Safety pen needle assembly

Inventors

Ruan, Tieming • Banik, Robert • Zaiken, Eliot • Quinn, Michael Vincent • Searle, Gary

Assignees

Embecta Corp

Abstract

In one aspect, a safety pen needle assembly is provided herein which includes a hub with a needle fixed to the hub, the needle having a distal end, formed for insertion into a patient, and a proximal end. The assembly further includes a shield and a biasing member disposed between the hub and the shield configured to urge the shield distally. A protrusion extends from at least one of the hub and the shield with a channel being formed in at least the other of the hub and the shield. The channel is formed to accommodate the protrusion. The shield is movable from a first position to a second position. In the first position, the shield is spaced from the distal end of the needle such that the distal end of the needle is exposed. In the second position, the shield covers the distal end of the needle. The channel guides the protrusion as the shield moves from the first position to the second position. With this arrangement, a shield may be directed to move in a desired path with stability. In addition, the distal end of the needle may be initially exposed to permit visual confirmation of priming, while allowing the shield to cover a majority of the needle to minimize any needle-related anxiety.

Core Innovation

The patent describes a safety pen assembly that includes a hub and a needle fixed to the hub. The needle has a distal end formed for insertion into a patient and a proximal end. The assembly further includes a leafspring having a first end pivotally connected to the hub, and a second end proximally located relative to the first end.

The leafspring second end is secured to the hub by a frangible connection. The frangible connection is rupturable, such that when it ruptures the second end is freed and urged to cover the proximal end of the needle. The described dependent refinements specify that rupture is caused by connecting the hub to an injector body, and that after rupture the second end displaces proximally to clear hub portions while the hub and leafspring urge to cover the proximal end of the needle.

The described embodiments also include a structural constraint where the leafspring and the hub are integrally formed as a unitary construction. Another refinement specifies that prior to rupture of the frangible connection, the second end is urged to displace proximally, while still being secured by the frangible connection until the rupture event occurs.

Claims Coverage

The independent claim identified in the provided material is clm-00001, and it includes a primary inventive concept centered on a frangible connection holding a leafspring that is freed to cover the proximal end of a needle. Dependent claims clm-00002 through clm-00005 refine the structure and functional sequence, including triggering of rupture and specific leafspring displacement behavior.

Across clm-00001 and its dependents, the claim set focuses on a leafspring held by a frangible connection at the hub that, upon rupture, is freed and urged so that the leafspring second end covers the proximal end of the needle. Additional refinements specify rupture by hub-to-injector-body connection, proximal displacement and clearing of hub portions after rupture, integrally formed leafspring-and-hub construction, and pre-rupture urging behavior.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications