Soft-grip medical connector
First Claim
1. A soft grip medical connector comprising:
- a housing with an upstream end, a downstream end and a lumen extending through a central portion thereof;
a flexible member having a valve portion integrally formed with a gripping portion, the valve portion being positioned within a portion of the housing and configured to control a flow of fluid through the housing lumen, and the gripping portion substantially surrounding at least a portion of an outer surface of the housing.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A soft grip medical connector comprises a housing with an upstream end, a downstream end and a lumen extending through a central portion thereof. A flexible member comprises a valve portion integrally formed with a sleeve portion. The valve portion is positioned within a section of the housing and is configured to control a flow of fluid through the housing lumen. The sleeve is inverted to envelope at least a portion of the outer surface of the housing. In some embodiments the gripping portion is integrally formed with the valve portion. In some embodiments, the connector is also generally configured to create a positive pressure in a catheter lumen upon removal of a syringe or other medical device from the upstream end of the connector. Methods of making a medical fluid connector generally comprise forming a valve member with a sleeve extending there from, and assembling the valve, sleeve and housing.
254 Citations
42 Claims
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1. A soft grip medical connector comprising:
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a housing with an upstream end, a downstream end and a lumen extending through a central portion thereof;
a flexible member having a valve portion integrally formed with a gripping portion, the valve portion being positioned within a portion of the housing and configured to control a flow of fluid through the housing lumen, and the gripping portion substantially surrounding at least a portion of an outer surface of the housing. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A medical fluid connector comprising:
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a cylindrical body having an outer wall with a plurality of flanges extending radially therefrom and a lumen extending through a portion thereof; and
a valve portion providing a closable seal between a first end and a second end of the cylindrical body; and
a sleeve portion unitarily formed with the valve portion and surrounding a substantial portion of an outer surface of the cylindrical body. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 35, 36)
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34. A method of forming a medical device, the method comprising:
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injecting an uncured material into a preform mold, thereby molding a first preform from a substantially flexible material;
removing the preform from the preform mold;
molding a second preform;
inserting the first preform and the second preform into a final mold; and
injecting an uncured material into the final mold, and overmolding the first and second pre-forms into a final structure having a valve portion and a sleeve portion extending there from.
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37. A method of making a medical fluid connector comprising:
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forming a valve member with a sleeve extending there from, the valve and sleeve being integrally formed of a substantially flexible material;
forming a relatively rigid housing;
inserting a portion of the valve member into a cavity of the housing such that the sleeve extends from the housing member; and
inverting the sleeve to surround an outer surface of the housing member. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41, 42)
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Specification