Autoinjector
An autoinjector includes a case adapted to hold a medicament container having a needle, a needle shroud telescopically coupled to the case, and a plunger rotationally and slidably disposed in the case. The needle shroud is movable between a first extended position relative to the case in which the needle is covered and a retracted position relative to the case in which the needle is exposed. The plunger is rotatable relative to the case between a first rotational position in which the plunger is engaged to the case and a second rotational position in which the plunger disengages the case. The needle shroud is operably coupled to the plunger. When the needle shroud translates from the first extended position to the retracted position, the plunger rotates from the first rotational position to the second rotational position.
1 . A single use autoinjector, comprising:
a case adapted to receive a medicament container which is operatively coupled or coupleable to a needle, the needle configured to protrude distally from the case before and after a single dispensing operation, wherein the medicament container contains a single dose of a medicament, the case being adapted to hold the medicament container in a fixed position relative to the case when the medicament container is received in the case;
a drive mechanism comprising a plunger and a drive spring configured to supply energy to dispense the single dose of the medicament from the medicament container through the needle in the single dispensing operation; and
a needle shroud movably coupled to the case, the needle shroud configured to protrude distally over a distal end of the needle (i) in a non-locked state of the autoinjector before the single dispensing operation is commenced and (ii) in a locked state after the single dispensing operation,
wherein, in the non-locked state, the needle shroud is movable in the proximal direction relative to the needle and the case, and in the locked state, the needle shroud is prevented from moving in the proximal direction relative to the case by an engagement between a radially resiliently deflectable portion of the needle shroud and a distally facing surface on the case, wherein the radially resiliently deflectable portion extends in a proximal direction from a cylindrical portion of the needle shroud, and an end of the radially resiliently deflectable portion in the locked state is radially outwardly positioned with respect to the end of the radially resiliently deflectable portion in the non-locked state.
2 . The single use autoinjector of claim 1 , wherein the cylindrical portion is disposed at a distal end of the needle shroud.
3 . The single use autoinjector of claim 1 , wherein the needle shroud comprises at least one needle shroud leg extending further in the proximal direction than the radially resiliently deflectable portion.
4 . The single use autoinjector of claim 3 , wherein, in an angular direction, the radially resiliently deflectable portion is disposed between two needle shroud legs of the needle shroud.
5 . The single use autoinjector of claim 3 , wherein the at least one needle shroud leg has a plunger interaction portion arranged to abut a shroud interaction portion of the plunger of the drive mechanism.
6 . The single use autoinjector of claim 5 , wherein the plunger interaction portion is arranged in a proximal end section of the at least one needle shroud leg.
7 . The single use autoinjector of claim 5 , wherein:
the plunger is biased by the drive spring in a rotational direction and in a distal direction in the non-locked state of the needle shroud and, for releasing the plunger for the dispensing operation, the needle shroud is movable in a proximal direction relative to the case from a first position into a release position,
the plunger interaction portion comprises a shroud protrusion abutting a plunger protrusion of the shroud interaction portion of the plunger to prevent rotation of the plunger in the rotational direction in the first position of the needle shroud, and
in the release position, the plunger protrusion no longer abuts the shroud protrusion to release the plunger for the dispensing operation.
8 . The single use autoinjector of claim 7 , wherein, in the locked state, the needle shroud is in a locked position relative to the case, and wherein the needle shroud protrudes further from the case in the locked position than in the first position.
9 . The single use autoinjector of claim 8 , wherein the needle shroud protrudes from the case in the release position.
10 . The single use autoinjector of claim 8 , wherein the autoinjector comprises a cap, the cap being removably coupled to the autoinjector, wherein, when the cap is coupled to the autoinjector, the cap locks the needle shroud such that movement of the needle shroud relative to the case is prevented before the dispensing operation unless the cap is removed, wherein the cap locks the needle shroud by one of or both of:
a) the cap abutting a distal end of the case, and
b) a radially displaceable cap feature engaging the needle shroud.
11 . The single use autoinjector of claim 10 , wherein, when the cap is being removed, the radially displaceable cap feature is radially outwardly displaced to disengage the needle shroud.
12 . The single use autoinjector of claim 1 , wherein, in the locked state, the needle shroud is in a locked position relative to the case and, in the locked position, the needle shroud protrudes further from the case than in a non-locked position which the needle shroud has relative to the case in the non-locked state, so as to expose a portion of the needle shroud in the locked position which was covered by the case in the non-locked position.
13 . The autoinjector of claim 12 , wherein the portion of the needle shroud exposed in the locked position comprises a visually perceivable marking.
14 . The single use autoinjector of claim 13 , wherein the marking is a graphical marking and indicates that the autoinjector has been used.
15 . The single use autoinjector of claim 1 , wherein the single use autoinjector comprises the medicament container, the medicament container being a syringe with a needle, and the syringe containing the single dose of the medicament.
16 . The single use autoinjector of claim 1 , wherein the drive mechanism is configured to supply the energy to dispense the single dose of the medicament from the medicament container through the needle in the single dispensing operation while a portion of the drive spring is inside the plunger.
17 . A method for delivering a single dose of a medicament from a single use autoinjector into a subject, the method comprising:
moving a needle shroud of the auto-injector in a proximal direction relative to a case of the auto-injector when the auto-injector is in a non-locked state while the case holds a syringe in a fixed position relative to the case;
after moving the needle shroud in the proximal direction relative to the case and while the case holds the syringe in the fixed position relative to the case, delivering the single dose of the medicament from the syringe into the subject by a plunger of a drive mechanism of the auto-injector being driven by a drive spring of the drive mechanism such that the single dose of the medicament is delivered through a needle of the syringe, the needle configured to protrude distally from the case before and after delivering the medicament; and
after delivering the medicament, engaging a radially resiliently deflectable portion of the needle shroud to a surface on the case to change the auto-injector to a locked state in which proximal movement of the needle shroud relative to the case is prevented,
wherein the radially resiliently deflectable portion extends in a proximal direction from a cylindrical portion of the needle shroud, and an end of the radially resiliently deflectable portion in the locked state is radially outwardly positioned with respect to the end of the radially resiliently deflectable portion in the non-locked state.
18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the drive spring is configured to store energy to drive the single dispensing operation to dispense the single dose of the medicament from the medicament container through the needle in the single dispensing operation.
19 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the single dose of the medicament is delivered through the needle of the syringe while a portion of the drive spring is inside the plunger.
20 . A single use autoinjector, comprising:
a case adapted to receive a medicament container which is operatively coupled or coupleable to a needle, the needle configured to protrude distally from the case before and after a single dispensing operation, wherein the medicament container contains a single dose of a medicament, the case being adapted to hold the medicament container in a fixed position relative to the case when the medicament container is received in the case;
a drive mechanism comprising a drive energy member and a plunger, wherein the drive energy member is configured to supply energy to the plunger to dispense the single dose of the medicament from the medicament container through the needle in the single dispensing operation while a portion of the drive energy member is inside the plunger; and
a needle shroud movably coupled to the case, the needle shroud configured to protrude distally over a distal end of the needle (i) in a non-locked state of the autoinjector before the single dispensing operation is commenced and (ii) in a locked state after the single dispensing operation,
wherein, in the non-locked state, the needle shroud is movable in the proximal direction relative to the needle and the case, and in the locked state, the needle shroud is prevented from moving in the proximal direction relative to the case by an engagement between the needle shroud and the case,
wherein a radially resiliently deflectable portion extends in a proximal direction from a cylindrical portion of the needle shroud, and an end of the radially resiliently deflectable portion in the locked state is radially outwardly positioned with respect to the end of the radially resiliently deflectable portion in the non-locked state.
21 . The single use autoinjector of claim 20 , wherein the drive energy member is a drive spring in which energy is stored to drive the single dispensing operation to dispense the single dose of the medicament from the medicament container through the needle in the single dispensing operation.
22 . The single use autoinjector of claim 20 , wherein the engagement is between the resiliently deflectable portion of the needle shroud and a surface on the case.