The present invention is directed to devices and kits for dispensing liquids. More particularly, the present invention is directed to devices and kits for dispensing multiple liquids separately stored within a single container.
Analytic reference materials are used as standards in chemical analysis for determining the presence and/or quantity of a particular substance or analyte. Often, the analytic reference materials are contained in glass ampoules that are hermetically sealed. The ampoules must be broken in order to access the analytic reference materials, which are then usually withdrawn with a pipette or syringe rather than being poured. The use of ampoules can suffer from various drawbacks, including that ampoules can be difficult to open, can result in and/or contaminate a sample with shattered glass, and can be time consuming to empty, among others.
Most analytic reference materials are complex combinations containing many different chemical components. Certain analytic reference materials require multiple chemical compounds of known chemical incompatibility. Placing chemically incompatible compounds in the same ampoule causes denaturing and degradation of those compounds. The denatured compounds change an analytic reference materials' chemical composition, leading to inaccurate chemical analysis. Therefore, chemically incompatible combinations are often supplied in a kit having multiple ampoules in order to keep the materials in pristine form until use. This problem is compounded by increasingly complex analytical methods that require an increasing number of components to make up the analytic reference material, resulting in so called “mega” mixes that contain a large number of individual ampoules in an analysis kit. Each ampoule contains a single analytic reference material or a combination of chemically compatible analytic reference materials. The kits require the end user to combine the contents of the ampoules, in correct amounts, to form the final analytic reference materials. These kits suffer from various drawbacks, including the large number of ampoules which must be combined to form a standard solution. The ampoules are time consuming to combine, and are prone to end user error during combination. User error, along with chemical degradation, can lead to undesirable chromatographic peaks or other errors in the data collected from various analytical techniques.
Fluids are also sometimes stored in pre-filled syringes, but which typically contain a single liquid in each syringe. In general, two individual syringes, each with their own plunger, can be held together and directed to a single output. However, those devices are difficult to handle, are difficult to depress simultaneously, present size constraints, and cannot easily incorporate more than two syringes.
In other devices, multiple liquids are held in series within a single syringe, so that as a plunger is depressed, the liquids are released one after the other. These devices suffer from their own attendant drawbacks, including that they are not capable of releasing multiple liquids at the same time and are limited by the length of the syringe.
Devices and methods for dispensing multiple liquids not suffering from the above drawbacks would be desirable in the art.
In one exemplary embodiment, a device for dispensing liquid material includes an ampoule having at least four storage lumens, a mixing tip coupled to a distal end of the storage lumens, and an outlet lumen in fluid communication with storage lumens via the mixing tip. The at least four storage lumens extend axially along the length of an ampoule body, and the mixing tip has at least four gasket seats formed therein, each gasket seat corresponding to one of the storage lumens. The device also includes a first fluid provided in one of the storage lumens and a second fluid having a characteristic different from the first fluid provided in another of the storage lumens. Each of the storage lumens has a proximal gasket sealing the fluids from a proximal end of the ampoule and a distal gasket sealing the fluids from a distal end of the ampoule.
In another exemplary embodiment, a kit for dispensing liquid material includes a dispensing device, a first fluid provided in one of the storage lumens and a second fluid having a characteristic different from the first fluid provided in another of the storage lumens, and a plunger assembly. The dispensing device includes an ampoule having at least four storage lumens formed in an ampoule body thereof, and a mixing tip coupled to a distal end of the ampoule body. The storage lumens have a diameter from about 0.01 inches to about 0.25 inches and extend axially along the length of the ampoule body. The mixing tip has a mixing channel and a plurality of gasket seats, each gasket seat aligned with one of the storage lumens. The first and second fluids are sealed between a proximal gasket and a distal gasket slidably disposed within the storage lumens. When the distal gasket is seated in the gasket seat, the mixing channel fluidly connects the first and second fluids in the storage lumens to the outlet lumen. The plunger assembly is configured to couple to a proximal end of the ampoule of the dispensing device, and includes at least four pistons associated with, and receivable within, corresponding storage lumens.
The dispensing devices described herein include an ampoule having a plurality of lumens that act as isolated containers for analytic reference material subunits, to ensure chemically incompatible compounds composing an analytic reference material standard solution are not stored together. Exemplary embodiments are also capable of equivalently delivering the analytic reference material subunits as a single mixture at or just prior to the point of use.
The multi-lumen design of the device provides a way for keeping the components separate through the use of gaskets that can be moved from the fluid flow path during dispensing to be received in gasket seats. This allows the analytic reference material subunits to flow past the gaskets and combine in a common mixing channel, before exiting the ampoule. As a result, a single step both mixes and dispenses the analytic reference material standard solution, greatly reducing the number of steps required of the end user, and eliminating the risk of error commonly associated with multiple liquid transfers.
Embodiments of the present disclosure, in comparison to methods and products not utilizing one or more features disclosed herein, require less time for use, are less prone to user error, have a lower risk of contamination, and have a lower risk of broken glass.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following more detailed description of the preferred embodiment, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention.
It has been attempted to use like reference numbers throughout the drawings to represent like parts.
Referring to
Each individual storage lumen 120 houses an analytic reference material subunit 410 (
Although described herein primarily with respect to analytic reference materials, it will be appreciated that exemplary embodiments are contemplated for, and equally effective for use in, other applications in which two or more fluids are preferably isolated prior to mixing, but conveniently can be collectively stored and subsequently delivered to the same point of use. For example, the multilumen ampoule 100 may be used for liquid medicaments, pigments, chemical additives, and adhesives, all by way of example.
The analytic reference material subunit 410 in each individual storage lumen 120 is isolated from each of the other plurality of storage lumens 120 prior to reaching a mixing channel 126, in which the individual storage lumens 120 combine. The lumens 120 terminate at gasket seats 431, which provide space at the distal end of the storage lumens 120 to receive distal gaskets 423 as discussed subsequently in further detail with respect to
The mixing channel 126 is also in fluid communication with an outlet lumen 128. The outlet lumen 128 provides a path for the analytic reference material subunits 410 (or other contents of the ampoule 100) to leave the mixing channel 126 and exit the ampoule 100. It will be appreciated that the mixing channel 126 and outlet lumen 128 may optionally be omitted entirely, with direct expulsion of the storage lumen contents 120 directly into a separate mixing container.
A proximal end radial cross section 111, a mixing channel radial cross section 113 and a distal end radial cross section 115 are represented in
In many cases, certain chemical components used in analytic reference material solutions are chemically benign with respect to each other and may be present in the same solvent with no ill effects. In this case it is not always necessary to employ an ampoule having the same number of lumens as there are chemical compounds in the analytic reference material standard solution; the minimum number of discrete ampoule lumens is preferably greater than the smallest number of analytic reference material solution subunits necessary to minimize or eliminate unwanted component-component chemical interactions.
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The mixing channel 126, storage lumens 120 and gasket seats 431 are configured to minimize liquid dead volume following deployment of the standard solutions. In order to ensure consistent final concentrations of the mixed solutions, the mixing channel 126 is preferably designed in a symmetrical pattern so that the dead volumes of each individual solution subunit 410 retained in the ampoule are equivalent.
The proximal gaskets 421 and the distal gaskets 423 are of any suitable size, shape and construction and include any solid object that is sealably inserted and slidably disposed within the storage lumen 120. It will be appreciated that the characteristics of the proximal gaskets 421 may be the same or different from those of the distal gaskets 423 and further that the characteristics of all distal (or proximal) gaskets 423 are also not necessarily the same, for example, in the event that one storage lumen 120 has a diameter larger than that of another.
Preferably, the gaskets 421, 423 are constructed of an inert material or are otherwise treated so as not to react with the components of the analytic reference material subunits 410 they contain. Exemplary materials include semi-pliable materials having non-reactive surfaces, such as polyether ether ketone (PEEK), hard silicone, fluoropolymers, and particularly PTFE. The distal gaskets 423 are typically spherical or otherwise have a rounded surface, which can aid in the smooth transition of liquid from the storage lumens 120 to the mixing channel 126 when the distal gasket 423 is seated in the gasket seat 431.
In one embodiment, the proximal and distal gaskets 421, 423 are both made of Teflon, have a spherical shape and are slightly larger in diameter than the storage lumens 120. In this manner, the proximal gaskets 421 and distal gaskets 423 are sized with respect to the storage lumen to provide enough force on the storage lumen 120 to seal it and prevent the analytic reference material subunits 410 from leaking However, the proximal gaskets 421 and distal gaskets 423 are still slidably disposed within the storage lumens 120 to be moved when a pressure is applied, which may vary depending on a variety of factors, including the elastic modulus of the material used for the gasket and/or the ampoule body 110. For example, in one embodiment, Teflon balls having a diameter of 0.0625 inches can be used as proximal and distal gaskets 421, 423 in a storage lumen 120 having a diameter of 0.0600 inches.
It is preferred, but not required, that the entire space within the storage lumen 120 between the proximal and distal gaskets 421, 423 is completely filled with the particular analytical reference material subunit 410 and is free of air gaps or bubbles. The storage lumens 120 may be filled with the analytical reference material subunits 410 during manufacture either manually, such as by using a hand-held syringe, or through automated processing techniques.
A plunger assembly provides a mechanism by which the solution subunits 410 are expelled from the storage lumens and ultimately from the ampoule 100. Any mechanism for achieving this result may be employed. In presently preferred embodiments, the plunger assembly may be configured to use mechanical force, such as pistons or other mechanical devices, to directly contact the proximal gaskets 421 as will be described subsequently. In other embodiments, the plunger assembly may be configured to use pneumatic or hydraulic pressure.
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As the plunger plate 510 is depressed (
As the plunger plate 510 is further depressed (
In
In another embodiment (
Thus, when a dispensing device 1100 of the plunger assembly 1150 is depressed (with the ampoule 100 shown in lateral cross-section for purposes of illustration), a plunger tip portion 1116 of the plunger assembly 1150 is positioned within a plunger retaining portion 1140 of the plunger-ampoule interface dock 560. The plunger assembly 1150 has an interior portion 1111 with the working fluid 1110 provided therein. A fluid driving member 1114 is coupled to the plunger plate 510 and slidably disposed within the interior portion 1111 of the plunger assembly 1150. As the plunger plate 510 is depressed, the fluid driving member 1114 forces the working fluid 1110 through the plunger tip portion 1116 into the plunger-ampoule interface dock 560 and then into the storage lumens 120 where it contacts the proximal gaskets 421. As the plunger plate 510 is further depressed, the working fluid 1110 continues to drive the gaskets 421, 423 and the analytic reference material subunits 410, until the distal gaskets 423 are seated in the gasket seats 431 in the manner described with respect to embodiments employing a mechanical plunger assembly.
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While the invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.
This application is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/738,175, now allowed, filed Jan. 10, 2013, and entitled Dispensing Device, which claims priority to, and the benefit of, U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/652,045, filed May 25, 2012, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/652,714, filed May 29, 2012, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61652045 | May 2012 | US | |
61652714 | May 2012 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 13738175 | Jan 2013 | US |
Child | 14518320 | US |