Claims
- 1. An implanter for implanting an implant in an animate being, comprising:
- a housing having a forward end and a rearward end;
- a hollow injection needle projecting from said forward end of said housing and having an inner end portion mounted in said forward end of said housing and a tip end remote from said housing, said needle being adapted to contain an implant in sliding relationship therein and to facilitate ejecting the implant from said needle;
- a plunger movably mounted in said housing and having a forward end portion engageable through said inner end of said hollow needle for abutting relationship against an implant in said needle;
- plunger spring means in said housing for resiliently urging at least the forward end of said plunger through at least part of said hollow needle; and
- releasable locking means comprising a locking groove in said plunger, a locking arm engageable with said locking groove for retaining said plunger against the force of said plunger spring means in a position where said forward end of said plunger extends in said inner end portion of said hollow needle for a predetermined distance, a pressure member pivotally mounted at said forward end of said housing by a pivot pin extending in said housing transversely to the longitudinal direction of said hollow needle and connected to said locking arm, and a locking spring between said forward end of said housing and said pressure member for urging said locking arm into engagement in said groove of said plunger, so that when said hollow needle is inserted into a body of an animate being to a predetermined depth said pressure member abuts said body of said animate being and is pressed against the force of said locking spring to pivot said pressure member and said locking arm about said pivot pin and disengage said locking arm from said locking groove in said plunger whereby said plunger spring means urges said plunger against said implant for retaining said implant in said body at said predetermined depth when said injection needle is retracted from said body.
- 2. The implanter as claimed in claim 1 and further comprising:
- a plunger spring support member on said rearward end of said housing;
- shoulder means on said plunger between said locking groove and said support member; and
- said plunger spring being mounted between said plunger spring support member and said shoulder means.
- 3. The implanter as claimed in claim 2 wherein:
- said housing has a hollow interior portion;
- said plunger, shoulder means and plunger spring means are within said hollow interior portion of said housing; and
- said plunger spring support member comprises a closing member for closing said hollow interior portion of said housing at said rearward end thereof.
- 4. The implanter as claimed in claim 1 and further comprising:
- a cap member releasably attachable to said housing for enclosing and protecting said hollow injection needle when not in use; and
- a disinfectant in said cap when mounted on said housing.
- 5. The implanter as claimed in claim 2 and further comprising:
- a cap member releasably attachable to said housing for enclosing and protecting said hollow injection needle when not in use; and
- disinfectant in said cap when mounted on said housing.
- 6. The implanter as claimed in claim 3 and further comprising:
- a cap member releasably attachable to said housing for enclosing and protecting said hollow injection needle when not in use; and
- a disinfectant in said cap when mounted on said housing.
- 7. The implanter as claimed in claim 1 wherein:
- a locking spring chamber is provided in said housing; and
- said locking spring is mounted in said spring chamber and resiliently urges said pressure member a predetermined distance outwardly from said forward end of said housing in the direction of said tip end of said injection needle.
- 8. An implanter for implanting an implant in an animate being, comprising:
- a housing having a forward end and a rearward end;
- a hollow injection needle projecting from said forward end of said housing and having an inner end portion mounted in said forward end of said housing and a tip end remote from said housing, said needle being adapted to contain an implant in sliding relationship therein to facilitate ejecting the implant from said needle;
- a plunger movably mounted in said housing and having a forward end engageable through said inner end portion of said hollow needle for abutting relationship against an implant in said needle;
- plunger spring means in said housing for resiliently urging at least the forward end of said plunger through at least part of said hollow needle; and
- releasable locking means comprising a locking arm engageable with said plunger for releasably retaining said plunger against the force of said plunger spring means in a position where said plunger extends in said inner end of said hollow needle for a predetermined distance, and release means on said forward end of said housing cooperating with said locking arm and engageable in abutting relationship with said body of said animate being when said injection needle has been injected into said body to a predetermined depth for automatically releasing said locking arm so that said plunger is urged by said plunger spring means against an implant in said injection needle for retaining said implant in said body at said predetermined depth when said injection needle is retracted from said body;
- a forward chamber in said forward end of said housing;
- a front wall on said forward end of said housing having an opening therein for receiving said needle;
- at least one spring barb on said inner end of said injection needle extending radially outwardly from said injection needle into said forward chamber when said injection needle is mounted in said housing for releasably engaging said front wall on said forward end of said housing to prevent removal of said needle through said opening in said front wall; and
- a needle releasing member mounted on said forward end of said housing and engageable with said at least one spring barb so that pushing said needle release member against said at least one spring barb pushes said at least one spring barb against said injection needle to disengage said at least one spring barb from said front wall whereby said needle and at least one spring barb are removable from said forward end of said housing through said opening in said front wall.
- 9. The implanter as claimed in claim 8 wherein said releasable locking means further comprises:
- a locking groove in said plunger;
- said locking arm comprising an elongate locking arm in said forward end of said housing and movable in a direction parallel to said longitudinal direction of said injection needle;
- said release means comprising a pressure member movable parallel to the longitudinal direction of said hollow injection needle and connected to said locking arm;
- a first projection on said elongate locking arm engageable with said groove in said plunger in a locking position;
- a projection surface on said housing extending obliquely inwardly in the direction of said forward end of said housing; and
- a second projection on said elongate locking arm projecting in a direction opposite to said first projection and cooperatively slidably engageable with said projection surface for urging said first projection into locking engagement with said groove in said locking position, so that when said pressure member engages in abutting relationship said body of said animate being at said predetermined depth of said needle, said pressure member is pushed by said body in the direction of said housing and pushes said elongate locking arm towards said rearward end of said housing whereby said second projection slides along said projection surface allowing said first projection to move radially outwardly relative to said plunger to disengage from said groove so that said plunger spring means pushes said plunger through at least part of said injection needle for ejecting an implant from said needle into said body at said predetermined depth when said injection needle is retracted from said body.
- 10. The implanter as claimed in claim 9 and further comprising:
- pressure member spring means in said forward end of said housing for resiliently urging said pressure member a predetermined distance outwardly from said forward end of said housing in the direction of said tip end of said injection needle.
- 11. An implanter for implanting an implant in an animate being, comprising:
- a housing having a forward end and a rearward end;
- a hollow injection needle projecting from said forward end of said housing and having an inner end portion mounted in said forward end of said housing and a tip end remote from said housing, said needle being adapted to contain an implant in sliding relationship therein and to facilitate ejecting the implant from said needle;
- a plunger movably mounted in said housing and having a forward end engageable through said inner end portion of said hollow needle for abutting relationship against an implant in said needle;
- plunger spring means in said housing for resiliently urging at least the forward end of said plunger through at least part of said hollow needle; and
- releasable locking means comprising a locking groove in said plunger, an elongate locking arm movable in said housing, a first projection on said locking arm engageable with said locking groove for releasably retaining said plunger against the force of said plunger spring means in a locking position where said plunger extends in said inner end of said hollow needle for a predetermined distance, a second projection on said elongate locking arm projecting in a direction opposite to said first projection, a projection surface in said housing extending obliquely inwardly in the direction of said forward end of said housing and engageable with said second projection for urging said first projection into engagement with said locking groove when said plunger is in said locking position, and release means on said forward end of said housing comprising a pressure member movable parallel to the longitudinal direction of said needle and connected with said elongate locking arm, said pressure member being engageable in abutting relationship with a body of said animate being when said injection needle has been injected in said body to a predetermined depth for automatically releasing said second projection from a locking position with said projection surface and said first projection from said locking groove so that said plunger is urged by said plunger spring means against an implant in said injection needle for retaining said implant in said body at said predetermined depth when said injection needle is retracted from said body.
- 12. The implanter as claimed in claim 11 and further comprising:
- pressure member spring means in said forward end of said housing for resiliently urging said pressure member a predetermined distance outwardly from said forward end of said housing in the direction of said tip end of said injection needle.
- 13. The implanter as claimed in claim 11 and further comprising:
- a plunger spring support member on said rearward end of said housing;
- shoulder means on said plunger between said locking groove and said support member; and
- said plunger spring being mounted between said plunger spring support member and said shoulder means.
- 14. The implanter as claimed in claim 13 wherein:
- said housing has a hollow interior portion;
- said plunger, shoulder means and plunger spring means are within said hollow interior portion of said housing; and
- said plunger spring support member comprises a closing member for closing said hollow interior portion of said housing at said rearward end thereof.
- 15. The implanter as claimed in claim 11 and further comprising:
- a cap member releasably attachable to said housing for enclosing and protecting said hollow injection needle when not in use; and
- a disinfectant in said cap when mounted on said housing.
- 16. The implanter as claimed in claim 13 and further comprising:
- a cap member releasably attachable to said housing for enclosing and protecting said hollow injection needle when not in use; and
- a disinfectant in said cap when mounted on said housing.
- 17. The implanter as claimed in claim 14 and further comprising:
- a cap member releasably attachable to said housing for enclosing and protecting said hollow injection needle when not in use; and
- a disinfectant in said cap when mounted on said housing.
- 18. The implanter as claimed in claim 11 and further comprising:
- pressure member spring means in said forward end of said housing for resiliently urging said pressure member a predetermined distance outwardly from said forward end of said housing in the direction of said tip end of said injection needle.
- 19. The implanter as claimed in claim 13 and further comprising:
- pressure member spring means in said forward end of said housing for resiliently urging said pressure member a predetermined distance outwardly from said forward end of said housing in the direction of said tip end of said injection needle.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
8902186 |
Aug 1989 |
NLX |
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Parent Case Info
This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/573,566, filed Aug. 28, 1990 which was abandoned upon the filing hereof.
US Referenced Citations (12)
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
573566 |
Aug 1990 |
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