1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a liquid administration device that can help increase safety after its use.
2. Background Art
Prefilled syringes, which are filled with a liquid preparation in an aseptic manner and capable of administering the liquid preparation, are known (see JP 2005-319118 A). The prefilled syringe disclosed in JP 2005-319118 A includes a syringe outer cylinder, a gasket, the liquid preparation, and a plunger. The syringe outer cylinder has an opening from which the liquid preparation discharges. The gasket can slide within the syringe outer cylinder. The space surrounded by the syringe outer cylinder and the gasket is filled with the liquid preparation. The plunger is coupled to the base end side of the gasket and discharges the liquid preparation from the opening by pressing the gasket toward the tip direction. In this prefilled syringe, the opening of the syringe outer cylinder is sealed liquid-tightly with a cap in an unused state. When the liquid preparation is administered using the prefilled syringe, first, the cap is removed from the opening of the syringe outer cylinder, and then, an injection needle is mounted on the opening from which the cap is removed. Next, a living body is punctured with the injection needle, and pressing operation by the plunger is performed in this punctured state. As a result, the liquid preparation is discharged from the opening by the gasket, thus, the liquid preparation can be administered to the living body though the injection needle.
However, generally the pressing operation of the plunger of the prefilled syringe can be performed in an arbitrary timing of a user once the cap is removed. Therefore, there may have been a problem, in which the pressing operation of the plunger is performed erroneously before the living body is punctured with the injection needle. In this case, the liquid preparation leaks from the injection needle unintentionally, or it has been sometimes difficult to administer a sufficient amount of the liquid preparation to the living body since the liquid preparation is insufficient due to the leakage.
One object of certain embodiments of the present invention is to provide a liquid administration device which can inhibit an operation member from operating erroneously.
Such an object is achieved by certain embodiments of the present invention, as presented in descriptions (1) to (7) below.
(2) The liquid administration device described in the above (1), wherein
(3) The liquid administration device described in the above (1) or (2), wherein
(4) The liquid administration device described in any one of the above (1) to (3), wherein
(5) The liquid administration device described in the above (4), wherein
(6) The liquid administration device described in the above (5), wherein
(7) The liquid administration device described in the above (6), wherein
According to certain embodiments of the present invention, it is possible to reliably switch enabling/disabling of pressing operation by the operation member, according to the position of the cover member. Therefore, the operation member can be reliably prevented from operating erroneously when the operation of the operation member is desired to be restricted.
In addition, since the movement of the operation member is reliably restricted until the cover member is moved from a first position to a second position, increase in inner pressure of the liquid within the cylindrical body is prevented during this time.
Hereinafter, a liquid administration device of a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.
Each of
The liquid administration device 10 shown in
The liquid administration device 10 includes an inner cylinder (cylindrical body) 1, a puncture needle 50, a gasket 3, an operation member 11, a restricting member 4, a cover member 6, and a coil spring 60 as a biasing means. The puncture needle 50 includes a double ended needle 2 and a support member 9. The gasket 3 can slide within the inner cylinder 1. The operation member 11 is coupled to the base end side of the gasket 3. The restricting member 4 restricts operation of the operation member 11. The cover member 6 is arranged at the outer peripheral side of the inner cylinder 1. The coil spring 60 biases the cover member 6.
As shown in
The bottom part 12 has a mortar shape. An opening part 121, through which the liquid passes, is formed at center of the bottom part 12.
The side wall 13 has a cylindrical shape.
In addition, the inner cylinder 1 has a sealing member (sealing part) 15, which seals the opening part 121 of the inner cylinder body 14 liquid-tightly, and a fixing member 16, which fixes the sealing member 15 from its tip side.
The sealing member 15 is a disk-shaped elastic piece, and a ring-shaped recessed part 151 is formed on its base end surface. A ring-shaped protruded part 122, which is formed protrudedly on the opening part 121 of the inner cylinder body 14, can fit liquid-tightly to this recessed part 151. As a result, the sealing member 15 is attached to the opening part 121 of the inner cylinder body 14 and can seal the opening part 121 liquid-tightly.
The fixing member 16 is a ring-shaped member. Then, this fixing member 16 fits to the sealing member 15 from its outer peripheral side, and holds the sealing member 15 between the fixing member 16 and the protruded part 122. Thus, the sealing member 15 can be reliably fixed to the inner cylinder body 14. As a result, removal of the sealing member 15 from the inner cylinder body 14 is reliably prevented. The method by bonding or welding may also be used as a method to fix the fixing member 16.
In addition, a constituent material for the inner cylinder body 14, the fixing member 16, the cover member 6, the support member 9, the operation member 11, and the restricting member 4 are not particularly limited. Examples include various types of resins such as polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene, polypropylene, cyclic polyolefins, polystyrene, poly(4-methylpentene-1), polycarbonates, acrylic resins, acryl nitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer, polyesters such as polyethylene terephthalate and polyethylene naphthalate, butadiene-styrene copolymer, and polyamides (e.g., nylon 6, nylon 6-6, nylon 6-10 and nylon 12). Of these, it is preferred to use resins such as polypropylene, cyclic polyolefins, polyesters and poly-(4-methylpentene-1) in view of the ease in molding.
In addition, an elastic material included in the sealing member 15 and the gasket 3 is not particularly limited. Examples include various rubber materials such as natural rubber, butyl rubber, isoprene rubber, butadiene rubber, styrene-butadiene rubber, silicone rubber, various types of thermoplastic elastomers, such as polyurethane, polyester, polyamide, olefin, and styrene elastomers, or elastic materials such as mixtures thereof.
The puncture needle 50 is arranged at the tip side of the inner cylinder 1. The puncture needle 50 includes the double ended needle 2 and the support member 9.
The double ended needle 2 is a hollow needle tube, which has a sharp tip side needle tip (needle tip) 21 at the tip and a sharp base end side needle tip 23 also at the base end. In this double ended needle 2, the living body B can be punctured with the tip side needle tip 21 and the sealing member 15 of the inner cylinder 1 can be pierced with the base end side needle tip 23.
A lumen part (hollow part) of the double ended needle 2 is communicating with the inner cylinder 1, in a state where the base end side needle tip 23 is piercing the sealing member 15 of the inner cylinder 1, and functions as a flow path 22, through which the liquid Q from the inner cylinder 1 passes. Then, the liquid Q is injected into the living body B through the flow path 22, in a state where the living body B is punctured to a predetermined depth from the skin with the tip side needle tip 21.
A constituent material for the double ended needle 2 is not particularly limited, and for example, metallic materials such as stainless steel, aluminum or aluminum alloys, and titanium or titanium alloys are raised.
The double ended needle 2 with such a configuration is attached to the inner cylinder 1 through the support member 9. The support member 9 movably supports the double ended needle 2 relative to the inner cylinder 1 along its center axis direction. This support member 9 includes a disk-shaped fixing part (support part) 91 and a wall part 92 erected toward the base end direction from the edge of the fixing part 91.
The fixing part 91 can support and fix the double ended needle 2 at its center. The part supported by the fixing part 91 of the double ended needle 2 is in midway in the longitudinal direction of the double ended needle 2.
The wall part 92 is a ring-shaped part along the edge of the fixing part 91. As shown in
As described above, the puncture needle 50 is movably supported relative to the inner cylinder 1 along the center axis direction through the support member 9. As a result, the puncture needle 50 can take a state where the base end side needle tip 23 is separated from (or not pierced) the sealing member 15 of the inner cylinder 1 as shown in
In the separated state, each of engagement parts 921 is engaged with the first engagement part 123, and in the pierced state, each of engagement parts 921 is engaged with each of engagement parts 921.
The gasket 3 is slidably stored along the axis direction of the inner cylinder 1. The space, surrounded by this gasket 3 and the inner cylinder 1, is preliminarily filled with the liquid Q. The gasket 3 moves toward the tip direction, so that the liquid Q in the inner cylinder 1 can be pushed out from the double ended needle 2, which is communicating with the inner cylinder 1.
An outer shape of this gasket 3 is disk-shaped, and two protruded parts 31 and 32 are protrudedly formed at its outer peripheral part. The protruded parts 31 and 32 are separated along the axis direction of the gasket 3. Each of protruded parts 31 and 32 is ring-shaped along the circumferential direction of the gasket 3, and the outer diameter thereof, in a natural state where external force is not given, is slightly larger than the inner diameter of the inner cylinder 1. As a result, each of protruded parts 31 and 32 can slide while closely in contact with an inner peripheral part 133 of the side wall 13 of the inner cylinder 1. Thus, it is possible to reliably retain the liquid-tightness and improve slidability.
At a base end surface of the gasket 3, in which the recessed part 33 to be coupled is opened, the tip of a plunger 82 of the operation member 11 is inserted (fitted).
The operation member 11 is a member to perform the pressing operation (discharging operation) to discharge the liquid Q from the double ended needle 2 by pressing the gasket 3 toward the tip direction. The operation member 11 has an operation member body 8 to be coupled to the gasket 3, and a holding member (holding part) 7 to be held when the pressing operation is performed.
As shown in
At the end side of the top board 81, a plurality of claw parts 83, which is formed toward the tip direction from the top board 81, is arranged. Then, each of claw parts 83 is engaged with a rib 711, which is protrudedly formed in a ring shape along the circumferential direction at an outer peripheral part 71 of the cylindrically-shaped holding member 7. As a result, the operation member body 8 and the holding member 7 are fixed to each other (see
As shown in
The cover member 6 can move to a first position (see
This cover member 6 is biased toward the direction of moving from the second position to the first position (third position) by biasing force of the coil spring 60.
As shown in
A constituent material of the coil spring 60 is not particularly limited. For example, the metallic material such as stainless steel can be used.
In addition, the restricting member 4 can take a pressing operation restricting state (see
Moreover, the restricting member 4 can take a first movement possible state (see
Hereinafter, the configuration to take these states will be described.
As shown in
In addition, at the outer peripheral part of the restricting member 4, the rib 43 is protruded in midway in its axis direction. The rib 43 is formed to be ring-shaped along its circumferential direction of the outer peripheral part. Then, a plurality (two in the present embodiment) of outer protrusion parts (outer follower part) 44 is formed on this rib 43. The plurality of outer protrusion parts 44 becomes an outer slider part positioned outside compared with the inner protrusion part 42, and protrudes toward outside. These outer protrusion parts 44 are arranged at equal intervals along the circumferential direction of the rib 43 (outer peripheral part of the restricting member 4).
As shown in
Although the number of formation of the inner protrusion part 42 and the inner groove part 84 may be one, it is preferable to be plural. As a result, the restricting member 4 can stably rotate.
Since the configuration of each of inner groove parts 84 is the same, one inner groove part 84 will be described as a representative.
The inner groove part 84 includes an inner longitudinal groove (longitudinal direction rail) 841, an inner lateral groove (lateral direction rail) 842, and an inner inclined groove 843.
The inner longitudinal groove 841 is formed toward the same direction as an operation direction during the pressing operation by the operation member 11, that is, along the axis direction (longitudinal direction) of the plunger 82.
The inner lateral groove 842 is formed toward the direction perpendicular to the operation direction during the pressing operation, that is, along the circumferential direction of the plunger 82. This inner lateral groove 842 intersects with, that is, communicates with (continues to) the middle in the longitudinal direction of the inner longitudinal groove 841.
The inner inclined groove 843 is formed along the direction inclined to the axis direction of the plunger 82. The tip of this inner inclined groove 843 intersects with the base end of the inner longitudinal groove 841.
The inner lateral grooves 842 of the inner groove part 84 adjacent to each other communicate with each other, and four inner lateral grooves 842 of the inner groove part 84 form a ring-shaped groove as a whole.
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
Although the number of formation of the outer protrusion part 44 and the outer groove part 61 may be one, it is preferable to be plural as with the present embodiment. As a result, the restricting member 4 can more stably rotate combined with the plural formation of the inner protrusion part 42 and the plural formation of the inner groove part 84.
Since the configuration of each of outer groove parts 61 is the same, one outer groove part 61 will be described as a representative.
The outer groove part 61 includes a first outer longitudinal groove (first outer longitudinal direction rail) 611, a second outer longitudinal groove (second outer longitudinal direction rail) 612, a third outer longitudinal groove 613, a first outer inclined groove (outer inclined rail) 614, a second outer inclined groove 615, an outer lateral groove (outer lateral direction rail) 616, and an outer engagement part 617. Each of first outer longitudinal groove 611 to outer lateral groove 616 is a through hole, which penetrates through the inner peripheral part into the outer peripheral part of the cover member 6, that is, through the wall part of the cylindrically-shaped cover member 6.
The first outer longitudinal groove 611 is formed toward the same direction as the operation direction during the pressing operation by the operation member 11, that is, along the axis direction of the plunger 82.
The second outer longitudinal groove 612 is formed in the position being separated relative to the first outer longitudinal groove 611 along the circumferential direction of the plunger 82, toward the opposite direction to the operation direction during the pressing operation, that is, in parallel with the first outer longitudinal groove 611.
The third outer longitudinal groove 613 is formed between the first outer longitudinal groove 611 and the second outer longitudinal groove 612, toward the opposite direction to the operation direction during the pressing operation.
The first outer inclined groove 614 is formed between the first outer longitudinal groove 611 and the third outer longitudinal groove 613, along the direction inclined to the operation direction during the pressing operation. The tip of this first outer inclined groove 614 intersects with the tip of the third outer longitudinal groove 613, and the base end of this first outer inclined groove 614 intersects with the tip of the first outer longitudinal groove 611.
The second outer inclined groove 615 is formed along the direction inclined to the operation direction during the pressing operation, and the tip thereof intersects with the based end of the first outer longitudinal groove 611.
The outer lateral groove 616 is formed between the second outer longitudinal groove 612 and the third outer longitudinal groove 613, along the direction perpendicular to the operation direction during the pressing operation. One end of this outer lateral groove 616 intersects with the base end of the second outer longitudinal groove 612, and the other end of this outer lateral groove 616 intersects with the tip of the third outer longitudinal groove 613 and the tip of the first outer inclined groove 614.
The outer engagement part 617 is the elastic piece configured by a part of the wall part of the cover member 6, which defines the second outer longitudinal groove 612. This outer engagement part 617 is arranged at the base end of the second outer longitudinal groove 612, and can be engaged with the outer protrusion part 44 from its tip side when the cover member 6 returns to the first position (see
As shown in
In addition, the restricting member 4 can rotate when the outer protrusion part 44 moves in the first outer inclined groove 614. As described above, by this rotation, the inner protrusion part 42 can move from the inner lateral groove 842 to the inner longitudinal groove 841, and thus the pressing operation possible state, in which the pressing operation by the operation member 11 can be performed, is realized.
As shown in
In addition, as shown in
As shown in
The outer groove part 61 is a through hole as described above, and the outer protrusion part 44 can be exposed. As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
When the cover member 6 is in the first position, each of inner protrusion parts 45 is engaged with each of step parts 922 from its base end side (see “inner protrusion part 45” shown in a solid line in
Then, by rotating the restricting member 4 described above from the puncture needle movement regulating state, the inner protrusion part 45 is separated (see “inner protrusion part 45” shown in a two-dot chain line in
Next, the usage of the liquid administration device 10 and the operation state when in use will be described with reference to
[1] The liquid administration device 10 in an unused state (initial state) as shown in
In addition, as shown in
In addition, each of inner protrusion parts 42 is positioned in the inner lateral groove 842 of the plunger 82 of the operation member 11, and the restricting member 4 is in the pressing operation restricting state relative to the operation member 11. As a result, the pressing operation by the operation member 11 is restricted (made impossible).
Moreover, each of outer protrusion parts 44 is positioned in the second outer inclined groove 615, and the restricting member 4 is in the movement possible state relative to the cover member 6.
[2] Next, the holding member 7 of the operation member 11 of the liquid administration device 10 in the unused state is held. As shown in
[3] When the operation member 11 is pressed further toward the tip direction from the state shown in
In addition, with the movement of the cover member 6, the tip wall part 63 of the cover member 6 starts to press the support member 9 of the puncture needle 50 toward the base end direction (see
[4] When the operation member 11 is continued to be pressed toward the tip direction from the state shown in
At this time, the tip wall part 63 of the cover member 6 further presses the support member 9 of the puncture needle 50 toward the base end direction. As a result, the sealing member 15 of the inner cylinder 1 can be punctured with the base end side needle tip 23 of the double ended needle 2, and thus the double ended needle 2, which has punctured the living body B, is communicated with the inner cylinder 1 (see
[5] Moreover, when the operation member 11 is further continued to be pressed toward the tip direction from the state shown in
As a result, administration of the liquid Q is completed.
The inner protrusion part 42 proceeds in the inner inclined groove 843, so that the restricting member 4 rotates. As a result, the outer protrusion part 44 proceeds in the outer lateral groove 616 up to the second outer longitudinal groove 612 (see
[6] Next, as shown in
At this time, the outer protrusion part 44 can be engaged with the outer engagement part 617, and thus the restricting member 4 is made in the movement restricting state relative to the cover member 6. As a result, the cover member 6 is reliably restricted to move back to the second position, and erroneous puncturing by the tip side needle tip 21 is prevented.
In this manner, in the liquid administration device 10, the liquid Q is administered after the living body B is punctured. That is, the liquid administration device 10 can be used in the order “puncturing”, “administration”. Therefore, the pressing operation of discharging the liquid Q by the operation member 11 can be reliably prevented from being performed erroneously, before the living body B is punctured.
In the liquid administration device 10, the administration can be stopped during administration of the liquid Q. In this case, when the liquid administration device 10 is separated from the living body B, the cover member 6 is biased toward the tip direction by the biasing force of the coil spring 60. As a result, the outer protrusion part 44 can proceed in the third outer longitudinal groove 613 and return to the first position.
Although an embodiment of a liquid administration device has been described above, with reference to the figures, the present invention is not limited thereto. Each part configuring the liquid administration device can be replaced by the one having a configuration which can exhibit the equivalent function. Further, additional components may be added.
Although in the above-described embodiment, the puncture needle is the one having the needle tube being the double ended needle, the puncture needle is not limited thereto. The puncture needle may be the one having a needle tube without the base end side needle tip. In this case, the needle tube is preliminarily (already in the unused state) communicated with an inner cylinder.
In addition, in the above-described embodiment, the inner protrusion part is formed on the restricting member out of the operation member and the restricting member, and the inner groove part, into which the inner protrusion part is inserted, is formed on the plunger of the operation member. The invention of the present application is not limited thereto, and the inner protrusion part may be formed on the plunger of the operation member, and the inner groove part may be formed on the restricting member.
In the above-described embodiment, the outer groove part is formed on the restricting member out of the restricting member and the cover member, and the outer groove part, into which the outer protrusion part is inserted, is formed on the cover member. The invention of the present application is not limited thereto, and the outer protrusion part may be formed on the cover member, and the outer groove part may be formed on the restricting member.
In addition, in the outer groove part, the third outer longitudinal groove may be omitted.
In the above described embodiment, the explanation has been made with the restricting member having a cylindrical shape, the cylindrical shape may be short in the height direction or may be disk-shaped (doughnut-shaped) having a hole substantially in the center. Therefore, the concept of the “cylindrical shape” in the explanation of the restricting member herein includes the disk shape.
In addition, although each of the outer rail part and the inner rail part is configured by the groove in the above-described embodiment, the present invention is not limited thereto as long as the outer slider part and the inner slider part are slidable along the rail. For example, each of the outer rail part and the inner rail part may be configured by a protrusion (rib) or a step.
A liquid administration device of the present invention includes: a cylindrically-shaped cylindrical body configured to be filled with liquid in its inside; a needle tube configured to have a tip side needle tip at least at the tip out of the tip and the base end, to be provided at the tip side of the cylindrical body, and to be communicable with the cylindrical body; a gasket configured to be capable of sliding within the cylindrical body; an operation member configured to be coupled to the base end side of the gasket and to perform pressing operation to discharge the liquid from the needle tube by pressing the gasket toward the tip direction; a restricting member configured to be arranged at the outer peripheral side of the cylindrical body, and to be capable of restricting the pressing operation; and a cover member configured to be capable of moving to a first position, in which at least the tip side needle tip of the needle tube is covered, and to a second position, retreated to the base end direction from the first position, in which the tip side needle tip is exposed, wherein an inner protrusion part is formed protrudedly on one member out of the operation member and the restricting member, and an inner groove part, into which the inner protrusion part is inserted, is formed on the other member, the inner groove part having an inner longitudinal groove formed in the same direction as an operation direction during the pressing operation, and an inner lateral groove communicating with the inner longitudinal groove and formed in the direction perpendicular to the operation direction; when the cover member is in the first position, the inner protrusion part is positioned in the inner lateral groove and restricts the pressing operation, and when the cover member moves from the first position to the second position, the inner protrusion part moves from the inner lateral groove to the inner longitudinal groove in conjunction with the movement, thereby the pressing operation is made possible. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the operation member from operating erroneously, when the operation of the operation member is desired to be restricted. In addition, since the movement of the operation member is reliably restricted until the cover member is moved from a first position to a second position, increase in inner pressure of the liquid within the cylindrical body is prevented during this time.
This application is a continuation application filed under 35 U.S.C. 111(a) claiming benefit under 35 U.S.C. §§120 and 365(c) of PCT International Application No. PCT/JP2012/068367, filed on Jul. 19, 2012, the contents of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | PCT/JP2012/068367 | Jul 2012 | US |
Child | 14593090 | US |