Breath-actuated nebulizer for medicine inhalation

Abstract

Breath-actuated nebulizers for delivering medicine are provided, including an outlet port; an opening; and a medicine cup coupled to the opening through a venturi tube. The medicine cup receives a medicine to be delivered through the outlet port, and is coupled to the outlet port. Some embodiments include a jet nozzle coupled to a pressurized gas source and protruding into the medicine cup, and a sleeve in the medicine cup fluidically coupling the venturi tube to the medicine cup and forming a capillary volume with the jet nozzle. In some embodiments, a rib supports a diverter disposed above a nozzle tip to form a radial flow of the pressurized gas away from a nozzle axis. Also provided is a method for manufacturing and using the above nebulizer.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A breath-actuated nebulizer for delivering medicine, comprising:
 a medicine cup configured to hold the medicine and comprising a first gas inlet, a second gas inlet, and an outlet, wherein the first gas inlet configured to permit ambient gas into the medicine cup, the second gas inlet configured to conduct pressurized gas into the medicine cup, and the outlet that is configured to direct a combination of the ambient gas, the medicine, and the pressurized gas out of the medicine cup;   a jet nozzle, in fluid communication with the second gas inlet, comprising a jet orifice configured to produce a jet stream of the pressurized gas;   a sleeve coupled to the jet nozzle to form a capillary volume and a pressure passage, wherein the capillary volume is formed between the sleeve and the jet nozzle, and is fluidly separated from the medicine cup; and   a venturi tube comprising an inlet opening, an outlet opening, and a venturi passage therebetween, and a throat, wherein a cross-sectional area of the venturi passage decreases from the inlet opening to the throat, and increases from the throat toward the outlet opening, and a first hole is positioned at the throat such that the pressure passage is in fluid communication with the first gas inlet and the medicine cup through the first hole;   wherein, when the ambient gas is drawn into the medicine cup through the venturi tube, a pressure within the pressure passage is reduced such that the medicine is conducted from the medicine cup toward the jet stream by moving through a portion of the pressure passage to the capillary volume.   
     
     
         2 . The nebulizer of  claim 1 , wherein the sleeve comprises a rib that is positioned proximal to the jet orifice such that the jet stream of the pressurized gas intersects the a portion of the rib. 
     
     
         3 . The nebulizer of  claim 2 , wherein the portion of the rib comprises a diverter such that the jet stream of the pressurized gas spreads radially outward upon engaging against the diverter. 
     
     
         4 . The nebulizer of  claim 3 , wherein a shape of the diverter comprises any of an angle, or a semi-circular dome. 
     
     
         5 . The nebulizer of  claim 3 , wherein the diverter is configured to transition the jet stream from an axial orientation within the medicine cup to a radial orientation. 
     
     
         6 . The nebulizer of  claim 1 , wherein the capillary volume is formed as a gap around a portion of the jet nozzle that is proximal to the jet orifice. 
     
     
         7 . The nebulizer of  claim 1 , wherein the sleeve comprises a lip coupled to a bottom portion of the medicine cup such that the capillary volume is fluidly separated from the medicine cup. 
     
     
         8 . The nebulizer of  claim 1 , wherein a first portion of the pressure passage, extending between the first hole and the capillary volume, comprises a larger maximum cross-sectional dimension than a maximum cross-sectional dimension of a second portion of the pressure passage, extending between the medicine cup and the capillary volume. 
     
     
         9 . The nebulizer of  claim 1 , further comprising a third gas inlet, wherein the third gas inlet is fluidly separated from the first gas inlet and is configured to permit ambient gas into the pressure passage. 
     
     
         10 . The nebulizer of  claim 9 , wherein the third gas inlet comprises a button that is movable between a first position, in which movement of ambient gas through the third gas inlet is resisted, and a second position, in which the button is moved to permit ambient gas to move through the third gas inlet. 
     
     
         11 . The nebulizer of  claim 10 , wherein ambient gas is permitted to move through the first gas inlet when the button is in any of the first and second positions. 
     
     
         12 . The nebulizer of  claim 1 , wherein the outlet comprises an outlet port, and the ambient gas is drawn into the medicine cup through the venturi tube when the combination of the ambient gas, the medicine, and the pressurized gas is evacuated from the medicine cup through the outlet port. 
     
     
         13 . A breath-actuated nebulizer for delivering medicine, comprising:
 a medicine cup comprising an ambient gas inlet, a pressurized gas inlet, and an outlet;   a jet nozzle, in fluid communication with the pressurized gas inlet, comprising a jet orifice configured to produce a jet stream of the pressurized gas;   a sleeve coupled to the jet nozzle to form a capillary volume and a pressure passage, wherein the capillary volume is formed between the sleeve and the jet nozzle, and is fluidly separated from the medicine cup; and   a venturi tube comprising a venturi passage having a cross-sectional area that decreases from the ambient gas inlet to a throat of the venturi tube, and increases from the throat toward an outlet opening of the venturi tube, wherein the pressure passage is in fluid communication with the first gas inlet and the medicine cup through a first hole at the throat;   wherein, the pressure passage is configured to direct the medicine from the medicine cup toward the jet stream by moving through a portion of the pressure passage to the capillary volume.   
     
     
         14 . The nebulizer of  claim 13 , wherein the sleeve comprises a rib that is positioned proximal to the jet orifice such that the jet stream of the pressurized gas intersects the a portion of the rib. 
     
     
         15 . The nebulizer of  claim 14 , wherein the portion of the rib comprises a diverter such that the jet stream of the pressurized gas spreads radially outward upon engaging against the diverter. 
     
     
         16 . The nebulizer of  claim 13 , wherein the capillary volume is formed as a gap around a portion of the jet nozzle that is proximal to the jet orifice. 
     
     
         17 . The nebulizer of  claim 13 , wherein the sleeve comprises a lip coupled to a bottom portion of the medicine cup such that the capillary volume is fluidly separated from the medicine cup. 
     
     
         18 . The nebulizer of  claim 13 , wherein a first portion of the pressure passage, extending between the first hole and the capillary volume, comprises a larger maximum cross-sectional dimension than a maximum cross-sectional dimension of a second portion of the pressure passage, extending between the medicine cup and the capillary volume. 
     
     
         19 . The nebulizer of  claim 13 , further comprising a third gas inlet, wherein the third gas inlet is fluidly separated from the first gas inlet and is configured to permit ambient gas into the pressure passage. 
     
     
         20 . The nebulizer of  claim 19 , wherein the third gas inlet comprises a button that is movable between a first position, in which movement of ambient gas through the third gas inlet is resisted, and a second position, in which the button is moved to permit ambient gas to move through the third gas inlet.