US3316909A - Hypodermic syringe operable by one hand - Google Patents

Description

y 2, 1967 I c. c. COWLEY 3,316,909

HYPODERMIC SYRINGE' OPERABLE BY ONE HAND Filed Dec. 30, 1963 FIG.

y 2, 1967 c. c. COWLEY 3,316,909

HYPODERMIC SYRINGE OPERABLE BY ONE HAND Filed Dec. 30, 1963 FIG,

S d/00M?) United States Patent 3,316,909 HYPODERMIC SYRINGE OPERABLE BY ONE HAND Calvin C. Cowley, La Canada, Califl, assignor to Pharmaseal Laboratories, Glendale, Calif., a corporation of California Filed Dec. 30, 1963, Ser. No. 334,323 1 Claim. (Cl. 128-218) This invention relates to a hypodermic syringe, and more particularly to a syringe that can be operated both on its forward and rearward stroke by one hand.

Often a physician or nurse has only one hand free with which to operate the syringe and yet with one hand needs to pull the plunger rearwardly in the barrel. Situations which require this manipulation are numerous. For instance, in an intramuscular injection the plunger is retracted slightly to insure that the needle has not been inserted into a vein, and thereby avoid the injection of a potent medicament directly into the vein. Conversely, in intravenous injections, this method is used to insure injecting into the vein.

In the past, syringes designed for one-hand operation have employed a thumb ring attached to the end of the plunger and two finger rings attached to the syringe barrel. In operation, the index and middle fingers were positioned within these two finger rings and the thumb in the thumb ring. These three-ringed syringes, however, have not proven satisfactory. For one thing, there is the difficulty in threading the index finger, the middle finger, and the thumb through three separate rings. Once the syringe is on the hand there is still a feeling of instability, because the rings are relatively thin and in most cases are much larger than the diameter of the fingers and thumb. Also, because of the larger finger rings projecting from opposite sides of the barrel the syringe is large and awkward, and the package for this syringe must be nearly twice as wide as the package for a normal syringe.

I have overcome these objections to the three-ringed syringe by providing a novel syringe with a thumb ring in combination with two finger flanges spaced longitudinally on the barrel. When picking up this syringe, the thumb is merely threaded into the thumb ring attached to the plunger, and the index and middle fingers are placed between the two spaced flanges on the barrel of the syringe. Since the finger flanges do not completely surround the fingers as the rings of previous syringes did, the syringe is much easier to grasp with one hand. Also, the flanges give much better control when holding the syringe because of the flat faces of the flanges which contact the fingers. Since the flanges need not extend from the side of the barrel as far as finger rings, the overall width of the syringe can be much less than previous threeringed syringes. Therefore, my syringe can be packaged in a much smaller package.

An object of this invention is to provide a hypodermic syringe that is easy to operate with one hand on both its forward and rearward stroke.

Another object of this invention is to provide a hypodermic syringe which is easy to pick up in an operating position, and which can be operated with a high degree of control with only one hand.

Another object of this invention is to provide a hypodermic syringe which is easily operable with one hand, and which does not require a large package.

Other objects of this invention will become apparent upon further description of my invention, of which the following are illustrations:

FIGURE 1 is a top view partially cut away of the syringe;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view of the syringe;

3,316,909 Patented May 2, 1967 FIGURE 3 is a front view of a finger flange showing its shape; and

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional view of the finger flange taken along line 4-4 of FIGURE 3.

With reference to the drawings, syringe 1 includes a barrel 2 and an adapter 3 extending from a partially closed end of this barrel. Mounted on adapter 3 is a needle assembly comprising a hub 6 and cannula 7, Slideable within barrel 2 is a plunger 9, the forward end of which has a resilient stopper 8 mounted thereon. The rearward end of plunger 9 extends beyond the open end of the barrel, and has an integrally connected thumb ring 14. Near the rear of the syringe barrel are mounted two spaced finger flanges 13 and 10. A first finger flange 13 is mounted on the barrel very near the rearward open end of barrel 2, and a second finger flange 10 is also mounted on barrel 2 but is spaced a distance forward of first flange 13. The two finger flanges are longitudinally spaced along barrel 2 so that the index and middle fingers of the operator can fit between these fingers flanges. The second flange 10, as well as first finger flange 113, may also in clude circular lips 11 and 12, which can be firmly attached to the barrel by cementing, spin welding, or other similar means to hold the flange in place.

A more detailed description of the finger flanges will be made with a reference to FIGURES 3 and 4. Both flanges have substantially the same shape, and for illustrative purposes the second flange 10 has been shown in detail in FIGURE 3. Here the finger flange is generally oval shaped and includes ears 17 and 18 extending from opposite ends of the flange. Connecting these two ears 17 and 18 are flat sections 15 and 16 which run parallel to the longitudinal axis of the generally oval-shaped finger flange 10. Either of flat sections 15 or 16, when aligned with a similar flat section on the first flange 13, can provide a base on which the syringe can rest when in a horizontal position such as in the package or on a table. The syringe thus has less tendency to roll than it would if the finger flanges were completely circular. As can be seen from FIGURE 3, the ears 17 and 18 each provide a relatively large, flat face which the fingers can engage for easy control of the syringe.

There are several ways in which to attach the finger flanges to the syringe barrel. The flanges may be molded separately and then attached to the barrel, the flanges may be integrally molded with the barrel, or one flange may be integrally molded with the barrel and the other flange may be separately molded and then fastened to the barrel. However, I have found that the molding process is simplified if the first finger flange 13 is integrally molded with the barrel and the second finger flange is separately molded as shown in FIGURE 3 and attached in a separate step to the syringe barrel 2. In the preferred embodiment, the second flange includes an oval-shaped plate with a circular center passage. Lips 11 and 12 extend from. opposite sides of this plate and surround the center passage. These lips stabilize the flange and provide a widened area at which to seal the flange to the barrel if the flange is not molded integrally with the barrel. An easy way to attach this second flange to the barrel is to spin weld the cylindrical lips 11 and 12, or at least one of these lips, to the syringe barrel.

I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention. However, those skilled in the art will understand that certain modifications may be made to this embodiment without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

I claim:

A disposable hypodermic syringe comprising:

( a) a cylindrical thermoplastic barrel open at one end and partially closed at an opposite end, said barrel having a substantially constant diameter bore extending between its two ends; (b) an adapter for supporting a needle assembly connected to the partially closed end of said barrel; (c) a plunger and stopper coupled together and axially slideable to and fro Within said barrel, said stopper being in fluid tight contact with said barrel, the end of said plunger opposite said stopper extending beyond the open end of said barrel, whereby Withdrawal of the extending portion of the plunger also withdraws the stopper through the barrels open end for disassembly of the plunger and barrel; ((1) a thumb ring integrally attached to the end of said plunger extending beyond the open end of said barrel; (e) a first, fiat, transverse, disk-like thermoplastic flange adjacent said open end of said barrel and integrally molded to said barrel, said first flange includ ing two ears extending from opposite ends of the flange, said ears having -a thickened section adjacent said barrel, each of said ears extending perpendicularly outwardly from the barrel a distance substantially less than the thumb rings diameter; and (f) a second flat, transverse, disk-like thermoplastic flange integrally molded to said barrel at a location spaced from the open end of said barrel and from said first flange, said second flange having two ears extending from opposite ends of the flange, said ears having a thickened section adjacent said barrel, each of said ears extending perpendicularly outwardly from the barrel a distance substantially less than the diameter of the thumb ring said finger receiving portions of the first and second flanges being substantially as wide as the barrel at their juncture with the barrel to provide a syringe which is easy to control and manipulate when grasped.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 780,146 6/1904 Wilcox et al. 128-218 1,589,046 6/1926 Brix 1282l8 2,505,028 4/1950 Boeger 128215 X 2,972,991 2/1961 Burke 128-218 FOREIGN PATENTS 24,783 1909 Great Britain. 119,746 10/ 1918 Great Britain;

RICHARD A. GAUDET, Primary Examiner.

25 DALTON L. TRULUCK, Examiner,

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