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Publication Number
US-11027861-B2
Publication Date
2021-06-08
Expiration Date
Abstract
Embodiments disclosed herein include needle-free syringe and cap assemblies and filling tub systems. One embodiment of filling tub system includes a filling tub having exterior walls and a floor. The floor is formed into a plurality of sockets configured to receive and support a plurality of cap and syringe body assemblies, with each cap and syringe assembly received in a separate socket. Furthermore, each socket is configured to receive and support a syringe and cap assembly with contact only between one or more surfaces of the socket and selected outer surfaces of the cap. Methods of pre-filling a quantity of needle-free syringes are also disclosed.
Core Innovation
The described invention relates to a needle-free syringe pre-filling system that includes a filling tub system for supporting a syringe body and cap assembly. A cap engaged with the syringe body at the nozzle end includes an interior surface that forms a fluid tight seal with the syringe body at the nozzle opening. The syringe body includes a nozzle defining an opening to an interior chamber and a plunger opening at a plunger end, the plunger opening defining a second opening from the exterior of the syringe body to the interior chamber opposite the nozzle opening.
The filling tub system is configured to receive and support the cap of a needle-free syringe body and cap assembly using a plurality of perimeter socket walls extending upward above a floor. Lifting bolt holes extend through the floor such that each lifting bolt hole extends into a corresponding socket. In one configuration, each socket defines an annular protrusion that surrounds and extends into the lifting bolt hole for engaging the cap, with the socket engagement refined by contact between an annular protrusion formed in the socket surrounding the lifting bolt hole and a terminal indentation formed in the cap.
The system further includes an alternative filling tub configuration using a removable nest positioned adjacent the floor, with the plurality of perimeter socket walls formed in and extending from that nest. The disclosed filling workflow includes engaging the syringe body and cap assembly with one of the plurality of sockets, filling the interior chamber of the syringe body to a select level with an injectable substance through the plunger opening, and inserting a plunger into the plunger opening of the filled syringe body. The system description also includes optional cap engagement structures such as a skin tensioning ring, cap grip structures, flexible fins, and a sealing extension.
Claims Coverage
The document provides two independent claim categories: a structural filling tub claim and a method of filling claim. Across the independent claims, the inventive coverage focuses on two inventive features: a one-piece filling tub with lifting bolt holes extending into sockets that support a needle-free syringe cap, and a filling method that uses a syringe body and nozzle-cap fluid-tight seal with filling through a plunger opening followed by plunger insertion.
One-piece filling tub with lifting bolt holes extending into sockets
A one piece filling tub comprising a plurality of exterior tub walls and a floor; a plurality of lifting bolt holes extending through the floor, wherein each lifting bolt hole provides for a lifting bolt to extend through the floor; and a plurality of perimeter socket walls extending upward above the floor, wherein each perimeter socket wall defines a socket configured to receive and support a cap of a needle-free syringe body and cap assembly, and wherein each one of the lifting bolt holes extends into a corresponding socket.
Method of filling a needle-free syringe using cap fluid-tight seal and plunger-opening filling
Providing a syringe body and cap assembly comprising a syringe body with a nozzle defining an opening from the exterior to an interior chamber and a plunger opening located opposite the nozzle opening, and a cap engaged with the syringe body at the nozzle end with an interior surface forming a fluid tight seal with the syringe body at the nozzle opening; providing a filling tub system comprising a one piece filling tub with lifting bolt holes through the floor and perimeter socket walls defining sockets that receive and support the cap and where each lifting bolt hole extends into a corresponding socket; engaging the syringe body and cap assembly with one of the plurality of sockets; filling the interior chamber of the syringe body to a select level with an injectable substance through the plunger opening; and inserting a plunger into the plunger opening of the filled syringe body.
Overall, claim coverage ties the needle-free syringe nozzle-cap fluid-tight seal and opposite plunger opening to a filling tub that supports the cap using sockets aligned with lifting bolt holes, thereby defining both the structural tooling and the filling sequence.
Stated Advantages
Documented Applications
No documented applications found
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