System For Syringe Engagement To An Injector

Abstract

An injector system for injecting fluid includes a syringe and an injector. The syringe includes a body and a plunger movably disposed within the body. The plunger has at least one flexible leg extending toward the rearward end of the body. The injector has a housing with a front plate, a drive member at least partially disposed within the housing and operable to engage the plunger, and a syringe release assembly operable to release the syringe. The syringe assembly includes a syringe release gear that forms an enclosure for receiving the syringe when the syringe is fully seated within the housing and a plunger release tube surrounding at least a portion of the drive member. The plunger release tube has a first end rotationally engaged with the syringe release gear. Rotation of the syringe release assembly releases the at least one flexible leg from the drive member.

We claim: 
     
         1 . An injector system for injecting fluid, comprising:
 a syringe, comprising:
 a body comprising a rearward end and a forward end; 
 a plunger movably disposed within the body; 
 at least one syringe drive paw positioned toward the rearward end of the body; and 
 a syringe engagement flange positioned toward the rearward end of the body and extending around a circumference of the body; and 
   an injector, comprising:
 a housing having a front plate defining a syringe-receiving opening therein and a drive member at least partially disposed within the housing and operable to engage the plunger disposed within the syringe; and 
 a syringe latch comprising a plurality of latch members extending toward a center of the syringe-receiving opening and configured to move from a closed position to an open position when a force is applied thereto and from the open position to the closed position when the force is removed therefrom, 
   wherein the syringe engagement flange pushes against the plurality of latch members of the syringe latch to open the syringe latch as axial rearward motion is applied to the syringe relative to the syringe latch and the plurality of latch members return to the closed position to retain the syringe within the opening of the housing when the syringe is fully seated within the housing.   
     
     
         2 . The injector system of  claim 1 , wherein the syringe latch comprises a substantially oval-shaped body member and the plurality of latch members extend toward a center of the body member. 
     
     
         3 . The injector system of  claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of latch members of the syringe latch comprise a first portion and an arc-shaped second portion extending from the first portion. 
     
     
         4 . The injector system of  claim 3 , wherein the arc-shaped second portion, when viewed in cross-section, comprises a sloping face. 
     
     
         5 . The injector system of  claim 4 , wherein the sloping face of the arc-shaped second portion engages with the syringe engagement flange to force the syringe latch into the open position. 
     
     
         6 . The injector system of  claim 1 , wherein the syringe latch is manufactured from a polymeric material. 
     
     
         7 . The injector system of  claim 1 , wherein the syringe latch comprises three latch members. 
     
     
         8 . The injector system of  claim 7 , wherein the three latch members are evenly spaced around the center of the syringe-receiving opening. 
     
     
         9 . The injector system of  claim 1 , wherein the injector further comprises a syringe release gear that forms an enclosure for receiving the syringe when the syringe is fully seated within the housing. 
     
     
         10 . The injector system of  claim 9 , wherein the syringe release gear comprises an opening formed therein that is aligned with the syringe-receiving opening of the front plate. 
     
     
         11 . The injector system of  claim 10 , wherein the opening in the syringe release gear comprises a plurality of teeth formed around a circumference thereof and the at least one syringe drive paw is configured to engage the plurality of teeth of the opening of the syringe release gear. 
     
     
         12 . The injector system of  claim 11 , wherein the syringe is disengaged from the injector after completion of an injection procedure by rotating the syringe, thereby causing rotation of the syringe release gear via the engagement between the at least one syringe drive paw and the plurality of teeth of the syringe release gear such that the plurality of latch members of the syringe latch are forced into the open position which allows a user to remove the syringe from the housing of the injector. 
     
     
         13 . An injector system for injecting a fluid, comprising:
 a syringe, comprising:
 an elongated tubular body comprising a rearward end and a forward end; 
 a plunger movably disposed within the tubular body, the plunger having at least one flexible leg extending toward the rearward end of the tubular body; 
 a syringe engagement flange positioned toward the rearward end of the tubular body and extending around a circumference of the tubular body, the syringe engagement flange comprising:
 a sloping section; and 
 an engagement section adjoined with the sloping section; 
 
   a fluid injector, comprising:
 a housing having a front plate defining a syringe-receiving opening therein and a drive member at least partially disposed within the housing and operable to engage the plunger disposed within the syringe; and 
 a syringe latch comprising a plurality of latch members extending toward a center of the syringe-receiving opening and configured to move from a closed position to an open position when a force is applied thereto and from the open position to the closed position when the force is removed therefrom, 
   wherein the sloping section of the syringe engagement flange pushes against the plurality of latch members of the syringe latch to open the syringe latch as axial rearward motion is applied to the syringe relative to the syringe latch and the plurality of latch members return to the closed position to retain the syringe within the opening of the housing when the syringe is fully seated within the housing.   
     
     
         14 . The injector system of  claim 13 , wherein the syringe latch comprises a substantially oval-shaped body member and the plurality of latch members extend toward a center of the body member. 
     
     
         15 . The injector system of  claim 13 , wherein each of the plurality of latch members of the syringe latch comprise a first portion and an arc-shaped second portion extending from the first portion. 
     
     
         16 . The injector system of  claim 15 , wherein the arc-shaped second portion, when viewed in cross-section, comprises a sloping face. 
     
     
         17 . The injector system of  claim 16 , wherein the sloping face of the arc-shaped second portion engages with the sloping section of the syringe engagement flange to force the syringe latch into the open position. 
     
     
         18 . The injector system of  claim 13 , wherein the syringe latch comprises three latch members. 
     
     
         19 . The injector system of  claim 18 , wherein the three latch members are evenly spaced around the center of the syringe-receiving opening. 
     
     
         20 . The injector system of  claim 13 , wherein the injector further comprises a syringe release gear that forms an enclosure for receiving the syringe when the syringe is fully seated within the housing. 
     
     
         21 . The injector system of  claim 20 , wherein the syringe release gear comprises an opening formed therein that is aligned with the syringe-receiving opening of the front plate. 
     
     
         22 . The injector system of  claim 21 , wherein the opening in the syringe release gear comprises a plurality of teeth formed around a circumference thereof and the engagement section of the syringe engagement flange is configured to engage the plurality of teeth of the opening of the syringe release gear. 
     
     
         23 . The injector system of  claim 22 , wherein the syringe is disengaged from the injector after completion of an injection procedure by rotating the syringe, thereby causing rotation of the syringe release gear via the engagement between the engagement section and the plurality of teeth of the syringe release gear such that the plurality of latch members of the syringe latch are forced into the open position which allows a user to remove the syringe from the housing of the injector.