US-12617600-B2 - Needle dispenser

US12617600B2US 12617600 B2US12617600 B2US 12617600B2US-12617600-B2

Abstract

A needle dispenser includes a hopper configured to receive and hold a plurality of bulk needles for dispensing. A singularizing drum is positioned to rotate with a portion of the singularizing drum exposed to the interior of the hopper. The singularizing drum includes at least one groove in an outer surface of the singularizing drum. A positioning drum positioned to rotate adjacent to the singularizing drum. The positioning drum includes at least one groove in an outer surface of the positioning drum. The singularizing drum and the positioning drum rotate in coordination to pass a needle from the at least one groove of the singularizing drum to the at least one groove of the positioning drum.

Inventors

Michael Infanger
Michael A. Carvajal

Assignees

Verena Solutions LLC

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20210723

Claims (13)

1 . A needle dispenser comprising: a hopper defining an interior configured to receive and hold a plurality of bulk needles for dispensing; a singularizing drum positioned to rotate with a portion of the singularizing drum exposed to the interior of the hopper, the singularizing drum comprising a plurality of grooves at least one groove in an outer surface of the singularizing drum; a positioning drum positioned to rotate adjacent to the singularizing drum, wherein the positioning drum comprises a center shaft and two exterior flanges that extend radially away from the center shaft and forming an outer surface of the positioning drum, with a plurality of grooves extending across both of the two exterior flanges, the plurality of grooves in the positioning drum matches the plurality of grooves in the singularizing drum, wherein the singularizing drum and the positioning drum each have a rotation increment associated with each of the plurality of grooves in the singularizing drum and the positioning drum, and the singularizing drum and the positioning drum rotate in coordination through successive rotation increments of the singularizing drum and the positioning drum to pass a needle from a groove of the singularizing drum to a groove of the positioning drum and to rotate groove of the positioning drum to a dispense position, wherein the two exterior flanges define a space therebetween configured to accommodate a gripper operable to remove the needle from the dispensing position; a needle sensor arranged relative to the positioning drum at a rotation increment of the plurality of successive rotation increments immediately prior to the dispense position, wherein the needle sensor produces a sensor signal indicative of a presence of a needle at the rotation increment prior to the dispense position; and a controller configured to operate the singularizing drum and the positioning drum to rotate through the successive rotation increments until the controller receives the sensor signal indicative of the presence of the needle, and upon detecting the presence of the needle, the controller is configured to operate the positioning drum to rotate one rotation increment to position the needle at the dispense position; wherein the singularizing drum and the positioning drum are configured to rotate in coordination such that the plurality of grooves in the singularizing drum and the plurality of grooves in the positioning drum align each sequentially align at a transition point between the singularizing drum and the positioning drum.
2 . The needle dispenser of claim 1 , wherein a diameter of the singularizing drum is equal to a diameter of the two exterior flanges of the positioning drum.
3 . The needle dispenser of claim 1 , wherein the positioning drum further comprises at least one magnet embedded within the positioning drum adjacent the at least one groove, wherein the at least one magnet facilitates transfer of the needle from the singularizing drum to the positioning drum.
4 . The needle dispenser of claim 1 , further comprising an air plenum positioned relative to the singularizing drum, wherein air plenum directs a flow of air over a portion of the singularizing drum towards the hopper.
5 . The needle dispenser of claim 1 , wherein the positioning drum further comprises a plurality of magnets embedded within each exterior flange at positions radially interior of each of the grooves, wherein the plurality of magnets facilitate transfer of the needle from the singularizing drum to the positioning drum.
6 . The needle dispenser of claim 1 , wherein the needle sensor is a Hall Effect sensor.
7 . The needle dispenser of claim 1 , wherein the controller operates the positioning drum to maintain the dispense position until the controller receives a signal indicative that the needle has been removed from the positioning drum.
8 . The needle dispenser of claim 1 , further comprising a position sensor configured to sense a rotational position of the positioning drum, wherein the position sensor provides a sensor signal indicative of a rotation increment of the positioning drum.
9 . The needle dispenser of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of grooves of the singularizing drum are evenly spaced about a circumference of the singularizing drum and the plurality of grooves of the positioning drum are evenly spaced about a circumference of the positioning drum.
10 . A needle dispensing system comprising: a hopper configured to receive and hold a plurality of bulk needles for dispensing; a singularizing drum positioned to rotate with a portion of the singularizing drum exposed to an interior of the hopper, the singularizing drum comprising at least one groove in an outer surface of the singularizing drum; a positioning drum comprising a center shaft and two exterior flanges that extend radially away from the center shaft positioned to rotate adjacent to the singularizing drum, wherein the positioning drum comprises a plurality of grooves that extend across exterior surfaces of both of the two exterior flanges and the two exterior flanges of the positioning drum define a space therebetween configured to accommodate a gripper operable to remove the needle from a dispensing position of the positioning drum; and a plurality of magnets embedded within the exterior flanges of the positioning drum, each magnet of the plurality of magnets embedded radially interior of an exterior surface of the exterior flange and radially interior of a groove of the plurality of grooves; wherein the singularizing drum and the positioning drum rotate in coordination to pass a needle from the at least one groove of the singularizing drum to the at least one groove of the positioning drum.
11 . The needle dispenser of claim 10 , wherein a diameter of the singularizing drum is equal to a diameter of the two exterior flanges of the positioning drum.
12 . The needle dispenser of claim 11 , wherein the singularizing drum has a rotation increment for each groove of the plurality of grooves in the singularizing drum and the positioning drum has a rotation increment for each groove of the plurality of grooves in the positioning drum and the singularizing drum and the positioning drum incrementally rotate in coordination through successive rotation increments of the singularizing drum and the positioning drum.
13 . The needle dispenser of claim 12 , further comprising: a needle sensor arranged relative to the positioning drum, wherein the needle sensor produces a sensor signal indicative of the presence of a needle relative to the needle sensor; and a controller that operates to rotate the singularizing drum and the positioning drum through successive rotation increments until the controller receives the sensor signal indicative of the presence of the needle and upon detecting the presence of the needle, the controller operates, the positioning drum to rotate one rotation increment to position the needle at a dispense position.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/055,675, filed on Jul. 23, 2020, the contents of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. BACKGROUND Needles and syringes are frequently used in the delivery of medical care. Needles or syringes may be used to collect samples, for example in the drawing of a blood sample. Needles or syringes may further be used to administer curative or palliative substances, including but not limited to, the administration of anesthesia. Needles or syringes are frequently manufactured in full or in part to be single-use devices. Single-use of needles and/or syringes or portions thereof are known to reduce transmission of disease and help to prevent contamination of the substance being administered or collected. Non-limiting examples of needles and syringes are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,605,744; 3,820,652; 5,222,502; 6,485,469; and 10,342,930, all of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties. Syringes used to administer local anesthetics use a disposable cartridge of local anesthetic and a disposable needle, which attaches to and forms the end of the syringe. The disposable needle is supplied by the manufacturer with a two-part protective cover. The back part of the cover fits over the mounting hub of the needle and extends one centimeter past a back end of the front cover and is removed when the syringe is loaded for use. The front portion remains as a protective cover to preserve the sterility of the needle and to protect a user while handling the syringe prior to and after use. The front portion of the protective cover is referred to as a “needle cap.” An annular ridge or shoulder is created spaced apart from the back end of the front portion of the cap, due to the manner in which the back portion of the cover telescopes over the front portion and the two are sealed together. All commercially available needles for dental office use at this time have a similar ridge or shoulder as the apparatus used to attach the needle to most dental syringes is the same. The needles and their protective needle caps intended for use in dental offices are supplied in different lengths for use in Mandibular and Maxillary injections. The Mandibular needle cap is often 4.5 to 5 centimeters long from the previously mentioned shoulder to the front end and the Maxillary needle cap is often 3 to 3.5 centimeters long between those points. The diameter of the cap at the shoulder is typically 1 centimeter and immediately behind the shoulder the diameter is less, usually 0.85 centimeters. However, manufacturing needles and syringes with these tolerances present challenges as well. Needles may, for example, range from 25 gauge (e.g. 0.51 mm od) to 30 gauge (e.g. 0.31 mm od) and may exemplarily range between 20 and 70 mm in length. It will be recognized that these ranges are merely exemplary and that other needle lengths and diameters may be used or considered within the scope of the present disclosure. Manufacturing the disposable needles, for example in combination with a hub, cap, and/or syringe, requires individualizing the needles and precisely locating this component relative to the hub. BRIEF DISCLOSURE An example of a needle dispenser includes a hopper configured to receive and hold a plurality of bulk needles for dispensing. A singularizing drum is positioned to rotate with a portion of the singularizing drum exposed to the interior of the hopper. The singularizing drum includes at least one groove in an outer surface of the singularizing drum. A positioning drum is positioned to rotate adjacent to the singularizing drum. The positioning drum includes at least one groove in an outer surface of the positioning drum. The singularizing drum and the positioning drum rotate in coordination to pass a needle from the at least one groove of the singularizing drum to the at least one groove of the positioning drum. In further examples of the needle dispenser the positioning drum includes a center shaft and two exterior flanges extend radially away from the center shaft and the at least one groove extends across both of the two exterior flanges. The diameter of the singularizing drum is equal to a diameter of the two exterior flanges of the positioning drum. The positioning drum includes at least one magnet embedded within the positioning drum adjacent the at least one groove. The at least one magnet facilitates transfer of the needle from the singularizing drum to the positioning drum. A scraper may be positioned relative to the singularizing drum. The scraper defines a space between a bottom of the at least one groove of the singularizing drum and the scraper to permit a single needle to pass therethrough. The singularizing drum includes at least four grooves and the positioning drum includes at least four grooves, wherein the singularizing drum has a rotation increment for each of the at