Syringe for use with a metering device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9291529-B2
Application number	US-201213615031-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 13, 2012
Priority date	Sep 30, 2011
Publication date	Mar 22, 2016
Grant date	Mar 22, 2016

Abstract

A syringe with a syringe cylinder and a syringe, with a seat for the syringe cylinder and an axially displaceable piston seat for the syringe piston. There is an encoding on the syringe cylinder with encoding elements as protrusions and deepenings (depressions) at seven encoding positions, checking elements in the form of further protrusions and further deepenings at seven checking positions, each being disposed between two encoding positions. The encoding elements and the checking elements have six protrusions in total, and a guiding structure to align the syringe on a further guiding structure with each encoding element and with each checking element to a sensing element, said further guiding structure being disposed in the seat of the metering device and having a certain position with respect to an annular sensing device for sensing the encoding by sensing elements of the metering device that are across the circumference.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A syringe with a syringe cylinder ( 2 ) and a syringe piston ( 3 ) for use with a metering device ( 28 ) for metering liquids in a laboratory, with a seat ( 30 ) for the syringe cylinder ( 2 ) and an axially displaceable piston seat ( 35 ) for the syringe piston ( 3 ), comprising
an encoding on an upper edge of the syringe cylinder ( 2 ) with encoding elements ( 12 ) in the form of protrusions ( 12 . 1 ) and deepenings ( 12 . 2 ) at seven encoding positions ( 14 . 1 to 14 . 7 ), uniformly distributed over the circumferential direction on said upper edge of the syringe cylinder in an arrangement that is characteristic for the type of the syringe ( 1 ),
checking elements ( 13 ) in the form of further protrusions ( 13 . 1 ) and further deepenings ( 13 . 2 ) at seven checking positions ( 15 . 1 to 15 . 7 ), each of them being disposed between two encoding positions ( 14 . 1 to 14 . 7 ) on the upper edge of the syringe cylinder ( 2 ),
wherein the encoding elements ( 12 ) and the checking elements ( 13 ) have six protrusions ( 12 . 1 , 13 . 1 ) in total, and
a guiding structure ( 16 ) on the circumference of the syringe cylinder ( 2 ), which has a certain position with respect to the encoding elements ( 12 ) and the checking elements ( 13 ) in order to align the syringe ( 1 ) on a further guiding structure ( 33 ) with each encoding element ( 12 ) and with each checking element ( 13 ) to a sensing element ( 47 ), said further guiding structure ( 33 ) being disposed in the seat ( 30 ) of the metering device ( 28 ) and having a certain position with respect to an annular sensing device ( 32 ) for sensing the encoding by sensing elements ( 47 ) of the metering device ( 28 ) that are uniformly distributed across the circumference.

2. The syringe according to claim 1 , wherein the encoding elements ( 12 ) have at most five protrusions ( 12 . 1 ) and the checking elements ( 13 ) at least one protrusion ( 13 . 1 ).

3. A syringe according to claim 1 , which has a filling volume and protrusion ( 12 . 1 ) indicated below only at the encoding positions ( 14 . 1 to 14 . 7 ) 1 to 7 associated to the respective filling volume, which are disposed clockwise in succession in a top view towards the upper edge of the syringe cylinder ( 2 ), wherein a further protrusion ( 13 . 1 ) exists on a checking position ( 15 . 1 to 15 . 7 ) between at least two encoding positions ( 14 . 1 to 14 . 7 ):
0.1 ml filling volume with protrusions at encoding positions 4 , 6 and 7 ,
0.2 ml filling volume with protrusions at encoding positions 3 , 6 and 7 ,
0.5 ml filling volume with protrusions at encoding positions 2 , 6 and 7 ,
1.0 ml filling volume with protrusions at encoding positions 2 , 5 and 7 ,
2.5 ml filling volume with protrusions at encoding positions 2 , 4 , 5 , 6 and 7 ,
5.0 ml filling volume with protrusions at encoding positions 2 , 3 , 5 , 6 and 7 ,
10 ml filling volume with protrusions at encoding positions 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 and 7 ,
25 ml filling volume with a protrusion on encoding position 7 ,
50 ml filling volume with protrusions at encoding positions 5 , 6 and 7 .

4. The syringe according to claim 3 , which has one of the filling volumes and protrusions ( 13 . 1 ) indicated below only at the checking positions ( 15 . 1 to 15 . 7 ) 1 to 7 associated to the respective filling volume, which are disposed clockwise in succession in a top view towards the upper edge of the syringe cylinder ( 2 ):
0.1 ml filling volume with protrusions at checking positions 1 , 2 and 4 ,
0.2 ml filling volume with protrusions at checking positions 1 , 3 and 4 ,
0.5 ml filling volume with protrusions at checking positions 1 , 3 and 4 ,
1.0 ml filling volume with protrusions at checking positions 1 , 3 and 5 ,
2.5 ml filling volume with a protrusion on the checking position 1 ,
5.0 ml filling volume with a protrusion on the checking position 1 ,
10 ml filling volume with a protrusion on the checking position 1 ,
25 ml filling volume with protrusions at checking positions 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 and 5 ,
50 ml filling volume with protrusions at checking positions 1 , 2 and 3 .

5. A syringe according to claim 1 , wherein the guiding structures ( 16 ) are disposed at positions on the circumference of the syringe cylinder ( 2 ) whose mutual distance corresponds to one seventh or several times one seventh of the perimeter of the syringe cylinder ( 3 ), in order to align the syringe ( 1 ) on a further guiding structure ( 33 ) of a metering device ( 28 ) with the encoding elements ( 12 ) to sensing elements ( 47 ) for encoding elements, and with the checking elements ( 13 ) to sensing elements ( 47 ) for checking elements.

6. A syringe according to claim 1 , with a syringe cylinder ( 2 ) made of polypropylene or polyethylene or cyclic olefinic (CO) polymer, and/or with a syringe piston ( 3 ) made of polyethylene or polypropylene.

7. A syringe system comprising at least two syringes ( 1 ) with different encodings according to claim 1 .

8. A metering device for use with a syringe ( 1 ) having a syringe piston ( 2 ) and a syringe cylinder ( 3 ) for metering liquids in a laboratory, comprising
a seat ( 30 ) for the upper end of the syringe cylinder ( 2 ),
an accommodation body ( 34 ) with a piston seat ( 35 ) for the upper end of the syringe piston ( 3 ),
holding devices ( 40 , 41 ) for detachably holding the upper end of the syringe cylinder ( 2 ) and the upper end of the syringe piston ( 3 ) in their seats ( 30 , 35 ),
piston adjustment devices ( 37 ) for moving the accommodation body ( 34 ) relative to the seat ( 30 ),
an annular sensing device ( 32 ), disposed in the seat ( 30 ) and having at least 14 sensing elements ( 47 ) that are uniformly distributed over the circumference of the seat,
a guiding structure ( 33 ) on the circumference of the seat ( 30 ) for aligning a further guiding structure ( 16 ) on the circumference of the syringe cylinder ( 2 ) of a syringe ( 1 ), for aligning seven encoding elements ( 12 ) and checking elements ( 13 ), disposed between the encoding elements ( 12 ), to the sensing elements ( 47 ) of the sensing device ( 32 ), said encoding elements ( 12 ) being uniformly distributed over the upper edge of the syringe cylinder ( 2 ) and having the form of protrusions ( 12 . 1 ) and deepenings ( 12 . 2 ) in an arrangement of an encoding of the syringe ( 1 ) characterising the type of the syringe ( 1 ), the checking elements being in the form of further protrusions ( 13 . 1 ) and deepenings ( 13 . 2 ), and wherein the encoding elements ( 12 ) and the checking elements ( 13 ) have six protrusions ( 12 . 1 , 13 . 1 ) in total, and
an electronic analysing device ( 44 ) connected to the sensing elements ( 47 ) and being configured such that it states an error-free sensing upon the actuation of exactly six sensing elements ( 47 ), and such that it triggers the metering device ( 28 ) into an operating condition only in the case of an error-free sensing, said operating condition depending on the encoding of a syringe ( 1 ) determined by analysing the switched sensing elements ( 47 ).

9. The metering device according to claim 8 , wherein the electronic analysing device ( 42 ) is configured such that it states an erroneous sensing when another number than six sensing elements ( 47 ) are actuated, and triggers the metering device ( 28 ) into an error condition.

10. The metering device of claim 8 further including at least one syringe.

11. A method for operating a metering system, including the steps of:
detachably connecting a syringe ( 1 ) to a metering device ( 28 ), the syringe having encoding elements ( 1

Assignees

• Löhn Jürgen
• Eppendorf Ag

Inventors

• Löhn Jürgen

Classifications

• B01L3/0234 Primary

  Repeating pipettes, i.e. for dispensing multiple doses from a single charge · CPC title

• G01N1/14 Primary

  Suction devices, e.g. pumps; Ejector devices · CPC title

• B01L3/0217

  of the plunger pump type · CPC title

• B01L2300/021

  Identification, e.g. bar codes · CPC title

• G01N2035/00811

  consumable or exchangeable components other than sample carriers, e.g. detectors, flow cells · CPC title