US 12,324,902 B2
Auto-injector
Matthew Ekman, Cheshire (GB); Yannick Hourmand, Haslingfield (GB); and Timothy Donald Barrow-Williams, St. Albans (GB)
Assigned to Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland GMBH, Frankfurt am Main (DE)
Filed by Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland GMBH, Frankfurt am Main (DE)
Filed on Dec. 18, 2024, as Appl. No. 18/985,633.
Application 18/985,633 is a continuation of application No. 17/719,441, filed on Apr. 13, 2022, granted, now 12,257,421.
Application 17/719,441 is a continuation of application No. 16/809,669, filed on Mar. 5, 2020, granted, now 11,311,671, issued on Apr. 26, 2022.
Application 16/809,669 is a continuation of application No. 15/880,251, filed on Jan. 25, 2018, granted, now 10,603,436, issued on Mar. 31, 2020.
Application 15/880,251 is a continuation of application No. 15/165,720, filed on May 26, 2016, granted, now 9,931,471, issued on Apr. 3, 2018.
Application 15/165,720 is a continuation of application No. 13/806,324, granted, now 9,352,088, issued on May 31, 2016, previously published as PCT/EP2011/060726, filed on Jun. 27, 2011.
Claims priority of application No. 10167506 (EP), filed on Jun. 28, 2010.
Prior Publication US 2025/0114529 A1, Apr. 10, 2025
Int. Cl. A61M 5/20 (2006.01); A61M 5/32 (2006.01)
CPC A61M 5/2033 (2013.01) [A61M 5/3202 (2013.01); A61M 5/3257 (2013.01); A61M 2005/206 (2013.01); A61M 2005/208 (2013.01)] 30 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method comprising:
moving an interlock sleeve relative to a housing of an auto-injector by direct contact with skin of a user from a first sleeve position to a second sleeve position such that a trigger button of the auto-injector rotates relative to the housing to a button position by an engagement between the interlock sleeve and the trigger button to allow the trigger button to be depressed towards the housing, wherein a distal portion of the interlock sleeve has a greater diameter than a proximal portion of the interlock sleeve;
while the interlock sleeve is in the second sleeve position and the trigger button is in the button position, depressing the trigger button towards the housing by direct contact with skin of the user to radially deflect two resilient clips within the auto-injector to allow a plunger rod to proximally advance within the housing, wherein prior to radially deflecting the two resilient clips, a first portion of the plunger rod is engaged to a distal portion of a syringe holder to limit proximal movement of a syringe supported by the syringe holder relative to the plunger rod while a second portion of the plunger rod located proximal to the first portion of the plunger rod is located within a barrel of the syringe such that an axial length of the second portion of the plunger rod within the barrel of the syringe is greater than an axial length of a stopper within the barrel of the syringe, and the distal portion of the syringe holder surrounds at least two sides of the plunger rod;
after radially deflecting the two resilient clips within the auto-injector, proximally advancing the plunger rod within the auto-injector by a compression drive spring surrounding a distal portion of the plunger rod such that (i) the syringe moves proximally within the housing to insert a needle of the syringe into skin of the user, and then (ii) the plunger rod slides between two opposing walls of an opening defined by the distal portion of the syringe holder and within the barrel of the syringe to dispense a medicament from the syringe through the needle and into the user; and
after dispensing the medicament from the syringe, decoupling a retraction sleeve from the housing by deflecting a resilient arm out of engagement with a protrusion of the retraction sleeve such that the retraction sleeve moves distally within the auto-injector and the retraction sleeve forces the syringe holder in a distal direction together with the retraction sleeve by an engagement between a proximal end wall of the retraction sleeve and a proximal end wall of the syringe holder.