Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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TITLE: MEDICAL CONTAINER
1 BACKGROUND OF _HE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a simplified
container which is essentially closed and adapted to
facilitate the release of a disposable needle from a
reusable barrel. The disposable needles and reusable
barrels of this type are generally used for taking blood
samples, although the present application is not so
restricted.
In the past, a number of containers have been
proposed for the disposal of medical needles of the type
having a hollow steel portion through which a liquid is
drawn, a collar intermediate the length of the steel
portion adapted For engagement with a reusable barrel with
the front of the collar having a gripping area to
facilitate assembly of the needle in the barrel and
release of the needle from the barrel. The needles once
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l used, are then disposed of, whereas the barrel portion is
reused. The barrel is preferrably of a plastic material
and are well known in the industry. Similarly, there a
number of manufac-turers of needles of this type, all of
5 which have the same general restrictions, i.e. a hollow
steel portion, a plastic collar intermediate the length
adapted for receipt within a reusable barrel and having a
gripping area forward of the portion received within the
barrel, with the hollow steel portion extending either
side of the collar. These needles are packaged in a
sterlized s-tate in a closed plastic container which has
two sheath portions, a front sheath portion received over
the forward extending portion of the hollow steel portion
and a second sheath which cooperates to cover the other
end of the hollow steel portion and the screw connection
of the collar which will be received in a barrel. In some
cases, people in the past have kept the sheath portions
and used these to dispose of the needle, however, for a
number of safety reasons this is not a recommended
procedure, as the likelihood of pricking oneself with the
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1 needle is fairly high. To overcome this problem, a number
of containers have been proposed, where the user does not
endanger themselves in disposing of the needle. The main
problem with the prior art containers is with respect to
the ability to grip the forward portion of the collar and
hold the same, whereafter release of the barrel from the
needle can be accomplished by screw-type separation. Some
complicated containers have used mechanical levers to grip
this collar area, which provide a very strong gripping but
result in a complicated structure which is expensive and
somewhat awkward to use. A disposable container has been
proposed and is presently being marketed which defines a
narrowing port into which the collar is inserted, with the
needle and barrel moving in a perpendicular manner into
the restricted area of the port to grip the collar to
allow screw removal. The action used in this container
requires a fair degree of dexterity and problems can
result in that the nipple region of the barrel can be
engaged with the large opening causing damage thereto,
when it is moved into the restricted area. Therefore, the
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1 structure works satisfactorily when used in its intended
manner, however, the structure allows various other
variations to that method to be used which are not
effective and thus reduce its value.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the present application, a
simplified structure and method of removing a disposable
needle from a reusable barrel is proposed, which
advantageously uses the barrel as a lever to provide a
mechanical advantage to assure gripping of the collar of
the disposable needle. According to a preferred
! embodiment of the invention, a sunken recess is provided
which cooperates to ensure that only the forward portion
of the collar is engaged in the gripping area of a needle
receiving port provided in the sunken recess, such that
damage to the nipple region of the barrel is avoided. The
needle receiving port is provided in a restricted area of
the sunken recess which is shaped such that the nipple of
the barrel cannot come into damaging contact with the
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1 enlarged area of the needle receiving port, as it is
positioned in a lower region of the recess with the barrel
contacting faces of the recess which limit insertion of
the nipple into the port. To remove a needle, the barrel
and needle must be appropriately angled to insert the
collar within the enlarged area of the needle receiving
port, and thereafter the barrel and needle moved through
an angle which forces the collar into the restricted area
of the needle receiving port. The collar of the needle
held in the engaging portion of the needle receiving port,
restricts rotational movement of the collar and a pivot
point is provided which strikes the barrel portion
intermediate its length to provide the mechanical
advantage to increase the gripping force on the collar.
Thus, the barrel is used as a lever to increase the
gripping force and rotation o~ the barrel will allow
removal of the needle as it is held in the needle
receiving port. Once the needle has been released from
the barrel, it can then move to the enlarged area where it
2û can fall through the port and into the closed confines of
the container.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION_OFI HE DRAWINGS
Preferred embodiments of the present invention
are shown in the drawings wherein;
Figure 1 is a perspective view of an assembled
barrel and disposable needle;
Figure 2 is a perspective view of the disposable
needle;
Figure 3 is a perspective view of the medical
container;
Figure 4 is a sectional view of the needle
receiving port showing insertion of the needle and barrel
in preparation for engagement of the needle;
Figure 5 is a back view of the needle receiving
port showing the collar of the needle engaged in the
restricted area of the port with the barrel beyond the
engaging faces of the port;
Figure 6 is a sectional view of the needle
receiving port with the needle engaged in a restricted
area of the port; and
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1 Figure 7 is a view showing the reusable barrel
released from the needle with the needle falling into the
medical container.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The assembled needle and barrel generally shown
as 100 in the figures, includes a reusable barrel 102
having a threaded port 104 in the nipple region 106. The
opposite end of the barrel is open for receiving vacuum
tubes and the like, which when inserted over the rear
portion of the hollow steel portion 112 of the needle,
will draw blood or other fluids into the vacuum tube.
Thus, in effect the barrel just provides a structure for
receiving a vacuum tube or the like which cooperates with
the disposable needle for collecting of liquid samples.
The needle 110 includes a hollow steel portion 112 which
extends either side of the collar 114.
The collar is of a plastic material and includes
a front gripping area 116, in this case having a
cylindrical interior section, with a number of outwardly
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1 extending fins for gripping of the collar. The collar
also includes a threaded portion 118 for receipt in the
threaded port 104 of the barrel 102. In some cases, the
rear portion of the hollow steel portion 112 will include
a multi use shield shown as 120 collapses along the length
of the hollow steel portion 112 when a vacuum tube is
inserted in a barrel and removal of the vacuum tube allows
the multi use shield to again return and cover the back
portion of the needle. This avoids dripping of blood etc
from the back portion of the needle which may contaminate
the reusable barrel 102.
The container 2 includes a base portion 4 and a
top portion 6 which cooperate to define a closed
container. In this case, the top portion includes a
needle release area 8 which preferrably is a sunken recess
as shown in Figure 3. The recess includes a needle
receiving port 12 having an enlarged area 14 for allowing
a needle and collar to pass therethrough. The port also
includes a restricted area for gripping of the front area
116 of a collar when a needle is received in the needle
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WH-6848-86 , 9 . 2182G/0035F
1 receiving port. This restricted area 16 opens onto the
enlarged area 14. The sunken recess 8 includes a back
face 10 which has the needle receiving port 12 and
associated with the back face is an extending face 18,
which is positioned to cooperate with a barrel 102 when a
needle is to be released from the barrel. Preferrably,
the sunken recess includes side shields 24 and 26 to
assure that the tip of the needle remains within the
recess as the user seeks to pass the hollow portion 112
through the needle receiving port 12.
The cooperation between the container and the
assembled barrel and needle can be appreciated from
Figures 4 through 7. As can be seen, the assembled needle
and barrel are orientated to allow the front portion of
the hollow steel portion 112 of the needle to pass through
the needle receiving port 12. The front portion 116 of
the collar 11~ is inserted in the enlarged area 14 of the
needle receiving port 12, whereafter the barrel is forced
into engagement with the pivot point defined by the lip
region 22, and further movement of the barrel of the
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1 container in direction of arrow 36 in a manner to urge the
front gripping area 116 of the collar 114 into the
restricted area 16 of the needle receiving port 12. A
needle which has been so positioned as generally shown in
Figures 5 and 6.
It should be noted that the nipple region 106 of
the barrel 102 cannot easily gain access, if at all, to
the enlarged area of the needle receiving port 12 as the
periphery oF the barrel, generally shown as 103 comes in
contact with the back face 10 and the extending face 18,
thus limiting the depth with which the barrel can extend
into the recess. Therefo:re, in effect, this enlarged area
14 of the needle receiving port 12 has been positioned at
a deep area in the sunken recess which is not accessible
to, or is essentially non accessible by the nipple region
106 of the barrel 102. The upper area which is restricted
and generally shown as 16 of the needle receiving port 12,
is sized to be smaller than the nipple region 106 and,
therefore, the nipple region 106 cannot gain access to
that portion of the needle receiving port. Movement of
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1 the barrel in the direction of arrow 36 forces the front
gripping area of the collar into the restricted area 16 of
the needle receiving port. The movement of the barrel is
limited as the barrel 102 strikes the lip region generally
shown as 22 in Figure 6. This lip region 22 is spaced
from the needle receiving port 12 and acts as a pivot
point such that pressure urging the barrel in the
direction of arrow 36 results in a strong gripping force
of the collar 116 held in the restricted area 16 which
allows the screw removal of the barrel from the held
collar 11~. If any slippage of the collar within the port
116 should result, for example, if damage has occured to
the collar, additional pressure may be applied to the
barrel to increase the gripping force. Once the barrel
has been released from the collar 114, the needle may then
move to the enlarged area of the needle receiving port, to
allow the collar to pàss through the enlarged area 14 and
into the closed confines of the container 2.
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1 The medical container generally shown as 2 is
preferrably made of a plastic material of a suitable
strength and hardness, such that needles of this type
cannot pierce therethrough in the normal use of the
container. For example, the walls of the container should
not be of softness or thin section, which would allow the
passage of the needles through the walls of the container
simply by their movement within the container. Similarly,
these materials can be selected and thicknesses selected
which may still allow a needle to pass therethrough if a
person tries to force the needle through, but should be of
a thickness such that this does not occur in the normal
operation and use of the container. It is preferred that
the present container be used as a disposable container
which may collect anywhere from several used needles to
hundreds of used needles. It can be appreciated that the
exact sizing of the container is not critical, however, it
is generally felt that the container should hold anywhere
from 50 to 250 needles.
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1 The container generally shown in Figure ~ has
been horizontally split to define the top portion 6 and
the base portion 4. A integral molded hinge has been
provided as generally shown as 30. The container of this
type can be made as one piece, and would have a snap
locking fit (not shown) between the top portion 6 and the
base 4 to maintain the closed container generally shown in
Figure 3. In some circumstances, it may be desirable to
have the top portion releasable from the base portion 4,
lû by use of the integral hinge 3û, however, it is
anticipated that a locl<ing relationship between the top
portion 6 and the base portion 4 should be provided to
ensure that the disposed needles are maintained within the
closed confines of the container. Once the container is
filled or the user decides that it is time to dispose of
the container, it may be desirable to close the needle
receiving port 12. This could be closed with a plug
member, (not shown) or by applying a tape over the back
face 10 or the sunken recess of the container. It is also
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1 possible to integrally mold a hinged flap to effect
closure of the sunken container, although, in the most
simple application 7 it is not believed that this will be
necessary.
It is preferred that the sunken recess including
the back face 10, the extending face 18 with the lip 22
and the needle receiving port 12, cooperate such that the
longitudinal axis of the assembled needle and barrel when
received by the container to remove a needle, with the
front gripping area 116 in the restricted area 16 of the
needle receiving port 12, is generally perpendicular to
the back face 10. The point to recognize, is that,
mnvement of the barrel in direction of arrow ~6 should be
limited by the restricted area 16, whereby the likelihood
of the front gripping area 116 slipping out of the port is
reduced. Once the collar has moved past the general
perpendicular orientation, the effective area of gripping
of front gripping area 116 continues to reduce and the
gripping force is also reduced. Put another way, it is
desirable that the force exerted on the container by the
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1 gripping area 116 is along the surface of the back face
10, as opposed to at an angle thereto, which urges release
of the collar.. As you depart from this relationship by
moving the barrel through a greater angle, the effective
gripping force will reduce and the likelihood of the
gripping area 116 leaving the restricted area 16 increases.
Although various preferred embodiments of the
present invention have been described herein in detail, it
will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, that
variations may be made thereto without departing from the
spirit o~ the invention or the scope of the appended
claims.
