Guard for adaptor in an intravenous line

Inventors

TOMLINSON, SHARON • Ford, Mark • Frosh, Karl • Arambula, Gerry

Assignees

Covalon Technologies Ltd

Abstract

There is provided a guard for an intravenous adaptor. The guard comprises a polymer sheet formed of a polymer film, the polymer sheet having left, right and middle portions; tear lines within the polymer sheet, located on either side of the central extent of the middle portion; a pull strip extending lengthwise, generally parallel to the central extent and positioned between the tear lines; and an adhesive applied to a periphery of the polymer sheet and over the ends of the pull strip, the tear lines penetrating through the adhesive. The left and right portions of the polymer sheet are arranged to be folded onto each other to form a folded polymer sheet adhered by the adhesive to define a pocket, which is openable by tearing the folded polymer sheet and adhesive along the tear lines.

Core Innovation

A guard for an intravenous adaptor includes a polymer sheet formed of a polymer film having left, right and middle portions, with tear lines within the polymer sheet located on either side of a central extent of the middle portion. The middle portion is positioned about a central axis defining a center line across the polymer sheet, and the left and right portions are separated from the middle portion by the tear lines. A pull strip overlays the middle portion and extends lengthwise along, generally parallel to, the central extent, positioned between the tear lines.

Adhesive is applied to the periphery of the polymer sheet and over ends of the pull strip where the pull strip crosses the periphery, and the tear lines penetrate through the adhesive. When the polymer sheet is folded about the central axis, the left and right portions fold onto each other. Adhesive around a portion of the periphery on the right portion adheres to adhesive around a portion of the periphery on the left portion to form a sealed periphery of the folded polymer sheet, thereby defining a pocket to retain the intravenous adaptor, bounded by the sealed periphery and a folded edge along the central axis and enclosed by the left and right portions.

The guard is configured so that the pocket is opened by tearing the folded polymer sheet and the adhesive along the tear lines by urging the pull strip and the middle portion generally away from the pocket. This tearing results in destruction of the guard. Additional embodiments described include different tear line structures and configurations of release liner, pull-strip/tab structures, optional transparent materials, and adhesive constructions including pressure-sensitive adhesives, coated adhesive substrates, and differential adhesive zones to balance sealed periphery formation and tear opening through the adhesive.

Claims Coverage

The document contains one independent claim describing the full guard structure, with additional dependent claims refining multiple inventive features across polymer film/tear line structure, adhesive construction, and handling/cover elements. The main claim includes four core inventive aspects: (i) the tear-line-separated left/right/middle polymer sheet with a centrally positioned tearable middle, (ii) a pull strip overlaying the middle portion and positioned between tear lines, (iii) an adhesive arrangement that forms a sealed periphery pocket after folding while allowing tear lines to penetrate through adhesive, and (iv) a tamper indication by opening through tearing and destruction of the guard.

Overall claim coverage centers on a foldable intravenous-adaptor guard that creates a sealed periphery pocket from a tear-line-separated polymer sheet and a centrally overlaid pull strip, while arranging adhesive so tear lines penetrate through adhesive and tearing initiated by pulling the strip opens the pocket and destroys the guard. Dependent claims further refine tear line structures, polymer material/tear-strength relationships, adhesive chemistries, differential adhesive zones, and structural components such as release liners and pull-strip/tab configurations as described.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications