Catheter and needle assemblies

• US 5,935,109 A
• Filed: 04/20/1998
• Issued: 08/10/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 04/29/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Smiths Group plc (Smiths Group International Holdings Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Smiths Industries Public Limited Company
• Inventors: Donnan, Jerry
• Primary Examiner(s): Stright, Ronald
• Assistant Examiner(s): Gring, Kent
• Application Number:
  US09/062,582
• Time in Patent Office: 477 Days
• Field of Search: 604/164, 604/198, 604/263, 604/165, 604/110, 604/117, 604/168, 604/160, 604/161, 604/162, 604/163, 604/166, 604/167, 604/170, 604/192, 604/190, 604/235, 604/264
• US Class Current: 604/164.08
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 25/0631 having means for fully covering the needle after its withdrawal, e.g. needle being withdrawn inside the handle or a cover being advanced over the needle
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/322 Retractable needles, i.e. disconnected from and withdrawn into the syringe barrel by the piston devices for protecting guide needles in combination with catheters A61M25/0612

Abstract

A catheter assembly has a needle extending within a catheter and projecting from its patient end. A slider attached with the needle is slidable rearwardly along a protective housing so that the needle can be pulled out of the catheter into the housing. A resilient catch at the patient end of the housing has two plates with apertures through which the needle projects when extended, thereby holding two hooks on the catch in engagement with the catheter hub. The catheter cannot be pulled off the needle until the needle is pulled rearwardly of the catch and allows the hooks to release engagement with the hub.

Claims

1. A catheter assembly comprising:

a catheter, said catheter having a machine end and a patient end; and

a needle assembly, said needle assembly including a needle shaft, said needle shaft having a patient end and a machine end, wherein said catheter is open at its said patient end and has a hub at its said machine end, said hub having an external surface formation, wherein said needle shaft is slidable within said catheter with the said patient end of said needle shaft projecting beyond the said patient end of said catheter, wherein said needle assembly includes an elongate protective housing, wherein said needle shaft is slidable into said housing from said catheter after use, wherein said housing has a catch at a patient end of said housing that is engageable with both the said surface formation on the said hub and with said needle shaft such that said catch is only released from engagement with said surface formation when the said patient end of said needle shaft has been withdrawn into said protective housing, and wherein said catch blocks extension of said needle shaft from said housing when said catch is released from engagement with said surface formation.

2. A catheter assembly according to claim 1, wherein said catch includes a resilient member held against one side of said hub by engagement with an opposite side of said needle shaft.

3. A catheter assembly according to claim 2, wherein the said resilient member includes two hooks and two plates, said plates each having an aperture therethrough, and wherein said needle shaft extends through the said apertures of both said plates and thereby holds said hooks in engagement with said surface formation on said hub.

4. A catheter assembly according to claim 2, wherein one end of said housing is divided into a plurality of axially-extending prongs, and wherein said resilient member is retained within the said one end of said housing.

5. A catheter assembly comprising:

a catheter, said catheter having a machine end and a patient end; and

a needle assembly, said needle assembly including a slider and a needle shaft, said needle shaft having a patient end and a machine end, wherein said catheter is open at its said patient end and has a hub at said machine end, wherein said needle shaft is slidable within said catheter with the said patient end of said needle shaft projecting beyond the said patient end of said catheter, wherein said needle assembly includes an elongate protective housing, wherein said needle shaft is slidable into said housing from said catheter after use by engagement with said slider, and wherein said housing has a catch at a patient end of said housing, said catch having a spring arm that engages one side of said hub and an opposite side of said needle shaft such that said catch is only released from engagement with said hub when the said patient end of said needle shaft is located rearwardly of said catch in said protective housing.

6. A needle assembly for use with a catheter, said needle assembly comprising:

a needle shaft, said needle shaft having a patient end and a machine end;

an elongate protective housing;

a slider, said slider being mounted with said machine end of said needle shaft and being slidable along said housing from a first position in which the said patient end of said shaft protrudes from said housing to a second position in which the said patient end of said shaft is protected within said housing; and

a catch, said catch being located at a patient end of said housing, said catch engaging said needle shaft when said slider is in said first position and disengaging said shaft when said slider is in said second position, and said catch being operable to retain said catheter with said needle assembly when said catch engages said needle shaft and to release said catheter from said needle assembly when said catch disengages said needle shaft.

7. A catheter assembly comprising:

a catheter having a machine end and a patient end; and

a needle assembly which includes a needle shaft having a patient end and a machine end, said catheter being open at its said patient end and having a hub at its said machine end, said hub having an external surface formation, said needle shaft being slidable within said catheter with the said patient end of said needle shaft projecting beyond the said patient end of said catheter, said needle assembly including an elongate protective housing, said needle shaft being slidable into said housing from said catheter after use, said housing having a catch at a patient end of said housing that is engageable with both the said surface formation on the said hub and with said needle shaft such that said catch is only released from engagement with said surface formation when the said patient end of said needle shaft has been withdrawn into said protective housing, said catch including resilient member held against one side of said hub by engagement with an opposite side of said needle shaft, said resilient member including a laterally-extending rod with a passage extending along a diameter of said rod, and said needle shaft extending through said passage.

8. A catheter assembly comprising:

a catheter having a machine end and a patient end; and

a needle assembly which includes a needle shaft having a patient end and a machine end, said catheter being open at its said patient end and having a hub at its said machine end, said hub having an external surface formation, said needle shaft being slidable within said catheter with the said patient end of said needle shaft projecting beyond the said patient end of said catheter, said needle assembly including an elongate protective housing, said needle shaft being slidable into said housing from said catheter after use, said needle assembly including a slider having a vent into which said machine end of said needle shaft opens, said vent being sealed when wetted by fluid flowing along said needle shaft, and said housing having a catch at a patient end of said housing that is engageable with both the said surface formation on the said hub and with said needle shaft such that said catch is only released from engagement with said surface formation when the said patient end of said needle shaft has been withdrawn into said protective housing.