Claims
- 1. A safety intravenous catheter assembly, comprising:
a needle comprising a tip and an opposite end; a catheter hub; a needle cover attachable to and releaseably lockable with said catheter hub when said needle extends through said needle cover; and a stop assembly attached to said opposite end of said needle and to said needle cover for maintaining said tip of said needle within said needle cover, said stop assembly comprising a first irreversible locking position whereby said catheter hub cannot disengage from said needle cover, and a second locking position whereby said catheter hub can disengage from said needle cover.
- 2. The assembly of claim 1 wherein said stop assembly comprises a stop bar.
- 3. The assembly of claim 2 wherein the stop assembly comprises a needle case and an end of said stop bar is positioned in said needle case.
- 4. The assembly of claim 1 wherein said stop assembly comprises a spring-biased detent.
- 5. The assembly of claim 1 wherein said stop assembly comprises a ring-like stop and said needle has a stop notch located in a side of said needle, and said stop notch defining said first and second irreversible locking positions.
- 6. The assembly of claim 5 wherein said ring-like stop comprises a resilient material.
- 7. The assembly of claim 1 wherein said needle cover includes a finger rest.
- 8. The assembly of claim 1 wherein said catheter hub is rotatable relative to said needle cover.
- 9. The assembly of claim 1 wherein said needle cover is receivable within said catheter hub.
- 10. A safety intravenous catheter assembly, comprising:
means for releaseably locking a needle cover to a catheter hub; and means for permitting disengagement of said needle cover from said catheter hub after a tip of a needle is irreversibly locked within said needle cover.
- 11. A stop assembly for use with a needle, a needle cover, and a catheter hub, comprising:
means for permitting disengagement of the needle cover from the catheter hub after a tip of the needle is irreversibly locked within the needle cover.
- 12. A method for using a safety intravenous catheter assembly comprising a catheter hub, a needle cover, and a needle, the method comprising:
obtaining the catheter hub releaseably locked to the needle cover having the needle extending through the needle cover and a tip of the needle extending from the catheter hub; withdrawing the tip of the needle into the needle cover; irreversibly locking the tip of the needle within the needle cover; and allowing detachment of the catheter hub from the needle cover after the needle tip is irreversibly locked within the needle cover.
- 13. The method of claim 12 further comprising rotating the catheter hub relative to the needle cover when the catheter hub is releaseably locked to the needle cover.
- 14. The method of claim 12 further comprising a catheter cannula attached to the catheter hub and wherein the tip of the needle extends through the catheter cannula when the catheter hub is releaseably locked to the needle cover, and further comprising inserting the catheter cannula and needle tip into a patient.
- 15. The method of claim 12 wherein the needle cover includes a finger rest.
- 16. The method of claim 15 wherein the finger rest has an outer circumference portion at least as great as an outer circumference portion of the catheter hub.
- 17. A method for using a safety intravenous catheter assembly, the method comprising:
permitting disengagement of the needle cover from the catheter hub after a tip of a needle is irreversibly locked within a needle cover.
- 18. A safety intravenous catheter assembly for use with a needle, comprising:
a catheter hub having a first axial bore extending through the catheter hub; a needle cover having a first end of the needle cover insertable in the first axial bore and a second axial bore extending through the needle cover and co-axial with the first axial bore; a notch extending outwardly in the first axial bore of the catheter hub; a notch clip positionable to engage the notch of the catheter hub and lock the catheter hub in engagement with the needle cover when the needle cover is inserted in the first axial bore and a tip of the needle is inserted in the second axial bore at least adjacent or past a distal portion of the notch clip, wherein the notch clip disengages the notch and enables the catheter hub to pass out of engagement with the needle cover when the tip of the needle is located in the second axial bore prior to the distal portion of the notch clip, wherein the notch clip is maintainable adjacent the needle throughout a range of positions from being in forceful contact with the needle to being spaced from the needle when the needle cover is inserted in the first axial bore and the tip of the needle is inserted in the second axial bore at least adjacent or past the distal portion of the notch clip, wherein the notch clip is maintainable adjacent the catheter hub throughout a range of positions from being in forceful contact with the catheter hub to being spaced from the catheter hub when the needle cover is inserted in the first axial bore and the tip of the needle is inserted in the second axial bore at least adjacent or past the distal portion of the notch clip, wherein the notch clip does not intersect the second axial bore when the notch clip is in a non-biased position and wherein the notch clip and the catheter hub may rotate in a frictionless to near frictionless relationship relative to one another when the notch clip is in the non-biased position.
- 19. A method for using a safety intravenous catheter assembly in combination with a needle, the safety intravenous catheter assembly including a catheter hub having a first axial bore extending therethrough, the method comprising:
withdrawing the needle from a second axial bore, the second axial bore being located in a needle cover and the needle cover including a notch clip positionable in engagement with an outward extending notch in a catheter hub; selectively maintaining the notch clip throughout a range of positions from being in forceful contact with the needle to being spaced from the needle when the needle cover is inserted in the first axial bore and a tip of the needle is inserted in the second axial bore at least adjacent or past a distal portion of the notch clip; selectively maintaining the notch clip throughout a range of positions from being in forceful contact with the catheter hub to being spaced from the catheter hub when the needle cover is inserted in the first axial bore and the tip of the needle is inserted in the second axial bore at least adjacent or past the distal portion of the notch clip; selectively maintaining the notch clip in a nonintersecting relationship with the second axial bore when the notch clip is in a non-biased position; sliding the needle in engagement with the notch clip when withdrawing the needle from the second axial bore; forcing the notch clip into the second axial bore; and disengaging the catheter hub from the needle cover.
RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/127,374, filed Jul. 31, 1998 (Attorney Docket No. 0410.006) which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,221,047 on Apr. 24, 2001, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09127374 |
Jul 1998 |
US |
Child |
09840699 |
Apr 2001 |
US |