Abstract:
A feeding device receives various kinds of syringe needles and feeds them one by one into a press roller unit of a syringe needle shredder which pulls the needles, rolls the needles flat and then sends them down into a chopping roller unit to chop the flat needles into very small bits. The feeding device has a straight hole and a conical hole for different needles such as super short ones or special shaped ones to be fed down the needles maybe elastically clamped to securely move down to the press roller unit.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to a syringe needle shredder, particularly to one possible to be used for shredding various kinds of syringe needles and specifically whether the syringe needles are super short or of special shapes. 
     There is a known conventional syringe needle shredder disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,813,324, wherein a press roller unit and a chopping roller unit are provided for continually chopping syringe needles. The needle portion of a syringe needle is caught between flattened by the press roller unit. A guide net member located between the press roller unit and the chopping roller unit guides and corrects the position of the flat needles. The flat needles are then moved down into the chopping roller unit which chops them into very small bits which fall into a collect case. The very small bits are to be further sterilized by means of high pressure or are sent to a waste treatment organization for further treatment to prevent them from spreading diseases. 
     Althrough the conventional syringe needle shredder disclosed in the case of U.S. Pat. No. 5,813,324 can shred ordinary syringe needles, such conventional syringe needle shredder cannot shred special kinds of syringe needles such as super short ones or butterfly ones. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention has been devised to offer a feeding member placed on a press roller unit of a syringe needle shredder and which receives almost any kind of syringe needles for feeding into the press roller unit and the chopping roller unit of a syringe needle shredder so as to be chopped into very small bits. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
     This invention will be better understood by referring to the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
     FIG. 1 is a front cross-sectional view of a syringe needle shredder in the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a side partial cross-sectional view of the syringe needle shredder in the present invention; 
     FIG. 3 is a view of chopping syringe needles by a chopping roller unit of the syringe needle shredder in the present invention; 
     FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a feeding member in the syringe needle shredder in the present invention; 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the feeding member being positioned in the syringe needle shredder in the present invention; 
     FIG. 6 is an upper view of the feeding member positioned in the syringe needle shredder in the present invention; 
     FIG. 7 is an upper cross-sectional view of the feeding member in the present invention; 
     FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a long syringe needle inserted in the feeding member in the present invention; 
     FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a super short syringe needle inserted in the feeding member in the present invention; 
     FIG. 10 is a crosssectional view of a standard syringe needle (a super short syringe needle); and, 
     FIG. 11 is a magnified cross-sectional view of a blade in the feeding member cutting a syringe needle with a cap and a adhesive layer in the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     A preferred embodiment of a syringe needle shredder  8  in the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, mainly includes a feeding member, which includes a pair of position bases  1 ,  1 ′, a lower annular member  3 , a plurality of clamp blocks  5 , and an upper annular member  6  as main components. 
     The pair of position bases  1 ,  1 ′ have symmetrical shapes facing each other forming a first semicylindrical hole portion  11  and a second semicylindrical hole portion  14 . The first semicylindrical hole portion  11  has a vertical circumferential wall and a small diameter hole portion  12  formed to extend down from the center of the bottom of the first hole defined by portions  11 . A vertical recess  13  is formed in a wall beside the small hole  12  for a blade  2  to fit therein. The second semicircular hole portion  14  has a vertical circumferential wall and a semi-conical hole portion  15  of semi-circular cross-sections of several stages extending down from the vertical circumferential wall. Further, a recess  16  is formed in a side surface under the semi-conocal hole portion  15  in both of the position bases  1 ,  1 ′. The bottom surfaces  17  of both of the position bases  1 ,  1 ′ have the shape corresponding to the upper surface of the position roller  831  of the press roller unit of the syringe needle shredder  8 . The active roller  832 , and the position base  1  has a plurality of lateral through holes  18 , and the position base  1 ′ has a plurality of lateral threaded holes  19  aligned to the through holes  18 . The lower annular member  3  has a disc shape to fit in the first semi-cylindrical hole portions  11  of the pair of the position bases  1 ,  1 ′. A plurality of vertical slots  31  the formed in an inner wall of the lower annular member  3  and spaced apart equidistantly, with the ends of coil springs  4  resting in slots  31 . A center hole  32  is formed in the bottom wall of the lower annular member  3  and aligned to the small hole  12 . 
     A plurality of clamp blocks  5  are located in an upper interior of the lower annular member  3  and have a conical surface  51  formed in an inner side to closely fit around various kinds of syringe needles. A flat surface is formed in an outer surface of each clamp block  5  for contacting an end of the coil spring  4  located between each clamp block  5  and each vertical slot  31  so as to elastically push each clamp block  5  inward. 
     The upper annular member  6  is positioned on the lower annular member  3  and has a conical inner surface  61  center hole  62  is formed at the bottom of the conical surface  61  and has the same diameter as the upper end the inner conical surface  51  formed by the clamp blocks  5 . 
     In assembling the feeding member, as shown in FIG. 7, firstly, the pair of the position bases  1 ,  1 ′ are put together for the bolts  7  to fit and screw in the through holes  18  and the threaded holes  19  to keep the pair of the position bases  1 ,  1 ′ tightly together. Next, the lower annular member  3  together with the coil springs  4  and the clamp blocks  5  are placed in the first hole  11  of the position bases l,  1 ′. Then the upper annular member  6  is placed on the lower annular member  3 . Thus, assembly of the feeding member is finished. After the feeding member is assembled, the position bases  1 ,  1 ′ fitted together form a position base corresponding to and to be placed on the press roller unit including the position roller  831  and the active roller  832 . Specifically, the whole feeding member is placed between the front and the rear walls  81  of the shredder  8 , with the two side edges  101  of the front and the rear sides sitting on the recesses  82  of the front and the rear walls  81  of the syringe needle shredder  8  ready for chopping various kinds of used long and short syringe needles. 
     In shredding syringe needles  91  after use, as shown in FIGS. 8,  10 ,  11 , an employee in a hospital holds the syringe needle  91  and inserts it into the center hole  62  of the upper annular member  6  until the needle  91  reaches the upper end of the press roller unit. Then, the needle  91  may be caught and moved forcibly down between the position roller  831  and the active roller  832  engagingly rolling. As the needle  91  is moving down just beside the blade  2  located parallel to the needle  91 , a cap  92  of the needle  91  is cut open by the blade At the same time, the long adhesive layer  93  between the outer surface of the needle  91  and the cap  92  is broken. Thus, the needle  91  is separated from the cut cap  92  and moves down the press roller unit, which then presses the needle flat. The flat needle  91  is sent into the chopping roller unit  84  which then chops the flattened needle  91  into very small bits which fall down into a collect case. As 
     Syringe needles which are super short having the length 10-12 mm or which have a special shape impossible to be inserted through the center hole  62  of the upper annular member  6  may be inserted into the second hole  14  of the position bases  1 ,  1 ′, as shown in FIG. 9, specifically the hand of a worker holds the syringe to let the needle  94  move into the second hole portions  14  and pass through the conical surface portions  15  and into the press roller unit so as to be pulled down between the position roller  831  and the active roller  832 . As for a butterfly needle, so called mundanely, having two wOings in a wide cap  95 , may be pushed through the recess  16  beside the conical surface portions  15 , permitting the needle  94  to be pulled down by the press roller unit, with the adhesive layer  96  also being pulled down. The needle  94  is thus pressed flat and is gradually sent into the chopping roller unit  84  to be chopped into very small bits and collected in a collect case located below the chopping roller unit  84 . 
     While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been described above, it will be recognized and understood that various modifications may be made therein, and the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications which may fall within the spirit and scope of the invention.