Needle shielding device

Inventors

Erskine, Timothy J.

Assignees

Erskine Medical LLC

Abstract

A needle assembly with a needle shield is disclosed. The shield includes a lumen slidable on the needle, a holder and a needle blocking object which moves at least partially into the lumen in order to block distal movement of the needle. A spring biases the blocking object towards the needle axis. Proximal movement of the needle relative to the shield is limited by a restraint in the form of a discontinuity on the needle which abuts the shield, a tether or a tube abutting the needle hub. When the needle shield moves from a non-shielding position to a shielding position, the needle blocking object moves at least partially into the lumen. The needle blocking object is radially and axially constrained in the shielding position. The holder also prevents radial, longitudinal and circumferential movement of the blocking object. In one embodiment, the needle blocking object is a ball. A catheter adapter and tube may be threaded over the needle. The needle blocking object may also lock the catheter adapter to the needle shield, allowing it to be released only when the needle is shielded.

Core Innovation

The invention relates to a needle shield assembly in which a first housing having an outer wall and an internal lumen is slidable longitudinally along the outer surface of a needle. The first housing includes an opening that forms a carrier extending from the outer wall to the internal lumen, and the opening carries a needle blocking object biased by a spring in a non-shielding position toward the longitudinal axis of the needle, with the carrier preventing complete circumferential movement of the needle blocking object about the longitudinal axis.

When the needle shield is in a shielding position, the carrier limits radial movement of the needle blocking object toward the longitudinal axis. The needle blocking object lies at least partially in the internal lumen, thereby blocking emergence of the sharp distal end from the needle shield assembly, and the sharp distal end exerts a force on the needle blocking object comprising a first component in a substantially distal direction and a second component in a substantially radial direction.

The needle shield assembly also includes a restraint associated with the needle shield assembly for preventing movement of the needle shield assembly off the sharp distal end of the needle. The described implementations further include coaxial and offset axis arrangements between the needle and the needle blocking object, while optional structural features such as a cap and a second housing are described as part of the needle shield assembly architecture.

Claims Coverage

The partial content includes six independent claims. Across these claims, the inventive features consistently cover a slidable needle shield with an opening-forming carrier, a spring-biased needle blocking object, and motion constraints that switch between non-shielding and shielding positions to block emergence of a sharp distal end.

Across the independent claims, the claimed needle shield architectures combine a slidable housing with an opening-forming carrier, a spring-biased needle blocking object, and non-shielding and shielding position behaviors that include preventing complete circumferential movement and limiting radial movement so the blocking object occupies the internal lumen to block emergence of the sharp distal end. Additional claimed constraints include a restraint preventing the shield from moving off the needle tip, coaxial spring arrangement, offset axis arrangement, and cap coverage with a side hole for non-shielding protrusion.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications