Surgery – Means for introducing or removing material from body for... – Treating material introduced into or removed from body...
Reexamination Certificate
2002-02-12
2003-05-20
Kennedy, Sharon (Department: 3763)
Surgery
Means for introducing or removing material from body for...
Treating material introduced into or removed from body...
C604S209000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06565539
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a device for applying a flowable medium, in particular a single- or multiple-component tissue adhesive.
A number of embodiments of application devices for flowable media (pasty or liquid media) are known (EP-B 0 037 393, EP-B-0 210 160, U.S. Pat. No. 4,874,368, U.S. Pat. No. 4,978,336, DE-A-42 23 356, EP-B-0 315 222, WO-A-96/19940, WO-A95/31137 and WO-A-98/40167). According to the application it is sometimes necessary and desirable to dosedly discharge the medium. In the case of application devices for medical tissue adhesives it is particularly desirable that the doses are reproducible and relatively small. This discharged quantity should further be independent of the duration of manual operation of the application device.
For hygienic reasons it is further advantageous when the application devices are designed as non-returnable and/or disposable articles. This, in turn, requires the mechanisms for medium discharge in a dosed manner and independent of the application device to be of relatively simple configuration. If, besides the medium, a gas is to be discharged, by means of which the discharged medium can be sprayed onto an article, it is appropriate to control the dosing mechanism for the medium with the aid of the pressurized gas. Such an application device for technical media is known from EP-A-0 548 509. However, said known application device is not suited for use with nonreturnable and/or disposable articles due to its rather complex structure.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the invention to provide an application device for flowable media, the application device displaying a simple structure suitable for configuration of the application device as non-returnable and/or disposable article.
According to the invention, the object is solved with an application device provided with
at least one reservoir for the medium, the reservoir comprising an outlet from which the medium exits when pressure is applied to the medium and/or the reservoir,
a pressure-generating element for applying pressure to the medium and/or the reservoir,
a biasing means for biasing the pressure-generating element, the biasing means comprising a movable biasing element which is pneumatically and/or hydraulically biased towards the pressure-generating element and coupled with the latter,
a controllable locking means for locking the biasing element, the locking means comprising a movable fixing element which, in at least in one fixing position, locks the biasing element against movements caused by the biasing process and is movable out of the at least one fixing position to release said biasing element, and
a release means for selectedly releasing the locking means, the release means comprising a release element for temporarily moving the fixing element of its at least one fixing position.
Further aspects of the invention are stated in the subclaims.
The flowable medium to be discharged by the device according to the invention is located in a reservoir which comprises an outlet. If the medium is a multiple-component medium, the components of which are to mixed with each other only during the discharge process, a separate reservoir is provided for each component. The medium is hydraulically discharged from the reservoir by pressure application. The pressure acting upon the medium is applied by a pressure-generating element. Said pressure-generating element acts either upon the medium in the reservoir or from outside upon the reservoir which, in this case, must be of flexible configuration. In the first case, in particular a syringe is used as a reservoir, with the piston of the syringe and the piston rod serving as the pressure-generating element.
In the device according to the invention the pressure-generating element used for discharging the medium is biased. This is realized by biasing the pressure-generating element towards the reservoir with the aid of a biasing means. Said biasing means operates pneumatically and/or hydraulically, with in particular the pressure of a gas, which may be used for atomizing the discharged medium, being applied. The biasing means comprises a biasing element coupled with the pressure-generating element. Said biasing element is biased towards the pressure-generating element. The freedom of movement of the biasing element is limited by a locking means. In its normal position said locking means blocks the movement of the biasing element towards the pressure-generating means. With the aid of a release means locking of the biasing element can be released selectively and for a predeterminable period of time. Said release means comprises a release element which temporarily sets a fixing element, which locks the biasing element, into a position in which said fixing element releases the biasing element.
The biasing means appropriately comprises a medical syringe to the outlet nozzle of which a hose coupled with a compressed-gas source is connected. The piston rod end and the flanges and/or wings of the barrel of the syringe are supported between a fixed point and the biasing element. By application of pressure the piston and the piston rod are pushed out of the barrel and/or biased towards the outside. This pressure is utilized to move the biasing element towards the pressure-application element acting upon the medium reservoir.
The locking device is appropriately configured in the form of teeth meshing with each other. For this purpose the biasing means and in particular the biasing element is provided with at least one toothed rack cooperating with a fixing projection of the fixing element. If said fixing projection is in engagement with said toothed rack, movement of the biasing element is blocked. By moving the fixing element such that the fixing device is disengaged from the toothed rack the biasing means and/or the biasing element is released so that it moves in forward direction following the biasing force. Release of the biasing means and/or the biasing element is controlled by the release element which, on its part, moves the fixing element.
The toothing, i.e. the succession of teeth of the toothed rack, determines the measure by which the biasing element can move forward when it is released. If it is requested that extremely small fluid quantities are discharged, the toothed rack must display a correspondingly fine toothing. However a fine toothing is of disadvantage in so far as the meshing of the fixing projection with the toothed rack requires a high degree of finishing accuracy. This finishing accuracy is realizable only in plastic injection molded parts with higher efforts being made, which plastic injection molded parts are to be preferably employed in the device according to the invention. The reason for this is that the device according to the invention is to be configured as non-returnable and/or disposable article. Therefore it is advantageous to use toothed racks with a rougher toothing. To be able to discharge small dosing quantities even with such a tooting, it is advantageous to provide two toothed racks instead of one toothed rack at the biasing means and/or the biasing element, said toothed racks being staggered, in particular by a fraction of the distance between the teeth, preferably half the tooth distance. Consequently, the fixing element comprises two fixing projections. Said fixing projections as well as the toothed racks are arranged at opposite sides and/or sides averting each other of the fixing element and/or the biasing element. By reciprocating the fixing element a respective one of the fixing projections alternately meshes with one of the toothed racks. Even in the intermediate states of movement of the fixing element the biasing element is not released such that the desired step-by-step advance movement is limited exclusively by the alternate meshing of the fixing projections with the toothed rack and the staggered toothed rack arrangement. The fixing element is in both fixing positions protected against unintentional movements in that due to the bias a clamping force is ex
Denenburg Igor
Kutal Benny
Zinger Freddy
Diller Ramik & Wight
Kennedy Sharon
OMRIX Biopharmaceuticals SA
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