NEEDLE GUARD MECHANISM WITH ANTI-ROTATION FEATURE
A needle guard includes a clip with a canting wall to grip the needle shaft and a distal wall to block the tip thereof, wherein the canting and distal walls may be interconnected by an angled strut, a spring member, such as a leaf spring, may have a portion extending past an edge of the strut to bias the clip to grip the needle shaft, and the distal wall may be or include a stylus and have an L-shape to define a lip to help block the needle tip. The clip may have a depending heel to help pivot the clip about a ledge to grip the needle shaft. A needle support may be provided to limit flexure of the needle which might otherwise allow the needle to come loose from the clip. Arrangements for limiting rotation of the needle hub and needle guard housing are provided, as is a protective shroud to reduce the risk of inadvertent activation of the needle guard. Further, the needle guard may be used with a catheter assembly. Also provided is an improved duckbill release mechanism.
1 . A safety catheter device comprising:
a catheter hub and a catheter tube extending therefrom;
a needle hub and a needle extending therefrom, the needle having a needle shaft terminating in a sharp tip;
a needle guard, the needle movable relative to the needle guard between a first position of the needle with the needle tip not protected by the needle guard, and a second position of the needle wherein the needle tip is protected by the needle guard; and
the needle hub adjacent the needle guard in the first position of the needle, the needle hub and the needle guard including cooperating structure to hold them against relative rotation in the first position of the needle but not the second position of the needle.
2 . The safety catheter device of claim 1 , the needle guard including a lug engageable into a recess in the needle hub, the lug and recess having complementary edges to hold the needle hub and the needle guard against rotation.
3 . The safety catheter device of claim 2 , the lug having a non-circular periphery.
4 . The safety catheter device of claim 3 , the lug being generally square in shape.
5 . The safety catheter device of claim 3 , the recess having a noncircular periphery.
6 . The safety catheter device of claim 2 , the recess having a noncircular periphery.
7 . The safety catheter device of claim 1 , the needle guard including an active element to protect the needle tip in the second position of the needle.
8 . The safety catheter device of claim 7 , the needle guard including a housing containing the active element.
9 . The safety catheter device of claim 1 , the needle guard including a housing adapted to slidably receive the needle therethrough.
10 . The safety catheter device of claim 9 , the housing being removably coupled to the catheter hub.
11 . The safety catheter device of claim 10 , further comprising a duckbill extending from the housing for removably coupling the housing to the catheter hub.
12 . The safety catheter device of claim 1 , the needle hub defining a flashback chamber.
13 . A needle protector comprising:
a needle hub with a needle extending therefrom, the needle having a needle shaft terminating in a sharp tip;
a needle guard, the needle being movable relative to the needle guard between a first position of the needle with the needle tip not protected by the needle guard, and a second position of the needle wherein the needle tip is protected by the needle guard; and
the needle hub adjacent the needle guard in the first position of the needle, the needle hub and the needle guard including cooperating structure to hold them against relative rotation in the first position of the needle but not the second position of the needle.
14 . The needle protector of claim 13 , the needle guard including a lug engageable into a recess in the needle hub, the lug and recess having complementary edges to hold the needle hub and the needle guard against relative rotation.
15 . The needle protector of claim 14 , the lug having a non-circular periphery.
16 . The needle protector of claim 15 , the lug being generally square in shape.
17 . The needle protector of claim 15 , the recess having a noncircular periphery.
18 . The needle protector of claim 14 , the recess having a noncircular periphery.
19 . The needle protector of claim 13 , the needle guard including an active element to protect the needle tip.
20 . The needle protector of claim 19 , the needle guard further including a housing adapted to slidably receive the needle therethrough, the active element being contained within the housing.
21 . The needle protector of claim 13 , the needle hub defining a flashback chamber.