Metered dose dispensers and assemblies therefor

1. A dispensing canister-add-on-component assembly, comprising

a dispensing canister comprising a substantially cylindrical container having a closed end and an open end, said open end of the container being equipped by means of a ferrule with a dispensing means;

a substantially cylindrical add-on component; said component being positioned adjacent to the closed end of the container to form a generally cylindrical canister-component sub-assembly having an interface between the canister and the add-on component; and

an adhesive-backed film; said film being mounted circumferentially about the canister-component sub-assembly and adhered to an external surface of the container and an external surface of the add-on component, such that the film extends across the canister-component interface with its upper edge located about the add-on component and its lower edge about the container in the vicinity of the upper edge of the ferrule; and wherein said adhesive-backed film comprises at least two sections, a first section beginning near or substantially at said upper edge and extending across the canister-component interface towards the lower edge of the film and a second section beginning substantially at said lower edge extending towards the upper edge of the film and ending at or prior to said first section, wherein the first end region of the first section of the film overlaps the second end region of the first section of the film and the end regions of the second section of the film do not overlap.

2. A dispensing canister-add-on-component assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the add-on component is a dose counter.

3. A dispensing canister-add-on-component assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the surface of the adhesive-backed film facing outwardly from the canister-component sub-assembly is printed with indicia.

4. A dispensing canister-add-on-component assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the film of the adhesive-backed film is made of a paper or a polymer.

5. A dispensing canister-add-on-component assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the adhesive is a pressure-sensitive adhesive.

6. A dispenser for dispensing doses of medicament comprising a canister-add-on-component assembly according to claim 1 and an actuator comprising an elongate or generally cylindrical portion defining an open-ended chamber, said dispensing canister of the dispensing canister-add-on-component assembly being received by the adaptor, wherein at least a portion of the container and the second section of the adhesive-backed film about said container is in part or completely located within said chamber.

7. A dispenser according to claim 6 , wherein said chamber has on its internal surface one or more ribs protruding inwardly and extending vertically towards the open end of the chamber and the second section of the adhesive-backed film has a height, such that the horizontal position defined by the boundary of the second section towards the closed end of container is located at or above and does not fall below the horizontal position defined by the end of the rib or ribs towards open end of the chamber when the dispenser is at rest and during actuation of the dispenser.

8. A method of affixing an add-on component, said component being substantially cylindrical, onto a dispensing canister comprising a substantially cylindrical container having a closed end and an open end, said open end of the container being equipped by means of a ferrule with a dispensing means, said method comprising the following steps:

a) positioning the add-on component adjacent to the closed end of the container to form a generally cylindrical canister-component sub-assembly having an interface between the canister and add-on component;

b) providing an adhesive-backed film; and

c) mounting an adhesive-backed film circumferentially about the canister-component sub-assembly and adhering the adhesive-backed film to an external surface of the container and an external surface of the add-on component, such that the upper edge of the film is located about the add-on component and the lower edge of the film about the container in the vicinity of the upper edge of the ferrule, and such that the first section of the film extends across the canister-component interface with the first end region of the first section of the film overlapping the second end region of the first section of the film, while the end regions of the second section of the film do not overlap.