Instrument for unsheathing, resheathing and disposing of a medical syringe needle

• US 5,067,949 A
• Filed: 04/23/1990
• Issued: 11/26/1991
• Est. Priority Date: 04/23/1990
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Arthur Karmen, Lawrence F. Freundlich
• Original Assignee: Arthur Karmen, Lawrence F. Freundlich
• Inventors: Karmen, Arthur, Freundlich, Lawrence F.
• Primary Examiner(s): NOT, DEFINED
• Assistant Examiner(s): Polutta, Mark O.
• Application Number:
  US07/512,466
• Time in Patent Office: 582 Days
• Field of Search: 604/110, 604/187, 604/192, 604/263, 206/365, 206/366, 128/917
• US Class Current: 604/263
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/3205 Apparatus for removing or disposing of used needles or syringes, e.g. containers; Means for protection against accidental injuries from used needles for sharps A61B50/362; disintegrating apparatus in general B02C, e.g. B02C19/0075, B23H9/001; disposal of medical waste in general B09B3/00; receptacles for refuse disposal in general B65F1/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/3213 Caps placed axially onto the needle, e.g. equipped with finger protection guards axially-extensible protective sleeves A61M5/3243
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 128/917 Body fluid, devices for protection therefrom, e.g. aids, hepatitus

Abstract

An instrument for protecting the user of a medical syringe from being pricked by its needle when unsheathing or resheathing the needle. The instrument has an upper member releasably mounted atop a disposable container. A vertical passage through the upper member empties through a hole into the container. The passage has a coned entry mouth enabling the user to guide the sheathed needle end of a syringe into the passage. A cam in the upper member is pivotable to hold the sheathed needle in the passage, so that the user may pull on the syringe and separate its needle end from the sheath; or later, the user may reinsert the used needle end of the syringe into the cammed sheath and, upon twisting the syringe, separate it from the needle to allow the separated resheathed needle to drop into the container following release of the cammed condition; or the user may in the latter case instead of twisting the syringe simply release the cammed condition to allow the resheathed needle attached to the syringe to be withdrawn from the instrument.

Claims

1. An instrument for removing sheathed needles comprising:

a container lower member having a broad base and a coned body with a threaded truncated open top end; and

an upper member having an annular shoulder at its bottom end defining a threaded cap threadedly engaged onto the top end of the container member, the upper member having a neck portion extending axially upward from the shoulder and terminating in a head provided with a coned cavity, the coned cavity merging at its bottom with a narrow passage extending axially down through the neck portion and communicating with the open top end of the container member, the neck portion having a vertically extending slot through its side wall opening into the narrow passage, a cam element pivotably mounted between opposed walls of the slot, the cam element having a handle portion extending externally of the slot and having at its opposite end a cam surface which cam surface is movable into the narrow passage as the cam element is pivoted by its handle in one direction and is movable out of the narrow passage as the cam element is pivoted by its handle in an opposite direction, the coned cavity serving as a guide to manual entry of a sheathed end of a medical syringe down into the narrow passage, and the cam element being adapted upon being pivoted in the one direction to press its cam surface against the sheathed end of the syringe to allow the syringe to be manually drawn free of its sheathed end, and the cam element being adapted upon being pivoted by its handle in the opposite direction to free the cam surface from the sheathed end to allow the separated sheathed end to drop down the narrow passage into the container below.

2. An instrument for removing sheathed needles as in claim 1, wherein a hand guard extends radially from the surface of the head, the guard serving as a rest for steadying the hand of the user when entering the sheathed end of the syringe down the coned cavity and into the narrow passage.

3. An instrument for holding a sheathed end of a medical syringe to enable separation of the sheathed end from the syringe and for effecting its disposal subsequent to its separation, the instrument comprising:

a disposable container 1 having a broad base and an open threaded top end; and

an upper member having a peripheral shoulder about its bottom defining a threaded cap threadedly engaged over the open threaded top of the container, a neck portion extending axially upward from the shoulder and terminating in a head at its top end, the head having a coned cavity merging at its bottom with a vertical passage extending down through the neck portion and opening into the container, the coned cavity serving as a guide to manual entry of the sheathed end of a medical syringe into the vertical passage, the neck portion having a vertical slot through a side thereof opening into the vertical passage, and a manually operable cam element pivotably mounted between opposed walls of the slot adapted upon being pivoted in one direction to enter a cam end thereof into pressed engagement with the sheathed end of a medical syringe entered into the passage whereby the sheathed end is subject to separation from the syringe upon manual actuation of the syringe in a predetermined direction, and the cam element is adapted upon being pivoted in an opposite direction to move its cam end clear of the separated sheathed end whereby the sheathed end may drop down the passage into the disposable container below.

4. An instrument for removing sheathed needles comprising a container lower member having a broad base and an open threaded top end;

and an upper member having an annular shoulder at its bottom defining a threaded cap threadedly engaged over the threaded top end of the container, the upper member having a neck portion extending axially upward from the shoulder and terminating in a head at its top, the head having a coned cavity merging at its bottom with a vertical passage extending down through the neck portion and communicating with the open top of the container, the neck portion having a vertical slot through a side thereof opening into the vertical passage, and a manually operable cam element pivotably mounted between opposed walls of the slot adapted upon being pivoted in one direction to enter and restrict the vertical passage and adapted upon being pivoted in an opposite direction to clear the vertical passage.

5. An instrument for removing sheathed needles as in claim 4, wherein the container has a coned body with a truncated open top end.