Hypodermic needle assembly
First Claim
1. A needle-syringe assembly operable in a normal mode and convertible to a retraction mode, comprising:
- an elongated, generally cylindrical barrel forming a hollow nozzle located at the distal end of said barrel and opening into the interior of said barrel;
a plunger slidably mounted in said barrel and forming a longitudinal cavity extending between the distal end and the proximal end of said plunger;
a needle holder carrying a hollow needle on the distal end thereof, said needle holder being slidably mounted in said longitudinal cavity of said plunger, said needle holder detachably engaging said barrel with the distal portion of said needle holder disposed within said nozzle of said barrel during the normal mode;
means for maintaining the assembly in the selected mode; and
rotary retraction means for disengaging said needle holder from said barrel to switch the assembly from the normal mode to the retraction mode and for retracting said needle holder into said longitudinal cavity of said plunger such that said needle is concealed within the assembly.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A needle-syringe assembly, operable in a normal mode and convertible to a retraction mode, comprises an elongated, generally cylindrical barrel, a plunger slidably mounted in the barrel, and a needle holder carrying a hollow needle on the distal end thereof. The barrel forms a hollow nozzle located at the distal end of the barrel. The plunger forms a coaxial cavity extending therethrough, and the plunger includes a helical slot exposing a proximal portion of the coaxial cavity. The needle holder is slidably mounted in the coaxial cavity of the plunger. During the normal mode, a distal portion of the needle holder is engaged within the nozzle by a taper lock. To switch from the normal mode to the retraction mode, the taper lock is disengaged by rotary movement of the plunger relative to the barrel. While preventing rotary movement of the needle holder relative to the barrel, continued rotary movement of the plunger causes a lateral arm of the needle holder to ascend through the helical slot so that the needle holder retracts into the coaxial cavity of the plunger and the needle is concealed.
411 Citations
53 Claims
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1. A needle-syringe assembly operable in a normal mode and convertible to a retraction mode, comprising:
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an elongated, generally cylindrical barrel forming a hollow nozzle located at the distal end of said barrel and opening into the interior of said barrel; a plunger slidably mounted in said barrel and forming a longitudinal cavity extending between the distal end and the proximal end of said plunger; a needle holder carrying a hollow needle on the distal end thereof, said needle holder being slidably mounted in said longitudinal cavity of said plunger, said needle holder detachably engaging said barrel with the distal portion of said needle holder disposed within said nozzle of said barrel during the normal mode; means for maintaining the assembly in the selected mode; and rotary retraction means for disengaging said needle holder from said barrel to switch the assembly from the normal mode to the retraction mode and for retracting said needle holder into said longitudinal cavity of said plunger such that said needle is concealed within the assembly. - 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)
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24. A needle-syringe assembly operable in a normal mode and convertible to a retraction mode, comprising:
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an elongated, generally cylindrical barrel forming a hollow nozzle located at the distal end of said barrel and opening into the interior of said barrel; a plunger slidably mounted in said barrel and forming a longitudinal cavity extending between the distal end and the proximal end of said plunger, said plunger including longitudinal slot and a helical slot coupled to said longitudinal slot; a needle holder carrying a hollow needle on the distal end thereof, said needle holder being slidably mounted in said longitudinal cavity of said plunger, said needle holder detachably engaging said barrel with the distal portion of said needle holder disposed within said nozzle of said barrel during the normal mode, a lateral arm of said needle holder engaging said helical slot of said plunger during the retraction mode; and retraction means, responsive to rotation of said plunger relative to said barrel, for disengaging said needle holder from said barrel to switch the assembly from the normal mode to the retraction mode such that further rotation of said plunger relative to said barrel causes said lateral arm of said needle holder to move proximally through said helical slot so as to retract said needle holder into said longitudinal cavity of said plunger and conceal said needle within the assembly. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A needle-syringe assembly operable in a normal mode and convertible to a retraction mode, comprising:
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an elongated, generally cylindrical barrel forming a hollow nozzle located at the distal end of said barrel and opening into the interior of said barrel; a plunger slidably mounted in said barrel and forming a longitudinal cavity extending between the distal end and the proximal end of said plunger; a needle holder carrying a hollow needle on the distal end thereof, said needle holder being slidably mounted in said longitudinal cavity of said plunger, said needle holder detachably engaging said barrel with the distal portion of said needle holder disposed within said nozzle of said barrel during the normal mode; a clamp operatively engaged to said needle holder and movable between first and second positions, said clamp maintaining the distal portion of said needle holder within said nozzle of said barrel while in said first position, said clamp permitting disengagement of said needle holder from said barrel while in said second position; and retraction means, responsive to rotation of said plunger relative to said barrel and movement of said clamp from said first position to said second position, for disengaging said needle holder from said barrel to switch the assembly from the normal mode to the retraction mode and for retracting said needle holder into said longitudinal cavity of said plunger such that said needle is concealed within the assembly. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43)
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44. A needle-syringe assembly operable in a normal mode and convertible to a retraction mode, comprising:
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an elongated, generally cylindrical barrel forming a hollow nozzle located at the distal end of said barrel and opening into the interior of said barrel; a plunger slidably mounted in said barrel and forming a longitudinal cavity extending between the distal end and the proximal end of said plunger; a needle holder carrying a hollow needle on the distal end thereof, said needle holder being slidably mounted in said longitudinal cavity of said plunger, said needle holder detachably engaging said barrel with the distal portion of said needle holder disposed within said nozzle of said barrel during the normal mode; and cam means, responsive to rotation of said plunger relative to said barrel, for applying both a rotational and proximally-directed force to said needle holder so as to disengage said needle holder from said barrel and switch the assembly from the normal mode to the retraction mode and for retracting said needle holder into said longitudinal cavity of said plunger such that said needle is concealed within the assembly. - View Dependent Claims (45, 46, 47, 48, 49)
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50. A needle-syringe assembly, comprising:
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an elongated, generally cylindrical barrel forming a hollow nozzle located at the distal end of said barrel and opening into the interior of said barrel; a plunger slidably mounted in said barrel and forming a longitudinal cavity extending between the distal end and the proximal end of said plunger, said plunger including a slot having a longitudinal portion and a helical portion, said slot opening into said longitudinal cavity; and a needle holder carrying a hollow needle on the distal end thereof, said needle holder being slidably mounted in said longitudinal cavity of said plunger, said needle holder including a lateral arm extending through said slot.
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51. A needle-syringe assembly operable in a normal mode and convertible to a retraction mode, comprising:
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an elongated, generally cylindrical barrel forming a hollow nozzle located at the distal end of said barrel and opening into the interior of said barrel, said barrel including a slot having an oblique portion and a longitudinal portion, said longitudinal portion extending from the proximal end of said oblique portion and through the proximal end of said barrel; a plunger slidably mounted in said barrel and forming a longitudinal cavity extending between the distal end and the proximal end of said plunger, said plunger including a slot having a longitudinal portion and a helical portion, said slot opening into said longitudinal cavity, said helical portion extending from the proximal end of said longitudinal portion and toward the proximal end of said plunger; a needle holder carrying a hollow needle on the distal end thereof, said needle holder being slidably mounted in said longitudinal cavity of said plunger, a distal portion of said needle holder detachably engaging said nozzle of said barrel during the normal mode, said needle holder including a transverse aperture opening into the interior of said barrel to permit fluid communication between said needle and the interior of said barrel, said needle holder further including a leg portion and a lateral arm, said leg portion being disposed within said cavity and being longitudinally movable through said cavity in response to longitudinal movement of said plunger during the normal mode, said lateral arm extending laterally through said longitudinal portion of said plunger slot and said oblique portion of said barrel slot during the normal mode, said lateral arm being movable through said longitudinal portion of said plunger slot in response to longitudinal movement of said plunger during the normal mode; a plunger cap coaxially mounted on the distal end of said plunger within said barrel, said plunger cap including a longitudinal cavity for allowing said needle holder to pass therethrough; and retainer means for retaining said lateral arm in said oblique portion of said barrel slot during the normal mode and for releasing said lateral arm from said oblique portion of said barrel slot to permit said lateral arm to move from said oblique portion to said longitudinal portion of said barrel slot in switching from the normal mode to the retraction mode; wherein actuation of said retainer means and rotation of said plunger relative to said barrel disengages said distal portion of said needle holder from said nozzle of said barrel, releases said lateral arm from said oblique portion of said barrel slot, and moves said lateral arm from said longitudinal portion to said helical portion of said plunger slot and from said oblique portion to said longitudinal portion of said barrel slot; and wherein further rotation of said plunger relative to said barrel moves said lateral arm proximally through said helical portion of said plunger slot and proximally through said longitudinal portion of said barrel slot so as to retract said needle holder into said longitudinal cavity of said plunger and conceal said needle within the assembly. - View Dependent Claims (52)
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53. In a needle-syringe assembly using an elongated barrel, a plunger slidably mounted in the barrel, a needle holder slidably mounted in the plunger and threadably engagable to the plunger, and a needle mounted on the distal end of the needle holder, the method comprising the steps of:
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detachably locking the needle holder to the barrel; securing the needle holder to the barrel to prevent rotation of the needle holder relative to the barrel while the plunger is being reciprocally moved relative to the barrel; actuating rotation of the plunger relative to the barrel to unlock the needle holder from the barrel such that the needle holder is longitudinally movable relative to the barrel; and further rotating the plunger to threadably retract the needle holder inside the plunger until the needle is concealed within the assembly.
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Specification