Needle guard, and assembly
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No.: 074,693, filed July 17, 1987 now U.S. Pat. No. 4,747,836. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to a new and improved needle guard, and the assembly of a guard with a syringe needle, I.V. needle, and the like designed to protect against needle stick injuries. 
     Problems concerning accidental needle sticks are of immediate and increasing concern since they can cause infection such as hepatitis and the AIDS virus. 
     One type of assembly which provides a needle and guard to prevent these types of injuries is sold by ICU Medical, Inc. However, that particular device requires an extra length of needle and employs a complicated piece of injection molded plastic as the needle guard. 
     It would be preferred to provide a guard for a needle and assembly thereof, which requires a shorter needle than the ICU Medical device, and having a length which is customarily used for its purpose. 
     Also, it would be desireable to use fewer and simpler injection molded plastic components for the needle guard. This would of course reduce the cost and enable the device to be handled easier. In addition, if the needle guard could itself be used during operation of the device, this would be an added benefit. 
     Furthermore, a needle guard, needle and assembly therefor is desired which can be used with syringes having either a plain tapered or threaded hub; this reduces inventory requirements. 
     Finally a locking guard, needle and assembly is desired which provides a double lock effect, which naturally improves the safety features of the device. 
     THE INVENTION 
     According to the invention, a locking guard, needle and assembly is provided for a needle comprising a needle guard rotatably mounted at the hub portion of the needle. A longitudinal slit is defined along the guard to enable it to partially enclose the needle during transportation, storage and just prior to use. 
     A slotted locking ring is rotationally mounted on the locking guard, and subsequent to use, the locking ring is moved forwardly so that the slots engage guide lugs on the locking guard. This enables the ring to rotate around the guide lugs and occlude the needle and tip. The assembly can then be safely discarded. 
     In another embodiment, a rotatable sleeve is provided to interlock with the needle guard and permanently enclose the needle. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIGS. 1, 1a and 1b are exploded, perspective views of the needle, attached hub, rotatable needle guard and locking ring; 
     FIG. 2 is an external view in side elevation of the locking ring engaged with the needle guard; 
     FIG. 3 is an external plan view of the rotatable portion of the needle guard attached to the needle hub; 
     FIG. 4 is an external view in side elevation showing the same area as FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 5 is an external view in side elevation showing the needle guard rotatably moved out of its protective position from the needle to enable use of the needle; 
     FIGS. 6 and 7 are external views in side elevation showing another embodiment of this invention; 
     FIG. 8 is a view in sectional side elevation showing the assembled device of FIGS. 1, 1a and 1b; 
     FIG. 9 is an external view in sectional side elevation showing the entire assembled device of the embodiments of FIGS. 6 and 7; 
     FIG. 10 is a cross sectional view of the device in end elevation showing the needle, needle guard and locking ring when assembled, the locking ring and guard partially enclosing the needle; 
     FIG. 11 is a cross sectional view in end elevation of the device following needle use, and after the locking ring has been rotated to protect the needle from a needle stick injury. 
     FIG. 12 is an external side elevation view showing another embodiment of a needle guard body of this invention; 
     FIG. 13 is a top plan view of FIG. 12; 
     FIG. 14 is a cross sectional view taken along lines 14--14 of FIG. 12; 
     FIG. 15 is a cross sectional view showing the interior portion of the needle guard taken along lines 15--15 of FIG. 12, with background omitted for clarity; 
     FIG. 16 is a cross sectional view of the needle guard shown in the unlocked position; 
     FIG. 17 is a cross sectional view of the needle guard in the locked position; 
     FIG. 18 is a cross sectional view of the sleeve portion of the needle guard shown in FIGS. 16 and 17; and; 
     FIG. 19 is an external view in side elevation showing the rotatable sleeve portion of the device. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS: 
     The needle assembly 10, including a needle guard and closure ring, are shown in an exploded view in FIGS. 1, 1a and 1b. The needle 11 is shown attached to a hub 12 in a conventional manner, and the hub is provided with attached trunnion studs 13, 14. The needle guard portion 16 of the assembly is shown in FIG. 1, and comprises a body length 17 defining a longitudinal slit 18 into which fits the needle. The rotatable end of the needle guard provides trunnion arms 19, 20 defining trunnion bores 21, 22 which are rotatably mounted on the trunnion studs 13, 14. Locking shoulders 23, 24 are defined on the body 17 to provide one mode of engagement for the locking ring, and guide lugs 25, 25 are provided on the body 17 to engage the locking ring and form another mode of engagement therewith. Both the needle guard and locking ring are constructed of an injection molded plastic such as PVC, polyethylene, polypropylene, nylon, etc., and this of course enables the components to be readily formed. The closure ring 26 is mounted along the needle guard, and defines a slit 27 which coincides with the slit 18 and the needle 11. Locking slots 28, 29 are formed along the locking ring and are adapted to engage the guide lugs 25, 25 when the locking ring is moved forwardly along the needle guard. Detents, one detent 30 being shown, are provided at the end of each locking slot to ensure engagement with each lug 25, 25 and prevent the closure ring from being loosened out of engagement. 
     FIG. 2 illustrates the engagement of the locking ring with the needle guard following forward movement along the needle guard and rotational movement around the guide lugs. 
     Prior to use, such as during transportation, shipping and storage, the device of this invention is shown assembled in FIGS. 3 and 4, in the closed position. When the device is to be used, the needle guard is moved from its closed position, by rotation, to uncover the needle and hub 35. This is shown in FIG. 5, the needle guard being shown in an open position 36. Following use, the needle guard is then rotated back into position to partly surround the needle 11, and the locking ring is then moved forwardly along the needle guard and rotated around the guide lugs 25, 25 to occlude and protect the used needle. The open and closed positions of the closure ring are further illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11. 
     It will be appreciated that forward movement of the locking ring 26 along the needle guard 16 will result in the closure ring becoming locked by the locking shoulders 23, 24 of the needle guard. This, of course, will provide another additional means to ensure locking of these two components. 
     In the retracted position, the needle guard has the capability of functioning as a handle, and this facilitates attachment of devices to the hub such as a `vacutainer`, and removal thereof. 
     FIGS. 6, 7 and 9 illustrate another embodiment of this invention which enables a greater angle of rotation to be applied to the needle guard. In this embodiment, a hub 41 and attached needle 42 are shown protected by a needle cover 40. This includes a guard body 44 which extends into an offset arm 44a which is attached to a depending arm or flange 43 supported by the hub. Trunnion pins, one such pin 45 being shown, rotatably mount the needle guard 44 at the offset are 44a. As in the first embodiment, the function of the locking ring (not shown) is the same, and the locking shoulder 46 on the needle guard shows the approximate location of the locking components. 
     In FIG. 7, the open position 47 of the needle guard is shown, and it will be noted that this embodiment enables the needle guard to be almost completely out of the user&#39;s way, compared to the embodiment of FIG. 1, et seq. 
     FIGS. 12-19 illustrate another embodiment of this invention in which the locking action of the device is effected by rotating an external closure sleeve around the needle guard body and locking these two components by means of a ratchet engagement formed therebetween. 
     The needle guard 50 shown in FIG. 12 includes a guard body 51 which extends into an offset arm 51a that is attached to a dependant arm or flange (not shown) supported by a hub, in the same manner as in FIGS. 6-9. The offset arm 51a may be rotatably mounted by means of a pin 52 and bore 53 connection, or by round lugs rotating along recessed surfaces. End stops 54, 55 are molded at each end of the guard body to secure the closure sleeve. As shown in FIG. 15, the guard body 51 defines a U-shaped slot 56 having relatively straight sidewalls 57, 58 and a curved bottom portion 59 into which fits a curved bottom portion 59. An I.V., syringe, or other needle 60 is sized to fit into the bottom 59 of the slot 56. 
     The outer portion of the guard body 51 defines curved surfaces 61, 62 which form relatively well defined edges 63, 64 at the boundaries between the respective sidewalls 57, 58. Flat shoulder portions 65, 66 and 67 are defined around the exterior of the guard body. A U-shaped exterior wall surface 68 is defined between shoulders 65 and 67. 
     As shown in FIG. 19, the rotatable, external closure sleeve 70 defines external reinforcing ribs 71, a tab 72 for rotating the sleeve and a central reinforcing ridge 73. Each end 74, 75 of the sleeve is rounded and makes a fairly close fit against the end stops 54, 55 of the guard body 51. 
     The interior of the closure sleeve 70 is shown in FIGS. 16, 17 and 18 and comprises an approximately three-quarter open, elongate slot portion 81 defining edge members 82 and 83, a projecting ratchet-shaped portion 83, and a U-shaped curved portion 84 defined between the edge member 83 and the ratchet portion 84. In the assembled and open position shown in FIG. 16, the ratchet portion 84 fits into shoulder 65, curved portion 86 of the sleeve fits along wall surface 68 of the guard body, and edge member 83 fits along shoulder 67.