Disposable syringe

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] This invention relates to a disposable syringe, more particularly to a disposable syringe which enables a needle cannula to be retracted within a plunger cavity having a reduced pressure therein.

[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0005] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, U.S. Pat. No. 5,176,640 discloses a hypodermic injection syringe 10 which includes a barrel 11, a base 12 fixed to an open front end 111 of the barrel 11, a needle cannula 13 having a rear needle end 132 that extends into the barrel 11 through the base 12 along an axis and that has an engagement recess 131, and a plunger 18 slidable within the barrel 11. The plunger 18 includes a hollow shaft 14 with a vacuum chamber 141, and a head which has an elastic rubber ring 16 with a channel that is closed by a disc 161, and a plug 15 with a tube forcibly inserted into the channel of the ring 16 and secured to the shaft 14. A piston 17 is slidable in a sealed manner within the chamber 141, and is provided with an engaging rod 172 formed with an elastic flap 171 on a front end thereof.

[0006] In use, when the plunger 18 is about to finish its injection stroke, the disc 161 is lacerated by the rear needle end 132, the rod 172 then engages the needle 13 by engagement of the flap 171 and the engagement recess 131. In this state, under the action of vacuum present in the chamber 141, the rod 172 and the needle 13 are sucked into the chamber 141.

[0007] Since the needle 13 can be retained in the chamber 141 of the plunger 18 for safety disposal, the following drawbacks arise:

[0008] 1. The laceration of the disc 161 may occur when the injection procedure of the syringe 10 is not finished. Thus, some medicine or blood may will remain within the barrel 11 to result in contamination.

[0009] 2. In order to smoothly suck the needle 13 into the chamber 141, the securing of the needle 13 to the base 12 cannot be very tight. However, insufficient securing of the needle 13 will result in movement or removal of the needle 13 during the injection procedure.

[0010] The object of the present invention is to provide a disposable syringe which can prevent trapping of medicine or blood therein after injection and which can be operated easily and smoothly to retract a used needle within a plunger.

[0011] According to this invention, the disposable syringe includes a needle cannula, a barrel, a tubular barrier member, a tubular needle seat, and a plunger. The barrel has an inner surrounding barrel wall surface surrounding an axis and confining a passage with opposite rearward and forward openings. The inner surrounding barrel wall surface includes a larger-diameter segment and a smaller-diameter segment which confine rear and front passageways, respectively, to form a surrounding shoulder portion therebetween. The smaller-diameter segment includes a smaller front surrounding region and a larger rear surrounding region to form a surrounding abutment wall therebetween. The larger-diameter segment includes proximate and distal surrounding regions respectively proximate to and distal from the surrounding shoulder portion. The proximate surrounding region has a retaining area spaced apart from the surrounding shoulder portion.

[0012] The tubular barrier member includes front and rear surrounding edge portions, and inner and outer barrier wall surfaces. The outer barrier wall surface is retained at the retaining area by virtue of a first frictional force generated therebetween while in water-tight engagement with the proximate surrounding region, thereby partitioning the rear passageway into a compressible chamber confronting the surrounding shoulder portion, and an accommodation chamber confronting the rear surrounding edge portion. The inner barrier wall surface has a grip segment.

[0013] The tubular needle seat includes a hub portion disposed to fix the needle cannula therein. The hub portion has a surrounding front end wall, a surrounding gripped portion and an anchoring portion. The surrounding gripped portion is retained at the grip segment by virtue of a second frictional force generated therebetween when the surrounding front end wall abuts against the surrounding abutment wall and when the needle cannula is disposed outwardly of the forward opening.

[0014] The plunger is movable in the accommodation chamber, and includes a plunger body and a seal member. The plunger body includes a top end wall disposed movably to abut against the rear surrounding edge portion of the tubular barrier member, and a bottom end wall extending outwardly of the rearward opening so as to be manually operable. The top end wall has an inner peripheral edge portion surrounding the axis to define a cavity therein. The cavity extends along the axis and towards the bottom end wall to contain a fluid at a reduced pressure. The seal member is disposed to be sealingly attached to the inner peripheral edge portion along a sealing line so as to trap the fluid in the cavity.

[0015] Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0016] FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a conventional disposable syringe during use;

[0017] FIG. 2 shows the conventional disposable syringe of FIG. 1 after use, showing a needle cannula in a retracted state;

[0018] FIG. 3 is an exploded sectional view of a first preferred embodiment of a disposable syringe according to this invention;

[0019] FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the first preferred embodiment during use;

[0020] FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a portion of the first preferred embodiment in detail;

[0021] FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing the portion of the first preferred embodiment after use;

[0022] FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the first preferred embodiment, showing a needle cannula in a retracted state;

[0023] FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a barrel shown in FIG. 5, taken along lines 8—8 thereof;

[0024] FIG. 9 is a sectional view of a second preferred embodiment of the disposable syringe according to this invention;

[0025] FIG. 10 is a sectional view of the second preferred embodiment, showing a needle cannula in a retracted state;

[0026] FIG. 11 is a sectional view of a third preferred embodiment of the disposable syringe according to this invention;

[0027] FIG. 12 is a sectional view showing a portion of the third preferred embodiment in detail;

[0028] FIG. 13 is a sectional view of the third preferred embodiment, showing a needle cannula in a retracted state;

[0029] FIG. 14 is a sectional view of a fourth preferred embodiment of the disposable syringe according to this invention;

[0030] FIG. 15 is a sectional view of the fourth preferred embodiment, showing a needle cannula in a retracted state;

[0031] FIG. 16 is a sectional view of a fifth preferred embodiment of the disposable syringe according to this invention;

[0032] FIG. 17 is a fragmentary sectional view of a sixth preferred embodiment of the disposable syringe according to this invention;

[0033] FIG. 18 is a fragmentary sectional view of a seventh preferred embodiment of the disposable syringe according to this invention;

[0034] FIG. 19 is a fragmentary sectional view of an eighth preferred embodiment of the disposable syringe according to this invention;

[0035] FIG. 20 is a sectional view of a ninth preferred embodiment of the disposable syringe according to this invention; and

[0036] FIG. 21 is a fragmentary sectional view showing an alternate embodiment of a sealing member of a plunger of the disposable syringe of this invention.

[0037] Before the present invention is described in greater detail, it should be noted that same reference numerals have been used to denote like elements throughout the specification.

[0038] Referring to FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, the first preferred embodiment of the disposable syringe according to the present invention is shown to comprise a barrel 20, a tubular barrier member 30, a plunger 50, and a needle assembly 40 including a needle cannula 42, a tubular needle seat 41 and a tip protector 43.

[0039] The barrel 20 has an inner surrounding barrel wall surface which surrounds an axis (X) and which confines a passage. The passage has rearward and forward openings 232,231 which are disposed opposite to each other in a longitudinal direction parallel to the axis (X). The inner surrounding barrel wall surface includes a larger-diameter segment 22 and a smaller-diameter segment 21 which confine rear and front passageways 221,210, respectively, and which are disposed proximate to the rearward and forward openings 232,231, respectively, to form a surrounding shoulder portion 222 therebetween. The smaller-diameter segment 21 includes a front surrounding region 211, and a rear surrounding region 212 which is proximate to the surrounding shoulder portion 222 and which is of a larger dimension than that of the front surrounding region 211 so as to form a surrounding abutment wall 213 therebetween. The larger-diameter segment 22 includes proximate and distal surrounding regions opposite to each other in the longitudinal direction and respectively proximate to and distal from the surrounding shoulder portion 222. The proximate surrounding region has a retaining area which is spaced apart from the surrounding shoulder portion 222 in the longitudinal direction. In this embodiment, an annular first retaining protrusion 24 is formed on the proximate surrounding region in the retaining area. An annular injection limiting protrusion 25 is formed on the distal surrounding region adjacent to the rearward opening 232. An outer surrounding barrel wall surface 23 of the barrel 20 has a rib portion 235 which extends in the longitudinal direction and which is disposed at the front surrounding region 211 adjacent to the forward opening 231.

[0040] The tubular barrier member 30 includes front and rear surrounding edge portions 33,34 opposite to each other in the longitudinal direction and which includes inner and outer barrier wall surfaces 31,35 opposite to each other and surrounding the axis (X). The outer barrier wall surface 35 is formed with an annular first retaining groove 350 such that in a position of use, the first retaining protrusion 24 is retained in the first retaining groove 350 in a water-tight manner so as to generate a first frictional force therebetween, thereby partitioning the rear passageway 221 into a compressible chamber 26 which confronts the surrounding shoulder portion 222, and an accommodation chamber 27 which confronts the rear surrounding edge portion 34. The inner barrier wall surface 31 has a second retaining groove 320 which serves as a grip segment. As shown in FIG. 5, the front surrounding edge portion 33 has a surrounding groove 39 surrounding the axis (X) such that the inner barrier wall surface 31 is more deformable in radial directions relative to the axis (X). In addition, the inner barrier wall surface 31 is divergent from the second retaining groove 320 to the front surrounding edge portion 33 so as to prevent friction contact between the inner barrier wall surface 31 and the hub portion 410.

[0041] The tubular needle seat 41 includes a hub portion 410 which is disposed to fix the needle cannula 42 therein, and which has a surrounding front end wall 411 that extends radially relative to the axis (X). An annular second retaining protrusion 414 extends from the hub portion 410 in the longitudinal direction and away from the surrounding front end wall 411 to form a surrounding gripped portion, which is retained in the second retaining groove 320 to generate a second frictional force when the surrounding front end wall 411 abuts against the surrounding abutment wall 213 and when the needle cannula 42 is disposed outwardly of the forward opening 231. An anchoring portion 412 extends from the second retaining protrusion 414 in the longitudinal direction and away from the hub portion 410, and has an annular third retaining protrusion 415 formed thereon (see FIG. 5).

[0042] The tip protector 43 has a sleeve end 433 which is disposed to sleeve on the outer surrounding barrel wall surface 23. The sleeve end 433 includes a groove portion which mates with the rib portion 235 to result in a splined engagement between the tip protector 43 and the outer surrounding barrel wall surface 23, thereby ensuring secure shielding of the needle cannula 42. Moreover, as the sleeve end 433 of the tip protector 43 is provided with the groove portion to engage the rib portion 235 on the outer surrounding barrel wall surface 23, the sleeve end 433 has a relatively large inner diameter, thereby enhancing safety during sleeving of the tip protector 43 onto the outer surrounding barrel wall surface 23.

[0043] The plunger 50 is disposed to be slidable in the accommodation chamber 27, and includes a plunger body 54, an end cap 57, and a seal member 56.

[0044] The plunger body 54 includes an open top end wall 541 which is disposed movably to abut against the rear surrounding edge portion 34 of the tubular barrier member 30, and an open bottom end wall 542 which is disposed opposite to the top end wall 541 in the longitudinal direction and which extends outwardly of the rearward opening 232. The plunger body 54 has an inner peripheral edge portion 543 which surrounds the axis (X) and which defines a cavity 500 therein. The cavity 500 extends along the axis (X) from the top end wall 541 to the bottom end wall 542 to contain a fluid at a reduced pressure. Preferably, the cavity 500 is in a substantially vacuum state. In this embodiment, the cavity 500 includes a smaller-diameter front cavity segment 51 and a larger-diameter rear cavity segment 52 which are disposed proximate to the top and bottom end walls 541,542, respectively, to form a shoulder portion 55 therebetween. Preferably, an enlarged cavity segment 53 is disposed rearwardly of the rear cavity segment 52 and outwardly of the rearward opening 232 so as to be manually operable. A plurality of rib plates 549 are formed on an outer peripheral wall surface 544 of the plunger body 54 at the front cavity segment 51, and are flush with the outer peripheral wall surface 544 at the rear cavity segment 52. An annular injection limiting protrusion 545 is formed on the outer peripheral wall surface 544 at the rear cavity segment 52 adjacent to the enlarged cavity segment 53, and is disposed to abut against the injection limiting protrusion 25 when the top end wall 541 reaches the rear surrounding edge portion 34 so as to indicate completion of an injection course.

[0045] Moreover, an annular anchoring protrusion 546 and an annular retaining flange 547 are formed adjacent to the top end wall 541. A surrounding sealing ring 59 is made of a deformable material, and is sleeved retainingly over the outer peripheral wall surface 544 adjacent to the top end wall 541 by means of the anchoring protrusion 546 and the retaining flange 547.

[0046] The end cap 57 includes an outer surrounding wall 571 which engages threadedly a threaded segment 548 of the outer peripheral wall surface 544, an inner surrounding wall 572 which is attached to the inner peripheral edge portion 543, and an end cap wall 573 which is connected to the outer and inner surrounding walls 571,572 and which covers an opening in the bottom end wall 542 in an air-tight sealing manner.

[0047] A plurality of barrier ribs 58 are formed between the rear cavity segment 52 and the enlarged cavity segment 53. Each barrier rib 58 extends from the inner peripheral edge portion 543 radially and toward the axis (X).

[0048] The seal member 56 is disposed to be sealingly attached to the inner peripheral edge portion 543 at the top end wall 541 along an annular sealing line 566 so as to trap the fluid in the cavity 500 so as to maintain the reduced pressure (the substantially vacuum state in this embodiment). In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the seal member 56 is formed on the inner peripheral edge portion 543. Alternately, referring to FIG. 21, the sealing member 56 is disposed to be press-fitted to the inner peripheral edge portion 543 so as to form a sealing region. The seal member 56 has an engaging recess 563 which confronts the anchoring portion 412 and which extends in the longitudinal direction, and a third retaining groove 565 which is disposed in a front side of the engaging recess 563 and which extends in a radial direction relative to the axis (X), as shown in FIG. 5.

[0049] In use, the plunger 50 is pressed forwardly by a pushing force applied to the end cap 57 to push the surrounding sealing ring 59 to reach the rear surrounding edge portion 34 until the injection limiting protrusion 545 abuts against the injection limiting protrusion 25 to indicate the completion of the injection course. In this state, the anchoring portion 412 is retained in the engaging recess 563 by engagement of the third retaining protrusion 415 and the third retaining groove 565, thereby resulting in securing the needle seat 41 to the seal member 56.

[0050] Subsequently, with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, when a pushing force greater than the first and second frictional forces, i.e. frictional forces generated between the first retaining protrusion and groove 24,350 and between the second retaining protrusion and groove 414,320, is further applied to the end cap 57, the tubular barrier member 30 is pushed to move towards the surrounding shoulder portion 222 to force the second retaining groove 320 to disengage from the second retaining protrusion 414, so that the anchoring portion 412, which remains fixedly in place due to abutment of the surrounding front end wall 411 against the surrounding abutment wall 213, is exposed to and is impacted by an impact force from the seal member 56 along the axis (X) that the sealing line 566 is ruptured. Thus, the seal member 56 is released from the plunger body 54, and the needle seat 41 and the needle cannula 42, together with the seal member 56, are suctioned into the cavity 500 by a suction force resulting from a pressure difference between the ambient atmosphere and the reduced pressure in the cavity 500, as shown in FIG. 7. Note that the seal member 56 has an outer surrounding seal surface 564 which is configured to be kept in slidable contact and air-tight engagement with the inner peripheral edge portion 543 when the seal member 56 is suctioned in the front cavity segment 51. Moreover, by virtue of the shoulder portion 55 and the barrier ribs 58, the assembly of the needle seat 41, the needle cannula 42 and the seal member 56 can be trapped in the cavity 500.

[0051] In addition, as shown in FIG. 8, the inner surrounding barrel wall surface of the barrel 20 is spaced apart from the needle cannula 42 in radial directions at the forward opening 231 to define a surrounding clearance therebetween. In particular, a plurality of ribs 237 are disposed on the inner surrounding barrel wall surface and are angularly displaced from one another. Each rib 237 extends toward the needle cannula 42 while forming an air duct 236 between two adjacent ones of the ribs 237 to communicate the passage of the barrel 20 with the ambient atmosphere. As such, the air ducts 236 can facilitate inflow of the ambient air into the cavity 500.

[0052] Referring to FIGS. 9 and 10, the second preferred embodiment of the disposable syringe according to this invention is shown to be similar to the aforesaid embodiment in construction. The disposable syringe of this embodiment further includes a biasing member 60, such as a compression spring, which is disposed in the front surrounding region 211 to bias the needle seat 41 toward the seal member 56. The biasing member 60 has two ends 61,62 abutting against the inner surrounding barrel wall surface at the forward opening 231 and the surrounding front end wall 411, respectively, so as to increase the impact force to facilitate retraction action of the suctioned assembly into the cavity 500.

[0053] Referring to FIGS. 11, 12 and 13, the third preferred embodiment of the disposable syringe according to this invention is shown to be similar to the first preferred embodiment in construction. In this embodiment, the surrounding front end wall 411 includes a sealing member 70 which abuts against the surrounding abutment wall 213 and which is in air-tight engagement with the rear surrounding region 212 so as to maintain air-tightness of the compressible chamber 26. The sealing member 70 includes an elastomeric plate 71 and an elastomeric ring 72 which abut against each other and which have axial holes 711,721 that extend along the axis (X) to engage fittingly the needle cannula 42 therein. In addition, the inner barrier wall surface 31 of the tubular barrier member 30 further extends from the front surrounding edge portion 33 to have a deformable sealing portion 381 which is in air-tight engagement with the hub portion 410 of the tubular needle seat 41.

[0054] The compressible chamber 26 is filled with fluid. The hub portion 410 of the tubular needle seat 41 has a plurality of through holes 416 which are formed therethrough to be in fluid communication with the compressible chamber 26 and which extend in the longitudinal direction. As such, when the tubular barrier member 30 is moved towards the surrounding shoulder portion 222, the fluid is compressed to flow into the through holes 416, thereby helping force the anchoring portion 412 to move toward the seal member 56 so as to increase the impact force.

[0055] Referring to FIGS. 14 and 15, the fourth preferred embodiment of the disposable syringe according to this invention is shown to be similar to the third preferred embodiment in construction, and further includes a biasing member 60 similar to that of the second preferred embodiment to bias the needle seat 41 toward the seal member 56. The biasing member 60 has two ends 61,62 abutting against the inner surrounding barrel wall surface at the forward opening 231 and the elastomeric plate 71 of the sealing member 70, respectively, so as to increase the impact force to facilitate retraction action of the suctioned assembly into the cavity 500.

[0056] Referring to FIGS. 16, 17, 18 and 19, the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth preferred embodiments of the disposable syringe according to this invention are shown to be respectively similar to the first, second, third and fourth preferred embodiment in construction, but are used for an extremely small injection volume, such as 1 ml. Thus, the barrel 20, the tubular-barrier member 30, the needle assembly 40, the plunger 50 and the biasing member 60 are comparatively smaller. In addition, in stead of a separate surrounding sealing ring 59, the surrounding sealing ring in these embodiments includes a plurality of ring portions 5441 which are formed integrally with the outer peripheral wall surface 544 adjacent to the top end wall 541 for slidable and air-tight engagement with the larger-diameter segment 22. Therefore, the annular anchoring protrusion 546 and the annular retaining flange 547 (see FIG. 3) may be eliminated.

[0057] As shown in FIG. 20, the ninth preferred embodiment of the disposable syringe according to this invention is shown to be similar to the fifth preferred embodiment in construction. In this embodiment, the tubular barrier member 30 further includes an annular flange 341 which extends from the rear surrounding edge portion 34 and which is configured to be inserted into a clearance between the top end wall 541 of the plunger body 54 and the rear surrounding edge portion 34, thereby preventing trapping of medicine within the clearance.

[0058] As illustrated, the disposable syringe of this invention has the following advantages:

[0059] 1. The suction of the tubular needle seat 41 and the needle cannula 42 occurs after the top end wall 541, the surrounding sealing ring 59, the seal member 56 and the tubular barrier member 30 are in tight contact with the tubular needle seat 41. Thus, the clearance may not exist therebetween to minimize trapping of medicine or blood within the barrel 20 after use.

[0060] 2. By virtue of the first and second frictional forces and the abutment of the surrounding front end wall 411 against the surrounding abutment wall 213, the tubular needle seat 41 can be retained firmly in the retaining area during use. In addition, once the tubular needle seat 41 is released from the tubular barrier member 30 by a pushing force applied to the tubular barrier member 30, the tubular needle seat 41 can be suctioned smoothly and easily into the cavity 500.

[0061] 3. After use, the needle seat 41 and the needle cannula 42 can be retracted into the cavity 500 of the plunger body 54 without the application of a pulling force to the plunger 50. Thus, the plunger body 54 can remain in the rear passageway 221 of the barrel 20, thereby facilitating the disposal of the disposable syringe.

[0062] While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretations and equivalent arrangements.