ACTUATION DEVICE FOR A PISTON OF A SYRINGE

Abstract

The present application relates to an actuation device for a piston of a syringe. The actuation device comprises a holder for a barrel of the syringe, a coupling which is linearly movable relative to the holder and has a seat into which the piston of the syringe can be inserted, at least one securing element with which the piston can be secured releasably in the seat, and a linear drive for the coupling. The coupling has at least two electrically conductive contact elements which are arranged inside the seat in order to come into contact with corresponding electrically conductive contact faces of the piston when the piston is inserted into the seat. The present application further relates to a sampling system with an actuation device and with at least one syringe, and also to a syringe suitable for the sampling system.

Claims

1-14. canceled

15. An actuation device for a piston of a syringe, comprising a holder for a barrel of the syringe, a coupling which is linearly movable relative to the holder and has a seat into which the piston of the syringe can be inserted, at least one securing element with which the piston can be secured releasably in the seat, and a linear drive for the coupling, wherein the coupling has at least two electrically conductive contact elements which are arranged inside the seat in order to come into contact with corresponding electrically conductive contact faces of the piston when the piston is inserted into the seat.

16. The actuation device according to claim 15, wherein an inner wall of the seat is designed as a first contact element of the at least two contact elements.

17. The actuation device according to claim 15, wherein a first contact element of the at least two contact elements is designed as a round face, and the at least one further contact element is designed as a circle concentric to the round face.

18. The actuation device according to claim 15, wherein the at least two contact elements are prestressed inside the seat, counter to a direction of insertion of the piston, by at least a first spring element.

19. The actuation device according to claim 15, wherein the at least one securing element is designed as a form-fit element, which can engage in a circumferential groove of the piston when the piston is inserted into the seat.

20. The actuation device according to claim 19, wherein the form-fit element comprises at least one ball which is placed in an opening of the seat, wherein a sleeve is arranged on the outside of the seat and is movable relative to the seat from a first position to a second position such that, in the first position, the at least one ball is pressed by the sleeve into an interior of the seat and, in the second position, the at least one ball is movable out of the interior.

21. The actuation device according to claim 15, wherein the linear drive comprises at least one spindle.

22. The actuation device according to claim 15, wherein the at least one securing element is designed in such a way that the piston can be automatically secured in the seat and released therefrom.

23. A sampling system comprising an actuation device according to claim 15 and also at least one syringe with a barrel and with a piston arranged partially inside the barrel and linearly displaceable therein, wherein a non-volatile memory element is arranged on an end of the piston not arranged inside the barrel, and wherein the memory element is connected to at least two electrically conductive contact faces which are shaped and arranged on the barrel in such a way that they can come into contact with the electrically conductive contact elements of the actuation device when the piston is inserted into the seat.

24. The sampling system according to claim 23, wherein the actuation device is connected to an electronic control system or comprises the latter, wherein the electronic control system is configured to read out data from the non-volatile memory element and/or to write data into the latter.

25. The sampling system according to claim 24, wherein the data contain at least one of the following items of information: number of piston strokes executed, size of the barrel, serial number of the syringe, production date of the syringe, total travel of the executed piston strokes, manufacturer of the syringe, data of the first executed piston stroke, size of the needle connected to the barrel.

26. The sampling system according to claim 23, wherein the form-fit element comprises at least one ball which is placed in an opening of the seat, wherein a sleeve is arranged on the outside of the seat and is movable relative to the seat from a first position to a second position such that, in the first position, the at least one ball is pressed by the sleeve into an interior of the seat and, in the second position, the at least one ball is movable out of the interior, wherein an outer circumferential surface of the piston of the syringe has a circumferential groove in which the ball engages when the sleeve is in the first position.

27. A syringe for a sampling system according to claim 23, comprising a barrel and a piston arranged partially inside the barrel and linearly displaceable therein, wherein a non-volatile memory element is arranged on an end of the piston not arranged inside the barrel, which memory element is connected to at least two electrically conductive contact faces.

28. The syringe according to claim 27, wherein a first contact face of the at least two contact faces is round, and the at least one further contact face is designed as a circle concentric to the round first contact face.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0046] In the drawings used to explain the illustrative embodiment:

[0047] FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of a sampling system according to the invention;

[0048] FIG. 2 shows a sectional view of the sampling system from FIG. 1;

[0049] FIG. 3 shows a sectional view of the sampling system from FIG. 2, with the syringe released from the actuation device;

[0050] FIG. 4 shows a more detailed view of a chip arrangement with contact faces and memory element.

[0051] In principle, identical parts are provided with identical reference signs in the figures.

WAYS OF IMPLEMENTING THE INVENTION

[0052] FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of a sampling system 1 according to the invention with an actuation device 2 to which a syringe 3 is secured. The syringe 3 has a barrel 4 in which a piston 5 is mounted in a linearly displaceable manner. Moreover, a needle 6 is connected to the barrel 4 of the syringe 3, via which needle 6 a liquid can be drawn in or ejected.

[0053] The actuation device 2 has a holder 7 for the barrel 4 of the syringe 3, and a coupling 8 to which the piston 5 of the syringe 3 is releasably connected. The coupling 8 is linearly displaceable relative to the holder 7 by a linear drive 9. This displacement has the effect that the piston 5 is also displaced inside the barrel 4. The displacement path of the piston 5 inside the barrel 4 of the syringe 3 takes place in the axial direction. The axial direction is parallel to the longitudinal axis A of the syringe 3.

[0054] The holder 7 is connected releasably to the actuation device 1 by holding means, such that the holder 7 can be removed and exchanged along with the syringe 3 secured to it. Thus, the syringe 3 used with the actuation device 1 can be exchanged very quickly and easily, since a new syringe 3 does not have to be secured on the holder 4, and instead only the holder 4, which can be connected to the actuation device 1 by holding means, is exchanged. Thus, when exchanging the syringe 3, there is no need for the time-consuming clamping, particularly when exchanging with a syringe 3 having a greater or smaller barrel.

[0055] FIGS. 2 and 3 show sectional views of the sampling system from FIG. 1. FIG. 2 shows the situation according to FIG. 1, in which the syringe 3 is secured on the actuation device 2. FIG. 3 shows the situation when the syringe is released from the actuation device 2.

[0056] The coupling 8 has a seat 11 into which an end of the piston 5 of the syringe 3 is insertable. The seat 11 has a circumferential wall 10, which is secured on an arm 26. The arm 26 connects the coupling 8 to the linear drive 9, with which the coupling can be linearly displaced relative to the holder 7.

[0057] The piston 5 has a chip arrangement 19, which is shown in somewhat greater detail in FIG. 4. The chip arrangement 19 has at least two contact faces (see FIG. 4) which are in contact with two contact elements 20, 21 which are arranged inside the seat 11 of the coupling 8 when the piston 5 is inserted in the seat 11. The contact elements 20, 21 are connected via cable 22 to an electronic control system (not shown). When the contact faces of the chip arrangement 19 are in contact with the contact elements 20, 21, electrical signals can be exchanged between the chip arrangement 19 and the electronic control system, in particular in order to write data in a memory element of the chip arrangement 19 or to read out data therefrom.

[0058] The coupling 8 moreover has a sleeve 12 which is arranged on the outside of the wall 10 of the seat 11 and is mounted linearly displaceably with respect to the latter. The sleeve 12 is prestressed to the shown first position by a first spring element 16. In this position, a ball 13 arranged in an opening 14 of the seat 11 is pressed into the interior of the seat 11 and thus in the direction of the piston 5. The piston 5 of the syringe 3 has a circumferential groove 22 in which the ball 13 engages. In this way, the piston 5 is secured with form-fit engagement in the seat 11.

[0059] As is shown in FIG. 3, the sleeve 12 can be moved away from the syringe 3, counter to the spring force of the first spring element 16, to a second position by means of an actuator 15. An inner wall of the sleeve 12 is shaped in such a way that the ball 13 can be moved out from the interior of the seat 11 when the sleeve 12 is located in the second position. In this way, the ball 13 can be released from the engagement with the circumferential groove 22, whereupon the piston 5 is freed from the coupling 8.

[0060] A ram 18 is arranged inside the seat 11 and is prestressed, by a second spring element 17, in the direction of the piston 5 or in the direction of an opening of the seat 11 into which the piston 5 can be inserted. In the embodiment shown, the two contact elements 20, 21 are arranged on this ram. In this way, they are pressed together with the ram 18 onto the chip arrangement 19 by the spring force of the second spring element 17, in particular onto the contact faces of the chip arrangement 19 of the piston 5.

[0061] When the piston 5 is released by movement of the sleeve 12 to the second position, it is pushed out of the seat 11 by the spring force of the second spring element 17 acting on the ram 18, which simplifies the removal of the piston 5 from the seat.

[0062] FIG. 4 shows a more detailed view of the chip arrangement 19 according to the embodiment of the sampling device 1 from FIGS. 1 to 3. The chip arrangement has a memory element 25, which is configured as a non-volatile memory. The memory element 25 stores data relating to the syringe 3, for example its volume, the number of executed piston strokes, etc. The memory element 25 is connected to two contact faces 23, 24, which are located on the chip arrangement. A first contact face 23 is designed as a round face. A second contact face 24 is designed as a circular surface arranged concentrically around the first round contact face 23. The first contact face 23 and the second contact face 24 are spaced apart from each other by an electrically insulating distance 27. The contact faces 23, 24 are arranged on a plate 28, which is secured on the memory element 25.