Noise evident tamper cap

Description

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application having Ser. No. 62/133,075, filed on Mar. 13, 2015, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention is directed to a noise tamper evident cap assembly for use with a medical injection or dispensing device such as a syringe. Specifically, the assembly of the present invention provides for the bottom loading of a tip cap to the assembly, an audible noise indication is triggered upon separation of the tip cap and the sleeve, and the tip cap cannot be reversed back into the assembly.

Description of the Related Art

It is common practice for medical personnel to provide a patient with a drug or medication by injection, and a top concern in the medical field relates to the safety of administration of these injections. Another common concern relates to the anti-theft of these types of injections by medical personnel. Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide an anti-tamper cap assembly to medical syringes or dispensing devices, which also provides an audible indicator upon use, to ensure that the syringe has been opened and/or used, rather than pocketed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a noise tamper evident cap assembly which may include a sleeve assembly, a tip cap, and a bottom cap. The sleeve assembly is formed in surrounding relations to the tip cap, and includes one or more noise fin(s) that are formed along an interior wall or sidewall of the sleeve assembly, and disposed upwards and in overlying relations relative to the tip cap. The tip cap is removably connected to the bottom cap, and the bottom cap may be permanently affixed to a medical syringe as well as the sleeve assembly. Upon removal of the tip cap, a portion thereof, such as its engagement flange, may interact with or touch upon the noise fin(s), cause the fin(s) to vibrate and emit an audible noise or tone with a human hearing range.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become clearer when the drawings as well as the detailed description are taken into consideration.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a fuller understanding of the nature of the present invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic side profile view representation of a noise tamper evident cap assembly of the present invention, pre-assembled.

FIG. 2 is a schematic side profile view representation of a noise tamper evident cap assembly of the present invention, assembled.

FIG. 3 is a schematic side profile representation of an assembled noise tamper evident cap assembly in use with a medical syringe.

Like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

As shown in the accompanying Figures, the present invention is directed to a noise tamper evident cap assembly, generally indicated as 100, for use with a medical injection device such as a syringe and including a noise feature.

As seen in FIG. 3, the assembly 100 is intended to be used as a closure with a syringe 200, such as to enclose an apical portion or dispensing portion 201 of the syringe 200.

Drawing attention to FIG. 2, a cross section and/or side profile of the present invention is presented in assembled form. Accordingly, the assembly 100 of the present invention may generally and initially comprise three primary components, including a sleeve assembly 110, a tip cap 120, and a bottom cap 130.

The sleeve assembly 110 comprises at least one side wall 111. The sidewall 111 may form circumferentially atop the bottom cap 130, and around the tip cap 120, as a one piece construction. In other embodiments, the side wall 111 may comprise one or more side wall segments such as 111 and 111′ formed on different sections and in surrounding relations to the tip cap 120.

The sleeve assembly 110 and side wall 111 further comprises at least one noise fin 112 and/or 112′ protruding into an interior of said side wall 111. This at least one noise fin 112 and/or 112′ is disposed in at least partially obstructing relations relative to the tip cap 120, such that the removal of the tip cap 120 will cause a bottom portion of the tip cap 120, or more specifically, the engagement flange 121 thereof, to interact with the noise fin(s) 112/112′, which in turn causes air vibrations and result in a “snap” or “click” sound, as an audio indicator to the user and/or surrounding personnel proximal to the user, that the cap has been removed.

The noise fins 112/112′ may be angled upwards at varying degrees, relative to the base or bottom of the medical injection device, such that the tip cap 120 is unable to pass back through the noise fins 112/112′ after removal. Further, the noise fins 112/112′ will be partial or full obstructive relations relative to the engagement members 122 and 132, which means that the engagement flange 121 of the tip cap 120 will be unable to connect back to the bottom cap 130.

The noise fin(s) 112/112′ may be formed of at least partially flexible materials including known plastics, metals, and/or other appropriate materials for producing an audible sound or tone to the human ear, or a vibrational sound between the 20 Hz and 20 kHz range. The noise fin(s) 112/112′ may form of a single construction as the sidewall 111 and/or segments thereof. Or, in one embodiment, the noise fin(s) 112/112′ may be attached by ultrasonic welding, clipping, or gluing via adhesives.

The tip cap 120 may comprise a shape that may facilitate its removal, such as to include a head member 123 that may facilitate a user's grip for removal of the tip cap 120. In this way, the tip cap 120 may be removed from the sleeve assembly 110 without breaking any tabs, and thereby reducing particle generation and increasing manufacturability. The absence of the sleeve assembly 110 and/or a segment thereof may indicate that the cap assembly 100 has been tampered with.

The sleeve assembly 110 may be permanently affixed to the bottom cap 130, via adhesives, welding, and/or other appropriate means. The bottom cap 130 may similarly be permanently affixed to an apical portion of the medical injection device or syringe 200. In one embodiment, the bottom cap 130 may comprise an aperture for dispensing or access to the fluids or content within the syringe 200, after removal of the tip cap 120. In one embodiment, access for removal of the bottom cap 130, which serves as a closure or lid to the syringe 200, may only be achieved after the removal of the tip cap 120. For example, the bottom cap 130 may incorporate therein the closure device as taught in Applicant's invention in issued U.S. Pat. No. 8,886,021, which is incorporated herein in its entirety.

The assembly of the present invention may be introduced for both male and female gendered threaded connectors of all types related to a syringe or other medical injection or dispensing device, and may include pipe thread, inch and metric thread and taps, in addition to the leur, enteral, and neuraxial thread standards.

Drawing attention to FIG. 1, the construction of the assembly 100 may involve a “bottom loaded” approach. That is, the tip cap 120 is inserted upwards into the sleeve assembly 110, and the bottom cap 130 is connected to the tip cap 120 via an engagement mechanism 140, which may include the cooperative engagement of at least engagement members 122 and 132, followed by the permanent welding or adhesion of the bottom cap 130 with the sleeve assembly 110 and/or the sidewalls 111 or sidewall segments 111/111′ thereof. The engagement mechanism 140 and engagement members 122 and 132 cooperatively formed on the engagement flange 121 of the tip cap 120, and the engagement member of the bottom cap 130, may comprise a standard “cliff and ramp” mechanism for installation, with each engagement member or connector being an opposite gender of the opposing.

Since many modifications, variations and changes in detail can be made to the described preferred embodiment of the invention, it is intended that all matters in the foregoing description and shown in the accompanying drawings be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. Thus, the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents.

Now that the invention has been described,