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A stressed spring assembly for providing an operative stroke in cooperating relation with a medicament cartridge assembly of an auto-injector so as to inject a liquid medicament of the medicament cartridge assembly through a hypodermic needle of the medicament cartridge assembly into an injection si

A stressed spring assembly for providing an operative stroke in cooperating relation with a medicament cartridge assembly of an auto-injector so as to inject a liquid medicament of the medicament cartridge assembly through a hypodermic needle of the medicament cartridge assembly into an injection site of the user. The stressed spring assembly includes a cap structure serving the plural purposes of (1) facilitating the securement of the cap structure and remainder of the auto-injection with the user\s pocket, (2) alleviating the likelihood of an unwanted release of the releasable mechanism of the stressed spring assembly with a resultant unwanted movement of the hypodermic needle and an unwanted movement of the liquid medicament outwardly of the hypodermic needle by requiring two different manual movements for its removal, and (3) protecting against an unwanted contact with the hypodermic needle while in extended operative position after withdrawal from the injection site. The cap structure is formed of first and second members disposed in a fixed assembled position with respect to one another into which the first and second members are snap-fitted by a relative movement toward one another in an axial direction. Both members are of a configuration enabling them to be molded by corresponding die surfaces contained on two die members movable together and apart.

대표청구항 ▼

An auto-injector particularly suited to be carried on the person of a user comprising a medicament cartridge assembly, a stressed spring assembly and means mounting said assemblies together in cooperating relation in a storage position with respect to one another so as to provide an exterior housing

An auto-injector particularly suited to be carried on the person of a user comprising a medicament cartridge assembly, a stressed spring assembly and means mounting said assemblies together in cooperating relation in a storage position with respect to one another so as to provide an exterior housing body structure having a needle extension end and an opposite end and a cap structure extending over the opposite end of the housing body structure, said cap structure and said housing body structure when said assemblies are mounted together in cooperating relation in said storage position defining an exterior configuration of a size and shape approximately the same as that of a conventional fountain pen, said cap structure being of generally tubular construction having an open end and an opposite closed end portion and an elongated clip having one end fixed to the closed end portion of said cap structure, said elongated clip extending longitudinally along the tubular construction of said cap structure and having a free end biased to engage with the exterior of said cap structure adjacent the open end thereof whereby said clip serves to secure said cap structure and said housing body within a pocket on the person of a user, said medicament cartridge assembly including means defining a container, a liquid medicament with said container and a hypodermic needle disposed in a storage position and movable therefrom into an extended operative position, said releasable stressed spring assembly including spring means, releasable means for retaining said spring means in a stressed storage position and releasing means operable in response to a predetermined manual actuating procedure to release said releasable means so that said spring means moves (1) said hypodermic needle into said extended operative position during which the hypodermic needle moves outwardly of the needle extension end of said housing body structure through the skin and into the adjacent tissue of a user and (2) said liquid medicament outwardly through said hypodermic needle into the tissue of the user, said releasing means including manually movable means extending beyond the opposite end portion of said housing body structure into and exterior position suitable for manual engagement so as to be manually moved during the manual actuating procedure to which said releasing means is responsive to release said releasable means, means between said housing body structure and said cap structure for detachably securing said cap structure on said housing body structure (1) in said storage position in open ended telescopic relation with an opposite end portion of said housing body structure covering said manually movable means so as to prevent the manual engagement of said manually movable means without said cap structure being detached from said storage position with respect to said housing body structure and (2) in a final position in open ended telescopic relation with a needle extension end portion of said housing body structure covering said hypodermic needle in said extended operating position after withdrawal from the injection site, said cap structure when in said positions with said housing body structure serving the plural purposes of (1) facilitating the securement of the cap structure and housing body structure with the user\s pocket, (2) alleviating the likelihood of an unwanted release of the releasable means with a resultant unwanted movement of said hypodermic needle and an unwanted movement of the liquid medicament outwardly of the hypodermic needle, and (3) protecting against an unwanted contact with the hypodermic needle while in said extended operative position after withdrawal from the injection site, said assembly securing means including a forward tubular housing member having means on the forward end thereof defining the needle extension end of said housing body structure, said stressed spring assembly including a rearward housing member fixed to said forward housing member defining the opposite end of said housing body structure, said stressed spring assembly also including said cap structure, said means detachable securing said cap structure in said storage position being on said cap structure and said rearward housing member, said manually movable means including an actuating member mounted for movement from a storage position into an actuating position, said predetermined manual actuating procedure to which releasing means is responsive to release said releasable means including a relative movement of said actuating member with respect to said rearward housing member into said actuating position by manually moving the same toward said forward housing member with a thumb which the needle extension end of said housing body structure is retained in an operative position with the skin of the user at the location where the injection is to take place, said container being mounted within said forward tubular housing member for movement from the storage position thereof into an extended position within said forward housing member, said medicament cartridge assembly further including a hub assembly connecting a rearward end of said hypodermic needle with a forward end of said container for movement therewith, a resilient sheath extending over said hypodermic needle when said hypodermic needle is in the storage position thereof, said container having a piston slidably sealingly mounted in a rearward end portion thereof in engagement with the liquid medicament within said container operable to be moved by said spring means into an extended position during which (1) said container is moved into its extended position, (2) said hypodermic needle is moved with said container through said sheath and into the tissue of the user while said sheath is compressed within said forward housing member and (3) said liquid medicament is moved out of said hypodermic needle into the tissue of the user, said hub assembly having a seal therein normally sealing the liquid medicament from contact with said needle operable to burst in response to the initial portion of the movement of said piston within said container.