Re-useable injector device for syringe
AssigneeTeva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.
InventorToby Cowe
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An injector device includes an injector body that receives a syringe; and an injection assembly being configured to dispense medicament from the syringe in a dispensation step. Certain types of injector devices include a sudden completion indicator that indicates when the injection is completed. Certain types of injector devices are configured to dispense two different medicament formulations having different viscosities from syringes without making any changes to the injector devices other than to switch out the syringes. Certain types of injector devices include safety arrangements that inhibit firing of the injector device until front and rear housing assemblies are disposed in predetermined rotational and axial positions relative to each other.
Claims30
An injector device configured to receive and hold a syringe loaded within the injector device, the syringe having a needle that protrudes from the injector device during injection, the injector device comprising:
- (a) a first half assembly defining a longitudinal axis extending between first and second ends, the first half assembly including:
- i) a housing,
- ii) a depth adjuster coupled to the housing to rotate about the longitudinal axis of the first half assembly, the depth adjuster defining an abutment surface that contacts an injection site during injection, the depth adjuster being rotatable between rotational positions that correspond with respective needle protrusion distances of the syringe,
- iii) a syringe carrier disposed at the second end of the first half assembly, the syringe carrier being movable relative to the housing between first and second positions, the syringe carrier defining a through-passage,
- iv) a syringe spring biasing the syringe carrier to the second position, and
- v) a syringe damper including a resilient gasket ring disposed at the through-passage of the syringe carrier, the syringe damper being carried by the syringe carrier when the syringe carrier moves between the first and second positions;
- and
- (b) a second half assembly extending along a longitudinal axis between first and second ends, wherein the first end of the second half assembly rotatably mounts to the second end of the first half assembly, the second half assembly including:
- i) a rear outer cover defining an interior,
- ii) an inner body disposed within the rear outer cover, the inner body being movable relative to the rear outer cover between an injector disabled position and an injector enabled position, the inner body having a forwardly-extending arm configured to engage a portion of the first half assembly, wherein the inner body moves from the injector disabled position to the injector enabled position when the injector device is pressed against the injection site,
- iii) a plunger ram movable within the body along the longitudinal axis of the second half assembly between cocked and bottomed-out positions,
- iv) a main spring biasing the plunger ram towards the bottomed-out position, and
- v) a firing button mounted to the rear outer cover, the firing button having an undepressed position and a depressed position, the firing button being biased towards the undepressed position, the firing button being configured to release the plunger ram from the cocked position when pressed to the depressed position while the inner body is disposed in the enabled position, thereby allowing the main spring to drive the plunger ram to the bottomed-out position;
- and
- wherein the released plunger ram pushes against the syringe, thereby pushing the syringe carrier from the second position to the first position, wherein the released plunger ram actuates the syringe when the syringe carrier is in the first position.
An injector device configured to receive and hold a syringe loaded with a medicament formulation, the syringe including an ampoule, a needle, and a syringe plunger, the needle extending from a front of the ampoule and the syringe plunger extending from a rear of the ampoule, the needle protruding from a front of the injector device during injection, the injector device comprising:
- (a) a syringe assembly including:
- i) a depth adjustment assembly controlling a distance the needle protrudes from the front of the injector device during injection,
- ii) a syringe carrier movable relative to the depth adjustment assembly between a forward position and a rearward position, and wherein the needle of the syringe is fully disposed within the injector device when the syringe carrier is disposed in the rearward position, and
- iii) a compression spring biasing the syringe carrier to the rearward position;
- (b) an injection assembly including:
- i) a firing button having an undepressed position and a depressed position,
- ii) a plunger ram configured to move between a cocked position and a bottomed-out position, the plunger ram being retained at the cocked position until released by the firing button, and
- iii) a main spring biasing the plunger ram towards the bottomed-out position, wherein the main spring drives the syringe carrier from the rearward position to the forward position via the plunger ram, and wherein the main spring drives the syringe plunger within the ampoule of the syringe after the syringe carrier is in the forward position to dispense the medicament formulation held by the syringe;
- and
- (c) a safety arrangement configured to selectively inhibit release of the plunger ram by the firing button, the safety arrangement including:
- i) a rear outer cover to which the firing button is mounted, and
- ii) an inner body disposed within the rear outer cover and around the plunger ram, wherein the inner body moves from an injector disabled position to an injector enabled position when the injector body is pressed against an injection site, release of the plunger ram by the firing button is restrained when the inner body is in the injector disabled position, and release of the plunger ram by the firing button is enabled when the inner body is in the injector enabled position.
A method of injecting a dosage of a medicament formulation including Glatiramer acetate from a syringe loaded within an injector device, the syringe having a needle, the injector device including a first half assembly and a second half assembly, the second half assembly including a rear outer cover, a plunger ram disposed within the rear outer cover, a firing button carried by the rear outer cover, and an inner body disposed within the rear outer cover and fully disposed within the injector device, the inner body being movable within the rear outer cover, the method comprising:
- inserting a front end of the first half assembly into a front end of the second half assembly to push the plunger ram to a cocked position;
- inserting a prefilled syringe at the first half assembly;
- assembling the injector device by rotatably coupling a rear of the first half assembly to the front of the second half assembly;
- moving the inner body relative to the firing button by pressing an abutment end of the injector device against an injection site;
- actuating the firing button to release a plunger ram biased towards the syringe and thereby inject the dosage at the injection site.
The method of claim 29, wherein moving the inner body relative to the firing button comprises moving the inner body closer to the firing button.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.