Conveniently carried frequent use autoinjector
First Claim
1. An autoinjector comprisinghousing means defining an exterior configuration of a size and shape approximately the same as that of a conventional fountain pen, said housing means including a housing body assembly of elongated generally cylindrical configuration having a needle extension end and an opposite end and a separate housing cap structure of elongated generally cylindrical configuration having an open end and an opposite closed end,means between said housing body assembly and said housing cap structure for detachably securing said separate housing cap structure in open ended telescopic relation with the opposite end portion of said housing body assembly,said housing body assembly defining an interior chamber,a medicament cartridge assembly mounted in a storage position within said interior chamber adjacent the needle extension end of said housing body assembly including a container, a liquid medicament within said container and a hypodermic needle disposed in a storage position and movable therefrom into an extended operative position,a releasable stressed spring assembly carried by said housing body assembly adjacent the opposite end thereof including spring means, releasable means for retaining said spring means in a stressed storage position within said chamber and releasing means operable in response to a predetermined manual actuating procedure to release said releasable means so that said spring means moves (1) said hypodermic needle into said extended operative position during which the hypodermic needle moves outwardly of the needle extension end of said housing body assembly through the skin and into the adjacent tissue of a user and (2) said liquid medicament outwardly through said hypodermic needle into the tissue of the user,said releasing means including manually movable means extending from the opposite end of said housing body assembly into an exterior position suitable for manual engagement so as to be manually moved during the manual actuating procedure to which said releasing means is responsive to release said releasable means,said manually movable means including a safety member mounted in said exterior position extending from the opposite end of said housing body assembly for manual removal from said exterior position, said safety member having means for (1) preventing said releasing means from releasing said releasable means when said safety member is in said exterior position and (2) enabling said releasing means to release said releasable means in response to said predetermined manual actuating procedure which includes an initial manual engagement of said safety member and removal thereof from said exterior position,said housing cap structure covering said safety member when said housing cap structure is secured to said housing body assembly so as to prevent the manual engagement of said safety member without said housing cap structure being detached from said housing body assembly.
13 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An autoinjector particularly suited to be carried on the person of a user comprising a housing defining an exterior configuration of a size and shape approximately the same as that of a conventional fountain pen including a housing body assembly of elongated generally cylindrical configuration and a separate housing cap structure of elongated generally cylindrical configuration having an elongated clip thereon. The housing cap structure is detachably secured to the housing body assembly in open ended telescopic relation with an opposite end portion thereof preferably by a childproof connection. A medicament cartridge assembly is mounted in a storage position within a forward end of an interior chamber within the housing body assembly and a releasable stressed spring assembly is carried by the housing body assembly adjacent the rearward end thereof. The housing cap structure serves the dual purposes of (1) facilitating the securement of the housing cap structure and body assembly with the user'"'"'s pocket and (2) alleviating the likelihood of an unwanted release of the releasable stressed spring assembly with a resultant unwanted movement of the hypodermic needle of the cartridge assembly and an unwanted movement of the liquid medicament of the cartridge assembly outwardly of the needle.
278 Citations
20 Claims
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1. An autoinjector comprising
housing means defining an exterior configuration of a size and shape approximately the same as that of a conventional fountain pen, said housing means including a housing body assembly of elongated generally cylindrical configuration having a needle extension end and an opposite end and a separate housing cap structure of elongated generally cylindrical configuration having an open end and an opposite closed end, means between said housing body assembly and said housing cap structure for detachably securing said separate housing cap structure in open ended telescopic relation with the opposite end portion of said housing body assembly, said housing body assembly defining an interior chamber, a medicament cartridge assembly mounted in a storage position within said interior chamber adjacent the needle extension end of said housing body assembly including a container, a liquid medicament within said container and a hypodermic needle disposed in a storage position and movable therefrom into an extended operative position, a releasable stressed spring assembly carried by said housing body assembly adjacent the opposite end thereof including spring means, releasable means for retaining said spring means in a stressed storage position within said chamber and releasing means operable in response to a predetermined manual actuating procedure to release said releasable means so that said spring means moves (1) said hypodermic needle into said extended operative position during which the hypodermic needle moves outwardly of the needle extension end of said housing body assembly through the skin and into the adjacent tissue of a user and (2) said liquid medicament outwardly through said hypodermic needle into the tissue of the user, said releasing means including manually movable means extending from the opposite end of said housing body assembly into an exterior position suitable for manual engagement so as to be manually moved during the manual actuating procedure to which said releasing means is responsive to release said releasable means, said manually movable means including a safety member mounted in said exterior position extending from the opposite end of said housing body assembly for manual removal from said exterior position, said safety member having means for (1) preventing said releasing means from releasing said releasable means when said safety member is in said exterior position and (2) enabling said releasing means to release said releasable means in response to said predetermined manual actuating procedure which includes an initial manual engagement of said safety member and removal thereof from said exterior position, said housing cap structure covering said safety member when said housing cap structure is secured to said housing body assembly so as to prevent the manual engagement of said safety member without said housing cap structure being detached from said housing body assembly.
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3. An autoinjector particularly suited to be carried on the person of a user comprising
housing means defining an exterior configuration of a size and shape approximately the same as that of a conventional fountain pen, said housing means including a housing body assembly of elongated generally cylindrical configuration having a needle extension end and an opposite end and a separate housing cap structure of elongated generally cylindrical configuration having an one end and an opposite closed end, an elongated clip having one end fixed to the exterior of said cap structure adjacent the closed end thereof so as to extend longitudinally therealong and a free end biased to engage with the exterior of said cap structure adjacent the open end thereof whereby said clip serves to secure said cap structure within a pocket on the person of a user, means between said housing body assembly and said housing cap structure for detachably securing said separate housing cap structure in open ended telescopic relation with an opposite end portion of said housing body assembly so that the latter is secured together with said cap structure within such pocket by said clip, said housing body assembly defining an interior chamber, a medicament cartridge assembly mounted in a storage position within said interior chamber adjacent the needle extension end of said housing body assembly including a container, a liquid medicament within said container and a hypodermic needle disposed in a storage position and movable therefrom into an extended operative position, a releasable stressed spring assembly carried by said housing body assembly adjacent the opposite end thereof including spring means, releasable means for retaining said spring means in a stressed storage position within said chamber and releasing means operable in response to a predetermined manual actuating procedure to release said releasable means so that said spring means moves (1) said hypodermic needle into said extended operative position during which the hypodermic needle moves outwardly of the needle extension end of said housing body assembly through the skin and into the adjacent tissue of a user and (2) said liquid medicament outwardly through said hypodermic needle into the tissue of the user, said releasing means including manually movable means extending beyond the opposite end portion of said housing body assembly into an exterior position suitable for manual engagement so as to be manually moved during the manual actuating procedure to which said releasing means is responsive to release said releasable means, said housing cap structure covering said manually movable means when said housing cap structure is secured to said housing body assembly so as to prevent the manual engagement of said manually movable means without said housing cap structure being detached form said housing body assembly thereby enabling said housing cap structure to serve the dual purposes of (1) facilitating the securement of the housing cap structure and body assembly with the user'"'"'s pocket and (2) alleviating the likelihood of an unwanted release of the releasable means with a resultant unwanted movement of said hypodermic needle and an unwanted movement of the liquid medicament outwardly of the hypodermic needle, said housing body assembly including a forward housing member defining the needle extension end thereof, a rearward housing member fixed to said forward housing member, and a movable tubular releasing member mounted in telescoping relation with respect to said rearward housing member for limited movement from a storage position into an actuating position, said predetermined manual actuating procedure to which said releasing means is responsive to release said releasable means including a relative movement of said releasing member in telescoping relation with respect to said rearward housing member into said actuating position by manually moving the same toward said forward housing member with a thumb while the needle extension end of said housing body assembly is retained in an operative position with the skin of the user at the location where the injection is to take place, said manually movable means including a safety member mounted in said exterior position extending from the opposite end of said housing body assembly for manual removal form said exterior position, said safety member having means for (1) preventing said movement of said tubular member toward said forward housing member when said safety member is in said exterior position and (2) enabling said movement of said tubular member toward said forward housing member when said safety member is removed from said exterior position, said predetermined manual actuating procedure including a manual gripping of said safety member and removal thereof from said exterior position prior to said movement of said tubular member toward said forward housing member.
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13. An autoinjector particularly suited to be carried on the person of a user comprising
housing means defining an exterior configuration of a size and shape approximately the same as that of a conventional fountain pen, said housing means including a housing body assembly of elongated generally cylindrical configuration having a needle extension end and an opposite end and a separate housing cap structure of elongated generally cylindrical configuration having an open end and an opposite closed end, an elongated clip having one end fixed to the exterior of said cap structure adjacent the closed end thereof so as to extend longitudinally therealong and a free end biased to engage with the exterior of said cap structure adjacent the open end thereof whereby said clip serves to secure said cap structure within a pocket on the person of a user, means between said housing body assembly and said housing cap structure for detachably securing said separate housing cap structure in open ended telescopic relation with an opposite end portion of said housing body assembly so that the latter is secured together with said cap structure within such pocket by said clip, said housing body assembly defining an interior chamber, a medicament cartridge assembly mounted in a storage position within said interior chamber adjacent the needle extension end of said housing body assembly including a container, a liquid medicament within said container and a hypodermic needle disposed in a storage position and movable therefrom into an extended operative position, a releasable stressed spring assembly carried by said housing body assembly adjacent the opposite end thereof including spring means, releasable means for retaining said spring means in a stressed storage position within said chamber and releasing means operable in response to a predetermined manual actuating procedure to release said releasable means so that said spring means moves (1) said hypodermic needle into said extended operative position during which the hypodermic needle moves outwardly of the needle extension end of said housing body assembly through the skin and into the adjacent tissue of a user and (2) said liquid medicament outwardly through said hypodermic needle into the tissue of the user, said releasing means including manually movable means extending beyond the opposite end portion of said housing body assembly into an exterior position suitable for manual engagement so as to be manually moved during the manual actuating procedure to which said releasing means is responsive to release said releasable means, said housing cap structure covering said manually movable means when said housing cap structure is secured to said housing body assembly so as to prevent the manual engagement of said manually movable means without said housing cap structure being detached from said housing body assembly thereby enabling said housing cap structure to serve the dual purposes of (1) facilitating the securement of the housing cap structure and body assembly with the user'"'"'s pocket and (2) alleviating the likelihood of an unwanted release of the releasable means with a resultant unwanted movement of said hypodermic needle and an unwanted movement of the liquid medicament outwardly of the hypodermic needle, said housing body assembly including a forward housing member defining the needle extension end thereof and a rearward housing member fixed to said forward housing member, said manually movable means including a movable releasing member mounted for movement from a storage position into an actuating position, said predetermined manual actuating procedure to which said releasing means is responsive to release said releasable means including a relative movement of said releasing member with respect to said rearward housing member into said actuating position by manually moving the same toward said forward housing member with a thumb while the needle extension end of said housing body assembly is retained in an operative position with the skin of the user at the location where the injection is to take place, said forward housing member defines a portion of said chamber containing said medicament cartridge assembly, said rearward housing member forming part of said releasable stressed spring assembly, and means for securing a forward end portion of said rearward housing member with a rearward end portion of said forward housing member so as to retain the medicament cartridge assembly contained within the latter in cooperating relation with said releasable stressed spring assembly carried by said rearward housing member, said container being mounted within said chamber of said housing body assembly for movement from the storage position thereof into an extended position within said chamber of said housing body assembly, a hub assembly connecting a rearward end of said hypodermic needle with a forward end of said container for movement therewith, a resilient sheath extending over said hypodermic needle when said hypodermic needle is in the storage position thereof, said container having a piston slidably sealingly mounted in a rearward end portion thereof in engagement with the liquid medicament within said container operable to be moved by said spring means into an extended position during which (1) said container is moved into its extended position, (2) said hypodermic needle is moved with said container through said sheath and into the tissue of the user while said sheath is compressed within said chamber of said housing body assembly and (3) said liquid medicament is moved out of said hypodermic needle into the tissue of the user, said hub assembly having a seal therein normally sealing the liquid medicament from contact with said needle operable to burst in response to the initial portion of the movement of said piston within said container.
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17. An autoinjector particularly suited to be carried on the person of a user comprising
housing means defining an exterior configuration of a size and shape approximately the same as that of a conventional fountain pen, said housing means including a housing body assembly of elongated generally cylindrical configuration having a needle extension end and an opposite end and a separate housing cap structure of elongated generally cylindrical configuration having an open end and an opposite closed end, an elongated clip having one end fixed to the exterior of said cap structure adjacent the closed end thereof so as to extend longitudinally therealong and a free end biased to engage with the exterior of said cap structure adjacent the open end thereof whereby said clip serves to secure said cap structure within a pocket on the person of a user, means between said housing body assembly and said housing cap structure for detachably securing said separate housing cap structure in open ended telescopic relation with an opposite end portion of said housing body assembly so that the latter is secured together with said cap structure within such pocket by said clip, said housing body assembly defining an interior chamber, a medicament cartridge assembly mounted in a storage position within said interior chamber adjacent the needle extension end of said housing body assembly including a container, a liquid medicament within said container and a hypodermic needle disposed in a storage position and movable therefrom into an extended operative position, a releasable stressed spring assembly carried by said housing body assembly adjacent the opposite end thereof including spring means, releasable means for retaining said spring means in a stressed storage position within said chamber and releasing means operable in response to a predetermined manual actuating procedure to release said releasable means so that said spring means moves (1) said hypodermic needle into said extended operative position during which the hypodermic needle moves outwardly of the needle extension end of said housing body assembly through the skin and into the adjacent tissue of a user and (2) said liquid medicament outwardly through said hypodermic needle into the tissue of the user, said releasing means including manually movable means extending beyond the opposite end portion of said housing body assembly into an exterior position suitable for manual engagement so as to be manually moved during the manual actuating procedure to which said releasing means is responsive to release said releasable means, said housing cap structure covering said manually movable means when said housing cap structure is secured to said housing body assembly so as to prevent the manual engagement of said manually movable means without said housing cap structure being detached from said housing body assembly thereby enabling said housing cap structure to serve the dual purposes of (1) facilitating the securement of the housing cap structure and body assembly with the user'"'"'s pocket and (2) alleviating the likelihood of an unwanted release of the releasable means with a resultant unwanted movement of said hypodermic needle and an unwanted movement of the liquid medicament outwardly of the hypodermic needle, said container being mounted within said chamber of said housing body assembly for movement from the storage position thereof into an extended position within said chamber of said housing body assembly, said hypodermic needle being connected at a rearward end thereof with a forward end of said container for movement therewith, a resilient sheath extending over said hypodermic needle when said hypodermic needle is in the storage position thereof, said container having a piston slidably sealingly mounted in a rearward end portion thereof in engagement with the liquid medicament within said container operable to be moved by said spring means into an extended position during which (1) said container is moved into its extended position, (2) said hypodermic needle is moved with said container through said sheath and into the tissue of the user while said sheath is compressed within said chamber of said housing body assembly and (3) said liquid medicament is moved out of said hypodermic needle into the tissue of the user.
Specification