US3107785A - Syringe-container structure - Google Patents

Description

2 sheets-sheet 1 Z. M. ROEHR zes/- 35 lfwenior ZBISLAW M. ROEH R 'l'kornes SYRINGE-CONTAINER STRUCTURE nu MTM (5e-azz, 1963 Filed OGL. 4, 1960 Oct. 22, 1963 z. M. ROEHR SYRINGE-CONTAINER STRUCTURE I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 File'd O01.. 4, 1960 Inventor Z515 LAW M. ROEHR B, DamLIiM/u, fiuma; New

:Qornegs United States Patent G 3,107,785 SYRlNGE-CNTAENER STRUCZTURE Zbislaw M. Roehr, De Land, Fla., assigner, by mesne assignments, to Brunswick Corporation, Chicago, iii., a

corporation of Delaware Filed st. 4, 196i), Ser. No. 69,5@2 9 Claims. (Cl. 20d-6.3.2)

The present invention relates generally to a container structure which cooperatively engages with a medicinal apparatus which must be maintained in a sterile condition, and more particularly to a novel hypodermic syringecontainer structure which maintains a hypodermic syringe or syringe assembly part retained therein in a sterile condition.

With the increased usage of disposable venoclysis equipment designed to be used only once and thereafter discarded in order to avoid the expense and dangers incidental to resterilization and reuse, the problem of supplying such equipment to the user in a convenient package and in a completely sterile condition has become of great practical importance. If the purchaser or ultimate user is not able to rely on the equipment being in a sterile condition as supplied by the manufacturer, much of the advantage over the reusable equipment is lost. Also, if the equipment is packaged in such a manner that during the assembly into operative arrangement, there is considerable danger of contaminating the equipment, the utility of the equipment is to a great degree lost.

The use of disposable venoclysis equipment, such as a hypodermic syringe, also presents a special problem concerning the safe handling and disposal of the equipment after it has been used because of the great danger of spreading pathogenic disease or the like by accidental contact with the uid which remains on the equipment. It is therefore important to eliminate or reduce as much as possible exposing those using and handling the equipment to the Huid-contaminated parts thereof.

Heretofore, rigid plastic containers have been devised which are adapted to receive an individual hypodermic syringe for handling and storage. Certain of these rigid containers protect a syringe against bacterial contamination, corrosion, and other physical damage, while the syringe remains within the container. However, in those containers in which the syringe is disassembled, the syringe cannot be rapidly and conveniently removed and assembled into operating position without danger of contaminating the parts. When the syringe is removed from the container of the foregoing type, it must be handled with great care to avoid, for example, contaminating the needle cannula.

Accordingly, it is an important object of the present invention to provide an improved sterile container for a hypodermic syringe structure.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide an improved container for a hypodermic syringe unit which permits more rapid and convenient assembly of said syringe into operative arrangement with a minimum exposure of the hypodermic syringe parts to contamination.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved sterile container for a hypodermic syringe which occupies a minimum space and which nevertheless can be assembled with minimum danger of contamination of the parts thereof.

lt is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved container for the convenient and safe disposal of a hypodermic syringe after a single use thereof.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide an improved syringe-container for the safe and ICC convenient storage and handling of a medicinal preparation or biological fluid.

Gther objects of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the detailed description and claims to follow when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIGURE l is a vertical longitudinal sectional View of a hypodermic syringe-container with a hypodermic syringe contained therein in accordance with the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is a vertical longitudinal sectional View of the syringe of FIGURE l with the parts in operative association and with the hypodermic needle cannula sheath in engagement with both the needle hub and container closure cap.

FIGURE 3 is a side elevational view partially in vertical section of a modiiied form of the hypodermic syringe and container assembly of the present invention.

FIGURE 4 is a Veritcal longitudinal sectional View of a hypodermic syringe barrel section of the present invention containing a uid and sealably enclosed within the container of the present invention.

The foregoing objects of the present invention and others which will be apparent to those skilled in the art are achieved by providing a generally cylindrical container body section which is closed at one end by an integral end wall and open at its other end to permit insertion and withdrawal therethrough of a hypodermic syringe structure. The end wall of the body section is preferably provided with a small diameter tapered axial portion which is adapted to sealably engage a similarly tapered outlet portion of a hypodermic syringe. The upper or open end of the said body section is closed by a cap member which frictionally engages the upper end of the body section to form a bacterial seal therewith.

As an additional important feature of the present invention, the cap member has means associated therewith adapted to have detachably secured thereto a hypodermic needle sheath nested within an axial opening in the hypodermic syringe assembly and having a hypodermic needle held in the sheath. It will be apparent that when the closure cap member is removed from the container body section, the hypodermic cannula sheath and hypodermic needle therein are simultaneously removed without the necessity of the operator touching the sheath, the needle, or other part of the hypodermic syringe. Also, the hypodermic needle can be mounted on the outlet of the syringe without removal thereof from the sheath and Without manually contacting the said hypodermic needle. If desired, the cap member can be readily separated from the sheath whenever desired and can be used thereafter to sealably enclose the syringe barrel or syringe assembly within the body section of the container. When the syringe barrel section is used for collecting a iluid or as a medicinal container, the barrel section containing a fluid material can be sealably and protectively stored in the container body section. The syringe barrel section at its lower end forms a sealing engagement with the lower end of the container body section and has the upper end thereof sealed by the piston tip.

In the speciiic embodiment `of the present invention shown in FIGURES l and 2 of the drawing, t-he container 1d is formedof a generally hollow cylindrical body section i2 which is closed at its `lower end by a stepwise inwatrdly taperingend wall 14 integral with thelateral wall 13 of the tbody section l2 and aclosure cap member 16 closing the upper end #of the body section l2. The upper end of .thebody section 12 is unobstructed to permit insertion and withdrawal therethrough of a hypodermic'syringe assembly 24%. The extreme upper end portion of thebody section 12. is preferably provided with an enlarged diameter section 'l5 to accommodate an outwardly iared portion of the syringe assembly Ztl. In order to maintain the syringe assembly 2li in a sterile condition within the container -body section 12, theclosure cap 16 mounted on the enlarged section is adapted to frictionally engage thesection 15 to form a bacterial seal therewith.

The lower end wall .14 of the body :section 12 has a iirst inwardly and downwardly taperedsection 17 and a second downwardly and inwardly tapered section 1S which provides a frusto-conioal axial recess portion. The innerlateral surface 19 of thetapered vsection 18 is adapted to form a sealing engagement with fthe lower end portion of a hypodcrmic syringe. Thesurface 19 preferably has a standard Luer taper.

'Ilhe hypoderrmic syringe assembly 2d is comprised of a generally hollow cylindricalsyringe barrel section 21 having an extenior diameter slightly smaller than the interior diameter of thecontainer body section 12. rlhe outer end of thebarrel section 21 is dared outwardly, as at 22, to provide a finger grip section. Thebarrel section 21 has la length slightly greater than thebody section 12 so that thebarrel section 21 projects slightly beyond the end of thebody section 12 to facilitate removal thereof from the container. The lower end of thesyringe body section 21 has a small diameteraxial discharge outlet 23 which is delined by a forwardly extendingtubular portion 24 having the outer lateral wall tapered inwardly to provide a standard Luer taper thereon. lihetubular portion 24 is dimensioned such that it forms a scalable engagement withsurface 19 of thecontainer body section 12.

A hollowcylindrical piston member 25 with a conventionalsealing piston tip 26 mounted on the forward end thereof is reciprocably disposed within thesyringe barrel section 21. The piston member has the outer end flared outwardly, :as at 27, to provide a bearing sufrface for an operators thumb during manipulation thereof. Thepiston member 25 is also slightly longer than thebarrel section 21 so that it projects beyond the end Vof thebody section 12.

A hypodernric needle protective sheath member 3b having ahyp'odenmic needle assembly 32 removably held therein Ais disposed within the hollow cylindrical interior of ithe piston @member 25, as best shown in FIGURE l of the drawing. The sheath member 31) is held Within the axial opening in thepiston member 25 with the closedend 35 extending upwardly toward thecap member 16 and having thehypodermic hub assembly 32 mounted in the open llower end thereof. Thehub 33 of thehandle assembly 32 removably engages the 'open end of the shealth so that theneedle cannula 34 is protectively enclosed within thesheath 30.

The upper closed end portion 3S of the sheath 3), in accordance with the present invention, is integrally assooiated with thecontainer closure cap 16 by providing on the interior surface ofcap 16 an axially extendingannular section 36 forming a cylindrical recess into which the end portion `35 of the sheath 3Q' is inserted to form a frictional engagement therewith. Theend portion 35 of the sheath 3l)l preferably has a diameter slightly larger than the cylindrical recess portion of theannular section 36 so that the respective interengaging parts can be press fitted together but can be readily separated when desired.

In the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGURE 3 of the drawing, thecylindrical body section 41 ofthecontainer 40, thesyringe barrel section 42, and thepiston member 45 have the same form and function as the corresponding parts of fthe structure shown in FIGURE l. The modilied form of FIGURE 3 differs from the previously described embodiment of FIGURE 1, however, in that the sheath 5G' and theclosure cap member 52 `are connected integrally by means of a readily frangible neck section 5S :extending between and integral with the innertransverse subface 56 of thecap 52 and dermic needle assembly di? held therein will be removed from the interior of thepiston member 45 and thecontainer body section 41 when the cap mem-ber 52 is removed from vthe end of thebody section 41. The needle assembly 69 is thus adapted to [be mounted on the discharge outlet of a hypodermic syringe in the same 1nanner as in the previous embodiment with minimum danger of bacterial contamination.

The integrally connectedsheath 50 andcap member 52 can be separated either before or after the needle assembly 69 is mounted yon the discharge outlet `43 of the hypodermic syringe 'by causing thecap member 52 to rotate relative to thesheath 56; 1f desired, however, the cap S2 andsheath 50 can be allowed to remain connected integrally so that thecap member 52 serves as a support for the needle 'assembly 6G and hypodermic syringe, in the same manner as shown in FlGURE 2 of the drawing.

After the hypodermic syringe has been used to collect a iuid sample, such as blood, it is frequently necessary to transport the sample to a laboratory where the sample is analyzed, tested, centrifuged to separate into its cornponents or the like. The container of the present invention is particularly suited to facilitate the safe and convenient transport and. handling of such a iluid sample. Pthus, for example, the syringe barrel section `42 disposed in an inverted position with asealing piston tip 46 sealably mounted adjacent the ope-n end thereof spaced from thedischarge outlet 43 and having a iiuid sample sub-A stantially completely filling the interior thereof is inserted into thebody section 41 while it is 4held in a substantially vertical position with the taperedportion 47 of the closed end thereof uppermost until the outer surface of the taperedportion 48 of thesyringe barrel section 42 forms a sealing engagement with the inner surface of the taperedportion 47. Thecontainer body section 41 can then be held in any position without danger of loss of the duid sample there-in, since the iiuid is sealably held within thebarrel section 42 between the sealingtip 46 and the interengaging surfaces 47 and 48. Theclosure cap member 52 is then mounted ove/r the end of thebody section 41 to provide an additional bacterial seal, 'as best shown in FIGURE 4 of the drawing.

The container-syringe assembly in the form shown in FIGURE 4 is adapted for convenient and safe usage in a standard centrifuge cup. Thus it will be apparent that the fluid sample sealably held Within thesyringe barrel 42 after centrifuging can be readily separated into distinct fractions simply by moving thepiston tip 46 inwardly iu thebarrel section 42 to eject one or more of the separate components from the outlet under the syringe barrel after removal thereof from the container 49.

It will also be evident that the syringe-container assembly shown in FIGURE 4 of the drawing can be used as a convenient and safe package or container for a medicament. Thus, by filling thehypodermic syringe barrel 42 with a medicament with the upper end thereof sealed by theplunger tip 46 and having the lower end thereof forming a sealing engagement with the taperedportion 47 of the container body section e1, the medicament is sealably held therein free of bacterial contamination. Thecap member 52 mounted on the upper end of thecontainer body section 41 provides an additional bacterial seal to prevent contamination of theplunger tip 46. Thecap member 52 in the latter structure will be preferably sealably secured to thebody section 41 by a frangible seal.

After the hypodermic syringe has been used for its intended punpose and is ready for disposal, it will be readily apparent that the container of the present invention is adapted to be used for the safe and convenient disposal of the syringe. When the container is used for the latter purpose it will be clear to those skilled in the art that the hypodermic syringe and needle is simply inserted into the container body section with the several parts in the relative positions `shown in FIGURE 1 or FIGURE 3 of the drawing.

The several parts of the container and the syringe with the exception of the needle cannula are preferably made of a plastic materials, such as polyethylene, polypropylene, styrene or other plastic materials having similar chemical and phys-ical properties. If desired, however, other materials can :be used for one or more of the several parts without departing from the present invention.

Others may practice the invention in any of the numerous ways which are suggested to one skilled in the art by this disclosure, and all such practices of invention are considered to be a part hereof which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1'. A container and hypodermic syringe assembly which comprises a generally cylindrical container body section closed at one end by an integral end Wall and having an opposite end open and having accommodated therein a cylindrical hypodermic syringe barrel, said barrel having a piston member slidably disposed therein and said piston member having a cylindrical axial recess extending substantially the entire length thereof, a sheath member with a hypodermic needle removably mounted therein disposed within said recess of the piston member with the uppermost end of said sheath closed by an integral end wall, a closure cap member mounted on said container body section and said end wall of the sheath member being in detachable engagement with said closure cap member mounted on the end of said container body section; whereby said sheath member and hypodermic needle are removable from said barrel and container body section when said cap member is removed from said body section.

2. A container as in claim 1 wherein the said end wall of the sheath member is connected with said cap member by an integral frangible section.

3. A container as in claim 1 wherein the said end Wall of the sheath is removably connected with said cap member by means of a frictional telescopic engagement therewith.

4. A container as in claim 1 wherein said closure cap member has an annular section projecting from an inner surface of said cap member which is adapted to engage simultaneously an end portion of said sheath and said barrel, thereby preventing entry of contaminants into the cylindrical axial recess of said barrel.

5. A container and hypodermic syringe assembly which comprises; a generally cylindrical container body section closed at one end by an integral end wall and having the opposite end open and having a hypodermic syringe barrel extending into the interior thereof, said barrel having a piston member slidably disposed therein and said piston member having an axial recess therein, a tubular sheath member with a hypodermic needle removably mounted in one end of said sheath member and disposed within said recess, a closure cap member removably mounted on said container body section and said closure cap member adapted to engage the opposite end of said sheath member and said piston member and sealably supporting said sheath member within said piston member whereby said sheath member and hypodermic needle mounted therein are removed from said barrel and container body section as a unit when said cap member is removed from said body section.

6. A container and hypodermic syringe assembly which comprises; a container body section closed at one end by an integral end wall and open at the opposite end and having supported therein a hypodermic syringe barrel with a reduced diameter discharge outlet at one end, said end wall havin-g a portion thereof formed to provide a surface which sealably engages with said discharge outlet of said hypodermic syringe barrel, a closure cap member removably mounted on said opposite end of said body section retaining said barrel within said container body section free of bacterial contamination, said closure cap member having detachably associated therewith on the inner surface thereof a protective hypodermic needle sheath with a hypodermic needle removably mounted therein and extending into the interior of said barrel, and said sheath being integrally joined to the inner surface of said cap member by a frangible section.

7. A container and hypodermic syringe assembly which comprises; a container body section closed at one end by an integral end Wall and open at the opposite end and having supported therein a hypodermic syringe barrel with a reduced diameter discharge outlet at one end, said end wall having a portion thereof formed to provide a surface which sealably engages with a lateral surface of said discharge outlet of said hypodermic syringe barrel, a closure cap member removably mounted on said opposite end of said body section retaining said barrel within said container body section rfree of bacterial contamination, said closure cap member having detachably associated therewith on the inner surface thereof a protective hypodermic needle sheath with a hypodermic needle removably mounted therein and extending into the interior of said barrel, said sheath being supported within said cap member by forming a frictional telescopic engagement with said cap member and being removable from said barrel as a unit with said cap member.

8. A container and hypodermic syringe assembly as in claim 7, wherein said frictional telescopic engagement in addition to supporting said sheath is adapted to prevent contamination of the interior of said sheath and said hypodermic needle removably mounted in said sheath.

9. A hypodermic syringe package comprising; a container'body section closed at one end by an integral end wall and having a substantially unobstructed opening at the opposite end to permit insertion of a hypodermic syringe barrel, said end wall of said container body section having an axially projecting sect-ion with a portion thereof forming a surface which is adapted to form a scalable engagement with a discharge outlet of a hypodermic syringe barrel, a hypodenmic syringe barrel disposed within said container body Section with a reduced diameter discharge outlet in sealing engagement with said axially projecting section of said end wall, said syringe barrel having a piston tip sealably disposed therein spaced from said discharge outlet, a closure cap member removably mounted on said opposite end of said body section frictionally engaging said body section to retain said barrel in said vcontainer body section free of bacterial contamination, and a flowable material sealably contained insaid syringe barrel between said piston tip and the sealing engagement vformed between said discharge outlet and said end wall surface.

References Cited in the tile lof this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 478,081 Botsford July 5, 1892 FOREIGN PATENTS 449,963 France Jan. 7, 1913 302,739 Switzerland Jan. 3, 1955 805,031 Great Britain Nov. 26, 1958

Claims (1)

1. 9. A HYPODERMIC SYRINGE PACKAGE COMPRISING; A CONTAINER BODY SECTION CLOSED AT ONE END BY AN INTERGRAL END WALL AND HAVING A SUBSTANTIALLY UNOBSTRUCTED OPENING AT THE OPPOSITE END OF PERMIT INSERTION OF A HYPODERMIC SYRINGE BARREL, SAID END WALL OF SAID CONTAINER BODY SECTION HAVING AN AXIALLY PROJECTING SECTION WITH A PORTION THEREOF FORMING A SURFACE WHICH IS ADAPTED TO FORM A SEALABLE ENGAGEMENT WITH A DISCHARGE OUTLET OF A HYPODERMIC SYRINGE BARREL, A HYPODERMIC SYRINGE BARREL DISPOSED WITHIN SAID CONTAINER BODY SECTION WITH A REDUCED DIAMETER DISCHARGE OUTLET IN SEALING ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID AXIALLY PROJECTING SECTION OF SAID END WALL, SAID SYRINGE BARREL HAVING A PISTON TIP SEALABLY DISPOSED THEREIN SPACED FROM SAID DISCHARGE OUTLET, A CLOSURE CAP MEMBER REMOVABLY MOUNTED ON SAID OPPOSITE END OF SAID BODY SECTION FRICTIONALLY ENGAGING SAID BODY SECTION TO RETAIN SAID BARREL IN SAID CONTAINER BODY SECTION FREE OF BACTERIAL CONTAMINATION, AND A FLOWABLE MATERIAL SEALABL CONTAINED IN SAID SYRINGE BARREL BETWEEN SAID PISTON TIP AND THE SEALING ENGAGEMENT FORMED BETWEEN SAID DISCHARGE OUTLET AND SAID END WALL SURFACE.

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