Abstract:
A connector retains a medicine reservoir in a housing. The connector snaps onto the reservoir, the connector and reservoir are inserted into an aperture in the housing, and the connector snaps into the aperture in the housing. The connector may have a tubing and needle fixed in it to insert into the reservoir. The connector does not require a particular orientation when snapped into the housing and some embodiments may rotate freely. When snapped into the housing, the connector provides an auditory cue. For removal of the connector and reservoir, the exposed portion of the connector is compressed from the side. The configuration of the connector solves several problems associated with threaded connectors or other similar connectors.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application 62/063,386 filed on Oct. 13, 2015. The entirety of U.S. Provisional Application 62/063,386 including both the figures and specification are incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0002]    This application relates generally to connectors, and more particularly to connectors used in medication delivery systems, e.g., systems used to deliver insulin and or other drugs to a person having diabetes and other health conditions. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    People suffering from diabetes can require the administration of insulin and or other drugs to manage their blood glucose level within a normal range to avoid health problems, which can include one or more of cardiovascular disease, kidney damage, nerve damage, and blindness. It is important for the proper amount of insulin to be administered in a manner that is the same as the manner that insulin is produced by a person&#39;s pancreas, since both high and low glucose levels can result in adverse health complications for diabetics over an extended period of time. 
         [0004]    Known systems used to deliver insulin to a person include those that provide basal insulin throughout the day, and selectively provide a bolus, or rapid-acting, dose of insulin during times when the user is consuming carbohydrates. Some conventional systems of this type include an insulin pump, and a reservoir or cartridge that contains insulin and is releasably attached to a pump housing. In some known systems, the reservoir is directly and releasably attached to a pump housing via mating threads of the reservoir and pump housing. 
         [0005]    In other conventional systems, the reservoir is indirectly and releasably attached to the pump housing with a connector that is threadedly coupled with the reservoir and the pump housing. 
         [0006]    In yet other known systems, threaded male and female leur fittings can be used in combination with respective adapters to couple a reservoir with a pump housing. 
         [0007]    Each of these conventional systems further includes infusion tubing and or catheter or catheters that is in fluid communication with a chamber defined by the respective reservoir, to facilitate dispensing insulin contained within the chamber to the person. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0008]    Various embodiments of a connector, for use in a medication delivery system, will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings, wherein: 
           [0009]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a portion of a medication delivery system according to one embodiment, depicting a portion of a pump, and a connector according to one embodiment, with the connector coupled with a pump housing of the pump; 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view similar to  FIG. 1 , but with a distal portion of the connector, and a reservoir coupled with the connector, positioned within a chamber defined by the pump housing; 
           [0011]      FIG. 2A  is an exploded perspective view depicting a portion of the pump of  FIGS. 1 and 2 , with the connector and the reservoir spaced from the pump; 
           [0012]      FIG. 2B  is a perspective view depicting a portion of the pump of  FIGS. 1 and 2 , with a portion of the reservoir, and the connector, protruding above the pump; 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the connector of the system depicted partially in  FIGS. 1 and 2 ; 
           [0014]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the connector of  FIG. 3 ; 
           [0015]      FIG. 5  is an elevational view of the connector of  FIG. 3 ; 
           [0016]      FIG. 6  is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the connector of  FIG. 3 ; 
           [0017]      FIG. 7  is an end view of the connector of  FIG. 3 ; 
           [0018]      FIG. 8  is a perspective view depicting a portion of the connector of  FIG. 3 ; 
           [0019]      FIG. 9  is an exploded perspective view, and  FIG. 10  is an exploded elevational view, of the medication delivery system shown partially in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , depicting the connector spaced from the reservoir and depicting the reservoir extending through an aperture defined by the pump housing; 
           [0020]      FIG. 11  is an elevational view, similar to the exploded view of  FIG. 10 , but with the connector coupled with the reservoir, which is disposed within the pump housing, and with the connector coupled with the pump housing, with retention members of the connector engaged with an interior surface of the pump housing; 
           [0021]      FIG. 12  is an elevational view similar to  FIG. 11 , but with the pump housing omitted; 
           [0022]      FIG. 13  is an exploded cross-sectional view, depicting the connector and a portion of the reservoir of the medication delivery system; 
           [0023]      FIGS. 14 and 15  are cross-sectional views depicting a portion of the connector and a portion of the reservoir of the medication delivery system with the connector attached to the reservoir; 
           [0024]      FIGS. 16-18  are perspective views depicting a connector of a medication delivery system, according to another embodiment; and 
           [0025]      FIGS. 19-21  are elevational views depicting a connector of a medication delivery system, according to another embodiment. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0026]    Referring to the drawings, wherein like reference numbers indicate the same or corresponding elements throughout the drawings,  FIGS. 1-2  illustrate a portion of a medication delivery system, indicated generally at  10 . System  10  can include an infusion pump  12  ( FIGS. 1 and 2 ) which can include a pump housing  14 . System  10  can also include a reservoir  16 , which can be configured to retain a medication (e.g., insulin, or any one of a variety of other medications) and a connector  18 . The connector  18  can be attached to the reservoir  16  and can be releasably attached to the pump housing  14 . The medication delivery system  10  can also include infusion tubing  20  and a needle  22  to facilitate delivery of a medication contained within the reservoir  16  to a person (not shown), e.g., as subsequently described. 
         [0027]    Referring to  FIGS. 3-8 , the connector  18  can include a body  24  and a plug  26 . Body  24  can be made, e.g., by forming or machining, from a polymeric material, e.g., any one of a variety of thermoplastic materials. The plug  26  can be made separately from body  24 , and secured to body  24 , e.g., by a friction fit, as shown in  FIGS. 3-8 . The plug  26  can be made from an elastomeric material, e.g., natural or synthetic rubber. Alternatively, plug  26  can be formed or machined from a polymeric material, e.g., any one of a variety of thermoplastic materials. As another alternative, connector  18  can be made as a unitary construction, e.g., by integrally forming body  24  and plug  26  from a thermoplastic material as a unitary construction. 
         [0028]    Body  24  of connector  18  can include a proximal portion  36  and a distal portion  38  integral with the proximal portion  36 . Connector  18  can also include at least one retention member  40 . In the illustrative embodiment, connector  18  is shown to include two of the retention members  40 . In other embodiments, connectors can be provided with one, or more than two, retention members  40 . Each of the retention members  40  can be movable between a first, outward position, shown in  FIGS. 3-8 , and a second, inward position (not shown). In embodiments including more than one retention member  40 , e.g., as shown in  FIGS. 3-8 , the retention members  40  can be circumferentially spaced. 
         [0029]    The distal portion  38  of body  24  of connector  18  can include a plurality of flexible fingers  42 , which can be circumferentially spaced from one another. Each of the retention members  40  can extend outwardly from a respective one of the flexible fingers  42 . The proximal portion  36  of body  24  of connector  18  can include a plurality of circumferentially spaced sections  44 . Each of the sections  44  can be aligned with, and integral with a respective one of the flexible fingers  42 . One or more of the sections  44  of the proximal portion  36  can be a ribbed section. In the embodiment of  FIGS. 3-8 , the proximal portion  36  is shown to include two ribbed sections, which are each designated  44   a.  Each of the ribbed sections  44   a  is aligned with a respective one of the flexible fingers  42  and is aligned with a respective one of the retention members  40 . Inward compression of any one of the circumferentially spaced sections  44  of the proximal portion  36  of body  24  can cause an inward movement of the aligned one of the flexible fingers  42  of the distal portion  38  of body  24 . For example, inward compression of the ribbed sections  44   a  of proximal portion  36 , for example, by a user&#39;s hand, can cause an inward movement of the aligned ones of the flexible fingers  42  and an inward movement of the aligned ones of the retention members. Each ribbed section  44   a  can include a plurality of ribs that facilitate grasping sections  44   a.    
         [0030]    The reservoir  16  can include a neck  50  and a body  52 , which can cooperate to define a reservoir chamber that can be configured to retain a medication, e.g., insulin. The reservoir  16  can include a septum  53  attached to the neck  50 , which can close the chamber, in combination with a plunger (not shown) positioned within the chamber. Other embodiments of reservoir  16  may not have a septum  53 , but rather a connector such as a luer connector or fitting. This connector may thread onto reservoir  16 . The distal portion  38  of body  24  can define a recessed portion  60  ( FIG. 6 ), which can be configured to receive at least a portion of the neck  50  of reservoir  16 . Each of the flexible fingers  42  can be configured to engage the neck  50 , to attach the connector  18  to the reservoir  16 . For example, in one embodiment, each of the flexible fingers  42  can include a lip  62  that can engage the neck  50 . 
         [0031]    As shown in  FIGS. 6 and 13 , the needle  22  can be positioned within the interior chamber  30  defined by the body  24  of connector  18 . In one embodiment, the needle  22  can be integrally formed with at least the body  24  of connector  18  (e.g., using insert molding). In other embodiments, the needle  22  can be made separately from connector  18  and can be secured to connector  18  in any suitable manner, e.g., by bonding the needle  22  to connector  18 . 
         [0032]    As shown in  FIG. 13 , the body  24  of connector  18  can include a stem  70  extending longitudinally within the interior chamber  30 . Stem  70  can define a passage  72 , which can be sized and configured to receive a distal portion of tubing  20 . The tubing can be swaged, or otherwise secured, to needle  22  to facilitate fluid communication between a hollow interior of needle  22  and a hollow interior of tubing  20 . The plug  26  of connector  18  can define a passage  74 , which can be aligned with passage  72 , and which can communicate with passage  72  so that tubing  20  can be inserted into and through passage  74  and passage  72 . 
         [0033]    Referring to  FIGS. 1-2, 14, and 9-15 , in one embodiment, connector  18  can be attached to reservoir  16  by inserting the neck  50  of reservoir  16  into the recessed portion  60  defined by the distal portion  38  of body  24  of connector  18 . When the connector  18  is attached to the reservoir  16 , the needle  22  can pierce the septum  53  to provide fluid communication between the chamber defined by the reservoir and the hollow interior of needle  22 . During this process a relatively larger portion  78  of neck  50  can force the flexible fingers  42  of the distal portion  38  of body  24  outwardly. The distal portion  38  and a relatively smaller portion  80  of neck  50  can be configured such that the flexible fingers  42  can move inwardly. The inward movement of flexible fingers  42  can cause an inwardly extending portion  82  of the lip  62  of each of the flexible fingers  42  to engage the neck  50  of reservoir  16 , which can attach connector  18  to reservoir  16 . The lip  62  of each of the flexible finger  42  can include a lead-in chamfer  84 , which can facilitate insertion of the neck  50  of reservoir  16  into the recessed portion  60  defined by the distal portion  38  of connector  18 . 
         [0034]    The subassembly of reservoir  16  and connector  18  can be releasably attached to the pump housing  14  of pump  12  in the following manner, in one embodiment. The reservoir  16  and the distal portion  38  of connector  18  can be inserted through an aperture  86  defined by the pump housing  14 , into a chamber  88  defined by the pump housing  14 . The user can compress the ribbed sections  44   a  of the proximal portion  36  of connector  18 , which can cause the flexible fingers  42  and the retention members  40  to move inwardly to permit the distal portion  38  of connector  18  to pass through the aperture  86 . 
         [0035]    Once the retention members  40  pass through aperture  86 , the flexible fingers  42  and the retention members  40  can move to their respective outward positions. The flexible fingers  42  and retention members  40  can move in a “snapping action” to their respective outward positions. The retention members  42  can make an audible clicking sound as they are snapped into their outward positions. When the retention members  40  are in their outward positions, the retention members  40  can engage the pump housing  14 , which can prevent the connector  18  and reservoir  16  from moving in a proximal direction relative to the pump housing  14 . In one embodiment, the retention members  40  can engage an inner surface  90  of pump housing  14 . In other embodiments (not shown) the retention members  40  can engage the threads of a threaded aperture of a pump housing. 
         [0036]    The releasable engagement of connector  18  with pump housing  14  can be achieved without any mating threads or cam surfaces, i.e., both the connectors  18  and reservoir  16  can be devoid of threads or cam surfaces as shown in  FIGS. 13-15 , such that the releasable attachment of connector  18  to pump housing  14  can be achieved without any rotation of the connector  18  or reservoir  16 . The connector  18  and reservoir  16  can be disengaged with the pump housing  14  by compressing the ribbed portions  44   a  of the proximal portion  36  of connector  18 , and pulling the connector  18  in a proximal direction. 
         [0037]      FIGS. 16-18  are perspective views that depict a connector  118  according to another embodiment. Connector  118  can include a body  124 . Connector  118  can also include a plug  126 , which can include a plurality of circumferentially spaced protruding members  127 . The protruding members  127  can extend through longitudinal slots  145  defined by each adjacent pair of sections  144  of a proximal portion  136  of the body  124  of connector  118 . The connector  118  can otherwise be the same as, or similar to, connector  18 . The protruding members  127  can enhance the ability of connector  118  to prevent water ingress to a pump housing (e.g.,  14 ). 
         [0038]      FIGS. 19-21  illustrate a connector  218  according to another embodiment. Connector  218  can include a body  224  and a plug (not shown). Connector  218  can also include a cover  292  which can abut a proximal portion  236  of body  224 , and can at least substantially cover a proximal portion  236  of body  224 . The proximal portion  236  can include a plurality of circumferentially spaced ribbed sections  244   a  and a like number of retention members  240 , which can extend outwardly from respective ones of a plurality of circumferentially spaced flexible fingers  242  of the distal portion of  238 . Connector  218  can include additional features, which can be the same as, or similar to, corresponding features of one or both of the connectors  18  and  118 . 
         [0039]    Unlike connectors  18  and  118 , the cover  292  and the proximal portion  236  of body  224  can cooperate to define a plurality of concave indentations  294 . Each of the ribbed sections  244   a  of the proximal portion  236  can be positioned in a respective one of the concave indentations  294 . The concave indentations  294 , in combination with the ribbed sections  244   a,  can facilitate grasping the connector  218  by a user. The plug of connector  218  can be attached to a reservoir (not shown) in a manner that is the same as, or similar to, that described for connector  18 . Similarly, the combination of connector  218  and reservoir  216  can be releasably attached to a pump housing (e.g.,  14 ) of a medication delivery system (e.g.,  10 ) in a manner that is the same as, or similar to, that described for connector  18 , reservoir  16 , and pump housing  14  of the medication delivery system  10 . 
         [0040]    The use of connectors according to the inventive principles (e.g.,  18 ,  118 ,  218 ) in medication delivery systems (e.g.,  10 ) can provide several advantages relative to conventional connectors used in conventional medication delivery systems. 
         [0041]    For example, conventional medication delivery systems that use mating, threaded male and female leurs to releasably couple a reservoir to a pump housing can be subject to leaks for at least the following reasons. The use of mating leurs inherently requires a high degree of user skill and dexterity to ensure proper engagement of the leurs to prevent insulin leakage. This can be problematic for diabetics who can have impaired dexterity due to their diabetes disease. 
         [0042]    If the engagement of the mating leurs is too loose, the seal between the mating conical surfaces of the leurs can be lost, which can cause insulin leakage, resulting in an inadequate supply of insulin to the patient, which can have deleterious effects. Additionally, if the user applies excessive torque to the leurs, one of both of the leurs can crack, which can cause an insulin leak. Insulin leakage between the mating leurs can also occur if one of the leurs “backs off” of the other one of the leurs due to extended operation of the medication delivery system. 
         [0043]    Similarly, leaks can occur in conventional systems that include a conventional connector having threads or cam surfaces that engage mating surfaces of another connector or a pump housing, if the engagement of the mating surfaces is loosened due to extended operation of the medication delivery system. 
         [0044]    The attachment of connectors according to the inventive principles (e.g.,  18 ,  118 , and  218 ) to a pump housing (e.g.,  14 ) can be achieved without any mating threads or cam surfaces, and without any rotation of the connectors, which can prevent the insulin leakage of the conventional connectors described above and can prevent the resulting delivery of an inadequate amount of insulin to the user. 
         [0045]    The audible click resulting from the snap action engagement of the retention members according to the inventive principles (e.g.,  40 ), with a pump housing (e.g.,  14 ), can alert the user to the proper releasable attachment of the connector (e.g.,  18 ) to the pump housing (e.g.,  14 ). Additionally, the ribbed sections (e.g.,  44   a ) of a connector (e.g.,  18 ) according to the inventive principles, can help a user to grasp the connector, which can be particularly advantageous to a diabetic having impaired dexterity. 
         [0046]    In some instances, conventional medication delivery systems which utilize two mating threaded connectors or two mating connectors having cam surfaces, or a mating connector and a pump housing, can result in delivery of an unwanted bolus of insulin to a person, which can produce significantly adverse effects for the person. This can occur if the respective threaded engagement is compromised as a result of one of the connectors rotating away from the other connector or the pump housing due to extended operation of the medication delivery system. When this occurs, a plunger positioned within a reservoir of the respective system can be spaced apart from a piston of an insulin pump, which is used to engage and move the plunger to force insulin out of the reservoir. This spacing can be an air pocket which can cause an inadequate delivery of basal insulin to the user over a period of time, which is not desirable. The insulin pump is programmed to continuously provide basal insulin to the user. Accordingly, after a period of time, the pump can move the piston into engagement with the plunger to resume dispensing insulin from the cartridge. After this occurs, an unwanted bolus of insulin can be dispensed from the reservoir if the user notices that the connector has “backed off”, and tightens the connector again. 
         [0047]    Use of the connectors according to the inventive principles can avoid an unwanted delivery of a bolus of insulin to the patient, since the connector (e.g.,  18 ) and the attached reservoir (e.g.,  16 ) can be releasably attached to a pump housing (e.g.,  14 ) without the use of mating threads or mating cam surfaces, and without rotation of the connector (e.g.,  18 ), so that the connector (e.g.,  18 ) does not move away from the pump housing (e.g.,  14 ) due to the extended operation of the medication delivery system (e.g.,  10 ). 
         [0048]    Use of the connectors according to the inventive principles (e.g.,  18 ,  118 ,  218 ) can avoid an improper administration of other medications that can be dispensed by system  10 , as compared to conventional systems subject to the problems discussed above. 
         [0049]    It is to be understood that the embodiments and arrangements set forth herein are not limited in their application to the details of construction and arrangement of the components set forth in the description and illustrated in the drawings. Rather, the description and the drawings provide examples of the embodiments envisioned, but the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments. The embodiments disclosed herein are further capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways, including various combinations and sub-combinations that may not have been explicitly disclosed. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purposes of description and should not be regarded as limiting the claims. 
         [0050]    Accordingly, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which the application and claims are based may be readily utilized as a basis for the design of other structures, methods, and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the embodiments and claims presented in this application. It is important, therefore, that the invention be regarded as including such equivalent constructions.