the internal passage comprising: a converging section (130) comprising an inlet (132) with an inner diameter (D 1 ) and an outlet (134) with an inner diameter (D 4 ) respectively located on each of two ends thereof; a diverging section (140) comprising an inlet (142) with an inner diameter (D 5 ) and an outlet (144) with an inner diameter (D 2 ) respectively located on each end thereof; and an acceleration and mixing section (150) comprising an inlet (152) with an inner diameter (D 3 ) and an outlet (154) with an inner diameter (D 3 ) respectively located on each end thereof; wherein the outlet (134) of the converging section (130) is connected to the inlet (152) of the acceleration and mixing section (150), and the outlet (154) of the acceleration and mixing section (150) is connected to the inlet (142) of the diverging section (144), characterized in that two or more injection ports (120) are formed in the mounting flange (160), which penetrate the mounting flange (160) into the internal passage (110), the internal passage (110) being thereby in fluid communication with the interior space of the reservoir (200) via the injection ports (120) and that the liquid formula (L) has viscosity of at most 0.5 Pa·s, and that the two or more injection ports (120) are aligned in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal central axis (X 1 ).
  2. The injection system (300) according to claim 1, wherein the injection ports (120) penetrate into the acceleration and mixing section (150).
  3. The injection system (300) according to any one of claims 1 and 2, wherein a ratio of the inner diameter (D 1 ) of the inlet (132) of the converging section (130): the inner diameter (D 3 ) of the acceleration and mixing section (150): the inner diameter (D 2 ) of the outlet (144) of the diverging section (140) is 2:1:2 or larger ratio.
  4. The injection system (300) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the inner diameter of the converging section (130) linearly or exponentially decreases from the inlet (132) to the outlet (134), and wherein the inner diameter of the diverging section (140) linearly or exponentially increases from the inlet (142) to the outlet (144).
  5. The injection system (300) according to any preceding claims, comprising: a device coupled to and supplying pressurized gas to the inlet (132) of the converging section (130) of the Venturi device (100).
  6. The injection system (300) according to claim 5, wherein the device comprises a gas reservoir containing pressurized gas to be supplied to the Venturi device (100).
  7. The injection system (300) according to claim 5, wherein the device comprises a cylinder (308) and a piston (310) arranged to be slidable in the cylinder (308) to pressurize the gas to be supplied to the Venturi device (100).
  8. The injection system (300) according to claim 7, wherein the piston (310) is driven by means of an electrical motor (304).
  9. The injection system (300) according to any one of claims 5 to 8, wherein the pressurized gas is air, CO 2 , N 2 , N 2 O, NO, O 2 , or non-toxic gas with bioavailability.

Description

[Technical Field] The present invention relates to an injection system comprising a Venturi device having a multi-injection port for atomizing and injecting liquid formula, such as for example, water, oil, lotion or the like, for a transdermal delivery. [Background Art] A liquid formula, such as a liquid lotion including a hyaluronic acid, is typically applied to specific parts of the user's body, such as a face, hands, and arms, via a shallow transdermal delivery (i.e., a shallow depth skin delivery). In particular, it has been found through many studies that the transdermal absorption effect is enhanced when 100 m/s or more is achieved by accelerating particles of liquid formula. It is well known from prior arts to use a Venturi tube for atomizing and supplying liquid formula. US 4,595,127 discloses an aerosol dispenser having a dispensatory means. The dispensatory means comprises a venturi passage consisting of a pressure vapor entrance cone, a pressure vapor exit cone, a straight section orifice, and at least one tap. The tap is arranged near the straight section orifice to supply product to be mixed with pressure vapor which enters the dispensatory means through the pressure vapor entrance cone. JP H06-277481 discloses a mixing device for a foam extinguishing system. The system comprises a venturi conduit having a primary throat, a secondary throat, and a plurality of formulated concentrate orifices. The formulated concentrate orifices are radially arranged between the primary throat and the secondary throat. A diameter D1 of the primary throat is smaller than the diameter D2 of the secondary throat. WO 01/00308 discloses an apparatus for fluid mixing and dispensing. The apparatus comprises an inwardly tapered portion, throat portion, an outwardly tapered portion, and inlets. The throat portion, the outwardly tapered portion, and a part of the inwardly tapered portion are divided into two venturi passages by a septum. The inlets are aligned diametrically opposite to each other so that the inlet opens into the venturi passage of the throat portion and the inlet opens into the venturi passage of the throat portion. US20180099104A1 (Gold NanoTech Inc.) discloses a liquid introducing device transferring a fixed amount liquid into atomized particles. The liquid introducing device comprises a bottle containing liquid and a Venturi tube which is in fluid communication with the bottle. Pressurized gas flows through the Venturi tube and atomizes the liquid contained in the bottle. US20110137281A1 (Gold NanoTech Inc.) discloses a drug delivery device for injecting a cosmetic and medical agent. The delivery device comprises a drug delivery pressuring tube having a Venturi tube shape and a container containing drug and in fluid communication with the drug delivery pressuring tube. Pressurized gas flows through the drug delivery pressuring tube and atomizes the liquid contained in the container. However, when a Venturi tube with a general injection port was used, a flow instability phenomenon called Karman vortex was observed, and it had a negative effect on the injection of the liquid formula, causing a problem of increasing the particle size or reducing acceleration and mixing ability of the Venturi tube. Typically, the Venturi tube has one fluid inlet and one outlet. In order to perform liquid injection and acceleration and mixing at the same time, it is necessary to secure a connection passage through which formula can be injected at the middle point of the Venturi tube, that is, the point where the fluid acceleration and mixing is maximized. Usually the connection passage is located in an acceleration and mixing section of the Venturi or closer to the entry of the fluid. When the flow of the fluid is accelerated, this passage spontaneously induces the liquid to the center of the Venturi tube where the strong pressure and velocity of the fluid causes the induced liquid to decrease in particles and is transferred to the outlet. However, when injecting, the result of the injection is uneven especially when injecting a high viscosity liquid. The liquid formula injected through the outlet has a speed of 100 m/s or more, which is expected to have a stronger transdermal absorption capacity of the cosmetic composition. The faster the speed of the injected particles, the more unstable the particle size distribution. This is a well-known phenomenon in fluid dynamics, more specifically, a Karman vortex which has a repeated pattern of swirling vortices, which is responsible for the unsteady separation of flow of a fluid around obstacle in the flow direction. In the Venturi system, the single liquid injection port acts as the obstacle, and the result of the injection generates Karman vortex. It is an object of the present invention to improve the performance of a Venturi tube resulting in improving the stability of injection performance. In particular, it is an object of the present invention to improve the atomization per