Multi-chamber, sequentially dispensing syringe

• US 7,789,862 B2
• Filed: 09/05/2007
• Issued: 09/07/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/05/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Thorne Consulting And Intellectual Property, LLC
• Original Assignee: Thorne Consulting And Intellectual Property, LLC
• Inventors: Thorne, Gale H. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Thanh; Loan
• Assistant Examiner(s): HAYMAN, IMANI N
• Application Number:
  US11/899,254
• Publication Number:
  US 20090062740A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,098 Days
• Field of Search: 604/191, 604/187, 604/181, 606 92- 94, 128/218
• US Class Current: 604/191
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2005/1787 Syringes for sequential delivery of fluids, e.g. first medicament and then flushing liquid
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/284 comprising means for injection of two or more media, e.g. by mixing
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/288 by piercing without internal pressure increase A61M5/283 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/31596 comprising means for injection of two or more media, e.g. by mixing

Abstract

A discharge assembly is disclosed which partitions a conventional syringe into proximal and distal chambers to provide a multi-chamber, sequentially dispensing syringe apparatus. Incorporated in the discharge assembly is a syringe stopper body and an associated valve stem which in combination form a valve. A syringe plunger communicates through fluid in the proximal chamber to force displacement of the discharge assembly. The valve is actuated by collision between a rigid member which is a part of the valve stem and the distal internal surface of the syringe. The discharge assembly may be made from two parts: (1) the stopper body (made from conventional syringe stopper material); (2) the valve (actuating) stem made from rigid material similar to material from which the syringe barrel is made. Key features of such a multi-chamber syringe apparatus are (1) fluids in the chambers are kept disparate; (2) the discharge assembly may be used in conventional syringes; (3) gas in a closed chamber, proximal to the discharge assembly, is retained in the proximal chamber while only liquid is dispensed therefrom.

Claims

1. A multi-chamber syringe apparatus for sequentially dispensing medical fluids from a proximal and a distal chamber of the syringe, said apparatus comprising:

a barrel of a conventional medical syringe having a hollow cylindrical wall having an internal surface which is concentrically disposed about an elongated medial axis, said barrel surface comprising an open proximal end and a distal end having a closed interior about an orifice through which fluid is transferred;

a plunger rod and plunger tip combination disposed to be displaced within said barrel by application of a directional force against said plunger rod for dislocating fluid thereby;

a discharge assembly comprising a stopper which, when disposed within said barrel between said plunger combination and said distal end, provides a proximal chamber between the discharge assembly and plunger tip and a disparate distal chamber between the discharge assembly and said closed interior surface;

said proximal chamber comprising space for fluid which comprises a volume of gas which does not exceed a predetermined volume, filling only a portion of the chamber thereby, and a volume of liquid which fills space in the proximal chamber not taken by the gas;

said discharge assembly stopper comprising a normally closed valve having a part which effects opening of the valve by being displaced proximally relative to the rest of the discharge assembly, said part being so displaced upon collision with the distal end of the syringe and as a consequence of accelerating compressive forces between the wall and the discharge assembly stopper;

said discharge assembly stopper further comprising structure which provides access to a liquid zone which is void of the gas within the proximal chamber; and

said discharge assembly stopper structure further comprising a hollow, proximally-extending conduit sleeve, wherethrough liquid flows from the proximal chamber through the normally closed valve, once opened, and an associated conduit sleeve access portal disposed within the liquid zone whereby only liquid flows into the conduit sleeve and, therefore, from the proximal chamber when dispensing fluid from the proximal chamber subsequent to dispensing fluid from the distal chamber and the predetermined volume of gas is retained within the proximal chamber.

2. A multi-chamber syringe apparatus for sequentially dispensing medical fluids, said apparatus comprising:

a syringe barrel having a hollow cylindrical wall having an internal surface which is concentrically disposed about an elongated medial axis, said barrel surface comprising an open proximal end and a distal end having a closed interior about an orifice through which fluid is transferred;

a plunger rod and plunger tip combination disposed to be displaced within said barrel by application of a directional force against said plunger rod for dislocating fluid thereby;

a discharge assembly comprising a stopper which, when disposed within said barrel between said plunger combination and said distal end, provides a proximal chamber between the discharge assembly and plunger tip and a disparate distal chamber between the discharge assembly and said closed interior surface;

said proximal chamber comprising space for fluid which comprises a volume of gas which does not exceed a predetermined volume, filling only a portion of the chamber thereby, and a volume of liquid which fills space in the proximal chamber not taken by the gas;

said discharge assembly stopper comprising a normally closed valve having a part which effects opening of the valve by being displaced proximally relative to the rest of the discharge assembly, said part being so displaced upon collision with the distal end of the syringe and as a consequence of accelerating compressive forces between the wall and the discharge assembly stopper;

said discharge assembly stopper further comprising structure which provides access to a liquid zone within the proximal chamber;

said discharge assembly stopper structure further comprising a hollow, proximally-extending conduit sleeve, wherethrough liquid flows from the proximal chamber through the normally closed valve, once opened, and an associated conduit sleeve access portal disposed within the liquid zone whereby only liquid flows into the conduit sleeve and, therefore, from the proximal chamber when dispensing fluid from the proximal chamber subsequent to dispensing fluid from the distal chamber and the predetermined volume of gas is retained within the proximal chamber and

an elongated valve stem and stopper comprising a body having a hollow interior comprising a closed distal face except for a through hole medially disposed therein, said stopper through hole being of reduced diameter distally and therefore being substantially closed to fluid flow when the valve stem is disposed, in a first state, within a distal portion of the through hole;

said stopper further comprising the conduit sleeve affixed to the body about the through hole and extending proximally to form a continuous pathway from the through hole through the conduit sleeve, said conduit sleeve having a larger diameter than the more distally disposed through hole.

3. A multi-chamber syringe apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said elongated valve stem comprises:

a medial section which is disposed within said through hole in a first elongated valve stem state;

said through hole having an internal diameter such that the through hole is occluded when the medial section of the valve stem is in the first state to form the normally closed valve;

said conduit sleeve having an expanded internal diameter relative to the diameter of the through hole to provide a flow pathway therethrough when the medial section is therein disposed in a second elongated valve stem state;

said valve stem having a distal section which protrudes from the distal face to first communicate with the distal end of the syringe and thereby be displaced proximally relative to the stopper body upon collision with the distal end of the syringe to a second elongated valve stem state whereat the through hole is no longer occluded to thereby open the through hole and conduit sleeve for liquid flow from the proximal chamber.

4. A valve assembly for providing a liquid-only dispensing multi-chamber syringe within a conventional medical syringe which has a conventional plunger and stem which is displace through a barrel having a continuous, smooth internal surface which is concentrically disposed about an elongated medial axis, said barrel surface comprising an open proximal end and a distal end having a closed interior about an orifice through which fluid is transferred, said valve assembly dividing the syringe barrel into a distal chamber defined distally by the orifice and proximally by the valve assembly and a proximal chamber defined distally by the valve assembly and proximally by the plunger, the proximal chamber being filled with fluid comprising liquid, a portion of which is physically constrained to be disposed in a liquid zone, and a predetermined volume of gas which is kept by physical forces associated with liquid and gas states away from the liquid zone, said valve assembly comprising:

a normally closed valve comprising a part which effects opening of the valve by being displaced proximally relative to the rest of the valve assembly, said part being so displaced upon contact against said distal end of the barrel to provide a fluid pathway from the proximal chamber to the syringe orifice;

a conduit sleeve providing access between the pathway and the liquid zone, thereby restricting dispensing of fluid from the proximal chamber to liquid only, the gas portion of the fluid being retained within the syringe barrel and, thereby, not delivered from the proximal chamber.