Patent ID: 7736353

Claim:
An assembly for transferring a fluid from a vessel having a body with a reduced diameter neck at one end thereof and other end being open, a slidable piston positioned within the body through the open end, and a vial having a penetrable seal, the assembly comprising: a) a housing having first and second open ends and a bore extending between the first and second open ends, the housing being removably connectable to the piston through said open end of said vessel; b) a conduit having first and second ends and first and second apertures adjacent to the first and second ends, respectively, the conduit being longitudinally slidable within the bore between a retracted position in which the first aperture is positioned within the housing and an activated position in which the first aperture protrudes through the piston into the body of the vessel when the housing is connected to the piston, said bore having a first portion thereof sized such that said housing provides support to said conduit; c) a biasing member mounted within a second portion of said bore and being configured to exert pressure on said conduit when said conduit is in the activated position; d) a vial socket assembly having a vial socket for receiving and engaging a neck portion of the vial and a hollow piercing member having a first open end in fluid communication with the conduit and a second open end for piercing the penetrable seal, the vial socket assembly moveable longitudinally relative to the housing in concert with the conduit, a second end of said conduit being releasably connected to said vial socket assembly; whereby advancing the vial socket assembly longitudinally towards the housing advances the conduit from the retracted position to the activated position to fluidly connect the vessel and the vial.