Safety needle assembly

A safety needle assembly comprising:

• a tubular needle holder;
• a cannula mounted at the tubular needle holder, the cannula possessing a distal end and a proximal end, the cannula being provided with a lumen;
• a protector positioned over the cannula and covering the distal end of the cannula, the protector having an open end to permit the protector to be placed in covering relation to the cannula, the protector being removable to expose the cannula;
• a sheath possessing an opening extending along at least a portion of a longitudinal extent of the sheath which provides access to an interior of the sheath, the sheath being pivotally mounted with respect to the needle holder to permit the sheath, upon application of a force, to be pivoted in a direction toward the cannula from a non-covering position in which the cannula is exposed after removal of the protector to a covering position in which the cannula is covered by the sheath,
• the sheath possessing at least one locking tab adapted to engage the cannula when the sheath is sufficiently pivoted toward the cannula to permanently lock the sheath in a locked position relative to the cannula to prevent the sheath from pivoting back towards the non-covering position;
• and
• the sheath comprising means for causing the sheath to automatically pivot in a direction away from the cannula when said force is removed prior to the cannula being engaged by the locking tab to thereby indicate that the locking tab has not engaged the cannula and the sheath is not in the locked position.

A safety needle assembly comprising:

• a needle holder assembly;
• a cannula mounted at the needle holder assembly, the cannula possessing a distal end and a proximal end, and being provided with a lumen;
• a protector positioned over the cannula and covering the distal end of the cannula, the protector having an open end to permit the protector to be placed in covering relation to the cannula, the protector being removable to expose the cannula;
• a sheath possessing an opening extending along at least a portion of a longitudinal extent of the sheath which provides access to an interior of the sheath, the sheath being pivotally mounted on the needle holder assembly to permit the sheath to be pivoted relative to the needle holder assembly in a direction toward the cannula from a non-covering position in which the cannula is exposed after removal of the protector to a covering position in which the cannula is covered by the sheath, and
• the sheath comprising a plurality of flat surfaces adapted to successively engage a portion of the needle holder assembly as the sheath is pivoted relative to the needle holder assembly.