The present invention relates to a device and method for storing, mixing and dispensing components, comprising means for mixing a first component with a second, liquid component and for dispensing the mixture, according to the preambles of claims 1 and 15. The first component may be a powdery, granular, or porous bone replacement material or bone cement or a similar material for use in medicine or dentistry.
Devices according to the preamble of claim 1 are available on the market and generally comprise a container in which the powdery material is stored and to which the liquid component is added, the components being subsequently mixed and the mixture being dispensed by means of a piston.
The locally separated storage of at least two components may add complexity to stockkeeping and make the admixture of the smaller, liquid component problematic, e.g. due to confusion.
Further devices where the components are stored separately are known in the art, the smaller, liquid component being e.g. stored behind the piston or thrust rod of the chamber for the larger, powdery component. Arrangements of this kind generally comprise a valve that is arranged between the components and through which the liquid component may be supplied to the powdery component. The disadvantage of this solution is that no controllable transfer of the components is possible. U.S. Pat. No. 3,370,754 may be cited as an example standing for a number of references regarding this prior art.
A set for preparing and applying a tissue adhesive is known from EP-0 292 472, where in each case four syringe bodies are combined in pairs via a coupling member to form a respective unit. The coupling member comprises respective cones for receiving corresponding conical portions on the syringes. The reference only discloses a connection between two adjacent syringes, however without a valve arrangement, so that the possible applications are limited.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,402,364 discloses a dispenser for colored cosmetic compositions where a centrally arranged syringe is arranged to aspirate colors from one or another adjacent container via a screw lid having a channel in order to mix and dispense them. Such an arrangement is unsuitable for the medical field.
WO 00 35506 discloses a container for a powder and a container for a liquid for the preparation of bone cement where a coupling for vacuum is necessarily required, the connection between the two containers being basically always open and the container for the liquid being opened just before the mixing operation. However, selectively establishing a connection between the containers is not possible.
On the background of this prior art, it is the object of the present invention to provide a device and a method for storing, mixing, and dispensing components, more particularly powdery, granular, porous and liquid materials that allows a simple handling and arrangement of the containers while the components are fully separated during storage, and a simple control of the introduction of the second, liquid component into the first component, and that offers a wide range of applications such as external aspiration or introduction of a liquid into the dispensing device. The device attaining this object is defined in claims 1 and 15.
The invention will be explained in more detail hereinafter with reference to drawings of exemplary embodiments.
Alternatively, instead of a powdery material, the first component may be a liquid, granular, porous, or pasty material to which a liquid is admixed prior to dispensing. Hereinafter, however, reference is made to a powdery material by way of example, and for the sake of simplicity, the first container is designated as the powder container and the second or third container as the liquid container. Also, the dispensing devices may be commercial cartridges. Moreover, the term “mixing” here also includes the dissolution of one component in another.
Container 2 for the first component, a powdery material 27, and container 3 for the second, liquid component 28 are arranged side by side and separated by an air gap so that the risk of diffusion from one container to the other is substantially excluded. The side by side arrangement requires a connection between the liquid component and the powdery material, and means for selectively closing or opening the connection between the containers must be provided in transfer area 7. This is advantageously realized by a valve arrangement 8 as described below.
Mixing arrangement 6 is essentially composed of a mixing rod 9 that is movable back and forth in the container and provided with a turning knob 10 and a mixing member, in the present example a mixing disk 11, which is either perforated as in the present example and/or provided with peripheral cutouts or has another suitable design. Mixing disk 11 is capable of being both rotated and moved back and forth by means of the mixing rod and the turning knob in order to ensure a thorough mix of the powdery material and the liquid component.
The mixing arrangement is no longer used after the mixing operation, and therefore, as illustrated in
A mixing arrangement including a mixing rod that extends through the piston, a turning knob, and a mixing disk may also be used for other syringes or dispensing appliances without a valve arrangement.
With regard to the piston assembly for the second, liquid component, two variants are generally possible, i.e. a piston assembly having a piston 14 and thrust rod 15 or a piston assembly according to
Depending on which pair of plugs is inserted in inlet 25 of container 2 and outlet 26 of container 3, the two containers are either connected to each other or not. By removing the cap, rotating the plugs by 90° and reconnecting it by means of the bayonet lock, the connection is selectively interrupted or established.
In the illustration of
In the embodiment variant according to
In another embodiment variant according to
In an application of the arrangement under vacuum according to
In the starting position of
Based on
In
Located on the outlet side is valve assembly 73 including fastening portion 76 with bayonet coupling members 77 and rotary ring 100 whose free end is provided with a handle portion 78 and near indicator disk 76A of fastening portion 76 with a pointer 79, pointer 79 indicating the current position of the three-way valve on indicator disk 76A, for example A—B, connection between the two storage containers or A—O or B—O, connection between container A or container B and the inlet/outlet, or according to
The valve assembly may be fastened in another manner than by bayonet coupling members, e.g. by means of a rotationally secure snap-on connection that may also be provided directly on the valve body.
Near the inlet, a piston 63 is arranged in powder container 61 through which mixing arrangement 64 with mixing rod 65, turning knob 66 and mixing disk 67 passes. Liquid container 62 is provided near its inlet with a piston 68 that is displaceable toward outlet 70 by means of a separate, loose thrust rod 69.
In the application of double syringe 60 as in the preceding examples, i.e. for transferring the liquid, mixing, and dispensing, between the illustrations of
In the illustrations of
Dispensing appliance 60 according to
Also, the thrust rod and the piston end are so designed that the thrust rod can be coupled for retracting the piston by the thrust rod in order to aspirate a liquid. This coupling may e.g. be realized by providing an offset circular step having a slightly smaller diameter than the piston on the thrust rod side of the piston end, an internal groove at the piston side end of the slightly more than semicircular thrust rod being slidable thereon or releasable therefrom.
Valve assembly 73 in the form of a three-way valve is essentially composed of fastening portion 76, a valve body 81 that is secured thereto, and a rotary ring 100. Valve body 81 includes a coupling portion 106 that is insertable in the two container outlets 104 and 105 by coupling nozzles 102 and 103 and is followed on its outlet side by inlet/outlet portion 107. Coupling portion 106 is maintained in a circular groove 115 of fastening portion 76 by means of a circular collar 114.
Inlet/outlet portion 107 is provided with a bore 109 that is angled and ends at the periphery of the inlet/outlet portion. Analogously, inlets/outlets 110, 111 of coupling portion 106 of the valve body also end at the periphery, as appears most clearly in
As appears when comparing
In the position of
Inlet/outlet 101 is in the form of a Luer connector having a thread 108 and allowing the connection either of another syringe or of an outlet attachment. However, it is also possible to disconnect the valve assembly by means of the bayonet coupling and to attach another connecting part, e.g. another Luer connector 31 of common use, see
Valve assembly 73 may alternatively be used for other devices than the described ones, e.g. in a general manner as a three-way valve with a rotary ring having a partial circular internal groove for connecting two container inlets/outlets either to each other or each to a common inlet/outlet, or closing all inlets/outlets. Again, in such an embodiment, the valve assembly may be fastened in another manner than by bayonet coupling members, e.g. by means of a rotationally secure snap-on connection that may also be provided directly on the valve body, i.e. without a fastening portion.
Other valve assemblies are also possible, e.g. an automatic valve assembly or a simple rotary or flat sealing rotary valve having a turning knob with a groove, which either establish or close a connection.
On the outlet side, the larger container has an outlet flange 87 comprising the usual bayonet coupling means 88 as well as an opening 89 for receiving the outlet 90 of the smaller container. The described arrangement also applies to 1:1 containers.
Correspondingly, the same applies for a three-component syringe arrangement according to
In the illustrated exemplary embodiments, the outlet of the liquid container is inserted in opening 89A or 89B and the container is snapped in over bead 86 or 95, 96. The connection and attachment of the individual containers forming a two-, three-, or multicomponent dispensing appliance may alternatively be achieved by other means, e.g. by means of snap-on connections or the like. Also, a double syringe or double cartridge may be connected to a further separate container in this manner.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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1423/03 | Aug 2003 | CH | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/CH2004/000517 | 8/18/2004 | WO | 00 | 2/17/2006 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
WO2005/018830 | 3/3/2005 | WO | A |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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3048192 | Murphy | Aug 1962 | A |
5340364 | Ghelli et al. | Aug 1994 | A |
6402364 | Aubert et al. | Jun 2002 | B1 |
6550957 | Mizutani et al. | Apr 2003 | B2 |
7073936 | Jonsson | Jul 2006 | B1 |
7080936 | Simpson | Jul 2006 | B1 |
7175336 | Voellmicke et al. | Feb 2007 | B2 |
7524103 | McGill et al. | Apr 2009 | B2 |
20030032964 | Watkins et al. | Feb 2003 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
632579 | Sep 1936 | DE |
202 14 747 | Jan 2003 | DE |
0 292 472 | Nov 1988 | EP |
WO 9520408 | Aug 1995 | WO |
WO 0035506 | Jun 2000 | WO |
WO 0185070 | Nov 2001 | WO |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20060227653 A1 | Oct 2006 | US |