Needle free connector with a collapsible resilient membrane fitting and corresponding method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9724270-B2
Application number	US-201214236841-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 3, 2012
Priority date	Aug 4, 2011
Publication date	Aug 8, 2017
Grant date	Aug 8, 2017

Abstract

A needle free connector for fluid passage having a valve body with a first port; a second port; a hollow resilient membrane disposed in the valve body and having: a first end and a second end is disclosed. A flank is provided and extends between the first end and the second end fitting with the internal surface of the valve body. A slit of the first end is closed when the first end is disposed in the first port or opened when the first end is pushed into the valve body. The disclosure also proposes a drug recipient including a bottle or a bag designed to store drug and the needle free connector. The disclosure offers a needle free connector with a slitted resilient membrane having reduced priming volume.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A needle free connector for fluid passage, comprising:
a valve body comprising a first port, a second port, and an internal surface that extends between the first port and the second port and defining a valve body cavity;
a hollow resilient membrane disposed in the valve body, the hollow resilient membrane having a first end and a second end, the second end having a through hole that opens into the second port of the valve body, the hollow resilient membrane comprising a flank having an exterior surface and an interior surface extending between the first end and the second end and located in the valve body cavity of the valve body and fitting with the internal surface of the valve body, the flank defining an internal cavity of the hollow resilient membrane having an internal volume X when the first end is located at the first port, the internal cavity extending longitudinally from a through slit located at the first end to the through hole of the second end, the slit of the first end being closed when the first end is disposed in the first port so as to occlude the first port, the slit of the first end being opened when the first end is pushed into the valve body so as to create a fluid passage through the first end and the internal cavity of the flank up to the second end;
a stem disposed within the internal cavity of the flank having a tip and a base portion, said base portion occluding the second port of the valve body from through flow through the first port and the second port; and
wherein all or parts of the exterior surface of the flank contacts the internal surface of the valve body such that a gap space between the internal surface of the valve body and the exterior surface of the hollow resilient membrane is fifteen percent or less of the internal volume X and such that the valve body outwardly delimits the flank of the hollow resilient membrane when opened;
wherein an internal volume of the hollow resilient membrane is smaller than the internal volume X when the first end of the hollow resilient membrane is located away from the first port;
wherein a first activation of the hollow resilient membrane in which the first end of the hollow resilient membrane is pushed away from the first port of the valve body also moves said base portion of said stem relative to said second port of the valve body to permanently separate said base portion from occluding said second port.

2. The needle free connector according to claim 1 , wherein the first end of the hollow resilient membrane disposed in the first port forms a flat swabbable surface at the first port.

3. The needle free connector according to claim 1 , wherein the stem has a base portion tight fitted with the second port until the first activation of the second port.

4. The needle free connector according to claim 1 , wherein the stem has a base portion that occludes the second port and is integral with a valve body part of the valve body through a frangible portion until the first activation of the second port, the frangible portion being broken after the first activation of the second port.

5. The needle free connector according to claim 1 , wherein the stem has longitudinal ribs forming fluid channels to keep the fluid passage between the stem and the flank of the hollow resilient membrane un-occluded upon activation of the first port.

6. The needle free connector according to claim 1 , wherein the stem has a shoulder in the vicinity of the first port, designed to abut a tip of a syringe inserted in the first port upon first activation of the first port, so as to transmit the movement of the tip of the syringe to the stem and activate the second port.

7. The needle free connector according to claim 1 , wherein the stem has a narrowing in a vicinity of the first port, designed to enter an inner channel of a tip of a syringe inserted in the first port.

8. A drug recipient comprising a bottle or a bag designed to store drug, and a needle free connector according to claim 1 so as to at least one of inject and withdraw fluid from the drug recipient.

9. An assembly for fluid passage comprising a needle free connector according to claim 1 , the assembly being a stopcock or a withdrawal and injection spike device comprising a spike for puncturing a drug vial.

10. The needle free connector according to claim 1 , wherein the gap space between the internal surface of the valve body and the external surface of the hollow resilient membrane is less than two percent of volume X to outwardly delimit the flank with the valve body when the first end of the hollow resilient membrane is opened.

11. The needle free connector according to claim 1 , wherein the gap space between the internal surface of the valve body and the exterior surface of the hollow resilient membrane is five percent or less of the internal volume X to outwardly delimit the flank with the valve body.

12. The needle free connector according to claim 1 , wherein the first port is shaped so as to connect with a male luer lock syringe.

13. The needle free connector according to claim 12 , wherein:
the first end of the hollow resilient membrane is displaceable towards the second port by insertion of a syringe tip into the first port; and
the hollow resilient membrane being formed so as to urge the first end of the hollow resilient membrane back into the first port after removal of the syringe tip from the first port.

14. A needle free connector comprising:
a valve body formed from an upper body part and a lower body part attached to the upper body part, the upper body part having an internal surface extending from a first port and the lower body part comprising a second port;
a hollow resilient membrane disposed inside the valve body, said hollow resilient membrane comprising a membrane body having an interior surface and an exterior surface, the interior surface defining an internal cavity extending longitudinally between a slit at a first end of the hollow resilient membrane to an opening at a second end of the hollow resilient membrane opposite the first end, the exterior surface comprising a membrane head, a lower membrane section, and a membrane shoulder located between the membrane head and the lower membrane section;
a stem disposed within the internal cavity of the membrane body and extending at least in part through the slit when the hollow resilient membrane is compressed;
wherein the membrane head, the membrane shoulder, and the lower membrane section contact the internal surface of the upper body part when the hollow resilient membrane is not compressed; and
wherein when the hollow resilient membrane is compressed a first time, the membrane body is displaced inwardly towards the internal cavity to reduce a volume of the internal cavity of the membrane body and the stem is displaced from the internal cavity of the membrane body to permanently un-occlude the second port of the valve body from through flow through the first port and the second port.

15. The needle free connector of claim 14 , wherein a gap space between the internal surface of the valve body and the exterior surface of the membrane body is fifteen percent or less of the volume of the internal cavity of the membrane body before the hollow resilient membrane is compressed.

16. The needle free connector of claim 14 , wherein the stem has a narrowing portion at a distal end, and at least a portion of the narrowing portion extends through the slit when the hollow resilient membrane is compressed.

17. The needle free connector of claim 16 , wherein the narrowing portion en

Assignees

• Bonnal Olivier
• Fuchs Juergen
• Braun Melsungen Ag

Inventors

• Bonnal Olivier
• Fuchs Juergen

Classifications

• A61M2039/1027

  Quick-acting type connectors · CPC title

• A61M2039/1033

  Swivel nut connectors, e.g. threaded connectors, bayonet-connectors · CPC title

• A61M39/10 Primary

  Tube connectors; Tube couplings {(A61M39/02 takes precedence; connecting needles to syringes or hubs A61M5/34; connecting catheter tubes to hubs A61M25/0014)} · CPC title

• Y10T137/9029

  With coupling · CPC title

• A61M39/045

  pre-slit to be pierced by blunt instrument · CPC title