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Ophthalmic dispensing pump

  • US 5,152,435 A
  • Filed: 06/13/1991
  • Issued: 10/06/1992
  • Est. Priority Date: 06/13/1991
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. A manually operated dispensing pump for delivering a precise quantity of ophthalmic solution to the surface of the eye in a desired spray pattern with an impact pressure on the eye that is comfortably tolerated by an individual, said dispensing pump comprising;

  • a container having a closed bottom for accommodating ophthalmic solution and an opened top defining a neck;

    an elongated hollow pump body having an upper end mounted to the neck of said container and a lower end disposed in said container;

    a cap mounted to the upper end of the pump body, the cap having opposed top and bottom ends and an aperture extending axially therebetween substantially in alignment with the pump body, said top end of said cap extending upwardly beyond the neck of the container and being formed with an axially aligned actuator recess therein;

    a tube slidably movable in said pump body and having opposed upper and lower ends, the upper end projecting through the aperture in said cap;

    valving means mounted to the tube and the pump body for urging ophthalmic solution upwardly through the tube in response to a downward movement of the tube in the pump body, the quantity of the ophthalmic solution urged through the tube being a function of the distance of travel of the tube in the pump body;

    an actuator with a bottom end slidably disposed in the actuator recess of the cap, an elongated axial bore extending into the bottom end of the actuator, the top end of the tube being engaged in the axial bore of the actuator such that the actuator and the tube are moveable substantially in unison, an elongated recess extending into the actuator transverse to the axial bore, an ovoid chamber defined in the actuator and providing communication between the axial bore and the recess, the ovoid chamber being at least partly defined by a generally parabolic wall disposed generally opposite the recess, the actuator being dimensioned to permit a downward movement in the actuator recess of the cap for urging the precise quantity of the ophthalmic solution through the tube; and

    a nozzle fixed in said recess of said actuator and including a concave generally ovoid inlet port in communication with the ovoid chamber of the actuator, a concave generally conical outlet port external of said actuator and a venturi shaped passageway extending therebetween, with said parabolic wall of said ovoid chamber being aligned with the longitudinal axis of said venturi shaped passageway, and wherein said concave ovoid inlet port has an angle of convergence that is greater than the angle of divergence of said conical wall of said outlet port whereby said ovoid chamber, said venturi shaped passageway, and said outlet port are dimensioned and configured to generate a narrow stream of the ophthalmic solution in response to a downward movement of the actuator in the actuator recess of the cap.

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