BAYER AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT, a body corporate organised under the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany, of Leverkusen, Federal Republic of Germany-1IE 91275TABLET-ADMINISTERING DEVICE FOR SMALL ANIMALSThe invention relates to a tablet-administering device for small animals, in particular for cats, which device consists of a cylinder and a push-rod.
There are different possibilities for administering medicaments to small animals, depending on the formulation (for example ointment, tablet, powder) and the product. The medicament is mixed with the normal feed, in which respect intake of the correct amount is not guaranteed, or is administered by means of an ointment spray or given as an individual tablet. The last method is often met with great resistance, especially by cats, and the medicament is almost always spat out again.
In order to provide assistance in this connec15 tion, applicators are marketed in which the respective tablet is clamped in a forceps-like receiver at the tip of the applicator and is then deposited in the animal's mouth by means of a piston rod.
This allows only a single tablet to be admini20 stered at one time, and during an administration attempt the tablet not infrequently falls out too early because of the fact that it is lying open in the forceps.
The aim of the invention is to provide a tablet applicator permitting a simple, safe and animal-friendly administration of medicaments in tablet form to small animals, in which respect it should be possible to give a different dosage quantity depending on the body weight of the animal to be treated.
Starting from a tablet-administering device with a cylinder and a push-rod displaceable therein, this aim is achieved according to the invention in that the outletALe A 27 438 - 1 IE 91275 end of the cylinder has an annular or a discontinuously annular narrowing. The cylinder is preferably provided at the inlet side with a grip plate in order to facilitate handling of the push-rod. Furthermore, a funnel-shaped widening is advantageously provided at the inlet side of the cylinder in order to facilitate the introduction of tablets.
The cylinder is preferably filled with spherical or ellipsoid tablets or coated tablets, which are dimen10 sioned in such a way that, on the one hand, they can slide easily in the cylinder and, on the other hand, they can be ejected through the narrowing at the outlet end only after overcoming a counterforce. After inserting the applicator into the animal's mouth, it is possible for all the tablets to be administered simultaneously using one hand and by displacing the push-rod, the tablets gaining a certain momentum upon emerging from the narrowed outlet, this momentum conveying them further to the base of the tongue where they are swallowed by the animal without difficulty.
According to a particular embodiment, the pushrod has at its upper end a container for tablets or coated tablets, which container can be closed with a cover.
The following advantages are achieved with the invention:safe and simple administration of tablet-form medication for small animals;possibility of a medication dosage adapted to theLe A 27 438IE 91275 individual animal by giving several tablets in a single administration;Until they are finally deposited in the animal's mouth, the tablets are protected from moisture (saliva) and from falling out too early;the tablets are conveyed to the base of the tongue of the animal, so as to ensure acceptance, by means of additional momentum upon ejection; the tablet-administering device is made inexpen10 sively from plastic by injection-moulding;the tablet container at the end of the push-rod avoids continuously looking for the tablet packet, and the operating costs of this unit are lower.
An exemplary embodiment of the invention is illustrated in greater detail below with reference to the drawings, in which:Fig. 1 shows the cylinder of the tablet-administering device,Fig. 2 shows a section through the cylinder at its outlet end,Fig. 3 shows the cylinder push-rod andFig. 4 shows a particular embodiment of the push-rod in partial section.
In Fig. 1 the cylinder 1 consists of a cylindrical tube piece 2 with a funnel-shaped widening 3 at the inlet side. The funnel-shaped widening 3 is closed at theLe A 27 438IE 91275 top by means of a grip plate 4. At the outlet end of the cylinder 1, the internal cross-section of the tube piece 2 is narrowed (not shown). However, the annular narrowing does not need to extend over the whole periphery.
Rather, as shown in Fig. 2, it can be discontinuous and consist of lips 5 or webs. The projecting lips 5 or webs are so thin that they can be pushed out upon application of pressure.
Fig. 3 shows the push-rod 6. This consists of a 10 square profile 7 with a piston plate 8 at the lower end and a grip 9 at the upper end. Also provided at the upper end is a stop 10. The push-rod 6 is inserted into the cylinder 1 after the lower section of the tube piece 2 in the cylinder 1 has been filled with the prescribed tablet dose.
In Fig. 4 the push-rod 41 has at the upper end a container 42 which contains tablets and is closed by means of a cover 43. On the cylindrical wall 44 of the container 42 there is a product label (not shown).
In combination with the tablet-administering device described, spherical or ellipsoid tablets or coated tablets are used whose greatest diameter is smaller than the internal diameter of the tube piece 2, but greater than the diameter defined by the annular narrowing 5. The annular narrowing 5 thus prevents the tablets from falling out of the tube piece 2 serving as the receiving shaft. When pressure is applied to the push-rod 6, it is displaced further into the tube piece 2, and the tablets are conveyed out through the annular narrowing 5. As they pass the narrowing, the grip 9 ofLe A 27 438IE 91275 the push-rod 6 must be pressed with greater force. The result of this is that, in the final phase of the passage, the tablets are accelerated and in this way are ejected with a certain momentum. It has been found that the application is thereby considerably facilitated and the animal more readily accepts the tablet administered in this way and swallows it without difficulty.
Le A 27 438IE 91275CLAIMS