Multi Vial Adapter

Abstract

The present invention relates to a multi-vial adapter comprising an adapter body consisting of at least two or more body parts connected to each other at a certain angle, a head part protruding upward at the connecting part between the body parts, and at least two or more spike parts extending downward from the body parts at positions spaced a certain distance from the connecting parts, and at least two or more adapter caps which are pierced by each of the spike parts and physically fastened to each of the body parts, the adapter body being formed by injection molding such that the body part, head part and spike part are integrally formed, and a liquid medicine flow path part is formed inside the adapter body for guiding the movement of liquid medicine from each spike part through each body part to the head part. an adapter body including at least two or more body parts connected to each other at a certain angle, a head part formed to protrude upward from a connecting portion between the body parts, and at least two or more spike parts formed to extend downward from each of the body parts at positions spaced apart from the connecting portion; and at least two or more adapter caps penetrated by each of the spike parts and physically fastened to each of the body parts, wherein the head part, body part, and spike part are integrally formed through injection molding, and a liquid medicine flow path part for guiding the movement of a liquid medicine from each spike part to the head part via each of the body parts is formed inside the adapter body. According to the present invention, medicinal liquids can be rapidly extracted from a plurality of vials simultaneously, and the structure is easy to manufacture, which has the advantage of greatly improving productivity.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a multi-vial adapter that is capable of extracting medicinal liquids safely and quickly from multiple vials and is easy to manufacture. [Background technology]

[0002] A vial is a bottle or a liquid medicine storage container in which a liquid medicine is stored under sterile conditions. It is usually sterilized with the liquid medicine stored inside, and the upper inlet is sealed with a rubber stopper, so that it can be safely stored and transported.

[0003] The drug solution stored in such a vial is usually dispensed by extracting it using a drug solution extraction device such as a syringe.

[0004] Incidentally, when extracting and dispensing a medicinal liquid from a vial, conventionally, the task of inserting an injection needle into the vial was not easy, and even the slightest carelessness in the process carried the risk of being pricked by the injection needle and injured, or of becoming infected by the medicinal liquid. In addition, since the medicinal liquid could only be extracted from one vial, there were inconveniences in that the medicinal liquid extraction task was cumbersome and time-consuming.

[0005] In response to this, the applicant has proposed a multi-vial connection connector that can safely and quickly extract medicinal liquid from multiple vials. However, while this technology has the revolutionary advantage of being able to safely and quickly extract medicinal liquid from multiple vials, it has been found to have disadvantages in that the structure makes it difficult to manufacture and the work process is complicated, for example, the vial cap must be screwed onto the main body and a bonding process must be performed to secure the fixing force. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a multi-vial adapter that can simultaneously extract medicinal liquids from multiple vials safely and quickly, has a structure that is easy to manufacture, and greatly improves productivity. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] As a means for solving the problems of the present invention to achieve the above object, a multi-vial adapter is disclosed which includes an adapter body consisting of at least two or more body parts connected to each other at a certain angle, a head part protruding upward at the connecting part between the body parts, and at least two or more spike parts formed extending downward from the body parts at positions spaced a certain distance from the connecting parts, and at least two or more adapter caps which are pierced by each of the spike parts and physically fastened to each of the body parts, wherein the adapter body is formed by injection molding such that the head part, body part, and spike part are integrally formed, and a liquid medicine flow path part is formed inside the adapter body for guiding the movement of liquid medicine from each spike part through each body part to the head part. Effect of the Invention

[0008] The multi-vial adapter according to the present invention allows for rapid extraction of medicinal liquids from a plurality of vials simultaneously, has a structure that is easy to manufacture, and greatly improves productivity. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a multi-vial adapter according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a bottom view of a multi-vial adapter according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the adapter body and the adapter cap separated from each other. [Figure 4]FIG. 4 is a view showing the adapter body with the channel stopper and the filter member disassembled. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the adapter body with the channel stop and filter member installed. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the adapter body with the channel stopper and filter member installed. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing components for physically connecting and fixing the adapter body and the adapter cap. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing the state in which the adaptor body and the adaptor cap are physically joined and fixed. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of use of the multi-vial adapter according to one embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the multi-vial adapter according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0011] The shape, size, number, spacing between elements, and the like of the elements in the accompanying drawings may be reduced or exaggerated in order to emphasize a clearer description, and unless otherwise specified, the drawings are not intended to be limiting.

[0012] In addition, terms indicating directions such as front, back, left, right, up, down, etc. are used only to describe the directions as illustrated and observed in the drawings, and it should be understood that such terms may change if the illustrated and observed directions change.

[0013] 1 to 8 show a multi-vial adapter 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0014] As shown in the drawings, the multi-vial adapter 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention broadly includes an adapter body 100 and an adapter cap 300.

[0015] First, the adapter body 100 basically includes a body portion 110, a head portion 120, and a spike portion .

[0016] The body portion 110 is made up of at least two or more body portions, and the body portions 110 are connected to each other at a certain angle.

[0017] For example, the body portion 110 is made up of two parts, and the two body portions 110 are connected to each other with an angle of 180 degrees therebetween, that is, connected to each other in a straight line.

[0018] Furthermore, when the body portion 110 is made up of three, the three body portions 110 are connected at 120 degrees between each other, and when the body portion 110 is made up of four, the four body portions 110 are connected at 90 degrees between each other.

[0019] The drawing shows a configuration in which the body portion 110 is made up of two portions, which are connected to each other at an interval of 180 degrees, that is, in a straight line.

[0020] The head portion 120 is provided to protrude upward from the connecting portion between the plurality of body portions 110 .

[0021] That is, as shown in the drawing, when two body parts 110 are connected in a straight line, the head part 120 protrudes vertically upward by a certain length at the connecting part of the two body parts 110, i.e., the middle position between the left and right of the body parts 110 connected in a straight line.

[0022] The spike portions 130 are formed in the same number as the number of body portions 110, i.e., in a plurality. For example, if there are two body portions 110, there are two spike portions 130, if there are three body portions 110, there are three spike portions 130, and if there are four body portions 110, there are four spike portions 130.

[0023] The spike portions 130 extend downward from the body portions 110 at positions spaced apart by a certain distance from the connecting portions between the body portions 110 .

[0024] The outer diameter of the spike portion 130 gradually decreases from a lower portion toward the bottom, and the end portion has a pointed shape.

[0025] The adapter body 100 having the above-described configuration is manufactured by injection molding so that the body portion 110, the head portion 120, and the spike portion 130 are integrally formed.

[0026] The adapter body 100, which is integrally formed of the body portion 110, the head portion 120 and the spike portion 130, has a liquid medicine flow path formed therein for guiding the movement of the liquid medicine.

[0027] The drug solution flow path portion is formed along the inside of the adapter body 100 and functions as a flow path that guides the movement of the drug solution, and includes a via channel 140, an inflow channel 150, an outflow channel 160, and a channel stopper 170, as shown in Figures 4 to 6.

[0028] The through channels 140 are formed inside each of the body portions 110 and consist of at least two or more channels.

[0029] The through channels 140 extend along the length of each of the body portions 110, one end of each of which is connected to the other end of the body portion 110 and the other end of each of which is open.

[0030] For example, when configured with two body portions 110, the through channel 140 extends along the interior of each of the two body portions 110, is connected between them to form a straight line, and both ends have an open structure.

[0031] Since the through channels 140 are connected to each other in this manner and each end has an open structure, the through channels 140 can be easily formed within the body portion 110 when the adapter body 100 is manufactured as a single unit by injection molding.

[0032] The inflow channel 150 is formed inside each of the spike portions 130 and extends along the inside of each of the spike portions 130 , with an open lower end and an upper end formed to communicate with the via channel 140 .

[0033] That is, the inflow channel 150 is formed extending in the vertical direction inside each of the multiple spike portions 130, and the lower end has an open structure to allow the medicinal liquid to flow in from the vial, and the upper end is connected to the via channel 140 so that the flowing in medicinal liquid enters the via channel 140.

[0034] The outflow channel 160 is formed in the head portion 120 and extends along the inside of the head portion 120 , with an open upper end and a lower end formed to communicate with the via channel 140 .

[0035] That is, the outflow channel 160 extends vertically inside the head portion 120, and its lower end communicates with the connecting portion between the via channels 140 so that the medicinal liquid guided along the via channels 140 can enter, and its upper end has an open structure so that the medicinal liquid can flow out of the medicinal liquid extraction device.

[0036] Here, as described above, the ends of the via channels 140 formed inside each of the multiple body portions 110 have an open structure, and the lower end of the inlet channel 150 formed in the spike portion 130 and the upper end of the outlet channel 160 formed in the head portion 120 each have an open structure and are configured to be connected to each other. Therefore, when the adapter body 100 is manufactured as a single unit, the via channels 140 in the body portion 110, the inlet channel 150 in the spike portion 130, and the outlet channel 160 in the head portion 120 can be easily formed by injection molding.

[0037] In other words, insert members for forming each of the channels 140, 150, and 160 are placed in an injection mold for injection molding the adapter body 100, and after injection molding, the insert members are pulled out and removed from the adapter body 100, thereby easily manufacturing the adapter body 100 with each of the channels 140, 150, and 160 formed therein.

[0038] The channel stopper 170 is fixedly connected to the other open end of the via channel 140 to close the open end of the via channel 140, thereby forming a closed path connecting the open lower end of the inlet channel 150 to the open upper end of the outlet channel 180.

[0039] As described above, in order to easily manufacture the adapter body 100 by injection molding, the end of the via channel 140 has an open structure, and the channel stopper 170 closes the open end of such via channel 140, thereby forming a movement path through which the medicinal liquid can move without leakage from the inflow channel 150 through the via channel 140 to the outflow channel 160.

[0040] Such a channel stopper 170 is manufactured by injection molding independently of the adapter body 100, and is joined and fixed to the open end of the via channel 140 by ultrasonic welding.

[0041] Here, in order to stably and airtightly fix and install the channel stopper 170, the via channel 140 has a seating end 141 at its open end, which has an inner diameter relatively larger than that of the via channel 140, and the channel stopper 170 includes an airtight body 171, an insertion head 172, and a support piece 173.

[0042] The airtight body 171 is formed with a diameter corresponding to the inner diameter of the seating end 141 so that it can be inserted and seated in the seating end 141, and the insertion head 172 is formed on the front surface of the airtight body 171 and is formed with a diameter corresponding to the inner diameter of the through channel 140 so that it can enter a certain depth inside the through channel 140.

[0043] The support piece 173 is provided at the rear surface of the airtight body 171 to protrude by a certain length so that the airtight body 171 can be easily gripped when the channel stopper 170 is installed.

[0044] In the channel stopper 170 having such a configuration, with the support piece 173 held by the support means, the insertion head 172 enters a certain depth inside the via channel 140, and the airtight body 171 is seated on the seating end 141 and installed in airtight contact with the end of the via channel 140, and then firmly fixed by ultrasonic welding.

[0045] Meanwhile, the adaptor body 100 having the above-mentioned structure is further formed with an end pipe body 180 and a ventilation channel 190 for air circulation.

[0046] The end tubes 180 are integrally formed at each end of the body portion 110, and extend a certain length from the open end of the via channel 140 formed in the body portion 110, expanding in diameter, and the ends are formed in an open tubular shape.

[0047] That is, the end tube 180 has a tubular shape with a diameter relatively larger than that of the via channel 140, a portion of the inner end is connected to the via channel 140 (when the channel stopper 170 is connected and fixed to the via channel 140, the communication is blocked), and the outer end has a structure with an open front portion.

[0048] The ventilation channels 190 are formed inside each of the spikes 130 , and have open lower ends and upper ends communicating with the end tubes 180 .

[0049] That is, the ventilation channel 190 is provided inside each of the spike portions 130, extending vertically alongside the inlet channel 150, with the lower end open to allow air to flow in and out, and the upper end formed to communicate with the end tube body 180.

[0050] Here, the end tube 180 has a structure in which it extends and communicates with the intermediate channel 140, and the ventilation channel 190 has a structure in which its upper end communicates with the end tube 180, like the inlet channel 150, so that the end tube 180 and the ventilation channel 190 can also be easily formed by injection molding when the adapter body 100 is manufactured as a single unit.

[0051] The end tube 180 and the ventilation channel 190 are for air circulation, and a filter member 500 is provided in the end tube 180 to filter out contaminants in the air.

[0052] After the filter member 500 is inserted into the end tube 180, it is firmly fixed to the end tube 180 by ultrasonic welding.

[0053] Here, by fixing the filter member 500 to the tube body 180 connected to the via channel 140 as described above, the via channel 140 is primarily closed by the channel stopper 170 and is also closed by the filter member 500, thereby further minimizing the possibility of leakage of the medicinal solution passing through the via channel 140.

[0054] Then, the adapter cap 300 is fixedly coupled to the above-mentioned adapter body 100, and functions to couple the adapter body 100 to the vial when the spike portion 130 is inserted into the vial.

[0055] The adapter cap 300 is generally cylindrical with an open bottom, has a plurality of cut slits 310 formed at regular intervals on the side, and has a through hole 320 formed at the center of the upper end for the spike portion 130 to pass through.

[0056] The adapter cap 300 is made up of at least two or more adapter caps corresponding to the number of spike portions 130 .

[0057] In addition, the adapter cap 300 is provided transparently so that the spike portion 130 of the adapter body 100 penetrating the inside can be seen from the outside.

[0058] The adapter cap 300 is manufactured separately from the adapter body 100 by injection molding, and then is physically fastened and coupled to the adapter body 100 for fixation.

[0059] In order to physically connect the adapter cap 300 and the adapter body 100, as shown in FIG. 3, the adapter body 100 has a docking body 210 formed on the bottom surface of the body portion 110, and correspondingly, a connection tube 330 is formed on the upper end of the adapter cap 300, into which the docking body 210 is inserted and fixed.

[0060] The docking body 210 is formed in a ring shape around the spike portion 110 .

[0061] As shown in FIG. 7, such a docking body 210 is composed of four docking segments 210a, 210b divided radially at 90 degree intervals around the spike portion 110, where a pair of mutually opposing docking segments 210a are formed with a locking protrusion 220 and an inwardly inclined portion 230, and the remaining pair of mutually opposing docking bodies 210b are formed with a matching groove 240.

[0062] The connection pipe 330 is formed at the upper end of the adapter cap 300 and protrudes in an annular shape around the through hole 320 .

[0063] A protruding inclined portion 331 that protrudes at an angle toward the center is formed on the inner surface of the connecting pipe body 330, and a pair of locking openings 332 are formed at opposing positions on the lower side of the protruding inclined portion in correspondence with the locking protrusions 220 formed on a pair of docking segments 210a.

[0064] Further, inside the connecting pipe 330, a pair of mating protrusions 333 are formed at positions facing each other in correspondence with the mating grooves 240 formed in the pair of docking segments 210b.

[0065] With the above-mentioned configuration, as shown in FIG. 8, when the spike portion 130 is passed through the through hole 320 of the adapter cap 300 and the docking body 210 is inserted into the connecting pipe body 330, the pair of docking segments 210a elastically contract due to the inward inclined portion 230, and the locking protrusion 220 passes downward through the protruding inclined portion 331. Thereafter, the pair of docking segments 210a elastically recovers and the locking protrusion 220 is locked to the upper end of the locking opening 332, making it difficult for the adapter cap 300 to separate from the adapter body 100, i.e., the fastening is performed irreversibly.

[0066] Here, a pair of mating protrusions 333 in the connecting pipe body 330 are inserted into mating grooves 240 formed in a pair of docking segments 210b, thereby further increasing the fixing force.

[0067] As described above, the adapter cap 300 can be quickly and firmly fixed to the adapter body 100 by the physical fastening method of inserting and locking the adjacent connecting pipe 330 and the docking body 210, without any troublesome bonding work.

[0068] A method for manufacturing the multi-vial adapter of the present invention configured as described above is as follows.

[0069] First, injection molds for molding the adapter body 100, the channel stopper 170, and the adapter cap 300 are fabricated, and the adapter body 100, the channel stopper 170, and the adapter cap 300 are molded independently by an injection molding process.

[0070] Here, particularly in the case of the adapter main body 100, an injection mold is designed and manufactured so that the body portion 110, the head portion 120, the spike portion 130, and the docking main body 210 are molded integrally, and insert members for generating the via channel 140, the inlet channel 150, the outlet channel 160, the end tube body 180, and the ventilation channel 190 are placed in the injection mold, and the injection molding process is performed.

[0071] Here, the adapter body 100, the channel stopper 170, and the adapter cap 300 are all manufactured by injection molding of synthetic resin, with the adapter body 100 and the channel stopper 170 being made of ABS resin (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene copolymer), and the adapter cap 300 being made of PC resin (polycarbonate).

[0072] After the adapter body 100 , the channel stopper 170 , and the adapter cap 300 are molded by injection molding as described above, the channel stopper 170 is then fixed to the end of the via channel 140 in the adapter body 100 .

[0073] That is, the channel stopper 170 is inserted into the body portion 110 through the end tube 180, and the insertion head 172 is inserted to a certain depth into the transit channel 140. After the airtight body 171 is seated on the seating end 141, the channel stopper 170 is fixed to the open end of the transit channel 140 by an ultrasonic welding process.

[0074] In this manner, when channel stopper 170 is fixed, the open end of via channel 140 is closed, thereby creating a liquid medicine flow path portion for guiding the movement of the liquid medicine in adaptor body 100.

[0075] Once the drug solution flow path portion has been created as described above, the filter member 500 is then inserted into the end pipe 180, and the filter member 500 is then firmly fixed to the end pipe 180 by an ultrasonic fusion process.

[0076] Through the above steps, the adapter body 100 having the structure for transferring the drug solution and ventilating is manufactured, and then the adapter cap 300 is fixedly attached to the adapter body 100.

[0077] That is, after the spike portion 130 of the adapter body 100 is passed through the through hole 320 of the adapter cap 300, the coupling operation is performed such that the docking body 210 of the adapter body 100 is inserted into the connecting tube body 330 of the adapter cap 300.

[0078] Then, the locking protrusion 220 of the docking body 210 elastically locks into the locking opening 332 of the connecting pipe body 330 to provide a physical fixing force, so that the connecting and fixing operation of the adapter cap 300 can be completed quickly and easily.

[0079] The multi-vial adapter 10 of the present invention manufactured by the above method is used to simultaneously and rapidly extract drug solutions from at least two or more vials 20 when extracting drug solutions from vials.

[0080] For example, as shown in FIG. 9, when the adapter body 100 is made up of two body portions 110, a drug liquid extraction device 30 can be connected to the head portion 120 of the adapter body 100, and two vials 20 can be connected to the adapter body 100 using two spike portions 130 and two adapter caps 300. When connected in this manner, the drug liquid flow path portion formed in the adapter body 100 makes it possible to extract drug liquid from the two vials 20 simultaneously.

[0081] Of course, if the body portion 110 is composed of three parts, the three vials can be combined to extract medicinal liquids simultaneously, and if the body portion 110 is composed of four parts, the four vials can be combined to extract medicinal liquids simultaneously.

[0082] As described above, the multi-vial adapter according to the present invention has an easily manufacturable configuration, which greatly improves productivity, and since it is possible to simultaneously extract liquid medicines from a plurality of vials, the liquid medicine extraction process can be performed more quickly and easily.

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing a multi-vial adapter, comprising the steps of: The multi-vial adapter comprises: an adapter body including at least two body parts connected to each other at a certain angle, a head part protruding upward from a connecting part between the body parts, and at least two spike parts extending downward from each of the body parts at positions spaced apart by a certain distance from the connecting part; At least two or more adapter caps are inserted through the spike portions and physically fastened to the body portions, The adapter body is formed by injection molding such that the body portion, head portion, and spike portion are integrally formed, and a liquid medicine flow path portion is formed inside the adapter body for guiding the movement of the liquid medicine from each spike portion through each body portion to the head portion, The chemical solution flow path portion is a through channel extending along the inside of each of the body portions, the through channel being connected to the body portions at one end and being open at the other end; an inlet channel extending along the inside of each of the spikes, the lower end being open and the upper end being connected to the via channel; an outflow channel formed in the head portion, the outflow channel having an open upper end and a lower end communicating with the via channel; and a channel stopper that is fixed to the other end of the via channel and closes the other open end of the via channel to form a closed path connecting the open lower end of the inflow channel to the open upper end of the outflow channel.

2. Each of the body portions further has an inner diameter expanded from the other end of the via channel, extends for a certain length, and has an open end tube formed at the end; Each of the spikes further includes a ventilation channel extending parallel to the inlet channel, the lower end of the ventilation channel being open, and the upper end of the ventilation channel being connected to the end tube. The method for manufacturing a multi-vial adapter according to claim 1 , wherein a filter member is fixedly connected to the end tube.

3. The other end of the through channel is provided with a seating end having an inner diameter relatively larger than that of the through channel, 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the channel stopper includes an airtight body that can be inserted into the seating end and seated thereon, and an insertion head that is formed on a front surface of the airtight body and can enter the through channel to a certain depth.

4. A docking body is formed annularly around the spike on the bottom surface of the body, and a connecting tube into which the docking body is inserted is formed on the upper end of the adapter cap.

2. The method for manufacturing a multi-vial adapter according to claim 1, wherein the docking body is composed of four docking segments radially divided at 90 degree intervals from the spike portion, and a pair of mutually opposing docking segments among the four docking segments is formed with a locking protrusion and an inwardly inclined portion, and an inner circumferential surface of the connecting tube is formed with a protruding inclined portion protruding in a slanted manner toward the center, and a pair of locking openings for locking the locking protrusions are formed at mutually opposing positions below the protruding inclined portion.

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