Needleless injection site

• US 6,048,335 A
• Filed: 03/05/1998
• Issued: 04/11/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 06/20/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Becton, Dickinson & Co
• Original Assignee: Becton, Dickinson & Co
• Inventors: Mayer, Bruno Franz P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Stright, Jr., Ronald
• Assistant Examiner(s): Cho, David J.
• Application Number:
  US09/035,227
• Time in Patent Office: 768 Days
• Field of Search: 604/167, 604/249, 604/256, 604/245, 604/246, 604/283, 604/414, 604/905, 251/149.1, 251/149.2, 251/149.6, 128/214
• US Class Current: 604/167.02
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2039/267 having a sealing sleeve around a tubular or solid stem portion of the connector
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 39/04 having pierceable self-sealing members
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 39/045 pre-slit to be pierced by blunt instrument
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 39/26 Valves closing automatically on disconnecting the line and opening on reconnection thereof check valves A61M39/24

Abstract

A needleless injection site comprising a housing which defines an interior chamber and a central opening which communicates with the interior chamber. The housing further comprises an elongate, proximally extending dilator projection portion which defines a fluid passage. Disposed within the central opening and the interior chamber is a reseal member which has an elastically openable and closable aperture disposed therein and defines an expandable and collapsible internal reservoir. The reseal member normally resides in a first position within the housing wherein the aperture is in a closed configuration and the reservoir is collapsed. The reseal member is deformable such that the application of distally directed pressure thereto will cause the reseal member to distally advance within the housing to a second position wherein the aperture assumes an open configuration and communicates with the fluid passage and the reservoir. The cessation of the application of distally directed pressure to the reseal member will cause it to resiliently return to the first position wherein the aperture reassumes the closed configuration and the reservoir is collapsed. The collapse of the reservoir is adapted to prevent the creation of a vacuum within the fluid passage when the reseal member resiliently returns to its first position.

Claims

1. A needleless injection site, comprising:

a housing defining an interior chamber and having an inlet and an outlet;

a dilator disposed in the interior chamber in fluid communication with the inlet and the outlet;

a reseal member disposed in the interior chamber for movement between a proximal position and a distal position wherein the reseal member has a proximal portion defining an aperture therein;

a radial leaf spring disposed in the reseal member wherein the radial leaf spring biases the aperture closed when the reseal member is in the proximal position; and

a spring to bias the reseal member to the proximal position, wherein when the reseal member is in the distal position the radial leaf spring engages the dilator such that the radial leaf spring biases the aperture open.

2. The needleless injection site of claim 1 wherein the reseal member is resiliently collapsible between an unbiased configuration defining a first interior volume and a collapsed configuration defining a second interior volume that is less than the first interior volume.