Granted Patent B2

US 12,661,492 · App. 17/021,226 · Granted Jun 23, 2026

Inventor: Thomas F. Fangrow (Mission Viejo, CA)

Assignee: ICU Medical, Inc.

A61M39/16A61M39/0247A61M39/20A61M2039/0285A61M2205/0205

Abstract

Claims (43)

1 . A sanitizing male luer cap comprising:

a housing comprising:

an outer wall,

a bottom wall, and

a first chamber being at least partially enclosed by the outer wall and the bottom wall;

an inner protrusion extending upwardly from the bottom wall of the housing, the inner protrusion comprising:

an inner surface, and

a second chamber being at least partially formed by the inner surface of the inner protrusion, at least a portion of the inner surface of the inner protrusion being tapered and configured to tightly receive at least a portion of a male luer of a medical connector;

an antiseptic material comprising an opening for receiving the male luer and an antiseptic liquid within the antiseptic material, the antiseptic material being attached to an upper end of the inner protrusion and extending across an opening to the second chamber such that the antiseptic material is configured to wipe and to apply the antiseptic liquid to a distal end face and a side wall of the male luer as the male luer is advanced into the second chamber; and

a lid being configured to enclose the first chamber and resist escape of the antiseptic liquid from the first chamber before use;

wherein an interior surface of the outer wall of the housing does not contact the medical connector when the sanitizing male luer cap is attached to the medical connector such that a gap is formed between the interior surface of the outer wall of the housing and the medical connector.

2 . The sanitizing male luer cap of claim 1 , wherein a portion of the antiseptic material is configured to move into the second chamber as the sanitizing male luer cap is advanced onto the male luer of the medical connector.

3 . The sanitizing male luer cap of claim 1 , wherein an upper diameter of the inner protrusion is smaller than a width of the antiseptic material.

4 . The sanitizing male luer cap of claim 1 , wherein a length of a perforation in the antiseptic material is less than or equal to a largest diameter of the portion of the male luer of the medical connector that is insertable into the inner protrusion, such that the antiseptic material is configured to form a tight fit around the male luer when the sanitizing male luer cap is attached to the medical connector.

5 . A combination of the sanitizing male luer cap of claim 1 and the medical connector referenced in claim 1 .

6 . A sanitizing luer cap comprising:

an antiseptic material being configured to sanitize a male luer end of a medical connector when the sanitizing luer cap is attached to the medical connector by wiping and applying an antiseptic liquid to a distal end face and a side wall of the male luer end; and

a housing having an interior surface forming a chamber;

a protrusion positioned within the chamber, the protrusion comprising:

an outer surface being coupled to the antiseptic material,

an opening being configured to receive the male luer end of the medical connector,

a distal portion comprising a first inner cross-sectional width, the distal portion of the protrusion being configured to receive at least a portion of the antiseptic material when the sanitizing luer cap receives the medical connector, and

a proximal portion comprising a second inner cross-sectional width being different than the first inner cross-sectional width, the proximal portion of the protrusion being configured to couple to the portion of the male luer end when the sanitizing luer cap attaches to the medical connector and to hold the sanitizing luer cap on the medical connector.

7 . The luer cap of claim 6 , wherein the first inner cross-sectional width is greater than the second inner cross-sectional width.

8 . The luer cap of claim 6 , wherein the first inner cross-sectional width is sized such that the distal portion is configured to receive at least a portion of the antiseptic material and the male luer.

9 . The luer cap of claim 6 , wherein the antiseptic material includes an opening configured to accept the male luer end of the medical connector.

10 . The luer cap of claim 6 , wherein the antiseptic material comprises a diameter, and wherein the diameter is greater than the first inner cross-sectional width and the second cross-sectional width.

11 . The luer cap of claim 6 , wherein the antiseptic material is configured to sanitize at least an end face of the male luer end.

12 . The luer cap of claim 6 , wherein the antiseptic material comprises one or more perforations configured to facilitate passage of at least a portion of the male luer end through the antiseptic material.

13 . The luer cap of claim 12 , wherein the one or more perforations comprises a length, and wherein the length is less than an outer width of at least the portion of the male luer end.

14 . The luer cap of claim 13 , wherein the length of the one or more perforations is configured to inhibit passage of fluid between the antiseptic material and the male luer end.

15 . The luer cap of claim 6 , wherein the antiseptic material comprises one or more flap portions.

16 . The luer cap of claim 15 , wherein the one or more flap portions are configured to be at least partially positioned within the distal portion of the protrusion when the sanitizing luer cap is attached to the male luer end.

17 . The luer cap of claim 16 , wherein the one or more flap portions comprises a compressible material to compress between the distal portion of the protrusion and at least a portion of the male luer end.

18 . The luer cap of claim 16 , wherein the one or more flap portions are configured to facilitate attachment of the sanitizing luer cap to the male luer end.

19 . A combination of the sanitizing luer cap of claim 6 and the medical connector referenced in claim 6 .

20 . An antiseptic cap assembly comprising:

one or more sanitizing luer caps of claim 6 ; and

an elongate tubular body or sleeve configured to contain the one or more sanitizing luer caps.

21 . An antiseptic cap assembly comprising:

a sanitizing luer cap of claim 6 ;

a cap holder configured to receive the sanitizing luer cap; and

a lid.

Assignments (2)

Continuity (3)

References Cited (400)