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US 6,846,301 B2Granted
Disposable safety syringe
AssigneeMaxxon Corporation
InventorsMartin E. Smith, Thomas R. Coughlin, Jr., Earl R. Boyer, Stuart J. Daley
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A safety syringe 10 includes a generally tubular body 14 having a needle end 18 and plunger end 22, needle 38 and retractable needle seat 30, two-way valve 36, plunger 42, stopper 62, piston 52, and rear plunger seal 44. During use, the plunger may be moved to create a vacuum in the plunger. The user then moves the plunger toward the needle end, pressurizing a vial, then pulls backward to a selected position corresponding to the desired volume of fluid to be withdrawn. At the conclusion of the injection stroke, the piston is disengaged from the plunger. The vacuum within the plunger retracts the needle safely into the tubular body.
Claims50
A syringe for retracting a needle supported on a needle seat, comprising:
- a generally tubular body having a needle end and an opposing plunger end, the tubular body having an internal throughbore extending between the needle end and the opposing plunger end, the tubular body sealing receiving the needle seat therein;
- a seat/body retainer adjacent the needle end of the tubular body for initially attaching the needle seat to the generally tubular body, the needle seat being selectively moveable within the tubular body from an initial retained position to a needle seat retracted position;
- a plunger having an interior chamber therein and a needle seat end positioned within the internal throughbore of the generally tubular body, the plunger being moveable within the throughbore of the tubular body;
- a stopper for sealed engagement between the generally tubular body and the plunger;
- a piston selectively moveable between an initial retained position adjacent the needle seat end of the plunger and a piston retracted position within the plunger;
- a one-way valve allowing flow from the interior chamber in the plunger to the throughbore in the generally tubular body while preventing fluid flow from the throughbore in the generally tubular body to the interior chamber in the plunger;
- a seat/piston latch for selective engagement of the needle seat with the piston;
- and
- a controllable plug selectively preventing fluid from entering the tubular body through the needle end when in a closed position.
6 more elements
A syringe for retracting a needle supported on a needle seat, comprising:
- a generally tubular body having a needle end and an opposing plunger end, the tubular body having an internal throughbore extending between the needle end and the opposing plunger end, the tubular body sealing receiving the needle seat therein;
- a seat/body retainer adjacent the needle end of the tubular body for initially attaching the needle seat to the generally tubular body, the needle seat being selectively moveable within the tubular body from an initial retained position to a needle seat retracted position;
- a plunger having an interior chamber therein and a needle seat end positioned within the internal throughbore of the generally tubular body, the plunger being sealed to the tubular body and moveable within the throughbore of the tubular body;
- a piston selectively moveable between an initial retained position adjacent the needle seat end of the plunger and a piston retracted position within the plungers the piston being selectively retained in the initial retained position by a piston/plunger retainer, and the piston engages the needle seat to disengage the piston/plunger retainer and release the piston to move away from the needle seat end of the plunger;
- a one-way valve allowing flow from the interior chamber in the plunger to the throughbore in the generally tubular body while preventing fluid flow from the throughbore in the generally tubular body to the interior chamber in the plunger, a seat/piston latch for selective engagement of the needle seat with the piston;
- and
- a controllable plug selectively preventing fluid from entering the tubular body through the needle end when in a closed position.
4 more elements
A syringe for retracting a needle supported on a needle seat, comprising:
- a generally tubular body having a needle end and an opposing plunger end, the tubular body having an internal throughbore extending between the needle end and the opposing plunger end, the tubular body sealing receiving the needle seat therein;
- a seat/body retainer adjacent the needle end of the tubular body for initially attaching the needle seat to the generally tubular body, the needle seat being selectively moveable within the tubular body from an initial retained position to a needle seat retracted position;
- a plunger having an interior chamber therein and a needle seat end positioned within the internal throughbore of the generally tubular body, the plunger being sealed to the tubular body and moveable within the throughbore of the tubular body;
- a piston selectively moveable between an initial retained position adjacent to the needle seat end of the plunger and a piston retracted position within the plunger;
- a one-way valve allowing flow from the interior chamber in the plunger to the throughbore in the generally tubular body while preventing fluid flow from the throughbore in the generally tubular body to the interior chamber in the plunger;
- a seat/piston latch including one of a male connector and a female connector secured to the plunger and the other of the male connector and the female connector secured to the piston for selective engagement of the needle seat with the piston;
- and
- a controllable plug selectively preventing fluid from entering the tubular body through the needle end when in a closed position.
5 more elements
A method of using a syringe with a needle seat supporting a needle retractable in a generally tubular body having an internal throughbore extending between a needle end and an opposing plunger end, the method comprising:
- sealingly engaging the needle seat with the generally tubular body, the needle seat being selectively movable from an initial retained position to a needle seat retracted position;
- releasably retaining the needle seat in the initial retained position;
- axially securing a stopper to a plunger within the throughbore of the tubular body;
- positioning the plunger at least partially within the throughbore of the tubular body, the plunger including an internal chamber therein;
- positioning a piston within the plunger moveable from an initial position in the needle end of the plunger to a retracted position within the internal chamber in the plunger;
- providing a one-way valve between the internal chamber in the plunger and the throughbore of the generally tubular body;
- plugging the needle seat end of the tubular body;
- applying a first axial force to move the plunger from an initial position in the opposing plunger end of the tubular body to a selected displaced position, thereby creating a vacuum within the tubular body between needle end of the tubular body and the stopper and opening the one-way valve to obtain a vacuum within the plunger;
- removing the plug in the needle seat end of the tubular body;
- inserting a needle into a liquid source;
- withdrawing a selected volume of liquid from the liquid source through the needle and into the tubular body between the needle seat and the stopper while moving the plunger to a fluid drawn position;
- thereafter inserting the needle into a fluid repository;
- thereafter applying a second axial force to the plunger to move the stopper toward the needle end of the tubular body while discharging liquid from within the tubular body;
- engaging a seat/piston latch to axially connect the needle seat with the piston;
- and
- relaxing the second force to disengage the needle seat from the generally tubular body and move the piston and the connected needle seat from the initial retained position to the needle seat retracted position.
13 more elements
A method of using a syringe with a needle seat supporting a needle retractable in a generally tubular body having an internal throughbore extending between a needle end and an opposing plunger end, the method comprising:
- sealingly engaging the needle seat with the generally tubular body;
- the needle seat being selectively movable from an initial retained position to a needle seat retracted position;
- releasably retaining the needle seat in the initial retained position;
- axially securing a stopper to a plunger within the throughbore of the tubular body;
- positioning the plunger at least partially within the throughbore of the tubular body, the plunger including an internal chamber therein;
- positioning a piston within the plunger moveable from an initial position in the needle end of the plunger to a retracted position within the internal chamber in the plunger, wherein the piston is selectively retained in the initial retained position by a piston/plunger retainer, and the piston engages the needle seat to disengage the piston/plunger retainer and release the piston to move away from the needle seat end of the plunger;
- providing a one-way valve between the internal chamber in the plunger and the throughbore of the generally tubular body;
- plugging the needle seat end of the tubular body;
- applying a first axial force to move the plunger from an initial position in the opposing plunger end of the tubular body to a selected displaced position, thereby creating a vacuum within the tubular body between needle end of the tubular body and the stopper and opening the one-way valve to obtain a vacuum within the plunger;
- removing the plug in the needle seat end of the tubular body;
- inserting a needle into a liquid source;
- withdrawing a selected volume of liquid from the liquid source through the needle and into the tubular body between the needle seat and the stopper while moving the plunger to a fluid drawn position;
- thereafter inserting the needle into a fluid repository;
- thereafter applying a second axial force to the plunger to move the stopper toward the needle end of the tubular body while discharging liquid from within the tubular body;
- engaging a seat/piston latch to axially connect the needle seat with the piston;
- and
- relaxing the second force to disengage the needle seat from the generally tubular body and move the piston and the connected needle seat from the initial retained position to the needle seat retracted position.
14 more elements
A method of using a syringe with a needle seat supporting a needle retractable in a generally tubular body having an internal throughbore extending between a needle end and an opposing plunger end, the method comprising:
- sealingly engaging the needle seat with the generally tubular body, the needle seat being selectively movable from an initial retained position to a needle seat retracted position;
- releasably retaining the needle seat in the initial retained position;
- axially securing a stopper to a plunger within the throughbore of the tubular body;
- positioning the plunger at least partially within the throughbore of the tubular body, the plunger including an internal chamber therein;
- positioning a piston within the plunger moveable from an initial position in the needle end of the plunger to a retracted position within the internal chamber in the plunger;
- providing a one-way valve between the internal chamber in the plunger and the throughbore of the generally tubular body;
- plugging the needle seat end of the tubular body;
- applying a first axial force to move the plunger from an initial position in the opposing plunger end of the tubular body to a selected displaced position, thereby creating a vacuum within the tubular body between needle end of the tubular body and the stopper and opening the one-way valve to obtain a vacuum within the plunger;
- removing the plug in the needle seat end of the tubular body, thereby closing the one-way valve;
- inserting a needle into a liquid source;
- withdrawing a selected volume of liquid from the liquid source through the needle and into the tubular body between the needle seat and the stopper while moving the plunger to a fluid drawn position;
- thereafter inserting the needle into a fluid repository;
- thereafter applying a second axial force to the plunger to move the stopper toward the needle end of the tubular body while discharging liquid from within the tubular body;
- engaging a male member on one of the piston and the needle seat with a female member on the other of the piston and the needle seat to axially connect the needle seat with the piston;
- and
- relaxing the second force to disengage the needle seat from the generally tubular body and automatically move the piston and the connected needle seat from the initial retained position to the needle seat retracted position.
13 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.