Patent ID: 8012131
Filing Date: 2011-09-06
Classification: A61M

Abstract:
1. An injection device for setting and dispensing a dose of a substance, the device comprising: a housing; a guide sleeve arranged in the housing, the guide sleeve comprising one or more lugs; a dispensing element which can be displaced relative to the housing by a user pulling the dispensing element out of the housing or the user pushing the dispensing element into the housing, the dispensing element comprising at least one catch orifice; and a toothed rack arranged in the housing and guided by the guide sleeve, the toothed rack displaceable relative to the housing and the guide sleeve and comprising an end configured to engage with a stopper, a plurality of teeth disposed at a middle portion of the toothed rack and a locking element arranged at an end opposite the end configured to engage with the stopper, wherein the plurality of teeth are configured to engage with the one or more lugs to allow the toothed rack to move in a dispensing direction but not in a direction opposite the dispensing direction, and the locking element is configured to establish a coupling engagement with the at least one catch orifice before or during a substance dispensing operation and at least after the substance dispensing operation, and is further configured to remain substantially unengaged with the catch orifice until after a dose setting operation is complete; whereby, due to an engagement between the at least one or more lugs and the teeth and the coupling engagement between the locking element and the catch orifice after the dispensing element has effected the substance dispensing operation once, the device can no longer be operated to dispense another dose.