Abstract:
The syringes of the invention are configured with ergonomic features that include polygonal shaped flanges and textured barrels. The polygonal shaped flanges, which preferably have between five and ten sides, help reduce the ability of the syringes to undesirably roll when they are put down and reduce the material required to manufacture the flanges, yet are more comfortable than square and rectangular flanges. The textured barrels enable a user to grab and hold onto the barrels during delivery with syringes so as to increase the leverage and control over the syringe.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. The Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    The present invention is in the field of fluid delivery devices and, more particularly, to syringes.  
           [0003]    2. The Relevant Technology  
           [0004]    In the dental industry, syringes are often used in the application of fluid materials such as, but not limited to dental filling materials, sealers, medicines, and local anesthetics. Syringes are particularly useful delivery devices because they can be configured with predetermined dosages and they can also be delivered in a controlled manner. The rate and manner in which the material is expelled from the syringe can typically be controlled by the rate and manner in which a plunger is forced through the syringe.  
           [0005]    Existing syringes, such as the syringe  10  illustrated in FIG. 1, typically include a hollow barrel  12  with two ends. At one end, the barrel tapers to a tip  14  or is attached to a tip that is configured to expel the material. The opposite end of the barrel  12  is typically configured with a flange  16  that can be used for gripping when the material is expelled out from the barrel  12 . As shown in FIG. 1, the fingers of the hand can bear against the flange  16  of the barrel while the thumb is used to push the plunger  18  through the barrel  12 . As the plunger  18  is forced through the barrel  12 , the material contained within the barrel  12  is forced out of the barrel  12 .  
           [0006]    One problem experienced by existing syringes, however, is that the flange is either round or square. Round flanges (not shown) are typically more comfortable on a user&#39;s fingers than square flanges and are therefore desirable. However, a round shaped flange typically requires more material to manufacture than a square shaped flange of the same size. Accordingly, syringes having round flanges are typically more expensive to manufacture than syringes having square flanges. Additionally, the round flanges may enable the syringe to roll off of a surface that the syringe is set down upon. This can be a problem because the syringe may undesirably fall onto the floor where it can become contaminated. This can also be somewhat hazardous, such as when the syringe is equipped with a needle that may undesirably pierce the skin of the patient or the practitioner.  
           [0007]    Another problem with existing syringes is that the external surface of the barrel  12  is smooth, making it difficult at times, to grip with the fingers. For instance, as shown in FIG. 2, a practitioner may grip the barrel  12  between the fingers with the plunger  18  positioned within the palm of the hand, thereby enabling the practitioner to apply additional leverage to the plunger  18  and to increase the control the practitioner has over the orientation of the syringe  10 . This technique is particularly useful when the material within the syringe  10  is somewhat viscous, making it difficult to drive the plunger  18  entirely through the barrel  12  with the thumb. However, slippage can be a problem when using this technique, particularly when the fingers or syringe  10  become wet from water, blood, saliva or other materials that are present in a typical dental and medical environment.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0008]    Briefly summarized, the present invention is directed to improved syringes having ergonomically improved barrels.  
           [0009]    According to one aspect of the invention, the ergonomically improved barrels may include a textured outer surface configured to facilitate gripping and handling of the syringe barrel. The texturing on the barrel may be disposed along the entire outer surface of the barrel or along only a portion of the barrel.  
           [0010]    The desired texturing may be provided with a ribbed surface, with a knurled surface, or any other desired texturing. The texturing may be recessed and formed within the barrel surface or protrude out away from the barrel surface. According to one embodiment, the texturing may be integrally formed as a part of the barrel, such as during injection molding of the barrel, in a two-part molding process, or in a machining process. An independent textured surface may also be affixed to the barrel with a chemical or mechanical bond, such as with an adhesive, with a mechanical friction fit, by welding, or any other suitable process.  
           [0011]    According to another aspect of the invention, the barrel may be configured with a flange formed in the shape of a polygon having more than four sides. According to one embodiment, the flange has five to ten sides. The polygon shape of the flange minimizes the material that must be used to manufacture the flange, relative to round flanges of the same size. The multiple sides also help to prevent the syringe from rolling when the syringe is set down.  
           [0012]    These and other benefits, advantages and features of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or may be learned by the practice of the invention as set forth hereinafter.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0013]    In order that the manner in which the above recited and other benefits, advantages and features of the invention are obtained, a more particular description of the invention briefly described above will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof which are illustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are not therefore to be considered limiting of its scope, the invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings in which:  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art syringe having a smooth exterior barrel surface and a square flange that is disposed in a hand;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 2 illustrates the prior art syringe of FIG. 1 in which the barrel of the syringe is disposed between two fingers of the hand holding the syringe;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 3 illustrates one embodiment of the syringe of the invention that includes a barrel having a textured surface covering only a portion of the barrel and an eight-sided polygonal flange;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 4 illustrates one embodiment of the syringe of the invention that includes a barrel having a textured surface extending almost the entire length of the barrel and a six-sided polygonal flange;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 5 illustrates one embodiment of the syringe of the invention that includes a barrel having a textured surface that includes rings protruding out away from the barrel and a five-sided polygonal flange;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 6 illustrates one embodiment of the syringe of FIG. 3 that is held within the hand of a user with some of the user&#39;s fingers disposed on the flange; and  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 7 illustrates one embodiment of the syringe of FIG. 3 that is held within the hand of a user with some of the user&#39;s fingers disposed on the textured surface of the barrel.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0021]    A detailed description of the invention will now be provided with specific reference to figures illustrating preferred embodiments of the invention. It will be appreciated that like structures will be provided with like reference designations. To provide context for interpreting the scope of the invention, certain terms used throughout the application will now be defined.  
         [0022]    The term “fluid material,” as used herein, refers to any composition, fluid, compound, or other material that is capable of being dispensed from a syringe. The term “fluid material is sometimes used interchangeably herein with the terms “material,” and “fluid.”  
         [0023]    As mentioned above, the syringes of the invention are configured with ergonomic features that can improve the control a user has in dispensing fluids from the syringes. The ergonomic features, which are described herein, generally include a textured barrel and a polygon shaped flange.  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 3 illustrates one embodiment of the syringe  50  of the invention. As shown, the syringe  50  includes a barrel  54  that is hollow and configured to contain a fluid material. The barrel  50  extends from a first end comprising a tip  52  to a second end comprising a flange  56 . The tip  52  is configured to disperse the fluid material and the flange  56  is configured to accommodate the fingers of a user holding the syringe  50 .  
         [0025]    One unique feature of the flange  56  is that it is polygon shaped. In the present embodiment, for example, the flange  56  is configured with eight sides. The polygon shape of the flange  56  is useful for reducing the amount of material that is required to manufacture the flange  56 , relative to similarly sized round flanges, thereby reducing the overall cost of manufacturing the barrel  54  and the syringe  50 . The polygonal shape of the flange  56  is also useful because it can help to prevent undesired rolling of the syringe  50  when the syringe  50  is set down.  
         [0026]    Some existing syringes include square and rectangular flanges that can help to prevent rolling of the syringe. However, square and rectangular flanges are configured to only be gripped from a few orientations. The sharp 90° angle on existing square and rectangular flanges can also make it uncomfortable to hold and operate the syringe. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the polygonal shape of the flange  56  disclosed in the present invention is useful for increasing the ergonomic comfort of operation of the syringe  50 , particularly in comparison to existing syringes having square and rectangular flanges.  
         [0027]    The number of sides that the polygonal flange  56  may be configured with can vary between different embodiments. For instance, the flange  56  illustrated in FIG. 3 includes eight sides, the flange  156  shown in FIG. 4, however, includes only six sides, and the flange  256  shown in FIG. 5 includes only five sides. Preferably, the number of sides on the polygonal flange is greater than four and less than eleven. However, it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to syringes having flanges of between five and ten sides. In particular, the flanges may be configured with more than ten sides.  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 3 illustrates another aspect of the invention. As shown, the syringe  50  of the invention also includes an ergonomically configured barrel  54 . The barrel  54  is considered ergonomically configured because it is textured, making it relatively easier to grip. The textured surface  60  on the barrel  54  can be disposed over only a portion of the barrel  54 , as shown, or the textured surface can alternatively be disposed over the entire barrel  54 .  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 4 illustrates one embodiment in which the syringe barrel  154  is configured with a textured surface  160  that extends over almost the entire barrel  154 . This embodiment is useful for facilitating the gripping of the syringe  150  at any point on the barrel  154 . The textured surfaces  60  and  160  of FIGS. 3 and 4 are shown to comprise rings that are formed into the barrels  54  and  154  of the respective syringes  50  and  150 . It will be appreciated that by forming the rings into the barrels  54 ,  154 , as illustrated, less material is required to manufacture the barrels  54  and  154  than would otherwise be required to manufacture the barrels  54  and  154 . In particular, a void of material exists between each of the rings comprising the textured surfaces  60  and  160 , thereby reducing the total material required to manufacture the barrels  54  and  154 .  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 5 illustrates another embodiment in which the textured surface  260  is formed by rings that are disposed on top of the barrel  254 , rather than being recessed within the barrel  254 . Although this barrel  254  may require more material for manufacturing than the barrels  54  and  154  described above, this embodiment is useful because the extra material can provide the barrel  254  with increased strength and stability. Accordingly, the manner in which the textured surfaces  60 ,  160 ,  260  are formed may vary to accommodate different needs and preferences. Likewise, the type of texturing used to create the textured surfaces  60 ,  160 , and  260  may also vary. For instance, in other embodiments, the textured surfaces may include knurling, rings, bumps, protrusions, recesses, grooves, or other texturing structures configured to make the barrel ergonomically easier to grip.  
         [0031]    According to one embodiment, the textured surfaces are integrally formed with the barrels during injection molding of the barrels, such as during a single-part or a two-part molding process. The textured surfaces may also be formed separately from the barrels and subsequently attached to the barrels, such as with an adhesive, by welding, with a friction fit or a mechanical coupling.  
         [0032]    Attention is now directed to FIG. 6 to further illustrate and describe the utility of syringes of the invention. As shown, the inventive syringe  50  is disposed within the hand  300  of a user. The illustrated syringe  50  is the same as the syringe  50  illustrated in FIG. 3, including a polygon shaped flange  56  and a textured surface  60  that is disposed on the barrel  54 .  
         [0033]    Because the flange  56  has a plurality of sides, as described above, the user can easily grab and hold onto the syringe  50  by the flange  56  from a variety of different orientations. For instance, the flange  56  may be held by the thumb  310 , the index finger  320 , and the pointer finger  330 , or with any other combination of fingers. When the syringe  50  is held in the illustrated orientation, then the plunger  70  is able to rest against the palm of the hand  300 .  
         [0034]    From this position, the user can pull on the flange  56  with the fingers, causing the palm of the hand to force the plunger  70  through the barrel  50 , thereby expelling the fluid that is contained within the barrel  50  out of the barrel  50  through the tip  52 . However, once the plunger  70  is forced a certain distance into the barrel  54 , it can become difficult to continue applying an adequate pulling force to the flange  56  with the fingers at the same time an adequate pushing force is applied to the plunger  70  with the palm of the hand. It may also be difficult to express the fluid material out of the barrel  54  with the desired control when the thumb  310  is used to apply the pushing force to the plunger, as generally illustrated in FIG. 1, when the other fingers are disposed on the flange  56 . To exercise desired control, therefore, it may be desirable to move the fingers up about the barrel  54  to obtain a more convenient and ergonomic hold on the syringe  54 , as illustrated in FIG. 7.  
         [0035]    [0035]FIG. 7 illustrates one embodiment in which the fingers  310 ,  320  and  330  have been moved up to grasp a hold of the syringe  50  by the barrel  54 . As mentioned above, it may be desirable to hold the syringe  50  in this manner to provide a sufficient grip for expelling the residual amounts of the fluid material out of the syringe  50 .  
         [0036]    As shown, the user can now easily pull on the barrel  54  of the syringe  50  with the fingers  310 ,  320  and  330 , while at the same time pushing on the plunger  70  with the palm of the hand  300 . It will be appreciated that the textured surface  60  is particularly useful in this embodiment for providing increased friction for enabling the fingers to more easily grab and hold onto the barrel  54  than would otherwise be possible, particularly when the barrel  54  is wet.  
         [0037]    In summary, the syringes of the invention provide ergonomic advantages over existing syringes in the art. In particular, the syringes of the present invention include polygonal shaped flanges and textured barrel surfaces to increase the operational comfort and control of the syringes. In certain embodiments, the polygonal shaped flanges and textured surfaces also reduce the amount of material required to manufacture the syringes. It should be appreciated that these are improvements over the existing devices in the art.  
         [0038]    It will also be appreciated that the present claimed invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative, not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.