NEEDLE BREAKING AND STORAGE DEVICE

Abstract: A device for facilitating the destruction and storage for disposal of used hypodermic needles and syringe tips. The device comprises a closed housing (10) with apertures (11) and (12) so dimensioned to receive a hypodermic needle and syringe tip and to allow its severance whereby it falls into a storage receptacle (15) or (20). Retention means within the housing prevents the discharge of needle and syringe tips from the housing.

Description: NEEDLE BREAKING AND STORAGE DEVICE FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to the field of medical sup- plies and devices, and more particularly to a device for the destruction and storage for disposal of disposable hypodermic needles and syringes and IV (intravenous) stylets. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The introduction of inexpensive disposable hypoder¬ mic syringes for human injection has virtually elimina¬ ted the danger of spreading disease through improper sterilization of syringes and needles. Needle, syringe and IV stylets are now disposed of after a single use. The use of disposable syringes and needles does create certain problems. The greatest problem is dispo¬ sal of the used syringe with the assurance that no one can come into contact with the used device and that nei- ther the syringe nor needle can be reused. In the past attempts have been made to solve this problem by legal restraints against reuse and requiring the destruction of both the needle and the syringe after use. The most common approach used by the medical pro- fession has been to carry a box of some type into which the used needle and syringe can be deposited after being manually broken. Breakage is usually accomplished by replacing the protective sheath on the needle and by bending the sheath and needle against any available hard surface until the needle breaks. The sheath and broken needle are then removed and deposited in the makeshift box. Next, the tip of the syringe is pressed against the same hard surface until it breaks. This method is slow and cumbersome and always runs the risk of the e- dical professional being jabbed by the needle tip or the broken syringe end. A real danger of infection is crea- ted. Where an injection therapist must make hundreds of injections on a single shift, the risk of a possible slip in destroying the needles and syringes is consider¬ able. In addition, since the broken needles and syringes are often carried in a collection box until it is conve¬ nient for the medical professional to empty the box, such a collection box, with its broken needles and sy¬ ringes, some of which might be days old, represents a virtual time bomb of infection, particularly since such collection boxes are readily accessible or indeed in some cases might even be open. It is accordingly an object of the present inven¬ tion to provide a convenient and inexpensive device for assisting the medical professional in breaking, storing and disposing of disposable hypodermic syringes and nee¬ dles, and for secure storage of such broken materials until disposal. These and other objects of the inven¬ tion will be apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments. BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a device for break¬ ing, storing and disposing of disposable hypodermic sy- ringes, needles and IV stylets; the device facilitates safe breakage of the needle and syringe and secure sto¬ rage of the broken needles and syringes for ultimate disposal. Easy access to the broken needles and sy¬ ringes is prevented by the device, and risk of the spread of infection is thereby reduced. The device also protects the medical professional from being jabbed by the broken needles or syringe tips it contains. The de¬ vice itself is easily used, transported and disposed of. The invention provides a needle breaking and sto- rage device which comprises a housing including a cavity for retention of severed IV or hypodermic needles, and OM?L an opening in the housing for receiving the end of a hy¬ podermic needle. The housing includes a surface against which the needle may be bent when in the opening to fracture the needle and separate the tip region from the remainder of the needle. The opening communicates with the cavity within the housing, allowing the severed tip region of the needle to enter the cavity for retention therein. Preferably, the invention includes a closed σon- tainer, for example of molded plastic, having a pair of openings in one wall thereof. One of the openings is dimensioned to receive an exposed IV or hypodermic nee¬ dle with the majority of the length of the needle ex¬ tending into the container. The edge of the first open- ing defines a fulcrum point for bending the needle until it breaks. Sufficient clearance is provided in the first opening so that the needle may fall by its own weight into the container. Preferably needle tip re¬ straining means is provided in the chamber to prevent the needle tip from reemerging from the first opening. The container of the invention also includes a sec¬ ond opening which is dimensioned to receive the tip of a syringe including any remaining shank, and the hub of a needle to allow the tip of the syringe to be broken in a similar manner to the breaking of the needle. The sy¬ ringe tip may be similarly stored in the container for disposal. A separate chamber for storage of the syringe tip and needle hub is preferred. Mounting means for the container is provided including a foam plastic pad suit- able for acting as a temporary protective storage place for used syringes prior to needle severing. Suitable means is provided to prevent the escape of the severed needle tip once it enters the first chamber. In one embodiment a viscous liquid is used. In another embodiment, a magnet used principally for mounting the container on metal surfaces also serves to hold severed needle tips by magnetic attraction. In a third embodi¬ ment, flaps are provided proximate to the interior open¬ ings which freely pivot to allow clear passage of the entering needle and syringe tips when the ςontainer is upright, but serve to close the passage by the action of gravity when the device is inverted. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The invention may be more clearly understood from the following detailed description and by reference to the drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of this invention: Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the device of Fig. 1 taken along line 2-2 of Fig. 1? Fig. 3 is a left side elevational view thereof; Fig. 4 is a right side elevational veiw thereof; Figs. 5 and 6 are fragmentary vertical sectional views of the embodiment of Fig. 1 showing the device as used to break needles and syringes; Fig. 7 is a right side elevational view of the de¬ vice of this invention shown in use as a temporary stor¬ age position for a syringe after use and illustrates as well a magnetic form of mounting of the device of this invention; Fig. 8 is a vertical sectional view of an alternate embodiment of this invention; Fig. 9 is an end view of the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 8; Fig. 10 is a top view of the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 8; Fig. 11 is a vertical ; sectional view of a third em¬ bodiment of the invention showing the pivoting retention means; Fig. 12 is a top view of the embodiment shown in Fig. 11; Fig. 13 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 13-13 of Fig. 11; and Fig. 14 is a top view of one side section of the embodiment shown in Fig. 11, with the other side section being shown in dotted lines. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THIS INVENTION A container 10 constructed in accordance with one embodiment of this invention is shown Fig. 1. It is preferably a molded plastic box of a material such as polystyrene, either clear or opaque as may be desired. Preferably the material can be melted, and is combusti¬ ble, without resulting in objectionable combustion by-products. The container 10 is closed except for a pair of openings 11 and 12, shown in the top region. Opening 11, the smaller of the two, is located in the truncated top of a pyramid shaped region 13 and may in¬ clude a slightly tapered guide recess 14. The opening 11 itself is preferably between 1/16 and 3/32 in. (1.6 and 2.4 mm.) in diameter, sufficient to receive conven¬ tional IV (intravenous) and hypodermic needles ranging from 1/2 inch to 3-1/2 inches (1.27 cm. to 8.9 cm.) in length. The opening 11 is preferably vertical when the base of the box is placed on a horizontal surface, in order to permit the severed end of the needle to fall into the chamber 15 to which the opening 11 communi¬ cates. The truncated pyramid region 13 serves as a ful¬ crum against which the used needle of a disposable sy¬ ringe is bent to sever it at its base region when the syringe is placed needle downward into the recess 14. By being elevated, as shown, it is easier to insert the needle and the syringe may be nipped 90° as the needle is being broken. The opening 12 is preferably located at a corner cutoff region 16 and extends angularly into a second chamber 20 within the container 10. The opening 12 is larger in diameter than opening 11 and is dimensioned to receive the base or hub of the needle left after the tip has been severed in the opening 11. The angular portion 16 also acts as a fulcrum for clearly severing the sy- ringe tip. On the adjacent or near face 21 of the container, is provided an adhesive faced foam pad 22. The pad 22 is secured to the face 21 by an adhesive on its inner face and has an adhesive coating 23 on its outer face for attachment to any suitable surface such as an injec¬ tion therapist's tray or cart. An outer protective cover 24 is present on the container as received and is peeled away to expose the adhesive 23 when the container is intended to be used. The adhesive pad 22 allows the therapist to mount the container 10 at any convenient location and to hold it there with a degree of resil¬ ience. The therapist need use only one hand in severing a needle, or may use a second hand to steady the con¬ tainer 10 when attached. The shape of the container 10 is rectangular, approximately 4 in. by 3 in. by 3/4 in. (10.2 by 7.6 by 1.9 cm.) . It is a convenient size for being held by the hand during needle and syringe tip severing. The internal arrangement of the container 10 of Fig. 1 is seen in Fig. 2 which shows the container to include an internal wall 24 which defines the two cham¬ bers 15 and 20. The pyramid portion 13 has a counter¬ part 13A on the interior of chamber 15 to add strength to the wall 26 in the needle breaking region. The open- ing 12 is located at a corner region 16 and is surroun¬ ded by wall thickening reinforcements 30 and 31 as well. It is desirable that once a needle or syringe tip enters its respective chamber 15 or 20, that it be pre¬ vented from escaping. This may be accomplished in a number of ways. First, the internal boss of pyramid 13A tends to divert any needles away from the opening 11 if OMPI the container 10 is inverted or shook. This action is the opposite of the action of guide recess 14 which aids the needle in entering the opening 11. In addition to the boss 13A, in preventing the escape of any needle from the chamber 15, the chamber 15 contains an adhesive material which captures any needle which reaches it. Virtually any non-hardening adhesive or viscous liquid within the chamber 15 will assist in this function. An uncured polyesther resin is of sufficient viscosity to coat and hold the needle which reaches the adhesive 30 located at the bottom of the chamber 15. It has also been found that double-sided adhesive tape bonded to an interior wall of the chamber 15 will capture needle tips and hold them securely once they enter the chamber. This feature is illustrated in Fig. 3 where double-sided tape strip 31 may be seen through the transparent wall of the chamber 10. The chamber 20 may also include similar adhesive materials for retaining syringe tips once they enter the chamber 20. The normal use of the device of the invention is best illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6 in which a disposable syringe 40 is positioned with its exposed or unsheathed needle 41 in the opening 11. The syringe 40 includes a tip 42 which is inserted in the sleeve portion 43 of the needle. The needle 41 is easily broken by pivotal move¬ ment around the fulcrum 13 as shown in Fig. 6. The nee¬ dle may require one or two reverse bends to achieve severing, at which time it will fall into chamber 15 and be captured. The syringe is then transferred to the opening 12 which accommodates the sleeve or hub portion 43 of the needle 41. Again the pivotal movement of the syringe body 40 will cause the tip portion 42 to break and the tip 42 and sleeve portion 43 of the needle fall into the chamber 20. This is illustrated in Fig. 6. Usually the tips will break from the body of the syringe OMPI without leaving exposed, jagged edges on the syringe. The body of the syringe may then be disposed of in con¬ ventional waste collection apparatus without fear of re¬ use or injury from needle remnants. Fig. 7 illustrates one further feature of this in¬ vention; it meets a constant need of the professional when providing injections to hospital patients. Often, immediately following an injection, the therapist must devote attention to other patient needs and the syringe must be temporarily placed out of the way, preferably in a safe, non-contaminating location. The foam pad 22 of this invention fills this need. The therapist need only drive the needle into the pad from the top or any side where its end is retained and protected from accidental contact. This preferable pad is of sufficient size to insure that most needles will not protrude from the op¬ posite side if inserted up to the sleeve portion. As illustrated in Fig. 7, the container of this invention may be secured to the side of a cart or tray 50. In such case, the syringe extends between the wall of the container 10 and the cart or tray 50 and is further protected from contact by these two surfaces. As soon as the therapist has completed the duties required by the patient, the syringe and needle may be withdrawn from the pad 22 and the needle and syringe broken in the manner described previously. . Figure 7 further discloses an alternate means of mounting the container 10 of this invention which also results in improved retention of severed needle tips. In Fig. 7, the container 10 carries on one surface, in this case the bottom surface, a magnet 55 which is se¬ cured in place by suitable means such as an adhesive. The magnet is useful to hold the container 10 on tables or trays of ferrous metal. Although the stainless ma- terial steel commonly used in hospital equipment is only slightly ferromagnetic, it exhibits sufficient attrac- OMPI ~ tion to the magnet to hold the container in place. Thus, in the embodiment of Fig. 7, the container 10 may be held in place either by adhesion to pad 22 or by mag¬ net 55. By placing the magnet 55 on a wall defining the chamber 15, its magnetic attraction further aids in holding the somewhat ferromagnetic severed needle tips in place and assists in preventing their escape from en¬ trance opening 11. Now referring to Fig. 8, a further alternate embo- diment of this invention may be seen which includes in¬ ternal walls which act as baffles to minimize the possi¬ bility of escape of severed needles or stylets severed from a syringe. Fig. 8 shows this alternate embodiment in vertical section with a continuous inner wall 60 forming an L-shape with an adjoining wall 61. Wall 60 and 61 separate the two compartments 62 and 63. Wall 60 has a length of approximately 4 inches (10.2 cm.) where¬ by a needle as long as 3 to 3-1/2 inches (7.6 to 8.9 cm.), if severed, can extend through the opening 64 and drop to the bottom of the severed needle storage com¬ partment without interference with either wall 60 or 61 prior to or after severing. The wall 60 and its adjoin¬ ing corner 65 formed with wall 61 provides a constric¬ tion 66 in the compartment 62. This construction 66 is wide enough to allow a needle hub to pass through from compartment 62 to the lower storage compartment 70. Once a needle hub passes the constriction 66 it is dif¬ ficult for it to return through the constriction 66 and through the severing opening 71. Even if a needle hub passes back through the constriction 66 the tapered walls 72 and 73 tend to divert the needle hub away from opening 71. The chamber 63 can accommodate short, fine needles which may be 1/2 to 1 inch (1.3 to 2.5 cm.) long or the longer 3 to 3-1/2 inch (7.6 to 8.9 cm.) stylets. The wall 61 acts as a surface against which the shorter needles will generally align themselves. If the device is overturned for any reason, the small needles will tend to fall with their flat side towards the opening 64 and will have difficulty in escaping through opening 64. The inner tapered walls 81 about opening 64 add to the diversion capability of the assembly. Fig. 9 and 10 show the side and top view of the as¬ sembly of Fig. 8, with the relative positioning of the openings 64 and 71 clearly visible. Relative dimensions which have been found to be sa¬ tisfactory for the foregoing embodiments are as followst Overall height, 5 inches (12.7 cm) Height of lower wall, 4 inches (10.2 cm) Opening 64, 1/8 inch diameter (0.3 cm) Length of wall 60, approximately 4 inches (10.2 cm) Constriction 66, 3/16 inch (0.5 cm) Opening 71, 3/8" diameter (0.95 cm) Width of base of box, 3 1/4 inch (8.3 cm) Depth of box, 3/4 inch (1.9 cm) Molded Polystyrene is a suitable material for this device. Fig. 11 shows another alternative embodiment of the invention, one in which retention of severed needle and syringe tips is assisted by the use of pivoting elements 83 and 85. (Since the general construction of this em¬ bodiment is much like that shown in Fig. 2, prime refer¬ ence numbers have been used to designate similar ele¬ ments.) In this embodiment, opening 11" is formed in upper conical region 13 ' which includes the guide recess 14'. Again the conical region 13' (formed by an upward¬ ly extending cylinder with outwardly projecting flanges, as shown in Fig. 12) serves as the fulcrum against which the needle may be bent, resulting in breakage of the needle. - Similarly, the syringe tip may be inserted in opening 12' and may be broken against the wall of the container 10' . OMPI ! W1?0 , In this embodiment, severed needle tips are pre¬ vented from escaping from cavity 15 ' , and broken syringe tips from cavity 20' by the action of hinged flap ele¬ ments 83 and 85. Both elements consist of elongated flaps dimensioned to fit within the respective cavities while having sufficient extension to cover the respec¬ tive openings when in the closed position. Flap element 83 pivots freely about pivot post or hinge 87, while flap element 85 similarly pivots or rotates freely about hinge element 88. Posts 89 and 91 serve to limit the extent of rotation in the downward direction. When the device is in the upright position, both flap elements are rotated by gravity to their lowermost extent to rest against the post elements 89 and 91. In this position, the hypodermic needle and syringe can freely enter the respective openings, and severed needle and syringe tips are free to fall into the respective cavities. When the device is in an inverted position, flap elements 83 and 85 rotate about pivot pins 87 and 88 due to gravity to rest against and cover openings 11 and 12, thus prevent¬ ing severed needle and syringe tips from falling through and escaping from the respective cavities. Figure 12 shows in greater detail the cross-sectional shape of the conical regions about openings 11' and 12'. Preferably, the structure of this embodiment is made of high density styrene, although ABS is also satisfactory. It is preferred that the storage device be formed of components easily assembled into a unitary device that may not, thereafter, be readily disassembled. To this end, the storage device may consist of a top sec¬ tion 101, and two side sections 103 and 105. These sec¬ tions include intermediate edges, walls and recesses that interfit with one another. Specifically, section 101 includes an outwardly extending intermediate edge wall 107 that interfits within edge recesses 109 in sec¬ tions 103 and 105. Sections 103 and 105 include comple- _OM?I mentary, interfitting wall elements, as shown in Figures 12 and 14. These two sections 103 and 105 have opposed intermediate walls 111 defining cavities 15* and 20* . The walls 111 include interfitting elements, specifi- cally a socket 113 and pin 115 having a boss 117 that interlocks with a recess in socket 113. By virtue of this construction, the sections 101, 103 and 105 may be snapped together, boss 117 hooking into the recess in socket 113, to hold the sections together thereafter and prevent their accidental separation. The containers of this invention are designed to be used over a limited period of time, such as during a single hospital shift of a single therapist, and then destroyed. Destruction is relatively simple. Heating to the softening temperature of the container results in the collapse of the container about the needles and tips, fusing the entire mass into a body of plastic ma¬ terial encasing the needle tips. High temperature inci¬ neration will cause full decomposition of the container 10 and its adjunct parts, and melting of the needle tips beyond danger. Although not recommended in place of in¬ cineration or melting, the container may be carefully disposed of with other disposable waste by other methods found acceptable by relevant safety standards. The foregoing description and the embodiments shown are merely illustrative of this invention and are not to be considered as limiting. The invention is instead de¬ fined by the following claims and their equivalents. , - OMPI

Claims: We Claim: 1. A hypodermic needle breaking and storage de¬ vice comprising: A housing including a cavity for retention of sev- ered hypodermic needles; An opening of a given, fixed diameter in said housing for loosely receiving the end of a hypodermic needle; Said housing including a surface against which said needle may be bent when in said opening to fracture said needle and separate the tip region from the remainder of the needle; Said opening communicating with the said cavity wi- ' thin the housing whereby the severed tip region of the needle may drop into the cavity, and Retention means within said cavity for retaining severed needles within the cavity and for preventing their accidental discharge from the housing. 2. The combination in accordance with claim 1 in which said housing defines a separate opening dimen¬ sioned to loosely receive the tip portion of a hypoder¬ mic syringe for fracturing said portion of a hypodermic syringe against said opening walls. 3. The combination in accordance with claim 1 wherein said surface constitutes the edge of said hous¬ ing defining the outermost extremity of said opening. 4. The combination in accordance with claim 1 wherein said opening is located in an upper portion of said housing whereby the severed tip may fall by gravity into the said cavity. 5. The combination in accordance with claim 4 wherein said opening is located at an elevated portion of the surrounding portions of said housing whereby the hypodermic syringe may be turned to at least 90 degrees while the needle is being severed. 6. The combination in accordance with claim 1 wherein the housing includes a second surface against which the needle limb may be bent to fracture and sepa¬ rate the needle limb from a syringe. 7. The combination in accordance with claim 1 wherein said retaining means comprises a viscous liquid capable of coating needle tips. 8. The combination in accordance with claim 1 wherein said retention means comprises an adhesive mate¬ rial on at least one wall of said cavity. 9. The combination in accordance with claim 1 wherein said retention means comprises magnetic means providing magnetic attraction in said cavity to attract needle tips to a region away from said opening. 10. The combination in accordance with claim 6 wherein said retention means comprises the surface of said housing surrounding the opening in the cavity, that surface being shaped and arranged to direct severed nee¬ dle tips away from said opening. 11. The combination in accordance with claim 1 wherein said retention means comprises flap means pivot- able about one end thereof and adapted to pivot between two positions, a first position allowing entry of said severed needle tips into said cavity when said housing is in an upright position, and a second position closing said opening and preventing escape of said severed nee¬ dle tips when said housing is in an inverted position. 12. The combination in accordance with claim 1 including needle perforable means secured to said hous¬ ing for temporarily receiving said needle. 13. The combination in accordance with claim 12 wherein said needle perforable means comprises a foam pad secured to said housing. 14. The combination in accordance with claim 1 wherein said housing includes a second cavity communica¬ ting with said separate opening for storing severed por¬ tions of said hypodermic syringe. 15. A hypodermic needle syringe destruction and storage device comprising: A housing including a pair of openings therein; A first opening of said pair of openings dimension¬ ed to receive the tip of a hypodermic needle, the wall of said housing defining said first opening constituting a fulcrum for severing said needle by bending there- against; The second of said pair of openings dimensioned to receive a portion of a hypodermic syringe, the wall de¬ fining said second of said pair of openings constituting a fulcrum for the severing of said portion of the sy¬ ringe by bending thereagainst; Said first and second openings communicating with different cavities within said housing for storing res¬ pective needle tips and syringe portions; and Retention means within at least one of said cavities for preventing discharge of said hypodermic needle syringe portions from the cavity. 16. The combination in accordance with claim 15 wherein the housing is comprised of elements that inter- fit and interlock with one another to form a unitary assembly. 17. The combination in accordance with claim 15 wherein said retention means comprises a viscous fluid within said cavities for coating severed parts therein. 18. The combination in accordance with claim 15 wherein said retention means comprises adhesive material on a wall of said cavities. 19. The combination in accordance with claim 16 wherein said retention means comprises flap means pivotable about one end thereof and adapted to pivot between two positions, a first position allowing entry of said severed portions into said cavity when said housing is in an upright position, and a second position closing said opening and preventing escape of said severed portions when said housing is in an inverted position. 20. A hypodermic needle syringe destruction and storage device comprising: 2 housing including a pair of openings therein; a first of said pair of openings dimensioned to receive the tip of a hypodermic needle, the wall of said housing defining said first opening constituting a fulcrum for severing said needle by bending thereagainst; the second of said pair of openings dimensioned to receive a portion of a hypodermic syringe, the wall defining said second of said pair of openings constituting a fulcrum for the severing of said portion of the syringe by bending thereagainst; said first and second openings communicating with different cavities within said housing for storing respective needle tips and syringe portions. 21. The combination in accordance with claim 20 including means for retaining said severed tips and syringe parts within the said respective cavities. 22. The combination in accordance with claim 21 wherein said retaining means comprises a viscous fluid within said cavities for coating severed parts therein. 23. The combination in accordance with claim 21 wherein said retaining means comprises adhesive material on a wall of said cavities. 24. The combination in accordance with claim 21 wherein said retaining means comprises a magnet secured to said housing providing magnetic attraction for ferromagnetic parts within said housing, said magnet located away from said openings. 25. The combination in accordance with claim 20 in which said different cavities are defined in part by a common CWALW. 26. The combination in accordance with claim 25 wherein the walls of said housing define a restricted region of at least one of said cavities for limiting the exiting of severed parts therefrom. OMPI '

Inventors: HARKINS DESIRA, MU ADDI FARID S, SCHMIDT BERND REINHOLD, HARKINS, DESIRA, MU'ADDI, FARID, S., SCHMIDT, BERND, REINHOLD
Applicants: HARKINS DESIRA, MU ADDI FARID S, HARKINS, DESIRA, MU'ADDI, FARID, S.
Application year: 1984
Main classification: B26F3
IPC codes: A61M5, B26F3