Patent Application
20140276459
Not applicable.
1. Field
The present disclosure generally relates to needleless connectors, and, in particular, to connectors with an internal collapsible valve.
2. Description of the Related Art
Medical treatments often include the infusion of a medical fluid, for example a saline solution or a liquid medication, to patients using an intravenous (IV) catheter that is connected though an arrangement of flexible tubing and fittings, commonly referred to as an “IV set,” to a source of fluid, for example an IV bag. The fittings commonly include interconnectable male and female needleless connectors having a “Luer taper” conforming to an International Standards Organization (ISO) standard. Certain connectors have a self-sealing feature to prevent leakage of fluid from the attached tubing when the connector is decoupled from a mating connector.
One conventional needleless valve, shown in
Most needleless connectors trap some amount of fluid when the connector is disconnected from a previously mated connector. As some medical fluids degrade with time, this trapped fluid may present a hazard to a patient.
The self-sealing needleless female Luer connector disclosed herein is reduced in size compared to conventional connectors of the same type and, therefore, may trap a reduced amount of fluid within the connector upon disconnection. The disclosed connector also accepts a standard male Luer fitting and provides a self-sealing port with a continuous external surface at the port when the connector is not activated such that the port may be disinfected prior to use.
In certain embodiments, a needleless connector is disclosed that includes a body having an internal cavity with a sealing ridge, a port, an output flow channel, and a fluid flow path between the port and output flow channel. The connector also includes a collapsible valve disposed within the cavity. The valve has a cylindrical wall having a center axis and a shoulder and defining an internal air space, wherein the shoulder is configured to sealingly contact the ridge of the body so as to block the fluid flow path, and a head fixedly attached to the wall. The head has first and second smiley cuts disposed on opposite sides of the head.
In certain embodiments, a collapsible valve is disclosed that includes a cylindrical wall having a center axis and defining an internal air space and a head fixedly attached to the wall. The head has first and second smiley cuts disposed on opposite sides of the head.
The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide further understanding and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate disclosed embodiments and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the disclosed embodiments. In the drawings:
It is advantageous to provide a self-sealing, needleless connector that accepts male Luer fittings that meet the ISO standard while the size of the connector, and therefore the volume of fluid within the connector, is reduced compared to conventional connectors.
In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a full understanding of the present disclosure. It will be apparent, however, to one ordinarily skilled in the art that embodiments of the present disclosure may be practiced without some of the specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and techniques have not been shown in detail so as not to obscure the disclosure. In the referenced drawings, like numbered elements are the same or essentially similar. Reference numbers may have letter suffixes appended to indicate separate instances of a common element while being referred to generically by the same number without a suffix letter.
While the conventional needleless connector 10 of
As the size of the connector 100 is reduced compared to connector 10, the volume of the cavity 151 that is external to the valve 120 is also reduced compared to connector 10. As the wall thickness of the body 150 and some internal features must remain the same as body 50, for example to provide a minimum thickness for flow of molten plastic in a molding process, the reduction in the fluid volume may be proportionately greater than the reduction in a linear dimension. In certain embodiments, the reduction in fluid volume may be 40% while the reduction in the linear dimension L2 vs. L1 may be only 10%.
The connector 100 has a valve 120 disposed within the cavity 151 that is generally similar to the valve 20 of connector 10. The valve 120 comprises a flexible material, for example silicone. Valve 120 has a center axis 101 and a head 122 with two smiley cuts 126, 128 disposed on opposite sides of the head. The details of the smiley cuts are discussed in greater detail in
It can be seen that the disclosed embodiments of the needleless connector have a reduced internal volume of fluid while providing a self-sealing connection port of the same size and configuration of a conventional needleless connector. This reduction in fluid volume reduces the amount of fluid that remains trapped in the disclosed needleless connector when a connector attached to an IV line or a container such as a syringe is disconnected from the connector. While some amount of fluid is unavoidably retained in any needleless connector, reducing the amount of fluid that remains trapped in a connector increases the amount of an administered medication that reaches the patient. In addition, as medications may degrade over time, a reduction in the trapped volume of a medication in a connector necessarily reduces the amount of degraded medication that may reach the patient at a later time.
The previous description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described herein. While the foregoing has described what are considered to be the best mode and/or other examples, it is understood that various modifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein, but is to be accorded the full scope consistent with the language claims, wherein reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless specifically so stated, but rather “one or more.” Unless specifically stated otherwise, the terms “a set” and “some” refer to one or more. Pronouns in the masculine (e.g., his) include the feminine and neuter gender (e.g., her and its) and vice versa. Headings and subheadings, if any, are used for convenience only and do not limit the invention.
It is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the processes disclosed is an illustration of exemplary approaches. Based upon design preferences, it is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the processes may be rearranged. Some of the steps may be performed simultaneously. The accompanying method claims present elements of the various steps in a sample order, and are not meant to be limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented.
Terms such as “top,” “bottom,” “front,” “rear” and the like as used in this disclosure should be understood as referring to an arbitrary frame of reference, rather than to the ordinary gravitational frame of reference. Thus, a top surface, a bottom surface, a front surface, and a rear surface may extend upwardly, downwardly, diagonally, or horizontally in a gravitational frame of reference.
A phrase such as an “aspect” does not imply that such aspect is essential to the subject technology or that such aspect applies to all configurations of the subject technology. A disclosure relating to an aspect may apply to all configurations, or one or more configurations. A phrase such as an aspect may refer to one or more aspects and vice versa. A phrase such as an “embodiment” does not imply that such embodiment is essential to the subject technology or that such embodiment applies to all configurations of the subject technology. A disclosure relating to an embodiment may apply to all embodiments, or one or more embodiments. A phrase such an embodiment may refer to one or more embodiments and vice versa.
The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example or illustration.” Any aspect or design described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects or designs.
All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the various aspects described throughout this disclosure that are known or later come to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be encompassed by the claims. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether such disclosure is explicitly recited in the claims. No claim element is to be construed under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. §112, sixth paragraph, unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase “means for” or, in the case of a method claim, the element is recited using the phrase “step for.” Furthermore, to the extent that the term “include,” “have,” or the like is used in the description or the claims, such term is intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprise” as “comprise” is interpreted when employed as a transitional word in a claim.
