Patent ID: 8978966
Filing Date: 2015-03-17
Classification: A61M,G06M,Y10T

Abstract:
1. A dose counter for a metered dose inhaler having a body arranged to retain a medicament canister of predetermined configuration for movement of the canister relative thereto; the dose counter comprising: an incremental counting system for counting doses, the incremental counting system having a main body, an actuator arranged to be driven in response to canister motion and to drive an incremental output member in response to canister motion, the actuator and incremental output member being configured to have predetermined canister fire and count configurations in a canister fire sequence, the canister fire configuration being determined by a position of the actuator relative to a datum at which the canister fires medicament and the count configuration being determined by a position of the actuator relative to the datum at which the incremental count system makes an incremental count, wherein the actuator is arranged to reach a position thereof in the count configuration at or after a position thereof in the canister fire configuration, and a display tape arranged to be incrementally driven from a tape stock bobbin onto an incremental tape take-up drive shaft that is connected to the incremental output member, the bobbin having an internal bore supported by and for rotation about a support shaft, one of the bore and support shaft having protrusions at pre-determined positions, the other of the bore and support shaft having a wavelike engagement surface including incrementally spaced formations located around a periphery thereof, wherein the protrusions are resiliently biased into frictional engagement with the wavelike engagement surface with longitudinally extending mutual frictional interaction for limiting inadvertent rotation of the bobbin about the support shaft either during transit or upon being dropped, while permitting controlled rotation of the bobbin about the support shaft in two different rotational directions in order to adjust a position of the display tape during assembly of the dose counter.