AUTO-INJECTOR

Abstract

An auto-injector for administering a dose of a liquid medicament includes an elongate housing arranged to contain a syringe with a hollow needle and a stopper for sealing the syringe and displacing the medicament, the housing having a distal end and a proximal end with an orifice intended to be applied against an injection site. The syringe is slidably arranged with respect to the housing. A spring capable of, upon activation: pushing the needle from a covered position inside the housing into an advanced position through the orifice and past the proximal end (P), operating the syringe to supply the dose of medicament (M), and retracting the syringe with the needle into the covered position. After delivering the medicament, an activator arranged to lock the spring in a pressurized state prior to manual operation and capable of, upon manual operation, releasing the spring for injection.

Claims

1. (canceled)

2. An auto-injector comprising: a cylindrical housing containing a syringe that contains a medicament, the syringe comprising a stopper slidably disposed within a body of the syringe, the stopper forming a fluid tight seal with the body of the syringe, the cylindrical housing comprising at least one window for viewing the medicament within the syringe; a plunger rod configured to engage the stopper for dispensing the medicament from the syringe; a compression drive spring configured to bias the plunger rod in a proximal direction to dispense the medicament from the syringe; a sleeve comprising a resilient arm configured to be releasably coupled to the plunger rod, the resilient arm having an inner ramped surface, the sleeve having a first state in which the inner ramped surface of the resilient arm is held in engagement with a surface of the plunger rod to prevent the plunger rod from moving proximally under a force of the compression drive spring, and the sleeve having a second state in which the inner ramped surface of the resilient arm is outwardly deflected out of engagement with the surface of the plunger rod to allow the plunger rod to move proximally under the force of the compression drive spring to dispense the medicament, the sleeve comprising an outward protrusion configured to engage an inner surface of the cylindrical housing to restrict axial movement of the sleeve relative to the cylindrical housing; a slidable member configured to slide axially relative to the cylindrical housing from a first position in which the slidable member extends from an end of the cylindrical housing by a first distance to a second position in which the slidable member extends from the end of the cylindrical housing by a second distance, the first distance being greater than the second distance, wherein sliding the slidable member axially relative to the cylindrical housing from the first position to the second position changes the sleeve from the first state to the second state thereby allowing the plunger rod to move proximally relative to the sleeve under the force of the compression drive spring to dispense the medicament; and a tubular syringe carrier disposed within the cylindrical housing, the tubular syringe carrier defining a cavity in which the syringe is disposed, the tubular syringe carrier comprising an inwardly angled protrusion that is located at a proximal end of the tubular syringe carrier and that is engaged with a proximal end of the body of the syringe to hold the syringe within the cylindrical housing, the tubular syringe carrier being sized such that a distal end of the syringe extends distally beyond a distal end of the tubular syringe carrier and a distal flange of the syringe is distally spaced apart from the tubular syringe carrier while the proximal end of the body of the syringe is engaged with the inwardly angled protrusion of the tubular syringe carrier, wherein the compression drive spring is configured to apply a distally-directed force to the sleeve and a proximally-directed force to the plunger rod, a distal end of the compression drive spring being disposed within a recess of the sleeve and configured to be released when the plunger rod reaches an end of travel position such that the distal end of the compression drive spring moves distally relative to the cylindrical housing.

3. The auto-injector of claim 2, wherein the cylindrical housing has a unitary construction.

4. The auto-injector of claim 2, wherein the syringe is a glass syringe.

5. The auto-injector of claim 2, wherein the outward protrusion of the sleeve is configured to engage a resilient arm located on the inner surface of the cylindrical housing.

6. The auto-injector of claim 5, wherein the outward protrusion of the sleeve is configured to engage the resilient arm of the cylindrical housing to restrict axial movement of the sleeve relative to the cylindrical housing.

7. The auto-injector of claim 6, wherein the outward protrusion of the sleeve is configured to engage the resilient arm of the cylindrical housing to restrict axial movement of the sleeve relative to the cylindrical housing prior to dispensing the medicament.

8. The auto-injector of claim 5, wherein the resilient arm of the cylindrical housing has an inner ramped surface such that an outward deflection of the inner ramped surface of the resilient arm of the cylindrical housing releases the outward protrusion of the sleeve from being held by the resilient arm of the cylindrical housing.

9. The auto-injector of claim 2, wherein the resilient arm of the sleeve has an outer surface that comprises an outward protrusion.

10. The auto-injector of claim 9, wherein the outward protrusion of the resilient arm of the sleeve defines a recess that is exposed along an outer surface of the resilient arm.

11. The auto-injector of claim 2, wherein the resilient arm of the sleeve is a first resilient arm of the sleeve and the sleeve comprises a second resilient arm.

12. The auto-injector of claim 2, wherein the compression drive spring is configured to apply the distally-directed force to an end face of the sleeve that is located proximal to the resilient arm of the sleeve.

13. An auto-injector comprising: a cylindrical housing containing a syringe that contains a medicament, the syringe comprising a stopper slidably disposed within a body of the syringe, the stopper forming a fluid tight seal with the body of the syringe, the cylindrical housing comprising at least one window for viewing the medicament within the syringe; a plunger rod configured to engage the stopper for dispensing the medicament from the syringe; a compression drive spring configured to bias the plunger rod in a proximal direction to dispense the medicament from the syringe; a sleeve comprising a resilient arm configured to be releasably coupled to the plunger rod, the resilient arm having an inner ramped surface, the sleeve having a first state in which the inner ramped surface of the resilient arm is held in engagement with a surface of the plunger rod to prevent the plunger rod from moving proximally under a force of the compression drive spring, and the sleeve having a second state in which the inner ramped surface of the resilient arm is outwardly deflected out of engagement with the surface of the plunger rod to allow the plunger rod to move proximally under the force of the compression drive spring to dispense the medicament; a cylindrical member configured to move relative to the cylindrical housing from a first position in which the cylindrical member contacts the sleeve to prevent the resilient arm from deflecting outward to a second position in which the cylindrical member has moved relative to the resilient arm to allow the resilient arm of the sleeve to deflect outward and move at least partially into a recess of the cylindrical member, wherein moving the cylindrical member relative to the cylindrical housing from the first position to the second position changes the sleeve from the first state to the second state thereby allowing the plunger rod to move proximally relative to the sleeve under the force of the compression drive spring to dispense the medicament; and a tubular syringe carrier disposed within the cylindrical housing, the tubular syringe carrier defining a cavity in which the syringe is disposed, the tubular syringe carrier comprising an inwardly angled protrusion that is located at a proximal end of the tubular syringe carrier and that is engaged with a proximal end of the body of the syringe to hold the syringe within the cylindrical housing, the tubular syringe carrier being sized such that a distal end of the syringe extends distally beyond a distal end of the tubular syringe carrier and a distal flange of the syringe is distally spaced apart from the tubular syringe carrier while the proximal end of the body of the syringe is engaged with the inwardly angled protrusion of the tubular syringe carrier, wherein the drive compression spring is configured to apply a distally-directed force to the sleeve and a proximally-directed force to the plunger rod, a distal end of the compression drive spring being disposed within a recess of the sleeve and configured to be released when the plunger rod reaches an end of travel position such that the distal end of the compression drive spring moves distally relative to the cylindrical housing.

14. The auto-injector of claim 13, wherein the resilient arm of the sleeve has an outer surface that comprises an outward protrusion.

15. The auto-injector of claim 14, wherein the cylindrical member contacts the outward protrusion of the resilient arm to prevent the resilient arm from deflecting outward when the cylindrical member is disposed in the first position.

16. The auto-injector of claim 15, wherein the outward protrusion of the resilient arm is allowed to deflect outward and at least partially into the recess within the cylindrical member when the cylindrical member is disposed in the second position.

17. The auto-injector of claim 14, wherein the outward protrusion of the resilient arm of the sleeve defines a recess that is exposed along an outer surface of the resilient arm.

18. The auto-injector of claim 13, wherein the cylindrical housing has a unitary construction.

19. The auto-injector of claim 13, wherein the sleeve comprises an outward protrusion configured to engage an inner surface of the cylindrical housing to restrict axial movement of the sleeve relative to the cylindrical housing prior to dispensing the medicament.

20. The auto-injector of claim 13, further comprising a cap removably attached to a proximal end of the auto-injector, the cap being configured to engage a needle shield attached to a proximal end of the syringe and covering an injection needle attached to the syringe to remove the needle shield from the injection needle.

21. The auto-injector of claim 20, wherein the cap is configured such that a removal of the cap from the auto-injector removes the needle shield from the injection needle.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0059] The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given herein below and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus, are not limiting of the present invention, and wherein:

[0060] FIG. 1 are two longitudinal sections of an auto-injector with a single compression spring for advancing a syringe with a needle, injecting a dose of medicament and retracting the syringe and needle, the auto-injector as-delivered,

[0061] FIG. 2 are two longitudinal sections of the auto-injector with the syringe and needle advanced and the dose expelled from the syringe,

[0062] FIG. 3 is a perspective sectional view of the auto-injector in the initial state of FIG. 1,

[0063] FIG. 4 is another perspective sectional view of the auto-injector of FIG. 3, and

[0064] FIG. 5 is a detail view of the distal end of the auto-injector with a delay box,

[0065] FIG. 6 is a detailed view of the proximal end of the autoinjector showing the cap and needle shield remover.

[0066] Corresponding parts are marked with the same reference symbols in all figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0067] FIG. 1 shows two longitudinal sections in different section planes of an auto-injector 1, the different section planes approximately 90° rotated to each other. The auto-injector 1 comprises an elongate housing 2. A syringe 3, e.g. a Hypak syringe, with a hollow needle 4 is arranged in a proximal part of the auto-injector 1. When the auto-injector 1 or the syringe 3 is assembled a protective needle shield 5 is attached to the needle 4. A stopper 6 is arranged for sealing the syringe 3 distally and for displacing a liquid medicament M through the hollow needle 4. The syringe 3 is held in a tubular syringe carrier 7 and supported at its proximal end therein. A single compression spring 8 is arranged in a distal part of the auto-injector 1. A plunger 9 is arranged for forwarding the spring force of the compression spring 8.

[0068] Inside the housing 2 a retraction sleeve 10 is slidably arranged. Before the injection is triggered as shown in FIG. 1 the retraction sleeve 10 is in a maximum proximal position and prevented from moving in distal direction D by means of stops 11 caught behind latches 12 in the housing 2. A distal end of the compression spring 8 bears against an end face 13 of the retraction sleeve 10. Due to the stops 11 and latches 12 the force of the compression spring 8 is thus reacted into the housing 2. The proximal end of the compression spring 8 bears against a decoupling member 14 arranged around the plunger 9. Distally from the end face 13 the retraction sleeve has two or more resilient arms 15 for holding a stud 16 and keeping it from being moved in proximal direction P. The stud 16 is arranged at the distal end of the plunger 9. The stud 16 and the resilient arms 15 have corresponding ramp features for pushing the resilient arms 15 apart in order to allow the stud 16 and the plunger 9 to move in proximal direction P.

[0069] The decoupling member 14 comprises a thrust face 17 for bearing against a proximal end of the compression spring 8. Proximally from the thrust face 17 two or more resilient decoupling arms 18 are provided at the decoupling member 14, the decoupling arms 18 having inner ramped surfaces bearing against a first shoulder 19 in the plunger 9 in proximal direction P. The resilient decoupling arms 18 are supported by an inner wall of the retraction sleeve 10 in this situation so they cannot flex outward and slip past the first shoulder 19.

[0070] A trigger button 20 is arranged at the distal end D of the auto-injector 1. The trigger button 20 may be pushed in proximal direction P in order to start an injection. As long as the trigger button 20 is not pushed the resilient arms 15 are caught between two or more retainers 21 arranged at the trigger button 20 so the resilient arms 15 cannot flex outward and the stud 16 although proximally biased by the compression spring 8 cannot slip through.

[0071] The syringe carrier 7 is engaged for joint axial movement with a syringe holder 22 which is slidably arranged in the retraction sleeve 10. The syringe holder 22 is provided with two or more resilient syringe holder arms 23 arranged distally. The syringe holder arms 23 have a respective inclined surface for bearing against a second shoulder 24 in the plunger 9 arranged proximally from the first shoulder 19. In the initial position shown in FIG. 1 the syringe holder arms 23 are supported by an inner surface of the housing 2 so they cannot flex outward and the second shoulder 24 cannot slip through. In order to support the syringe holder arms 23 at the housing 2 a respective number of apertures are provided in the retraction sleeve 10.

[0072] FIG. 1 shows the auto-injector 1 as-delivered with a cap 25 screwed onto to the proximal end P of the auto-injector 1. FIG. 6 shows details of the proximal end P with the cap 25. The cap 25 comprises a sheet metal clip 26 with two or more barbs 27 extending through an orifice into the proximal end P of the auto-injector 1. The sheet metal clip 26 is mounted to the cap 25 for joint axial movement with respect to a longitudinal axis of the auto-injector 1. However, the sheet metal clip 26 may rotate independently from the cap 25. This may be achieved by attaching the sheet metal clip 26 with a hole in its base onto a pin protruding inwardly from the cap 25 and deforming the pin to form a mushroom-shaped closing head 28 so as to prevent the sheet metal clip 26 from being removed while allowing some clearance for the sheet metal clip 26 to rotate. When the cap 25 is screwed onto the proximal P end of the auto-injector 1 the barbs 27 are pushed down the protective needle shield 5 and snap into a circumferential notch arranged in the protective needle shield 5 or behind a shoulder thereof.

[0073] When a user wants to operate the auto-injector 1 the first step is to unscrew the cap 25. Thus the barbs 27 pull the protective needle shield 5 off the syringe 3 in proximal direction P and through the orifice making the syringe 3 ready to be used.

[0074] A safety button 29 is arranged laterally at the distal part of the housing 2. The safety button 29 serves for interlocking with the trigger button 20 in a manner to prevent the trigger button 20 from being inadvertently operated without the safety button 29 being released from a first blocking position.

[0075] Consequently, in order to operate the trigger button 20 the safety button 29 has to be pushed transversally with respect to the longitudinal axis against the force of a spring element 30 which is formed in the safety button 29. The safety button 29 is pivoted in the middle so pushing the proximal end of the safety button 29 inward pulls an interlock 31 at its proximal end obstructing the trigger button 20 outward so the trigger button 20 can be pushed.

[0076] When the trigger button 20 is pushed the retainers 21 are pushed in proximal direction P so the resilient arms 15 are allowed to flex outward. Under load of the compression spring 8 the inclined surfaces of the stud 16 force the resilient arms 15 apart until the stud 16 can slip through.

[0077] The second shoulder 24 pushes the syringe holder 22, syringe carrier 7 and syringe 3 forward while no load is exerted onto the stopper 6. The hollow needle 4 appears from the proximal end P and is inserted into an injection site, e.g. a patient's skin.

[0078] The forward movement continues until the syringe holder 22 bottoms out at a first abutment 32 in the housing 2 (see FIG. 2). The travel from the initial position (cf. FIG. 1) up to this point defines an injection depth, i.e. needle insertion depth.

[0079] When the syringe holder 22 has nearly bottomed out the resilient syringe holder arms 23 have reached a widened portion 2.1 of the housing 2 where they are no longer supported by the inner wall of the housing 2. However, since the force required to insert the needle 4 is relatively low the second shoulder 24 will continue to drive forward the syringe holder 22 until proximal travel is halted at the first abutment 32. At this point the syringe holder arms 23 are flexed out by the continued force of the second shoulder 24 and allow it to slip through. Now the plunger 9 no longer pushes against the syringe holder 22 but against the stopper 6 for expelling the medicament M from the syringe 3 and injecting it into or through the patient's skin.

[0080] When the stopper 6 has nearly bottomed out in the syringe 3 (cf. FIG. 2) the decoupling member 14 has reached a position where it pushes against the latches 12 in a manner to decouple the retraction sleeve 10 from the housing 2, so the retraction sleeve 10 may slide in distal direction D. Thus the compression spring 8 is no longer grounded with its distal end in the housing 2. Instead, as soon as the decoupling member 14 has bottomed out at a second abutment 33 the proximal end of the compression spring 8 gets grounded in the housing while the distal end is pulling the retraction sleeve 10 in distal direction D.

[0081] Just before the decoupling member 14 decouples the retraction sleeve 10 from the housing 2 the decoupling arms 18 reach an aperture 34 in the retraction sleeve 10 (see FIG. 4) so they are no longer kept from being flexed outward. The decoupling arms 18 are thus pushed outward by the first shoulder 19 pushing against its ramped surfaces so the first shoulder 19 slips through in distal direction as soon as the decoupling member 14 has hit the second abutment 33.

[0082] The syringe holder 22 is taken along in distal direction D by the retraction sleeve 10, e.g. by a front face 35. Thus the syringe 3 and needle 4 are retracted into a safe position inside the housing 2, e.g. into the initial position. The plunger 9, no longer bearing against the decoupling arms 18 is pulled back too.

[0083] In the distal part of the auto-injector 1 a delay box 36 is arranged (see FIG. 5 for details). The delay box 36 comprises a circumferential outer wall 37 with a back collar 38 attached to the housing 2 and a circumferential inner wall 39 with a front collar 40 attached to the retraction sleeve 10. A volume between the outer wall 37 and inner wall 39 is filled with a viscous fluid, such as silicon grease. As the retraction sleeve 10 is moved in distal direction D the inner wall 39 glides along the outer wall 37 wherein the back collar 38 and front collar 40 increasingly reduce the volume. One or more holes (not shown) provided in a part of the delay box 36 allow the viscous fluid to be pushed out as the volume decreases. The force required to do this slows down the motion of the retraction sleeve 10.

[0084] The retraction sleeve 10 is released by the decoupling member 14 from the housing 2 a certain amount of time or travel before the stopper 6 bottoms out in the syringe 3 and the distal motion of the retraction sleeve 10 begins. The motion of the retraction sleeve 10 is slowed down by the delay box 36. Due to a gap 41 between the front face 35 and the syringe holder 22 the retraction sleeve 10 is not yet dragging the syringe back in distal direction D. The plunger 9 is still pushing against the stopper 6 and expelling residual medicament M. As the stopper 6 hits the proximal end of the syringe 3 the stopper 6 and plunger 9 stop while the retraction sleeve 10 is still slowly moving back in distal direction D. The apertures 34 now meet the decoupling arms 18 allowing them to flex out and the plunger 9 to come clear. The retraction sleeve 10 has now travelled back far enough to close the gap 41 so the syringe holder 22, syringe carrier 7, syringe 3, needle 4 and plunger 9 are dragged back in distal direction D.

[0085] The cap 25 and the delay box 36 are not restricted to be used with the auto-injector 1 shown in the embodiments. Instead the cap 25 may be combined with any kind of auto-injector with the needle hidden in the housing prior to an injection. The delay box may be combined with any kind of auto-injector for ensuring full delivery of the syringe's contents and reliable triggering of the retraction, irrespective of the spring means or driving means used in the respective auto-injector.

[0086] The housing 2 may have at least one viewing window for inspecting the syringe 3.

[0087] The auto-injector 1 may preferably be used for subcutaneous or intra-muscular injection, particularly for delivering one of an analgetic, an anticoagulant, insulin, an insulin derivate, heparin, Lovenox, a vaccine, a growth hormone, a peptide hormone, a proteine, antibodies and complex carbohydrates.

[0088] The aforementioned arrangement for coupling the plunger (9) to either, the syringe (3) or the stopper (6), may be applied in any auto-injector having a plunger for forwarding a force of a drive means to a syringe with a stopper. The primary advantage of this arrangement ensures the load from the drive means is not transferred directly to the stopper until the needle is inserted in the patient, thus avoiding a wet injection. The arrangement comprises the syringe holder (22) and associated syringe holder arms (23), a shoulder (e.g. the second shoulder 24) on the plunger (9), the support of the holder arms (23) by an inner surface in order to prevent them from flexing out in a first position and, a widened portion (2.1) for allowing them to flex radially and to disconnect from the plunger when in a more proximal position. The spring means or other drive means, the ability to retract the syringe or to forward a needle shroud after injection and other features described herein are not required for the prevention of a wet injection.

LIST OF REFERENCES

[0089] 1 auto-injector [0090] 2 housing [0091] 2.1 widened portion [0092] 3 syringe [0093] 4 hollow needle [0094] 5 protective needle shield [0095] 6 stopper [0096] 7 syringe carrier [0097] 8 spring means, compression spring [0098] 8.1 distal end [0099] 8.2 proximal end [0100] 9 plunger [0101] 10 retraction sleeve [0102] 11 stop [0103] 12 latch [0104] 13 end face [0105] 14 decoupling member [0106] 15 resilient arm [0107] 16 stud [0108] 17 thrust face [0109] 18 decoupling arm [0110] 19 first shoulder [0111] 20 activating means, trigger button [0112] 21 retainer [0113] 22 syringe holder [0114] 23 syringe holder arm [0115] 24 second shoulder [0116] 25 cap [0117] 26 sheet metal clip [0118] 27 barb [0119] 28 closing head [0120] 29 safety button [0121] 30 spring element [0122] 31 interlock [0123] 32 first abutment [0124] 33 second abutment [0125] 34 aperture [0126] 35 front face [0127] 36 delay box [0128] 37 outer wall [0129] 38 back collar [0130] 39 inner wall [0131] 40 front collar [0132] 41 gap [0133] D distal end, distal direction [0134] M medicament [0135] P proximal end, proximal direction