Safety needle with collapsible sheath

• US 20030114797A1
• Filed: 12/16/2002
• Published: 06/19/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: BARD Access Systems Incorporated (Becton, Dickinson & Co)
• Original Assignee: BARD Access Systems Incorporated (Becton, Dickinson & Co)
• Inventors: Vaillancourt, Michael J., Vaillancourt, Vincent L.
• Granted Patent: US 8,066,678 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 604/171
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2005/1581 Right-angle needle-type devices
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2005/325 Means obstructing the needle passage at distal end of a needle protection sleeve
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2005/3256 having folding ring sections
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/3213 Caps placed axially onto the needle, e.g. equipped with finger protection guards axially-extensible protective sleeves A61M5/3243
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/3243 being axially-extensible, e.g. protective sleeves coaxially slidable on the syringe barrel devices for protecting guide needles in combination with catheters A61M25/0612
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 48/16 Articles comprising two or more components, e.g. co-extruded layers
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2067/00 Use of polyesters or derivatives thereof, as moulding material
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2995/0077 Yield strength; Tensile strength

Abstract

The needle of a syringe, wire guide, biopsy needle, Huber needle and the like is drawn into a protective cap and sheath arrangement after use for disposal purposes. The cap is tethered to a housing in which the needle is mounted by the sheath. The sheath is made of a film material that has a high tensile strength and a low percent of elongation, such as polyester. The sheath is initially mounted about the needle in a collapsed accordion-like condition between the cap and housing. When the cap is moved along the needle, the sheath is played out over the needle. The cap houses a spring clip to snap over the bore through which the needle is retracted to prevent re-emergence of the needle. The flexible nature of the sheath allows the sheath to pass about the two legs of the Huber needle.

Claims

1. In combination,

a housing;

a needle extending from said housing;

a cap concentrically disposed over said needle and being movable relative to said needle from a first position with said needle extending therethrough to a second position with an end of said needle disposed therein in sealed relation; and

a non-resilient tubular sheath of plastic concentrically disposed on and about said needle in a collapsed state and secured to and between said housing and said cap, said sheath being longitudinally extendable from said collapsed state to an extended state in response to movement of said cap from said first position to said second position thereof.

2. The combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein said sheath is characterized in having a low percentage of elongation to break and a high tensile strength.

3. The combination as set forth in claim 2 wherein said sheath has a percentage of elongation of at most 80%.

4. The combination as set forth in claim 2 wherein said sheath has a tensile strength of at least 27 psi.

5. The combination as set forth in claim 2 wherein said sheath is made of polyester.

6. The combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein said sheath is made of two strips of film material, each said strip having a sealable backing thereon facing the other of said strips, said strips being bonded together along two longitudinal edges thereof.

7. The combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein said cap is of rigid material.

8. In combination,

a housing;

a needle extending from said housing;

a rigid cap concentrically disposed over said needle and having a bore for passage of said needle therethrough, said cap being movable relative to said needle from a first position with said needle extending through said bore to a second position with an end of said needle disposed therein in spaced relation to said bore;

means disposed in said cap for selectively sealing off said bore to the passage of said needle therethrough; and

a tubular sheath concentrically disposed on and about said needle in a collapsed state and secured to and between said housing and said cap, said sheath being longitudinally extendable from said collapsed state to an extended state in response to movement of said cap from said first position to said second position thereof.

9. The combination as set forth in claim 8 wherein cap is mounted on said housing in said first position thereof.

10. The combination as set forth in claim 9 further comprising means for selectively locking said cap on said housing.

11. The combination as set forth in claim 10 wherein said means includes at least one L-shaped slot in an end of said housing and a pin on and projecting from said cap, said pin being slidably received in said slot.

12. The combination as set forth in claim 9 wherein said means is a spring clip disposed over said bore of said cap, said clip having a pair of leaves spring biased onto said needle with said needle in said first position thereof and closing over said bore with said needle in said second position thereof.

13. The combination as set forth in claim 9 wherein said means is a spring clip disposed over said bore of said cap, said clip having a leaf spring biased onto said needle with said needle in said first position thereof and closing over said bore with said needle in said second position thereof.

14. In combination,

a housing;

a Huber needle having a first leg extending from said housing and a second leg extending perpendicularly of said first leg;

a cap disposed over said second leg of said needle and having a bore for passage of said second leg therethrough, said cap being movable relative to said second leg of said needle from a first position with said needle extending therethrough to a second position with an end of said needle disposed therein in sealed relation; and

a tubular sheath concentrically disposed on and about said needle in a collapsed state and secured to and between said housing and said cap, said sheath being extendable from said collapsed state to an extended state in response to movement of said cap from said first position to said second position thereof.

15. The combination as set forth in claim 14 wherein cap is mounted on said housing in said first position thereof.

16. The combination as set forth in claim 15 further comprising means for releaseably locking said cap on said housing.

17. The combination as set forth in claim 16 wherein said means includes a recess in one of said housing and said cap and a projection on the other of said housing and said cap for snap-fitting into said recess.

18. The combination as set forth in claim 14 further comprising means in said cap for selectively sealing off said bore to the passage of said second leg of said needle therethrough.

19. The combination as set forth in claim 18 wherein said means is a spring clip having a leaf spring-biased onto said second leg of said needle with said cap in said first position thereof and closing over said bore with said cap in said second position thereof.

20. The combination as set forth in claim 18 wherein said leaf has a rounded end for sliding of said second leg of said needle theren with said cap moving from said first position to said second position thereof.

21. The combination as set forth in claim 18 wherein said cap has a plurality of walls defining an interior chamber for sealingly receiving said end of said second leg of said needle in said second position of said cap.

22. The combination as set forth in claim 21 wherein one of said walls is movable from a first formed position spaced from an other of said walls to allow access to said chamber to a second position in sealed relation to said other of said walls to close said chamber.

23. The combination as set forth in claim 14 wherein said cap has a pair of flexible wings extending outwardly from opposite sides thereof for engaging a body of a patient.

24. The combination as set forth in claim 23 further comprising a soft pad seceured to an underside of each said wing.

25. A cap for receiving an end of a needle, said cap comprising

a plurality of walls defining an interior chamber,

a pair of said walls each having a bore therein for passage of a needle therethrough, for receiving an end of a needle, and

a third of said walls being movable from a first formed position spaced from an other of said walls to allow access to said chamber to a second position in sealed relation to said other of said walls to close said chamber to seal the end of the needle therein.

26. A cap as set forth in claim 25 further comprising a spring clip mounted on said third wall for movement therewith from said first position to said second position thereof, said clip having a leaf closing over said bore of one of said pair of said walls with said third wall in said second position thereof.

27. A cap as set forth in claim 26 wherein said leaf has a rounded end for sliding of a needle thereon.

28. A cap as set forth in claim 25 further comprising a pair of flexible wings extending outwardly from opposite sides thereof for engaging a body of a patient.

29. A cap as set forth in claim 28 further comprising a soft pad secured to an underside of each said wing.