Glass Luer Tip with Marking and Method for Manufacturing the Same

Abstract

The present invention relates to a glass luer tip with marking means for completing a leak-free luer slip connection with a female fitting. The invention also relates to a method for manufacturing such a marked glass luer tip. The method further relates to the use of such a marked glass luer tip for completing a leak-free luer slip connection.

Claims

1. A glass frustoconical male luer tip for an injection device, intended to be connected to a corresponding hollow conical female fitting via a friction fit connection, wherein said male luer tip comprises a marking configured to indicate to a user where to position a proximal end of said female fitting for completing a leak-free connection.

2. The luer tip of claim 1, wherein said marking is selected from a visual indicator, a tactile indicator, and/or combinations thereof, located on a surface of said tip.

3. The luer tip of claim 1, wherein said marking has an annular shape.

4. The luer tip of claim 1, wherein said marking is selected from a print, an engraving, a relief, and/or combination thereof.

5. The luer tip of claim 1, wherein said marking is an annular print.

6. A method for manufacturing a glass frustoconical male luer tip for an injection device, provided with a marking configured to indicate to a user where to position a proximal end of a corresponding hollow conical female fitting for completing a leak-free friction fit connection with said tip, said method comprising the following steps: (A) preforming the tip from glass; (B) annealing said preformed tip: (C) applying onto the tip a gage having standardized dimensions so as to determine on the tip the location where to position said marking; and (D) providing said tip with said marking at said location; wherein step (B) may take place either before step (C) or after step (D).

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein said gage is a physical gage.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein said physical gage is a stainless steel gage applied onto said tip by axial force.

9. The method according to claim 6, wherein said gage is a virtual gage applied to said tip by a camera.

10. The method according to claim 6, wherein when step (B) takes place before step (C), step (D) comprises ink printing said tip and/or laser printing said tip.

11. The method according to claim 6, wherein when step (B) takes place after step (D), step (D) comprises enamel printing said tip and/or glass relief forming on said tip.

12. The method according to claim 6, further comprising a step of depositing a ceramic coating onto said tip taking place before step (B).

13. The luer tip of claim 1, wherein said tip is used for completing a leak-free friction fit connection with a corresponding hollow conical female fitting.

14. A method for completing a leak-free friction fit connection between said male luer tip of claim 1 and a corresponding hollow conical female fitting, said method comprising a step of pushing and twisting said female fitting onto said male luer tip until a proximal end of said female fitting reaches said marking.

15. An injection device comprising a glass frustoconical luer tip according to claim 1.

16. The glass frustoconical luer tip obtained by the method of claim 6, wherein a corresponding hollow conical female fitting is used to complete a leak-free friction fit connection with said luer tip.

17. A method for completing a leak-free friction fit connection between said glass frustoconical male luer tip obtained by the method of claim 6 and a corresponding hollow conical female fitting, said method comprising a step of pushing and twisting said female fitting onto said male luer tip until a proximal end of said female fitting reaches said marking.

18. An injection device obtained by the method according to claim 6.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0059] The invention will now be described in details, with reference to the enclosed drawings in which:

[0060] FIG. 1 is a side schematic view of a marked glass luer tip of the invention onto which a female fitting is in the process of being connected,

[0061] FIG. 2 is a side schematic view of the marked glass luer tip and the female fitting of FIG. 1 once the secured connection is completed,

[0062] FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of the step of applying the marking means onto a glass luer tip according to the manufacturing method of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0063] With reference to FIG. 1, is shown partially and schematically a glass made male luer tip 1 of the invention positioned at a distal end of the glass barrel 2 of an injection device 3. The tip 1 is provided with a channel 1c (shown in dotted line) for the passage and delivery of the product (not shown) contained in the glass barrel 2.

[0064] The glass luer tip 1 has the shape of a 6% taper cone in conformity with ISO 80369-7. It is provided with a marking means, under the shape of an annular print 4 located on the outer surface 1a of the glass luer tip 1. The glass luer tip 1 has a distal end 1b.

[0065] With reference to FIG. 1 is also shown a needle hub 5. The needle hub 5 comprises a hollow 6% taper cone, under the form of a female fitting 6, intended to be connected onto the glass luer tip 1. The female fitting 6 comprises a proximal end 6a and a distal end 6b where a needle 7 is provided.

[0066] The female fitting 6 is intended to be connected to the glass luer tip 1 via a luer slip connection: according to such a connection, the female fitting 6 is mounted onto the glass luer tip 1 in a push-and-twist manner in conformity with the arrows A and B shown on FIG. 1.

[0067] The marking means, such as the annular print 4, is configured to indicate to a user where to position the proximal end 6a of the female fitting 6 for completing a leak-free connection. The marking means constitute a visual indicator of such a position. In embodiments not shown, the marking means could be under the form of a tactile indicator.

[0068] For example, the marking means could be under the form of an engraving and/or a relief.

[0069] With reference to FIG. 2, the glass luer tip 1 and the female fitting 6 of FIG. 1 are shown once the luer slip connection is completed. As shown in this FIG., the proximal end 6a of the female fitting is positioned at the location of the annular print 4. It can be observed that in such a position of the proximal end 6a of the female fitting 6 with respect to the annular print 4, the distal end 1b of the glass luer tip 1 is in contact with the wall of the distal end 6b of the female fitting 6. The connection between the glass luer tip 1 and the female fitting 6 is therefore secure and leak-free.

[0070] The user can feel comfortable with the fact that the connection is safe and the needle will not detach during the injection step.

[0071] With reference to FIG. 3 is shown a step of the method of the invention for manufacturing the marked glass luer tip 1 of FIGS. 1 and 2.

[0072] According to this method, in a first step (not shown), the barrel and the tip of an injection device are preformed from glass. Alternatively, the tip may be preformed from glass on its own. This preforming step is completed according to well-known glass forming methods.

[0073] The preformed tip is then annealed. For example, the annealing step may be performed at a temperature ranging from about 200° C. to about 800° C.

[0074] The annealing step may also include a step of depositing a ceramic coating onto the tip, before annealing as such. The ceramic coating allows providing additional roughness onto the surface of the glass luer tip, once the coated tip is annealed. The presence of a ceramic coating on the tip allows an improved friction fit when the female fitting is connected onto the glass luer tip later on.

[0075] With reference to FIG. 3, once the annealed preformed tip 1 has cooled down, a gage 8 having standardized dimensions in conformity with ISO 80369-7 is applied onto the tip 1. The gage 8 may be a physical gage, such as a stainless steel gage that may be applied onto the tip 1 by axial force according to the arrow C shown on FIG. 3. Alternatively, the gage may be a virtual gage applied to the preformed glass tip 1 by a camera.

[0076] Application of the gage 8 onto the tip 1 allows determining the location where to position the marking means, such as the annular print 4, for each individual glass luer tip 1 to be marked, regardless from the fact that the dimensions of glass luer tips vary from one glass luer tip to another, due to dimensional tolerances inherent to glass products. The dimensional variations of the glass luer tips have therefore no impact on the correctness of the location determined for one individual glass luer tip 1, thanks to the use of a gage in the method of the invention.

[0077] Once the location where to position the marking means is determined for the glass luer tip, the marking means are provided at said location.

[0078] With reference to FIG. 3, for example, an annular print 4 is applied thanks to a printer 9 provided with a nozzle 9a for delivering printing ink.

[0079] In embodiments not shown, the marking means could be an engraving provided at the determined location by means of laser printing.

[0080] In alternative embodiments of the method of the invention, the marking means could be applied onto the glass luer tip before the annealing step. This is the case for example when the marking means are selected from enamel printing and/or glass relief forming the tip. For example, enamel is deposited as an annular band at the determined location on the surface of the tip. Alternatively, a relief, such as a groove or a ridge, for example an annular groove or an annular ridge, is formed by glass forming at the location determined by the gage at the preceding step.

[0081] The marked glass luer tip is then annealed in order to fix either the enamel printing or the shape of the relief obtained by glass forming.

[0082] The marked glass luer tip 1 is obtained, that may be used for connecting securely a female fitting 6 to the injection device via a luer slip connection as described in relation with FIGS. 1 and 2.

[0083] The marked glass made luer tip of the invention and the method of the invention allow performing a secure and leak-free luer slip connection between said glass made luer tip and a female fitting it is intended to be connected to, such as a needle hub or other luer connection. For each new connection, said connection is safe, independently from the variations of the dimensions of the glass luer tip and independently from the variations of the gesture completed by the human being performing the connection.