Hypodermic syringe and cartridge

Aug. 8, 1939.

J. A. SAFFIR

2,168,686

HYPODERMIC SYRINGE AND CARTRIDGE

Original Filed Nov. 20, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 1

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Aug. ο, 1939.

J. A. SAFFIR hypodermic syringe and cartridge

2,168,686

Original Filed Nov. 20, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2

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Patented Aug* 8, 1939

2,168,686

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE

2,168,686 hypodermic syringe and cartridge Jacob A. Saffir, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Multiple Corporation, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois

Application November 20,1934, Serial No. 753,826 Renewed April 13, 1938

Claim. (Cl. 128—218) a medicament discharging stroke, or whether it remains stationary during the discharging opera^W°Other objects and attendant advantages will be appreciated by those skilled in this art as the 5 invention becomes better understood by reference to the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, in ^W1Figure 1 is a longitudinal section through a 10 hypodermic syringe and a cartridge illustrating one form or embodiment of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a view of the loading end of the syringe with the plunger guiding cap removed and showing a cartridge in position;

Fig. 3 is a side view of the cartridge shown in Figure 1, removed from the syringe;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view showing a modified form of closure for the lower end of S9>ict cartridge ί 20

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section through a syringe and cartridge of another form in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the cartridge shown in Fig. 5, removed from the syringe; 25

Fig. 7 is an end view of the cartridge shown in

Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a side view of the lower portion of the syringe shown in Fig. 5, and

Figs. 9—14 inclusive show different cross-sec- 30 tional shapes of plural chamber cartridges in accordance with my invention.

In Figs. 1, 2 and 3 I have shown a cartridge designated generally by 15 formed of a tube divided diametrically from end to end by an interior 35 wall 16 into individual chambers 17 and 18. The tubular body as well as the interior partition may be of glass or any other suitable material. This applies to all of the cartridges made in accordance with my invention; and it should be understood 40 that my invention is not restricted to the method of manufacture, but comprehends production of these cartridges by fabrication or by molding, or combinations of these steps. Where the cartridge is of glass, my invention comprehends suitable 45 practices in glass fabrication to obtain the desired shapes. Referring again to Figs. 1 and 2 it will be seen that I have provided piston closures 19 and 21 in the upper end of the chambers IT and IB, respectively, these pistons being shaped to 50 conform to the cross-section of the respective chambers. Similarly shaped stoppers 22 and 23 are inserted into the lower end of the respective chambers, each stopper having a peripheral flange 24 abutting against the lower end of the cartridge κ

This invention relates to hypodermic syringes and to medicament-containing cartridges or ampules adapted for use in such syringes.

One of the objects of my invention Is to pro5 vide new and improved cartridge or package con- _ataining medicament for use in a hypodermic syringe, characterized by the provision of a single cartridge preferably in the form of a tube ^divid®^dinteriorly by one or more longitudinal walls into 10 a plurality of individual medicament-containing chambers, together with a suitable closure for one end of each chamber and a piston closure for the opposite end. A hypodermic cartridge having individual chambers of this kind each 15 constituting in effect a separate ampule, is well adapted for selective use of the individual ampules in a hypodermic syringe in accordance with the teachings of my invention.

Another object of my invention is to provide a new and improved hypodermic syringe adapted for use of plural chamber cartridges of the character described.

Another object of my invention is to provide a hypodermic syringe in which a multiple chamber _o- cartridge such as disclosed herein may be indexed to bring the individual chambers Into discharging relation with a plunger and a hypodermic needle, either selectively or in succession, at the will of the practitioner.

w Another object is to provide a hypodermic cartridge having a plurality of individual interior chambers having different shape characteristics, that is, in respect to cross-sectional shape, ior use in hypodermic syringes having correspond.. -. ingly shaped plungers. In this connection I have ” aimed to provide for the use of hypodermic cartridges divided interiorly into individual medicament-containing chambers having any desired cross-sectional shape together with suitable pistons or stoppers for the individual chambers.

Another object is to provide a hypodermic syringe in which the plunger acts only on a selected chamber to be emptied and is adapted to subsequently act oh the one or more remaining 4 5 chambers. , .

Still another object is to provide a new and improved hypodermic syringe in which the cartridge or ampule is moved bodily lengthwise in the barrel of the syringe in the medicament dls5i) charging stroke, together with means for moving the cartridge in the opposite direction in the barrel in a cartridge ejecting stroke. However, this new ejector is well adapted for use in any of my inventions, whether the hypodermic car55 tridge or ampule is moved bodily in the barrel in

2,168.686 body to prevent inward displacement of the stopper when it is pierced by a canula 25 at the time of inserting the cartridge into the syringe. In Fig. 4 I have shown a single stopper 26 for both 5 chambers 17 and 18, in which case the dividing wall 16 is shortened at 27 and the stopper is recessed to bridge over and seat against this end of the wall. The syringe has a suitable barrel body 28 equipped with a hypodermic needJe 29 which 10 connects with the canula 25 above mentioned and is located in alignment with one of the chambers of the cartridge. On the opposite end of the barrel a plunger 30 is carried on a suitable cap 31 in alignment with the chamber at the discharging 15 station. The plunger 30 is equipped with a head shaped to correspond substantially with the piston 19. The cap 31 may be threaded onto the barrel, or it may be secured in position through means of bayonet connections having pins 33 pro20 jecting from the barrel and engaging in bayonet slots 34 in the cap. These connections are shown only in vertical section in Figure 1, but connections of this kind are well known, and it is believed that the present showing is sufficient.

With this construction the cap 31 will be locked in position with its plunger head in proper registration with the hypodermic needle. In order to insure that the interposed cartridge will be properly position, suitable means such as mark30 ings or indicia 35 may be provided on the top end of the barrel as shown in Fig. 2 for registration of the dividing wall 16 therewith, thus Insuring proper registration of either selected chamber with the plunger. Suitable means may be pro31 vided if desired for holding the cartridge seated in the barrel, as, for example, by means of a spring element 36 acting between the cap 31 and the upper end of the cartridge. It will be apparent that the cartridge 15 may be positioned in 40 the barrel to locate either chamber in the discharging position, and that each chamber is emptied individually, independently of the other. In order to withdraw the cartridge after one chamber has been emptied, I have provided an 45 ejector in the form of an end plate 37 normally located in the bottom of the barrel. This end plate has dimetrically opposite projections extending through longitudinal openings 38 in the barrel and equipped beyond the same with suit50 able finger grips 39. It will be apparent that in changing from one chamber to the other in what may be termed the indexing operation, the cap 31 is first removed and the ejector 37 is then moved upwardly by manipulation of the finger 55 grips 39 withdrawing the stopper 22 from the canula, whereupon the cartridge may be indexed to position the other chamber in proper registration with the discharging position. However, my invention contemplates indexing the cartridge 00 without removing the cap 31 or any part; and this may be done by movement of the cartridge lengthwise into the barrel and then indexing, or by withdrawing the canula and indexing.

In Figs. 5, 6 and 7 I have shown another form 05 of my invention in which the cartridge, designated generally by 40, is dimetrically divided longitudinally by a wall 41 as previously described, and is further divided by transverse walls 42 forming in this instance individual chambers 43, 44, 45 70 and 46. Each chamber is permanently closed or sealed at its inner end and has a piston closure 47 in its outward end conforming to the crosssectional shape of the chamber as shown in Fig. 7. In this form of the invention there is provided 75 within the barrel 48 an abutment 48 spaced above the bottom of the barrel a distance corresponding approximately with the travel of the piston within the longest chamber, this abutment being located off center at what might be termed a discharging station in longitudinal alignment with one of the κ chambers of the cartridge. The canula 56 extends upwardly from the abutment 48 and communicates with the hypodermic needle 51, It being apparent that the canula pierces a piston when the cartridge is inserted into the barrel with any selected chamber in proper alignment or registration with the discharging station Identified by the abutment 49. The canula might, of course, be Inserted from the bottom after the cartridge has been properly positioned in the syringe. The plunger 52 carried on a suitable cap 53 is pro- ⁵vided with a head 54 shaped to engage the end of the cartridge for moving the latter lengthwise in the barrel in a medicament discharging stroke, in this instance the head covering the entire end on of the cartridge so as to engage the end walls thereof. An ejector 55 generally similar to that above described, may be manipulated to eject the cartridge after one chamber has been emptied or to return the cartridge to an upper position in 25 which it may be indexed to present another chamber at the discharging station. It will be apparent that by removing the cartridge and inverting it end for end, a second series of ampules may be used. ₃θ

My invention contemplates interiorly dividing the cartridge by one or more longitudinal walls into two or more medicament-containing chambers or ampules. The cartridges 15 and 40 above described have been divided longitudinally by a 35 single wall into chambers of substantially semicircular cross-sections. In Figs. 9, 10 and 11 the interior longitudinal walls are arranged to provide three, four and five chamber, respectively, and where transverse walls are provided, these ₄₀cartridges would have six, eight and ten chambers, respectively. The tube need not be round but may be of any shape desired, such, for exexample, as a square cross-section as shown in Fig. 13, and the interior may be suitably divided ₄₅in accordance with the foregoing. In Fig. 12 I have shown two round tubes joined together in parallel relation forming a single cartridge. In Fig. 14 the cartridge is made up of six individual tubes which have been reformed in cross-section ₅₀to the shape shown and united to make a single body. The various forms shown in Figs. 9-14, inclusive, are illustrative of the many modifications within the scope of my invention. It will be understood that where any of these cartridges 55 are used in a hypodermic syringe the barrel body as well as the discharging means will be constructed to conform to the structural characteristics of the particular cartridge, it being apparent, however, that in the case of round tubular eo bodies of uniform diameter one syringe might be adapted for cartridges having different numbers of chambers. From this it will be seen that my Invention contemplates the provision of cartridges having a multiplicity of chambers, that is, 65 two or more containing either the same or different medicaments, or the same or different volumetric capacities, and in which any chamber may be selected for use at the will of the practitioner, or said chambers may be used in 70 succession. This affords certain advantages, economies and conveniences not possible with a single chamber cartridge.

It is believed that the foregoing conveys a good understanding of the objects prefaced above, 75

9,168,686 and it will be apparent that in the practice of my invention many changes may be made In the construction and arrangement of the cartridge chambers as well as of the hypodermic syringes in which these cartridges are used, without departing. from the spirit and scope of the Invention as expressed In the appended claim, In which