Pen-type injector having an electronic control unit

• US 6,869,413 B2
• Filed: 12/21/2001
• Issued: 03/22/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland GmbH (Sanofi )
• Original Assignee: Dca Design International Ltd.
• Inventors: Veasey, Robert Frederick, Langley, Christopher Nigel, Woolston, Robert, Day, Shane Alistair
• Primary Examiner(s): Mendez, Manuel
• APPLICATION: US 20040024364A1
• Time in patent office: 1187 Days
• Field of Search: 604/19, 604/27, 604/30, 604/31, 604/65, 604/66, 604/67, 604/131, 604/155, 128/DIG.1, 128/DIG.12, 128/DIG.13
• US Class Current: 604/65
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2005/31588 electrically driven
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/215 Tilt detection, e.g. for warning or shut-off
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/50 with microprocessors or computers
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/6018 providing set-up signals for the apparatus configuration
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/8206 battery-operated
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/14244 adapted to be carried by the patient, e.g. portable on the body
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/14566 with a replaceable reservoir for receiving a piston rod of the pump
• 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 5/31525 Dosing burettes, pipettes B01L3/02
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/31546 Electrically operated dose setting, e.g. input via touch screen or plus/minus buttons
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 128/01 Motorized syringe

Abstract

An injection device (2) having a drive mechanism (42) to expel selectively a dose of medicament from a medicament cartridge (40) through a needle arrangement is disclosed. The injection device (2) also comprises a processor to control the drive mechanism (42), a dispense button (18) to generate a signal to the processor to cause the medicament to be expelled and a priming detector to detect a predetermined orientation of the injection device. When the predetermined orientation is detected the processor will only actuate the drive mechanism (42) to expel a small amount of medicament.

Claims

1. An injection device, comprising:

a drive mechanism to expel selectively a dose of medicament from a medicament cartridge through a needle arrangement;

a processor to control the drive mechanism;

a dispense button to generate a signal to the processor to cause the medicament to be expelled; and

a priming detector to detect a predetermined orientation of the injection device, characterised in that when the predetermined orientation is detected the processor will only actuate the drive mechanism to expel a small amount of medicament.

2. An injection device according to claim 1, comprising:

a prime button to generate a signal to actuate the drive mechanism to expel the small amount of medicament.