Process and device for delivery of fluid by chemical reaction

• US 9,861,750 B2
• Filed: 04/06/2016
• Issued: 01/09/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/12/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Eli Lilly and Company
• Original Assignee: Eli Lilly and Company
• Inventors: Bennison, Corrie, Muenzer, Christopher H., Blum, Timothy M., McKenzie, Christopher P., Madland, Steven M., Ellis, Jeffrey L., Heintz, Amy M., Kaseman, Brian J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nicolas, Frederick C
• Assistant Examiner(s): Zadeh, Bob
• Application Number:
  US15/091,848
• Publication Number:
  US 20160213846A1
• Time in Patent Office: 643 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2005/14204 with gas-producing electrochemical cell
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2005/2026 Semi-automatic, e.g. user activated piston is assisted by additional source of energy
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/14526 the piston being actuated by fluid pressure
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/155 pressurised by gas introduced into the reservoir
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/2046 Media being expelled from injector by gas generation, e.g. explosive charge
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 83/14 for delivery of liquid or semi-liquid contents by internal gaseous pressure, i.e. aerosol containers comprising propellant for a product delivered by a propellant
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 83/60 Contents and propellant separated
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 83/64 by piston
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 83/643 the propellant being generated by a chemical or electrochemical reaction for pressure gas in portable fire extinguishers A62C13/02

Abstract

Processes and devices for delivering a fluid by chemical reaction are disclosed. A chemical reaction is initiated in a reaction chamber to produce a gas, and the gas acts upon a piston to deliver the fluid. Preferred devices typically include an upper chamber, a lower chamber, a fluid chamber, a piston between the lower chamber and the fluid chamber, and a barrier between the upper chamber and the lower chamber. When the barrier is broken, reagents in the upper chamber and the lower chamber are mixed together to generate the gas.

Claims

1. A device for delivering a fluid by chemical reaction, comprising:

a push button;

a barrel containing a reagent chamber, a reaction chamber, and a fluid chamber, wherein the reaction chamber is positioned axially between the reagent chamber and the fluid chamber;

a plunger separating the reagent chamber from the reaction chamber;

a spring biased to move the plunger into the reagent chamber in response to an actuation of the push button; and

a piston configured to move into the fluid chamber in response to pressure generated in the reaction chamber.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the reagent chamber contains a first reagent and the reaction chamber contains a second reagent, and a movement of the plunger into the reagent chamber causes a mixing of the first reagent and the second reagent to initiate a chemical reaction in the reaction chamber.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the piston separates the reaction chamber from the fluid chamber.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein the plunger is caused to rotate in response to a depression of the push button.

5. The device of claim 4, wherein the plunger includes a central body having at least one lug extending therefrom, and the push button is operative to engage the at least one lug of the plunger during the depression of the push button to cause rotation of the plunger.

6. The device of claim 1, further including a gas-permeable filter positioned in the reaction chamber between the piston and the plunger.

7. A device for delivering a fluid by chemical reaction, comprising:

a barrel containing a first chamber, a second chamber, and a fluid chamber, the first chamber containing a first reagent and the second chamber containing a second reagent;

a push button coupled to the barrel;

a plunger separating the first chamber from the second chamber, wherein the plunger is operative to rotate relative to the barrel in response to an actuation of the push button to initiate a mixing of the first reagent and the second reagent; and

a piston positioned between the second chamber and the fluid chamber, wherein the piston moves into the fluid chamber in response to a pressure generated in the second chamber following the mixing of the first reagent and the second reagent.

8. The device of claim 7, wherein the push button moves axially toward the plunger during the actuation of the push button.

9. The device of claim 7, wherein the plunger moves both axially and rotationally relative to the barrel in response to the actuation of the push button.

10. The device of claim 9, further including a biasing member that biases the plunger into the first chamber towards the push button in response to the actuation of the push button.

11. The device of claim 9, wherein a component of the push button engages and pushes the plunger to cause the rotation of the plunger relative to the barrel during the actuation of the push button.

12. The device of claim 7, wherein the actuation of the push button causes rotation of the plunger relative to the push button.

13. The device of claim 7, wherein the first chamber, the second chamber, and the fluid chamber are coaxial.

14. A method of delivering a fluid by chemical reaction, the method comprising:

actuating a plunger positioned in a barrel of a device, the plunger separating a first chamber containing a first reagent from a second chamber containing a second reagent; and

mixing the first reagent and the second reagent in response to the actuating to initiate a chemical reaction in the second chamber of the device, the second chamber including a piston,

wherein the plunger moves axially and rotationally in response to the actuating,

wherein a gas generated by the chemical reaction moves the piston into a fluid chamber containing the fluid to expel the fluid from the device.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the actuating includes biasing, with a spring, the plunger into the first chamber.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the plunger is actuated in response to an axial movement of a push button of the device, wherein a direction of the axial movement of the plunger is opposite a direction of the axial movement of the push button.

17. The method of claim 14, further including containing, with a gas-permeable filter, the first and second reagents within the reaction chamber.

18. A device for delivering a fluid by chemical reaction, the device comprising:

a barrel containing a first chamber, a second chamber, and a fluid chamber, the first chamber containing a liquid reagent, the second chamber containing a dry reagent, and the fluid chamber containing the fluid to be delivered, the second chamber being positioned axially between the first chamber and the fluid chamber;

a push button coupled to an end of the barrel;

a plunger separating the first chamber and the second chamber, the plunger including a sealing member configured to engage a sidewall in the second chamber;

a piston positioned in the second chamber; and

a spring positioned in the second chamber between the piston and the plunger,

the device having a storage state and an operating state, wherein

in the storage state the plunger blocks a mixing of the first reagent and the second reagent, and the spring is compressed against the plunger, and

in the operating state the spring is operative to push the plunger into the first chamber in response to an actuation of the push button to allow mixing of the liquid reagent and the dry reagent to initiate a chemical reaction in the second chamber of the device, wherein a gas generated by the chemical reaction is operative to move the piston into the fluid chamber to force the fluid to exit the device.

19. The device of claim 18, wherein in the operating state a depression of the push button causes a rotation of the plunger relative to the barrel.

20. The device of claim 19, wherein the plunger includes a central body having a lug extending radially from the central body, the lug has an angular surface, the push button includes a component configured to engage the angular surface of the lug to rotate the plunger in the operating state, and the rotation of the plunger causes the lug to disengage from the component of the push button and to move into a channel formed in the push button.