WO2004089237A2

WO2004089237A2 - Administering of liquids to animals

Info

Publication number: WO2004089237A2
Application number: PCT/IB2004/001097
Authority: WO
Inventors: Pieter Meyer Mentz
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2003-04-09
Filing date: 2004-04-09
Publication date: 2004-10-21
Anticipated expiration: 2005-10-09
Also published as: WO2004089237A3

Abstract

A liquid administering device accessory (60) for use with a liquid administering device (62) used for administering doses of a liquid to animals includes a trigger (60.5) arrangeable relative to the liquid administering device (62) for administering doses of a liquid to animals such that the trigger (60.5) can be activated by said liquid administering device (62) when the liquid administering device (62) is operated to administer liquid to an animal, and a dose counter (60.4) responsive to the trigger (60.5) to count the number of times the liquid administering device (62) is operated to administer doses of liquid.

Description

ADMINISTERING OF LIQUIDS TO ANtMALS

THIS INVENTION relates to the administering of liquids to animals. In particular, the invention relates to a liquid administering device accessory for use with a liquid administering device used for administering doses of a liquid to animals and to a liquid administering device for administering doses of a liquid to animals.

Liquid administering devices such as dosing guns and dosing syringes are used to administer liquids such as medicines and vaccines to animals. These devices are used for oral or aural administration or epidermic or inter-dermic administration. Such an administering device typically has an accurate measurement device in flow communication with a reservoir from which a liquid to be administered is dispensed. The measurement device can be set to administer a more or less accurately measured dose of liquid from the reservoir each time that the administering device is operated. The reservoir can form part of the liquid administering device or can be located remote from the liquid administering device. The volume of liquid dispensed from the reservoir is sometimes used as an indication of the number of doses that were administered. If liquid was administered to a number of animals, the volume of liquid dispensed from the reservoir can also be used to verify the accuracy of the measured doses, provided that the number of doses administered is known.

According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a liquid administering device accessory for use with a liquid administering device used for administering doses of a liquid to animals, the accessory including a trigger arrangeable relative to a liquid administering device for administering doses of a liquid to animals such that the trigger can be activated by said liquid administering device when the liquid administering device is operated to administer liquid to an animal; and a dose counter responsive to the trigger to count the number of times the liquid administering device is operated to administer doses of liquid.

In use, the dose counter is operable to count the number of doses passing through the administering device. The dose counter may include a reset mechanism, operable to zero the count on the dose counter, at the start of a new dosing run.

The trigger may be a mechanical mechanism such as a lever, a button, or the like, which may be operated by the displacement of a movable component, such as a plunger or a handle attached to the plunger, of the liquid administering device. The dose counter may then be a mechanical counter, operable by the trigger.

Instead, or in addition, the trigger may include an electronic sensor to sense operation of the liquid administering device, and in response, to generate a signal to trigger the dose counter.

The trigger may include a signal generator operable to generate a signal, e.g. any one of an electrical signal, a radio frequency signal, and an optical signal. In use, the trigger device may communicate with the counter by transmitting an electrical signal, a radio frequency signal, an optical signal, or the like.

The dose counter may thus be an electronic counter, to display the dose count on an electronic display or component. The electronic counter may be responsive to the electrical signal, the radio signal, or the optical signal, or the like, generated by the signal generator. Alternatively, the dose counter may an electromechanical counter, responsive to the signal from the signal generator.

Typically, the liquid administering device accessory includes mounting means or a mount or a fastener, or the like, to mount or secure at least part of the accessory to the liquid administering device.

The counter of the liquid administering device accessory may include a housing of which at least a portion is of complementary shape to part of the liquid administering device with which the accessory is to be used. For example, the liquid administering device accessory may be mountable to a cylindrical component of the liquid administering device, such as a barrel, the housing defining a part cylindrical surface, or being shaped or configured, to fit against the cylindrical component. The liquid administering device accessory may instead be mountable in a hollow finger engaging member of the liquid administering device, the housing being elongate and narrow to fit into a channel defined by the finger engaging member.

The invention extends to a liquid administering device accessory for use with a liquid administering device used for administering doses of a liquid to animals, the accessory including mounting means or a mount to mount or secure the accessory or at least part thereof to the liquid administering device; and a dose counter triggerable by the liquid administering device to which the accessory is mounted or secured, when the liquid administering device is operated to administer liquid to an animal.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a liquid administering device for administering a number of doses of a liquid to animals, the device including a dose counter to count the number of doses administered by the liquid administering device, the dose counter being configured or arranged to be triggered when the liquid administering device is operated to administer a dose of liquid.

The liquid administering device is typically manually operated to pump the liquid through the device and may include a plunger with a piston or a cylinder connected thereto, displacement of the plunger thus ejecting a measured dose of liquid. The dose counter may be triggered, in use, when the plunger is displaced.

The liquid administering device may thus also include a trigger, operable to trigger the dose counter when the liquid administering device is operated to administer a dose of liquid to an animal. The trigger may be as hereinbefore described.

The invention also extends to a liquid administering device for administering liquids to animals, the device including a trigger capable of communicating with a dose counter, the trigger being arranged to trigger said dose counter when the liquid administering device is operated to administer a dose of liquid to an animal.

According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a kit for administering liquids to animals, the kit including a dose counter to keep a dose count; and a liquid administering device for administering liquids to animals, the liquid administering device and the dose counter being configurable or arrangeable relative to one another such that operation of the liquid administering device to administer a dose of liquid to an animal triggers the dose counter to add to the dose count.

The dose counter may form part of a liquid administering device accessory as hereinbefore described.

The invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the following diagrammatic drawings.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 shows a side view of one embodiment of a liquid administering device in accordance with the invention; and

Figure 2 shows a side view of a liquid administering device including a liquid administering device accessory in accordance with the invention.

Referring to Figure 1 , reference numeral 10 generally indicates a liquid administering device in the form of a dosing gun for administering liquids to animals. The liquid administering device 10 includes a mechanical dose counter 18 mounted on a dosing gun body 12. The dosing gun body 12 includes a handgrip 14 and a circular cylindrical barrel 16. The liquid administering device 10 further includes a lever grip 20 which is hingedly connected to one end of the handgrip 14 with a hinge pin 21.

The dose counter 18 is mounted on the circular cylindrical barrel 16. A trigger in the form of a lever 18.2 is provided on the counter 18. The dose counter 18 has a counter housing 18.1 which defines a mounting with a part circular cylindrical recess or surface (not shown) to fit over the circular cylindrical barrel 16. The dose counter 18 includes a reset button 18.3 and a five digit display 18.4. The reset button is operable to zero the five digit display and the trigger lever 18.2 is operable to increase the number displayed by the digits on the display 18.4 with one unit, each time the trigger lever 18.2 is depressed.

Mounted inside the circular cylindrical barrel 16 is a cylinder or open-ended tube 22 which is of a transparent PVC material (as can be seen in Figure 1 ), in flow communication with a hollow applicator or nozzle 24. Inside the cylinder 22 there is provided a piston 26 fastened to one end of a hollow plunger 28, the piston 26 and an interior wall surface of the cylinder 22 defining a chamber 33. Another end of the hollow plunger 28 is screwthreadingly connected to a conduit mounting 30. The conduit mounting 30 is in turn connected to a conduit 32. The conduit 32 is in the form of a flexible tube leading from a reservoir (not shown) in which a liquid that is to be administered to an animal, is stored. The piston 26 includes a non-return valve (not shown) which in operation allows liquid to pass from the tube 32 through the hollow plunger 28 into the chamber 33. In use, the non-return valve prevents the liquid in the chamber 33 from flowing back into the hollow plunger 28.

A bifurcated top end of the lever grip 20 is connected to opposed sides of the hollow plunger 28 with two shoes (not shown), fastened to the lever grip 20 with two hinge pins 34, and fitting into two opposed recesses 36 in the outer circumference of the hollow plunger 28. At said one end of the handgrip 14 a set screw 38 with a locking nut 40 is screwthreadingly received through the handgrip 14. In operation, the set screw 38 adjusts the position to which the lever grip can be retracted, thereby adjusting the effective volume of the chamber 33.

The dosing gun 10 is operated by pressing the lever grip 20 in the direction of arrow 42, thereby moving the plunger 28 connected to the piston 26 into the cylinder 22, and forcing liquid in the chamber 33 out through the applicator 24. When the lever grip 20 is released the hollow plunger 28 is retracted from the cylinder 22 under force of a spring (not shown) acting on the lever grip 20 to force it back in the direction of arrow 44, allowing the liquid to flow from the reservoir through the tube 32, the plunger 28 and the non-return valve (not shown) into the chamber 33. During retraction of the plunger 28, the volume of liquid received in the chamber 33 is determined by the setting of the set screw 38. The volume of liquid received in the chamber 33 defines a dosage that is to be administered per dose. It is to be appreciated that during initial operation of the dosing gun_. 10, the lever grip 20 may have to be pressed and released a few times to prime the chamber 33 with liquid from the reservoir.

When the lever grip 20 is fully depressed in the direction of arrow 42, the lever grip 20 presses against the trigger lever 18.2 of the dose counter 18 thereby increasing the number displayed by the digits on the five digit display 42 by one count unit. The dose counter therefore counts the number of measured doses which were administered with the liquid administering device 10. At the start of a dosing run, or after having been primed, the counter 18 can be reset to zero by pressing the reset button 18.3.

Referring to Figure 2, a liquid administering device accessory 60 is shown for use in combination with a conventional syringe-type liquid administering device 62. The liquid administering device 62 includes a circular cylindrical body 64 having a forefinger grip 66 and a finger grip 68, radially extending from a rear end of the circular cylindrical body 64.

A front end of the circular cylindrical body 64 extends into a threaded spout or connector (not visible in Figure 2) over which a directional valve 70 is screwthreadingly received.

A needle mount 72 is screwthreadingly fastened to the directional valve 70 and can receive a surgical needle (not shown in Figure 2) for inter-dermal administration of liquid to animals.

A cylinder or open ended tube 74 is mounted on the circular cylindrical body 64 and a piston 76 which is connected to one end of a plunger 78 is slidingly received in the cylinder 74. An interior wall surface of the cylinder 74 and the piston 76 define a chamber 82. In use the chamber 82 defines a dosage of liquid per dose applied. A palm grip 80 is attached to another end of the plunger 78. The directional valve 70 includes an input feed pipe 70.1 to which a tube 84 from a liquid reservoir (not shown) is connected. In one condition or mode the directional valve allows liquid to flow from the input feed pipe 70.1 into the chamber 82, and in a second condition or mode the directional valve allows liquid to flow from the chamber 82 out through the needle mount 72, without returning to the pipe 70.1.

The liquid administering device accessory 60 includes a housing 60.1 and attachment or mounting means in the form of threaded holes (not shown) in the housing 60.1 and screws 60.2 which are fastened through holes in the finger grip 68 to the holes in the housing 60.1 of the liquid administering device accessory 60.

The finger grip 68 is manufactured of a shaped metal sheet which defines a hollow finger engaging member. The accessory housing 60.1 has a complimentary shape being elongate and narrow to fit into a channel defined by the finger grip 68.

The liquid administering device accessory 60 includes trigger means in the form of a lever 60.5, a reset button 60.3 and a mechanical five digit display 60.4. The attachment means and the mounting locate the housing 60.1 and the lever 60.2 relative to the palm grip 80 in spaced relationship from it.

When the palm grip 80 is depressed in the direction of arrow 86, the piston 76 forces liquid in the chamber 82 through the directional valve 70 (which is in its second condition) out through the needle mount 72, not allowing liquid to flow back into the input feed pipe 70.1. When the palm grip 80 is released it moves under force of a spring (not shown) back, in the direction of arrow 88, and liquid from the reservoir is received through the pipe 84 and the directional valve 70 (which is in its first condition) into the chamber 82, not allowing liquid to flow out through the needle mount 72.

When the palm grip 80 is fully depressed, the palm grip 80 presses against the lever 60.2 of the liquid administering device accessory 60 to increase the unit count on the dose counter with one unit. In operation, the liquid administering device accessory 60 thus counts the number of full depressions of the palm grip 80 thereby counting the number of doses that were administered. The five digit display 60.4 can be reset to zero by depressing the reset button 60.3. The inventor believes that the invention described in this document provides new and useful apparatuses in the form of a liquid administering device accessory and an integrated liquid administering device/counter that can be used for counting the number of measured doses administered to animals.

By counting the number of measured doses that were administered, and by calculating the volume of liquid administered based on the set dosage per dose, the calculated volume can be compared with the volume of liquid that was in fact dispensed from the reservoir, thereby to confirm that the correct dosages were administered to the animals.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A liquid administering device accessory for use with a liquid administering device used for administering doses of a liquid to animals, the accessory including a trigger arrangeable relative to a liquid administering device for administering doses of a liquid to animals such that the trigger can be activated by said liquid administering device when the liquid administering device is operated to administer liquid to an animal; and a dose counter responsive to the trigger to count the number of times the liquid administering device is operated to administer doses of liquid.

2. A liquid administering device accessory as claimed in claim 1, in which the trigger is a mechanical mechanism, and in which the dose counter is a mechanical counter, the mechanical mechanism being operable by displacement of a moveable component of the liquid administering device.

3. A liquid administering device accessory as claimed in claim 1 , in which the trigger includes an electronic sensor to sense operation of the liquid administering device, and in response, to generate a signal to trigger the dose counter.

4. A liquid administering device accessory as claimed in claim 3, in which the trigger includes a signal generator operable to generate one of an electrical signal, a radio frequency signal and an optical signal.

5. A liquid administering device accessory as claimed in claim 3 or claim 4, in which the dose counter is an electronic counter.

6. A liquid administering device accessory as claimed in claim 3 or claim 4, in which the dose counter is an electromechanical counter.

7. A liquid administering device accessory as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, which includes mounting means to mount at least part of the accessory to the liquid administering device.

8. A liquid administering device accessory as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which the counter includes a housing of which at least a portion is of complementary shape to part of the liquid administering device with which the accessory is to be used.

9. A liquid administering device accessory as claimed in claim 8, which is mountable to a cylindrical component of the liquid administering device, the housing defining a part cylindrical surface to fit against the cylindrical component.

10. A liquid administering device accessory as claimed in claim 8, which is mountable in a hollow finger engaging member of the liquid administering device, the housing being elongate and narrow to fit into a channel defined by the finger engaging member.

11. A liquid administering device for administering a number of doses of a liquid to animals, the device including a dose counter to count the number of doses administered by the liquid administering device, the dose counter being configured to be triggered when the liquid administering device is operated to administer a dose of liquid.

12. A liquid administering device as claimed in claim 11 , which includes a trigger, operable to trigger the dose counter when the liquid administering device is operated to administer a dose of liquid to an animal.

13. A liquid administering device as claimed in claim 12, in which the trigger is a mechanical mechanism and in which the dose counter is a mechanical counter, the mechanical mechanism being operable by displacement of a moveable component of the liquid administering device.

14. A liquid administering device as claimed in claim 12, in which the trigger includes an electronic sensor to sense operation of the liquid administering device and, in response, to generate a signal to trigger the dose counter.

15. A liquid administering device as claimed in claim 14, in which the trigger includes a signal generator operable to generate one of an electrical signal, a radio frequency signal, and an optical signal.

16. A liquid administering device as claimed in claim 14 or claim 15, in which the dose counter is an electronic counter.

17. A liquid administering device as claimed in claim 14 or claim 15, in which the dose counter is an electromechanical counter.

18. A kit for administering liquids to animals, the kit including a dose counter to keep a dose count; and a liquid administering device for administering liquids to animals, the liquid administering device and the dose counter being configurable or arrangeable relative to one another such that operation of the liquid administering device to administer a dose of liquid to an animal triggers the dose counter to add to the dose count.

19. The kit as claimed in claim 18, in which the dose counter forms part of a liquid administering device accessory as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 10 inclusive.