Safety needle assembly

1. A safety needle assembly comprising:

a syringe barrel having an interior configured to receive a plunger and possessing a proximal end portion and a distal end portion;

a cannula mounted at the distal end portion of the syringe barrel, the cannula possessing a distal end and a proximal end, the cannula being provided with a lumen;

a collar formed separately from the syringe barrel and mounted on the syringe barrel, the collar being provided with a pair of spaced apart mounting ears each provided with a hole;

a protector positioned over the cannula and covering the distal end of the cannula, the protector having an open end and an oppositely located closed end, the protector being removable to expose the cannula including the distal end;

a sheath provided with an opening extending along at least a portion of a longitudinal extent of the sheath providing access to an interior of the sheath, the sheath comprising a pin mount and a pair of pins extending from the pin mount, each of the pins being positioned in a respective one of the holes in the mounting ears of the collar so that the sheath is pivotally mounted on the collar, the sheath being positioned outside the protector when the protector is positioned over the cannula and being pivotable towards the cannula after removal of the protector so that the cannula is positioned in the interior of the sheath and is covered by the sheath; and

the pin mounting portion comprising a plurality of flat surfaces which engage a portion of the collar located between the mounting ears during pivoting movement of the sheath.

2. The safety needle assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the distal end portion of the syringe barrel is provided with an annular groove in which is positioned the collar.

3. The safety needle assembly according to claim 1 , including a plurality of outwardly extending protuberances circumferentially spaced apart on an outer surface of the collar, an inner surface of the protector adjacent the open end of the protector engaging the outwardly extending protuberances when the protector is positioned over the cannula in covering relation to the cannula.

4. The safety needle assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the collar is rotatably mounted on the syringe barrel.

5. A safety needle assembly comprising:

a syringe barrel having an interior configured to receive a plunger;

a cannula mounted at the syringe barrel, the cannula possessing a distal end and a proximal end, the cannula being provided with a lumen;

a protector positioned over the cannula and covering the distal end of the cannula, the protector having an open end to permit the protector to be placed in covering relation to the cannula, the protector being removable to expose the cannula;

a sheath possessing an opening extending along at least a portion of a longitudinal extent of the sheath which provides access to an interior of the sheath, the sheath being pivotally mounted with respect to the syringe barrel to permit the sheath, upon application of a force, to be pivoted in a direction toward the cannula from a non-covering position in which the cannula is exposed after removal of the protector to a covering position in which the cannula is covered by the sheath, the sheath possessing at least one locking tab adapted to engage the cannula when the sheath is sufficiently pivoted toward the cannula to permanently lock the sheath in a locked position relative to the cannula to prevent the sheath from pivoting back towards the non-covering position; and

the sheath comprising means for causing the sheath to automatically pivot in a direction away from the cannula when said force is removed prior to the cannula being engaged by the locking tab to thereby indicate that the locking tab has not engaged the cannula and the sheath is not in the locked position.

6. The safety needle assembly according to claim 5 , further comprising a collar mounted on the syringe barrel, the collar being provided with a sheath mounting portion, and the sheath being pivotally mounted on the sheath mounting portion of the collar.

7. The safety needle assembly according to claim 6 , wherein the collar is rotatably mounted on the syringe barrel so that the collar is rotatable about the syringe barrel.

8. The safety needle assembly according to claim 6 , wherein the means for causing the sheath to automatically pivot in a direction away from the cannula when said force is removed prior to the cannula being engaged by the locking tab includes a plurality of flat surfaces on the sheath which contact a portion of the collar as the sheath is pivoted toward the locked position.

9. The safety needle assembly according to claim 6 , wherein the distal end portion of the syringe barrel is provided with an annular groove in which is positioned the collar.

10. The safety needle assembly according to claim 6 , including a plurality of outwardly extending protuberances circumferentially spaced apart on an outer surface of the collar, an inner surface of the protector adjacent the open end of the protector engaging the outwardly extending protuberances when the protector is positioned over the cannula in covering relation to the cannula.

11. The safety needle assembly according to claim 6 , wherein the collar includes an outwardly extending annular ridge which is contacted by the open end of the protector when the protector is positioned over the cannula.

12. The safety needle assembly according to claim 5 , wherein the means for causing the sheath to automatically pivot in a direction away from the cannula when said force is removed prior to the cannula being engaged by the locking tab includes a plurality of flat surfaces on the sheath.

13. A safety needle assembly comprising:

a syringe barrel assembly the includes a syringe barrel having an interior configured to receive a plunger;

a cannula mounted at the syringe barrel, the cannula possessing a distal end and a proximal end, and being provided with a lumen

a protector positioned over the cannula and covering the distal end of the cannula, the protector having an open end to permit the protector to be placed in covering relation to the cannula, the protector being removable to expose the cannula;

a sheath possessing an opening extending along at least a portion of a longitudinal extent of the sheath which provides access to an interior of the sheath, the sheath being pivotally mounted on the syringe barrel assembly to permit the sheath to be pivoted relative to the syringe barrel assembly in a direction toward the cannula from a non-covering position in which the cannula is exposed after removal of the protector to a covering position in which the cannula is covered by the sheath, and the sheath comprising a plurality of flat surfaces adapted to successively engage a portion of the syringe barrel assembly as the sheath is pivoted relative to the syringe barrel assembly.

14. The safety needle assembly according to claim 13 , further comprising at least one locking tab provided on the interior of the sheath to engage the cannula when the sheath is sufficiently pivoted toward the cannula to permanently lock the sheath in a locked position relative to the cannula to prevent the sheath from pivoting back towards the non-covering position.

15. The safety needle assembly according to claim 13 , wherein the collar is rotatably mounted on the syringe barrel so that the collar is rotatable about the syringe barrel.

16. The safety needle assembly according to claim 13 , wherein the flat surfaces on the sheath successively engage a portion of an outer surface of the collar as the sheath is pivoted from the non-covering position to the covering position.

17. A safety needle assembly comprising:

an evacuated tube-receiving tubular needle holder having a hollow interior adapted to receive an evacuated tube, the evacuated tube-receiving tubular needle holder possessing a proximal end portion and a distal end portion;

a cannula mounted at the distal end portion of the evacuated tube-receiving tubular needle holder, the cannula possessing a distal end and a proximal end, the cannula being provided with a lumen;

a collar formed separately from the evacuated tube-receiving tubular needle holder and mounted on the evacuated tube-receiving tubular needle holder, the collar being provided with a pair of spaced apart mounting ears each provided with a hole;

a protector positioned over the cannula and covering the distal end of the cannula, the protector having an open end and an oppositely located closed end, the protector being removable to expose the cannula including the distal end;

a sheath provided with an opening extending along at least a portion of a longitudinal extent of the sheath providing access to an interior of the sheath, the sheath comprising a pin mount and a pair of pins extending from the pin mount, each of the pins being positioned in a respective one of the holes in the mounting ears of the collar so that the sheath is pivotally mounted on the collar, the sheath being positioned outside the protector when the protector is positioned over the cannula and being pivotable towards the cannula after removal of the protector so that the cannula is positioned in the interior of the sheath and is covered by the sheath; and

the pin mounting portion comprising a plurality of flat surfaces which engage a portion of the collar located between the mounting ears during pivoting movement of the sheath.