Medication dispensing apparatus with gear set for mechanical advantage
First Claim
1. A medication dispensing apparatus comprising:
- a housing;
a drive member within said housing and movable in a distal direction;
a fluid container defining a medicine-filled reservoir with a movable piston at one end and an outlet at the other end, said piston engagable by said drive member to be advanced toward said outlet when said drive member is moved distally;
a plunger movable relative to said housing from a distal position to a proximal position, said plunger manually pushable relative to said housing in the distal direction to be shifted from said proximal position to said distal position; and
means for interconnecting said drive member and said plunger to convert motion of said plunger from said proximal position to said distal position into a lesser amount of motion of said drive member in said distal direction, said interconnecting means including a gear set including a first pinion in meshed engagement with a rack of said plunger and a second pinion in meshed engagement with a rack of said drive member, said gear set mounted within said housing to move longitudinally relative to said plunger, said drive member and said housing during movement of said plunger from said proximal position to said distal position, wherein said interconnecting means further comprises a rack axially fixed with respect to said housing and parallel to said rack of said plunger, said first pinion in meshed engagement with said fixed rack.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A medication dispensing apparatus having a gear set (64) to provide a mechanical advantage to the plunging of the apparatus plunger (66). The gear set (64) has a first pinion (114) in meshed engagement with a rack of the plunger (102), and a second pinion (126) in meshed engagement with a rack of a drive member (80) of the apparatus. The gear set (64) operatively interconnects the plunger (66) and the drive member (62) such that after the plunger (66) is moved relative to the housing in a proximal direction to prepare the apparatus for injection, the plunger (66), when manually pushed back toward the housing, causes the drive member (62) to advance in a distal direction to force medication through an outlet, typically provided with an injection needle, at the distal end of the apparatus.
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Citations
38 Claims
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1. A medication dispensing apparatus comprising:
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a housing;
a drive member within said housing and movable in a distal direction;
a fluid container defining a medicine-filled reservoir with a movable piston at one end and an outlet at the other end, said piston engagable by said drive member to be advanced toward said outlet when said drive member is moved distally;
a plunger movable relative to said housing from a distal position to a proximal position, said plunger manually pushable relative to said housing in the distal direction to be shifted from said proximal position to said distal position; and
means for interconnecting said drive member and said plunger to convert motion of said plunger from said proximal position to said distal position into a lesser amount of motion of said drive member in said distal direction, said interconnecting means including a gear set including a first pinion in meshed engagement with a rack of said plunger and a second pinion in meshed engagement with a rack of said drive member, said gear set mounted within said housing to move longitudinally relative to said plunger, said drive member and said housing during movement of said plunger from said proximal position to said distal position, wherein said interconnecting means further comprises a rack axially fixed with respect to said housing and parallel to said rack of said plunger, said first pinion in meshed engagement with said fixed rack. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A medication dispensing apparatus comprising:
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a housing, a drive member within said housing and movable in a distal direction, said drive member comprising a longitudinally extending rack;
a fluid container defining a medicine-filled reservoir with a movable piston at one end and an outlet at the other end, said piston engagable by said drive member to be advanced toward said outlet when said drive member is moved distally;
a plunger comprising a longitudinally extending rack, said plunger movable relative to said housing between a distal position and a proximal position; and
a gear set within said housing and operatively interconnecting said plunger and said drive member to permit said plunger to move from said distal position to said proximal position, and to cause said drive member to move in said distal direction when said plunger is plunged from said proximal position to said distal position, said gear set including a first pinion unidirectionally coupled with a second pinion, said first pinion in meshed engagement with said plunger rack and said second pinion in meshed engagement with said drive member rack. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A medication dispensing apparatus comprising:
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a housing;
a drive member within said housing and movable in a distal direction, said drive member comprising a longitudinally extending rack;
at least on anti-back up member operably engaging said drive member to prevent movement of said drive member in a proximal direction within said housing;
a fluid container defining a medicine-filled reservoir with a movable piston at one end and an outlet at the other end, said piston engagable by said drive member to be advanced toward said outlet when said drive member is moved distally;
a rack longitudinally fixed within said housing and parallel to said drive member rack;
a plunger comprising a rack parallel to said drive member rack, said plunger movable relative to said housing between a distal position and a proximal position; and
a gear set including a first pinion and a second pinion, said first pinion in meshed engagement with said plunger rack and said longitudinally fixed rack, said second pinion in meshed engagement with said drive member rack said first pinion and said second pinion being unidirectionally coupled to prevent said second pinion from rotating a first direction relative to said first pinion;
whereby when said plunger is shifted from said distal position to said proximal position, said first pinion rolls along said longitudinally fixed rack and said plunger rack, and said second pinion rolls along said drive member rack and rotates relative to said first pinion in a direction opposite to said first diction; and
wherein when said plunger is shifted from said proximal position to said distal position, said first pinion rolls along said longitudinally fixed rack and said plunger rack, and said second pinion rolls along said drive member rack while simultaneously, due to it being unidirectionally coupled with said first pinion, forcing said drive member to move in the direction to advance said movable piston toward said outlet. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. A medication dispensing apparatus comprising:
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a housing;
a drive member within said housing and including a first piece and a second piece, said first piece movable in a distal direction, said second piece clutchably connected to said first piece to be moveable relative thereto in a proximal direction but not the distal direction, said drive member second piece comprising a longitudinally extending rack;
a fluid container defining a medicine-filled reservoir with a movable piston at one end and an outlet at the other end, said piston engagable by said drive member first piece to be advanced toward said outlet when said drive member first piece is moved distally;
a rack longitudinally, fixed within said housing and parallel to said rack of said drive member second piece;
a plunger comprising a rack parallel to said rack of said drive member second piece, said plunger movable relative to said housing between a distal position and a proximal position; and
a gear set within said housing and operatively interconnecting said plunger and said drive member second piece to permit said plunger to move from said distal position to said proximal position while moving said drive member second piece in the proximal direction relative to said drive member first piece, and to cause said drive member second piece and thereby said drive member first piece to move in said distal direction when said plunger is plunged from said position to said distal position, said gear set including a first pinion and a second pinion, said first pinion in meshed engagement with said plunger rack and said fixed rack, and said second pinion in meshed engagement with said rack of said drive member second piece. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38)
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Specification