William B S Pressly
,
Charles A Vaughn
,
G Samuel Brockway
,
Thomas R Ellis
,
Syringe Develpoment Partners (Lawrenceville, GA)
ABSTRACT
A syringe apparatus and process for using the same is provided, the syringe apparatus having a barrel, a plunger movable within the barrel, a needle assembly attached to an end of the barrel and having a passageway therethrough, a deformable base positioned within the barrel, flexible supports included on the deformable base, a spring within the passageway of the needle assembly, a hollow needle passing through the passageway, an enlarged head on the needle, and a rupturable web on an end of the plunger, whereby when the plunger moves through the barrel toward the needle assembly, a fluid can be moved from the barrel through the hollow of the needle, and continued movement of the plunger flexes the supports and moves the deformable base downwardly until such time a sufficient force is imparted to the rupturable web by the enlarged head to tear the web, the deformable base then releasing the needle due to force applied by the spring to project the needle into the interior of the plunger. Seals are provided for making a liquid impervious seal on both ends of the syringe after the needle is retracted. The seal on the end left open by needle retraction is a closing member which can be used to seal off the opening without placing a user's hands in front of the opening. The syringe includes indicia that is revealed upon needle retraction to label the syringe as a biohazard. A syringe apparatus using a deformable base, enlarged needle head and needle assembly of an alternative embodiment is also provided wherein sacrificial supports in the needle assembly are utilized and severed by the deformable base.
Notes
Claims
We claim:1. A syringe apparatus comprising:a barrel;a hollow needle extending from an end of the barrel, the needle having a head comprising at least a portion of a flange;a plunger movable within the barrel for moving a fluid out of the barrel through the needle;a movable base adapted to bear against the flange and abut the inside of the barrel in order both to seal one end of the barrel and releasably to constrain the head in its initial position in order to prevent premature ejection of th...