Mixing vial
First Claim
1. A multi-chambered vial, comprising:
- a compressible, air tight, telescoping vessel, said vessel having an open end and a closed end and comprising a first chamber and a second chamber, the first chamber and the second chamber coupled by an aperture filled with an air tight and fluid tight rupturable seal, the open end of the vessel made air tight by a displaceable piston disposed in the open end of said telescoping vessel and forming an air tight seal sealing the vessel from ambient air; and
wherein when said telescoping vessel is compressed, pressure builds in the second chamber until the seal separating the first chamber and the second chamber is ruptured and the contents of the second chamber enter into the first chamber and turbulently mix with the contents of the first chamber, thereby increasing the volume in the first chamber by driving the piston towards the open end.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A vial (2, 202) has first and second chambers (56, 232; 54, 234) initially separated by a rupturable barrier (20, 212). The first chamber is a variable volume chamber defined by a cylinder (18, 208), the rupturable barrier at the second end (19, 214) of the cylinder and a piston (14, 228). The second chamber is created by a telescoping container (22, 226) mounted to a second end of the cylidner. The chambers are telescopically collapsed causing fluid pressure in the second chamber to rupture the barrier so the components mix in the first chamber. The piston is driven through the cylinder from pre-mix to post-mix positions by the liquid from the second chamber. This dislodges a safety shield (30, 226) at the first end of the cylidner to expose the piston. The mixed contents of the first, variable volume chamber are removed by inserting a needle cannula through the now exposed piston; aspiration of the mixed contents take place without the introduction of air into the first chamber since the piston moves back down the cylinder as the contents are removed. Structure (236; 242; 248, 250) can be used to prevent the inadvertent activation of the vial (202).
63 Citations
28 Claims
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1. A multi-chambered vial, comprising:
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a compressible, air tight, telescoping vessel, said vessel having an open end and a closed end and comprising a first chamber and a second chamber, the first chamber and the second chamber coupled by an aperture filled with an air tight and fluid tight rupturable seal, the open end of the vessel made air tight by a displaceable piston disposed in the open end of said telescoping vessel and forming an air tight seal sealing the vessel from ambient air; and wherein when said telescoping vessel is compressed, pressure builds in the second chamber until the seal separating the first chamber and the second chamber is ruptured and the contents of the second chamber enter into the first chamber and turbulently mix with the contents of the first chamber, thereby increasing the volume in the first chamber by driving the piston towards the open end. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. A multi-chamber vial, comprising:
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a housing having a removable shield, said housing and said shield both fabricated from material which prohibits penetration of a needle cannula; a receptacle having an open end and a closed end, said open end having a rim formed about its periphery, said receptacle being slidably disposed relative to said housing, wherein said rim contacts said housing; a cylinder disposed in said housing and having a first end and a second end, said first end coupled to said housing such that said shield forms a removable barrier over said first end, said second end extending away from said first end and having an aperture facing said receptacle; a removable resilient member disposed in said aperture and forming a liquid tight seal in said aperture; a piston disposed in said cylinder and forming a first chamber between said piston and said resilient member; a gasket member disposed between said cylinder and said receptacle, said receptacle forming a second chamber sealed by said gasket member and said resilient member wherein the receptacle can be moved in said housing toward the cylinder causing fluid pressure to build in the second chamber until the resilient member is ruptured, thereby allowing the contents in the first chamber and second chamber to turbulently mix as the contents of the second chamber are forced through said aperture into the first chamber thereby increasing the fluid volume contained in the first chamber and driving the piston towards the shield, wherein when all the contents of the second chamber are forced into the first chamber said piston dislodges the shield from the open end of the cylinder to allow a needle cannula to access the contents of the first chamber through the piston.
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5. A component mixing vial, for use with first and second components, the second component being a liquid component, comprising:
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a mixing container having first and second ends, openings at the first and second ends and an elongate tube portion towards the first end; a piston positioned within the elongate tube portion of the mixing container and movable from a premix position, away from the first end, to a post-mix position, towards the first end; a seal towards the second open end of the mixing container, the first component being within a variable volume mixing region between the seal and the piston, the seal contacting the mixing container so as to sealably close the mixing container; a supplemental container, containing the second component, the second open end being positioned within the supplemental container; means for forcing the second component past the seal into the variable volume mixing region causing the first and second components to mix and forcing the piston towards the first end to the post-mix position; and means for accessing the mixed components within the variable volume region. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A component mixing vial, for use with first and second components, the second component being a liquid component, comprising:
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a mixing container having first and second ends, openings at the first and second ends and an elongate tube portion towards the first end; a piston positioned within the elongate tube portion of the mixing container and movable from a premix position, away from the first end, to a post-mix position, towards the first end; a supplemental container telescopically mounted to the second end of the mixing container; a seal towards the second open end of the mixing container, the first component being within a variable volume mixing region within the container between the seal and the piston, the second component being within a variable volume storage region bounded at least in part by the supplemental container and the seal; wherein the seal contacts the mixing container so as to sealably close the mixing container; the seal including a normally sealed mixing path along which the second component can flow from the storage region to the mixing region as the mixing and supplemental containers are moved from a telescopically extended condition to a telescopically collapsed condition; and means for accessing the mixed components within the variable volume region. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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Specification