Safety needle

A safety needle for automatically covering a tip of a needle following removal of the needle from a patient, the safety needle comprising:

• a hollow needle having a tip for injecting into the patient and a longitudinal axis;
• a hub mounted to the needle and having an outer surface, a receiving end distal to the tip of the needle and an injection end proximal to the tip of the needle, at least part of the outer surface of the hub tapering inwardly toward the injection end, the injection end including an indicator marking thereon, a recess positioned circumferentially adjacent the indicator marking and a ramped indent positioned longitudinally adjacent the indicator marking;
• and
• a slidable sleeve having a mounting end with a projection extending radially inwardly therefrom and an injection end, the tip of the needle being located inside the slidable sleeve in an extended position, the tip of the needle projecting from the slidable sleeve in a retracted position, the slidable sleeve being slidably mounted to the hub between the receiving and injection ends of the hub in an initial position, the outer surface of the hub deflecting the slidable sleeve outwardly in a radial direction as the slidable sleeve slides axially toward the receiving end of the hub, the outer surface deflecting the slidable sleeve in a circumferential direction as the slidable sleeve slides toward the receiving end of the hub,
• wherein a displacement force urges the slidable sleeve from the initial position toward the retracted position generating a restoring force within the slidable sleeve, the restoring force urging the slidable sleeve to move toward the injection end of the needle hub and into the extended position upon removal of the displacement force, and
• wherein the indicator marking is covered by the slidable sleeve in the initial position when the projection is positioned in the ramped indent, the indicator marking being visible in the extended position when the projection is positioned in the recess.

A safety needle for automatically covering a tip of a needle following removal of the needle from a patient, the safety needle comprising:

• a hollow needle having a tip for injecting into the patient and a longitudinal axis;
• a hub mounted to the needle and having an outer surface, a receiving end distal to the tip of the needle and an injection end proximal to the tip of the needle, the injection end having at least one recess, at least part of the outer surface of the hub tapering inwardly toward the injection end;
• and
• a slidable sleeve having a mounting end and an injection end, the injection end having a needle opening and a dip formed around the needle opening, material surrounding the needle opening extending from the injection end axially into the slidable sleeve to define the dip, the tip of the needle being located inside the slidable sleeve in an extended position, the tip of the needle projecting from the slidable sleeve in a retracted position, a projection extending radially inwardly from the mounting end of the slidable sleeve, the projection being slidably mounted to the hub between the receiving and injection ends of the hub, the outer surface of the hub deflecting the projection and slidable sleeve outwardly in a radial direction as the slidable sleeve slides axially toward the receiving end of the hub, the projection including a reduced proximal width attached to the mounting end of the slidable sleeve and an enlarged end spaced from the mounting end of the slidable sleeve,
• wherein a displacement force urges the slidable sleeve from the initial position toward the retracted position generating a restoring force within the slidable sleeve, the restoring force urging the slidable sleeve to move toward the injection end of the needle hub and into the extended position upon removal of the displacement force, the projection sliding into and being retained within the at least one recess in the extended position, displacing the slidable sleeve radially in the extended position causing the needle opening to unalign with the tip of the needle and the tip of the needle to extend into the dip of the slidable sleeve.