FR2820325A1 - Coupling for tubes in medical use has male and female connectors with lateral protection in form of bellows - Google Patents

Abstract

The coupling consists of male (2) and female (3) connectors enclosing portions of male and female tubes (4, 5) respectively. One or both connectors is fitted with a lateral protector in the form of a bellows element (8) of a plastic material which is deployed in its natural state and covers the male and female tube ends before they are fitted together and extends at least 3 mm beyond them. The two bellows elements have annular thrust surfaces and compress when the connectors are joined.

Description

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The present invention relates to an improvement for pipe connections for medical use and more particularly to an improvement intended to improve the prevention of prophylactic risks linked to the use of connections between two pipes. or between a conduit and medical equipment.

Numerous types of fittings are known in the prior art intended to allow the connection of conduits and medical devices and in particular fittings commonly called Luerlock which are generally used in the fields of venous or arterial injection. However, these connections are not entirely satisfactory, both in terms of use and in terms of safety for patients in hospital settings.

Indeed, the Luerlocks illustrated in FIG. 1, which are the standard fittings used in the medical environment, have surfaces of their connection end pieces which are free and liable to be soiled during a connection, despite the precautions taken by the personnel. caregivers. Contamination of the terminal duct portions of the Luerlock-type connector fittings can be carried out transversely on the end of the duct portion of the male Luerlock fitting which is intended to be received inside the duct portion. complementary to the female end piece which is threaded externally.

Also, the present invention aims to solve the aforementioned drawbacks using simple, reliable means, easy to put

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 implemented and inexpensive. It presents an improvement for the fittings of conduits for medical use, in particular for the standard fittings of the Luerlock type, which increases safety by protecting certain parts of the fitting from external contamination by a germ or bacteria.

 According to its main characteristic, the connection of conduits for medical use of the invention is of the type formed by a male end piece intended to cooperate with a female end piece thanks to a portion of male duct of the male end piece which is received in a portion of female duct of the female end piece, it is characterized in that the male connection end piece and / or the female connection end piece (s) have lateral protection means formed by a lateral peripheral wall which extends around its portion of conduit, at least along the length thereof.

 According to the preferred embodiments of the conduits fittings for medical use of the invention, the tips are tips of the Luerlock type or of a type compatible with the fitting tips of the Luerlock type.

 According to an additional characteristic of the connector for conduits for medical use of the invention, it is characterized in that the peripheral lateral protection wall is formed by a bellows whose natural position at rest is the unfolded position.

 According to another characteristic of the connection of conduits for medical use, the length of the bellows in the unfolded position is greater than or equal to the length of the portion of conduit which it surrounds.

 According to the preferred embodiment of the connector for conduits for medical use of the invention, the length of the bellows in the unfolded position

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présente une différence d'au moins 3 mm avec la longueur de la portion de conduit qu'il entoure.

has a difference of at least 3 mm with the length of the portion of conduit that it surrounds.

According to an additional characteristic of the connector for conduits for medical use of the invention, it is characterized in that the bellows is made of plastic.

According to another characteristic of the connection of conduits for medical use, the bellows has a bearing surface of annular transverse shape or of divergent conical shape at its front end.

According to the preferred embodiment of the connector for conduits for medical use of the invention, each of the male and female ends has a protective bellows.

According to an additional characteristic of the connector for conduits for medical use of the invention, it is characterized in that the male connection end piece comprises a protective bellows which extends from a base of the end piece and partially covers a male end cap safety nut.

Furthermore, the invention also relates to a male or female connection end piece intended to form part of a connector for conduits for medical use of the invention, said end piece being characterized in that it comprises a protective bellows which s 'extends peripherally around its portion of duct.

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will emerge from the description which follows with reference to the appended drawings which are given only by way of nonlimiting examples.

Figures 1 to 8 illustrate the preferred embodiments of the connector for conduits for medical use of the invention.

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 Figure 1 shows a Luerlock type connector of the prior art in the detached position.

 Figures 2 to 7b illustrate embodiments of the improvement for connection of conduits for medical use of the invention.

 Figure 2 shows in cross section the male and female ends of a first embodiment of a conduit connection in the detached position.

 Figure 3 shows, in a view similar to Figure 2, the tips in the assembled position.

 Figures 4 to 6 illustrate a second embodiment of a connector.

 Figure 4 shows in cross section a male end piece.

 Fig 5 illustrates in cross section a female end piece.

 FIG. 6 illustrates in cross section the connection of conduits with the assembled end pieces.

 Figures 7a and 7b show in cross section an alternative embodiment of the connector, respectively in the detached position and in the assembled position.

 FIG. 8 represents a second embodiment of the connector for conduits for medical use of the invention.

 The present invention relates to a conduit connection for medical use bearing the general reference (1). This connector (1) is advantageously a so-called Luerlock type connector, that is to say, a connector whose male or female ends are capable of being assembled

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 to the ends of standard fittings on the market in order to allow the assembly of medical equipment which is fitted with them. It goes without saying that if the invention is described and illustrated preferentially for the fittings of Luerlock type fittings, it could nevertheless also be implemented in fittings for medical use of a different type, without however departing from the scope of protection of the invention.

 According to the invention, the connector for conduits (1) for medical use comprises a connection connector of the male type (2) intended to cooperate with a connection connector of the female type (3). The male end piece (2) comprises a portion of duct (4) intended to cooperate with a portion of female duct (5) of the female end piece (3). This cooperation is advantageously carried out thanks to the particular configuration of the portions of ducts (4,5), the male portion (4) having an external shape and dimensions similar to the play close to the shape and the internal dimensions of the duct portion. female (5), so that it can fit into it to allow the fluid to flow through the fitting. Note that, in Luerlock type fittings, the conduits (4,5) are of generally cylindrical shape as shown in Figure 1 which illustrates the prior art.

 It can be noted, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 7b, that the portion of female conduit (5) has an external thread (7) intended to cooperate in a manner known per se with a safety nut (6) of the male end piece (2). The thread (7) and the safety nut (6) form the locking means (MV) of the fitting (1). It goes without saying that, in the fittings different from the standard Luerlock type fittings on the market, the shape and dimensions of the ends of the end fittings as well as the configuration of the locking means could be different, without however departing from the protective field of the 'invention.

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 According to the invention, the male end piece (2) and / or the female end piece (3) of the connector comprises (s) means for protecting their portion of duct (4,5) formed by a peripheral side wall (8 ). This wall extends around the duct portion (4,5) of the end piece (2,3) at least over the length (L1, L3) of said portions, so as to surround them entirely transversely to avoid any lateral contamination. .

 According to the invention, the peripheral protective wall (8) is advantageously constituted by a bellows, that is to say by a set of wall portions (8a, 8b, 8c, ...) articulated together in form accordion. The wall portions are articulated together so that the bellows (8) can be crushed longitudinally along the axis of revolution (ZZ ') of the connector (1) when they are stressed by a part, and so as to automatically unfold when the bellows is at rest to have a total length (L2, L4) at least equal to the length (L1, L3) of the duct portions (4,5) on the other hand.

 According to a first embodiment illustrated in Figures 2 and 3, the portions of hinged walls (8a, 8b, 8c, ...) are rigid and have conical shapes. They thus form a bellows intended to be crushed when it is stressed by the complementary bellows of the other end piece, as shown in FIG. 3. It may be noted that, in this embodiment as well as in the illustrated embodiment Figures 4,5 and 6, each end piece (2,3) comprises a bellows (8) which transversely protects its portion of conduit (4,5) respectively. The bellows (8) of the male end piece (2) extends from a fixed part (10) or base and partially covers the safety nut (6) so as not to undergo the rotation thereof. on the one hand, and so as to allow the manipulation of the safety nut by the user on the other hand.

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 According to the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 4 to 6, the bellows (8) of the end pieces (2,3) is produced by portions of walls, the articulation of which is obtained by the flexibility and elasticity of the material used. Thus, the bellows (8) is made of plastic material such as a TPE (Thermoplastic Polyester Elastomer) or an EPDM (Ethylene Propylene Diene) for example or any other material having the required flexibility and elasticity characteristics, and it can in particular be produced by injection. It can be noted that the natural position of the bellows at rest is to be unfolded, its elasticity automatically bringing it back to the unfolded position when it is no longer stressed. In addition, the material used to make the bellows must be able to withstand sterilization by heating or sterilization of the chemical type without losing its elastic power which returns the bellows to its initial position when it is no longer stressed.

 According to the preferred embodiment and as shown in Figure 4, the bellows (8), when unfolded, extends forward of the male end piece (2) from a base (10) to exceed the end (4a) of the duct portion (4). Its length (L3) is greater than the length of the duct portion (Ll) both measured from the rear base of the bellows (8); similarly, for the female end piece (3) where the length (L4) of the bellows (8) in the unfolded position is advantageously greater than the length (L2) of the duct portion, as shown in FIG. 5.

According to the preferred embodiment of the ends (2,3) of the connector (1) of the invention, the length (L2, L4) of the bellows (8) has a difference at least equal to 3 mm and advantageously chosen equal to
5 mm with the length (L1, L3) of the respective portions of conduits (4,5).

 Thus, for the Luerlock type connections illustrated, the bellows (8) of the male end piece (2) has two bellows flanges or notches, while the female end piece (3) has a bellows (8) with three flanges.

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 Furthermore, it can be noted that the bellows (8) have at their front end an annular bearing surface (20) which extends in a transverse plane orthogonal to the axis of revolution (ZZ ') of the end pieces. This annular surface (20) makes it possible to avoid contamination by forming a rim at the end of the bellows (8) and promotes the cooperation of the bellows between them during the assembly of the fitting by creating a frank bearing surface between the bellows which forces them to stress each other in crushing along the longitudinal axis (ZZ ') as shown in Figure 6.

 According to another embodiment illustrated in Figure 8, the bellows (8) has at its front end a support surface (21) of divergent or open conical shape intended to cooperate with a similar surface located on the bellows of the other end piece . It may be noted that the cooperation of these bearing surfaces (21) also tends to cause the bellows to be crushed when the end pieces are assembled.

 It can be noted that the invention protects not only a complete connector (1), that is to say formed of its two end pieces (2,3), but also each of the male and female end pieces (2,3) intended for be connected to various medical devices. Thus, it can be noted, as shown in FIGS. 7a and 7b, that a male end piece (2) having a bellows-type protective wall (8) can be assembled with a conventional female end piece. According to this alternative embodiment, the bellows (8) remains unfolded, even when the connector is assembled. It is important to note that it is the male end piece (2) which is preferably provided with a bellows (8) because the external walls of its duct (4) come inside the female duct (5) and can thus be brought into contact with the fluid inside the pipe thus formed, the external wall of the female conduit (5) being less sensitive to prophylactic risks than the male end piece (2).

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 Of course, the invention is not limited to the embodiments described and shown by way of examples, but it also includes all the technical equivalents and their combinations.

Claims (10)

1. Conduit connection (1) for medical use of the type formed by a male end piece (2) intended to cooperate with a female end piece (3) thanks to a male duct portion (4) of the male end piece (2) which is received in a female conduit portion (5) of the female end piece (3), characterized in that the male connection end piece (2) and / or the female connection end piece (3) has (s) lateral protection means formed by a lateral peripheral wall (8) which extends around its portion of conduit (4, 5), at least over the length (LI, L3) thereof.  2. Duct connection (1) for medical use according to claim 1, characterized in that the end pieces (2,3) are end pieces of Luerlock type or of type compatible with the end pieces of Luerlock type.  3. Conduit connection (1) for medical use according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the peripheral protective side wall is formed by a bellows (8) whose natural position at rest is the unfolded position.  4. Conduit connection (1) for medical use according to claim 3, characterized in that the length (L2, L4) of the bellows (8) in the unfolded position is greater than or equal to the length (L1, L3) of the portion of conduit (4,5) which it surrounds.  5. Connection of conduits (1) for medical use according to claim 4, characterized in that the length (L2, L4) of the bellows (8) in the unfolded position has a difference of at least 3 mm with the length (L1, L3) of the duct portion (4,5) that it surrounds. <Desc / Clms Page number 11>  6. Conduit connection (1) for medical use according to any one of claims 3 to 5, characterized in that the bellows (8) is made of plastic.  7. Conduit connection (1) for medical use according to any one of claims 3 to 6, characterized in that the bellows (8) has a bearing surface (20,21) of transverse annular shape or of conical shape divergent at its front end.  8. Conduit connection (1) for medical use according to any one of claims 3 to 7, characterized in that each of the male and female ends (2,3) has a protective bellows (8).  9. Conduit connection (1) for medical use according to any one of claims 3 to 8, characterized in that the male connection end piece (2) comprises a protective bellows (8) which extends from a base (10) of the end piece (2) and partially covers a safety nut (6) of the male end piece (2).  10. Male or female connection end piece (2,3) intended to form part of a duct connection (1) for medical use according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a protective bellows (8) which extends peripherally around its portion of conduit (4,5).