Sequentially Dispensing Syringe With Multiple Needle Assembly

Abstract

This invention relates to a syringe having two or more dispensing chambers therewithin operable to dispense from or fill independent chambers in any desired sequential order. More specifically, this invention relates to a syringe having a multiple needle assembly connected to a main housing and having an inner dispensing and outer dispensing assemblies operable to independently either dispense or receive fluids, such may be operable to inject fluids into the blood system at variable steps thereon which process is most desirable when utilizing radio-active fluids for medical analysis.

Description

Numerous types of syringe structures are available in the prior art operable to receive a powder and a liquid thereon and then mix the same by actuation of plunger assemblies. However, none of the prior art devices are operable through interconnection of syringe structures so as to independently and selectively dispense fluids into a person thereby requiring only one needle puncture. Additionally, none of the syringe structures of the prior art are operable to dispense multiple fluids through independent needle channels to prevent and not achieve a mixing of the fluids dispensed. Additionally, the prior art structures are not operable in referse to receive independent blood samples from the patient to be used for various testing purposes thus achieving the same with only one puncture of the patient' s arm which is desirable.

In preferred embodiments of this invention includes a syringe means having a couple of embodiments being 1) an independent dual syringe structure; and 2) an independent plurality syringe structure. The independent dual syringe structure includes a main housing means having a needle assembly releasably connected to one end and having within the housing means an outer dispensing assembly and an inner dispensing assembly. The housing means is provided with a cylindrical support member being tapered at one end and having an upper flange section to be grasped by one's forefingers for operation thereof. The support member has a central cavity to receive the outer dispensing assembly therewithin for dispensing of fluid through a lower end into the needle assembly. The needle assembly is provided with an inner needle member connected as by support members to an outer needle member with the outer portion adapted to fit snuggly about the lower tapered end section of the housing means. The outer dispensing assembly includes a plunger assembly having a piston head movable in contact with the inner wall of the cylindrical support member. The plunger assembly includes an elongated support body secured on the lower end to the piston head with an actuator flange on the upper end. The inner dispensing assembly includes a main plunger assembly having a piston head on one end interconnected by an elongated support member with an actuator plate at the top end thereof. The main plunger assembly is movable within an inner barrel member which is secured by support bar members to the main support member. The plunger assembly of the outer dispensing assembly and the main plunger assembly of the inner dispensing assembly are movable independently relative to the stationary housing means and barrel member so as to independently dispense fluid through the needle assembly. In the other embodiment, the independent plurality syringe structure is somewhat identical to the other embodiment except having a triple needle assembly and having mounted within the outer main housing means and outer dispensing assembly, an intermediate dispensing assembly, and an inner dispensing assembly. It is seen that the embodiment of the independent plurality syringe structure is operable to dispense a plurality, namely three different fluids thereby but only requiring one penetration of the patient's arm for injecting fluids or receiving blood samples therefrom.

One object of this invention is to provide a new and novel syringe means to overcome the aforementioned disadvantages of the prior art devices.

One further object of this invention is to provide a syringe means including a dual syringe structure to either dispense different fluids into a patient' s arm, or operate by receiving a blood sample and then dispensing a fluid into a patient' s arm, or by dispensing a fluid into a patient' s arm and then receiving a blood sample, or by receiving two separate blood samples as is beneficial when clotted and unclotted samples are desired, and also during short time lapse periods when consecutive blood samples are needed over very short periods of time to determine increasing concentration of previously injected substances.

Still, one further object of this invention is provided a syringe means having a plurality of dispensing assemblies therein so as to selectively and independently dispense into and/or receive fluids from a patient's arm requiring only one needle penetration which is extremely desirable.

Still, another object of this invention is to provide a new and novel syringe means having the same operable to inject a first fluid and to inject immediately afterwards a separate second fluid such that the second fluid follows the first into the blood stream which has found to be particularly beneficial for analysis of the patient' s blood flow in nuclear medicine.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a needle and syringe means whereas the incoming and/or outgoing fluids are kept separate while contained in and while traveling through the syringe and through the needle thereby preventing undesirable contamination of the two different fluids.

Another object of this invention is to provide a syringe means by which one plunger and barrel can be utilized to assure an intervenous puncture, which is commonly accomplished by being able to withdraw a quantity of blood, and the other plunger can therefore be depressed with the assurance of having the needle in a vein, thereby injecting a fluid into the bloodstream without coming in contact with the blood until after having left the needle, which is desirable when working with materials that must be immediately diluted with large quantities of blood and therefore preferred not to come in contact with the blood in the needle or in the syringe.

Still, one other object of this invention is to provide a new and novel syringe means which achieves a plurality of functions therewith; is accurate and novel in operation; and can achieve a purality of selective dispensing operation not shown or taught by the prior art.

Various other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following discussion, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an independent dual syringe structure of the syringe means of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the independent dual syringe structure taken along line 2--2 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3, 4, and 5 are schematic diagrams illustrating the use and operation of the independent dual syringe structure of this invention;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 2 illustrating another embodiment being an independent plurality syringe structure operable to dispense a plurality of fluids therefrom; and

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of the independent plurality syringe structure shown in FIG. 6.

The following is a discussion and description of preferred specific embodiments of the new syringe means of this invention, such being made with reference to the drawings, whereupon the same reference numerals are used to indicate the same or similar parts and/or structures. It is to be understood that such discussion and description is not to unduly limit the scope of the invention.

Referring to the drawings in detail and in particular to FIGS. 1 and 6, there are shown syringe means 12 consisting of two embodiments being 1) an independent dual syringe structure 14 and 2) an independent plurality syringe structure 16.

As shown in FIG. 1, the independent dual syringe structure 14 consists of a main housing means 17; a fluid directing or needle assembly 19 secured to a lower tapered end 20 of the main housing means 17; an outer dispensing assembly 21 mounted within the housing means 17; and an inner dispensing assembly 23 mounted within the outer dispensing assembly 21. The main housing means 17 consists of a cylindrical support member 25 having the lower tapered end 20 and an upper laterally extended flange section 27. The support member 25 is provided with an inner cavity 28 to receive the outer dispensing assembly 21 snuggly therein. The upper flange section 27 is provided with outer laterally extended, downwardly curved pressure lips 31 to receive the forefinger's of one utilizing the instrument as will become obvious.

The needle assembly 19 is provided with an inner needle member 32 secured as by support elements 34 to an outer needle member 35. The inner needle member 32 is provided with an upper tapered end portion 36 and an elongated body therefrom having a lower pointed tip section 37 extended below an outer portion of the outer needle member 35. The outer needle member 35 is provided with an upper tapered end section 39 having an upper laterally extended tab 41 and tapered downwardly therefrom to a position upwardly from the lower end of the inner needle member 32 (FIG. 2). It is noted that the needle assembly 19 can be constructed of a disposable type being readily attachable to the lower end of the tapered end section 20 of the housing means 17.

The outer or first fluid dispensing assembly 21 is provided with a plunger assembly 42 having a piston head 43 at one end interconnected by an elongated support body 45 to an upper actuator flange 47. More particularly, the piston head 43 is of a resilient sealing type material having a main body 48 tapered at both ends about a central groove 49 so as to form a positive sealing action whether extending or retracting the same. The elongated support body 45 is provided with a plurality of longitudinally extended grooves 51 therewithin to receive support bars 53 therethrough which are connected to the inner dispensing assembly 23 as will be explained. The actuator flange 47 extends outwardly from the support body 45 so as to be readily movable in a downward manner for dispensing fluid from the chamber 28.

The inner or second fluid dispensing assembly 23 includes a main plunger assembly 54 mounted within an inner barrel member 55, the main plunger assembly 54 having a main piston head 56 on one end interconnected by a support element 58 to an actuator plate 59 on the upper end thereof. The inner barrel member 55 extends axially of the main housing means 17 and connected thereto by the support bars 53 plus connected at the lower end by vertically extended support elements 61 about its periphery so as to achieve a solid mounting to the housing means 17. The barrel member 55 has an annular laterally extended flange 62 about the upper end tapered downwardly for ease of grasping. The lower end of the barrel member 55 is of a downwardly conical shape to receive the inner needle member 32 of the needle assembly 19 therein. The main piston head 56 is constructed of a rubber type material having a tapered end section 63 so as to completely dispense on downward movement, fluid from an inner chamber 65 of the barrel member 55. Additionally, the main piston head 56 is provided with dual flange sections 66 and 67 about a main central groove 68 so as to seal with the barrel member 55 on either the extension or retraction for proper operation. The support element 58 is of a generally X-shaped in transverse cross-section so as to reduce its weight and the upper actuator plate 59 being constructed so as to be easily moved downwardly on grasping the same with the laterally extended flange 62 of the inner barrel member 55 for dispensing fluid therefrom.

In the other embodiment, being the independent plurality syringe structure 16 as shown in FIG. 6, it is seen that the same includes the main housing means 17 having a needle assembly 71 connected to one end and provided internally with 1) the outer dispensing assembly 21; 2) an intermediate dispensing assembly 73; and 3) the inner dispensing assembly 23.

It is noted that the main housing means 17 is substantially identical to that previously described having the lower tapered end 21 and the upper flange section 27. The needle assembly 71 is substantially similar to the other needle assembly 19 except provided with three needle sections having the same interconnected by support elements 34 to adjacent ones and having inner sections which will fit snuggly within the independent fluid chambers so as to dispense fluid independently therefrom. It is seen that an inner needle member 74 extends below the rest with an intermediate needle member 76 next and a shorter needle member 78 is the outer needle element.

The outer dispensing assembly 21 includes the plunger assembly 42 having the piston head 43 at one end thereof secured by the support body 45 to the upper actuator flange 47. It is seen that the outer dispensing assembly 21 is substantially similar to that as shown in the first embodiment with movement downwardly dispensing fluid by use of the piston head 43 outwardly through the shorter needle member 78.

The intermediate dispensing assembly 73 is provided with a central plunger assembly 81 having a central piston head 82 therewith movable within an intermediate barrel member 84 which is secured as by support lugs 86 and vertical bars 87 to the outer housing means 17. It is seen that the outer plunger assembly 42 has grooves on the support body 45 for movement about the support lugs 86. The intermediate dispensing assembly 73 has the piston head 82 movable by an elongated support member 89 having an actuator flange 91 on the upper end for proper dispensing therefrom.

The inner dispensing assembly 23 is substantially identical to that previously described having the main plunger assembly 54 with the main piston head 56 on one end thereof and the actuator plate 59 on the upper end. The main plunger assembly 53 is movable within the inner barrel member 55 which is a cylindrical body secured by the support lugs 86 and vertical bars 87 to the outer housing means 17.

In the use and operation of the independent dual syringe structure 14 as shown in FIGS. 3, 4, and 5, the schematic diagrams are illustrated to show the device after being filled with fluids for dispensing operations. It is seen at this time that either of the fluids may be properly dispensed selectively and independently depending on the desirability of the operator and utilizing the various ones of the plunger assemblies 42 and 54. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, it is desired to first dispense fluid from the inner dispensing assembly having the main plunger assembly 54 moved downwardly by one's thumb against the upper actuator plate 59 with reactive force achieved by forefingers being on the flange 62. It is noted that the main piston head 56 is tapered downwardly so as to completely dispense fluid from within the barrel member 55.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5, it is seen that the outer dispensing assembly 21 can be utilized with the plunger assembly 42 moved downwardly as shown by the arrow 83 so as to move the piston head 43 downwardly within the housing means 12 to dispense the fluid therefrom. It is seen that the tapered end thereof operates to dispense same outwardly through the outer needle member 35 of the needle assembly 19.

Conversely, it is obvious that from the condition in FIG. 5, the various ones of the outer dispensing assembly 21 and the inner dispensing assembly 23 can be moved upwardly so as to fill the same with blood or other samples requiring only one penetration of the patient's body by the needle assembly.

In the use and operation of the independent plurality syringe structure 16, it is obvious that the same is operable as shown in FIG. 3, 4, and 5 for the dual syringe structure 73 but having one more being the intermediate dispensing assembly 73 operable to dispense therefrom selectively and independently as desired.

It is seen that the syringe means of this invention provides a new and novel structure having a plurality of dispensing assemblies movable independently and unrestrictedly to dispense from or pull in fluid thereto. It is seen that the syringe means of this invention provides a novel structure in operation not previously achieved in the prior art devices. The syringe means is particularly desirable in radio-active fields whereupon it is important to inject a first fluid into a patient's arm and immediately follow the same with a second radio-active fluid and then, an additional injection of a third or the first fluid so as to enclose the radio-active fluid in a short space so that the radioactive material can be followed throughout the patient' s body and timed for proper examination.

While the invention has been described in conjunction with preferred specific embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that such description is tended to illustrate and not to limit the scope of the invention, which is defined in the following claims.

Claims

I claim:

1. A syringe means operable to selectively and independently dispense or receive a fluid therein, comprising:

a. a housing means having a fluid directing assembly connectable to one end thereof,

b. a first fluid dispensing assembly mounted within said housing means operably connected to said fluid directing assembly,

c. a second fluid dispensing assembly operably connected to said first fluid dispensing assembly and said fluid directing assembly,

d. said fluid directing assembly having a first section to receive fluid from said first fluid dispensing assembly and a second section to receive fluid from said second fluid dispensing assembly,

e. said first dispensing assembly and said second fluid dispensing assembly, each operably independently to dispense from or receive in a fluid while maintaining complete separation of the fluid in the syringe means,

f. said fluid directing assembly with said first section being an elongated needle member surrounded by and connected to said second section being a second needle member, and

g. said first needle member extended beyond the outer end of said second needle member to assure proper separation of fluids utilized therein.

2. A syringe means as described in claim 1, wherein:

a. said second fluid dispensing assembly having a main plunger assembly mounted within a barrel member, said barrel member secured to said housing means, and

b. said plunger assembly having a piston head movable therein to receive in or dispense fluid from said barrel member.

3. A syringe means as described in claim 1, including:

a. an intermediate fluid dispensing assembly mounted between said first fluid dispensing assembly and said second fluid dispensing assembly, and

b. said fluid directing assembly being a multiple needle assembly having interconnected, first, intermediate, and second needle members to receive or inject fluid from said first, intermediate, and second fluid dispensing assemblies, respectively.

4. A syringe means operable to selectively and independently dispense or receive a fluid therein, comprising:

a. a housing means having a fluid directing assembly connectable to one end thereof,

b. a first fluid dispensing assembly mounted within said housing means operably connected to said fluid directing assembly,

c. a second fluid dispensing assembly operably connected to said first fluid dispensing assembly and said fluid directing assembly,

d. said fluid directing assembly having a first section to receive fluid from said first fluid dispensing assembly and a second section to receive fluid from said second fluid dispensing assembly,

e. said first fluid dispensing assembly and said second fluid dispensing assembly, each operable independently to dispense from or receive in a fluid while maintaining complete separation of the fluid in the syringe means,

f. said housing means having a support member tapered at one end to receive said fluid directing assembly and having a laterally extended flange section at an upper end thereof,

g. said first fluid dispensing assembly having a plunger assembly mounted within said housing means and about said second fluid dispensing assembly, said plunger assembly having a piston member movable longitudinally for receiving or dispensing a fluid therefrom,

h. said second fluid dispensing assembly having a central barrel member secured to said housing means by bar members,

i. said plunger assembly having a support body connected to said piston member, and

j. said support body having a plurality of longitudinal grooves to receive respective ones of said bar members therein to permit axial movement of said plunger assembly.

5. A syringe means as described in claim 4, wherein:

a. an intermediate fluid dispensing assembly mounted between said first fluid dispensing assembly and said second fluid dispensing assembly,

b. said fluid directing assembly being a multiple needle assembly having interconnected, first, intermediate, and second needle members to receive or inject fluid from said first, intermediate, and second fluid dispensing assemblies, respectively, and

c. said intermediate fluid dispensing assembly having a piston member mounted about said barrel member and surrounded by a cylindrical casing secured to said housing means, said piston member being movable axially for fluid operation.

6. A syringe means as described in claim 5, wherein:

a. said first fluid dispensing assembly having a piston member mounted about said cylindrical casing and engagable with said housing means, and

b. said piston members having elongated slots therein to receive said bar members to permit longitudinal movement thereof.