Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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SWIVEL COUPLING
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to connectors for tubing
associated with a catheter and more particularly to a
swivel connector adapted to be inserted in a fluid line
5 between the fluid source and the catheter. The dlevice is
designed for swiveling action so that the catheter may be
freely rotated ~uring-insertion into a blood vessel, for
example, without there being any inhibition of the swiveling
action by reason of one end of the connector being attached
10 to a relativel~ non rotatable fluid supply means.
BACKGROUND ART
PRIOR ART STATEMENT
Swiveling type connectors adapted for use in
various 1uid distributing systems are shown in the
15 following U.S. patents:
2,542,701 to Press Feb. 20, 1951;
2,560,263 to Wiegand et al July,10, 1951
2~570,406 to Troshkin et al Oct. 9, 1951;
2,893,395 to Buck July 7, 1959;
2,963,304 to Comlossy, Jr. et al Dec. 6, 1960;
3,372,948 to Arneson Mar. 12, 1968;
3,394,954 to Sarns July 30, 1968;
3,503,385 to Stevens Mar. 31, 1970;
3,768,476 to Raitto Oct. 30t 1973;
3,785,683 to Adelhed Jan. 15, 1974;
3,799,583 to Boelkins Mar. 26, 1974:
3,957,293 to Rodgers May 18, 1976;
4,t52,017 to Abramson May 1, 1979;
4,253,684 to Talbert e~ al Mar. 3, 1981, and
4,254,773 to Waldbillig Mar. 10, 1981.
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Referring to the patents mentioned above
2,5~2,70~; 2,5~0,263; 2,57~,~06, 2~9l63,30~; 3,372,948;
3,799,589; and 3,957,293 relate to relatively heavy duty
industrial fluid coupling means usually fabricated of metal
5 parts adapted to be threadedly engaged. While they d~ show
swiveling connec~or means, these devices are usually more
complicated structures including in some instances ball
bearings, which because of ~hese complications would
interfere with their utility in the more demanding medical
10 catheter ~ield of use in a hospital to which the present
invention is directed.
Patents 2~893,395; 3,503,385; 3,768,476;
31785,683; and 4,253,684 show quic~ connecting fluid conduit
means for use in medical cr more delicate laboratory
15 situations, which connectors are designed especially to be
rotatable or inherently show such an ability. Of this
group of prior art references all but 3,768,476 and
4,253,684 show multipart connecting means which in a
hospital setting would present problems with respect to
20 sterili~ation and assembly or cost of manufacture.
3,768,476 discloses a coupling made of plastic elements but
shows a design having enclosed cylindrical coupling mean~
that would present problems with clean up and therefore
would be difficult to sterilize as well as present problems
25 in the manufacture thereof. 4,253r684 in Fig. 6 ~hows a
snap fit ~ype of connector. This disclosure is primarily
concerned with forcing sterile air to flow over the mouth of
the connector when a tube is being connected thereto. While
the particular connection between the blowing element and
30 the tube might be rotatable, it appears that a substantial
friction fit would be required tv retain the t~be in the
blowing element, which fit would interfere with a completely
free rotation of the tube with respect to the connector.
~ore typical swiveling cathe~er connectors or the
35 like are shown in the following patents:
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3,394,954 shows a connector designed for medical
appliances having a quick connect or disconnect ability.
Two cylindrical elements are provided adapted to be slid
together axially ~o that an integral cantilever type spring
5 latches onto the male element extending over the
telescopically interfitted end of the female member to
engage over a shoulder surrounding the female element to
hold the assembly together. This produces a relatively
elongated structure having an integral snap connector latch
lO means difficult to manufacture in quantity with any great
degree of precision.
4,152,017 describes a specialized connector for a
tube to be inserted into the trachea. The connector is
designed to swivel and includes a male and female pair
15 adapted for t~lescopic interfitting and having an
interference fit to hold the pair assembled. To accomplish
this at least one of the elements must be made of a
deformable soft plastic. The snap fit design here shown
made of two dissimilar materials results in a permanent
20 assembly which would make it more difficult to clean and
sterilize after use.
4,254,773 also shows a snap fit locking design for
holding the male and female elements of a swiveling
connector assembly. Such a connector requires some
25 resilience in the snap fit design and this suggests that the
female member which supports the latching means must be made
of a softer or somewhat resilient material to permit the
necessary deformation during assembly.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
,
In recent years great advances have been made in
the study of the heart and other organs. New operations
have been perfected to replace certain defective part~ of
the heart, as well as remove and replace certain individual
organs or blood vessels connected with a particular affected
35 area of the anatomy. One of the techniques sometimes used
by surgeons in this work involves the insertion of a
catheter into the vascular system for delivery of fluids
thereto, for example dye solutionsl that work through the
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affected organ as a series of X-rays or other studies are
made, to pinpoint the exact type of defect thought to be
present and attempt to determine i~5 location, so that the
best procedures can be planned for removal or curing of the
5 problem.
In following such a procedure, in order to place
dye in the desired location, a cathel:er is pushed into the
vascular system and by rotating the ~ube, it is possible to
guide the movement of the tip of the catheter through the
10 vascular system from outside the body, the catheter can be
pushed through an artery in the arm for example all the way
into the heart. Rotation of the catheter during insertion
is essential to effect the proper sliding of the catheter
through the blood vessel as well as to enable the surgeon to
15 steer the tip of the catheter to its ultimate destination.
In order to preserve the sterile condition of the
catheter in so far as possible, the tip end of the catheter
and the rotatable delivery tubing for the fluid to be forced
through the system are connected to the fluid supply means
20 in a manner so that there need be no break in the delivery
line through which bacteria or the like could enter the
fluid stream. The catheter is usually connected to the
~upply line through a swiveling coupling as shown in the
patents mentioned above so that the tubing and its tip may
25 be rotated without producing a twisting action throughout
the entire liquid supply tube that is connected between the
catheter and the source of the fluid. Such a swiveling
arrangement has been found most serviceable to enable a
catheter to be easily rotated in either direction to any
30 desired degree so that it may be more easily manipulated to
guide it through the vascular system as described above.
The structure described herein is an improved Eorm
of a swiveling connector or use between a catheter that
must be rotated to aid its insertion into a blood vessel or
35 the like and the relatively stationary fluid supply means to
which the catheter is connected as is required in the
procedures described above. The improvement provides a
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greatly simplified structure as compared with the known
swiveling connectors. The es~ential ability to rotate the
tip end and tubing of the catheter relative to the fluid
supply line is 7-etained and a device is here shown that has
5 a minimum number of parts and one that can be quite easily
manufactured of plstic parts to be assembled for use.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
. .
A sectional view through the assembled swivel
connector is shown.
10 EXAMPLE OF THE ~PREFERRE:D EMBOD~MENT
Ihe swiveling connector here shown is made simply
with two concentrically arranged tubular means and includes
a tubular female element 10 confi~ured to be assembled with
the tubular male element--l~.--The body of-~he--tubul-ar-female
l5 element is shaped at one end to form a Luer taper 14 over
which the end of the flexible tube 16 o the catheter is
engaged and held. The female element has a fluid flow
passage 20 that has an entrance end 22 and a con~inuous
portion 24 that has a smaller diameter than the entrance end
20 so that a shoulder 26 is formed in the passage. The passage
20 ~uides fluid into the catheter tubing 16. The outer
periphery of the female body may be serrated or formed with
ridges 28 50 that the female element may be more easily
engaged and twisted to rotate the tubing 16 that carries the
25 tip end (not shown) of the catheter while the catheter is
being inserted into a blood vessel. The Luer taper 14 may
be surrounded by an extention 18 of the female element 10;
the inner surface of 18 may be threaded.
The tubular male body 12 is smaller in diameter
30 and includes a nose portion 38 having a circular crossection
to freely rotatably fit into and yet substantially fill the
continuing portion 24 of the passage through the female
element lOo The male element has a fluid flow passage 34
tha~ delivers fluid from an inlet end 36 into fluid passage
35 20 of the female element. The inlet 36 is designed to be
connected with a conventional connection, such as for
example 14 and 16 in the Sarns reference or 50 in the
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Waldbillig reference, to a relat~vely stationary tube
leading from a fluid supply. The male member is provided
with a peripheral groove 40 that defines the nose portion 38
and the nose fits into passage 24 so that gro~ve 40 is
5 positioned adjacent shoulder 26. An O-ring seal 42 is
fi~ted into groove 40 and projects over shoulder 26 to
provide a rotatable liquid seal ~etween the female and male
members.
The male member is axially aligned with flow
10 passage 20 through the female member at its nose end by
reason of the rotatable fit of the male member in the
continuin~ portion 24 of that flow passage. The male member
has a further bearing engagement with a collar 44 that has a
cylindrical end 46 defined by an outer periphery to just fit
15 within the entrance end 22 of the passage through the female
element and an inner periphery 48 providing a bearing wall
in alignment with the continuing portion 24 of passage 20.
The male member 12 is rotatably supported within the inner
periphery 48 of collar 44 in alignment with flow passage 20.
20 A fluid conduit, (not shown) connects the male member 12
with a supply of fluid to be delivered into the blood
vessel.
The collar 44 is preferably cemented in the
entrance portion of passage 20 to be permanently assembled
25 with the connector. The collar alternately could be made to
be press fitted more or less permanently in place or the
entrance portion ~2 and collar could be threadedly engaged
to make the parts separable. In the preferred throw-away
type of device however, the cemented connection is used for
30 ease of manufacture and use.
The device described above is easily sterilized
after manufacture and can be delivered to the medical unit
in a suitable package ready for use. After the supply tube
has been connected to the coupling portion of the male
35 member and a catheter has been attached ~o the female
e~ement, the swivel connector is ready for use. The
catheter may be inserted into the blood vessel and is freely
rotatable as it is pushed into place so that the tip of the
catheter may be turned as the feeding of the catheter into
the blood vessel continues in order to guide the tube into
the desired position.
The ~imple concentrically arranged tubular ~ale
and female elements and 0-ring assembly together with the
plastic collar are lnexpensive to make and simple to
maintain. This swivel connector can be easily prepared for
use and can be discarded after use. If necessary or
10 desirable for some reason, this connector can be made so
that the parts can be dismantled and prepared for reuse, but
when simply made of two concentrically disposed tubular
elements, assembled together as above described, the expense
of the labor involved in preparing the connector for reuse
15 would far outweigh the cost of the item so it is usually
supplied in the form of a throw-away device.
The swivel coupling or adaptor of the invention
can be fabricated of metal or plastic. A major cost
advantage is attained when a plastic is used as the base
20 material and the collar 44 is simply cemented in place as
described above. Almost any organic polymer, i.e. synthetic
resin, can be used but thermoplastics are preferred for
their relative ease of formation by e.g. injection molding;
acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene, polycarbonate, and
25 polymethymethacrylate are most desirable. The collar 44 can
be cemented in place by using an actual adhesive which is
compatible with the polymer sys~em making up the parts of
the coupling, or by solvent cementing with the appropriate
solvent. Methyethyl ketone very effectively solvent bonds
30 acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene, while methylene chloride is
s~itable for polycarbonate and polymethylmethacrylate.
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