Safety cap assembly for needles
OwnerFrank A. Tamaroinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A safety needle cap assembly for needles is described. In place of the usual safety cap which requires a doctor, dentist or nurse to manually place it in position on a used syringe needle, the safety needle cap assembly of the invention automatically caps the used needle the instant the needle is withdrawn from the patient. An elastic sheath or spring attached to a safety needle cap is kept under tension, retracting the cap and allowing the needle tip to be exposed. Once used and removed from the patient, the elastic tension is released, causing the safety needle cap to snap over the used needle tip automatically, without any operator assistance. The designs of the safety needle cap assembly as described virtually preclude accidental re-emergence of the used needle tip during disposal of the needle-cap assembly.
Claims19
A safety needle cap assembly for use in combination with a hub portion for holding a needle, said assembly comprising:
- (a) a safety needle cap;
- and
- (b) an elastic sheath means, said elastic sheath means comprising an elastomeric material;
- said elastic sheath means including a first end, said first end connected to said safety needle cap;
- said sheath means including a second end for connecting to the hub portion;
- said safety needle cap having at least a front face portion, and side wall means connected to said front face portion and extending back from said front face portion a minimum distance to a rear end, and at least one arm radially projecting outward from said side wall means of said cap;
- said front face portion of said safety needle cap having at least a first opening, larger in diameter than the diameter of the needle;
- said safety needle cap being constructed so as to prevent the passage therethrough of the needle other than through said first opening, so that when the needle is attached to the hub portion, and when the needle is positioned within said elastic sheath means with said second end of the said sheath means being connected to the hub portion in a pre-ready condition, and when said cap is moved by an operator so that a first axis of said first opening in said front face portion of said cap is in axial alignment with the axis of the needle, the needle within said cap can now be induced by said operator to pass through said opening in said front face portion of said cap to a ready position, the motion of said cap sliding back over the needle causing said elastic sheath means to be compressed so that when the needle is withdrawn during a procedure involving injecting the needle into a patient, and said compressed elastic sheath means is released, said cap is automatically urged forward by the releasing elastic sheath means over the tip of needle and beyond to a released condition, with said opening in said cap now out of alignment with the axial alignment of the needle, the minimum distance that said side wall means extends backwards and the length of said elastic sheath means in said released condition being sufficient such that the tip of the needle in the pre-ready or released condition of said elastic sheath means is captured within a volume defined by said front face portion and the rear end of said side wall;
- and,
- an enclosure assembly, said enclosure assembly disposed to enclose said safety needle cap and said elastic sheath means in said ready condition,
- said enclosure assembly including at least one slot, said slot adapted to cooperate with said radially projecting arm, whereby said safety needle cap assembly is maintained in the ready condition.
The safety needle cap assembly claimed in claim 16, wherein said spring is enclosed in a sleeve of compliant material.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.