External drug pump
First Claim
1. An apparatus for administering a substance to a subject, comprising:
- a housing base;
a vial, containing the substance, inserted into the housing base, the vial having an inner cylindrical surface;
a stopper within the vial, slidably coupled to the vial and being in sliding frictional contact with the inner cylindrical surface, said frictional contact including a rotational friction component for precluding rotation of said stopper relative to said vial and a linear friction component for precluding linear advancement of said stopper in a distal direction;
a first threaded element (a) rotatable with respect to the vial and (b) substantially immobile linearly with respect to the vial during rotation of the first threaded element; and
a second threaded element that is threadedly coupled to the first threaded element forming a threaded coupling between the first threaded element and the second threaded element,the threaded coupling being within the vial,distal end of the second threaded element defining a coupling portion that couples the second threaded element to the stopper,the arrangement being such that the first threaded element, by rotating, overcomes said linear friction component for linearly advancing the second threaded element and the stopper toward a distal end of the vial, wherein the rotational friction component between the stopper and the inner cylindrical surface substantially impedes rotation of the stopper and the second threaded element relative to the first threaded element, and wherein a portion of the housing base is configured to displace the first and second threaded elements and the stopper toward the distal end of the vial during the insertion into the housing base.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Apparatus is described for administering a substance to a subject. A vial contains the substance and a stopper is disposed within the vial and is slidably coupled to the vial. A first threaded element is (a) rotatable with respect to the vial and (b) substantially immobile proximally with respect to the vial during rotation of the first threaded element. A second threaded element is threadedly coupled to the first threaded element. At least a distal end of the second threaded element is substantially non-rotatable with respect to the vial, and the distal end of the second threaded element defines a coupling portion that couples the second threaded element to the stopper. The first threaded element, by rotating, linearly advances the stopper and at least the distal end of the second threaded element toward a distal end of the vial. Other embodiments are also described.
569 Citations
22 Claims
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1. An apparatus for administering a substance to a subject, comprising:
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a housing base; a vial, containing the substance, inserted into the housing base, the vial having an inner cylindrical surface; a stopper within the vial, slidably coupled to the vial and being in sliding frictional contact with the inner cylindrical surface, said frictional contact including a rotational friction component for precluding rotation of said stopper relative to said vial and a linear friction component for precluding linear advancement of said stopper in a distal direction; a first threaded element (a) rotatable with respect to the vial and (b) substantially immobile linearly with respect to the vial during rotation of the first threaded element; and a second threaded element that is threadedly coupled to the first threaded element forming a threaded coupling between the first threaded element and the second threaded element, the threaded coupling being within the vial, distal end of the second threaded element defining a coupling portion that couples the second threaded element to the stopper, the arrangement being such that the first threaded element, by rotating, overcomes said linear friction component for linearly advancing the second threaded element and the stopper toward a distal end of the vial, wherein the rotational friction component between the stopper and the inner cylindrical surface substantially impedes rotation of the stopper and the second threaded element relative to the first threaded element, and wherein a portion of the housing base is configured to displace the first and second threaded elements and the stopper toward the distal end of the vial during the insertion into the housing base. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. An apparatus for administering a substance to a subject, comprising:
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a housing base; a vial, containing the substance, inserted into the housing base, the vial having an inner cylindrical surface; a stopper within the vial, slidably coupled to the vial and being in sliding frictional contact with the inner cylindrical surface, said frictional contact including a rotational friction component for precluding rotation of said stopper relative to said vial and a linear friction component for precluding linear advancement of said stopper in a distal direction; a first threaded element (a) rotatable with respect to the vial and (b) substantially immobile linearly with respect to the vial during rotation of the first threaded element; and a second threaded element that is threadedly coupled to the first threaded element forming a threaded coupling between the first threaded element and the second threaded element, the threaded coupling being within the vial, a distal end of the second threaded element remaining proximal to a distal end of the stopper at all times during rotation of the first threaded element, and the first threaded element, by rotating, overcoming said linear friction component for linearly advancing the second threaded element and the stopper toward a distal end of the vial, wherein the rotational friction component between the stopper and the inner cylindrical surface substantially impedes rotation of the stopper and the second threaded element relative to the vial, and wherein a portion of the housing base is configured to displace the first and second threaded elements and the stopper toward the distal end of the vial during the insertion into the housing base. - View Dependent Claims (22)
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Specification