Patent ID: 9186494
Filing Date: 2015-11-17
Classification: A61M,Y10T

Abstract:
1. A medical connector for selectively permitting fluid to flow between a first medical device and a second medical device, the medical connector comprising: a housing comprising an upstream end adapted to receive the second medical device, a downstream end with an interface configured to receive the first medical device, an outer surface, a base member with an annular surface, an upper housing cavity extending from the upstream end of the housing to the annular surface of the base member, and an interior cannula extending from the annular surface toward the upstream end of the housing; and a valve member at least partially positioned within the housing, the valve member configured to control a flow of fluid through the housing, the valve member comprising a seal body made of a flexible material, the seal body having a downstream end, an upstream end configured to receive at least a portion of the second medical device, and a normally closed passage in fluid communication with the downstream end of the seal body and the upstream end of the seal body, the seal body comprising a first sidewall and a second sidewall, the second sidewall opposing the first sidewall, the first and second sidewalls diverging in a downstream direction such that the passage has a non-zero volume when in an undisturbed state in which a first end of the second medical device is not in contact with the upstream end of the seal body; wherein the valve member comprises a lead lumen at the downstream end of the seal body configured to fit over an outside surface of the interior cannula such that the downstream end of the seal body is separated from the annular surface of the base member by a first distance when the valve member is in a closed state, and wherein, upon insertion of the portion of the second medical device into the passage, the downstream end of the seal body slides in the downstream direction along the outer surface of the interior cannula such that the downstream end of the seal body is separated from the annular surface of the base member by a second distance, the first distance being greater than the second distance; wherein the valve member comprises a transverse flange having a slit opening therethrough in fluid communication with the passage; and wherein the valve member comprises shoulders configured to engage corresponding edges of the housing, wherein the distance between the upstream end of the housing and the edges is greater than the distance between the transverse flange and the shoulders, such that the valve member is under a preload when the shoulders engage the edges causing the transverse flange to bear on the upstream end of the housing.