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EP-4447856-B1 - MULTI-DOSE SYRINGE AND METHOD OF MULTIPLE DOSING A LIQUID OR SEMILIQUID PRODUCT

EP4447856B1EP 4447856 B1EP4447856 B1EP 4447856B1EP-4447856-B1

Inventors

  • RICCI, ALFREDO

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20221205

Claims (15)

  1. Multi-dose syringe (100) comprising: - a hollow cylindrical body (10) configured to contain a product to be administered in a dosed manner and from which a spout (13) extends which is provided with a product outlet opening (14), and a plunger (20), sliding inside the hollow cylindrical body (10); wherein a helical indentation (27) is formed on an outer surface (25) of the plunger (20), which comprises a plurality of teeth (28), each having a first (28a) and a second longitudinal surface (28b) and a first (28c) and a second (28d) transverse surface extending, parallel to each other, orthogonally from a respective longitudinal surface (28a, 28b) and in that the syringe further comprises a flanged dose-setting sleeve (30), irremovably mounted on one end (11) of the hollow cylindrical body (10) for the entry of the plunger (20), and a dose-setting ring (40; 140) mounted on the flanged dose-setting sleeve (30) and rotatable with respect thereto and with respect to the plunger (20), characterised in that on facing surfaces (34a, 43a) of the flanged sleeve (30) and of the ring (40; 140) a series of seats (36) and at least one tooth (42; 142) configured to be housed with interference in a respective seat (36) are obtained, respectively, and wherein the plunger (20) is rotatable with respect to the hollow cylindrical body (10) until the first longitudinal surface (28a) of a tooth (28) abuts against an abutment surface (45a; 145a) of the ring (40; 140), projecting towards the inside of the hollow cylindrical body (10), so as to set a predetermined dose of the product to be administered.
  2. Multi-dose syringe (100) according to claim 1, wherein the flanged dose-setting sleeve (30) comprises a first annular body (31) for mounting the flanged sleeve (30) on the end (11) of the hollow cylindrical body (10) for the entry of the plunger (20), a second annular body (32) provided with an opening (33), and a flange (34) interposed between the first annular body (31) and the second annular body (32), the interference housing seats (36) of the at least one tooth (42; 142) of the dose-setting ring (40; 140) being formed on a surface (34a) of the flange (34).
  3. Multi-dose syringe (100) according to claim 2, wherein on an inner surface (35) of the second annular body (32) there is a stop element (38), against which the first transverse surface (28d) of a tooth 28 of the helical indentation (27) abuts, thereby interrupting the stroke of the plunger (20) inside the hollow cylindrical body (10), when administering the dosed amount of product.
  4. Multi-dose syringe (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the plunger (20) comprises a rubber (22) associated with an end (21) of the plunger (20) intended to slide inside the hollow cylindrical body (10), a connector (24) being interposed between the rubber (22) and the end (21) of the plunger (20), to allow a rotation of the plunger (20) with respect to the rubber (22) inside the hollow cylindrical body (10).
  5. Multi-dose syringe (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the dose-setting ring (40; 140) comprises a main body (41; 141), from which a tab (43; 143) extends outwards, the interference housing seats (36) of the at least one tooth (42; 142) of the dose-setting ring (40; 140) being formed at a surface (43a; 143a) of the tab (43; 143).
  6. Multi-dose syringe (100) according to claim 5, wherein the tab (43) extends outwards from a portion (44) of the dose-setting ring (40), which is thinner.
  7. Multi-dose syringe (100) according to claim 5, wherein the dose-setting ring (140) comprises at least one, preferably two recesses (146) of localised weakening of the ring (144).
  8. Multi-dose syringe (100) according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein the abutment surface (45a) a tooth (28) of the helical indentation (27) is formed on an extension (45; 145) of the tab (43; 143) facing towards the inside of the dose-setting ring (40; 140).
  9. Multi-dose syringe (100) according to any one of claims 2 to 8, wherein a stop (37) extends from a surface (34a) of the flange (34) facing the second annular body (32), adapted to limit the rotation of the dose-setting ring (40) with respect to the flanged dose-setting sleeve (30) or to exclude the dose-setting ring (40) from cooperation with the flanged dose-setting sleeve (30).
  10. Multi-dose syringe (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein progressive numbers are marked at the seats (36) of the flanged sleeve (30), one for each seat (36), each indicating an amount of product to be administered in a dosed manner.
  11. Multi-dose syringe (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein at another end (23) of the plunger (20) there is a handle (26) preferably having a faceted outer surface.
  12. Multi-dose syringe (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the spout (13) is preferably formed in one piece with the hollow cylindrical body (10), or is a separate piece subsequently assembled on the hollow cylindrical body (10), and is preferably closed by a plug (15).
  13. A non-therapeutic method of multiple dosing a product performed by using a multi-dose syringe (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, the method comprising the following steps of: - rotating a dose-setting ring (40) with respect to a flanged dose-setting sleeve (30) until at least one tooth (42; 142) of the ring (40) is positioned at a respective seat (36) of the flanged sleeve (30), corresponding to a predetermined volume of product to be dosed; - interference fitting the tooth (42; 142) and the seat (36); and - rotating a plunger (20) with respect to the flanged sleeve (30) - ring (40) assembly, until a first longitudinal surface (28a) of a tooth (28) of a helical indentation (27) formed on an outer surface (25) of the plunger (20) abuts against an abutment surface (45a; 145a) of the ring (40; 140), projecting towards the inside of dose-setting ring (40), thereby setting a predetermined dose of the product to be administered.
  14. Method according to claim 13, further comprising, downstream of the rotating step of the plunger (20), a step of pressing the plunger (20) towards the inside of the hollow cylindrical body (10), until a second surface (28d) of a tooth (28) of the helical indentation (27) abuts against a stop element (38) formed in the flanged sleeve (30), so as to interrupt the stroke of the plunger (20) inside the hollow cylindrical body (10), when the dosed amount of product is administered.
  15. Method according to claim 13 or 14, comprising the following additional steps of setting a new product dose: - lifting the ring (40; 140) from the flanged sleeve (30), so that the tooth (42; 142) is released from the seat (36); - rotating the ring (40; 140) with respect to the flanged sleeve (30) until at least one tooth (42; 142) of the ring (40; 140) is positioned at a respective seat (36) of the flanged sleeve (30) corresponding to a new dose to be administered; - interference fitting the tooth (42; 142) and the seat (36); and - rotating a plunger (20) with respect to the flanged sleeve (30) - dose-setting ring (40; 140) assembly, until the first longitudinal surface (28a) of a tooth (28) of a helical indentation (27) of the plunger (20) abuts against the abutment surface (45a; 145a) of the ring (40; 140), projecting towards the inside of the dose-setting ring (40; 140), thereby setting a predetermined dose of the product to be administered.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention generally relates to the technical field of dosing syringes. More particularly, the present invention relates to a syringe, preferably for veterinary use, configured to administer precise and over time repeatable doses of a liquid or semiliquid product, for example a medicine or dietary supplement, contained therein, and a method of multiple dosing a product. The multi-dose syringe according to the present invention finds further application in the food sector, or in any other sector where it is necessary to administer multiple and repeatable doses of the same liquid or semiliquid product. BACKGROUND Dosing syringes, of the pre-filled or fillable type, are widely used in the veterinary field for feeding animals, especially pets, but not only. They represent a growing market, as they effectively reduce errors in dosing a product to be administered. In fact, once filled, or purchased pre-filled with the desired product, such as a medicine or dietary supplement, they can easily be used to dose, and subsequently administer, the correct dose for a specific animal. As is well known, in the veterinary field, the dosage of a medicine or dietary supplement to be administered to an animal varies considerably depending on the animal's weight. Disposable syringes are usually used to administer a dose of the product to an individual animal. In this case, the veterinarian selects the appropriate dose on the syringe for the particular animal to be treated, dispenses the selected dose and disposes of the syringe with the remaining product content inside. Alternatively, when a product is to be administered to a large number of animals, multiple doses can be contained in a single syringe and the veterinarian selects each time the appropriate dose for the particular animal to be treated on the syringe and dispenses the selected dose. It follows that dosing syringes must be capable of administering doses of varying amounts, consistent with the weight of the animal to be treated. A dispensing syringe according to the prior art is described, for example, in the international patent application no. WO 02/26298 A2. This dosing syringe comprises a cylindrical body configured to contain a product to be administered in doses. The cylindrical body has an opening at one end for dispensing a dose of product, while the other end is adapted to receive a plunger that is longer than the length of the cylindrical body and slides inside the cylindrical body. The plunger has a series of indentations along its entire length. The dispensing syringe also includes a movable dose selection ring, which is arranged around the plunger and can be rotated about the longitudinal axis of the plunger. In particular, the ring is screwed around the plunger, as the indentations on the plunger form a kind of thread. The movable dose selection ring comprises calibration means, formed on a sleeve and adapted to set the desired dose by rotating the movable ring until the desired dose is reached, and means of engaging the movable ring with the plunger, such that the movable ring moves integrally with the plunger until it abuts against the cylindrical body of the syringe, so as to dispense the desired set dose. Document US 2021/146058 A1 also discloses a dispensing syringe. However, known dispensing syringes of the type described above have the following drawbacks. Firstly, whenever the user wishes to administer a dose, he must set it by acting on the movable ring, i.e. turning it along a thread, as briefly described above. This is particularly disadvantageous when the dose to be administered is always the same, e.g. in the case of administering equal doses of a medicine to the same animal at different times of the day or in the case of administering the same dose to different animals with the same or similar body weight. In this case, in addition to performing an unnecessary operation, the operator also runs the risk of making a mistake in setting the dose. Moreover, the longitudinal positioning of the movable ring by means of a thread is a time-consuming operation. Secondly, when setting a dose, the animal may move, causing an unwanted rotation of the movable dose selection ring during the administration of the product. This is disadvantageous as it would compromise the accuracy of the previously set dose. In fact, each rotation of the movable ring corresponds to a different dose to be administered. Other dosing syringes known in the state of the art involve an insert, which inserts/disconnects into/from the plunger, with similar problems to those described above. OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The main object of the present invention is therefore to provide a multi-dose syringe and method of multiple dosing a liquid or semiliquid product that can overcome the drawbacks mentioned above with reference to dosing syringes of the known type. More specifically, the main object of the present invention is to provide a multi-d