GB2192382A

GB2192382A - Container for disposal of used hypodermic needles

Info

Publication number: GB2192382A
Application number: GB08713127A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Anthony Lees
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1986-07-09
Filing date: 1987-06-04
Publication date: 1988-01-13
Also published as: AU7647687A; GB8713127D0; JPH02500882A; WO1988000067A1; EP0318479A1

Abstract

The container (22) has an aperture (32) in an upper face (26) thereof capable of receiving a used syringe needle. The upper face is provided with means for gripping opposed surfaces of a syringe hub within the aperture so as to permit the hub to be unscrewed from the barrel of the hub. The gripping means is preferably a cap (28) which is rotatable relative to the upper face (26) so as to permit engagement of the hub between a gripping surface of an aperture (30) in the cap and an edge of aperture (32).

Description

SPECIFICATION Containers The present invention is concerned with containers for disposal of used hypodermic needles, for use, for example, in dentistry.

It is current practice in dentistry to provide injections of local anaesthetic by means of a standardised metal cartridge syringe. After injection, the cartridge and needle are disposed of, and the metal barrel and plunger re-sterilised usually by auto-claving.

Handling of contaminated needles is a great hazard to the dentist and his staff as a "needle stick injury" with a contaminated needle could lead to cross-infection. The most dangerous infections which can be transmitted this way are Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome ("AIDS") and Hepatitis B. After injection it is standard practice to remove the spent cartridge and then to unscrew the used needle either by directly gripping and unscrewing the hub or by replacing the needle guard and using the latter to unscrew the hub from the barrel. Both these methods are tricky procedures and fraught with the danger of needle stick injury.

I have now devised a container which permits safe handling and disposal of used needles from hypodermic syringes.

According to the invention, therefore, there is provided a container capable of receiving a plurality of used syringe needles for safe disposal thereof, the container having an aperture in an upper face thereof which is capable of receiving a used syringe needle, and means for grippingly engaging opposed faces of a syringe hub within the aperture so as to permit the hub to be unscrewed from the barrel of the syringe.

In one embodiment of the invention, the upper face is substantially rigid and has a first zone of a diameter greater than the diameter of the hub and a second zone having opposed edges arranged to grippingly engage opposed faces of the hub.

In this embodiment, the second zone preferably tapers away from the first zone, such that the hub can be slid therealong until it reaches a position where it is firmly engaged by the opposed edges. The latter edges may be milled or serrated for improved grip with the hub.

It is particularly preferred for the aperture to have a plurality of such second zones (for example, two, three or four thereof), typically arranged symmetrically around the first zone.

The latter typically has a diameter of at least one centimetre, while the or each second zone preferably tapers to a width of 6mm or less (that is, narrower than the diameter of the standard hub of a dental syringe).

In a second embodiment of the invention, a gripping member is provided which is movable with respect to the upper face and which can engage the syringe hub between a gripping surface of the gripping member and an edge of the aperture.

The gripping member typically comprises an apertured lid member which is movable between a first position in which its aperture is in register with the aperture in the upper face and a further position in which one edge of the aperture in the lid member and an edge of the aperture in the upper face can co-operate together to grip a syringe hub. It is particularly preferred that the lid member is rotatable with respect to the upper face.

It is particularly preferred that either the lid, or the body of the container, be transparent, so that the user can readily see when it is full.

The present invention will now be described further by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a schematic representation of a first embodiment of the container according to the invention, showing how it may be used with a cartridge syringe; Figure 2 is a side elevational view, partly in section, of a further embodiment of the invention; Figure 3 is a top plan view of the embodiment of Figure 2; and Figures 4A to 4E diagrammatically illustrate the operation of the device of Figure 2.

Referring to Figure 1, there is shown a container comprising a substantially cylindrical transparent body portion 1 and a substantially planar transparent lid 2 (with an overlapping rim 3 which, as illustrated, is opaque). Substantially centrally in the lid is an aperture 4; the latter has a central portion 5 of diameter at least one centimetre so that it can accommodate the used needle and its guard, and radiating therefrom, an array of tapering slots 6,7,8,9. These slots taper to less than 6mm across (less than the 6mm diameter of the hubs of standard dental disposable hypodermic needles).

In use, a syringe 11 having a barrel 12, a piston 13 and a removable, screw-on needle 14 is posted through the central portion 5 of aperture 4 until the needle is fully within the body portion 1. The hub 15 (by means of which the needle 14 is screwed onto the barrel 12) is then caused to engage one of the slots 6 and the barrel 12 then twisted anticlockwise to disengage from the needle 14.

The latter then drops down into the body portion 1.

When the latter is full, the aperture is sealed and the whole container destroyed by incineration.

Referring to Figures 2 to 5, it will be seen that a container generally designated 20 comprises a body portion 22 for receiving spent hypodermic needles and the like. The body portion 22 is provided with a closure 24 which is in two parts, the lower portion being a plate 26 fixedly attached to the upper extremity of the body 22. The upper, or cap, portion 28 of the closure 24 is held captive on plate 26 but is rotatable with respect thereto.

The cap 28 has an approximately trapezoidal aperture 30 which may be brought into register with a similar shaped aperture 32 in the plate 26. However, the aperture 32 in the plate 36 is elongated at either side thereof with narrower portions 34.

The container body 22 is preferably made from a plastics material such as polypropylene which is naturally transparent, or rather translucent, so that the contents can be seen giving a visual indicated when the container is full. The cap and plates may also be made from plastics materials, for example high impact polystyrene and/or polypropylene. The cap 28 has a projecting handle or thumb grip 36 by which it may be conveniently rotated with respect to the fixed plate 26 and therefore the rest of the container.

Operation-of the device is best shown in Figure 4. The container is gripped and the cap 26 rotated by means of the handle 36 until the holes 30, 32 are in register. A hypodermic syringe 11 having a barrel 12, a piston 13 and a removable, screw on needle 14 held in place by means of a hub 15 is inserted into the container through the apertures 30,32.

Operating the handle 36 again, the cap 28 is rotated until one edge of the aperture 30 cooperates with one of the elongated portions 34 of the aperture 32 to grip the hub 15 of the syringe 11 therebetween. The syringe may then be rotated by unscrewing the needle.

When the syringe is completely unscrewed the handle 36 may once again be operated in a clockwise- direction releasing the needle and hub and allowing them to drop into the container body 22, after which the apertures 30,32 can be rotated completely out of register thereby closing the container.

A further position or positions may be provided on the closure assembly 24 whereby the cap 28 can be rotated to a "locked" position with respect to the plate 26 when the container is full. The full container may then be removed for disposal, for example, by inceration.

In one preferred embodiment of the invention the container 20 (or 1) is secured to a rigid support. Typically, the container fits within a wall bracket mounted in a convenient place leaving both hands free to operate the cap 28 and the syringe 11 respectively. The wall bracket may conveniently comprise an adjustable band adapted to fit around the container body 22 and fixed to a plate or the like, which is adapted to be screwed to the wall.

The present invention has been described with reference to a container for disposal of used needles; it is particularly preferred for one such container to be used for storage of a supply of fresh sterile needles, while another, similar container is used for disposal of the used needles. The present invention therefore further comprises a container according to the invention having therein a multiplicity of sterile, disposable needles for a hypodermic syringe.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of disposal of used syringe needles, which comprises providing a container according to the invention, inserting a used syringe needle, attached to a syringe body, through an aperture in the upper face of the container, manipulating either the syringe body or the gripping means such that the needle can be unscrewed from the body, unscrewing the needle from the body and allowing the needle to fall into the interior of the container.

Claims

1. A container capable of receiving a plurality of used syringe needles for safe disposal thereof, said container having an aperture in an upper face thereof which is capable of receiving a used syringe needle, and means for grippingly engaging opposed faces of a syringe hub within said aperture so as to permit said hub to be unscrewed from the barrel of the syringe.

2. A container according to claim 1, in which said upper face is substantially rigid and has a first zone of a diameter greater than the diameter of said hub and a second zone having opposed edges arranged to grippingly engage opposed faces of said hub.

3. A container according to claim 2, in which said second zone tapers away from said first zone, such that said hub can be slid therealong until it reaches a position where it is firmly engaged by said opposed edges.

4. A container according to claim 2 or 3, in which the aperture comprises a plurality of said second zones arranged around said first zone.

5. A container according to claim 1, which further comprises a gripping member which is movable with respect to said upper face and which can engage said syringe hub between a gripping surface of said gripping member and an edge of said aperture.

6. A container according to claim 5, in which said gripping member comprises an apertured lid member which is movable between a first position in which its aperture overlies the aperture in said upper face and a further position in which one edge of the aperture in the lid member and an edge of the aperture in said upper face can co-operate together to grip a syringe hub.

7. A container according to claim 6, in which said lid member is rotatable with respect of said upper face.

8. A container according to any of claims 1 to 7, which is secured to a rigid support.

9. A method of disposal of used syringe needles, which comprises providing a container according to any of claims 1 to 8, inserting a used syringe needle, attached to a syringe body, through an aperture in the upper face of said container, manipulating either said syringe body or said gripping means such that said needle can be unscrewed from said body, unscrewing said needle from said body and allowing said needle to fall into the interior of said container.

10. A container according to any of claims 1 to 8 having therein a multiplicity of sterile disposable needles for a hypodermic syringe.