The invention relates to a filling device for a reservoir which reservoir is to be filled from a cartridge such as cartridges having rigid walls e.g. made of glass and provided with a membrane which can be penetrated by a needle for protection of the entrance.
Filling devices for reservoirs are known and it is recognized that it can be necessary to vent the container which is to be emptied for filling liquid in order to reduce the costs for filling or refilling of reservoirs.
A problem which arises when manufacturing such filling devices is how to place the venting channel in order not to hamper the filling process or to contaminate the filling liquid which will normally be some kind of medication.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,296,786 discloses a transfer device for use in mixing substances in different containers which containers each are closed by a stopper of resilient material having a puncturable diaphragm. The transfer device consists of a central body portion and a pair of aligned spikes or cannulas projecting from opposite sides of this central body portion. This device is not provided with a venting needle moving independently of the filling needle, and therefore the joined spikes or cannulas according to this document have a relatively large diameter.
The object of the invention is to provide a filling device which is easy to handle for the user, simple and non-expensive to manufacture and where the risk of breaking the venting needle during the filling process has been eliminated.
The invention concerns a filling device which comprising
According to one embodiment of the invention the unit providing the flow path between the reservoir and the cartridge when they are at their positions comprises a needle having two pointy ends. The needle can be made of any kind of material which can penetrate the membranes protecting the access to respectively the cartridge and the reservoir, and the needle could be blunt at one end and pointed at the other end.
According to one embodiment of the invention the unit providing the flow path is placed along the rotational centre of the housing.
According to the above embodiment of the invention the unit is fastened unreleasably to or is a part of a wall in the housing which wall separates the first position means adapted to receive the reservoir from the second position means adapted to receive the cartridge.
According to one embodiment of the invention the part which can rotate relative to the housing is formed as a circular plate which periphery is in proximity of or in slidable contact with walls of the housing. E.g. the circular plate can move in a track formed in the walls of the housing. The formation of a “track” prevents the circular plate from moving in a direction parallel to the rotational axis rc of the housing. Alternatively the periphery of the circular plate is provided with a track formed along the periphery which track corresponds to one or more protruding part(s) of the housing.
According to one embodiment of the invention the circular plate can be provided with a friction layer which friction layer prevents that the cartridge moves in relation to the cartridge i.e. when the cartridge is pushed into the fitted second position means of the filling device housing and the venting unit has penetrated to the inner room of the cartridge then the friction layer will reduce the risk of any displacement of the cartridge relative to the rotary part.
According to one embodiment of the invention the venting unit comprises a venting needle which venting needle provides access from outside the cartridge to the inner room of the cartridge. The venting unit (5) can further comprise a venting valve (5b) which venting valve (5b) provides a one-way passage of clean gas into a room wherefrom the venting needle (5a) is provided with clean gas. “Clean gas” is considered to be gas of a quality as defined as necessary by the user or by the manufacturer of the device. It can be sterile gas but might be gas of a more inferior quality. Normally the gas will be atmospheric air.
According to this embodiment the venting needle is attached to the rotary part providing a flow path for clean gas from one side of the rotary part to the other and the venting valve can be attached to the open end of the venting needle pointing away from the cartridge. Alternatively the venting valve can be attached to a wall of the housing proving access of clean gas from outside wall of the housing to the inside of the wall of the housing.
The invention also relates to a kit combining a cartridge filling device according to any of the claims 1-11 and a cartridge containing liquid which filling device can be either for single use and thereby permanently joined to the cartridge or for multiple use and thereby can be connected and disconnected to the cartridge.
The invention is explained in greater detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein two preferred embodiments of the invention are shown.
The embodiment of the reservoir filling device of
The embodiment of the filling device further comprises a filling needle 4 which filing needle 4 provides a flow path for liquid flowing from the cartridge 3 to the reservoir 2. Both the cartridge 3 and the reservoir are in the embodiments of
The filling device is also provided with a rotary part 7 which according to this embodiment is formed as a turntable provided with a folding at the periphery. The folding provides a contact surface which can slide along the inner surface of the housing 1 wall. The rotary part 7 can rotate around the filling needle 4 which according to this embodiment is stationary relative to the housing 1.
The rotary part 7 is prevented from moving in the longitudinal direction by one or more protruding parts 12 preventing the rotary part 7 from moving towards the cartridge and the separating wall 8 preventing the rotary part 7 from moving towards the reservoir 2.
Gas can pass from one side of the rotary part to the other through the venting needle 5 which according to this embodiment is constructed of a penetrating member 5a and a valve member 5b which two parts are joined. The penetrating member 5a is unreleasably attached to the rotary part 7 and provides a flow path for gas through the rotary part 7 and into the clean inner room 11 of the cartridge 3. The penetrating member 5a will normally be provided with a pointed end towards the cartridge in order for it to be able to cut through the membrane layer 6 protecting the entrance of the cartridge 3.
The venting valve 5b is attached to the open end of the penetrating member 5a turned towards the reservoir 2 and the valve 5b allows for gas/air to pass from the room between the rotary part 7 and the separating wall 8 into the inner room 11 of the cartridge 3 when the penetrating member 5a has penetrated the membrane 6 and been inserted into this room. The valve 5b prevents micro organisms from accessing the clean inner room 11 of the cartridge 3.
The rotary part 7 is according to this embodiment provided with one or more friction layers 9 on the side turned toward the cartridge 3. The friction layers 9 correspond to contact surfaces 13 on the cartridge 3 and when the friction layers 9 and the contact surfaces make contact the two units are “locked” relative to each other and move together.
Instead of increasing the quality of the reservoir piston 2 it can be more convenient to prevent the pressure inside the cartridge 3 to drop to low and this can be done e.g. as suggested according to the present embodiment of the filling device by letting air or other gas into the cartridge through the venting needle 5.
As in the embodiment of
The housing 1 of the filling device according to the present invention need not be cylindrical or have a round profile but it should be able to provide a close fit between the rotary part 7 and the inner surface of the housing 1 especially according to the embodiment of
The liquid contained in the cartridge will often be a kind of medication which advantageously can be continuously administrated to a patient. This medication could e.g. be insulin which can be continuously administered to patients with diabetes. In this case the cartridge 3 could be a glass ampoule containing an apportioned amount of insulin.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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PA 2008 00737 | May 2008 | DK | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/EP2009/056533 | 5/28/2009 | WO | 00 | 2/3/2011 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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61057580 | May 2008 | US |