Injection device

• US 7,909,796 B2
• Filed: 07/23/2004
• Issued: 03/22/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/01/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bayer Intellectual Property GmbH (Bayer AG)
• Original Assignee: Bayer Schering Pharma AG (Bayer AG)
• Inventors: Weber, Wilfried
• Primary Examiner(s): Lucchesi; Nicholas D
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bouchelle; Laura A
• Application Number:
  US10/566,659
• Publication Number:
  US 20060258990A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,433 Days
• Field of Search: 604130-139, 604156-158, 604192-199, 604/218, 604/232
• US Class Current: 604/156
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2005/206 With automatic needle insertion
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2005/208 Release is possible only when device is pushed against the skin, e.g. using a trigger which is blocked or inactive when the device is not pushed against the skin
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2005/2086 having piston damping means, e.g. axially or rotationally acting retarders
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2005/3152 including gearings to multiply or attenuate the piston displacing force
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/581 by audible feedback
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/20 Automatic syringes, e.g. with automatically actuated piston rod, with automatic needle injection, filling automatically A61M5/142 , A61M5/46 take precedence; hypodermic projectiles F42B12/54
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/2033 Spring-loaded one-shot injectors with or without automatic needle insertion multishot dosing syringes A61M5/31525, needle insertion only A61M5/3287
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/326 Fully automatic sleeve extension, i.e. in which triggering of the sleeve does not require a deliberate action by the user
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/46 having means for controlling depth of insertion

Abstract

An injection device for a syringe, having a syringe body, a cannula with a needle, a plunger with a plunger rod, and an injection carriage for displacing the syringe body and the plunger, comprises at least one actuating element that acts on the injection carriage to carry out the injection procedure. The actuating element (120, 220, 320) cooperates with components which withdraw the needle (108, 208, 308) from the puncture site once the injection procedure has been completed, using a return stroke (H3) that is applied to the injection carriage. A single, targeted linear movement inserts the needle to a defined depth, injects the medicament and, once the injection has been completed, produces a return stroke which allows the needle to be withdrawn into the housing and thus out from the puncture site.

Claims

1. An injection device for a syringe, having a syringe body, a cannula with a needle, and a plunger with a plunger rod, and having at least one actuating element (120, 220, 320) for converting the actuating work, to be performed manually by the patient, into a displacement of the syringe body (101, 201, 301) during an insertion stroke (H1) and a return stroke (H3), and into a displacement of the plunger rod during an injection stroke (H2), with a guide device in which the syringe body (101, 201, 301) is mounted, and with a ram (150, 250, 350) which can be displaced against this in order to displace the plunger rod, and wherein the actuating work, by means of a single, targeted linear movement of the actuating element (120, 220, 320), is converted into the insertion stroke (H1), the injection stroke (H2) and the return stroke (H3) in such a way that the guide device and the ram (150, 250, 350) are acted on jointly by the actuating element in the insertion stroke (H1) and in such a way that only the ram (150, 250, 350) is acted on in the injection stroke (H2), wherein the guide device includes a displaceable syringe holder (140, 240, 340) in which the syringe (100, 200, 300, 400) is fixed and which is coupled releasably to the ram (150, 250, 350) and is part of an injection carriage, and, in order to perform a return stroke (H3) corresponding in magnitude substantially to the insertion stroke (H1), the actuating element (120, 220, 320, 420) acts on the injection carriage in a positionally and directionally defined manner by means of locking and coupling elements with intercalation of a further carriage (114A, 260, 323, 423).

2. The injection device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the actuating element is a push rod (120, 220) which is guided parallel to the injection carriage in a housing (110, 210) and by means of which, when it is pushed into the housing (110, 210), the components for producing the return stroke (H3) are also activated.

3. The injection device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the components for producing the return stroke (H3) include at least one toothed wheel (113) which engages in the injection carriage (140, 150) and in the push rod (120) and which is mounted in a carriage (114A) displaceable in the housing (110), and wherein the toothed wheel (113) cooperates with a blocking element which blocks the toothed wheel (113), when insertion stroke (H1) and injection stroke (H2) are performed, and which thereafter releases the toothed wheel (113), as a result of which the linear movement of the push rod (120) is converted into the oppositely directed return stroke (H3) of the injection carriage (140, 150).

4. The injection device as claimed in claim 3, wherein at least two toothed wheels (113A, 113B) for converting the linear movement of the push rod (120) into the return stroke (H3) are provided in the common carriage (114A).

5. The injection device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the blocking element is a pawl (114) which is linearly displaceable on the carriage (114A) and which, in the blocking position, engages in the teeth of the toothed wheel (113).

6. The injection device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the blocking element is a pivot lever (114B) which, in the blocking position, engages in the teeth of the push rod (120).

7. The injection device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the coupling between syringe holder (140) and ram (150) is effected by two slide blocks (145A, 145B) which can be brought into a releasable positive engagement between syringe holder (140) and housing (110), and between syringe holder (140) and ram (150).

8. The injection device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the coupling between syringe holder (140) and ram (150) is effected by a further toothed wheel (113C) which is likewise held in the carriage (114A) and which is blocked during the insertion stroke (H1).

9. The injection device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the components for producing the return stroke (H3) include at least one spring element (261A, 261B) as energy accumulator which, before the start of the injection, is pretensioned by the push rod (220) (tensioning stroke) and, after the injection stroke (H2), is released, in order to produce the return stroke (H3) by acting abruptly on a return carriage (260) which is releasably connected to the injection carriage and which bears on the syringe holder (240).

10. The injection device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the return carriage (260) has pincer-like locking elements (262A, 262B) which, after the injection stroke (H2), engage in recesses (226A, 226B) of the push rod (220) and release the return stroke (H3).

11. The injection device as claimed in claim 2, wherein a rotatably mounted control lever (221) is provided in the push rod (220), one end of this control lever (221) engaging in the injection carriage (240, 250) when the tensioning stroke has been completed.

12. The injection device as claimed in claim 11, wherein the control lever (221), by turning about a control angle, also effects the release of the coupling between syringe holder (240) and ram (250) at the transition from the insertion stroke (H1) to the injection stroke (H2).

13. The injection device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the actuating element includes a pull-out loading wire (420) which, when pulled out from the housing (310), pretensions at least one advancer spring (424) as energy accumulator, and a trigger mechanism (370) which, after activation, releases the injection carriage (340, 350) acted upon by the advancer spring (324) via an advancer carriage (323) for automatic execution of insertion stroke (H1), injection stroke (H2) and return stroke (H3), and one end of the pull-out loading wire has a grip (420B) on an end of the housing (410), and which has a carrier (420A) which is connected to the advancer spring (424) and engages on the advancer carriage (423) when the grip (420B) is pulled out.

14. The injection device as claimed in claim 13, wherein, the pull-out loading wire (420), after it has been pulled out from the housing (310), pretensions at least one restoring spring (325) as energy accumulator for automatic return of the pull-out loading wire (420), and further wherein the pretensioning of the restoring spring (425) likewise takes place via the grip (420B) and the pull-out loading wire (420), as a result of which the pull-out loading wire (420) is pulled into the housing (410) until it abuts against the grip (420B) on the housing (410).

15. The injection device as claimed in claim 14, wherein the advancer spring (424) and restoring spring (425) are designed as helical springs, one end of which is secured in a frame (412) held in the housing (410), and the other end of which is connected to the pull-out loading wire (420) either directly or via the carrier (420A).

16. The injection device as claimed in claim 15, wherein the other end of the pull-out loading wire (420) is connected to a receiving frame (412) held in the housing and is guided over at least one pull roller (420D) on whose shaft the other end of the restoring spring (425) is held, so that the tensile force applied by the restoring spring (425) on the pull-out loading wire (420) corresponds according to the number of pull rollers (420D) only to a fraction of the spring force of the restoring spring (425) (first pulley block).

17. The injection device as claimed in claim 16, wherein the advancer spring (424) is connected to the receiving frame (412) via a traction wire (424B) which is guided over at least one pull roller (424D) on whose shaft the other end of the advancer spring (424) is held, so that the tensile force applied by the advancer spring (424) to the traction wire (424B) and thus to the advancer carriage (424D) is only a fraction of the spring force of the advancer spring (424) (second pulley block).

18. The injection device as claimed in claim 13, wherein:

additional components are provided which produce a time delay (TV) between the completion of the injection procedure and the start of the return stroke (H3);

and at least two toothed wheels mounted in a carriage (414, 415) and belonging to a pair of toothed wheels (413, 513) for gearing up or gearing down between the linear movement of the carriage (414, 514) and of the advancer carriage (423) are provided, on which at least one spring element engages for producing the strokes (H1, H2, H3) and the time delay (TV).

19. The injection device as claimed in claim 18, wherein the advancer carriage (423) is formed by a toothed belt (523).

20. The injection device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the actuating element includes a pull-out loading bar (320) which, when pulled out from the housing (310), pretensions at least one advancer spring (324) as energy accumulator, and a trigger mechanism (370) which, after activation, releases the injection carriage (340, 350) acted upon by the advancer spring (324) via an advancer carriage (323) for automatic execution of insertion stroke (H1), injection stroke (H2) and return stroke (H3).

21. The injection device as claimed in claim 20, wherein the pull-out loading bar (320), after it has been pulled out from the housing (310), pretensions at least one restoring spring (325) as energy accumulator for automatic return of the pull-out loading bar (320).

22. The injection device as claimed in claim 20, wherein the trigger mechanism (370) is coupled to at least one safety element (371) which in particular permits triggering only when the injection device is placed on the insertion site.

23. The injection device as claimed in claim 20, wherein the advancer spring (324) and the restoring springs (325) are scroll springs.

24. The injection device as claimed in claim 20, wherein the pull-out loading bar (320), advancer springs (324, 325), injection carriage (340, 350) and advancer carriage (323) are held in a receiving frame (312) in such a way that they can be displaced parallel to one another.

25. The injection device as claimed in claim 1, wherein, in order to control the operation of the injection device, in particular the sequence of insertion stroke (H1), injection stroke (H2) and return stroke (H3), control elements that can be brought into and out of positive/frictional engagement with one another are provided, in particular on the actuating element (120, 220, 320), on the syringe holder (140, 240, 340), on the ram (150, 250, 350) and on the housing (110, 210) or receiving frame (312).

26. The injection device as claimed in claim 25, wherein the control elements include elastic sections, locking cams, slide-on planes and cutouts.

27. The injection device as claimed in claim 1, wherein a damping unit (492) is assigned to the actuating element and/or to the injection carriage (440, 450).

28. The injection device as claimed in claim 1, wherein additional components are provided which produce a time delay (TV) between the completion of the injection procedure and the start of the return stroke (H3).

29. The injection device as claimed in claim 28, wherein the additional components cancel the frictional coupling between ram (450) and advancer carriage (423) as the advancer carriage (423) continues to move for the duration of the time delay (TV).

30. The injection device as claimed in claim 29, wherein the duration of the time delay (TV) is adjustable.

31. The injection device as claimed in claim 1, wherein a volume adapter (410) can be inserted into the ram (450) and predetermines the injection stroke (H2) and thus the quantity of a medicament that is administered during the injection stroke (H2).