Patent Description:
Today's medicament delivery devices may be complex and involves many different components. The physical features of each component and the way components are assembled together has a direct effect on how these components are going to interact with each other and on the success rate of the medicament delivery device in use.

One such area is the use of a needle cover configured to be movable to activate the power pack within of a medicament delivery device for medicament injection. <FIG> is a front view of an example medicament delivery device just before dose delivery and <FIG> is a front view of the medicament delivery device during dose delivery. To initiate the injection process, the user places the medicament delivery device <NUM> on an injection site, such as injection site <NUM> as shown in <FIG>. When the drug delivery device <NUM> is pressed onto the injection site <NUM> in proximal direction, the needle cover <NUM> moves in a distal direction relative to the main housing <NUM>. This retraction of the needle cover <NUM> exposes the needle <NUM> of a syringe (not illustrated) within the medicament delivery device <NUM> and the needle <NUM> is consequently inserted into the injection site <NUM>. In addition to exposing the needle <NUM>, this retraction of the needle cover <NUM> also serves to activate a power pack (not illustrated) within the medicament delivery device <NUM>, wherein the power pack is configured to move a stopper of the syringe for medicament ejection through the needle <NUM> of the syringe and into the injection site <NUM>.

However, during transportation the medicament delivery device <NUM> may be moved by externals various forces from sources such as the movement of the transportation vehicle, waves of the sea, or wind. Such forces may result in an unintended retraction of the needle cover <NUM> in the proximal direction relative to the main housing <NUM> which results in an accidental activation of the power pack and medicament ejection through the needle of the syringe. Thus, there is a need for ensuring that the needle cover is not moved to retract in the proximal direction by any force other than that applied by the user. Some other examples can be found in <CIT>, <CIT>, and <CIT>.

In the present disclosure, when the term "distal" is used, this refers to the direction pointing away from the dose delivery site. When the term "distal part/end" is used, this refers to the part/end of the delivery device, or the parts/ends of the members thereof, which under use of the medicament delivery device is/are located furthest away from the dose delivery site. Correspondingly, when the term "proximal" is used, this refers to the direction pointing to the dose delivery site. When the term "proximal part/end" is used, this refers to the part/end of the delivery device, or the parts/ends of the members thereof, which under use of the medicament delivery device is/are located closest to the dose delivery site.

Further, the term "longitudinal", with or without "axis", refers to a direction or an axis through the device or components thereof in the direction of the longest extension of the device or the component.

The term "lateral", with or without "axis", refers to a direction or an axis through the device or components thereof in the direction of the broadest extension of the device or the component. "Lateral" may also refer to a position to the side of a "longitudinally" elongated body.

In a similar manner, the terms "radial" or "transversal", with or without "axis", refers to a direction or an axis through the device or components thereof in a direction generally perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, e.g. "radially outward" would refer to a direction pointing away from the longitudinal axis.

Also, if nothing else is stated, in the following description wherein the mechanical structure of the device and the mechanical interconnection of its components is described, the device is in an initial non-activated or non-operated state.

In view of the foregoing, a general object of the present disclosure is to provide a needle shield remover for a cap of a medicament delivery device, which needle shield remover is easier to assemble.

These and other aspects of, and advantages with, the present disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention and from the accompanying drawings.

The invention lies in the medicament delivery device of claim <NUM>. Further embodiments are given in the dependent claims. One aspect of the disclosure is directed to.

According to a main aspect of the disclosure it is characterized by a cap assembly for a medicament delivery device, wherein the medicament delivery device has a housing and a needle cover movable in relation to the housing. The cap assembly comprises a locking member including a flexible first engagement member configured to interact with the needle cover and the housing to limit a movement of the needle cover toward an inside of the housing and a cap configured to engage the locking member and movably arranged in relation to the housing and the locking member between a first position in which the cap is engaged to the housing and a second position in which the cap disengages the housing. One end of the housing is configured to engage the first engagement member to prevent the first engagement member from disengaging the needle cover when the cap is located between the first and second positions. The cap is further movably arranged between the second position and a third position in which the cap disengages the housing and in which the locking member disengages the needle cover and no longer limits the movement of the needle cover. Further, the needle cover includes a second engagement member configured to engage the first engagement member when the cap is between the first position and the second position, wherein the first engagement member disengages the second engagement member when the cap is moved from the second position to the third position.

The cap assembly also comprises a needle shield remover configured to engage the locking member and a needle shield attached to a medicament container within the needle cover and the housing, when the cap is moved from the second position to the third position the cap moves the locking member to move the needle shield remover away from the medicament container to pull the needle shield away from the medicament container.

The cap includes a third engagement member and the locking member includes a fourth engagement member, the third engagement member is configured to engage the fourth engagement member when the cap moves from the first position to the second position, the third engagement member moves the locking member away from the housing when the cap moves from the second position to the third position.

The cap includes a plurality of gripping protrusions on an outer surface of the cap configured to interact with a user when the user grips the cap.

Another aspect of the disclosure is directed to a medicament delivery device comprising a housing, a needle cover movably placed at least partially in the housing, a medicament container disposed within the needle cover and the housing, and the cap assembly as described above.

In one embodiment, the housing includes a fifth engagement member on an outer surface of the housing, the cap includes at least a sixth engagement member on an inner surface of the cap, the sixth engagement member is configured to engage the fifth engagement member in order for the cap to be mounted to the housing.

<FIG> shows a medicament delivery device <NUM> that includes a housing <NUM> and a cap assembly <NUM> coupling with the proximal end of the housing <NUM>. The medicament delivery device <NUM> further includes a medicament container (not illustrated) disposed within the housing <NUM>. The medicament container within the housing <NUM> contains medicament and a needle for injection site penetration and medicament injection that will be further explained in the later sections. The housing <NUM> has an opening at its proximal end that allows the needle of the medicament container to protrude outside the housing <NUM>.

<FIG> shows an exploded view of the housing <NUM> and the cap assembly <NUM>. In the present embodiment, the medicament delivery device <NUM> further includes a needle cover <NUM> movably arranged at least partially within the housing <NUM>. After the removal of the cap assembly <NUM>, the user can then place the needle cover <NUM> on an injection site to initiate the injection process. When the needle cover <NUM> is pressed onto the injection site <NUM> in distal direction same as illustrated in <FIG>, the needle cover <NUM> moves in a distal direction relative to the housing <NUM>. This retraction of the needle cover <NUM> exposes the needle <NUM> of a medicament container (illustrated in <FIG> and <FIG>) within the medicament delivery device <NUM> and the needle <NUM> is consequently inserted into the injection site <NUM>. In addition to exposing the needle <NUM>, this retraction of the needle cover <NUM> also serves to activate a power pack (not illustrated) within the medicament delivery device <NUM>, wherein the power pack is configured to move a stopper of the medicament container for medicament ejection through the needle <NUM> of the medicament container and into the injection site <NUM>.

As illustrated in <FIG>, the cap assembly <NUM> includes a cap <NUM>, a needle shield remover <NUM>, and a locking member <NUM>. The cap <NUM> includes first engagement members that in the embodiment shown are a plurality of gripping protrusions <NUM> disposed on the outer surface of the cap <NUM>, wherein the gripping protrusions <NUM> are configured to increase the grip of the user when holding and pulling the cap <NUM> with his/her fingers to remove the cap assembly <NUM> from the housing <NUM>.

The needle shield remover <NUM> is configured to be coupled with the cap <NUM> so that later the user can pull both the cap <NUM> and needle shield remover <NUM> away from housing <NUM>. The needle shield remover <NUM> is also configured to engage a needle shield attached to the medicament container to cover and protect the needle of the medicament container. More specifically, the needle shield remover <NUM> includes a plurality of prongs <NUM> configured to engage the outer surface of the needle shield so that when the cap <NUM> is pulled by the user the associated needle shield remover <NUM> can also pull the needle shield off the medicament container.

The locking member <NUM> is configured to engage the needle cover <NUM> when the whole cap assembly <NUM> is coupled with the housing <NUM> to cover both the proximal portion of the housing <NUM> and the needle cover <NUM>. More specifically, the locking member <NUM> includes at least one engagement member <NUM> configured to engage the needle cover <NUM> to limit the movement of the needle cover <NUM> toward the inside of the housing <NUM> and prevent accidental activation of the power pack when the cap assembly <NUM> is still attached to the housing <NUM>. As described above, the needle cover <NUM> retracted into the housing <NUM> will activate the power pack for the subsequent medicament injection. Thus, by preventing the needle cover <NUM> from accidental retraction, the locking member <NUM> and its engagement member <NUM> also prevent the accident activation of the power pack before the cap assembly <NUM> is removed from the housing <NUM>. The interaction between the cap assembly <NUM> and needle cover <NUM> will be further explained in the later sections.

<FIG> is a perspective view of the cap assembly <NUM> coupled with the housing <NUM>, wherein the cap <NUM> is made partially transparent to facilitate illustration. In the present embodiment, the cap <NUM> includes a housing engagement member <NUM> disposed on the inner surface of the cap <NUM>. As illustrated, the housing engagement member <NUM> is a protrusion protruding radially inward from the inner surface of the cap <NUM>. On the other hand, the housing <NUM> includes a cap engagement member <NUM> disposed on the proximal portion of the housing <NUM>. The cap engagement member <NUM> is a protrusion protruding radially outward from the outer surface of the housing <NUM>. In the present embodiment, to couple the cap <NUM> with the housing <NUM>, the cap <NUM> must be pushed toward the distal end of the housing <NUM>. During the process, the distal portion of the cap <NUM> flexes radially outward in order for the housing engagement member <NUM> to travel from the bottom on one side of the cap engagement member <NUM> to the top of said member <NUM>. Then, the housing engagement member <NUM> travels from the top of the cap engagement member <NUM> to the bottom on the other side of said member <NUM>. This completes the process of coupling the housing <NUM> and cap <NUM> during assembly. Afterwards, decoupling the cap <NUM> from the housing <NUM> requires not just the force to pull the cap <NUM> away from the housing <NUM>, but also the additional force to flex the distal portion of cap <NUM> in order for the housing engagement portion <NUM> to travel over the cap engagement portion <NUM>. This coupling feature prevents the cap <NUM> from disengaging the housing <NUM> during transportation due to random forces so that the cap <NUM> can continue to protect the proximal portion of housing <NUM> and needle cover <NUM> until it's actively removed by the user.

<FIG> shows a cross-section view of the medicament delivery device <NUM> according to the first embodiment and before the removal of the cap assembly <NUM>. As illustrated, the medicament delivery device <NUM> includes a syringe <NUM> disposed in the housing <NUM>. The syringe <NUM> includes a medicament container portion <NUM> and a needle <NUM> attached on the proximal portion of the medicament container portion <NUM>. The syringe <NUM> further includes a flexible needle shield (FNS) <NUM> covering and protecting the needle <NUM> and a rigid needle shield (RNS) <NUM> covering and protecting the FNS <NUM>. The needle cover <NUM> is disposed between the housing <NUM> and the syringe <NUM> while covering the needle <NUM>. On the other hand, the needle shield remover <NUM> is disposed between the needle cover <NUM> and the RNS <NUM>. In the present embodiment, the needle shield remover <NUM> is attached to the cap <NUM> and a locking member <NUM>. The needle shield remover <NUM> includes inwardly-projecting gripping members <NUM> which engage the RNS <NUM>, either by a distal end thereof or by engagement to a circumferential surface of the RNS <NUM>, such that removal of the cap <NUM> pulls the needle shield remover <NUM> as well as the FNS <NUM> and the RNS <NUM> in the proximal direction off the medicament container portion <NUM> and away from the needle <NUM>.

In the present embodiment, the locking member <NUM> is disposed between the cap <NUM> and needle cover <NUM>. The needle cover <NUM> includes a groove <NUM> formed on its outer surface. On the other hand, the locking member <NUM> includes the engagement member <NUM> extending in a substantially distal direction and is configured to interact with the groove <NUM>. The locking member <NUM> further includes a stop cam <NUM> disposed at the end of the engagement member <NUM> and resting within the groove <NUM>. As described above, the needle cover <NUM> can be moved in a distal direction back into the housing <NUM> to activate the power pack (not illustrated) which then drives the syringe <NUM> in a proximal direction and the medicament out of the syringe <NUM> through the needle <NUM>. Because the stop cam <NUM> is located within the groove <NUM>, the needle cover <NUM> moving in the distal direction will collide with the stop cam <NUM> and is then prevented from moving further in the distal direction.

However, there is a possibility that excessive force may force the needle cover <NUM> to bias the engagement member <NUM> radially outward and then activate the power pack. To prevent such scenario, the end of the engagement member <NUM> is fitted into the space between the needle cover <NUM> and the proximal end of the housing <NUM>. In this way, the proximal end of the housing <NUM> will absorb the force applied on stop arm <NUM> and thus prevent the engagement member <NUM> from flexing radially outward. In the present embodiment, the end of the engagement member <NUM> and the proximal end of the housing <NUM> have corresponding inclined surface. This allows the end of the engagement member <NUM> to be fitted into the space between the needle cover <NUM> and the proximal end of the housing <NUM>.

<FIG> is another cross-section view of the medicament delivery device according to the first embodiment and before the complete removal of the cap assembly. In <FIG>, the cap assembly <NUM> is pulled slightly away from the housing <NUM>. At this moment, the housing engagement member <NUM> of the cap <NUM> has travelled over the cap engagement member <NUM> of the housing <NUM> that allows the cap <NUM> to disengage from the housing <NUM>.

Also, the stop cam <NUM> is no longer located within the groove <NUM> on the needle cover <NUM>. As described above, the locking member <NUM> is coupled with both the cap <NUM> and the needle shield remover <NUM> to form the cap assembly <NUM>. This allows the locking member <NUM> to move together with the cap <NUM> when pulled by the user. As the cap <NUM> is pulled by the user away from the housing <NUM>, the locking member <NUM> and its stop cam <NUM> travels along the outer surface of the needle cover <NUM> and then leaves the groove <NUM>. At this moment, there is nothing to stops the needle cover <NUM> from moving in a distal direction into the housing <NUM> to activate the power pack within. Thus, the user should only remove the cap assembly <NUM> when he/she is ready to use the medicament delivery device <NUM> for medicament injection. However, if the user changes mind and decides not the initiate the needle penetration and subsequent injector, the user can still couple the cap assembly <NUM> with the housing <NUM> to place the stop cam <NUM> back into the groove <NUM>.

As mentioned above, the needle shield remover <NUM> is coupled with both the cap <NUM> and the locking member <NUM>. Thus, when the cap <NUM> is pulled away from the housing <NUM>, the gripping members <NUM> of the needle shield remover <NUM> engages the RNS <NUM> which engages the FNS <NUM>. Thus, pulling the cap <NUM> will result in the removal of the FNS <NUM> and the RNS <NUM> away from the syringe <NUM> to expose the needle <NUM> on the syringe <NUM>.

<FIG> is yet another perspective view of the medicament delivery device according to the first embodiment. As illustrated, the cap assembly <NUM> is removed from the housing <NUM> to expose the proximal portion of the housing <NUM> and the needle cover <NUM>. Now the user can press the needle cover <NUM> on an injection site <NUM> for the subsequent needle penetration and medicament injection illustrated in <FIG> and <FIG>.

<FIG> illustrates a perspective view of the medicament delivery device <NUM> with its needle cover <NUM> pressed against the injection site <NUM>. At this moment, the needle cover <NUM> is retracted into the housing <NUM> and about to activate the power pack in the housing <NUM>. Also, it can be seen that the needle <NUM> has been exposed outside the proximal end of the medicament delivery device <NUM> and penetrates the injection site <NUM> with its tip. <FIG> illustrates a perspective view of the medicament delivery device <NUM> with its power pack activated by the retracted needle cover <NUM>. In <FIG>, the distal end of the retracted needle cover <NUM> interacts with and activate the power pack which then biases the syringe <NUM> toward the injection site <NUM> for a deeper needle penetration. After the syringe <NUM> has reached its further position, the power pack then applies forces on a stopper within the syringe <NUM> axially movable within the housing <NUM> to bias the stopper to push the medicament in the syringe <NUM> out through the needle <NUM> and enter the injection site <NUM>.

In the Figures, various engagement features for are shown for providing an engagement between one or more components of the drug delivery device. The engagement features may be any suitable connecting mechanism such as a snap lock, a snap fit, form fit, a bayonet, lure lock, threads or combination of these designs. Other designs are possible as well.

It should be understood that the illustrated components are intended as an example only. In other example embodiments, fewer components, additional components, and/or alternative components are possible as well. Further, it should be understood that the above described and shown embodiments of the present disclosure are to be regarded as non-limiting examples and that they can be modified within the scope of the claims.

Claim 1:
A medicament delivery device (<NUM>) comprising:
a housing (<NUM>);
a needle cover (<NUM>) movably placed at least partially in the housing;
wherein the medicament delivery device further comprises a medicament container disposed within the needle cover and the housing; and
a cap assembly (<NUM>) configured to be mounted to the housing to cover a proximal opening of the housing, wherein the cap assembly comprises
a locking member (<NUM>) including a first engagement member (<NUM>) configured to interact with the needle cover and the housing to limit a movement of the needle cover toward an inside of the housing, wherein the first engagement member is radially flexible and disposed between the housing and the needle cover; and
a cap (<NUM>) configured to engage the locking member and movably arranged in relation to the housing and the locking member between a first position in which the cap is engaged to the housing and a second position in which the cap disengages the housing;
wherein the needle cover includes a second engagement member (<NUM>) configured to engage the first engagement member when the cap is between the first position and
the second position;
wherein the second engagement member is a groove formed on the outer surface of the needle cover, and wherein the locking member further includes a stop cam (<NUM>) disposed at the end of the first engagement member configured to rest within the groove of the needle cover;
wherein the cap is further movably arranged between the second position and a third position in which the stop cam of the locking member disengages the groove of the needle cover and no longer limits the movement of the needle cover
wherein the cap includes a third engagement member and the locking member includes a fourth engagement member, the third engagement member is configured to engage the fourth engagement member when the cap moves from the first position to the second position, and the third engagement member is configured to move the locking member away from the housing when the cap moves from the second position to the third position.