Retractable needle and syringe combination

Details Retractable needle and syringe combination Retractable needle and syringe combination

2000-05-19

2001-08-14

Seidel, Richard K. (Department: 3763)

Surgery

Means for introducing or removing material from body for...

Treating material introduced into or removed from body...

C604S187000, C604S218000, C604S240000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06273870

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to medical syringes including needles. More specifically, the invention relates to a combination device including a retractable needle and syringe which, following a full stroke of the syringe plunger, automatically retracts the needle into the body of the syringe thereby preventing the possibility of needle sticks.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Many prior art hypodermic syringes have a retractable needle. The needle is manually retrieved by the forward end of the plunger after a shot has been administered. The retraction of the plunger into the barrel pulls the needle into the body of the syringe. This manipulation of the hypodermic syringe requires both hands and it is possible that the hand holding the outer barrel could come in contact with the needle before it is fully retracted.
This invention relates to hypodermic syringes which have a barrel with a needle mounted on the forward end and a plunger inserted into the rear end. After the syringe has been used, the exposed needle is contaminated and must be disposed of in such a manner as to prevent inadvertent needles sticks. This invention automatically withdraws the contaminated needle into the syringe at the completion of the plunger stroke.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome(AIDS) has increased the danger from being inadvertently stuck by a used syringe needle. It is recognized that even a minute transfer of bodily fluid from a person infected with a disease, such as AIDS, into another person's blood stream can transmit the disease. The danger is not confined to the medical community though a great majority of inadvertent needle sticks have been recorded by medical personnel. However, the increasing number of self administered drugs, both legal and illegal, pose a threat to the general population. Also, the well publicized lack of proper procedures for disposal of medical waste has also exposed the general population to contaminated needles.
Since it has been demonstrated that innocent people can be infected with such diseases as AIDS, through inadvertent needle sticks, many devices have been designed to eliminate or reduce this risk. One approach to reducing the risk involves drawing the hypodermic needle, in some manner, into the empty syringe so that the sharp end is no longer exposed. Examples of this approach are shown by U.S. Pat. No. 5,092,853, Couvertier, U.S. Pat. No. 5,681,292, to Tober, et al and U.S. Pat. No. 5,984,898 to Garvin.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a hypo dermic syringe and needle that requires only one hand for operation. After the shot is completed, the same hand holding the hypodermic syringe merely increases the pressure on the plunger thereby initiating automatic retraction of the needle into the syringe.
Another object of the invention is to provide a collet which expands and releases a spring biased needle retractor in response to the forward movement of the plunger. The forward end of the outer barrel carries a wedge which insures the collet fingers will spread apart upon forward movement of the collet.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a vent in the plunger. The vent allows air to escape from the interior of the plunger as the needle assembly is retracted by or in response to spring action.
Other objectives and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein are set forth, by way of illustration and example, certain embodiments of this invention. The drawings constitute a part of this specification and include exemplary embodiments of the present invention and illustrate various objects and features thereof.


REFERENCES:
patent: 4973308 (1990-11-01), Borras et al.
patent: 5069225 (1991-12-01), Okamura
patent: 5092853 (1992-03-01), Couvertier
patent: 5484421 (1996-01-01), Smocer
patent: 5616136 (1997-04-01), Shillington et al.
patent: 5681292 (1997-10-01), Tober et al.
patent: 5984898 (1999-11-01), Garvin
patent: 6090077 (2000-07-01), Shaw
patent: 6096005 (2000-08-01), Botich et al.
patent: 6221055 (2001-04-01), Shaw et al.

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