US-20260124116-A1 - DOSING OF POWDERED OR GRANULAR SUBSTANCES

US20260124116A1US 20260124116 A1US20260124116 A1US 20260124116A1US-20260124116-A1

Abstract

A dosing device with a dosing mechanism and a dispensing mechanism for providing a metered amount of a powdered or granular substance. The dosing mechanism has a reservoir ( 2 ), a rotatable central axis ( 5 ) to which a rotatable actuator ( 3 ) and a rotatable member ( 65 ) metering a volume of the powdered or granular substance to be dispensed is rotationally fixed, at least one dosing chamber ( 6 ). The rotatable actuator ( 3 ) drives the rotation of the central axis ( 5 ) and the rotatable member ( 65 ) in at least one rotational direction. The dosing chamber ( 6 ) can take a fill state and a release state, which is defined by its angular position. The dispensing device may comprise a dispensing mechanism with a rotatable metering disc ( 65 ) having one or more dosing chambers ( 6 ).

Inventors

Thierry Jomini
William BOVY
Johannes VAN DEN ANKER

Assignees

ABBATIALABS SA

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20231002
Priority Date: 20221003

Claims (20)

1 . A dosing mechanism for providing a metered amount of a powdered or granular substance, comprising a reservoir for containing a powdered or granular substance, a rotatable central axis to which a rotatable member for metering a volume of the powdered or granular substance to be dispensed is rotationally fixed, one or more dosing chambers for temporarily containing a powdered or granular substance, and an actuator which is connected to the central axis such that the movement of the actuator in at least one rotational or translational direction, which is the actionable direction, actuates the rotation of the central axis in at least one rotational direction, wherein the at least one dosing chamber can take a fill state in which it is arranged to be filled, and a release state in which it is arranged to release the substance contained in it.
2 . The dosing mechanism of claim 1 , further comprising a dose selector for defining an amount of the substance to be dispensed.
3 . The dosing mechanism of claim 1 , wherein the actuator is reversibly mounted on the central axis.
4 . The dosing mechanism of claim 1 , wherein the actuator is rotatable and wherein the rotational movement of the actuator and the rotational movement of the rotatable member are rotationally coupled through the central axis in at least one actionable rotational direction of the actuator.
5 . The dosing mechanism claim 4 , wherein the actuator can take a locked position, in which the angular position of the actuator is fixed, and wherein the actuator can take an open position, in which the actuator can perform a rotational movement.
6 . The dosing mechanism of claim 1 , wherein the rotatable member is a metering disc comprising the one or more dosing chambers, and wherein the fill state and the release state of the one or more dosing chambers is defined by the angular position of the metering disc.
7 . The dosing mechanism of claim 4 , wherein the dose selector is configured to define a maximum angular displacement position of the rotatable actuator in the actuator's actionable rotational direction.
8 . The dosing mechanism of claim 4 , wherein the dose selector is configured to be moved into a set position in which the dose selector is angularly fixed relative to the reservoir, and wherein the set position taken by the dose selector defines a maximum angular displacement position of the rotatable actuator in its actionable direction.
9 . The dosing mechanism of claim 5 , wherein the dose selector is only angularly displaceable relative to the reservoir when the actuator is in its locked position.
10 . The dosing mechanism of claim 2 , wherein the dose selector comprises an annular portion, which is at least partially arranged around a cylindrical portion of the reservoir.
11 . The dosing mechanism of claim 5 , wherein the rotatable actuator takes its open position when it is disposed in a proximal position, in which the rotatable actuator is close to the reservoir and/or the dose selector, or in which it is abutting the reservoir and/or the dose selector, and wherein the rotatable actuator takes its locked position when it is disposed in a distal position away from the reservoir and/or the dose selector.
12 . The dosing mechanism of claim 2 , wherein the dose selector can take a plurality of regularly spaced set positions.
13 . The dosing mechanism of claim 4 , wherein the angular displacement of the dose selector between two adjacent set positions defines a minimum metered amount of the powdered or granular substance to be dispensed.
14 . A dispensing mechanism for providing metered amounts of a powdered or granular substance, comprising a reservoir for containing the powdered or granular substance with one or multiple dosage openings for releasing the contained powdered or granular substance, a rotatable metering disc comprising one or more dosing chambers for temporarily containing a powdered or granular substance, each dosing chamber having an inlet aperture for receiving the powdered or granular substance when aligned with the dosage opening of the reservoir, and an outlet aperture for releasing the received powdered or granular substance, a central rotatable axis onto which the metering disc is rotationally fixed, wherein the one or more dosing chambers can take a fill state in which the inlet aperture and the dosage opening of the reservoir are superposed to form a joint opening and in which the outlet aperture is sealed, and wherein the one or more dosing chambers can take a release state in which the inlet aperture and the dosage opening are not superposed and in which the outlet aperture is open, wherein the state of the dosing chamber is defined by its angular position, and wherein the rotational movement of the central axis actuates the angular displacement of the metering disc.
15 . The dispensing mechanism of claim 14 , the metering disc comprising radial sectors, which are preferably equally dimensioned, wherein a sector comprising a dosing chamber alternates with a solid sector without a dosing chamber.
16 . The dispensing mechanism of claim 14 , or further comprising a controlled release member having a planar portion for covering the outlet aperture of one or more dosing chambers, and one or multiple release apertures adapted for releasing the substance temporarily contained in the dosing chamber when the outlet aperture and the release aperture are superposed to form a joint opening, such that the dosing chamber takes its release state.
17 . The dispensing mechanism of claim 14 , further comprising a guiding member for directing the powdered or granular substance contained in the reservoir to the dosage opening of the reservoir, said guiding member being either fixed to the reservoir, such as a guiding inner wall or a funnel, or being rotationally fixed to the central axis, such as rotatable guiding blades.
18 . The dispensing mechanism of claim 14 , wherein each of the plurality of dosing chambers has the same volume, said volume defining the minimum metered amount of the substance to be dispensed, and wherein the metered amount of the substance which is dispensed is a multiple of the minimum metered amount.
19 . A device for dosing and dispensing metered amounts of a powdered or granular substance, comprising the dosing mechanism of claim 1 , and a dispensing mechanism comprising a rotatable metering disc with one or more dosing chambers each provided with an outlet aperture, wherein the one or more dosing chambers are configured to temporarily contain a defined amount of the substance, and wherein the one or more dosing chambers are configured to alternate between a fill state in which the outlet aperture is sealed, and a release state in which the outlet aperture is open.
20 . The device of claim 19 , wherein the rotatable central axis of the dispensing mechanism extends axially through the reservoir, wherein the rotatable metering disc is mounted about one end portion or attached to one end of the central rotatable axis in a rotationally fixed manner, and wherein the actuator of the dosing mechanism is disposed on the opposite end portion or disposed on the opposite end of the rotatable central axis, such that the actuator actuates the rotational movement of the central axis and the metering disc when the actuator performs a movement in its actionable direction.

Description

TECHNICAL DOMAIN The present disclosure concerns a mechanism for providing accurate dosing of powdered or granular substances, such as granules or mini tablets used in medical devices for dosing medicinal substances. RELATED ART Accurate dosage of medication is crucial to a successful treatment outcome. Errors in dosage can cause undesired, often severe, side effect for the patient, an increase in bacterial drug resistance, and/or a lack of therapeutic efficacy. In some patient groups, in particular paediatric patients, the dose of the medicament needs to be adjusted to the body weight and/or the age of the patient. Rather than providing medication in tablet form with predefined amount of the active medicinal component, powdered or granular medicines are preferably provided for oral treatment instead. This formulation offers better flexibility in terms of dose adjustment to the individual patient. However, obtaining an accurate dose of the powdered or granular medicine remains a significant challenge, in particular when the medicine is prepared and administered outside a hospital setting. This is generally the case for paediatric or geriatric patients, who have difficulties swallowing medication in tablet form. A caretaker of these patient usually prepares the prescribed dose of the granular of powdered medicine freshly in advance of each administration. The prepared dose of medicine is then commonly dissolved in a liquid or in suitable food, such as yoghurt, to ease swallowing the substance. The provision of a reliable dosing and dispensing device which is sufficiently accurate for dosing powdered or granular medication remains a significant challenge today. Conventionally, granular of powdered medicines can be measured using a measuring spoon. This is however associated with significant drawbacks such as reduced accuracy, a high risk of contamination due to a repeated opening of the container of the medicine, as well as the repeated use of the dosing spoon, which needs to be cleaned between its different uses. Granular of powdered medicines can also be dissolved into water and then dosed using a measuring syringe. This is however associated with significant drawbacks such as reduced in-use stability, storage in cold controlled environment, as well as adding use steps for the user. WO2014125396 discloses an integrated dispensing device for a multi-particulate substance comprising a cap, and a dosing head with a slider mechanism controlling the flow path of the substance to be dispensed. The device is an integrated unit adapted to be attached to a container, for example a bottle. To dispense a metered dose, the bottle with the dosing unit must be inverted during the proceed and the actuation of the slider must be coordinated with the inversions of the bottle. Inaccurate dosages due to a lack of coordination between operating the slider and inverting the bottle at the right time during the dispensing process are therefore likely to occur. It is an objective of the present invention to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art. SHORT DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION An aim of the present invention is the provision of a device for dosing and dispensing a medicinal powdered or granular product, which is adapted to provide accurate doses of the medicinal product. It is a further aim of the present invention that the device is reliable and easy to operate. The device should enable a non-medically trained person to reliably provide a predefined dose of the medication. It is a yet further aim of the present invention that the risk of contamination of the medicinal product is reduced or eliminated during the operation of the device. It is yet a further aim of this invention to provide an alternative solution for accurately dosing a medicinal powdered or granular product. According to the invention, one or more of these aims are attained by the object of the attached claims, and especially by its independent claims. Dependent claims provide further advantageous features of this invention. In particular, one or more of the aims are attained by a dosing mechanism for providing a metered amount of a powdered or granular substance, comprising a reservoir for containing a powdered or granular substance, a rotatable central axis, such as a central shaft, one or more dosing chambers for temporarily containing the powdered or granular substance, an actuator, which may be configured to perform a rotational or a translational movement in the axial direction of the reservoir. The term granular substance as used herein also comprises granules, pellets or mini tablets, also referred to as mini-pills, which are commonly administered multiple unit dosage forms. The dosing mechanism may further comprise a dose selector. The dosing mechanism further comprises a rotatable member for facilitating dispensing of a metered volume of the powdered or granular substance. The rotatable member may be configured to meter the powdered or granular s