FR2661159A1 - CONTAINER IN PARTICULAR FOR USED SYRINGE NEEDLES. - Google Patents

Abstract

A container designed in particular for used syringe needles of which the connecting end is provided with a tip which cooperates with said syringe. The container comprises a substantially cylindrical body (10) forming a receptacle with a bottom (64), a sealing plate (40) opposite the bottom and having an opening (42), a rotatably movable lid (50) integral with the body and provided with an opening (54) which can be moved over the opening (52) in the sealing plate when the lid is in a given position in relation to the body. The container is characterized in that the body (10) comprises a lip (16) provided with indicators (22, 26, 28, 30) and in that the lid (50) is overlapping and includes at least one lug (48) cooperating with said indicators. A support (100) for said container is also described.

Description

The present invention relates to a container in particular for used syringe needles.

In the medical field, it is necessary to use containers to collect used needles in order to prevent users from injuring themselves. This need is all the more important since certain serious illnesses are carried by used needles and that injuries are essentially caused during handling of the syringes and more particularly during the withdrawal of the needle from the body of the syringe.

The container containing the needles must therefore allow the needle to be blocked so that the needle can be withdrawn from the body of the syringe without the user needing to hold the needle manually. The container must provide means for blocking the rotation of the needle so that the body of the syringe can be removed by unscrewing or by pulling depending on the type of syringe or needle.

Such containers must be made of incinerable materials so that the entire container and contents are treated directly in ovens for destruction.

Furthermore, such a container must also provide for a closure of the access opening so that, after each use, the opening is closed and does not allow the needles contained inside the container to pass, in particular in the event of overturning. .

We know US Patent 4,657,139 which describes such a container comprising a tank and a cover, the cover being secured to the tank by known means such as elastic notches coming to block under stops provided on the edge of the tank. The cover includes an opening of the "salt box" type, that is to say comprising two superimposed discs, the first being fixed integral with the tank and provided with a first opening and the second being movable in rotation relative to the first and also comprising an opening superimposed on the first. In the fixed disc there is an opening of large diameter to introduce sharp or soiled objects other than needles while an opening provided with notches of different widths allows the blocking of all types of needles.

Locking means make it possible to condemn the opening by prohibiting any manipulation of the mobile disc. The locking means consist of a notch carried by the fixed disc which cooperates with a housing formed in the movable disc.

When the housing and the notch coincide by deformation of the lower disc, they cooperate to prevent any relative movement of one disc relative to the other.

Such a container does not meet all the required safety conditions because first of all the arrangement of the locking means on the fixed disc requires a certain elasticity for the proper functioning of the lock. Conversely, the fixed disc cannot be considered as rigid enough to ensure effective locking.

On the other hand, the notches are located near the center of rotation of the upper disc while this upper disc is manipulated by projecting stops arranged at the periphery. Thus the user, without great effort, can overcome the resistance of the locking means.

On the other hand, the fixed disc actually came from molding with the cover and provided with a central bore in which comes to lock a ground axis adjacent to the movable disc which does not constitute a reliable mounting as claimed by such containers.

It is also necessary to considerably reduce short and cost prices so that the use of such containers can be even more widespread which implies having a simplified design, which is not the case of the container described in this patent.

Such a container also has another significant drawback, namely that, if the movable disc is not brought back to a closed position in which it closes the opening of the fixed disc, any inversion inevitably causes the projection of needles soiled with outside of the container.

Its very relative tightness does not also prevent the flow of liquid accumulated in the container in the event of spillage.

The present invention overcomes these drawbacks and proposes a container whose cost price is low by simplifying the parts used, which is liquid-tight and which prevents any projection of the needle contained inside the container even in the event of overturning and open cover, which is easy to handle, which provides an effective locking, which is provided with indexing means allowing manipulation of the rotating part with hard points which hold it in the open or closed position, and which has all the advantages of known containers, namely means for unlocking all types of needles with progressive opening, allowing the introduction not only of needles but also of any contaminated object or sharp body.

Thus, the container according to the invention, in particular intended for used syringe needles, the connection end of which is provided with a tip which cooperates with the syringe, comprises a substantially cylindrical body forming a receptacle and provided with a bottom, a plate shutter opposite the bottom comprising an opening, a cover secured to the body, mobile in rotation and also provided with an opening, this opening being able to be superimposed on the opening of the shutter plate for a given orientation of the cover with respect to to the body, characterized in that the body comprises a flange provided with indexing means and in that the cover is styling and comprises at least one lug which cooperates with these indexing means.

According to a particular characteristic of the invention, the indexing means comprise protruding studs constituting hard points.

According to a particular embodiment, the studs are arranged under the rim of the body and the lugs are located opposite the studs. On the other hand, the flange also comprises at least one protruding locking notch intended to receive one of the lugs.

According to another embodiment, the studs are arranged on the external surface of the rim and the lugs comprise a first part projecting inwards arranged opposite the studs.

In this case, there is also provided at least one projecting locking notch disposed under the rim and intended to receive a second projecting part of each of the lugs.

According to a particular characteristic, the pins came from molding with the cover, this cover having a peripheral section in the shape of a C.

The locking notches came from molding with the body.

According to a particular characteristic, there is provided a funnel disposed immediately under the closure plate. This funnel also has an opening which is offset from that of the closure plate.

The funnel and the closure plate are secured to the body, the connection between these elements being sealed.

 According to a preferred embodiment, the cover comprises three lugs at 1200, the body comprises three recesses at 120 ~, three non-return notches, each of these notches being juxtaposed with one of the recesses downstream in the direction of the needles d 'a watch, at least two studs corresponding to the open and closed positions in which the openings of the cover and of the closure plate are respectively coincidental or juxtaposed angularly, three locking notches, each of these notches being juxtaposed with the 'one of the downstream offsets clockwise.

The present invention is described below according to a preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings in which - Figure 1 shows a perspective view of the container according to the invention, - Figure 2 shows a sectional view through a vertical plane of the body of the container shown in Figure 1, - Figure 3 shows a portion of the developed peripheral surface of this body, - Figure 4 shows a funnel according to the invention adaptable in the body of the container shown in Figure 2, - FIG. 5 represents a bottom view of the closure plate of the container according to the invention, - FIG. 6 represents a sectional view along line 6-6 of FIG. 5, - FIG. 7 represents a bottom view of the cover of the container according to the invention, - Figure 8 shows a sectional view along line 8-8 of Figure 7, - Figure 9 shows a top view of the body of the container according to the invention with representa tion in phantom in different positions of the different openings, and - Figure 10 shows a detailed view of the pads according to the invention.

FIG. 1 shows a container according to the invention comprising a body 10 and a cover 12.

The cover 12 is provided with an opening 14, for access to the body 10.

In Figure 2, which shows a sectional view of the body 10 of the container according to the invention, there is the presence of a flange 16, peripheral, of a diameter greater than the diameter of the body. This rim comprises a surface 18 whose plane is substantially parallel to the generatrices of the body and a lower surface 20 between the surface 18 and the body proper 10, this surface being substantially perpendicular to the surface 18.

A developed portion of the surface 18 is shown in FIG. 3. This surface includes studs 22, an inclined slope 24 forming a non-return notch 26 projecting relative to the surface 18.

Another mounting notch 28 is also provided in the surface 18, this notch being set back with respect to this same surface 18. Immediately next to the mounting notch 28, there is provided a locking notch 30 formed in the perpendicular surface 20 on the surface 18.

In Figure 4, there is shown a funnel 32 whose periphery is provided with an annular flange 34 intended to cooperate with the interior of the flange 16, this connection being sealed. Such a connection is made by gluing or welding depending on the materials used. The lower opening 36 of the funnel 32 is centered relative to the body 10.

In order to facilitate mounting, an annular wedge 38 is provided, arranged immediately below the annular flange 34 cooperating with the wall of the body 10.

In Figure 5, there is shown a closure plate 40 in the form of a disc which is superimposed on the funnel and which is also supported by the flange 16, this plate being secured to the funnel and to the body 10 of the container by a tight connection. This disc-shaped closure plate is provided with an opening 42 which comprises various housings 44 intended to cooperate with all types of syringe needles used in medical circles.

This opening 42 is off-center with respect to
the axis of the body 10 and relative to the funnel 32.

In the section of FIG. 6, it can be seen that the disc is provided with a ring 46 of thin and peripheral thickness so as to cooperate intimately with the funnel. The references of FIG. 6 which are identical to those of FIG. 5 are repeated.

In Figure 7 there is shown in detail the cover 12 of Figure 1. This cover has an inner diameter greater than the outer diameter of the flange 16 so as to make it styling. The cover is provided with three lugs 48, arranged at 120, which protrude inwards from the internal surface 50 of the cover. This surface 50 faces the surface 18 of the rim 16.

The bottom view of FIG. 7 also shows a projecting annular flange 52, disposed inside the cover substantially at its periphery, so as to slightly raise the cover relative to the closure plate 40 and thus facilitate its rotation. The cover also includes an opening 54 of substantially triangular shape and the dimensions of which are such that, when it is superimposed on the opening of the closure plate, the opening 54 discovers the entire opening 42.

In Figure 8 which is a sectional view along line 8-8 of Figure 7, we see that the cover has a peripheral section to the right of the pins which is substantially C-shaped.

A first projecting part 56 is oriented towards the axis 58 of rotation of the cover while a second part 60 perpendicular to the skirt 62 of the cover extends over a distance such that the diameter which separates the interior of the skirt 62 and the end of the second part 60 of the lug 48 is less than the outside diameter of the rim 16 and greater than the diameter of the body 10 proper.

FIG. 9 shows a top view of the body 10 when it does not support a cover, a blanking plate or a funnel.

The bottom 64 of the body 10 is slightly curved in a known manner in the field of injection and also slightly conical to facilitate clearance during manufacture. This therefore explains the circular element referenced 66. In this figure we see the rim 16 as well as the inner surface 68 of the body 10. We also see the mounting notches 28 formed in the rim 16 as well as the studs 22 provided at the periphery of the rim 16 on the surface 18. Similarly, the dashed notches 30 provided on the lower surface 20 of the rim 16 are shown in phantom. These mounting and locking notches 28 and the studs 22 are distributed at 1200 the each other.

 In Figure 10 there is shown in detail the pads 22 which in reality consist of two pads 70 and 72 of different heights so that the first 72 offers low resistance and the pad 70 a higher resistance. The clockwise direction being represented by the arrow 74 in FIG. 9, it can be seen that the mounting notch 28 is followed downstream of the non-return notch 26, followed by a first safety stud 22 corresponding to the open position, then a set of two studs 70, 72 corresponding to the closed position, then a final locking notch 30 disposed immediately upstream of the following locking notch 28.

To facilitate assembly, the rim 16 comprises a key 76 intended to allow the funnel to pass during assembly but to allow the closure plate to be indexed in rotation so that its opening 42 is correctly positioned. In this case, the closure plate 40 is also provided with a projecting polarizing device, not shown, which cooperates with the polarizing device 76.

The use of such a container is excessively simple.

In fact, during manufacture, the body 10 of the container receives 1 funnel 32 until the shims 38 come to center the funnel and until the flanges 34 come into contact with the rim. The shutter plate 40 is then superimposed which, thanks to the keying device 76 is correctly positioned, the assembly is then welded by microwave for example in the case of certain plastics or else quite simply glued. As for the cover, it is oriented in such a way that the opening 54 is almost in correspondence with 1 opening 42 so that the lugs 48 face the mounting notches 28. By a translation along the longitudinal axis of the container , the cover covers the rim 16 until the annular part 52 comes into contact with the closure plate. The second part 60 of the pins 48 is located immediately below the surface 20. By a first rotation in the clockwise, the slope 24 makes it possible to slightly deform the second part 60 of the lug 48 until it passes the non-return notch 26.

The cover is then secured to the tank because the second part 60 cooperates with the part 20 of the rim 16 to prevent the cover from being removed by pulling along the longitudinal axis of the container.

The cover can therefore only rotate in a clockwise direction until the first part 56 of the pins meets the stud 72.

In this position, the opening 54 of the cover is angularly juxtaposed with the opening 42 of the closure plate 40. The container is in the closed position. The user, when he wishes to introduce a needle or an object into the container, maneuvers the cover anticlockwise until the first part 56 of the pins 48 comes into contact with the first stud 22 placed immediately next to the non-return notch 26. The openings 54 and 42 respectively of the cover and of the closure plate are in coincidence.

Note that when the user unscrews a needle or throws an object, this object falls through the opening 42 in the funnel 32 and then passes through the lower opening 36 of the same funnel. The openings 36 and 42 are therefore not in immediate coincidence thus creating a baffle.

In the case where the container is overturned and the cover is in the closed position, there is no problem of ejection of the elements contained in the container. On the other hand, if the container according to the invention was overturned while the lid is in the open position, the funnel 32, in the manner of a "basket", prevents the exit of the elements contained in the container. If by chance an element nevertheless came to pass through the opening 36 of the funnel 32, it would be blocked between this same funnel and the closure plate in the baffle thus created.

The container therefore has double security as to the possible projection of elements contained in the container outside of it.

In addition, we note that any liquids that may have accumulated in the container cannot in any case leave it because they would accumulate between the body and the funnel when the container is re, poured at 1800 without being able to take out the connections between the 'funnel, the closure plate and the body 10 of the container being sealed.

When the container is sufficiently filled, it should be destroyed along with its contents, but beforehand in order not to run any risk during transfers or possible storage, provision is made for a definitive locking of the cover relative to the container. This locking operation is carried out by moving the cover to the notch 72 in the closed position and in this position, the user exerts an additional effort to overcome the height of the stud 70 which is greater than that of the stud 72 and continues its movement in clockwise until the lug 48 comes to the right of the locking notch 30 or more exactly that the second part 60 of this lug comes to the right of the notch 30. This notch having walls at 900 prevents any rotational movement of the cover either clockwise or counterclockwise to go back.

The container is then permanently unusable and condemned.

The locking device is located in the vertical plane and at the periphery of the cover, it does not introduce any lever arm capable of providing the user with a means of removing the locking by a reasonable effort.

It is also noted that the container according to the invention comprises very simple parts to obtain in manufacturing, in particular by plastic injection methods, which considerably reduces its cost price.

 According to a variant of the invention, it is also possible to arrange the various studs 22 on the lower face 20 of the rim 16, the pins 48 having only one part 60, the part 56 being omitted. This embodiment is part of the invention and is only an alternative during manufacture, the determination of the choice being within the reach of those skilled in the art.

It should also be noted that in all cases the ergonomic shape of the container allows it to be taken with one hand while the other holds the syringe in order to withdraw the needle. Its size is reduced and its dimensions are such that they avoid an excessive accumulation of products which would lead to an equally long period of use capable of generating or even allowing the proliferation of bacteria.

Claims (10)

REYENDICSTIONS  1. Container, in particular for used syringe needles, the connection end of which is provided with a tip which cooperates with this syringe, comprising a body (10) substantially cylindrical forming a receptacle and provided with a bottom (64), a plate d shutter (40) opposite the bottom comprising an opening (42), a cover (50) integral with the body, movable in rotation and provided with an opening (54), this opening (54) being able to be superimposed on the opening ( 52) of the closure plate for a given orientation of the cover relative to the body, characterized in that the body (10) comprises a flange (16) provided with indexing means (22, 26, 28 and 30) and in that the cover (50) is styling and comprises at least one lug (48) which cooperates with these indexing means.  2. Container according to claim 1 charac terized in that the indexing means comprise studs (22, 70, 72) projecting constituting hard points.  3. Container according to claim 1 or 2 characterized in that the studs (22) are arranged under the rim of the body and in that the pins (48) are located opposite these studs.  4. Container according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the flange (16) also comprises at least one locking notch (30) projecting intended to receive one of the lugs.  5. Container according to claim 1 or 2 characterized in that the studs (22, 70, 72) are arranged on the external surface (18) of the flange and in that the pins (48) comprise a first part (56) in inward projection arranged opposite the studs.  6. Container according to claim 5 characterized in that there is provided at least one locking notch (30) projecting disposed under the flange (16) and intended to receive a second part (60) projecting from each of the pins ( 48).  7. Container according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the lugs, the notches and the studs have come from molding with the cover and the body.  8. Container according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a funnel (32) disposed immediately under the closure plate (40) whose opening (36) is offset from the opening (42) of the cover plate.  9. Container according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the funnel (32) and the closure plate (40) are secured to the body (10), the connection between these elements being sealed.  10. Container according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cover comprises three lugs (48) to 1200, and in that the body comprises three mounting notches (28) to 1200, three non-return notches ( 26) each of these notches being juxtaposed to one of the mounting notches (28) and downstream thereof in a clockwise direction, at least two studs (22) corresponding to the open and closed positions in which the openings (54) of the cover and (42) of the closure plate are respectively coincidental or juxtaposed angularly, three locking notches (30), each of these notches (30) being juxtaposed with one of the notches mounting and upstream of these and clockwise.