PRESSURE MONITORING IN A MODULAR ADMINISTERING DEVICE
First Claim
1. A cartridge for an administering device for administering a fluid medicament by applying pressure, comprising:
- a fluid reservoir adapted to be subjected to a fluid pressure, anda pressure monitor interacting with the fluid reservoir, the pressure monitor comprising;
a pressure sensor, anda transfer apparatus operably coupled to the pressure sensor and adapted to be activated by an externally applied, alternating electromagnetic field to allow a contactless readout of data from the transfer apparatus,wherein the transfer apparatus has at least one property to be determined by the activation, the property varying as a function of the fluid pressure sensed by the pressure sensor.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
An administering device for administering a fluid product through the use of pressure, the device being modular, including a base unit and a cartridge, the base unit containing driving components and the cartridge adapted to be connected detachably to the base unit, wherein the cartridge has a fluid reservoir and a pressure monitoring device having a pressure sensor and a transfer device operably coupled to the pressure sensor, wherein the pressure monitoring device can be activated by an externally applied, alternating electromagnetic field, whereby data can be read, without contact, using the fluid pressure. In one embodiment, the pressure sensor contains a snap disk and the transfer device is an RFID transponder, wherein the base unit comprises a pressure reading device, which is constructed for producing a corresponding alternating electromagnetic field and, depending on the response to the alternating field, for determining a fluid pressure-dependent property of the transfer device.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A cartridge for an administering device for administering a fluid medicament by applying pressure, comprising:
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a fluid reservoir adapted to be subjected to a fluid pressure, and a pressure monitor interacting with the fluid reservoir, the pressure monitor comprising; a pressure sensor, and a transfer apparatus operably coupled to the pressure sensor and adapted to be activated by an externally applied, alternating electromagnetic field to allow a contactless readout of data from the transfer apparatus, wherein the transfer apparatus has at least one property to be determined by the activation, the property varying as a function of the fluid pressure sensed by the pressure sensor.
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2. The cartridge as claimed in claim 1, wherein the transfer apparatus comprises a transponder having at least one antenna for receiving the external alternating electromagnetic field and an electronic receiver circuit, wherein the transponder is adapted to be activated by the externally applied alternating electromagnetic field.
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3. The cartridge as claimed in claim 2, wherein the transponder modulates the external alternating electromagnetic field to allow the readout of data.
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4. The cartridge as claimed in claim 2, wherein the pressure sensor is connected to the transponder such that the transponder antenna is shorted when a predetermined fluid pressure is exceeded.
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5. The cartridge as claimed in claim 2, wherein the transponder has a resonant frequency which depends on the fluid pressure.
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6. The cartridge as claimed in claim 2, wherein the transponder has, interacting with the transmitter/receiver circuit, a memory region with a plurality of data bits for storing and outputting data, and wherein at least one of the data bits is adapted to be changed as a function of the fluid pressure.
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7. The cartridge as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pressure sensor has at least one of a fluid-pressure-dependent electrical resistance, a fluid-pressure-dependent capacitance and a fluid-pressure-dependent inductance.
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8. The cartridge as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pressure sensor comprises an electrical contact that assumes either an opened or a closed state as a function of the fluid pressure.
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9. The cartridge as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pressure sensor comprises a snap-action disk, which snaps from a first mechanical state into a second mechanical state when a predetermined threshold pressure is exceeded and thus changes an electrical property of the pressure sensor.
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10. The cartridge as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a medicament reservoir for the fluid medicament, the medicament reservoir formed separately from the fluid reservoir, wherein the fluid pressure in the fluid reservoir can be transferred to the medicament reservoir to deliver the medicament from the medicament reservoir.
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11. A base unit for an administering device for administering a fluid medicament using pressure, the base unit designed to interact with a cartridge comprising a medicament reservoir, the base unit comprising a pressure readout apparatus designed to generate an alternating electromagnetic field and to establish a property relating to a fluid pressure in the medicament reservoir of the cartridge as a function of a response to the electromagnetic field.
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12. The base unit as claimed in claim 11, wherein the pressure readout apparatus comprises a transceiver and an electronic transmitter circuit, the transceiver comprising at least one antenna for emitting the alternating electromagnetic field and for receiving data as a response to the activating alternating field, the electronic transmitter circuit operably coupled to the antenna.
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13. A base unit for an administering device for administering a fluid medicament using pressure, the base unit designed to interact with a cartridge comprising a medicament reservoir, a fluid reservoir adapted to be subject to pressure and a pressure monitor interacting with the fluid reservoir, the pressure monitor comprising a pressure sensor and a transfer apparatus operably coupled to the pressure sensor and adapted to be activated by an externally applied alternating electromagnetic field to allow a contactless readout of date from the transfer apparatus, wherein the transfer apparatus has at least one property determined by the activation, the property varying as a function of the fluid pressure sensed by the pressure sensor, the base unit comprising a pressure readout apparatus designed to generate the alternating electromagnetic field and to establish the at least one property as a function of a response to the electromagnetic field.
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14. The base unit as claimed in claim 13, wherein the pressure readout apparatus comprises a transceiver and an electronic transmitter circuit, the transceiver comprising at least one antenna for emitting the alternating electromagnetic field and for receiving data as a response to the activating alternating field, the electronic transmitter circuit operably coupled to the antenna.
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15. An administering device for administering a fluid product, comprising a cartridge a cartridge comprising a medicament reservoir, a fluid reservoir adapted to be subject to pressure and a pressure monitor interacting with the fluid reservoir, the pressure monitor comprising a pressure sensor and a transfer apparatus operably coupled to the pressure sensor and adapted to be activated by an externally applied alternating electromagnetic field to allow a contactless readout of date from the transfer apparatus, wherein the transfer apparatus has at least one property determined by the activation, the property varying as a function of the fluid pressure sensed by the pressure sensor, and a base unit designed to be detachably connected to the cartridge, the base unit comprising a pressure readout apparatus designed to generate the alternating electromagnetic field and to establish a property relating to the fluid pressure in the medicament reservoir of the cartridge as a function of a response to the electromagnetic field.
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16. The administering device as claimed in claim 15, wherein the transfer apparatus comprises a transponder having at least one antenna for receiving the external alternating electromagnetic field and an electronic receiver circuit, wherein the transponder is adapted to be activated by the electromagnetic field.
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17. The administering device as claimed in claim 16, wherein the pressure readout apparatus comprises a transceiver and an electronic transmitter circuit, the transceiver comprising at least one antenna for emitting the electromagnetic field and for receiving data as a response to the activating field, the electronic transmitter circuit operably coupled to the antenna.
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18. A method for determining an operational state of an administering device for administering a fluid product, wherein the administering device comprises a cartridge having a fluid reservoir and a pressure monitor and a base unit that can be detachably connected to the cartridge, the method comprising the following steps:
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generating an alternating electromagnetic field in the base unit; activating the pressure monitor in the cartridge by the alternating electromagnetic field; and establishing at least one property of the pressure monitor by the base unit as a result of a response of the pressure monitor to the alternating electromagnetic field.
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19. The method as claimed in claim 18, further comprising the step of outputting optical and/or acoustic information as a function of the established property of the pressure monitor.
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20. The method as claimed in claim 19, wherein the base unit comprises a drive apparatus for exerting a fluid pressure on the fluid reservoir, and wherein the method further comprises the step of controlling the drive apparatus as a function of the established property of the pressure monitor.
Specification