PATENT ABSTRACT
An applicator device for a free-flowing substance includes a carrier body provided with an application device at one end and a pin at an opposing end. A transverse channel penetrates the pin, and an axial channel branching off from the transverse channel leads to the application device. A reservoir device having a ring-shaped edge seal sealingly engages the pin, whereby the applicator device is activated by displacing the reservoir device on the pin toward the application device to open a flow connection between the reservoir device and the transverse channel. The reservoir device has a receptacle segment that is elastically deformable at least in portions so that, when the applicator device is activated and a flow connection between the transverse channel and the receptacle segment exists, the free-flowing substance is discharged via the application device by manual compression of the elastically deformable area of the receptacle segment.

PATENT DESCRIPTION
CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application claims the priority benefit of European Patent Application No. 05 023 994.6 filed on Nov. 3, 2005.  
       STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH  
       [0002]     Not Applicable.  
       DESCRIPTION OF THE BACKGROUND ART  
       [0003]     This invention relates to an applicator device for a free-flowing substance comprising a carrier body which is provided with an application device and which, on the side farther from the application device, has a cylindrical pin which is penetrated by a transverse channel from which an axial channel branches off and leads to the application device. On the cylindrical pin there is a reservoir device that is used to hold the free-flowing substance and has at least one ring-shaped edge seal that is located on the inside and interacts in a sealing manner with the cylindrical pin of the carrier body. The applicator device is activated by pushing the reservoir device on the cylindrical pin in the direction of the application device.  
         [0004]     An applicator device of this type is described in DE 200 19 091 U1 and is used in particular for the application of pharmaceutical or cosmetic substances onto the human body. The applicator device of the prior art is realized in the form of a mini-syringe and, as the application device, has a tip in the form of a hollow needle, by means of which the free-flowing substance can be deposited. For activation, the reservoir device, which is realized in the shape of a pot or in the form of a tube that is closed on one end, is pushed manually on the cylindrical pin so that the pin acts like a piston which displaces the free-flowing substance stored in the reservoir device, whereby the free-flowing substance flows through the transverse channel and the axial channel of the carrier body to the application tip. During the activation, the side wall of the reservoir device is displaced into a ring-shaped recess that surrounds the cylindrical pin.  
         [0005]     Unfortunately a controlled pushing of the test-tube shaped reservoir device on the cylindrical pin turns out to be difficult. As a result, the applicator device described in DE 200 19 091 U1 has the disadvantage that the precision dosing of the free-flowing substance is not easily possible.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006]     The object of the invention is to create an applicator device having an improved dosing characteristics compared to similar devices of the prior art. This object is accomplished in one embodiment by providing an applicator device for a free-flowing substance including a carrier body which is provided with an application device and which, on one end farthest from the application device has a cylindrical pin which is penetrated by a transverse channel, from which an axial channel branches off, which leads to the application device, whereby on the cylindrical pin a reservoir device can be displaced which on its inside has a ring-shaped edge seal which interacts in a sealed manner with the cylindrical pin, whereby the applicator device is activated by the displacement of the reservoir device on the cylindrical pin toward the application device to open a flow connection between the reservoir device and the transverse channel, characterized in that the reservoir device has a receptacle segment that is elastically deformable at least in portions so that, when a flow connection between the transverse channel and the receptacle segment exists in the activation position of the applicator device, the free-flowing substance is discharged via the application device by manual compression of the elastically deformable area of the receptacle segment.  
         [0007]     Accordingly, the invention consists of the fact that the reservoir device has a receptacle segment that is elastically deformable at least in sections and, in the activation position of the applicator device in which the edge seal is located on the side of the openings of the transverse channel of the cylindrical pin farther from the reservoir segment and thus establishes a flow connection between the receptacle segment and the transverse channel, can be compressed manually so that the free-flowing substance is deposited by means of the applicator device.  
         [0008]     The principle of the applicator device incorporating the invention is therefore that after the activation, i.e. after the reservoir device has been pushed on the cylindrical pin, the free-flowing substance is discharged via the application device by manually applying pressure to the side of the receptacle segment. No further displacement of the application device on the cylindrical pin is required for this purpose. Therefore the pin does not act as a displacement piston for the free-flowing substance.  
         [0009]     The applicator device claimed by the invention is suitable in particular for the application of pharmaceutical or cosmetic substances to a human or animal body and for this purpose can be provided with an application device that is adapted to the respective application. For example, the application device can be a pipette tip or can also include a brush or a sponge. Pharmaceutical substances that can be applied using the device claimed by the invention include, for example a tissue adhesive, a dental adhesive or a similar substance.  
         [0010]     The applicator device claimed by the invention is designed in particular in the form of a disposable device in which the reservoir device is pre-filled. In the deactivated state representing a closed position, the free-flowing substance is held in the reservoir device and is retained by the edge seal. This status is generally the as-delivered status of the applicator device. To activate the applicator device, all that is required of the user is a telescoping compression of the carrier body and of the reservoir device of the applicator device, thereby effecting a transition from the closed storage position into the open dispensing position of the application device with reference to the carrier body. During the activation, the edge seal brushes over the openings of the transverse channel in the pin.  
         [0011]     The receptacle segment of the reservoir device can be realized in a wide variety of ways. For example, the receptacle segment can be in the shape of a bubble, a test tube, a collapsing tube, a sphere or a bulb.  
         [0012]     The reservoir device of the applicator device claimed by the invention can comprise one or more receptacle bodies. In the latter case, one component of a multiple-component system can be contained in each of the bodies. When the applicator device is activated, it is necessary to create a flow connection between the receptacle bodies of the reservoir device, so that the mixed multiple-component system is located in a chamber of the reservoir device which is surrounded by an elastically deformable wall of the receptacle segment which characterizes the receptacle segment for the application of the free-flowing substance. Then, after the compression of the receptacle segment, the mixed multiple-component system can be transported to the transverse channel and from there via the axial channel to the application device.  
         [0013]     In one special realization of the applicator device claimed by the invention, the receptacle bodies of a reservoir device that has a plurality of receptacle bodies can be telescoped to create a flow connection. In this case, preferably one of the receptacle bodies has a cylindrical segment which on the inside has an edge seal which interacts with a cylindrical peripheral surface of the other receptacle body on which transverse openings are realized. When the edge seal travels over the transverse openings, a flow connection between the receptacle bodies is created.  
         [0014]     It is further conceivable that the applicator device comprises two reservoir devices that are located next to each other, each of which is located on a cylindrical pin which is realized in the manner described above. In that case, the carrier body has two essentially parallel axial channels, downstream of which a static mixer can be located. 
     
    
       [0015]     Additional advantages and advantageous configurations of the object of the invention are described and illustrated in greater detail below, in the accompanying drawing and in the claims.  
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0016]     Six exemplary embodiments of an applicator device claimed by the invention are illustrated schematically and in a simplified manner in the accompanying drawings and are described in greater detail below. In the drawings:  
         [0017]      FIG. 1  is a longitudinal section through a first embodiment of an applicator device for a single-component system in the deactivation position;  
         [0018]      FIG. 2  shows the applicator device illustrated in  FIG. 1  in the activation position;  
         [0019]      FIG. 3  is a longitudinal section through a second embodiment of an applicator device for a single-component system in the deactivation position;  
         [0020]      FIG. 4  shows the application position illustrated in  FIG. 3  in the activation position;  
         [0021]      FIG. 4  shows an alternative embodiment of a reservoir device of an applicator device of the type illustrated in  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0022]      FIG. 5  shows an additional embodiment of a reservoir device;  
         [0023]      FIG. 6  shows a fourth embodiment of a reservoir device;  
         [0024]      FIG. 7  shows a reservoir device with a plurality of receptacle chambers;  
         [0025]      FIG. 8  shows an alternative embodiment of a reservoir device with a plurality of receptacle chambers; and  
         [0026]      FIG. 9  shows a last embodiment of a reservoir device with a plurality of receptacle chambers. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0027]      FIGS. 1 and 2  show an applicator device  10  which is used, for example, for the dispensing of a free-flowing substance via a pipette and comprises a carrier body  12 , on which an application device  14  that is realized in the form of a syringe is molded in one piece. The application device  14  has a discharge opening  16  for the free-flowing substance on its exposed end surface.  
         [0028]     On the side farther from the application device  14 , the carrier body  12  has a cylindrical, piston-like pin  18  which is surrounded by a ring-shaped recess  20 , which is in turn bordered on the outside by a peripheral wall  22 . A collar  24  that acts as a gripping aid is in turn molded onto the peripheral wall  22 . In the terminal area opposite from the application device  14 , the pin  18  is penetrated by a transverse channel  26  that extends in the radial direction. From the transverse channel  26 , an axial channel  28  which lies in the axis of the pin  18  in turn branches off and runs to the discharge opening  16  of the application device  14 .  
         [0029]     The applicator device  10  further comprises a reservoir device  30  in which the free-flowing substance can be stored. The reservoir device  30  comprises a tube-shaped guide segment  32  and a receptacle segment  34  that is adjacent to the side farthest from the application device  14 . The receptacle segment  34  defines a receptacle chamber  36  for the free-flowing substance. The guide segment  32 , on its inside, has a ring-shaped edge seal  38 , which is located so that it can slide on the peripheral surface of the cylindrical pin  18 . The receptacle segment  36  is realized in the shape of a tube and has a sealing seam  40  in its terminal area farther from the pin  18 . The reservoir device  30  is fabricated from an elastically deformable material so that the receptacle segment  34  can be compressed manually.  
         [0030]     In the position of the reservoir device  30  illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the edge seal  38  is located in a terminal area of the peripheral surface of the pin  18 , so that the flow of the fluid between the receptacle chamber  36  and the transverse channel  26  is blocked. For the activation of the applicator device  10 , the reservoir device  30  is moved into its open dispensing position which is illustrated in  FIG. 2 . During this process, the edge seal  38  passes over the transverse channel  26  so that a flow connection between the receptacle chamber  36  and the transverse channel  26  is created via an annular gap between the cylindrical pin  18  and the guide segment  32  of the reservoir device  30 . As the result of manual pressure which is applied to the side of the receptacle segment  34 , the free-flowing substance contained in the receptacle chamber  36  can be displaced out of the receptacle chamber  36  and transported via the transverse channel  26  and the axial channel  28  to the discharge opening  16  of the application device  14  and applied.  
         [0031]      FIGS. 3 and 4  show an alternative realization of an applicator device  10 ′, which comprises a reservoir device  50  which, instead of the reservoir device illustrated in  FIG. 1 , can be placed on a carrier body  12  of the type illustrated in  FIG. 1 . The reservoir device  50  comprises a tubular guide segment  32  which on the inside has two ring-shaped edge seals  38 A and  38 B which interact with the cylindrical pin  18  of the carrier body  12 . On the end farther from the edge seals  38 A and  38 B, a bubble-like receptacle segment  52  is adjacent to the guide segment  32 , which receptacle segment  52  contains a free-flowing substance to be applied and is elastically compressible.  
         [0032]     In a middle area of the guide segment  32 , there is also a widened area  54 , which in the activation position of the reservoir device  50  is located on the cylindrical pin of the carrier body  12  at the level of its transverse channel  26 . Advantageously, the widened area  54  improves the flow behavior of the free-flowing substance and acts as a stop during the activation of the applicator device  10 ′. The function of the reservoir device  50  and its interaction with the carrier body  18  correspond to the realization illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 2 .  
         [0033]      FIG. 5  shows an additional embodiment of a reservoir device  60  which can be used in connection with a carrier body  12  of the type illustrated in  FIG. 1 . The reservoir device  60  is formed from an elastically deformable small tube that has one open end and one closed end. In the vicinity of the open end, located on the inside of the small tube is an edge seal  38  which, corresponding to the embodiments illustrated in FIGS.  1  to  3 , interacts with the cylindrical pin of the carrier body and is associated with a guide segment  32  of the reservoir device  60 . The reservoir device  60  is longer than the cylindrical pin  18  of the associated carrier body  12  of the applicator device, so that even in the activated state of the applicator device, a receptacle segment  62  remains connected to the guide segment  32 , in which receptacle segment  62  the free-flowing substance is located after the activation of the applicator device in question. The free-flowing substance is thereby not expelled from the reservoir device  60  by a piston action of the pin  18  of the carrier body  12 . The receptacle segment  62  can instead be compressed by lateral pressure applied manually, as a result of which the free-flowing substance is transported through the transverse channel  26  and the axial channel  28  of the carrier body  12  to the application device  14  and is applied by means of the application device.  
         [0034]      FIG. 6  illustrates an additional embodiment of a reservoir device  70  which differs from the reservoir devices illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 2  only in that instead of a tube-shaped receptacle segment  72  it has a bubble-shaped receptacle segment  72 .  
         [0035]      FIG. 7  illustrates a reservoir device  80  which is also designed for use in connection with a carrier body  12  of the type illustrated in  FIG. 1 . The reservoir device  80  is designed for a two-component system, the individual components of which are combined with each other only immediately prior to application. For this purpose, the reservoir device  80  comprises a first receptacle body  82  with a guide segment  32  for interaction with the cylindrical pin  18  of the carrier body  12  in the manner described in connection with  FIG. 1 . The receptacle body  82  also has a receptacle segment  84  in which one component of the two-component system is contained prior to mixing. The receptacle segment  84  is realized so that it is elastically compressible. On the side farther from the guide segment  32 , the receptacle body  82  has an additional guide segment  86  which is provided with transverse openings  88  on its peripheral surface and is closed on its end. On the guide segment  86  sits a pot-shaped second receptacle body  90  which is guided so that it slides with its terminal area farther from the base on the guide segment  86 , and in this area has an inner edge seal  92 .  
         [0036]     For the activation, the second receptacle body  90  is telescoped toward the first receptacle body  82  so that a flow connection between the interior of the second receptacle body  90  and the interior of the first receptacle body  82  is created via an annular gap between the guide segment  86  of the first receptacle body  82  and the second receptacle body  90  and the transverse openings  88 . The substance in the second receptacle segment  90  can thus flow into the first receptacle body  82 , where it can be mixed with the other component of the two-component system.  
         [0037]     As a result of an appropriate displacement of the reservoir device  80  on the cylindrical pin  18  of the carrier body  12 , a flow connection is then also created between the transverse channel  26  of the carrier body  12  and the receptacle chamber of the receptacle segment  84 . Then, by manual compression of the receptacle segment  84 , the two-component system can be applied by means of the application device  14 .  
         [0038]     The embodiment of a reservoir device  100  illustrated in  FIG. 8  corresponds essentially to the embodiment of the reservoir device illustrated in  FIG. 6 , and differs from the latter only in that the first receptacle body  82  is realized in the manner of a small tube that is closed on one end, which comprises both the guide segment  32  as well as a receptacle segment  102  that is adjacent to the guide segment  32  and is laterally compressible.  
         [0039]      FIG. 9  illustrates a reservoir device  110  which is also realized for the separate storage of two components of a two-component system. The reservoir device  110  has three sections  112 ,  114  and  116 , each of which is realized in the form of a small tube with an open end and a closed end. In the vicinity of the open end, on the inside of each of the tubes  112 ,  114  and  116  there is an edge seal  38 ,  118  and  120  respectively, each of which interacts with the peripheral surface of the carrier body  12  or of the neighboring part  112  or  114  to open the transverse channel  26  of the pin  18  of the carrier body  12  or transverse openings  122  and  124  respectively of the neighboring section  112  or  114 .  
         [0040]     At least the section  112  is realized so that it can be compressed in the transverse direction, so that the component of the two-component mixture that is contained in this section  112  can be displaced by manual pressure on this section  112  from the reservoir device  110  and can be applied via the carrier body  12  and the application device  14 .