ASSEMBLY FOR STORING INJECTION MEDICAMENTSThis invention relates to an assembly for storing medicaments, and particularly to a single assembly having two compartments for storing separately two injection medicaments and pierceable wall portions through which the medicaments can be taken out by a syringe needle.
It is known that a powdered medicament used for hypodermic medication is stored in a small glass bottle which is sealed with a cover which can be pierced by a syringe needle and a solvent such as distilled water or the like used for dissolving the powdered medicament is stored in an ampul. When a hypodermic injection is made, the neck of the ampul is first cut off, the solvent is suctioned by a syringe and injected into the bottle containing the powdered medicament by piercing the cover of the bottle, then the bottle is shaken and the resultant solution is finally drawn into the syringe for injection.Although such bottle and ampul are advantageous for storing active water soluble medicaments which must be kept absolutely dry when stored, they have the following disadvantages: (1) when the neck of the ampul is cut off, the content in the ampul may be exposed to atmosphere from which it may be contaminated by disease germs or other undesirable substances; (2) since there are different kinds of solvents which may be distilled water, normal saline, glucose, narcotic, etc., the utilization of separate bottle and ampul for storing respectively the powdered medicament and the relative solvent may result in a misusage of solvent for a particular medicament; and (3) since several pieces such as ampuls, cutters for ampuls, powdered medicament bottles, etc., must be carried along with those who conduct treatment, it is is inconvenient for emergency use or field treatment.
An object of the invention is to provide a novel single assembly for storing separately two medicaments which must be mixed together just before injection.
Another object of the invention is to provide an assembly for storing separately two injection medicaments by which the above described disadvantages can be alleviated.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an assembly for storing two injection medicaments which permits a syringe needle to subsequently penetrate into a first medicament storing compartment after penetrating into a second medicament storing compartment without the need to be drawn out from the first medicament, thereby eliminating the possible risk of contaminating the injection medicaments Viewed from one aspect the invention providesa device for storing two injection substances whichare intended to be mixed together shortly before injection,the device comprising first and second compartments forinitially containing the respective substances andinitially sealed from one another by dividing wall, suchdividing wall comprising a pierceable portion which isarranged so that in use the substance in the firstcompartment may be drawn into a syringe via a needleinserted into such compartment, whereafter the needle maybe inserted into the second compartment by piercing said dividing wall pierceable portion for injection of saidfirst substance into the second compartment, the first and second substances thereby being mixed in the secondcompartment and the resulting mbRsre then being drawn backinto the syringe whose needle may subsequently be removedfrom the device for injection of the mixture to a patient.
It is envisaged that the needle may be inserted into the first compartment via a removable closure thereof such as an end cap, bung or the like, although in a particularly preferred embodiment the first compartment includes a further pierceable portion aligned with the first through which the needle is inserted into the first compartment.
Viewed from a further aspect the invention provides an assembly for storing separately two injection medicaments which comprises an inner container including a first bounding wall means confining a. first medicament storing compartment and having a pierceable portion to be pierced by a syringe needle, and an outer cdntainer including a second bounding wall means having a second pierceable portion to be pierced by the syringe needle.
The inner container is mounted, preferably fixedly, in the outer container, the first bounding wall means and the second bounding wall means confine therebetween a second medicament storing compartment, and the second pierceable portion in substantial alignment with and spaced apart from the first pierceable portion at a predetermined distance smaller than the length of the syringe needle so that the syringe needle can pierce the first pierceable portion after piercing the second pierceable portion, and the content in the first medicament storing compartment can be drawn into the syringe needle, then injected into the second medicament storing compartment to be mixed with the content of the second compartment and drawn into the syringe needle.
In one embodiment of the invention, the second bounding wall means includes a second bottom wall and a second cylindrical wall with a top open end which is covered by a top second cover. The second pierceable portion resides in the second bottom wall.
In another eXxdbnt of the invention, the first bounding wall means includes a first bottom wall, a first cylindrical wall having a top open end with a first top cover, and a leg means attached to the first cylindrical wall to stand on the second bottom wall so as to space the first bottom wall from the second bottom wall, wherein the first pierceable portion resides in the first bottom wall, and the second top cover abuts against the top open end of the first cylindrical wall to hold the inner container against the second bottom wall.
In still another embodiment of the invention, the first bounding wall means includes an upper cylindrical wall portion which has a top open end with an outwardly projecting top flange and which contacts with the inner periphery of the second cylindrical wall, wherein the top flange of the upper cylindrical wall portion is seated on the top edge of the second cylindrical wall, the top open end of the upper cylindrical wall is covered by the second top cover. A lower cylindrical wall portion is connected to the upper cylindrical wall portion and smaller in crosssection than the upper cylindrical wall portion, and a first bottom wall is connected to and closing the lower cylindrical, wall portion. The first pierceable portion resides in the first bottom wall.
In still another embodiment of the invention, the first bounding wall means includes an outer cylindrical wall in contact with the inner periphery of the second cylindrical wall and having a bottom open end and a top open end which is adjacent to the top edge of the second cylindrical wall and covered by the second top cover, and an inner cylindrical wall spaced from the outer cylindrical wall and having an inner top wall which bears the first pierceable portion and which is connected to the inner cylindrical wall, and a bottom open end connected to the bottom open end of the outer cylindrical wall.. The outer and inner cylindrical walls confine the first medicine storing compartment, and the inner cylindrical wall and the second cylindrical wall means confine the second medicine storing compartment.The second top cover bears the second pierceable portion.
Viewed from a further aspect the inventionprovides syringe, which has an accommodating spacefor holding the assembly constructed according to theinvention.
Certain embodiments of the invention will now bedescribed, by way of example only, with reference to thedrawings, in which:Figure 1 is a sectional view of an assembly of thefirst embodiment of the present invention in whichthe inner and outer containers of the assembly areseparated;Figure 2 is a sectional view of the assembly ofFigure 1 after it is assembled;Figure 3 is a sectional view of the second embodiment of the invention;Figure 4 is a sectional view of the third embodiment of the invention; andFigures 5 and 6 are sectional views of the fourth embodiment of the invention.
Referring to Figures 1 and 2, a first embodiment of the invention is shown, having an outer container 21 which has a cylindrical wall 211, an open top and a bottom wall which has a portion 213 that can be pierced by a syringe needle. An inner container 20 is placed in the outer container 21, which also has a cylindrical wall 201 with an open top end and a bottom wall having a portion 203 that can be pierced by the syringe needle. The inner container 20 is used for accommodating a powdered medicament 11, and the compartment of the outer container 21 surrounding the inner container 20 is used for accommodating a solvent 12. At the top of the inner container 20 is provided a cap 202, and at the top of the outer container 21 is a cap 212. At the lower portion of the cylindrical wall 201 are formed two leg members 204.The length of the leg members 204 is so chosen that, when the inner container 20 is placed in the outer container 21, the bottom of the inner container 20 is spaced apart from the bottom of the outer container 21 at a distance smaller than the length the syringe needle. The top of the inner container 20 abuts against the cap 212 of the outer container 21 so that the inner container is held aginst the bottom wall 213 of the outer container 21.
When the portion 213 of the outer container is pierced by a syringe needle (not shown), the solvent 12 can be drawn into the syringe cylinder (not shown).
When the syringe needle is pushed forward to pierce the portion 203 of the inner container 20, the solvent- can be injected into the interior of the container 20 to dissolve the powdered medicament 11 and to suction the medicament solution from the container 20.
Figure 3 shows a second embodiment which includes a cylindrical outer container 31 having an open top end with an outwardly projecting top flange 315 and a bottom wall having a portion 313 that can be pierced by a syringe needle. An inner container 30 is mounted in the outer container 31 and has a lower cylindrical portion 301, an upper cylindrical portion 302 which is greater in cross-setion than the lower portion 301, and a top flange 305 at the top open end of the upper portion 302. When the inner container 30 is placed in the outer container 31, the flange 305 is seated on the flange 315, the wall of the upper cylindrical portion 302 contacts sealingly with the wall of the outer container 31, and the outer periphery of the lower cylindrical portion 301 and the inner side of the wall of the outer container 31 confine a space 304 for receiving .a solvent or a liquid medicament.At the top of the outer container is disposed a cap 312 which covers the inner container 30. The bottom of the inner container 30 has a pierceable portion 303 and the bottom of the outer container 311 has a pierceable portion 313 that is spaced apart from the portion 303 at a distance smaller that the length of the syringe needle.
Figure 4 shows a third embodiment of the invention wherein an inner container 40 includes an outer cylindrical wall 401 with a bottom open end and a top open end which has a top flange 402, an inner cylindrical wall 403 with a bottom open end, and an inner top wall with a pierceable portion 404. The bottom ends of the outer and inner cylindrical walls 401 and 403 are interconnected, thereby confining an annular space 405 between the walls 401 and 403. An outer container 41 includes a cylindrical wall 411 with a top flange 413, - and a bottom wall 412. When the inner container 40 is inserted in the outer container 41, the outer cylindrical wall 401 contacts with the wall 411 of the outer container 41, and the top flange 402 is seated on the top flange 413.The bottom ends of the outer and inner cylindrical walls 401 and 403 are at a height above the bottom wall 412 of the outer container 41. The cylindrical wall 403 cooperates with the walls 411 and 412 of the outer container 41 to confine a space 415 for accommodating a powdered medicament. At the top of the outer container 41 is disposed a cover 414 which covers the space 405. The cover 41 has a rubber cover portion 416 which can be pierced by a syringe needle.
A fourth embodiment of the invention is shown inFigures 5 and 6 in which elements which are the same as those shown in Figure 4 are represented by the same reference numerals. This embodiment is substantially similar to the third embodiment expect for that the inner container 40 differs slightly from the container 40 of the third embodiment. Unlike the inner container 40, in the container 40, the outer cylindrical wall 401 has a top wall which bears a pierceable portion 407 spaced apart from the pierceable portion 404, and the bottom ends of the outer and inner cylindrical walls 401 and 403 extend to the bottom wall 412 of the outer container 41.
The assembly in accordance with the invention may be mounted in a holding space therefor provided in an associated syringe.