Drug delivery device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10195356-B2
Application number	US-201414905382-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 17, 2014
Priority date	Jul 17, 2013
Publication date	Feb 5, 2019
Grant date	Feb 5, 2019

Abstract

A drug delivery device for selecting and dispensing a number of user variable doses of a medicament includes a dose limiter for preventing the setting of a dose, which exceeds the amount of liquid left in a cartridge of the drug delivery device. The device includes a cartridge containing liquid, a dosing element, which rotates during dose selecting, a last dose nut coupled to the dosing element during dose selecting such that rotation of the dosing element causes an axial movement of the last dose nut, and a stop element, which is provided on the dosing element and which blocks further movement of the last dose nut, if a dose is selected corresponding to the amount of liquid left in the cartridge. The device further includes a last dose sleeve rotationally coupled to the dosing element during dose selecting and rotationally decoupled from the dosing element during dose dispensing.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A drug delivery device comprising:
a cartridge containing liquid;
a dose limiter configured to inhibit setting of a dose exceeding an amount of the liquid left in the cartridge;
a dosing element rotatable during dose selecting;
a last dose nut coupled to the dosing element during the dose selecting such that rotation of the dosing element causes an axial movement of the last dose nut; and
a stop element configured to block further movement of the last dose nut if the selected dose corresponds to the amount of the liquid left in the cartridge, wherein the stop element is on the dosing element,
wherein the dose limiter further comprises a last dose sleeve rotationally coupled to the dosing element during the dose selecting and rotationally decoupled from the dosing element during dose dispensing, and the last dose nut is coupled to the dosing element by the last dose sleeve.

2. The drug delivery device of claim 1 , further comprising a nut coupled to the dosing element such that rotation of the dosing element causes an axial movement of the nut in a direction opposite to the direction of the axial movement of the last dose nut.

3. The drug delivery device of claim 2 , wherein the nut comprises rotational hard stops and wherein the dosing element comprises corresponding rotational stops interacting with the rotational hard stops of the nut for limiting the axial movement of the nut.

4. The drug delivery device of claim 2 , wherein the nut contacts the last dose nut if the selected dose corresponds to the amount of the liquid left in the cartridge.

5. The drug delivery device of claim 4 , wherein the last dose nut engages the stop element when the nut contacts the last dose nut.

6. The drug delivery device of claim 5 , wherein the last dose nut comprises an elastically deformable finger with a protrusion, wherein contact of the nut with the last dose nut urges the protrusion into engagement with the stop element.

7. The drug delivery device of claim 1 , wherein the dosing element comprises a series of stop elements arranged one behind the other on a helical path.

8. The drug delivery device of claim 1 , wherein the stop element has a saw-tooth form.

9. The drug delivery device of claim 1 , wherein the dosing element rotates in a first direction during the dose selecting and rotates in a second, opposite direction during the dose dispensing.

10. The drug delivery device of claim 1 , wherein:
the dosing element comprises a drive sleeve, which has a flange with clutch teeth for coupling the drive sleeve to corresponding teeth of the last dose sleeve, and a transfer sleeve, which is rotationally constrained to the drive sleeve and comprises the stop element.

11. The drug delivery device of claim 10 , further comprising a nut comprising a thread engaging a thread on the transfer sleeve.

12. The drug delivery device of claim 1 , wherein the last dose nut comprises a thread engaging a thread of the last dose sleeve.

13. The drug delivery device of claim 1 , further comprising a housing or chassis rotationally constrained to the last dose nut.

14. The drug delivery device of claim 1 , further comprising:
a housing;
a cartridge holder for retaining the cartridge;
a piston rod displaceable relative to the cartridge holder; and
a driver coupled to the piston rod and at least one clutch,
wherein the clutch decouples the driver and the dosing element during the dose selecting and couples the driver and the dosing element during the dose dispensing.

15. The drug delivery device of claim 1 , further comprising a spring driving the dosing element during the dose dispensing.

16. The drug delivery device of claim 1 , wherein the liquid is a medicament to be dispensed from the drug delivery device.

17. A method of operating a drug delivery device, the method comprising:
rotating a dose selector to select a dose corresponding to an amount of liquid left in a cartridge of the drug delivery device, whereby rotation of the dose selector causes a last dose nut to move axially through the drug delivery device, and rotation of the dose selector to select the dose corresponding to the amount of the liquid causes a stop element to block further axial movement of the last dose nut; and
dispensing at least a portion of the selected dose.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein:
dispensing at least the portion of the selected dose comprises pressing a button to cause a dosing element to advance to dispense at least a portion of the selected dose, and
rotating the dose selector causes the last dose nut to move axially through the drug delivery device toward a nut coupled to the dosing element and causes the nut to move axially through the drug delivery device through the last dose nut.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein rotating the dose selector causes the nut to contact the last dose nut such that the last dose nut engages the stop element, thereby blocking further axial movement of the last dose nut.

20. The method of claim 19 , wherein rotating the dose selector causes an elastically deformable finger of the last dose nut to engage the stop element, thereby blocking further axial movement of the last dose nut.

Assignees

• Sanofi Sa

Inventors

• Oakley Tom
• Hewson Karl
• Milne Stuart
• Pawulski Mark

Classifications

• A61M5/31528

  by means of rotational movements, e.g. screw-thread mechanisms · CPC title

• A61M5/31541 Primary

  Means preventing setting of a dose beyond the amount remaining in the cartridge · CPC title

• A61M5/20

  Automatic syringes, e.g. with automatically actuated piston rod, with automatic needle injection, filling automatically (A61M5/142 {, A61M5/46} take precedence; {hypodermic projectiles F42B12/54}) · CPC title

• A61M5/31593

  Multi-dose, i.e. individually set dose repeatedly administered from the same medicament reservoir · CPC title

• A61M5/31551

  including axial movement of dose setting member · CPC title