Hypodermic needle assembly
First Claim
1. A guidewire insertion 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 from the distal end to the proximal end of said plunger;
a hollow 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 end of said needle holder disposed within said nozzle of said barrel during the normal mode;
a one-way valve disposed within said needle holder for permitting a guidewire to pass therethrough in one direction and for preventing blood from passing therethrough in the opposite direction; 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 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.
289 Citations
55 Claims
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1. A guidewire insertion 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 from the distal end to the proximal end of said plunger; a hollow 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 end of said needle holder disposed within said nozzle of said barrel during the normal mode; a one-way valve disposed within said needle holder for permitting a guidewire to pass therethrough in one direction and for preventing blood from passing therethrough in the opposite direction; 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 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, 24)
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25. A guidewire insertion 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 from the distal end to the proximal end of said plunger, said plunger including a longitudinal slot and a helical slot coupled to said longitudinal slot; a hollow 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; a one-way valve disposed within said needle holder for permitting a guidewire to pass therethrough in one direction and for preventing blood from passing therethrough in the opposite direction; 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 (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. A guidewire insertion 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 from the distal end to 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 one-way valve disposed within said needle holder for permitting a guidewire to pass therethrough in one direction and for preventing blood from passing therethrough in the opposite direction; 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 (34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48)
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49. A guidewire insertion 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 one-way valve disposed within said needle holder for permitting a guidewire to pass therethrough in one direction and for preventing blood from passing therethrough in the opposite direction; andcam 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 (50, 51, 52, 53, 54)
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55. In a guidewire insertion assembly using an elongated barrel, a plunger slidably mounted in the barrel and containing a longitudinal cavity extending therethrough, a hollow needle holder slidably mounted in the plunger and threadably engagable to the plunger, a one-way valve disposed within the needle holder, 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 advanced relative to the barrel; inserting a guidewire in a forward direction through the assembly by passing the guidewire through the longitudinal cavity in the plunger, through the needle holder and the valve disposed therein, and through the needle; separating the assembly from the guidewire by sliding the assembly over the guidewire in a backward direction; 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