US3426411A - Apparatus for capping a plurality of needles attached to syringes - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 11, 1969 .1. B. LAGSDIN 3,426,411

APPARATUS FOR CAPPING A PLURALITY OF NEEDLES ATTACHED TO SYRINGES Filed Feb. 10. 1967 Sheet 0f 6 INVENTOR. JUL IUS BERNARD LAGSD/N ATTORNEY Feb. 11, 1969 J. B. LAGSDIN APPARATUS FOR CAPPING A PLURALITY OF NEEDLES ATTACHED TO SYRINGES Filed Feb. 10, 1967 Sheetof 6 INQVENTOR. JUL/US BERNARD mesa/1v '1 v BY ATTORNEY Feb. 11. 1969 J, B, s N 3,426,411

APPARATUS FOR CAPPING A PLURALITY OF NEEDLES ATTACHED TO SYRINGES Filed Feb. 10, 1967 Sheet 3 of 6 INVENTOR. JUL/US BERNARD LAGSDl/V Feb. 1,1, 1 969 7 Q J B. LAGSDIN 3,426,411

APPARATUS FOR CAPPING A PLURALITY OF NEEDLES ATTACHED TO SYRINGES Filed Feb. 10, 1967 Sheet of 6 INVENTOR. JUL/US BERNARD LAGSD/N d BY ATTORNEY Feb. 11, .1969 J. B. LAGSDIN 3,426,411

APPARATUS FOR CAPPING A PLURALITY OF NEEDLES ATTACHED TO SYRINGES Filed Feb. 10, 1967 v Sheet 5 0f 6 INVENTOR. JUL #15 BERNARD LAGSDl/V ATTORNEY Feb. 11, 1969 J. B. LAGSDIN 3,426,411

APPARATUS FOR CAPPING A PLURALITY OF NEEDLES ATTACHED TO SYRINGES Filed Feb. 10. 1967 Y Sheet 6 of e INVENTOR. JUL/US BERNARD LAGSD/N BY 744:, /%W' ATTORNfY United States Patent 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A machine is described in which a tray of syringes with the needle ends up are capped. A grooved aligning bar is pivoted so that it can be swung down and notches in the bar fit over the syringe barrels and hold them in alignment by spring pressure. The machine is provided with a second bar, which is stationary and in which are mounted a series of small funnels, their ends being aligned with, and just above, the needles on the syringes. Above the bar carrying the funnels is a second bar which can be swung back or forward and which is provided with a series of rods aligned with the mouths of the funnels. Means are also provided, preferably pneumatic, for raising and lowering this bar in its forward position.

In operation the grooved aligning bar is swung up, and the bar carrying the rods is swung back in its framework out of line with the mouths of the funnels. The operator then places a tray with a number of syringes with their needles up. The grooved aligning bar is swung down and grips the barrels of the syringes, holding them firmly against sideways movement and keeping the syringes in accurate alignment. The operator then places soft caps in each funnel, open end down, and they drop onto the respective needles of the syringes below them.

The framework carrying the bar with rods is then swung forward over the mouths of the funnels and is lowered, for example pneumatically. This forces the rods to move down in the tunnels and pushes the caps onto the syringe needles a predetermined distance. The funnels assure that the caps move down straight over the ends of the needles. After the tray of needles has been capped, the rod containing bar is lifted and swung back, and th aligning bar is raised. The tray of capped syringes is then removed, a fresh tray of syringes inserted, and the operation repeated.

Background of the invention Syringes for hypodermic are provided with very sharp needles to assure painless injections and the needles are protected from contamination. In the past protective caps of soft material, such as rubber or soft plastic, were applied individually and manually to the syringe needles. This procedure was both slow and sometimes not accurate. If a cap was forced too far down on the needle, it could be punctured by the sharp needle point; and if it was not accurately aligned along the point, puncture of side walls became a possibility, and in some cases the needle could also be bent. The operation was relatively slow, and the number of defective capped syringes considerable, particularly when the operator became tired at the end of a day. Both of these factors increased cost of production, and if precise inspection is included to detect imperfectly capped syringes which the operator might not notice, this constituted a further cost.

The necessiy for placing the caps on the needles with uniform pressure and to a uniform length, and particularly the difiiculties of assuring absolute alignment so a cap is always pressed down in a straight line with the axis of the needles, made mechanized capping economically 3,426,41 l Patented Feb. 11, 1969 impractical in the past, and so manual operation is still standard in spite of the higher cost factors involved.

Summary of the invention According to the present invention the problems set forth above are solved by providing automatic and perfect alignment of the syringes with needles up, automatic alignment of the caps when placed on the ends of the needles, and an application of force to seat the caps which does not depend on a precise amount of pressure but is controlled by means which move the caps down on the needles a certain distance regardless of the force used to apply them. In other words, seating of the caps does not depend on accurately applied force or pressure, and the possibility of puncturing caps when too much force is used is completely eliminated.

The invention also permits capping a large number of syringes at one time with complete uniformity and also prevents misalignment of the caps and bending of the needles by the exertion of force which is not in a straight line along the length of each needle.

According to the invention, a machine is provided in which a tray of syringes, with the needles up, can be inserted undereath a series of accurately aligned, small funnels, the mouths of which are closely above the ends of the needles. Caps, open end down, are fed into the mouths of the funnels, either manually or by automatic feeders, and dropped onto the needles by gravity. The funnels assure that the caps move straight down on each needle, and when the caps are then seated, there is no possibility of bending a needle by pressure which is not straight along the length of each needle. At the same time the use of gravity places the caps very gently on the ends of the needles and there is no possibility of injury by use of excessive force.

There is also provided a grooved locking bar or other means which can be swung down after the tray of syringes has been inserted, so that each syringe barrel is grasped firmly and held in perfect alignment under its funnel. When all of the caps have been dropped onto the needles, a bar having rods of suitable diameter for the size of the narrow portions of the funnels is swung into position above the funnels and accurately aligned therewith and is then lowered onto the funnels a predetermined distance. The rods moving down the funnels move the caps on each needle a precise, predetermined distance. Movement of the bar with the rods can be effected manually, but is preferably operated by a suitable pneumatic means, such as a double acting air cylinder.

It will be noted that the combintion holds the syringes with their needles in accurate alignment, drops the caps onto the needle ends, also in accurate alignment, and gently, by the action of gravity, and that the caps are forced onto the needles a predetermined distance. This completely eliminates any adjustment or control of force used, because if the rods move down the predetermined distance it makes no difference whether the force actuating is large or small. Stops are, of course, provided so that the bar can move an accurately predetermined distanance regardless of the force used in moving it.

It will be seen that the present invention provides a much more rapid capping because a large number of syringes are capped at the same time and completely eliminates defective capped cylinders in which the cap is either applied too loosely or too strongly, with rupture of the cap or bending of the needle, and the operation does not require any control of pressure by the operator at all. Thus if an operator is tired, the control of the capping is just as accurate, because it is only necessary to move the bar with the rods its predetermined full distance. Much more rapid capping results, with perfectly capped syringes in every case.

It should be noted that even if a cap is not inserted in one of the funnels the syringe under it is not damaged. The movement of the rod corresponding to the particular syringe automatically stops short of hitting the end of the needle, for of course it always stops a distance from the point, which is at least the thickness of the cap. Therefore, in such cases the needle and syringe are not damaged and can be placed in another tray, which still further reduces the possibility of defective syringes and so eliminates their cost.

Ordinarily the machines of the present invention will be used for syringes of a fixed size. However, the bars containing the funnels, which mount directly in the machine, and the one containing the rods, which is in a movable framework, can be made easily replaceable or removable so that a machine may be used with different sizes of syringes. Of course the aligning bar with grooves for the cylinder barrel must also be changed to accommodate the different barrel sizes of another size of syringe. The possibility of providing simply and economically for removable bars represents an additional practical advantage, although the invention of course can be used with machines in which the bars are fixed where only one size of syringe is to be capped during the life of the machine.

The machine is rugged and cannot easily be thrown Brief description of the drawing FIG. 1 is an isometric view of the front of the machine with the aligning bars and rod holding bars swung up and back respectively;

FIG. 2 is a similar view with the aligning bar swung down and clamping a series of syringe barrels;

FIG. 3 is an isometric view showing the rod bar swung forward;

FIG. 4 shows the rod bar of FIG. 3 pneumatically moved down to its lowest position;

FIG. 5 is a detailed end elevation of the machine;

FIG. 6 is a vertical section through FIG. 3 along the line 66;

FIG. 7 is a detailed section of a funnel and rod in the position shown toward the right of FIG. 2, and

FIG. 8 is a similar detailed section through the same elements as shown in FIG. 4.

Description of the preferred embodiment In FIG. 1 the machine base and framework is shown at 1 with a tray of syringes, needle ends up, inserted in the machine. The tray is shown at 2 generally with the individual syringes at 23 with needles 20. A notched locking or aligning bar 3 is shown swung up by its handles 4. FIG. 5 shows the mechanism by which this bar is swung up and down, the figure showing the bar in full lines in the lowered position and in dashed lines in the raised position corresponding to FIG. 1. The bar is journalled in arms 5 at each end of the machine which are pivoted on the pivots 6 and provided with springs 7 which lock the bar in either position under spring pressure, resulting in a type of toggle action.

Alignment of the trays of syringes when introduced in the position of FIG. 1 is automatically provided by the fact that the tray is pushed in until it hits an abutment or stop 25 which is shown in FIG. 6. It will be noted that this figure is a section taken through FIG. 3 rather than FIG. 1. The abutment also shows in FIG. 5 but is more clearly illustrated in FIG. 6 and, of course, the tray with the syringes is aligned in contact with this stop when first inserted as shown in FIG. 1 and it remains in contact therewith in the position shown in FIG. 3 which will be described further below.

FIG. 2 shows the apparatus with the aligning bar 3 swung into its bottom position, which is shown in full lines in FIG. 5, the notches grasping the barrels of the syringes. FIG. 2 shows a bar rigidly attached to the basic framework 1 of the machine. This bar has a series of transparent plastic funnels 13 which are accurately aligned over each syringe needle 20. The operator now places caps 15, open end down, in each funnel. FIG. 2 shows this operation partly completed, the caps on the syringes to the right of the figure having fallen down onto their respective needles, whereas at the left there are some funnels and needles in which no cap has been placed. The funnel just to the left of the last one over a capped needle shows the cap part way down in the needle. In other words, it shows the cap moving down but not yet fully on the needle. Of course, for clarity the operators hands are not shown as they would confuse the drawing.

It will be noted that this is the only point requiring any serious attention to accuracy on the part of the operator, and even here all that the operator has to worry about is that the caps are always placed in the funnel open end down. This requires much less concentration than determining whether a cap is being pushed onto a needle with the same force, as was necessary in the prior art.

Because of the rapidity with which the funnels can be filled manually with caps, it is ordinarily not necessary to provide automatic feeding, but where still greater production is of importance, automatic feeding of conventional design may be used.

FIG. 3 shows a bar 8 which carries rods 9 swung forward over the funnels. This bar is mounted in a tilting framework 1 pivoted about a pivot 12, which is shown in FIG. 5 in two positions, dashed lines corresponding to FIGS. 1 and 2 and full lines in the position corresponding to FIGS. 3 and 4. The framework 11 carries two long aligning bearings 10 in which rods 16, which are screwed in the bar 8, can slide. This permits the bar 8 to slide up and down, but it is maintained in precise alignment with respect to the framework 11. When this framework is thrown to the forward position shown in FIG. 3, the rods 9 are directly over the funnels and are parallel to the corresponding syringe needles.

The operator then actuates a pneumatic controller which applies air pressure through fitting 18 to a double acting cylinder 17, and this causes a rod 24 to move down. As this rod is rigidly fastened to the bar 8 it moves the bar down, as is shown in FIG. 4, but the bar remains aligned by reason of its guide rods 16. The rods 9 move down through the funnels and push the caps onto the needles to a predetermined position, which is determined by the point on the framework 1 where the bar 8 strikes in its bottom position. This rod position is slightly above the ends of the needles so that regardless of the air pressure the rods 9 will never move too far and cause a cap to be punctured by its needle. All of the caps are seated firmly on the needles in one operation, and because the rods stop a small distance above the ends of the needles, a needle would not be damaged even if the operator forgot to put a cap in a particular funnel.

FIGS. 7 and 8 are enlarged detailed sections of a funnel, rod, cap and syringe. FIG. 7 shows the position in which the bar 8 has been swung into its forward position with the rods 9 centered over the funnels 13. This also appears in full lines in FIG. 5 and in FIG. 6, and corresponds to the position generally shown in FIG. 3.

It will be seen that there is a slot 26 cut in the-bar 13 to permit the rods 9 to move forward into the position thrown, this slot also can be seen in a portion of FIG. 3 which is broken away in section and, of course, also is represented in FIG. 6 which is essentially similar to FIG.

7, although not on so greatly enlarged scale. It will be noted that the end of each rod 9 is hollowed out to form a hemispherical depression 27 which shows in the broken away portion of the single rod in FIGS. 7 and 8. This aids in preventing any sideways slippage of the cap 15 when the rod 9 descends.

In FIG. 8 the bar 8 is shown in its descended position with the rod 9 having forced the cap 15 onto its syringe. This position of the bar 8 of course corresponds to FIG. 4.

After capping, the operator throws the pneumatic control and compressed air is caused to flow through the fitting 19, causing the double acting cylinder 17 to move up the bar 8 to a position which corresponds to FIG. 3. The framework 11 is then swung back to the position shown in dashed lines in FIG. 5, and the locking bar 3 is swung up to the position also shown in dashed lines on FIG. 5. The operator then removes the tray of capped syringes and inserts a fresh tray and the operations are then repeated.

Manual movement of the bar 3 and the framework 11 to predetermined positions is simple, requires no skill or precise manipulative judgment, and so represents a preferred and most economical design of the machine. It is obvious, of course, to those skilled in the .art that these movements may be effected pneumatically, electrically, or by other means. Such means are conventional and of course are included within the broad scope of the present invention. In a more specific modification the preferred manual operation is claimed.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for simultaneously applying caps to a plurality of hypodermic syringes comprising in combination,

(a) a framework adapted to receive a container with a plurality of syringes, needle end up;

(b) means for clamping the individual syringes in predetermined parallel alignment;

(c) a member mounted in said framework just above the needle ends when a container with syringes has been inserted, said member having a plurality of guiding channels each aligned with and parallel to a needle and adapted to receive soft needle caps, open end down, whereby when caps are received by the channels they move by gravity onto the needles in aligned orientation;

((1) a bar having a plurality of rods of size fitting the channels, said bar being slideably mounted in a tiltable framework, which framework is adapted to be swung over the member provided with the channel;

(e) means for causing the bar with the rods to move up and down in the position swung over the member with channels, said means including stops positioned so that when the bar is moved down the rods stop just above the ends of the needles.

2. A device according to claim 1 in which the member provided with channels is provided with funnel shaped channels with the wide mouths up.

3. A device according to claim 2 in which the locking and aligning member and the tiltable framework carrying the bar provided with rods are manually movable to their predetermined positions.

4. A device according to claim 3 in which the means for moving the bar containing the rods up and down is a pneumatic means.

5. A device according to claim 1 in which the means for moving the bar containing the rods up and down is a pneumatic means.

6. A device according to claim 2 in which the means for moving the bar containing the rods up and down is a pneumatic means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,024,523 3/ 1962 Donaldson 29208 3,299,502 1/ 1967 Wanesky 29-208 3,336,654 8/1967 Ryan 29-235 ROBERT C. RIORDON, Primary Examiner.

J. C. PETERS, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R.

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