Syringe tip with fluid wicking drip flanges

Abstract

Provided is a fluid wicking tip. The fluid wicking tip includes a plurality of drip flanges arranged to wick fluid between narrow spaces defined between any two drip flanges. The narrow spaces are dimensioned to facilitate wicking by capillary action. Also provided is a syringe that includes the fluid wicking tip. Also provided is a spike tip including a series of tiered drip flanges for retaining fluid spilled from a bulk fluid container during a syringe filling operation.

1 . A syringe comprising:
 a body defining a cylindrical fluid chamber having a distal end and a proximal end, a tapered portion extending from the distal end of the cylindrical fluid chamber, and a distal tip extending from the tapered portion, wherein the distal tip defines an orifice;   a fluid wicking portion at the distal end of the body having a plurality of drip ribs extending radially from the distal tip to wick fluid-into narrow spaces defined between any two adjacent drip ribs; and   a circumferential wall at a radially outward end of the drip ribs, extending in a distal direction from the distal end of the body of the syringe,   wherein the orifice at the distal tip comprises a fitting configured to fluidly couple to an interior of the syringe and sized and configured to fluidly connect the interior of the syringe and the fluid wicking portion with a flexible tube assembly, and   wherein the narrow spaces are dimensioned to facilitate wicking of a fluid by capillary action.   
     
     
         2 . The syringe of  claim 1 , wherein the fluid wicking portion is integrally formed along an outer surface of the tapered portion of the body. 
     
     
         3 . The syringe of  claim 1 , wherein the drip ribs of the fluid wicking portion are arranged in at least two tiers. 
     
     
         4 . The syringe of  claim 3 , wherein the at least two tiers have a different diameter. 
     
     
         5 . The syringe of  claim 4 , wherein a top, distal-most drip rib of the plurality of drip ribs has a smaller diameter than a lower, proximal drip rib, or
 wherein the top, distal-most drip rib of the plurality of drip ribs has a larger diameter than the lower, proximal drip rib.   
     
     
         6 . The syringe of  claim 3 , wherein a top, distal-most drip rib of the plurality of drip ribs has the same diameter as any lower, proximal drip rib. 
     
     
         7 . The syringe of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of drip ribs are flat, smooth, and continuous around the fluid wicking portion. 
     
     
         8 . The syringe of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of drip ribs are discontinuous around the wicking tip and wherein each drip rib is staggered relative to an immediately adjacent drip rib. 
     
     
         9 . The syringe of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of drip ribs each comprises an opening to facilitate draining of fluid from a distal drip rib to a more proximally located drip rib. 
     
     
         10 . A spike tip comprising:
 a syringe tip coupling adapter configured to fluid couple to a tip of a syringe;   a piercing tip configured for piercing a septum of a bulk fluid container, the piercing tip defining an aperture in fluid communication with the syringe tip coupling adapter; and   a plurality of tiered drip flanges,   wherein the plurality of tiered drip flanges are configured to wick fluid by capillary action and retain a spilled volume of fluid between at least one pair of adjacent drip flanges of the plurality of tiered drip flanges and retain the spilled volume of fluid by surface tension and capillary action.   
     
     
         11 . The spike tip of  claim 10 , wherein a diameter of the plurality of tiered drip flanges decreases from the distal most tiered drip flange to the proximal most tiered drip flange. 
     
     
         12 . The spike tip of  claim 10 , wherein a diameter of the plurality of tiered drip flanges increases from the distal-most tiered drip flange to the proximal-most tiered drip flange. 
     
     
         13 . The spike tip of  claim 10 , wherein a space defined between the tiered drip flanges defines a predetermined volume equal to a total volume of a spilled fluid that can be retained by the plurality of tiered drip flanges. 
     
     
         14 . The spike tip of  claim 13 , wherein each of a plurality of spaces between adjacent tiered drip flanges defines a particular volume equal to a retention volume of fluid that can be retained by each of the plurality of spaces between adjacent tiered drip flanges. 
     
     
         15 . The spike tip of  claim 14 , wherein as a volume of spilled fluid reaches the retention volume of fluid that can be retained between the adjacent tiered drip flanges, any excess spilled fluid flows to the next adjacent tiered drip flanges and is retained by the next adjacent tiered drip flanges. 
     
     
         16 . The spike tip of  claim 10 , wherein when a volume of a spilled fluid reaches a maximum retention volume of all of the plurality of drip flanges, any excess volume of the spilled fluid is retained by a fluid wicking portion at a distal end of a body of the syringe.