U.S. patent number 3,637,072 [Application Number 05/000,191] was granted by the patent office on 1972-01-25 for device for preserving drugs for injection.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Yurin Tokushu Kogyo Co., Ltd.. Invention is credited to Noritoshi Iizuka, Shozo Narusawa.
United States Patent |
3,637,072 |
Narusawa , et al. |
January 25, 1972 |
DEVICE FOR PRESERVING DRUGS FOR INJECTION
Abstract
A drug preservation container unit for use in connection with
injection. It comprises a vertically elongated casing sealed with a
cap and a needle assembly held in an upright position within said
casing, said needle assembly containing a freeze-drying processed
drug for use in injection and arranged to be connected to a
syringe. The unit contains such drug in such a small quantity as to
be conveniently dispensed to a small number of persons.
Inventors: |
Narusawa; Shozo (Tokyo,
JA), Iizuka; Noritoshi (Tokyo, JA) |
Assignee: |
Yurin Tokushu Kogyo Co., Ltd.
(Tokyo, JA)
|
Family
ID: |
11512734 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/000,191 |
Filed: |
January 2, 1970 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
Current U.S.
Class: |
206/229;
206/365 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61M
5/00 (20130101); A61M 5/3202 (20130101); A61J
1/06 (20130101); A61J 1/00 (20130101); A61M
5/002 (20130101); A61M 2005/3109 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A61J
1/06 (20060101); A61J 1/00 (20060101); A61M
5/00 (20060101); A61M 5/32 (20060101); A61M
5/31 (20060101); B65d 085/54 (); A61l 005/32 () |
Field of
Search: |
;206/43,47A,63.2R,17.5 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Summer; Leonard
Claims
What we claim is:
1. A drug preservation container unit for use in connection with
injection, comprising a relatively small vertically elongated
casing with its upper end opened, a support of flexible and soft
rubber mounted within said casing, a needle assembly composed of a
needle and a cup member fixed to the base thereof and connectable
to the cylinder of a syringe, said needle assembly being held in an
upright position within said casing, the needle of said needle
assembly being stuck into said support at its tip portion, a
predetermined amount of drug for use in injection, said drug being
contained in said cup member and subjected to the process of
freeze-drying for preservation and a cap sealing the upper opening
of said casing and of said cup.
2. A drug preservation container unit as set forth in claim 1,
wherein said cap is provided with an inverted cuplike portion
depending therefrom and arranged to cover the opening of the cup
member of said needle assembly.
3. A drug preservation container unit as set forth in claim 1,
wherein said support is provided with a hollow cylindrical portion
arranged to receive at its upper end the cup member of said needle
assembly.
4. A drug preservation container unit as set forth in claim 1,
wherein said support is composed of a pad and an open-ended
cylinder in which said pad is inserted, said pad being of flexible
and soft rubber and arranged to allow the tip portion of said
needle to stick thereinto, said open-ended cylinder being arranged
to receive at its upper end the cup member of said needle
assembly.
5. A drug preservation container unit as set forth in claim 4,
wherein a packing is inserted in said casing between said cap and
said cup member to cover the latter.
6. A drug preservation container unit as set forth in claim 1,
wherein said unit is sealed in an aluminum foil wrapper.
7. A drug preservation container unit as set forth in claim 1,
wherein said casing is of metal.
8. A drug preservation container unit as set forth in claim 1,
wherein said casing is of plastic material.
Description
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a method of and device for preserving
drugs, and more particularly to a method of and device for
preserving inoculums, such as BCG, PPD etc., or other drugs for
injection, such as SLO, in such a small quantity as to be used for
a small number of persons such, for example, as several
persons.
In general, inoculums for use in preventive inoculation are
preserved in large containers, such as a large bottle, capable of
containing such inoculums for a large number of persons, such for
example, as 20 to 100 or more, for the purpose of making a
collective inoculation.
However, when it is desired to inoculate only several persons or
less, to open such container containing such a large amount of
inoculum is disadvantageous from an economical point of view, since
once the container is opened and part of the contents is used, the
remainder is inevitably wasted.
On the other hand, in the case a small amount of inoculum is
preserved in a small bottle or the like, the disadvantage is that
lots of the inoculum contained in the container, for example, more
than a half of it will adhere to the interior face of the container
and will become useless.
The present invention is intended to eliminate such inconveniences
and disadvantages indicated with conventional containers of this
kind.
It is, therefore, one object of the present invention to provide a
device for preserving inoculums, injections or other drugs for use
in injection in such a small quantity as to be suitable for use for
a small number of persons such, for example, as several persons of
less, so that when it is desired to inoculate or inject such a
small number of persons, the injector can economically use the drug
preserved in the container.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a drug
container unit for use in connection with inoculation or injection,
comprising a needle assembly and a drug for injection preserved in
said needle assembly, and adapted to be used conveniently.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a drug
container unit of the type stated, which is small in size and light
in weight so as to be freely portable.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a
method of preserving drugs for use in injection in such a small
quantity as to be conveniently dispensed to a small number of
persons, such, for example, as several persons or less.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a method for
the purpose stated, which is capable of preserving such drugs for a
considerably long period of time.
These and other objects an advantages of the invention will become
apparent upon reading the following detailed description of the
invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in
which:
FIGS. 1 through 4 are longitudinal cross-sectional views, in an
enlarged scale, of embodiments of the present invention,
respectively.
In the drawing like portions or parts are designated with like
characters or numerals.
Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a drug preservation container
unit A for use in inoculation or injection. The unit A comprises a
relatively small vertically elongated cylindrical casing 1 with its
upper end 1a opened which may be made of a glass, a metal or a
synthetic resin, a support member 2 made of a flexible and soft
rubber or synthetic resin, a needle assembly S composed of a needle
3 and a cup member 4 fixed to the base 3a of the needle and
intercommunicating with the needle, and a cap 5 for closing the
opening of the casing 1.
The support member 2 is provided with a base portion 2a adapted to
be snugly inserted in the casing 1 and to be placed on the bottom
wall 1b, and with a protrusion 2b protruding upwardly from the
upper face of the base portion 2a and adapted to be pricked by the
sharpened tip 3b of needle 3.
The cap 5 has a flat portion 5a having the diameter corresponding
substantially to the outside diameter of the cylindrical casing 1
and is provided with an inverted cup-shaped portion 5b depending
from the flat portion 5a and arranged to be snugly inserted in the
cup member 4 of needle assembly S.
The depth or height of the casing 1 is designed so that when the
cap 5 is placed on the upper end 1a of casing 1 after the needle 3
of the needle assembly S has been stuck into the support 2 at its
tip portion, the cup-shaped portion 5b of the cap is brought into
engagement with the upper portion of the inner peripheral face of
cup member 4 of the needle assembly.
Before sealing the upper opening of casing 1, and after the needle
assembly S has been vertically held within the casing 1 by pricking
the tip 3b of needle 3 into the support member 2, a predetermined
amount of inoculum 6 or drug for injection is put into the cup
member 4. In this case, the inoculum or drug thus put into the cup
member is prevented from flowing off through the needle 3, because
the opening of the tip 3b is sealingly closed by the portion,
surrounding the tip portion, of the elastic support 2 which is in
pressure contact with said tip portion. Then, the inoculum or drug
in the cup member 4 is subjected to application of the process of
freeze-drying which is often applied to, for example, foods for
preservation.
Upon application of the process of freeze-drying to the drug, the
upper opening of casing 1 is sealed with the cap 5 airtight by
interposing between the entire top face of casing 1 and the
underside of the cap 5 a packing material 7 and by applying a
pressure to said cap to press the same against the top face of said
casing. The packing material which is suitable for use in the
sealing is, for example, an atactic polypropylene, an atactic
polyethylene, their mixed compounds, etc. In the illustrated
embodiment, the casing 1 is sealed under a reduced atmospheric
pressure.
When it is desired to sue the container unit A for inoculation or
injection, first, the cap 5 is removed and the needle assembly S is
drawn out and attached to the glass cylinder of a conventional
syringe, not shown, and then a necessary liquid for dissolving the
contents is fed into the cup member 4 through the needle 3 by
manipulating the plunger of the syringe in conventional manner.
With this operation, the preserved contents is easily dissolved and
flows into the glass cylinder in a liquid state, thus enabling the
injector to practice injection.
The drugs to be preserved in accordance with the present invention
may either be of liquid or powder or of any other form as long as
they are for use in injection and are suited for the application of
the process of freeze-drying.
Referring now to FIG. 2, there is shown a variant B of the drug
preservation container unit A shown in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 2,
the unit B is provided with a cuplike portion 2c having bore 2d and
extending vertically upwardly from the protruding portion 2b of the
support 2. The depth of the bore 2d is made slightly shorter than
the length of the needle 3 so that when the needle 3 is stuck at
its tip into the protruding portion 2b, the cup member 4 of the
needle assembly S is brought into contact at its bottom portion
with the top surface of the cuplike portion 2c, thereby enabling
the needle assembly S to be securely supported by the support
member 2.
Thus, the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2 is the same as the
embodiment previously described in construction, with the exception
of the provision of the cuplike portion 2c. The manner of
assembling the unit and the method of preserving drugs in this
instance are also the same as those in the first embodiment and
further description as to these and other matters will be
omitted.
Referring now to FIG. 3, there is shown another drug preservation
container unit C according to the present invention. In the
illustrated embodiment, the casing 1A is made of a metal, such as
aluminum and is provided at its upper portion adjacent the upper
end 1Aa with a contracted portion 1Ac defining the upper opening of
the casing. The support 2A inserted in the casing 1A is composed of
an open-ended cylinder 2Ac of plastics, such as polyethylene, and a
pad member 2Aa of flexible and soft rubber or plastics into which
the tip portion of the needle 3 is stuck. The support 2A is placed
on the bottom 1Ab of casing 1A in an upright positioned as
shown.
The cup member 4A of the needle assembly S vertically supported by
the support 2A within casing 1A is covered with a packing 8 of
plastics, such as an urethane foam, inserted in the upper opening
of casing 1A. After the packing 8 has been inserted in the opening,
the casing 1A is sealed with a flat cap 5A with the intermediary of
the packing material 7 previously described. In the illustrated
embodiment, the casing 1A is sealed under a reduced atmospheric
pressure.
After the opening of casing 1A has been sealed with cap 5A, the
head portion of casing 1A with cap 5A is covered with an aluminum
foil 5A' for the purpose of protection of the cap 5A.
The manner of assembling the unit C and the method of preserving
drugs in this instance are almost the same as those in the second
embodiment B and further description as to these and other matters
will not be made.
Referring now to FIG. 4, there is depicted another drug
preservation container unit D according to the invention. In this
embodiment, the casing 1B is made of a solid synthetic resin and is
tapered inwardly upwardly at 1Bc and terminates in the open end
1Ba. The casing 1B is also formed inside thereof with shoulder
portions 1Bd for receiving the lower portion of cup member 4B of
the needle assembly S. A support member 2B is inserted in the
casing 1B and placed on the bottom 1Bb of casing 1B.
The cap 5B is provided with a cylindrical skirt 5Bc depending from
the top portion 5Ba and having the same diameter as the casing 1B,
and also with a inverted cuplike portion 5Bb, and is arranged to be
snugly mounted on the tapered portion 1Bc of the casing 1B. In this
embodiment, the casing 1B is sealed with the cap 5B under a normal
atmospheric pressure. The casing 1B covered with the cap 5B is
sealed in an aluminum foil wrapper 9, as shown in FIG. 4, to
prevent moisture. In this instance, the casing 1B is preferably
filled with nitrogen gas. The manner of assembling the unit and the
method of preserving drugs in this instance are almost the same as
those of the foregoing embodiments and, to avoid repetition further
explanation as to these and other matters will be omitted.
As may be seen from the foregoing, in accordance with the present
invention, the drug for use in inoculation or injection is
preserved in the cup member of the needle assembly and, for
example, when several persons are inoculated with the preserved
substance, the inoculation for at least the first person can be
made by the needle without using other needle. Further, in
accordance with the invention, the tip of the needle is protected
by the flexible support by being kept stuck into therein, so that
the tip of the needle can be kept free from damage.
* * * * *