Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/US6331173?oq=5359317
Timestamp: 2018-03-23 08:05:45
Document Index: 774748419

Matched Legal Cases: ['arts 17', 'arts 17', 'arts 17', 'arts 17', 'arts 17', 'arts 17']

US6331173B1 - Device for displacing a member in a container - Google Patents
US6331173B1
US6331173B1 US09294552 US29455299A US6331173B1 US 6331173 B1 US6331173 B1 US 6331173B1 US 09294552 US09294552 US 09294552 US 29455299 A US29455299 A US 29455299A US 6331173 B1 US6331173 B1 US 6331173B1
US09294552
A multi-chamber ampoule comprises a container having at least one movable partition therein, the movable partition being adapted to sealingly isolate at least two substances to be mixed with each other, a seal or plunger movably disposed in the container, a holder connected to the container, and a screw actuator engageable with the seal or plunger for displacing the same in the container. The screw actuator has a male thread, and the holder includes a female thread engageable with the screw actuator male thread. The screw actuator is provided with a bore therethrough for slidably receiving a dispensing rod.
Such multi chamber ampoules are previously used for storing one or more sensitive medical components, which are to be dissolved in a liquid to form an injectable solution. The solution can not be stored for a longer period of time without becoming deteriorated. However, sensitive medical components of this kind can in most cases be stored for longer periods of time, if they are isolated from the solvent or other substance, which adversely would affect the component. Very often those medical components are present in the ampoule in a freeze-dried state and stored therein in a front chamber provided in said ampoule, which chamber has an outlet opening, which usually is sealed by a membrane, or other seal, which could be removed, ruptured or penetrated by a hollow needle, such as a cannula or the like for taking out the solution. The rear of the front chamber is limited by an axially movable partition, sealingly engaging the inner wall of the ampoule and being located to prevent flow between the rear and the front chambers through an interior or exterior by-pass connection provided in the ampoule. Said partition forms the forward end of a rear chamber, in which the solvent to be added to the sensitive medical component in the front chamber is contained.
the manufacture thereof is rather complicated and expensive
and great care must be taken when producing some of the constructional features of the instrument, in particular the producing of the female read in relation to the slot, is delicate.
Preferably, said actuating means is automatically actuated, when the holder means is connected to said container. In this way the device automatically will be ready for use in a single step, without the need of any further measures for bringing the female thread parts together. Likewise, the screw actuator may easily be disconnected from the female thread in one single step by simply releasing the device from the ampoule or container.
The device may include a bayonet-like coupling for releasably holding the container or the ampoule. In this way the device readily may be connected to the container by a simple rotational movement.
FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the open device shown in FIG. 1 along the line II—II,
FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the closed device shown in FIG. 3 along the line IV—IV,
The preferred embodiment of the device 1 of the invention comprises two main components, a screw actuator 4 and a holder means 6. The constructional design of the holder means 6 is illustrated in FIGS. 1-4. The holder means 6 has a substantially elliptic, in essential flat support plate 2, which best could be seen in FIGS. 1 and 3, but the shape of the plate 2 is not critical, it can have any appropriate form. The center area of the plate 2 has an opening 3, which is sized so that the screw actuator 4 of the device can be introduced therethrough. In FIGS. 1 and 3, the screw actuator 4 is indicated with broken lines but for the sake of simplicity it is not shown in the sectional views of FIGS. 2 and 4. At each longitudinal end of the support plate 2 a flange 5 a, 5 b is provided, which protrudes perpendicularly to the plate 2. Each flange 5 a, 5 b has integral therewith an inwardly directed rim 7 a, 7 b, the inner face of which is substantially parallel to the upper face of the support plate 2. The support plate 2 and the flanges 5 a, 5 b, including the rims 7 a, 7 b, thus form two parallel flutes 9 a, 9 b, the height H of which being substantially the same as the thickness of a rim 25 provided on a container 23, to which the device 1 is to be attached to. The distance D between the bottom walls of the flutes 9 a, 9 b is substantially the same as the greatest width of the rim 25 of said container 23.
Originating from the opposite face of the support plate 2 at the opening 3, two obliquely directed flanges 11 a, 11 b are provided, which are symmetrically disposed in relation to the center point of the plate 2. The end point of each oblique flange 11 a, 11 b carries an elastic spring 13 a, 13 b directed upwardly towards the opening 3. As can be seen in the cross section of FIG. 2 each spring 13 a, 13 b is slightly curved and forms generally a V with its corresponding oblique flange 11 a, 11 b. The other end of the spring 13 a, 13 b carries an actuating means 15 a, 15 b and a corresponding part of a female thread 17 a, 17 b. The actuating means 15 a, 15 and a part of the female thread 17 a, 17 b are rigidly relied with each other.
In the rest position of the device 1, the activating means 15 a, 15 b is situated above, normally a small distance above, the upper (in FIGS. 2 and 4) face of the support plate 2. The upper face of each actuating means is flat and extends substantially in parallel to the support plate 2. In this rest position the distance between the female thread parts 17 a, 17 b is larger than the diameter of the screw actuator 4, so that the screw actuator 4 easily may be removed in this position and in a manner that will be described later on.
Each of the elastic springs 13 a, 13 b is slightly curved in a cross section and designed to bulge inwardly towards the symmetry axis of the holder means 6, when subjected to a force directed essentially perpendicular to the support plate 2. Thus, when the actuating means 15 a, 15 b are depressed towards the plate 2, the elastic springs 13 a, 13 b will deflect, so that the female thread parts 17 a, 17 b will be displaced inwardly towards each other. Also the actuating means 15 a, 15 b will move inwardly towards said axis due to the action of the springs 13 a, 13 b, when they are depressed towards the support plate 2. As best could be seen in FIG. 4, the radially outer edges of the actuating means 15 a, 15 b the elastic springs 13 a, 13 b and the oblique flanges 11 a, 11 b are designed in relation to each other, so that said edges of the actuating means will be guided by the inner walls of the oblique flanges 11 a, 11 b. Thus, when fully depressed (FIGS. 3 and 4) the upper faces of the actuating means 15 a, 15 b are flush with the support plate 2 and the outer edges bear against the inner walls of the oblique flanges 11 a, 11 b.
In this fully depressed position the parts 17 a, 17 b of the female thread are brought together to such an extent, that they form a portion of a female thread in accordance with the male thread of the screw actuator.
When to be used on an ampoule 23, the rim 25 of the ampoule having a thickness in correspondence with the height H of the flutes 9 a, 9 b, is inserted in the flutes 9 a, 9 b, thereby depressing the actuating means 15 a, 15 b to the closed position, shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The screw actuator 24 may now be screwed into the opening 3 to be engaged with the female thread parts 17 a, 17 b.
Preferably the rim 25 of the ampoule 23 has an elliptic contour, the distance D of the device 1 then substantially corresponding to the long axis of the ellipse. The rim 25 of the ampoule 23 then is inserted with its long axis extending substantially in parallel with the flutes 9 a, 9 b. The holder means 6 and the ampoule 23 are then rotated about 90°, so that the rim 25 of the ampoule 23 will be clamped in the flutes 9 a, 9 b between the rims 5 a, 5 b and the support plate 2 in a bayonet-coupling-like manner. The device 1 may easily be released from the ampoule 23 by a corresponding relative rotation between the device 1 and the ampoule 23.
In the rear chamber 33 the liquid or solvent to be mixed with the freeze-dried medical component in the front chamber 24 is stored. The rear end of the chamber 33 is sealed by a seal or a plunger, e. g. of rubber, which is displaceable in sealing contact with the inner wall of the ampoule 23. Since the liquid essentially is non-compressible, a forward movement of the seal results in a corresponding movement of the partition 29.
When the liquid in the rear chamber 33 is to be added to the front chamber 24, the holder means 6 of the device 1 is mounted on the rim 25 of the ampoule 23 in the above-described manner. The screw actuator 4, having a relatively fine pitch, may then be inserted through the opening 3 of the holder means 6 and be rotated in engagement with the female thread 17 a, 17 b of the holder means 6. For accomplishing the rotational movement of the screw actuator 4, said member 4 is provided with an embossed finger grip 37. A further rotation of the screw actuator 4 will axially displace the seal 35 in the forward direction, leading to a forward movement of the partition 29. After a predetermined displacement of the partition 29 a communication is established between the chambers 24 and 33. A further rotation of the actuator 4 provides a smooth flow of liquid into the front chamber 24 due to the fine pitch of the threads. When the screw actuator 4 has been rotated in such a degree that the finger grip has reached the holder means 6, all liquid has been transferred to the front chamber 24, and in this position the seal 35 will rest against the partition 29. The mixing process is now completed and the prepared solution may be administered.
In FIG. 6, the final position is illustrated after the complete emptying of the ampoule 23 through the tip 27. Now the device 1 is to be reset to its starting position. In prior devices it was necessary to carry out a rotation of the actuator 4 all the way in opposite direction. The device 1 of the invention permits a quick and easy reset of the device to its initial position. The reset is accomplished by simply releasing the device 1 from the rim 25 of the container 23 by rotating it 90° about its axis and removing it from the ampoule 23, see FIG. 7. At the same time as the holder means 6 is disengaged from the rim 25, the actuating means 15 a, 15 b is released from its engagement with said rim 25, so that the female thread parts 17 a, 17 b of the holder means 6 loose its engagement with the screw actuator 4, which now may be taken out of the holder means 6 (FIG. 8). The device is now ready for a fresh ampoule 23. As is evident, some parts are excluded in the schematic view of FIGS. 7, 8 for the sake of simplicity.
It should further be obvious for a man skilled in the art that the device could be modified in many different ways. Thus, the female thread parts 17 a, 17 b need not automatically be actuated when the holder means is engaged with or disengaged from the container 23. Separate actuating means could be provided for accomplishing this function, which means may be actuated before or after the engagement of the device 1 with the container.
1. A multi-chamber ampoule, comprising
a container having at least one movable partition therein, the movable partition separating a first chamber from a second chamber and being adapted to sealingly isolate at least two substances to be mixed with each other;
a holder connected to the container; and
a screw actuator engageable with the seal or plunger for displacing the same in the container, the screw actuator having a male thread adapted to extend within the container as the screw actuator displaces the seal or plunger;
wherein the holder includes a female thread engaged or engageable with the screw actuator male thread; and
wherein the screw actuator is provided with a bore therethrough for slidably receiving a dispensing rod.
2. The ampoule of claim 1, wherein an interior or exterior by-pass is provided in the container and is adapted to establish communication between the first chamber and the second chamber upon forward movement of the movable partition.
3. The ampoule of claim 2, wherein the by-pass comprises a constriction provided in the container.
4. The ampoule of claim 2, wherein the by-pass comprises a nip provided in the container.
5. The ampoule of claim 1, wherein the container comprises a dual-chamber ampoule.
6. The ampoule according to claim 1, wherein the ampoule is a medical multi-chamber ampoule.
7. The ampoule according to claim 1, wherein the holder comprises a substantially flat support plate having a central opening therethrough for the screw actuator and further wherein a pair of opposed flanges protrude perpendicularly from the support plate, the flanges and the support plate defining flutes for receiving a rim provided on the container.
8. The ampoule according to claim 7, wherein the flutes are adapted to clamp the rim of the container.
9. The ampoule according to claim 7, wherein the holder is releasably connectable to the container and further includes an actuator adapted for actuation when the holder is connected with the container, and wherein the actuator includes two plate-like members provided at a predetermined distance from the support plate in an open position of the holder, the plate-like members being adapted to be depressed by the container when the container is engaged with the holder and to cause the female thread to engage with the male thread.
10. The ampoule of claim 1, further comprising a dispensing rod slidably received in the bore of the screw actuator.
US09294552 1999-04-20 1999-04-20 Device for displacing a member in a container Expired - Fee Related US6331173B1 (en)
US09294552 US6331173B1 (en) 1999-04-20 1999-04-20 Device for displacing a member in a container
US6331173B1 true US6331173B1 (en) 2001-12-18
ID=23133935
US09294552 Expired - Fee Related US6331173B1 (en) 1999-04-20 1999-04-20 Device for displacing a member in a container
US (1) US6331173B1 (en)
WO2004045681A3 (en) * 2002-11-21 2004-09-10 Jochen Alberstetter Prefilled syringe
US5454793A (en) 1992-01-22 1995-10-03 Pharmacia Aktiebolag Medicine dispensing device
US7645267B2 (en) 2002-11-21 2010-01-12 Arzneimittel Gmbh Prefilled syringe