Patent ID: 8235036

Claim:
An inhaler system comprising: an outer part, an inner part adapted to be slidably received in said outer part and completely separable from said outer part by sliding the inner and outer parts relative to one another, said inner part comprising a compartment of sufficient size to receive a medication canister and a connector for operatively connecting to said medication canister for dispensing of a metered dose of medication from the canister, wherein a peripheral wall of said compartment defines an opening in said compartment for insertion of the medication canister and said peripheral wall has a shorter length at an outer portion of said inner part than at an inner portion of said inner part so as to accommodate medication canisters of different lengths and facilitate user access to the medication canister when located in said compartment, when said inner part is slidably received in said outer part, said inner and outer parts together form a housing that defines a chamber of sufficient volume to hold a metered dose of medication, said chamber being in fluid communication with said connector, said outer part including a mouthpiece or mouthpiece attachment location in fluid communication with said chamber for permitting inhalation of medication from said chamber via said mouthpiece or mouthpiece attachment location, and wherein said inner and outer parts slide relative to each other to move said inhaler system from a closed position to an open position to allow access to a medication canister located in said compartment without disengaging said inner part from said outer part.