초록

A powder inhaler comprising:

대표청구항 ▼

[ What is claimed is:] [1.] A powder inhaler comprising:powder housing means for holding a supply of powdered material to be dispensed, said powder housing means including an inhalation conduit extending therethrough in a first direction, in displaced relation to said supply of powdered material;met

[ What is claimed is:] [1.] A powder inhaler comprising:powder housing means for holding a supply of powdered material to be dispensed, said powder housing means including an inhalation conduit extending therethrough in a first direction, in displaced relation to said supply of powdered material;metering plate means for holding a metered amount of said powdered material, said metering plate means including metered dose hole means for holding said metered amount of said powdered material, said metering plate means being positionable below said supply of powdered material, and said metering plate means and said powder housing means being relatively bi-directionally rotatable with respect to each other about a common central axis so that said metered dose hole means can be placed in fluid communication selectively with said supply of powdered material or said inhalation conduit;spring means for biasing said metering plate means and said powder housing means toward each other to maintain contact therebetween;rotation limiting means for restricting relative rotation between said powder housing means and said metering plate means to a predetermined angle;counter means for providing a visual count of the number of doses of said powdered material that have been dispensed or remain to be dispensed in response to said relative rotation of said powder housing means and said metering plate means, said counter means including:counter ring means for providing said visual count, said counter ring means being rotatable about said common central axis and having counting indicia thereon for displaying said visual count, andactuating means for incrementally rotating said counter ring means in response to said relative rotation between said metering plate means and said powder housing means; anddisplay means through which one of said counting indicia from said counter ring means is displayed to indicate a count corresponding to a number of doses of powdered material that have been dispensed or remain to be dispensed.