Dosage device

Claim 2

An improved dosage device for allowing a predetermined dose of a first substance to be withdrawn from a container thereof by a syringe having a needle and a movable plunger for drawing the first substance into the syringe, of the type which includes a body; means for holding the container of the first substance on the body; means for holding the syringe on the body in a spaced relation to the container with the needle thereof penetrating into the container; and stop means carried on the body in a spaced relation behind the syringe for abutting against the plunger to regulate the amount that the plunger can be withdrawn from the syringe, the stop means being movable on the body so that the dose of the first substance withdrawn from the container can be varied, and wherein the improvement comprises: means for indicating the position of the stop means on the body to a visually impaired person who is thus enabled to adjust the position of the stop means without the aid of a sighted person to change the predetermined dose; in which the position indicating means comprises means for generating an audible signal at various discrete positions of the stop means, wherein the visually impaired person may adjust the position of the stop means to another desired position by counting the audible signals generated during movement of the stop means, wherein the audible signal generating means comprises: (a) a base plate carried on the body; (b) a rotatable stop member that defines the stop means, wherein the stop member is carried on the base plate and the position of the stop member is adjusted relative to the plunger by rotation thereof, the stop member having at least one outwardly extending protrusion; (c) a portion of the base plate configured to coact with the protrusion on the stop member for generating the audible signal each time the stop member completes a predetermined arc of rotation; and (d) wherein the base plate is movable relative to the body and includes means for fixing the base plate to the body in different positions relative to the plunger of the syringe, whereby a gross adjustment of the stop means relative to the syringe to accommodate differently sized syringes is achieved by moving the base plate on the body and a fine adjustment of the stop means relative to the syringe is achieved by rotation of the stop member on the base plate.

Claim 3

An improved dosage device for allowing a predetermined dose of a first substance to be withdrawn from a container thereof by a syringe having a needle and a movable plunger for drawing the first substance into the syringe, of the type which includes a body; means for holding the container of the first substance on the body; means for holding the syringe on the body in a spaced relation to the container with the needle thereof penetrating into the container; and stop means carried on the body in a spaced relation behind the syringe for abutting against the plunger to regulate the amount that the plunger can be withdrawn from the syringe, the stop means being movable on the body so that the dose of the first substance withdrawn from the container can be varied; and wherein the improvement comprises: means for indicating the position of the stop means on the body to a visually impaired person who is thus enabled to adjust the position of the stop means without the aid of a sighted person to change the predetermined dose, in which the position indicating means comprises means for generating an audible signal at various discrete positions of the stop means, wherein the visually impaired person may adjust the position of the stop means to another desired position by counting the audible signals generated during movement of the stop means, wherein the audible signal generating means comprises: (a) a rotatable stop member that defines the stop means, wherein the stop member is carried on the body and the position of the stop member is adjusted relative to the plunger by rotation thereof, the stop member further having at least one outwardly extending protrusion; (b) a portion of the body configured to coact with the protrusion on the stop member for generating the audible signal each time the stop member completes a predetermined arc of rotation, in which the portion of the body comprises a linear raised ridge thereon which is positioned to contact the protrusion of the stop member during rotation thereof, the raised ridge being resilient to allow the protrusion to pass thereover with an audible click; and (c) wherein the stop member carries only one outwardly extending protrusion for generating the audible signal after successive 360° increments of rotation, and wherein the stop member is calibrated to the syringe such that each 360° increment of rotation represents a discrete unit of dose in the syringe.

Claim 4

An improved dosage device for allowing a predetermined dose of a first substance to be withdrawn from a container thereof by a syringe having a needle and a movable plunger for drawing the first substance into the syringe, of the type which includes a body; means for holding the container of the first substance on the body; means for holding the syringe on the body in a spaced relation to the container with the needle thereof penetrating into the container; and stop means carried on the body in a spaced relation behind the syringe for abutting against the plunger to regulate the amount that the plunger can be withdrawn from the syringe, the stop means being movable on the body so that the dose of the first substance withdrawn from the container can be varied; and wherein the improvement comprises: means for indicating the position of the stop means on the body to a visually impaired person who is thus enabled to adjust the position of the stop means without the aid of a sighted person to change the predetermined dose, in which the position indicating means comprises means for generating an audible signal at various discrete positions of the stop means, wherein the visually impaired person may adjust the position of the stop means to another desired position by counting the audible signals generated during movement of the stop means, wherein the audible signal generating means comprises: (a) a rotatable stop member that defines the stop means, wherein the stop member is carried on the body and the position of the stop member is adjusted relative to the plunger by rotation thereof, the stop member further having at least one outwardly extending protrusion; (b) a portion of the body configured to coact with the protrusion on the stop member for generating the audible signal each time the stop member completes a predetermined arc of rotation, in which the portion of the body comprises a linear raised ridge thereon which is positioned to contact the protrusion of the stop member during rotation thereof, the raised ridge being resilient to allow the protrusion to pass thereover with an audible click; and (c) wherein the stop member carries only one outwardly extending protrusion for generating the audible signal after successive 360° increments of rotation, and wherein the stop member is calibrated to the syringe such that each 360° increment of rotation represents a discrete unit of dose in the syringe.

Claim 5

An improved dosage device for allowing a predetermined dose of a first substance to be withdrawn from a container thereof by a syringe having a needle and a movable plunger for drawing the first substance into the syringe, of the type which includes a body; means for holding the container of the first substance on the body; means for the holding the syringe on the body in a spaced relation to the container with the needle thereof penetrating into the container; and the stop means carried on the body in a spaced relation behind the syringe for abutting against the plunger to regulate the amount that the plunger can be withdrawn from the syringe, the stop means being movable on the body so that the dose of the first substance withdrawn from the container can be varied; and wherein the improvement comprises: means for indicating the position of the stop means on the body to a visually impaired person who is thus enabled to adjust the position of the stop means without the aid of a sighted person to change the predetermined dose, in which the position indicating means comprises means for generating a sensible pulse in the stop means at various discrete positions thereof, whereby the visually impaired person may adjust the position of the stop means to another desired position by feeling and counting the pulses generated during movement of the stop means, wherein the pulse generating means comprises: (a) an outwardly extending toothed rack that is part of the stop means, wherein the stop means is slidably mounted on the body; (b) means located on the body for coacting with the teeth of the rack for generating the pulse each time the stop means is moved through one of its discrete positions, in which the coacting means comprises a second toothed rack fixedly carried on the body adjacent the stop means for coacting with the teeth of the rack on the stop means; and (c) wherein the stop means includes a handle which the visually impaired person holds during adjustment of the stop means, and wherein the pulse is communicated to the hand of the person through the handle.

Claim 6

An improved dosage device for allowing a predetermined dose of a first substance to be withdrawn from a container thereof by a syringe having a needle and a movable plunger for drawing the first substance into the syringe, of the type which includes a body; means for holding the container of the first substance on the body; means for the holding the syringe on the body in a spaced relation to the container with the needle thereof penetrating into the container; and the stop means carried on the body in a spaced relation behind the syringe for abutting against the plunger to regulate the amount that the plunger can be withdrawn from the syringe, the stop means being movable on the body so that the dose of the first substance withdrawn from the container can be varied; and wherein the improvement comprises: means for indicating the position of the stop means on the body to a visually impaired person who is thus enabled to adjust the position of the stop means without the aid of a sighted person to change the predetermined dose, in which the position indicating means comprises means for generating a sensible pulse in the stop means at various discrete positions thereof, whereby the visually impaired person may adjust the position of the stop means to another desired position by feeling and counting the pulses generated during movement of the stop means, wherein the pulse generating means comprises: (a) an outwardly extending toothed rack that is part of the stop means, wherein the stop means is slidably mounted on the body; (b) means located on the body for coacting with the teeth of the rack for generating the pulse each time the stop means is moved through one of its discrete positions, in which the coacting means comprises a second toothed rack fixedly carried on the body adjacent the stop means for coacting with the teeth of the rack on the stop means; and (c) wherein the stop means includes a handle which the visually impaired person holds during adjustment of the stop means, and wherein the pulse is communicated to the hand of the person through the handle.