Needle shield
First Claim
1. A shield for a hypodermic syringe assembly which includes a sheath/needle sub-assembly having a resilient sheath covering a distal portion of a needle cannula, said shield comprising:
- a relatively rigid housing forming an elongate chamber therein, said chamber forming an open proximal end, and said chamber and said open proximal end having cross-sectional areas sized to allow the sheath/needle sub-assembly to be inserted through said open proximal end and into said chamber; and
retention means formed as a part of said housing and permanently located within said chamber away from said open proximal end, for locking the sheath within said chamber to prevent separation of the sheath from said shield when the needle cannula is removed from the sheath, said retention means including at least one retention member having a sliding surface and a barbed end;
whereby said shield is easily positionable over the sheath/needle sub-assembly, and said sliding surface contacts the sheath during insertion thereof, and the sheath, when engaged within said shield, is easily removable from the needle cannula by removing said sheath, and said barbed end functions to grip and retain the sheath against subsequent retraction of the sheath from said chamber.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention relates to a shield for use on a prefilled hypodermic syringe assembly. The shield is intended to be retrofitable over a sheath/needle sub-assembly of the hypodermic syringe assembly in such a manner that insertion of the sheath/needle sub-assembly into the shield can be simply and easily accomplished by a medical worker, and subsequent extraction of the sheath from the shield is prevented by retention members which are formed from the housing of the shield, and which protrude into the chamber to hold the sheath. The retention member are formed so as to allow the sheath to be easily slidable into the chamber of the shield, yet engage the exterior surface of the sheath to resist extraction thereof once the sheath has engaged the retention members. Also disclosed are unique method of manufacturing the sheath of the present invention along with preferred methods of use thereof.
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Citations
68 Claims
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1. A shield for a hypodermic syringe assembly which includes a sheath/needle sub-assembly having a resilient sheath covering a distal portion of a needle cannula, said shield comprising:
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a relatively rigid housing forming an elongate chamber therein, said chamber forming an open proximal end, and said chamber and said open proximal end having cross-sectional areas sized to allow the sheath/needle sub-assembly to be inserted through said open proximal end and into said chamber; and retention means formed as a part of said housing and permanently located within said chamber away from said open proximal end, for locking the sheath within said chamber to prevent separation of the sheath from said shield when the needle cannula is removed from the sheath, said retention means including at least one retention member having a sliding surface and a barbed end; whereby said shield is easily positionable over the sheath/needle sub-assembly, and said sliding surface contacts the sheath during insertion thereof, and the sheath, when engaged within said shield, is easily removable from the needle cannula by removing said sheath, and said barbed end functions to grip and retain the sheath against subsequent retraction of the sheath from said chamber. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A method of using a shield for a hypodermic syringe assembly which includes a sheath/needle sub-assembly having a resilient sheath covering the distal portion of a needle cannula, said sheath including a relatively rigid housing forming an elongate chamber therein, the chamber having an open proximal end and a retention means including at least one retention member permanently located within said chamber and away from the chamber open end and formed as a part of the housing, for locking the sheath within the chamber to prevent separation of the sheath from the chamber when the needle cannula is removed, said at least one retention member including a sliding surface and a barbed end, said method of using the shield comprising the steps of:
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inserting the sheath/needle sub-assembly through the open proximal end of the chamber until the sheath engages and slides along the sliding surface of the at least one retention member; removing the sheath from the needle cannula by removing the shield while the retention means holds the sheath in locked position therein, the barbed end of the at least one retention member gripping and retaining the sheath against subsequent retraction of the sheath from the chamber. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. A method of making a shield for a hypodermic syringe assembly which includes a sheath/needle sub-assembly having a resilient sheath covering a distal portion of a needle cannula, said method of making the shield comprising the steps of:
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forming a relatively rigid housing with an elongate chamber therein, with the chamber being formed with an open proximal end, the open proximal end of the chamber being formed to a size sufficient to allow the sheath/needle sub-assembly to be insertable therethrough into the chamber; and forming a retention means within the chamber away from the open proximal end for locking the sheath within the chamber when the shield is positioned thereover, said step of forming a retention means includes forming at least one retention member having a sliding surface and a barbed end, said sliding surface of said at least one retention member contacting the sheath during insertion thereof and being relatively resilient when subjected to forces thereagainst caused by the sheath/needle sub-assembly as it is inserted into the shield, and said barbed end of said at least one retention member being relatively rigid when subjected to forces thereagainst caused by the sheath during attempted retraction thereof from the shield, the barbed end functioning to grip and retain the sheath within the chamber. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 51, 52)
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49. A shield for insertion over and retention of a sheath of a hypodermic syringe assembly which has been formed by the process of:
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forming a relatively rigid housing having an elongate chamber therein, the chamber being formed with an open proximal end which is sized to allow a sheath/needle sub-assembly of the hypodermic syringe assembly to be insertable therethrough into the chamber; and forming a retention means within the chamber away from the open proximal end for retaining and locking the sheath within the chamber when the shield is positioned thereover, said step of forming at least one retention including forming a sliding surface and a barbed end on the at least one retention member whereby the sliding surface can contact the sheath during insertion thereof and the barbed end can grip and retain the sheath against subsequent attempts to retract the sheath from the chamber. - View Dependent Claims (50, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67)
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68. A method of using a shield for a hypodermic syringe assembly which includes a sheath/needle sub-assembly having a resilient sheath covering the distal portion of a needle cannula, said sheath including a relatively rigid housing forming an elongate chamber therein, the chamber being cylindrical in shape having a circular cross-sectional area through which the sheath must pass during insertion and including an open proximal end, and a retention means including a plurality of tension member located from the chamber open end and formed as part of the housing, the retention members including a sliding surface and a barbed end and being relatively resilient when subjected to forces there against caused by the sheath/needle sub-assembly as it is inserted into the shield and relatively rigid when subjected to forces there against caused by the sheath during attempted retraction thereof from the shield, the retention means forming an effective cross-sectional area which is less the cross-sectional area of the chamber and less than the cross-sectional area of the sheath, said method of using the shield comprising the steps of:
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inserting the sheath/needle sub-assembly through the open proximal end of the chamber, contacting the sheath and the sliding surface of the retention members during insertion of the sheath into the chamber and resiliently deforming the sheath as it passes beyond the retention means during insertion thereof into the chamber, removing the sheath from the needle cannula by removing the shield while the barbed end of the retention members contacts and grips the sheath to retain the sheath against subsequent retraction thereof from the chamber.
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Specification