Syringe needle abstract
Disposable syringes are marketed with a plastic cover which protects
the needle assembly inserted within. Typically, the end of the cover
that extends towards the barrel of the syringe is designed with
a surrounding lip. The holder of the invention is fixed to a surface
or stand to receive the cover and grasp, secure or envelop its surrounding
lip. In use, the syringe, with its cover, is placed into the holder,
slid to one side for the lip of the cover to be grasped, and then
the syringe and needle assembly can then be safely pulled away from
the cover. To dispose of it, the syringe is reinserted into the
grasped cover, then slid with the cover out of the grasp of the
holder to the other side, where a pair of nibs are provided to limit
its movement and allow for the syringe, with its cover in place,
to be lifted out. The holder of the invention makes almost impossible
any accidental jabbing of one's fingers or hand in removing the
needle assembly from, or inserting it back into, the syringe cover.
Syringe needle claims
I claim:
1. A device for removing the cover from and replacing the cover
on a syringe and needle assembly by engaging a lip on the cover,
comprising:
a) a holder;
b) a first member connected to said holder;
c) said first member having a pair of spaced-apart first arms connected
to said holder and a pair of spaced-apart extension arms connected
to said first arms, wherein said spaced-apart first arms and said
spaced-apart extension arms cooperate to form a guide for guiding
the lateral movement of the cover into the space between said first
arms;
d) a second member connected to said holder and spaced apart from
said first member, said second member having a pair of spaced-apart
second arms, wherein said first arms and said second arms are spaced
apart to form a receiving area therebetween for receiving and gripping
the lip of the cover as the lip is moved laterally along said guide;
and
e) said first arms including first surface means for engaging one
side of the lip and said second arms including second surface means
parallel to said first surface means for engaging another side of
the lip when the lip is moved into said receiving area, so that
the lip is gripped in said receiving area between said first and
second arms and the syringe and needle assembly may be moved relative
to said holder, with the cover being held by said holder, so that
the cover may be removed from or replaced on the syringe and needle
assembly.
2. A device in accordance with claim 1 wherein said first arms
are parallel to each other and are spaced apart a distance less
than the diameter of said lip.
3. A device in accordance with claim 1 wherein said second arms
are parallel to each other and are spaced apart a distance less
than the diameter of said lip.
4. A device in accordance with claim 1 wherein said first arms
and said extension arms together have a longer length than said
second arms.
5. A device in accordance with claim 1 wherein said first and
second arms are spaced apart at least a distance equal to the thickness
of said lip.
6. A device in accordance with claim 1 wherein said device is
reusable.
7. A device in accordance with claim 1 wherein said device is
disposable.
8. A device for removing the cover from and replacing the cover
on a syringe and needle assembly by engaging a lip on the cover,
comprising:
a) a holder;
b) a first member having a pair of spaced-apart first arms connected
to said holder;
c) a second member connected to said holder and spaced apart from
said first member, said second member having a pair of spaced-apart
second arms, wherein said first arms and said second arms are spaced
apart to form a receiving area therebetween for receiving and gripping
the lip of the cover as the lip is moved laterally along said guide;
and
d) said first arms including first surface means for engaging one
side of the lip and said second arms including second surface means
parallel to said first surface means for engaging another side of
the lip when the lip is moved into said receiving area, so that
the lip is gripped in said receiving area between said first and
second arms and the syringe and needle assembly may be moved relative
to said holder, with the cover being held by said holder, so that
the cover may be removed from or replaced on the syringe and needle
assembly.
9. A device for removing the cover from and replacing the cover
on a syringe and needle assembly by engaging a lip on the cover,
the lip having a lower side and an upper side, comprising:
a) a holder;
b) a first member having a pair of spaced-apart first arms connected
to said holder;
c) a second member connected to said holder and spaced apart from
said first member, said second member having a pair of spaced-apart
second arms; and
d) said first arms including first surface means for engaging the
lower side of the lip when the cover is inserted between said first
arms, and said second arms including second surface means parallel
to said first surface means for engaging the upper side of the lip
when the cover is moved relative to said second arms, so that the
syringe and needle assembly may be moved relative to said holder
and the cover may be removed from the syringe and needle assembly.
Syringe needle description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to the health-care profession, in general,
and to disposable hypodermic syringes, in particular.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
As is well known and understood, perhaps the disease most threatening
the world today is Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). As
is also well known and understood, it is possible to transfer the
AIDS virus by its coming into contact with an open wound, cut, or
sore. In part, and for such reason, more and more health professionals
today wear protective gloves in dealing with patients--whether or
not they are known to be AIDS infected.
Analysis has shown, furthermore, that one possible way of transmitting
the virus is by the accidental jabbing of one's fingers or hand
with the needle of a disposable hypodermic syringe as it is attempted
to be inserted back into its protective cover prior to disposal.
The opening of the cover to receive the needle is oftentimes of
the order of 1/8 inches across, and in the active area of a hospital
emergency room or medical office, it is not uncommon for one's attention
to be diverted elsewhere, and allow the momentary lack of concentration
to lead to the inadvertent jabbing.
As will be readily understood, this problem will be seen to follow
from the fact that one hand is used to hold the cover, while the
other hand is used in an attempt to guide the syringe and needle
assembly into proper positioning. On the other hand, and as will
be seen from the description below, the apparatus of the present
invention provides a "holder" for the cover, which allows
the syringe (with its needle assembly) to be reinserted into the
cover--as well as being removed from it initially--to be accomplished
utilizing only one hand. In such manner, and as will be seen, the
accidental jabbing of one's fingers or hand by the needle assembly
is prevented.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
As will be seen from the description that follows, the holder of
the invention is fixed to a surface or stand in a hospital emergency
room, in a doctor's office, in a dentist's office, etc., to receive
the cover and grasp the surrounding lip typically provided on the
cover at the end which extends over the needle assembly and towards
the barrel of the syringe. As will be seen, the holder includes
a pair of extension arms to grasp the surrounding lip, one arm above
the lip, and the other below the lip. In a preferred embodiment
of the invention, the two arms are of a generally U-shape configuration,
with the one below the lip being of greater length than the one
above the lip. In use--and as will be described--the syringe, with
its cover, is placed into the holder, stopped by the lower arm,
slid to one side for the lip of the cover to be grasped or secured
between the upper and lower arms, and then the syringe can be safely
pulled away from the cover, exposing the needle assembly for use.
To dispose of the syringe--as will also be described--the syringe
is then reinserted into the grasped cover, slid with the cover out
of the grasp of the holder to the other side, where a pair of nibs
are provided to limit its movement, and allow for the simple lifting
of the syringe with its cover in place. As will also be seen, to
facilitate the grasping of the surrounding lip, the two extension
arms are parallel to each other with the distance between them being
equal to that of the lip of the needle cover, which also serves
to facilitate the removal of the cover when it is desired to dispose
of the syringe after use.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
These and other features of the present invention will be more
clearly understood from a consideration of the following description,
taken in connection with the accompany drawing in which:
FIGS. 1A and 1B are top and front views, respectively, of a holder
for syringe covers constructed in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 2 illustrates a disposable hypodermic syringe usable with
the holder of FIGS. 1A and 1B;
FIG. 3 shows the holder of the invention grasping the syringe cover
to allow removal of the syringe and needle assembly for use; and
FIG. 4 shows the holder and syringe with the surrounding lip of
the cover free from the holder's grasp.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In FIGS. 1A and 1B, the holder 10 is shown as comprising a pair
of generally U-shaped arms 11 12 joined as at 13 but parallel
to each other with a separation equal to that of the lip of the
needle cover to be described below, and with the arm 12 being longer
than the arm 11 of the order of 100%. Arm 12 includes a pair of
arms and a pair of extension arms terminating at 14 with the extension
arms extending beyond the length of arms 11. The remote end of the
arm 12 is shown with a pair of nibs 14 extending inwardly towards
one another, to provide a "bent" inward appearance for
the arm 12. The opposite ends of the holder 10 as at 16 may be
of any desired shape, it being understood that the end 16 is to
be secured to a counter surface, a stand, or any other available
location in a hospital operating room, medical office, dental office,
etc. so as to be held in place without any holding in one's fingers
or hand.
FIG. 2 illustrates a hypodermic syringe 17 having a barrel 18
a plunger 20 a stopper 22 a needle assembly 23 inserted into the
barrel 18 and a protective cover (24) for the needle assembly typically
fabricated of plastic. As will be apparent, the cover 24 is provided
with a surrounding lip 25 which just falls short of the barrel
18 as at 26. As is understood, when it is desired to inject the
fluid in the barrel 18 into a patient, the protective cover 24 is
first removed--and after the fluid is injected by means of the plunger
20 the needle assembly 23 is reinserted into the cover 24 and
the syringe 17 is then disposed of. As previously described, and
in accordance with the invention, this described use of the syringe
17 will be seen to be accomplished through a one-hand operation
only, with the holder of the invention serving to grasp the cover
24 so as to allow easy removal of the syringe from the cover, and
the reinsertion of the needle assembly 23 back into position after
use.
More specifically, and referring to FIGS. 3 and 4 the syringe
17 with its protective cover 24 in place, is first inserted between
the U-shaped extensions of the arm 12 and slid to the left, as
in the drawings, until such time as the surrounding lip 25 is grasped
by the arms 11 12 which thereupon begin to hold the surrounding
lip 25 in place. Further movement of the syringe 17 to the left
then increasingly secures the arms 11 12 about the lip 25 to hold
the cover 24 thus securely in place. The syringe 17 together with
its needle assembly, can then be simply lifted away from the holder
10 as by an upwards lifting as shown in the drawing, with the holder
10 then continuing to grasp the cover 24 at that location. The syringe
17 can thus be utilized in its usual manner.
After use, and when it is desired to dispose of the hypodermic
syringe 17 with the same hand, it is then repositioned to reinsert
the needle assembly 23 back into the protective cover 24 to then
slide the syringe 17--now with the cover 24 surrounding the needle
assembly--back towards the right, as shown in the drawing. As will
be apparent, such movement frees the surrounding lip 25 and cover
24 from the grasp between the arms 11 12 and continues to move
the syringe to the right until hitting up against the nibs 14 or
bend in extension arm 12 to limit any further sideways movement
of the syringe 17. The syringe can then, again, be simply lifted
upwardly, in which event it is removed along with the protective
cover 24 surrounding the needle assembly 23. In other words, inserting
the syringe 17 between the U-shaped extension arm 12 and sliding
it to the left effectively grasps the surrounding lip 25 to enable
the syringe to be withdrawn with the needle assembly 23 exposed,
and reinserting the needle assembly into the cover 24 and sliding
it to the right enables the syringe 17 to be removed with the protective
cover 24 back in place, surrounding the assembly 23. Because the
holder 10 is always secured to the countertop or other surface,
or to any stand, as by fastening to the opposite end 16 the entire
operation becomes simply a one-hand generated movement, without
any possibility of accidentally jabbing or sticking the fingers
or palm of the other hand.
While there have been described what are considered to be preferred
embodiments of the present invention, it will be readily appreciated
by those skilled in the art that modifications can be made without
departing from the scope of the teachings herein of providing a
holder for a syringe cover which operates to grasp the surrounding
lip of the cover in allowing the syringe and its needle assembly
to be both easily removed from the protective cover for use, and
to allow its reinsertion for subsequent disposal, all with the use
of a one-hand operation to protect against accidental jabbing or
sticking. Thus, whereas the arm 12 has been described as being of
the order of 100% longer than the arm 11 it will be understood
that it only would be that much longer as to provide easy access
and generally limited to 200% of the length of the arm 11. It will
also be understood that in constructing this, the prongs of the
arm 11 need only be long enough for the entire "neck"
of the syringe to be surrounded by them. Alternatively, the top
and bottom prongs of the arms 11 12 could be made long enough to
accommodate two or more covers on a single unit. In similar manner,
the thickness of the upper prongs of the arm 11 is preferably less
than the distance between the lip 25 of the syringe needle cover
and the syringe/needle assembly 17 so as to allow the cover 24 to
be well secured to the assembly when replaced.
It will likewise be appreciated that the present invention will
provide its advantageous operation even if the nibs 14 were omitted.
Similarly, one might also wish to expand the operation of the invention
by providing a "semi-conical" or "semi-funnel"
type shape extending upwards from the upper arm 11 or its prongs,
facing the nibs 14 to act as a guide for the needle 23 when being
reinserted. This, too, will be seen to be within the teachings of
the invention.
Furthermore, the invention also is preferably designed with the
lower prong of the arm 12 being secured to the end piece 16 in a
manner so as to offer a tension or "give" as to allow
the arms to bend to accept different thicknesses of lips 25 while
still being strong enough to support the weight of the needle assembly
being reinserted--although this can be modified as desired. Then,
the portion that "gives" can be directly connected to
both the upper and lower arms while the upper arm can be constructed
with a rear extension which can be fitted into a unit to make it
immovable while still allowing for lower prong flexibility.
For at least such reasons, therefore, resort should be had to the
claims appended hereto for a true understanding of the scope of
the invention. |