Medicament inhalation device

Claim 1

An inhalation device having, in combination, a medicament chamber (11) capable of storing finely-divided medicament therein, an air inhalation chamber (12), and a substantially cylindrical medicament delivery member (13) communicating between said medicament chamber (11) and said air inhalation chamber (12), said medicament chamber (11) having a downwardly directed funnel-shaped bottom wall (15) having a bottom opening (16) therein and having an upwardly extending side wall (14) from said bottom wall (15) with a closed top (18) to define said chamber (11), said air inhalation chamber (12) having a longitudinally extending outer wall (19) having a top opening (20) therein and two opposing ends (21, 22), a side air inlet means formed in a closed end wall (21) at the first of said ends and a mouthpiece air outlet means (26) having a transverse screen (27) associated therewith located at the second of said ends opposite to said air inlet means, said medicament delivery member (13) having a cavity (48) of predetermined volume therein with an opening (49) therefor and being vertically rotatable between a first position wherein said cavity opening (49) is vertically aligned with said bottom opening (16) of said medicament chamber (11) so as to fill said cavity (48) with a predetermined dose of medicament from said medicament chamber (11) and a second position wherein said cavity opening (49) is vertically aligned with said top opening (20) of said air inhalation chamber (12) so as to enable the predetermined dose of medicament to pass into said inhalation chamber (12), whereby inhalation of air from said air inlet means (23) into said air inhalation chamber (12) and from said mouthpiece air outlet means (26) effects movement of said predetermined dose of medicament through said air inhalation chamber (12) and from said mouthpiece (26), characterized in that said side air inlet means comprises a passage (23) extending through said end wall (21) at an oblique angle with respect to the plane of orientation of said first opposed end (21), the longitudinal axis (24) of said passage (23) being positioned so as to intersect the outer wall (19) of said air inhalation chamber (12) at a point (25) directly beneath and opposite to said top opening (20) therein.