Safe Needle Assembly with Segmented Protective Cap
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current needle guards for syringes do not allow safe recapping and disposal, as they are difficult to reposition and can lead to operator injury, and existing safety devices are impractical, uncomfortable, or violate regulations by allowing needle reuse or improper disposal.
Innovation Solution
A safe needle assembly with a protective cap that integrates the needle, allowing safe recapping and disposal without reinserting the guard, featuring a tubular cavity with a frustoconical inlet to accommodate the needle hub and a closure cap with a central hole for secure removal and disposal, ensuring the needle is covered and handled safely.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If a common needle guard is used, then the needle is protected prior to use, but the inlet diameter is too close to the needle diameter making safe recapping difficult and increasing prick risk
Solution Approach 1:
The protective device is divided into two distinct components: a protective cap that covers the needle hub and a needle guard that remains on the syringe. This segmentation allows the cap to be removed and reused for recapping without interfering with the needle guard's safety function, resolving the contradiction between protection and ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The protective cap acts as an intermediary tool that facilitates safe needle handling. By providing a separate cap that can be manipulated without direct finger contact with the needle, it mediates the recapping process to eliminate prick risk while maintaining operational ease.
2Reliability
If the needle guard is designed to house only the metal part, then the cylindrical hub is kept outside, but this makes safe recapping impossible according to regulations
Solution Approach 1:
The protective device segments the coverage function: the protective cap covers the cylindrical hub that the needle guard excludes, while the needle guard itself remains fixed on the syringe. This allows complete coverage for safety compliance while keeping the needle guard design simple and non-interfering.
Solution Approach 2:
The protective cap is designed as a disposable component that is removed after initial protection and can be safely discarded or reused for recapping. This disposable nature allows it to be designed purely for safety compliance without concern for long-term durability, while enabling easy recapping operations.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If side flap safety systems are used, then the needle is covered after injection, but the fin is constantly present during operation making it impractical and uncomfortable
Solution Approach 1:
The protective cap provides preliminary protection during the entire injection operation rather than deploying a flap after injection. This preliminary coverage eliminates the need for post-injection flap deployment, maintaining continuous protection without interfering with the injection process or operator comfort.
Solution Approach 2:
The protective cap is extracted and removed after the injection is complete, allowing clean disposal or reuse for recapping. This removes the constant presence issue of integrated flaps, providing protection only when needed without interfering with subsequent operations.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If plastic syringes are disposed of with metal needles, then complete disposal is achieved, but the metal needle material affects the recyclability of the plastic material
Solution Approach 1:
The protective device segments the needle and syringe into separable components. The protective cap can be removed and disposed of separately from the needle-syringe assembly, allowing the plastic syringe to be recycled without metal contamination while the cap and needle are disposed of together in appropriate sharps containers.
Solution Approach 2:
The protective cap is designed to be discarded separately from the needle, enabling recovery and recycling of the plastic syringe material. The cap itself can be disposed of in regular waste or recycled if made from appropriate materials, while the needle is disposed of in sharps containers, thus recovering valuable plastic resources while maintaining safety.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~6
Figure 4~5
AI summary
A safe needle assembly for protection against needle pricks comprises a needle (3) having one end (3') adapted to be coupled to a syringe or the like containing a fluid to be supplied and the opposite end (3") adapted to supply the fluid to be injected, a hub (8) for removably anchoring the needle (3) to the syringe or the like and having an inner axial passage (20) for inserting and locking the needle (3) and an outer surface with a proximal cylindrical section (8') and a tapered distal section (8"), an internally hollow protective cap (2) with an open proximal end portion (5) allowing the insertion of the needle (3) and a distal end portion (6). The proximal end portion (5) has frustoconical shape tapered toward the distal portion (6) with an enlarged inlet (7) to facilitate the insertion of the hub (8) into the protective cap (2) and to guide the insertion of the needle (3) into the distal end portion (6). A closure cap (9) is also provided and has a discoidal element (10) adapted to be selectively coupled to one of the proximal tapered end portion (5) for closing the enlarged inlet (7) and the distal end portion (6) for the safe handling of the protection cap (2). The closure cap (9) has a central through hole (11) for positioning the discoidal element (10) on the distal end portion (6) when not coupled to the proximal end portion (5). The protective cap (2) and the hub (8) respectively have first and second rotational fastening means adapted to make the needle (3) integral in rotation to the protective cap (2).