US2706479A - Ampule - Google Patents

Description

United States Patent O AMPULE Marshall L. Lockhart, Rutherford, N. J.

Application August 1, 1952, Serial No. 302,061

3 Claims. (Cl. 12S- 218) This invention relates to a structurally and functionally improved ampule and especially an ampule for use in connection with hypodermic syringes of the type shown, for example, in my prior applications for United States Letters Patent, Serial Nos. 575,980 now Patent No. 2,574,339, and 635,928, now abandoned.

The present application is a continuation-in-part of my prior case on Ampule, filed in the United States Patent Oce on October 24, 1946, and identified under Serial No. 705,300, now abandoned.

It is an object of the invention to provide an ampule adapted to contain medicament and which ampule will embody a construction such that any air retained therein will not be expressed through the needle of the hypodermic syringe as the ampule is discharged.

Rather, any air bubble which is present in the compartment or body of the ampule will, under ordinary operating technique, remain within that compartment although the medicament contents of the latter are substantially completely expressed. l

A further object is that of providing a unit of this type and the construction of which will prevent any injurious contact between the inner end of the cannula or needle and the body of the ampule. Accordingly, the inner end of the needle will not have its piercing point damaged incident to such contact and whereby normally that needle or the entire holder assembly would be rendered unfit for fur ther use.

An additional object is the providing of a device of this type which will embody a relatively simple construction capable of being produced largely by automatic machinery and methods and with minimum expense.

With these and other objects in mind reference is had to the attached sheet of drawings illustrating practical embodiments of the invention and in which,

Fig. l is a sectional side view of an ampule showing one form of construction;

Fig. 2 is a similar view of the ampule in association with a holder or syringe;

Fig. 3 shows an unfilled ampule embodying an alternative construction;

Fig. 4 shows the ampule illustrated in Fig. 3 lwith one compartment filled and the other discharged; and

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4, but showing a still further design of ampule.

With primary reference to Figs. 1 and 2, it will be seen that the reference number indicates a cylindrical ampule body formed of glass or other suitable material and preferably centrally subdivided by a partition 11, thus furnishing a double compartment and double ended ampule. The outer ends of these compartments are closed by Stoppers or plugs 12. The construction of these plugs may be as taught in my prior applications for United States Letters Patent Serial No. 575,980, now Patent No. 2,574,339, and Serial No. 635,928, now abandoned. As will be understood, the compartments of the ampule are ordinarly filled with medicament 13 in liquid form, which medicament is to be expressed from the ampule into the tissues or veins of a patient by means of a hypodermic syringe or holder. Such a holder has been somewhat diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 2 in which a cylindrical body 14 has one of its ends closed as at 15, its opposite end being open. A needle 16 extends through the closed end portion and also through and beyond a thrust portion 17, and has its inner end terminating in a point 18.

As will be understood the accepted technique is that of introducing the end of an ampule into the body of the Ffice holder 14 and thereupon exerting a thrust upon that ampule. Continued inward projection will result in the pointed end 18 of the needle piercing the first or inner plug or stopper 12. Further relative movement will result in Contact being established between this stopper and the outer end of the thrust portion 17, which will then act to shift the plug within the ampule. Accordingly, the plug will function as a piston to express the medicament through the bore of the needle until the plug has reached the eXtreme inner limit of its travel.

As will also be well understood, in charging the compartment or compartments of the ampule with medicament it is almost unavoidable that such compartment will not be completely filled. In other words, a bubble of air will normally remain within the compartment. Thereupon, as the nal portion of the medicament is expressed in the manner described above, the needle will enter the space at the inner end of the compartment and within which space a pocket of air will be present. Accordingly, under continued projection of the parts, the entrapped air will be expressed through the needle and so into the patient. Continued relative movements of the parts will result in the pointed inner end portion 18 of the needle moving into contact with the surface of the ampule. This will inevitably result in a blunting or other damage to the needle.

In order to avoid these difliculties, the inner end or ends are counter-bored as indicated by the numeral 19, thus furnishing shoulder portions 20. The depth of these counter-borings should be such that the body of any entrapped bubble or air mass may readily be accommodated Within the space thus defined. Also, the shoulder portions should have areas such that they will provide an effective stop for the plug or stopper 12 and prevent its further inward movement despite a substantial thrust being exerted. The walls of the plug 12 form a skirt which is flexible and resilient. Upon abutment of the plug 12 with the shoulder portions 20, these walls collapse around the inner needle and yieldingly resist contact between the inner needle end and the end of the ampule. Therefore, any damaging contact between the needle and the inner face of the ampule will be prevented.

As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, a different type of construction may be employed to achieve the aforementioned results. In those figures, the reference numeral 21 indicates the body of the ampule with a central partition 22. Beads 23 are formed to extend inwardly, adjacent the base portions of the compartments 24. Thus again a space is defined adjacent the inner compartment ends, which space will be adequate to receive any volume of air normally present in the ampule. The beads 23 will function as stops to prevent inward movement of the plugs 25 into the aforementioned spaces. The flexible resilient skirt of the plug 25 collapses upon contact with the beads 23 around the inner needle end to yieldingly resist contact between the inner needle end 18 and the central partition 22. This will be despite the resiliency which may be incorporated in these plugs or Stoppers. Also, any damaging contact between the inner yend of the needle and the ampule is prevented.

A functionally similar structure is provided by the ampule illustrated in Fig. 5 in which the body 26 is formed with a central partition 27. Extending outwardly from this partition are abutment or spacing portions 28. The area of the latter should be in excess of any bore formed in the plug 29. Thus, in cooperation with the inner face of the plug V29, they will function as stops. The height of these abutments should be such that adequate space is present for any bubble of air entrapped with the mass of medicament. Also these portions will prevent damaging contact with the end of the ampule and the needle.

Thus, among others, the several objects of the invention as aforenoted are achieved. Obviously, a number of changes in construction and rearrangement of the parts might be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined by the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An ampule comprising in combination a tubular body open at one end, an imperforate, transversely extending wall spaced from said open end and integral with said body, a piston-type stopper sealing the open end of said ampule bore, a exible, resilient skirt portion dening a recess formed in said stopper, said recess facing said wall, a transverse portion on said stopper, stopper-arresting means in advance of said transverse wall integral with said body and disposed at a point adjacent and spaced axially from said transverse wall to engage said skirt and to collapse said skirt in said recess so as to maintain the head wall of said stopper spaced from said transverse Wall.

2. An ampule comprising a tubular body open at each end, an imperforate transversely extending wall of said body intermediate the open ends and integral with said body, said wall forming a double compartment in said double open-ended ampule and an annular bead integral with said body and extending inwardly of the bore of the same at a point in advance of said wall to provide a stopper arresting stop.

3. In combination a holder having a hollow barrel, a tubular ampule slidably tted in said barrel to be reciprocable in said barrel, a thrust portion in said barrel integral with said holder, an open end of said tubular ampule, a piston type stopper formed of exible, resilient material sealing the open end of said ampule, an imperforate integral and transversely extending wall of said ampule, a flexible, resilient skirt portion of said stopper l 2 thereby in the direction of the ampule Wall and an annular bead integral with said ampule extending inwardly of the bore of said ampule at a point in advance of said wall to provide a stopper-arresting stop so constructed and arranged as to collapse the walls of said skirt around said inner needle end and to yieldingly resist contact between the inner needle end and the wall of said ampule.

References Cited in the le of this patent Y UNITED STATES PATENTS Smith Nov. 24, 1931 2,102,704 Hein Dec. 2l, 1937 2,153,594 Saffr Apr. l1, 1939 2,268,994 Smith Ian. 6, 1942

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