JP2013042952A - Cap and connector system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cap to be reliably gripped with fingers for a removal operation even when being pulled in an axial direction and being rotated in a circumferential direction and also to provide the cap suitable for a medical connector since two kinds of operations, i.e., an operation for pulling-out in the axial direction by gripping a cap body and a ring shape handle with the fingers and an operation to rotate the cap in the circumferential direction and screw it onto the connector as the removal operations of the cap to be mounted on the medical connector, but the removal operations have to be performed even by a person with disabled fingers without feeling difficulty.SOLUTION: The cap includes a structure where one end is closed and the other end is opened, and has an outer shape where the side of a closed end is nearly truncated cone shape and the side of an open end continuously arranged from the closed end is a cylindrical shape. First linear ribs extending in the circumferential direction are arranged close to the boundary between the truncated cone part and the cylindrical part, and second linear ribs orthogonal to the first linear ribs are arranged in the cylindrical part.

Description

The present invention relates to a cap that is attached to a connector used for connecting a medical tube, for example, and is used to protect the connector. In particular, the present invention relates to a cap suitable as a protective cap capable of disinfecting and sterilizing a connector with a disinfectant incorporated in the cap.

In the medical field, it is often necessary to aseptically perform an operation of transferring a liquid by connecting a plurality of tubes or releasing the connection again. For example, peritoneal dialysis therapy is a therapy in which dialysate is injected into the abdominal cavity through a catheter connected to the abdominal cavity and dialysis is performed using peritoneal capillaries to remove waste products in the blood. Must be exchanged several times a day. The exchange of the dialysate is performed by discharging the dialysate stored in the abdominal cavity for a predetermined time and injecting a new dialysate. The operation of discharging and injecting the dialysate must be performed aseptically so that bacteria do not enter the abdominal cavity. This is because if bacteria enter the abdominal cavity, it may cause peritonitis.

The dialysate is discharged and infused by detaching the connector provided at the tip of the tube called the extension tube connected to the abdominal catheter and the connector of the tube connected to the bag containing the dialysate. However, at that time, the connector on the extension tube side is sterilized and sterilized with a disinfectant when the connector is attached or detached so that airborne bacteria or bacteria attached to the fingers do not enter from the connector part. Generally, a sponge impregnated with a disinfectant such as povidone iodine solution is brought into contact with the connector. However, as described in Patent Document 1, a cap containing a sponge impregnated with a disinfectant is attached to the connector. Some systems do this by contact.

In the system described in Patent Document 1, a cap is attached to a connector after a dialysate pouring operation, and the connector portion is sterilized and sterilized. In addition, while the dialysate is stored, the cap is attached to the connector as it is to prevent bacteria from entering. As shown in FIG. 7, the cap 1 before use is sealed with a stopper 10 with an annular handle 11 so that the disinfectant does not leak out. And after completion | finish of replacement | exchange of dialysate, a cap main body and an annular handle are grasped with a finger, a stopper is pulled out, and a cap is attached to a connector by screw fitting by contacting a cap next to a connector and rotating. The reason for attaching the cap to the connector by screw fitting is to firmly attach the cap so that the cap is not accidentally removed.

The connector and cap are designed to be compact, and even when the connector with the cap is stored near the abdomen during storage of the dialysate, it does not become bulky and has a rounded shape as a whole. It is designed so that discomfort such as pain does not occur to the patient even when touched.

Moreover, although the cap which provided the rib on the surface is described also in patent documents 2-6, these are all the caps for sealing a container, and are not attached to a connector. In addition, the shape of the cap is often cylindrical, and is not suitable for mounting on a connector, particularly a medical connector.

WO2010 / 143693 Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 62-125741 Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 62-125742 Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 62-125746 Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 62-143650 Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 2-105847

As described above, the operation of the cap of the system described in Patent Document 1 includes the operation of gripping the cap body and the annular handle with fingers and pulling it out in the axial direction, and rotating the cap in the circumferential direction and screwing it into the connector. There are two types of operations for mating. Both of these operations must be performed without difficulty. However, since many dialysis patients have difficulty with their fingers, the cap described in Reference 1 holds the cap body with fingers. It turns out that there is a problem that it is difficult to pull in the axial direction. The reason is that the circumferential portion (the portion corresponding to the bottom of the U-shape) of the U-shaped rib provided for the purpose of gripping with a finger is provided in the portion where the diameter of the cap becomes thinner. In addition, when the cap is gripped and a force is applied in the pulling direction, it is difficult to grip the cap because the finger is not easily applied to the circumferential portion.

An object of the present invention is to provide a cap that can be securely attached and removed by a finger, both when pulled in the axial direction and when rotated in the circumferential direction. More specifically, it is to provide a cap suitable for a medical connector.

The cap of the present invention is a cap having one end closed and the other end having an open structure. The outer shape of the cap is a substantially truncated cone shape on the closed end side, and a cylindrical shape on the open end side following this. A first linear rib extending in the circumferential direction is provided in the vicinity of the boundary between the truncated cone portion and the cylindrical portion, and the second linear shape is provided in the cylindrical portion in a direction perpendicular to the first linear rib. A rib is provided.

The cap of the present invention is suitable for a connector, particularly a medical connector, and a connector system in which the cap having the above-described configuration is attached to the connector is also included in the present invention.

The cap of the present invention can be attached / detached by being securely grasped with a finger, both when pulled in the axial direction and when rotated in the circumferential direction. In addition, since the closed end side is substantially frustoconical and the open end side is cylindrical, the shape is suitable for a connector cap, and is particularly suitable as a medical connector.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front view of Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a side view of Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a top view of the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a front view of Embodiment 2 of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a front view of Embodiment 3 of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a conventional cap described in Patent Document 1. As shown in FIG.

The cap of the present invention can take the following aspects based on the above-described configuration.

That is, the first linear rib and the second linear rib can be provided symmetrically with respect to the axis of the cap.

The first linear rib and the second linear rib can be provided so as to form a U-shape.

A disinfectant can be incorporated as a protective cap for the medical connector.

Hereinafter, the cap and connector system of the present invention will be described more specifically with reference to examples.

In the first embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the cap 1 has a closed end 2 at one end and an open end 9 at the other end. The closed end side has a substantially truncated cone shape, and the open end side following the closed end side has a cylindrical shape. The boundary is indicated by a virtual one-dot chain line L. When the cap is attached to the connector, the connector is inserted from the open end 9 and the connector is tightly stored inside the cylindrical portion B.

On the outer surface of the cap 1, a first linear rib 3 and a second linear rib 4 are provided. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, one first linear rib and two second linear ribs are integrally provided so as to form a U-shape. The first linear rib 3 is provided near the boundary between the truncated cone part and the cylindrical part. Although the rear view is omitted, similar ribs are provided on the rear surface, and the ribs are provided symmetrically with respect to the axis of the cap as shown in FIG. As described above, the reason why the two types of linear ribs are provided so as to form a U-shape is that if the U-shaped portion is picked with a finger, it is easy to grip. Further, it is preferable to provide a rib having the same shape in the opposite direction 180 degrees with respect to the axis to make it symmetrical, since the cap can be pressed with a finger from the opposite direction, so that it can be easily grasped.

The reason why the first linear rib is provided near the boundary between the truncated cone part and the cylindrical part is as follows. That is, particularly in the case of a medical connector, it is preferable that the portion where the cap is gripped by the finger is as close to the closed end as possible so that the finger does not contact the connector and contaminate the connector. However, if the rib is provided on the truncated cone portion where the diameter of the cap is reduced as described in Patent Document 1, the height of the first linear rib cannot be sufficiently secured with respect to the outer diameter of the cylindrical portion. When the cap is gripped and a force in the pulling direction is applied, it becomes difficult for a finger to be applied to the first linear rib, and it becomes difficult to grip the cap with the finger. Therefore, it is provided in the vicinity of the boundary between the truncated cone part and the cylindrical part, which is the large diameter part of the cap and as close to the closed end as possible.

In the present embodiment, in addition to the linear ribs described above, linear ribs 5 and 6 are provided. The linear rib 5 is provided in the truncated cone part A in a U-shape so as to extend the U-shape, but this is preferable because gripping with a finger becomes easier. Moreover, the linear rib 6 is a 2nd linear rib provided separately from the 2nd linear rib 4, and as shown in FIG. 4, two are provided in axial symmetry. The second linear rib is provided for the purpose of facilitating fixing of the finger when the cap is rotated, and it is easier to use a certain number of ribs. In the present embodiment, a total of six second linear ribs are provided.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, two circumferential ribs 7 and 8 are provided on the open end 9 side. These ribs are provided for the purpose of preventing the finger from coming into contact with the open end of the cap or the connector when the cap is held with the finger.

In the case of a medical connector, a member impregnated with a disinfectant if necessary is fixed inside the substantially truncated cone A. The disinfectant is preferably a disinfectant that is safe for the living body and has a high bactericidal effect, and a povidone iodine solution is preferably used. The member impregnated with the disinfectant is preferably a porous member such as a sponge.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing Embodiment 2 of the present invention. The present embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that a rib corresponding to the linear rib 5 in the first embodiment is not provided.

FIG. 6 is a front view showing Embodiment 3 of the present invention. The present embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the linear rib 3 in the first embodiment is provided as a single rib continuous over the entire circumference. The linear rib 3 can also be provided as a single continuous rib.

The cap of the present invention is useful as a cap for a connector, particularly a medical connector, because it can be securely attached and removed by fingers even when pulled in the axial direction or rotated in the circumferential direction. Furthermore, it is useful as a cap for a connector used for connecting a patient and a container containing dialysate in peritoneal dialysis.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cap 2 Closure end part 3 1st linear rib 4 2nd linear rib 5 U-shaped linear rib 6 2nd linear rib 7 All-around rib 8 All-around rib 9 Open end 10 Plug 11 Ring handle

Claims (6)

A cap having one end closed and the other end having an open structure. The outer shape of the cap is a substantially truncated cone shape on the closed end side, and a cylindrical shape on the open end side following the closed end side. A first linear rib extending in the circumferential direction is provided in the vicinity of the boundary, and a second linear rib is provided in the cylindrical portion in a direction perpendicular to the first linear rib. To cap. The cap according to claim 1, wherein the first linear rib and the second linear rib are provided symmetrically with respect to the axis of the cap. The cap according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first linear rib and the second linear rib are provided so as to form a U-shape. The cap according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the cap is a protective cap for a medical connector. The cap according to claim 4, wherein a disinfectant is built in the cap. A connector system comprising the cap according to claim 1 and a connector to which the cap is attached.

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