Anti-free-flow valve assembly with flow bypass

A valve assembly comprising:

• a cap plate having an inlet configured to be fluidly coupled with an upstream line, the cap plate including a diverging conduit that extends inward from the inlet and that splits into a bypass conduit and a flow-through conduit;
• a rigid housing having an outlet configured to be fluidly coupled with a downstream line, the housing including a primary conduit that extends inward from the outlet, the primary conduit fluidly coupled with the flow-through conduit by a check valve;
• and
• a flexible plunger valve disposed in the housing and configured to move relative to the housing, the plunger valve including one or more plunger conduits,
• the plunger valve configured to be actuated to move in a first direction in the housing to fluidly couple the inlet of the cap plate with the primary conduit and the outlet of the housing via the bypass conduit of the cap plate and the one or more plunger conduits of the plunger valve, the plunger valve directing fluid received via the inlet of the cap plate to the outlet of the housing and around the check valve in the housing while the plunger valve is actuated.

A method comprising:

• filling an upstream line coupled with an inlet of an enteral feeding valve assembly with a fluid;
• pressing a plunger valve in the valve assembly downward into a housing assembly of the valve assembly, the plunger valve having (a) a lateral conduit extending from a first side to an opposite second side of a body of the plunger valve and (b) a vertical conduit that intersects the lateral conduit between the first side and the second side of the body, the vertical conduit extending from the lateral conduit to a plunger outlet on a bottom side of the body, the plunger valve pressed downward to establish a bypass fluid flow path for the fluid to flow around a check valve in the valve assembly via the lateral conduit, the vertical conduit, and the plunger outlet;
• priming a downstream line coupled with an outlet of the valve assembly with the fluid that flows through the bypass fluid flow path and around the check valve in the valve assembly;
• and
• releasing the plunger valve to interrupt the bypass fluid flow path and to direct the fluid to flow through the check valve in the valve assembly to the downstream line.