U.S. patent number 3,872,992 [Application Number 05/385,798] was granted by the patent office on 1975-03-25 for medicament vial stopper piercing and needle positioning device.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Pharmaco, Inc.. Invention is credited to Roger R. Larson.
United States Patent |
3,872,992 |
Larson |
March 25, 1975 |
MEDICAMENT VIAL STOPPER PIERCING AND NEEDLE POSITIONING DEVICE
Abstract
A stopper for a medicament vial including a thin central zone
thereof and a beveled sleeve is supported over the outer surface of
the thin central zone of the stopper by means of three radially
outwardly extending and arched legs anchored to the peripheral
portions of the stopper at their outer ends. The sleeve is tapered
toward the central area of the stopper and the end of the sleeve
adjacent the stopper is beveled for piercing the thin central zone
of the stopper. However, the legs support the sleeve with its
beveled end at least closely adjacent the stopper and the arched
legs are bendable whereby a thrust on the outer end of the sleeve
will be sufficient to bend the legs and advance the beveled end of
the sleeve toward the central area of the stopper for piercing the
same. The sleeve includes an outer barb for retention through the
thin central area of the stopper and a conventional aluminum seal
is secured over the stopper and the adjacent end of the vial and
also covers the stopper piercing sleeve and its bowed support
legs.
Inventors: |
Larson; Roger R. (Urbana,
IL) |
Assignee: |
Pharmaco, Inc. (Champaign,
IL)
|
Family
ID: |
23522917 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/385,798 |
Filed: |
August 6, 1973 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
215/249; 141/329;
215/247; 215/11.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D
51/002 (20130101); B65D 51/226 (20130101); B65D
2251/0056 (20130101); B65D 2251/009 (20130101); B65D
2251/0015 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B65D
51/18 (20060101); B65D 51/00 (20060101); B65D
51/22 (20060101); B65d 041/50 () |
Field of
Search: |
;215/247,249,251,253,11
;141/329,330 ;128/272 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Ross; Herbert F.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: O'Brien; Clarence A. Jacobson;
Harvey B.
Claims
What is claimed as new is as follows:
1. In combination with a vial having a stopper therein for closing
the vial, said stopper including spaced outer peripheral portions
and a thin central portion a stopper piercing and needle gripping
attachment for said stopper, said attachment comprising an axially
short sleeve constructed of shape retentive and yet resilient
material, positioned on the outer side of the central portion of
said stopper with one end of the sleeve in end opposing relation
relative to said central area of said stopper, and support means
supporting said sleeve from said stopper for advancement toward and
movement of said one end of said sleeve through said central area,
said one end of said sleeve being beveled and sharpened, said
sleeve tapering, both internally and externally, toward said one
end thereof, whereby said tapered sleeve receives a syringe needle
in the large diameter end of said sleeve, after the sleeve has been
inwardly displaced to pierce said central area, and said needle is
tightly gripped by said sleeve for total support of the sleeve and
said vial from the needle when the vial is disposed in an inverted
position with the needle positioned therebelow.
2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said sleeve includes an outer
barb, outer barb centrally of the axial length of said sleeve and
projects away from the piercing end of said sleeve.
3. The combination of claim 1 wherein said support means comprises
flexible leg portions carried by said sleeve projecting outwardly
therefrom and anchored to said outer peripheral portions of said
stopper.
4. The combination of claim 3 wherein said legs are equally spaced
about said sleeve and carried by the other end portion thereof.
5. The combination of claim 4 wherein said legs are longitudinally
bowed.
6. The combination of claim 5 wherein the outer ends of said legs
include barbed anchors imbedded in said outer peripheral portions
of said stopper.
Description
This invention relates to an apparatus for securement over the
stoppered end of a medicament vial and which will be capable of
piercing the stopper of the vial and enabling an hypodermic needle
point to be thereafter inserted into the vial for withdrawing fluid
therefrom in a manner positively preventing coring of the stopper
by the hypodermic needle.
The vial stopper piercing and needle positioning device of the
instant invention comprises an apparatus constructed of plastic so
as to be shape retentive and yet bendable and resilient and the
apparatus is positioned over the ordinary rubber stopper of a
common medicament vial of the type provided with a thin central
area. The plastic device consists of a tapered and beveled sleeve
including three radially outwardly equally spaced support arms and
the outer ends of the support arms are provided with barbed points
for anchoring in the outer peripheral portions of the stopper. The
arms or support legs are bowed so as to be more readily bendable
and the central area of the device may be urged by finger pressure
toward the thin central area of the stopper to enable the sleeve to
pierce the central area of the stopper. The tapering sleeve may be
pushed or depressed from within or under a sterile covering of
aluminum and the sleeve is flared toward its outer end so that a
hypodermic needle will seat its point securely in the sleeve and
thereby be exposed through the opening of the protruding sleeve to
the contents of the vial. In this manner, the hypodermic needle may
be admitted into the interior of the medicament vial without
penetrating a rubber plug and will thereby prevent a small core of
rubber from entering the lumen of the metal needle. If the central
area of the stopper pierced by the beveled sleeve cuts a small core
from the center of the stopper pierced thereby, the introduction of
the hypodermic needle into the sleeve behind the core will eject
the core harmlessly into the vial.
It is the primary object of this invention to provide a rubber
stopper puncturing devices that prevents "coring" or blocking of a
hypodermic needle that enters a common medicament vial.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a controlled
entry and a controlled positioning means for a hypodermic needle
point within a hermetically sealed medicament vial as opposed to
the ordinary manual method of achieving entry and positioning which
creates problems of control commonly known to those practiced in
the art.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus
which will define a hypodermic needle receiving sleeve precisely
centered relative to an associated medicament vial stopper and of a
size to snugly receive a hypodermic needle therethrough after the
sleeve has been utilized to pierce the stopper of the medicament
vial and to thereby allow the medicament vial to be supported in
inverted position from the associated hypodermic needle in order
that the vial of the associated syringe may be held by the user and
readily filled through the utilization of only one hand.
A final object of this invention to be specifically enumerated
herein is to provide a device in accordance with the preceding
objects which will conform to conventional forms of manufacture, be
of simple construction and easy to use.
These together with other objects and advantages which will become
subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and
operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed,
reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part
hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and
in which:
FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of the upper portion of a
conventional medicament vial including the stopper piercing
apparatus of the instant invention and with the stopper piercing
apparatus covered by a conventional sterile covering of
aluminum;
FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view taken
substantially upon the plane indicated by the section line 2--2 of
FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view similar to FIG. 2
but with the central portion of the aluminum cover and the stopper
piercing apparatus depressed inwardly so as to cause the sharpened
and beveled inner end of the sleeve portion of the stopper piercing
structure to pierce the central area of the medicament vial
stopper;
FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 but with the aluminum cover
removed and the hypodermic needle of a common syringe tightly
received in the sleeve portion of the stopper piercing
apparatus;
FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the medicament vial illustrated in
FIG. 1 with portions thereof being broken away and illustrated in
horizontal sections;
FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating the manner in which an
inverted medicament vial provided with the stopper piercing
apparatus of the instant invention may be readily supported from
the needle of a common syringe;
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the vial stopper piercing and
needle positioning device of the instant invention; and
FIG. 8 is a fragmentary end elevational view of the outer end of
one of the support arms or legs of the stopper piercing
structure.
Referring now more specifically to the drawings, the numeral 10
generally designates a common medicament vial including a
diametrically reduced neck 12 having a conventional flanged stopper
14 secured therein for closing the neck 12 of the vial 10. The
stopper 14 is provided with a thin central area 16 and is commonly
covered by an aluminum seal having a central area thereof which may
be opened to provide access to the central area 16 of the stopper
14 by the needle of a hypodermic syringe.
Conventionally, the sharpened tip of a hypodermic needle is forced
through the central area 16 in order to draw liquids from the
medicament vial 10. However, in forcing a sharpened hypodermic
needle through the central area 16, a portion of the central area
16 is often "cored" from the stopper 14 with the result that the
core of rubber removed from the central area 16 is often lodged
within the sharpened end of the hypodermic needle. If such a
condition exists and the vial is inverted to withdraw fluids from
the vial without first dislodging the core removed from the stopper
14 from the needle, the needle is drawn into the syringe with the
fluids being drawn into the syringe through the needle.
The vial stopper piercing and the needle positioning device of the
instant invention may best be seen in FIG. 7 and is generally
designated by the reference numeral 18. The device 18 includes a
central axial sleeve 20 which is tapered and beveled as at 22. The
outwardly flaring end of the sleeve 20 includes three equally
spaced and radially outwardly projecting integral spring support
arms or legs 24 whose outer ends include angled foot portions 26
for closely overlying the flange 28 of the stopper 14. Each of the
foot portions 26 has a barbed anchor 30 struck downwardly therefrom
and each of the anchors 30 is anchored in a corresponding portion
of the flange 28 in order to support the device 18 securely from
the stopper 14 with the sleeve 20 in axial alignment with the
central area 16 of the stopper 14.
It will be noted that the sleeve 20 also includes a barb 32 struck
therefrom and, from FIG. 2 of the drawings, it may be seen that
when the device 18 is supported from the stopper 14 the beveled tip
of the sleeve 20 just barely contacts the central area 16 of the
stopper 14.
The device 18 may be constructed of any suitable material such as a
flexible and resilient plastic. After the device 18 is secured to
the stopper 14, a conventional aluminum seal 34 is secured over the
device 18 and about the neck 12. Finally, a cap 36 of aluminum is
secured over the seal 34 and includes a removable central portion
38 which may be bent upwardly and away to expose the seal 34
preparatory to the central portion of the seal 34 being torn away
to expose the outer end of the sleeve 20. Thereafter, finger
pressure as at 40 may be utilized to depress the central portion of
the device 18 in the manner illustrated in FIG. 3 of the drawings
whereby the sharpened and barbed sleeve 20 will pierce the central
area 16 of the stopper 14 and the barb 32 will retain the lower end
of the sleeve 20 through the central area 16 in the manner
illustrated in FIG. 4. Thereafter, the needle 42 of a hypodermic
syringe 44 may be tightly wedged downwardly into the sleeve 20 in
order to securely engage the needle 42 with the sleeve 20.
Thereafter, the syring 44 may be held in one hand and swung to an
inverted position such as that illustrated in FIG. 6 and the
plunger (not shown) of the syringe 44 may be retracted to draw
liquid from the vial 10 into the syringe 44.
Because of the taper of the sleeve 20, the device 10 can be
designed to accept a standard needle gauge, using different devices
to accept different gauges, or one tapered design can be used to
accept all gauges as long as the point of the needle 42 engages
firmly within the sleeve 20.
To enter the vial 10, the needle point of a common syringe is
directed toward the flared outer end of the sleeve 20. The sleeve
20 then guides the point of the syringe needle 42 into the sleeve
20 until the syringe needle 42 is securely lodged in the sleeve 20
with a firm pressure from the operator. As soon as the syringe
needle 42 is firmly lodged within the sleeve 20, it does not matter
whether the syringe needle 42 protrudes only slightly or
considerably greater into the vial 10. In this manner, smaller
gauge needles 42 may actually be forced through the sleeve 20 while
larger gauge needles will only wedge in the sleeve 20 and not
project through the latter. By this type of operation, critical
manufacturing tolerances are not required for the sleeve 20.
Of course, by first piercing the central area 16 of the stopper 14
with the sleeve 20, the hypodermic needle 42 is not required to
penetrate a rubber plug and, therefore, a small cylinder or core of
rubber cannot be lodged in the beveled end of the needle 42 for
subsequent movement into the syringe 44 as liquids are withdrawn
from the vial 10.
When the needle 42 is tightly received in the sleeve 20, the vial
10 then becomes a steady and secure extension of the syringe.
Accordingly, an operator can, with only one hand on the syringe
barrel, easily lift the vial in an arc until it is upside down or
almost upside down. He can then freely use either hand or both
hands to manipulate the syringe, without touching the vial, in
order to fill the syringe while the syringe needle is in a secure
and ideal entering position to accept the contents of the vial. The
freedom of having both hands to operate the syringe and having the
proper and controlled penetration of the syringe needle allows a
much simplier and much more efficient filling of a syringe than the
method now commonly used, which requires one hand to do the
cumbersome work of two. Moreover, the simple and unique filling
method hereinbefore set forth does not require the needle to lay in
the hand or to be touched by the hand as the present, commonly used
method does.
The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles
of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes
will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired
to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation
shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and
equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the
invention.
* * * * *