Medical needles

Abstract

The present invention provides a medical needle that prevents interference between the needle and the needle cover when locking the needle, allowing the needle to be secured in the needle cover with greater precision. [Solution] The medical needle 10 comprises a hub 20, a needle 30 protruding from the hub 20, and a needle cover 40 supported by the hub 20 so as to be rotatable about a rotation axis perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the needle 30. The needle cover 40 has opposing side walls 42, a needle housing portion 43 configured to accommodate the needle 30 between the opposing side walls 42, a locking claw 46 protruding from the inside of one side wall 42 toward the other side wall 42, and an inclined portion 47 cut toward the one side wall 42 toward the tip of the position where the locking claw 46 is provided on the other side wall 42.

Description

Technical Field

[0007] ,

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a medical needle having a safety mechanism.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, when injecting a patient with a drug solution or the like, a medical needle is used. As a medical needle, a winged needle in which a pair of wings protrude from a hub at the proximal end of the needle is widely used. When indwelling the winged needle in a living body, the winged needle is fixed by attaching the wings to the skin with an adhesive tape or the like.

[0003] When disposing of a used medical needle, it is necessary to cover the needle tip in order to prevent an operator or the like from accidentally piercing a finger or the like with the needle tip. Patent Document 1 proposes a safety needle assembly (medical needle) that ensures safety.

[0004] In addition, the applicant has proposed a winged needle having a needle lock mechanism that houses the needle described in Patent Document 2 in a needle cover and fixes the needle as a medical needle having a safety mechanism.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] The medical needle described in Patent Document 1 does not consider the safety against deformation or bending of the needle (cannula).

[0007] In the medical needle described in Patent Document 2, when locking the needle, the needle may be difficult to lock due to interference between the needle and the inner wall or rib of the needle cover.

[0008] The purpose of this disclosure is to provide a medical needle that suppresses interference between the needle and the inner wall or ribs of the needle cover when the needle is locked in place, thereby enabling the needle to be secured in the needle cover with greater accuracy. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The medical needle according to this disclosure comprises a hub, a needle protruding from the hub, and a needle cover supported by the hub so as to be rotatable about a rotation axis perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the needle, wherein the needle cover has opposing side walls, a needle housing portion configured to accommodate the needle between the opposing side walls, a locking claw protruding from the inside of one side wall toward the other side wall, and an inclined portion on the other side wall cut toward the tip side of the position where the locking claw is provided.

[0010] With the above configuration, the inclined portion on the side wall of the needle cover allows the needle to be smoothly fed into the needle housing without interfering with the upper surface of the side wall of the needle cover, thus enabling the needle to be locked in place.

[0011] The medical needle according to this disclosure comprises a hub, a needle protruding from the hub, and a needle cover supported by the hub so as to be rotatable about a rotation axis perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the needle, wherein the needle cover has opposing side walls, a needle housing portion formed between the opposing side walls so as to accommodate the needle, and an inward tilt prevention rib formed across the opposing side walls.

[0012] According to the above configuration, the side walls of the needle cover are prevented from bending in a direction that brings them closer together, thereby preventing the needle from interfering with the side walls of the needle cover and failing to lock in place.

[0013] A hub for a medical needle in one aspect of the present disclosure has a needle cover storage section capable of housing a needle cover, and the maximum rotation angle when the needle cover is stored in the needle cover storage section and rotated around the axis of rotation may be greater than 90°.

[0014] With the above configuration, the needle cover can rotate beyond the position where the needle extends, allowing the needle to be advanced to the back of the needle housing, thus preventing the needle from becoming unlocked. Furthermore, if the maximum rotation angle is greater than 90°, the needle can be housed and locked in the needle housing even if it bends significantly towards the front unintentionally.

[0015] In one aspect of the present disclosure, the hub of a medical needle may further have a maximum rotation angle of the needle cover of 100° or less.

[0016] With the above configuration, the needle cover can be rotated up to 100°, making it easier to feed the needle into the needle housing and preventing the needle from becoming stuck.

[0017] In one aspect of the present disclosure, the hub of a medical needle may further have a maximum rotation angle of the needle cover of 95° or less.

[0018] With the above configuration, the needle cover can be rotated beyond a 90° rotation angle, preventing the needle from interfering with the needle cover and failing to lock. Furthermore, by limiting the maximum rotation angle to 95° or less, the impact of increasing the size of the hub body due to a larger rotation angle can be suppressed.

[0019] A hub for a medical needle in one aspect of this disclosure has a hub tip protruding to one side, a needle holding portion extending vertically from the tip of the hub tip, and a needle cover storage portion capable of housing a needle cover, and the base end of the hub tip may be configured so as not to come into contact with the needle cover when the hub tip is rotated 90° around the axis of rotation from a state in which the needle cover is stored in the needle cover storage portion.

[0020] With the above configuration, the needle cover can rotate at an angle exceeding 90°, making it easier to feed the needle into the needle housing and preventing the needle from interfering with the side wall of the needle cover and failing to lock in place.

[0021] The needle cover of the medical needle in one aspect of the present disclosure has a locking claw that protrudes from the inside of one side wall in the direction toward the other side wall, and a plurality of anti-collapse ribs are provided between the opposing side walls, and the height of the anti-collapse rib disposed on the tip side of the side wall rather than the locking claw may be formed to be lower than the height of the side wall.

[0022] According to the above configuration, by making the height of the anti-collapse rib on the tip side of the side wall from the locking claw, which is likely to interfere when the needle is accommodated in the needle accommodating portion, lower than the height of the side wall, it is possible to suppress the needle from interfering with the anti-collapse rib.

Effect of the Invention

[0023] The medical needle according to the present disclosure can suppress the needle from interfering with the needle cover when locking the needle, and can store the needle in the needle cover with higher accuracy.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0024] [Figure 1] It is a perspective view showing a first state of the medical needle of the embodiment. [Figure 2] It is an exploded view in which the needle cover of the medical needle in the first state is separated. [Figure 3] It is a perspective view of the needle cover. [Figure 4] It is a perspective view showing a second state of the medical needle of the embodiment. [Figure 5] It is an X-X cross-sectional view of the needle cover in FIG. 3. [Figure 6] It is a perspective view of another state of the medical needle of the embodiment. [Figure 7] It is a Y-Y cross-sectional view in FIG. 6. [Figure 8] It is a right side view of the hub body and the needle.

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0025] The embodiments of this disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. In the following description, specific shapes, materials, directions, numerical values, etc., are examples to facilitate understanding of this disclosure and can be appropriately modified according to the application, purpose, specifications, etc. Furthermore, it is intended from the outset that the components of the embodiments and modifications described below can be selectively combined.

[0026] In the following description, the directions of up and down, front and back, and left and right are used for convenience in explanation only and are not intended to define the direction of the medical needle according to the embodiment.

[0027] <Embodiment> Referring to Figure 1, the outline of the medical needle 10 of this embodiment will be described. Figure 1 is a perspective view of the medical needle 10 of this embodiment. The medical needle 10 has a hub 20, a needle 30 protruding from the hub 20, and a needle cover 40 for housing the needle 30. The medical needle 10 in Figure 1 is in the first state, and a part of the needle cover 40 is housed in the hub 20. More specifically, a part of the needle cover 40 is housed between the side portions 22b, which will be described later, and within the plane that extends to the left and right of the wing portions 50. The medical needle 10 in Figure 1 is in the state in which it is used for puncture. In addition, in the unused state before use for puncture, the medical needle 10 has a cylindrical tube or the like attached to the needle 30 to prevent contamination by contact (not shown).

[0028] The hub 20 has a hub body 21 and a base portion 22 on which the hub body 21 rests. The hub body 21 and the base portion 22 may be constructed as separate parts or as a single unit. The hub 20 is made of a resin material such as polyvinyl chloride. However, the constituent material of the hub 20 is not limited to this.

[0029] The hub body 21 has a box-shaped hub body portion 21a, a hub tip portion 21b that protrudes in one direction (forward in Figure 1) from the hub body portion 21a, and a needle holding portion 21c that protrudes perpendicularly from the tip of the hub tip portion 21b in the direction from which the hub tip portion 21b protrudes. The medical needle 10 is used by connecting a tube or the like to a connection port 24 provided at the rear of the hub body portion 21a, injecting a fluid such as a drug solution from the tube, and delivering it to the needle 30 through a tube provided inside the hub tip portion 21b and the needle holding portion 21c (see Figure 7). The tube may be fixed to the connection port 24 by ultrasonic welding or the like, or it may be connected by screwing the tube into the connection port 24, and any form can be adopted as long as fluid communication is possible between the tube and the hub body portion 21a.

[0030] The base portion 22 has an upper surface portion 22a on which the hub body 21 rests, and side portions 22b formed flush with the left and right sides of the hub body 21, respectively, from the upper surface portion 22a. The upper surface portion 22a and the two opposing side portions 22b form a box-shaped structure that opens downwards. The space enclosed by the upper surface portion 22a and the opposing side portions 22b forms a needle cover storage portion 23 for storing the needle cover 40. In the medical needle 10 shown in Figure 1, wing portions 50 protrude to the left and right from the side portions 22b. The wing portions 50 will be described later.

[0031] The hub body portion 21a is the part that is gripped when handling the medical needle 10. In the medical needle 10 of this embodiment, the upper part of the hub body portion 21a is formed in a rounded shape. Since the medical needle 10 is attached to the skin with adhesive tape or the like when it is inserted into the body, it is preferable that the upper part be curved. Also, the rounded shape has the advantage of being easier to hold when inserting the needle. However, the shape of the hub body portion 21a is not limited to the shape shown in the figure. Furthermore, the medical needle 10 may be made easier to grip by applying protrusions or embossing to the hub body portion 21a.

[0032] As described above, the side portion 22b is formed to follow the side of the hub body portion 21a. The combined height of the hub body portion 21a and the side portion 22b is formed to a height that allows the medical needle 10 to be easily grasped with the fingertips. The medical needle 10 is used by grasping the hub body 21 and the side portion 22b with the fingers and pressing to insert the needle 30 into the body.

[0033] The opposing side portions 22b have rotation shaft holes 26 on the side of the needle holding portion 21c. The rotation shaft holes 26 are provided at positions opposite each of the side portions 22b. The straight line connecting the opposing rotation shaft holes 26 is positioned perpendicular to the length direction of the needle 30 and constitutes the axis of rotation when the needle cover 40 is rotated. The rotation shaft projection 44 of the needle cover 40 fits into the rotation shaft holes 26, so that the needle cover 40 is held so as to be rotatable around the axis of rotation. The needle cover 40 can be rotated by pushing the operating portion 41 formed at the tip of the needle cover 40 upward, thereby rotating the needle 30 to the housing position (see Figure 4). Further details will be described later.

[0034] The needle 30 is formed from a metal material such as stainless steel. The needle 30 is sharply formed by cutting the tip at an angle so that it can puncture human body tissue, has a hollow structure that can transport fluid, and the other end is connected to the needle holder 21c. The diameter of the needle 30 is, for example, 26 gauge or 27 gauge. The length of the needle 30 is, for example, about 10 mm. The diameter and length of the needle 30 can take various values ​​depending on the application of the medical needle 10.

[0035] The wing portion 50 is formed so that it is wider at the front where the fingertips touch when gripping the hub body 21, and narrows towards the rear. The wing portion 50 can be pressed by gripping the hub body portion 21a and the side portion 22b, making it easy to puncture.

[0036] Furthermore, the wing portion 50 has a flat shape that is convenient for attaching to the body with adhesive tape or the like when implanting the medical needle 10 in the body. When the medical needle 10 is implanted in the body, the wing portion 50 comes into contact with the skin, and the flat shape has the advantage of not causing discomfort. In addition, the edges of the wing portion 50 are treated to be rounded so as not to cause discomfort when it comes into contact with the skin. However, the shape of the wing portion 50 is not limited to a flat shape.

[0037] The wing portion 50 is integrally molded with the side portion 22b. For example, it is formed from a resin material such as polyvinyl chloride, but is not limited to this. The wing portion 50 may also be made of a different material; for example, the wing portion 50 may be made from a material softer than the hub body 21 and the side portion 22b. It goes without saying that in the medical needle 10 of this disclosure, the wing portion 50 is not an essential component, and the effects of this disclosure can be achieved even in a configuration without the wing portion 50.

[0038] <Rotation mechanism> Next, with reference to Figures 2 and 3, the needle cover 40 and the rotation mechanism of the needle cover 40 of the medical needle 10 in this embodiment will be described. Figure 2 is a diagram showing the needle cover 40 disassembled from the hub 20. The needle cover 40 is made of a resin material such as polypropylene.

[0039] The needle cover 40 has an elongated frame structure. A roughly ring-shaped operating section 41 is formed on one side of the needle cover 40 in the longitudinal direction when viewed from above. Opposite side walls 42 extend in the opposite direction from the operating section 41. A rotating shaft projection 44 is provided at the position where the side walls 42 and the operating section 41 are connected.

[0040] The rotating shaft projection 44 is positioned to fit into the rotating shaft hole 26 when the needle cover 40 is housed in the needle cover storage section 23 (Figure 1). The needle cover 40 can be attached to the hub 20 by pushing the rotating shaft projection 44 toward the rotating shaft hole 26 along the groove 27 provided on the inside of the side portion 22b. In this embodiment, the rotating shaft projection 44 is provided in approximately the middle portion of the needle cover 40 in the longitudinal direction.

[0041] The grooves 27 are provided to guide the rotating shaft projection 44 into the rotating shaft hole 26. The spacing between opposing grooves 27 is smaller than the spacing between the rotating shaft projections 44. When the rotating shaft projection 44 is pushed in, the side portion 22b deforms elastically to spread to the left and right, allowing the rotating shaft projection 44 to be pushed into the position of the rotating shaft hole 26. Furthermore, to prevent the needle cover 40 from easily coming off when the needle cover 40 is rotated, the spacing between the grooves 27 may be formed to narrow slightly towards the rotating shaft hole 26. The needle cover 40 is held rotatably around the rotating shaft hole 26 by fitting the rotating shaft projection 44 into the rotating shaft hole 26.

[0042] A needle cover lock 25 is provided at the tip of one end of the side portion 22b. A pair of needle cover locks 25 are provided, and when the needle cover 40 and the needle cover lock 25 come into contact when the needle 30 is rotated to the locking position (see Figure 4), the needle cover 40 has a tapered shape so that it can overcome the needle cover lock 25 at the point where the needle cover 40 and the needle cover lock 25 come into contact. The needle cover 40 has a recess 49 that engages with the needle cover lock 25 when the needle 30 is rotated to the locking position. Note that the needle cover lock 25 may be in a form other than that described in the embodiment, and any form is acceptable as long as the needle 30 can be fixed in a position where it is irreversibly protected by the needle cover 40.

[0043] Figure 3 is a perspective view of the needle cover 40. The length of the side walls 42 is configured to accommodate the needle 30, and the space between the opposing side walls 42 constitutes the needle housing section 43. The tips of the opposing side walls 42 are connected by a support frame 45. The presence of the support frame 45 prevents the tips of the opposing side walls 42 from bending and deforming in a direction toward each other.

[0044] Between the opposing side walls 42, inward tilt prevention ribs 48 (48a, 48b) are provided. The inward tilt prevention ribs 48 are provided to maintain the strength of the side walls 42 and also serve to prevent the side walls 42 from bending inward. This is because if the side walls 42 bend inward, they may interfere with the needle 30 when locking it, making it difficult to lock.

[0045] A locking claw 46 is provided on the inner side of one side wall 42. The locking claw 46 prevents the needle 30, which is housed in the needle housing 43, from coming loose. In Figure 4, the locking claw 46 is positioned at the longitudinal center of the needle 30 exposed from the needle holding portion 21c, but is not limited to this, and the position of the locking claw 46 can be adjusted as appropriate, as the flexibility changes depending on the thickness of the needle. Also, only one locking claw 46 may be provided, or multiple locking claws may be provided. The height of the inward tilting prevention rib 48b on the support frame 45 side of the side wall 42 is lower than the height of the inner wall of the side wall 42. More preferably, in the height direction of the side wall 42, the height from the bottom surface of the side wall 42 is lower than the position of the tip of the locking claw 46. As will be described in detail later, this is to prevent interference during the locking operation of the needle 30. In Figure 3, two inward tilting prevention ribs 48b are provided, but the number is not limited. The inward tilt prevention rib 48a, which is provided on the side of the rotating shaft projection 44 rather than the position of the locking claw 46, is less likely to be interfered with by the needle 30. Therefore, it is preferable to form the height of the inward tilt prevention rib 48a to be the same as the height of the side wall 42 to increase the strength of the side wall 42.

[0046] The locking claw 46 is formed so that the thickness of the tip portion of the locking claw 46 is smaller than the thickness of the base portion, resulting in a tapered shape. This allows the needle 30 to deform when it comes into contact with the curved portion of the locking claw 46, making it easier to lock compared to when it does not deform. Furthermore, when the locking claw 46 is formed to deform, it is preferable that the locking claw 46 is also formed to elastically return to its original position, thereby further improving the effect of preventing the needle 30 from coming loose from the locked position.

[0047] On the side wall 42 that does not have a locking claw 46, an inclined portion (notch) 47 is provided, cut toward the side wall 42 that has the locking claw 46, at a tip-side to the position where the locking claw 46 is provided. The inclined portion 47 is shaped by being cut inward from the upper surface 42a of the side wall 42. However, the inclined portion 47 does not necessarily have to be formed by a notch. For example, the inclined portion 47 can also be formed by separately providing a slope that is directed inward and downward on the inner edge of the upper surface 42a of the side wall 42. In this case, the inclined portion 47 may be made of the same material as the side wall 42, or it may be made of a different material, such as a material that allows the needle to slide easily.

[0048] The inclined portion 47 is provided to prevent the needle 30 from riding up onto the upper surface 42a of the side wall 42 when the needle 30 is locked. By having the inclined portion 47, when the needle 30 is locked, it does not interfere with the upper surface 42a and the needle 30 is smoothly fed into the needle housing portion 43. The inward tilting prevention rib 48b at the position where the inclined portion 47 is provided is formed to be at the same height as the lower end of the inclined portion 47 or lower. In Figure 5, the height of the inward tilting prevention rib 48b at the position where the inclined portion 47 is provided is the same on the side where the inclined portion 47 is provided (left side in Figure 5) and the side where the inclined portion 47 is not provided (right side in Figure 5). However, the side where the inclined portion 47 is provided may be formed to be at the same height as or lower than the lower end of the inclined portion 47, while the side where the inclined portion 47 is not provided may be formed to be higher than the lower end of the inclined portion 47, thereby increasing the strength of the side wall 42 on the side where the inclined portion 47 is not provided.

[0049] In this embodiment, the inclined portion 47 is provided only on the side of the side wall 42 towards the support frame 45 from the position of the locking claw 46, but the inclined portion 47 can also be provided on the side of the operating portion 41. On the other hand, in order to increase the strength of the side wall 42, it is preferable to provide the inclined portion 47 only on the side of the side wall 42 towards the support frame 45 from the position of the locking claw 46.

[0050] Furthermore, to allow the needle 30 to be fed more smoothly into the needle housing 43, the inclined portion 47 can be coated to make the needle slide more easily, or the edges of the inclined portion 47 can be rounded.

[0051] In the first state shown in Figure 1, the side wall 42 of the needle cover 40 is housed in the hub 20, and the operating part 41 protrudes forward from the hub tip 21b of the hub body 21. The needle cover 40 can be rotated around the rotation shaft hole 26 by operating the operating part 41 toward the hub body 21. The operating part 41 has a width greater than the width of the needle housing part 43 in the left-right direction. The fact that the operating part 41 is wider than the width of the needle housing part 43 makes it easier to rotate the needle cover 40. The length of the side wall 42 is formed to be longer than the needle 30 so that the needle 30 can be housed in it. As shown in Figure 4, the operating part 41 is provided on one side of the needle cover 40 in the longitudinal direction from the part where the rotation shaft projection 44 is located, and the tip of the needle 30 is housed in the needle housing part 43 on the other side from the part where the rotation shaft projection 44 is located. This allows the operating part 41, which is away from the needle tip, to be operated with a finger when rotating the needle cover for protection, and enables the needle 30 to be safely housed in the needle housing part 43 without the operating finger coming close to the needle tip of the needle 30.

[0052] In this embodiment, the operating portion 41 of the medical needle 10 is formed as a substantially circular ring, but it is not limited to a circle and may be polygonal. On the other hand, a rounded shape is preferred for the needle cover 40 to make it easier to hook onto the finger during operation. Furthermore, it is preferable that the height of the operating portion 41 be formed lower than the height of the side wall 42.

[0053] <Needle locking mechanism> The medical needle 10 of this disclosure is configured such that the needle cover 40 can be rotated to house the needle 30 within the needle cover 40. Figure 4 is a perspective view showing a second state of the medical needle 10, in which the needle 30 is housed within the needle cover 40.

[0054] The needle cover 40 is rotated 90° around the rotation shaft hole 26 from the state in which it is stored in the needle cover storage section 23 shown in Figure 1, to the state in which the needle 30 is housed in the needle cover 40 as shown in Figure 4. As the needle cover 40 rotates to the upright position shown in Figure 4, the locking claw 46 is pressed and deformed by the needle 30. When it rotates further to house the needle 30, the locking claw 46 returns to its original shape and locks the needle 30. The medical needle 10 is surrounded by the opposing side walls 42 of the needle cover 40, and the locking claw 46 prevents the needle cover 40 from easily coming off. In addition, the needle cover lock 25 engages with the recess 49 of the needle cover 40, preventing the needle cover 40 from rotating in a direction that would cause it to come off.

[0055] After use for puncture, the medical needle 10 is discarded with the needle 30 still attached. In this embodiment, the medical needle 10 is housed along its entire length in the needle housing section 43 of the needle cover 40, so there is no direct contact with the needle 30. Therefore, when discarding the medical needle 10, it is prevented from pricking fingers or other body parts with the needle 30. Even if bodily fluids or other substances are attached to the needle 30, there is no contact with fingers or other body parts, thus providing an infection control effect.

[0056] Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XX in Figure 3. It shows a cross-section of the side wall 42 and a view of the needle cover 40 on the support frame 45 side. It can be seen that the height of the inward tilt prevention rib 48b between opposing side walls 42 is lower than the height of the side wall 42. If the inward tilt prevention rib 48b is provided up to the position (H0) of the upper surface 42a of the side wall 42, the needle 30 may interfere when locking the needle 30. Therefore, the height of the inward tilt prevention rib 48b is formed to be lower (H2) than the upper surface 42a of the side wall 42.

[0057] The locking claw 46, provided on the inner side of one of the side walls 42, extends from the inner wall end (L0) of the upper surface 42a toward the opposing side wall 42 and curves downward at a position (L1) before the midpoint (L2) between the two side walls 42. The locking claw 46 does not necessarily need to curve before L2, but by curving downward before the midpoint (L2) between the opposing side walls 42, when the needle 30 is locked, the needle 30 is guided toward the tip along the curved portion of the locking claw 46 and can be easily guided into the needle housing 43. The tip of the locking claw 46 is formed in the height direction of the side wall 42 between the upper surface 42a (H0) and the tip position (H2) of the inward tilt prevention rib 48b (H1). This allows the needle 30 that has passed the tip of the locking claw 46 to be guided into the needle housing 43 without interfering with the inward tilt prevention rib 48b. The tip of the locking claw 46 is curved downwards, which also has the effect of making it difficult for the needle 30 to come loose once it is locked in place.

[0058] The other side wall 42, which does not have a locking claw 46, is provided with an inclined portion 47 (shown by a dashed line). The inclined portion 47 is cut out from the middle of the width direction of the upper surface 42a of the side wall 42 toward the inner wall. The cross-section of the inclined portion 47 is formed to be straight so that the needle 30 can be easily fed into the needle housing portion 43 even if it interferes. However, the cross-sectional shape of the inclined portion 47 is not limited to a straight line, and may be a curve such as a C shape. When the angle between the straight line connecting the upper and lower sides extending in the length direction of the inclined portion 47 and the upper surface 42a of the side wall 42 is defined as the inclination angle φ of the inclined portion 47, 50°≦φ≦70° is preferred. Alternatively, the inclination angle φ of the inclined portion 47 may be defined as the angle between the plane connecting the two tops of the inclined anti-tilting rib 48b, or the plane perpendicular to the direction in which the side wall 42 located at the height of the lower edge of the inclined portion 47 extends (the plane located at the height of H2 in Figure 4), and the straight line connecting the upper and lower edges extending in the longitudinal direction of the inclined portion 47. Or, based on the housing state in which the needle cover 40 is housed within the planes extending to the left and right of the wing portion 50, the inclination angle φ of the inclined portion 47 may be defined as the angle between the plane parallel to the left and right and front and rear directions and the straight line connecting the upper and lower edges extending in the longitudinal direction of the inclined portion 47. If the inclination angle φ is 50° or more, the force guiding the needle 30 toward the needle housing portion 43 when the needle 30 interferes with the inclined portion 47 becomes larger, and if the inclination angle φ is 70° or less, the needle 30 is more easily fed into the needle housing portion 43 even if it interferes with the side wall 42. However, the inclination angle φ is not limited to this range and may be adjusted as appropriate. In Figure 3, the inclination angle φ is constant in the longitudinal direction, but it can also be configured to gradually change in the longitudinal direction.

[0059] Furthermore, there are no particular limitations on the length of the inclined portion 47, but it is desirable to make the length of the inclined portion 47 as short as possible because it would reduce the strength of the side wall 42. It is also desirable to make it long enough so as not to interfere with the upper surface 42a of the side wall 42 so that the needle 30 moves to the needle housing portion 43 and is housed in an appropriate protective position. Specifically, the inclined portion 47 is formed so that when the tip of the needle 30 is positioned to touch the boundary between the upper surface 42a and the inclined portion 47, the part other than the tip of the needle does not come into contact with the upper surface 42a. As an example, the inclined portion 47 is configured to extend at least beyond the tip of the needle towards the support frame 45 in the vertical direction when the needle 30 is housed in the needle cover 40 as shown in Figure 4, and has a length of 1 / 2 the length of the long axis of the upper surface 42a of the side wall 42. With this configuration, the tip of the needle can be reliably slid on the inclined portion 47 and the needle 30 can be fed to the needle housing portion 43, and the needle 30 can be reliably housed while maintaining the strength of the side wall 42. However, the length of the inclined portion 47 does not necessarily have to be half the length in the long axis direction, and can be adjusted as appropriate.

[0060] In contrast to the medical needle 10 of this disclosure, consider the case where the locking claw 46 is not curved toward the inside of the needle housing 43 and the side wall 42 does not have an inclined portion 47. When the needle 30 is in contact with the locking claw 46 and the operating portion 41 is further rotated toward the hub body 21, the needle 30 is pushed by the locking claw 46 and repelled, bending toward the side wall 42 to escape the locking claw 46. If the needle 30 cannot overcome the locking claw 46, the needle 30 may ride up onto the upper surface 42a of the side wall 42. This phenomenon occurs rarely, but the likelihood of it occurring increases when the needle 30 bends toward the front when it is withdrawn from the puncture state.

[0061] As described above, the needle cover 40 of the medical needle 10 of this disclosure is configured with a locking claw 46 and an inward tilting prevention rib 48b, which prevents the needle 30 from interfering with the side wall 42 and prevents the needle 30 from being locked or riding up on the upper surface 42a of the side wall 42. Furthermore, by configuring the inclined portion 47, even if the needle 30 bends in the direction of the side wall 42, the needle 30 can be smoothly fed along the inclined portion 47 to the needle housing portion 43.

[0062] The medical needle 10 of this disclosure will be further described with reference to Figures 6 to 8. Figure 6 shows the needle cover 40 in a state where the operating part 41 is further tilted toward the hub body 21 from the state in Figure 4. As shown in Figure 4, in the medical needle 10 of this disclosure, the hub 20 has a hub tip portion 21b that protrudes to one side, a needle holding portion 21c that extends vertically from the tip of the hub tip portion 21b, and a needle cover storage portion 23 capable of housing the needle cover 40. When the needle cover 40 is housed in the needle cover storage portion 23 and rotated 90° around the axis of rotation, the base end of the hub tip portion 21b is configured not to come into contact with the needle cover 40. Since the needle cover 40 does not come into contact with the base end of the hub tip portion 21b when rotated 90°, it can rotate beyond a 90° rotation angle as shown in Figure 6, and as a result, the side wall 42 and needle storage portion 43 of the needle cover 40 protrude forward. Therefore, even if the needle cover 40 is rotated beyond a 90° rotation angle and the needle 30 interferes with the inner wall or locking claw 46 of the needle cover 40, the side wall 42 pops out forward, causing the needle 30 to move inward from the side wall 42, allowing the needle 30 to be housed in the needle housing 43 and locked in place.

[0063] Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view along the YY line in Figure 6, illustrating the rotation angle of the needle cover 40 of the medical needle 10 of this disclosure.

[0064] Let θ be the angle of rotation of the needle cover 40 around the axis of rotation from the position where the needle cover 40 is stored in the needle cover storage section 23 (dotted line A in Figure 7). If the needle 30 is not bent and is in the direction of the dotted line C in Figure 7 (θ = 90°), the maximum rotation angle of the needle cover 40 (position of dotted line B) does not need to be large. If θ = 100° (10° from dotted line C), it becomes easy to feed the needle 30 into the needle storage section 43, preventing the needle 30 from not being locked. Furthermore, even if the needle is slightly bent towards the front due to some factor, it can still be stored in the needle storage section 43. More preferably, by setting the maximum rotation angle to 95° (5° from dotted line C), it is possible to resolve the problem of the needle 30 interfering with the side wall 42 or locking claw 46 of the needle cover 40 and not locking, and to suppress the effect of increasing the size of the hub body 21 due to a larger maximum rotation angle.

[0065] If we consider the case where the needle 30 bends sharply towards the user (to the left in Figure 7) when withdrawn from the puncture site, the maximum rotation angle of the needle cover 40 may be configured to be greater than 100°. For example, if the maximum rotation angle of the needle cover 40 is configured to be 135° (45° from the dashed line C), even if the needle 30 bends sharply towards the user unintentionally, the needle 30 can be housed in the needle housing 43 and locked in place. Since it is rare for the needle 30 to bend to 45°, the maximum rotation angle of the needle cover 40 may be set to 112.5° (22.5° from the dashed line C), which is an intermediate value between 90° and 135°.

[0066] Next, with reference to Figure 8, an example of a structure in which the needle cover 40 does not come into contact with the base end of the hub tip 21b when the needle cover 40 is rotated 90°, that is, a structure for making the rotation angle of the needle cover 40 greater than 90°, will be described. Figure 8 is a side view of the hub body 21 and the needle 30. Making the rotation angle of the needle cover 40 greater than 90° affects the shape and size of the hub body 21.

[0067] As shown in Figure 8, by configuring the needle cover 40 so that a gap is formed between the base end of the hub tip 21b and the needle holding portion 21c, the base end of the hub tip 21b and the operating portion 41 of the needle cover 40 are separated when the rotation angle of the needle cover 40 is 90°. When the rotation angle of the needle cover 40 is 90°, the side wall 42 of the needle cover 40 is located to the side of the needle holding portion 21c and the needle 30 (Figure 4), and the needle cover 40 is not in contact with the base end of the hub tip 21b. Therefore, it is possible to tilt the needle cover 40 further toward the base end of the hub tip 21b from a rotation angle of 90°. This prevents the problem of the needle 30 interfering with the side wall 42 or the locking claw 46 of the needle cover 40 and failing to lock.

[0068] The maximum rotation angle of the needle cover 40 can be adjusted by adjusting the size of the gap between the base end of the hub tip 21b and the needle holding portion 21c. For example, to increase the gap, the amount by which the hub tip 21b protrudes forward is increased, in other words, the tip of the hub body 21 is moved backward. Therefore, the size of the gap should be determined considering the maximum rotation angle of the needle cover 40 and the size of the hub body 21. Furthermore, it is preferable that the needle cover 40 contacts the tip of the hub body portion 21a when the needle cover 40 is at its maximum rotation angle. This allows for a more physical indication that the lock is complete because it will not rotate any further.

[0069] In the above-described embodiment, the needle cover 40 rotates from a state where it is housed in the needle cover storage section 23 shown in Figure 1, around the rotation shaft hole 26, so that the needle 30 is housed in the needle cover 40. It is preferable that the locking of the needle 30 by the locking claw 46 and the engagement of the needle cover lock 25 with the recess 49 of the needle cover 40 or the needle cover 40 reaching its maximum rotation angle occur simultaneously, or that the locking of the needle 30 by the locking claw 46 occurs earlier than the engagement of the needle cover lock 25 with the recess 49 of the needle cover 40 or the needle cover 40 reaching its maximum rotation angle. This increases the likelihood of the needle 30 being housed in the needle cover 40, as another lock is completed only after the needle 30 is securely housed by the locking claw 46.

[0070] It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments and their modifications described above, and various changes and improvements are possible within the scope of the claims of this application. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0071] 10 Medical needle, 20 Hub, 21 Hub body, 21a Hub body section, 21b Hub tip, 21c Needle holder, 22 Base, 22a Top surface, 22b Side surface, 23 Needle cover storage section, 24 Connection port, 25 Needle cover lock, 26 Rotating shaft hole, 27 Groove, 30 Needle, 40 Needle cover, 41 Operating section, 42 Side wall, 42a Top surface, 43 Needle storage section, 44 Rotating shaft projection, 45 Support frame, 46 Locking claw, 47 Inclined section, 48, 48a, 48b Inner tilt prevention rib, 49 Recess, 50 Wing section

Claims

1. Hub and, A needle protruding from the hub, A needle cover is supported on the hub so as to be rotatable about a rotation axis perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the needle, A medical needle equipped with, The aforementioned needle cover is Opposing side walls, A needle housing portion configured to accommodate the needle between the opposing side walls, A locking claw protruding from the inside of one side wall toward the other side wall, The other side wall has an inclined portion cut toward the other side wall, located toward the tip of the position where the locking claw is provided. Medical needle.

2. Hub and, A needle protruding from the hub, A needle cover is supported on the hub so as to be rotatable about a rotation axis perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the needle, A medical needle equipped with, The aforementioned needle cover is Opposing side walls, A needle housing portion configured to accommodate the needle between the opposing side walls, It has an inward tilt prevention rib formed between the opposing side walls, Medical needle.

3. The hub has a needle cover storage section capable of housing the needle cover, When the needle cover is stored in the needle cover storage compartment, the maximum rotation angle when it is rotated around the rotation axis is greater than 90°. A medical needle according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The maximum rotation angle of the needle cover is 100° or less. A medical needle according to claim 3.

5. The aforementioned hub is One end of the hub protrudes, A needle-holding portion extending vertically from the tip of the hub tip, A needle cover storage section capable of housing the aforementioned needle cover, It has, When the needle cover is rotated 90° around the rotation axis from the state in which it is stored in the needle cover housing, the base end of the hub tip is configured not to come into contact with the needle cover. A medical needle according to claim 1 or 2.

6. The needle cover has a locking claw that protrudes from the inside of one side wall toward the other side wall, Multiple inward tilt prevention ribs are provided between the opposing side walls. The height of the inward tilt prevention rib, which is positioned on the tip side of the side wall relative to the locking claw, is configured to be lower than the height of the side wall. A medical needle according to claim 2.

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