Safety syringe abstract
A safety syringe has a retaining device formed on a front end of
the barrel, multiple bosses formed on the needle hub to rotatably
correspond to the retaining device, multiple recesses defined inside
the needle hub and multiple inclined teeth formed on the plunger
to correspond to the recesses, such that the engagement between
the retaining device and the bosses of the needle hub is able to
be released by the rotational movement of the plunger together with
the needle hub due to the combination of the inclined teeth and
the recesses.
Safety syringe claims
What is claimed is:
1. A safety syringe comprising: a barrel having a through hole
axially defined therein and a retaining device formed inside a front
end of the barrel; a plunger slidably received in the barrel and
having a neck formed on a front end thereof so as to allow a rubber
seal to fit in, a conical head projecting from the neck, multiple
spatially formed inclined teeth, and a flange oppositely formed
on the plunger to conical head; a needle hub detachably engaged
with the barrel and having a conical front end with multiple bosses
formed to rotatably correspond to the retaining device of the barrel,
an axially defined hole corresponding to and being in communication
with the through hole of the barrel, a receiving hole defined to
communicate with the hole and the through hole of the barrel and
to allow the extension of the conical head of the plunger, multiple
recesses defined to receive the inclined teeth and a shoulder defined
in a periphery of the receiving hole to correspond to the conical
head of the plunger; and a needle having a sleeve securely engaged
with the conical front head of the needle hub and a metal tube securely
engaged with the sleeve; wherein the bosses are rotatably released
from the clamp of the fingers by the engagement of the inclined
teeth and the recesses.
2. The syringe as claimed in claim 1 wherein the retaining device
comprises multiple L shaped fingers formed to clamp the bosses and
multiple troughs defined to receive the bosses.
3. The syringe as claimed in claim 2 wherein a resilient push
rod is formed on an end of the conical head to be received in and
abutted to an inner periphery of the receiving hole of the needle
hub.
Safety syringe description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a syringe, and more particularly
to a safety syringe, which has a ratchet device formed on the needle
hub and an annular inclined teeth formed on one end of the plunger,
such that when the hollow barrel is pushed toward the needle hub,
the engagement between the ratchet device and the inclined teeth
is able to pull the needle hub together with the needle inside the
barrel when the barrel is pulled backward to prevent people from
being punctured by the used needle.
[0003] 2. Description of Related Art
[0004] A plastic cap is always mounted on the hollow barrel of
a syringe to cover the needle to keep people from being punctured
by the used needle. However, because the user must hold the conventional
cap when he or she puts the cap onto the hollow barrel, the user
is easily punctured by the needle. In addition, the used needle
must be destroyed by melting or burning to prevent the spread of
disease. However, hazardous gas will form when the needle with the
plastic cap and needle hub is melted or burned.
[0005] In another conventional embodiment, a safety device is formed
with the syringe to prevent the user from being punctured. Clamps
are formed on the needle hub and the plunger of the syringe. When
the plunger is fully pushed into the hollow barrel of the syringe,
the clamps will engage with each other. The needle hub with the
needle will release from and be pulled fully into the barrel when
the plunger is pulled back. The used needle will be fully enclosed
and held in the hollow barrel to keep the needle from touching or
puncturing anyone.
[0006] However, a specific mold is required to form the clamps.
The cost for manufacturing the syringe with the conventional safety
device is expensive. In addition, because the entire syringe including
the hollow barrel, plunger and the hub must be melted or burned
with the needle, hazardous gas is still generated.
[0007] In order to reduce the fabrication cost, the market focuses
on the development to introduce an improved syringe to pull the
used needle inside the barrel. With reference to FIG. 1 a conventional
safety syringe comprises a hollow barrel (10), a plunger (20), a
needle hub (30) and a needle (40).
[0008] The needle hub (30) defines a receiving hole (301) in a
rear end of the needle hub (30) and a shoulder (302) is formed inside
the receiving hole (301). The plunger (20) has a conical head (201)
formed on a front end of the plunger (20) to correspond to the receiving
hole (301). With this arrangement, when the plunger (20) is moving
inside the barrel (10) toward the needle hub (30) and eventually
engages with the needle hub (30), the conical head (201) will have
an interference fit inside the receiving hole (301). Because the
formation of the shoulder (302), the conical head (201) is secured
inside the receiving hole (301) after the plunger (20) is pushed
all the way to the end of the hollow barrel (10), such that when
the plunger (20) is pulled backward inside the barrel (10), the
needle hub (30) together with the needle (40) is able to be pulled
inside the barrel (10) simultaneously, as shown in FIG. 2.
[0009] However, to facilitate the needle hub (30) to be pulled
inside the barrel (10), the engagement between the needle hub (30)
and the barrel (10) should be loose otherwise the friction between
the needle hub (30) and an inner periphery of the barrel (10) will
overcome the connection between the plunger (20) and the needle
hub (30) and the needle hub (30) can not be pulled back into the
barrel (10) successfully. In the mean time, if the engagement between
the needle hub (30) and the barrel (10) is loose, the solution inside
the barrel will have a leak and the injection can not be successful.
Further, when the needle (40) is inserted into a container (50)
through the cork (51), the needle hub (30) may retract back into
the barrel (10). However, if the engagement between the needle hub
(30) and the barrel (10) is increased, the force required to pull
the needle hub (30) together with the needle (40) back to the barrel
(10) is also increased, which causes an extra burden to the users.
[0010] With reference to FIG. 5 whether reducing the diameter
of the receiving hole (301) or increasing the diameter of the conical
head (201) to increase the engagement force between the needle hub
(30) and the barrel (10) will inevitably increase the difficulty
of inserting the conical head (201) into the receiving hole (301)
and this is the last thing that the user wants to see.
[0011] To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention intends
to provide an improved safety syringe to mitigate or obviate the
aforementioned problems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0012] The primary objective of the invention is to provide a syringe
enabling to release the limitation of the barrel to the needle hub
so that the needle hub with the needle is able to be pulled backward
into the barrel easily.
[0013] Another objective of the invention is to provide a syringe
that is able to provide a seal to the solution inside the barrel
by the engagement between the needle hub and the barrel, such that
there is no leak even though the needle hub is slidably engaged
with the barrel.
[0014] Still, another objective of the invention is to provide
an improved syringe with a ratchet device formed on one end of the
needle hub and inclined teeth formed on one end of the plunger to
correspond to the ratchet device of the needle hub, such that the
engagement between the ratchet device and the inclined teeth will
facilitate the retraction of the needle hub together with the needle
back into the barrel.
[0015] Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention
will become more apparent from the following detailed description
when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] FIG. 1 is a cross sectional view of a conventional syringe;
[0017] FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view of the syringe of FIG.
1 wherein the needle hub is pulled back into the barrel;
[0018] FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing that the needle hub together
with the needle is pushed backward into the barrel due to the loose
connection between the needle hub and the barrel;
[0019] FIGS. 4 and 5 are cross sectional views showing that the
configuration of the conical head or the receiving hole is changed
to increase the connection between the barrel and the needle hub;
[0020] FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of a syringe in accordance
with the present invention;
[0021] FIG. 7 is a partially sectioned and enlarged perspective
view of the front end of the barrel in accordance with the present
invention;
[0022] FIG. 8 is a partially sectioned and enlarged perspective
view of the needle hub in accordance with the present invention;
[0023] FIGS. 9 and 10 are cross sectional side views showing the
movement of the plunger inside the barrel to connect with the needle
hub;
[0024] FIG. 11 is a cross sectional side plan view showing the
rotation of the plunger to securely connect with the needle hub;
and
[0025] FIG. 12 is a cross sectional side plan view showing the
needle hub together with the needle is pulled backward into the
barrel.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0026] With reference to FIG. 6 a syringe in accordance with the
present invention has a barrel (1), a plunger (2), a needle hub
(3) and a needle (4).
[0027] As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 the barrel (1) defines axially
therein a through hole (11) and has a retaining device (110) formed
on a front end of the barrel. The retaining device has multiple
equally-spaced fingers (111) formed on an inner periphery defining
the through hole (11) and troughs (112) each defined between two
adjacent fingers (111). Each of the fingers are L shaped hence each
of the troughs (112) are also L shaped.
[0028] With reference to FIG. 6 again, the plunger (2) has a neck
(21) formed on a front end thereof so as to allow a rubber seal
(22) to fit in, a conical head (23) projecting from the neck (21),
multiple spatially formed inclined teeth (24), a resilient push
rod (25) formed on an end of the conical head (23) and a flange
(26) oppositely formed on the plunger (2) to the resilient push
rod (25).
[0029] With reference to FIGS. 6 and 8 the needle hub (3) has
a conical front end (31), multiple bosses (32) formed on a periphery
of the front end (31) to correspond to the troughs (112) of the
barrel (1), an axially defined hole (33), a receiving hole (34)
defined to communicate with the hole (33), multiple recesses (35)
defined in a periphery of the receiving hole (34) to correspond
to the inclined teeth (24) and a shoulder (36) defined in the periphery
of the receiving hoe (34) and above the recesses (35) to correspond
to the conical head (23) of the plunger (2).
[0030] The needle (4) comprises a sleeve (41) and a metal tube
(42).
[0031] When the syringe of the invention is assembled, the needle
hub (3) is inserted into the sleeve (41) of the needle (4) to have
an interference fit with the needle (4). Then, the needle hub (3)
together with the needle (4) is inserted into the barrel (1) to
allow each of the bosses (32) to be received in a corresponding
one the troughs (112) and clamped by the L shaped fingers (111).
By doing do, a rotation to the needle hub (3) and the needle (4)
has to be implemented so that the bosses (32) are able to be received
in the troughs (112). With such an arrangement, the needle hub (3)
together with the needle (4) is able to have a secure connection
with the barrel (1). A worry that the needle hub (3) and the needle
(4) may be pushed inside the barrel (1) while the needle is inserted
into the cork (51) of FIG. 3 is avoided. When the syringe in accordance
with the present invention is in use, the user inserts the plunger
(2) into the barrel (1). Due to the rubber seal (22) securely received
in the neck (21) of the plunger (2), the medical solution inside
the barrel (1) is able to be completely injected out of the barrel
(1).
[0032] With reference to FIG. 9 after the solution is empty inside
the barrel (1), the user continuously pushes the plunger (2) to
force the conical head (23) and the push rod (25) to extend into
the receiving hole (34) and thus allows the resilient push rod (25)
to rest inside the inner periphery of the hole (33). When the conical
head (23) of the plunger (2) extends into the receiving hole (34),
the inclined teeth (24) is received in the recesses (35) and the
joint between the neck (21) and the conical head (23) engages the
shoulder (36), as shown in FIG. 10.
[0033] Thereafter, with reference to FIG. 11 the user rotates
the plunger (2) to allow the engagement between the inclined teeth
(24) and the recesses (35) to simultaneously rotate the needle hub
(3) to release the limitation of the L shaped fingers (111) to the
bosses (32). After the limitation of the fingers (111) to the bosses
(32) is released, the engagement of the conical head (23) to the
shoulder (36) enables the user to pull the needle hub (3) together
with the needle (4) back into the barrel (1).
[0034] With reference to FIG. 12 when the needle hub (3) together
with the needle (4) is pulled back into the barrel (1), the resilient
push rod (25) will press against the needle hub (3) together with
the needle (4) to offset the alignment of the needle hub (3) together
with the needle (4) to the through hole (11) of the barrel (1),
such that a reuse to the syringe is impossible.
[0035] Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the
present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description,
together with details of the structure and function of the invention,
the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in
detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of
parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent
indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the
appended claims are expressed. |