Plastic and nonmetallic article shaping or treating: processes – Forming continuous or indefinite length work – Layered – stratified traversely of length – or multiphase...
Reissue Patent
1999-01-07
2001-08-14
Silbaugh, Jan H. (Department: 1732)
Plastic and nonmetallic article shaping or treating: processes
Forming continuous or indefinite length work
Layered, stratified traversely of length, or multiphase...
C156S244150, C264S171260, C264S172100, C425S113000, C425S131100, C425S462000, C425S467000
Reissue Patent
active
RE037324
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to disposable tubular devices of the type used with medical instruments for delivering fluid to or evacuating fluid from a patient.
Tubular devices for transporting fluids between a patient and a medical instrument are typically used by medical professionals such as physicians, dentists and dental technicians, and veterinarians for suctioning fluid from or irrigating a part of a patient's body. One such tubular device is a disposable syringe tip for an air-water dental syringe.
A typical syringe tip has a central water passageway and at least one passageway through which air may flow. The tip is typically sealingly retained in a syringe hand-piece by a retaining collar which compresses an O-ring against the tip to seal the connection between the tip and the handpiece. Between uses of the syringe, the tip must be removed from the hand-piece by wholly or partially disengaging the retaining collar. The tip is then either sterilized before reuse or discarded and replaced with a new syringe tip.
A disadvantage encountered with prior syringe tip designs is the difficulty in having a quickly detachable tip which provides a water-tight seal between the central water passageway of the tip and a water conduit of the hand-piece. In some syringes, no elastomeric seal is placed between the water conduit and the central water passageway. In such syringes, water may leak between the conduit and the tip. In other conventional syringes, O-rings are positioned between the end of the tip and the water conduit of the hand-piece. With these syringes, the O-ring is repeatedly used until the O-ring fails, which may be at an inopportune time. Also, unless the O-ring is squeezed between the hand-piece and the tip, the O-ring will not prevent leakage. Further, the force of water from the conduit tends to unseat the tip from the O-ring.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Among the several objects of this invention may be noted the provision of an improved tubular device for conveying fluid between a medical instrument and a patient; the provision of such a device which is adapted for self-sealing to a fluid conduit of the medical instrument; the provision of such a device which is easily attached to and detached from the medical instrument; the provision of such a device which is disposable; and the provision of such a device which is of relatively simple and inexpensive construction.
Generally, a disposable tubular device of this invention is adapted for releasable and sealing connection to a medical instrument for transporting fluid between a patient and the instrument. The instrument has a nipple with a fluid passageway therethrough. The device comprises a generally pliable elongate tube of resilient material extending substantially the entire length of the device and a tube-support structure extending substantially the entire length of the tube. The tube has a proximal end configured to be slidably pushed onto the nipple of the medical instrument to a position in which the nipple fits snugly inside the proximal end of the tube, a distal end, and an elongate fluid passageway extending through the tube from its proximal end to its distal end. The elongate fluid passageway is adapted to communicate with the fluid passageway of the nipple when the proximal end of the tube is on the nipple. The tube is sufficiently pliable to expand radially outwardly at its proximal end when the proximal end is pushed on the nipple and is sufficiently resilient to form a continuous seal around the nipple for sealing against the fluid leakage between the nipple and the tube when fluid flows through the passageways. The tube-support structure has a stiffness greater than that of the tube and sufficient to maintain the tube in a selected operative position.
Generally, a method of making a disposable tubular device in accordance with the present invention comprises extruding a first material through a first die to form the tube and moving the tube through a second die while extruding a second material through the second die to form the tube-support structure. The second material has a durometer hardness reading which is greater than the durometer hardness reading of the first material at such temperature.
Other objects and features will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter.
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Eashoo Mark
Senniger Powers Leavitt & Roedel
Silbaugh Jan H.
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