Prefilled syringe

• US 5,899,889 A
• Filed: 02/13/1998
• Issued: 05/04/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 12/26/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Nissho Corporation (Nitto Denko Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nissho Corporation (Nitto Denko Corporation)
• Inventors: Hirayama, Toshikazu, Murakami, Mitsuo, Aramata, Masafumi, Arifuku, Yohji, Futagawa, Hitoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): YASKO JR, JOHN D
• Application Number:
  US09/023,158
• Time in Patent Office: 445 Days
• Field of Search: 604/232, 604/218, 604/187, 604/192, 604/263, 604/264, 604/271, 604/272
• US Class Current: 604/232
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2005/3104 Caps for syringes without needle
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2005/312 comprising sealing means, e.g. severable caps, to be removed prior to injection by, e.g. tearing or twisting
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/2425 by compression of deformable ampoule or carpule wall
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/315 Pistons; Piston-rods; Guiding, blocking or restricting the movement of the rod or piston; Appliances on the rod for facilitating dosing ; Dosing mechanisms

Abstract

A prefilled syringe comprises a barrel having at a distal end a needle-connecting portion and at the proximal end an open end, a plastic tubular container having a mouth and a flexible hollow cylindrical body and containing a liquid medicament previously charged therein, and a plunger inserted into the barrel through the open end thereof and slidably held therein. The tubular container is held in the barrel so that the mouth thereof is placed in a lumen of the needle-connecting portion of the barrel. The cylindrical body is peeled off from the inner wall of the barrel and squeezed into a space between the barrel and the plunger when the plunger is pushed into the barrel.

Claims

1. A prefilled syringe comprising:

a barrel having at a distal end a narrowed opening and at the proximal end an open end;

a tubular container including a flexible tubular body and a needle-connecting portion and being previously filled with a liquid medicament, said tubular container being held in said barrel so that the needle-connecting portion is extruded by a certain length from the narrowed opening of the barrel; and

a plunger inserted into said barrel through the open end thereof and slidably held therein, the cylindrical body of said tubular container being adapted to be folded up and squeezed into a space between the barrel and plunger when the plunger is forced into the barrel.

2. The prefilled syringe according to claim 1, wherein the tubular container is fixed at the bottom to the distal end of the plunger.

3. The prefilled syringe according to claim 1, wherein said tubular container is provided at the bottom with an engaging recess or projection, and wherein said plunger is provided at the top thereof with an engaging projection or recess, the bottom of said tubular container being engaged with the top of the plunger by said engaging recess or projection.

4. The prefilled syringe according to claim 1, wherein the tubular container is made of plastic.

5. The prefilled syringe according to claim 1, wherein the barrel is provided with an auxiliary tubular member having an outer diameter equal to the inner diameter of the barrel and an inner diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the plunger, the auxiliary tubular member being centered on the axis of the barrel so that the sliding axis of the plunger coincides with the longitudinal axis of the barrel.

6. The prefilled syringe according to claim 5, wherein the barrel is provided with a flange at said proximal end, and said auxiliary tubular member is provided with a flange at its proximal end, said flange of said auxiliary tubular member engaging said flange of said barrel.

7. The prefilled syringe according to claim 5, wherein said auxiliary tubular member is provided with a stop member at its proximal end, and the barrel is provided with an engaging portion adjacent said proximal end of said barrel, said stop member of said auxiliary tubular member engaging said engaging portion of said barrel to prevent said auxiliary tubular member from being inserted too far into said barrel.

8. The prefilled syringe according to claim 1, wherein the needle-connecting portion is constituted by a tubular connecting means extending axially and outwardly from the distal end of the barrel, and a needle-connecting member connected to said tubular connecting means, a gap formed between the mouth of the tubular container and needle-connecting member being sealed by a packing arranged between them.

9. The prefilled syringe according to claim 1, wherein the needle-connecting portion is covered with a cap.

10. A prefilled syringe comprising:

a barrel having a narrowed distal end and an open proximal end;

a plunger inserted into said barrel through the open end thereof and slidably held therein, said plunger having a diameter smaller than an inner diameter of the barrel to form a cylindrical space between said plunger and said barrel; and

a tubular container having a needle-connecting portion at one end and containing a liquid medicament charged therein, said tubular container being held in said barrel and fixed to said barrel with the needle-connecting portion of the tubular container inserted into a lumen of said narrowed distal end, said tubular container being adapted to be folded up and squeezed into the cylindrical space between the plunger and the barrel when forcing the plunger into said barrel.

11. The prefilled syringe according to claim 10, wherein the tubular container is fixed at a closed bottom thereof to one end of the plunger.

12. The prefilled syringe according to claim 10, wherein said tubular container has an engaging recess or projection provided at a closed bottom thereof for engagement with one end of the plunger.

13. The prefilled syringe according to claim 10, wherein said tubular container is made of plastic.

14. The prefilled syringe according to claim 10, wherein the needle-connecting portion of the tubular container extends outwardly from said narrowed distal end of said barrel.

15. The prefilled syringe according to claim 10, further comprising sealing means for sealing said one end of said tubular container.

16. The prefilled syringe according to claim 10, further comprising a cap for covering said needle-connecting portion of said tubular container.

17. The prefilled syringe according to claim 10, further including a cap for covering said distal end of said barrel.

18. The prefilled syringe according to claim 10, wherein the barrel is provided with an auxiliary tubular member having an outer diameter equal to the inner diameter of the barrel, and an inner diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the plunger, the auxiliary tubular member being centered on the axis of the barrel so that the sliding axis of the plunger coincides with the longitudinal axis of the barrel.

19. The prefilled syringe according to claim 18, wherein the barrel is provided with a flange at said proximal end, and said auxiliary tubular member is provided with a flange at its proximal end, said flange of said auxiliary tubular member engaging said flange of said barrel.

20. The prefilled syringe according to claim 18, wherein said auxiliary tubular member is provided with a stop member at its proximal end, and the barrel is provided with an engaging portion adjacent said proximal end of said barrel, said stop member of said auxiliary tubular member engaging said engaging portion of said barrel to prevent said auxiliary tubular member from being inserted too far into said barrel.