Abstract:
The invention relates to a safety needle assembly for injecting a fluid into a human body comprising a cylindrical housing with a bottom surface supporting a needle cannula and a shield telescopically movable relative to the housing. A spring located within the housing urges the shield in a distal needle covering direction and a locking member also provided inside the housing moves simultaneously with the shield during injection and automatically locks the shield in a position where the sharp end of the needle cannula is concealed thereby irreversible immobilizing the safety needle assembly.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of priority of U.S. provisional application No. 60/343,045, filed Dec. 22, 2001 and Danish Application PA 2001 01772, filed Nov. 30, 2001; the contents of both are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. 
     
    
     
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    The invention relates to a safety needle assembly, which reduces the risk of accidental needle-stick injuries, and especially a safety needle assembly where a needle cannula is mounted in a hub.  
         DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART  
         [0003]    Needle assemblies are commonly used to either inject substances into or extract substances out of human or animal bodies. Such needle assemblies are typically disposable and are discarded after only one use. The problem presented by the disposal of a needle assembly, and indeed, by any handling of the needle assembly, is the potential risk of being injured by the sharp end of the needle cannula. This is particular dangerous when following after the penetration of a patients skin since the needle cannula then may be contaminated and therefore capable of spreading diseases such as hepatitis and HIV.  
           [0004]    A great number of safety needle assemblies has been developed where the needle cannula is concealed by a telescopically movable shield during the injection.  
           [0005]    One such prior art needle protection system is disclosed in WO 01.76665. This safety needle comprises a hub with a centrally located needle cannula. A telescopically movable shield is provided on the outside surface of the hub. The shield is telescopically movable between a first position where it fully covers the needle cannula and a second position where a part or the needle cannula is left free to perform an injection. A cam element, rotatable mounted to the hub is provided with at least one cam, which cam is guided in cam curve provided in the inside surface of the shield. The shield is urged in the distal direction by a spring cocked between the hub and the shield. The cam curve is adapted to block the cam in a blocking position when the shield returns to the first position after an injection has been performed.  
           [0006]    The safety needle assembly disclosed in WO 01.76665 is however rather cumbersome and consist of a large number of parts that must be moulded and afterwards fitted together very precisely in order to obtain the correct movement of the cam follower.  
           [0007]    It is also a fact that the different plastic parts of an assembled construction have a tendency to change the relative dimensions when the construction is sterilized using steam or gas. This is especially critical when the tolerances have to be very narrow, as in the safety needle assembly disclosed in WO 01.76665.  
           [0008]    In order to assure that the cam element of WO 01.76665 in fact shifts into the locked position when the protective cap moves back to the initiate position after an injection has been made, a rather powerful spring is needed. This is an inconvenience for the user, since the user has to press the protective cap in the proximal direction literally with the use of his or hers skin while making the injection.  
         DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
         [0009]    It is henceforth an object of the present invention to provide a safety needle assembly, which overcomes the inconveniences of the prior art safety needle assemblies, and especial to provide a safety needle assembly which is made from fewer parts, and which parts are not subject to very strict tolerances.  
           [0010]    It is further an objective of the present invention to provide a safety needle assembly having a spring with only a limited force thereby offering the user maximum comfort.  
           [0011]    In order to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art it is suggested to provide the safety needle assembly with a separate locking element located between the spring and the shield according to claim 1.  
           [0012]    When the locking element is provided as a separate element located between the spring and the shield and moved simultaneously with the shield, the locking protrusion can be guided during the longitudinal movement of the locking member thereby eliminating the need for tracks or cams thus making it possible to construct the safety needle assembly from only three plastic part in addition to the hub.  
           [0013]    Since there are no tracks or cams as such the internal tolerances are not that important, and the friction can be kept rather low which renders it possible to utilize a somewhat soft spring, which enhances the user comfort.  
           [0014]    By blocking the rotational movement of the locking protrusion with a fin provided on the inside surface of the housing as specified in claim 2, it is possible to define when the rotatable movement of the locking protrusion should commence simply by specifying a specific length of the fin.  
           [0015]    Once the locking protrusion on the locking element has passed over the end of the fin as specified in claim 3 it will be impossible to move the locking protrusion backwards. The length of the fins can be made such that once the shield has been activated and the needle cannula has emerged from the opening in the shield it will be impossible to abort the injection and keep the needle for later use.  
           [0016]    When the locking protrusion engages the toothed ring of the shield as defined in claim 4, the shield can be moved all the way back in the proximal direction thereby uncovering the needle cannula.  
           [0017]    When the injection is over and the locking protrusion is arrested in the opening in the longitudinal rib as mentioned in claim 5, it is virtually impossible to advance the needle cannula again by pressing the shield backwards in the proximal direction.  
           [0018]    The guiding means for guiding the locking protrusion comprises only horizontally difined ribs and fins as specified in claim 6. This makes both the moulding of the parts and the assembly of the parts very simple.  
           [0019]    By mounting the shield inside the housing as disclosed in claim 7, it is ensured that the shield cannot be separated from the housing.  
           [0020]    When the spring cocked between the locking element and the hub interfaces both the locking element and the bottom surface of the housing as revealed in claim 8, it is ensured that the spring can be added to the assembly in a very simple manner.  
           [0021]    By providing the housing with a window through which the locking protrusion can be viewed when it is in the arrested position, it is ensured that a user can visible inspect whether the safety needle assembly has been used before or not.  
           [0022]    The part of the shield and/or the locking element that are visible through the window when the safety needle assembly is in the unused condition can also be coloured in a colour indicating that the safety needle assembly is ready for use.  
           [0023]    The window can either be transparent or simply an opening in the sidewall of the housing.  
           [0024]    In the present context, the term “moving simultaneous” which are used to describe the relationship between the movement of the shield and the locking element, does not necessary mean that the shield and the locking protrusion moves with the same speed. The relative speed of movement is defined by the various angled surfaces, and is therefore variable. The term “moving simultaneously” merely means that both the shield and the locking protrusion move at the same time. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0025]    The invention will be explained more fully below in connection with a preferred embodiment and with reference to the drawings in which:  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 1 Shows a perspective view of the safety needle assembly according to the invention.  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 2 Shows an exploded view of the safety needle assembly according to the invention.  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 3 Shows a perspective view of the needle shield.  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 4 Shows a perspective view of the locking element.  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 5 Shows a perspective view of the body of the housing.  
         [0031]    [0031]FIG. 6 Shows a schematically view of the body of the housing.  
         [0032]    [0032]FIG. 7 Shows a schematically view of the safety needle assembly according to the invention.  
         [0033]    [0033]FIG. 8 Shows a schematically view of the safety needle assembly according to the invention, with a part of the housing cut away.  
         [0034]    [0034]FIG. 9 Shows the locking protrusion in its first position.  
         [0035]    [0035]FIG. 10 Shows the locking protrusion in or moving towards its second position.  
         [0036]    [0036]FIG. 11 Shows the movement of the locking protrusion moving from the second to the third position.  
         [0037]    [0037]FIG. 12 Shows the locking protrusion in the third position.  
         [0038]    [0038]FIG. 13 Shows a perspective view of an embodiment of the safety needle assembly according to the invention.  
         [0039]    [0039]FIG. 14 Shows a part of the housing of an embodiment of the safety needle assembly according to the invention.  
         [0040]    [0040]FIG. 15 Shows an exploded view of the safety needle assembly according to the invention.  
         [0041]    [0041]FIG. 16 Shows a perspective view of the safety needle assembly stored in a container.  
     
    
       [0042]    The figures are schematic and simplified for clarity, and they just show details, which are essential to the understanding of the invention, while other details are left out. Throughout, the same reference numerals are used for identical or corresponding parts.  
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENT  
       [0043]    Initially it may be convenient to define that, the term “distal end” is meant to refer to the end of the safety needle assembly inserted into the patient, whereas the term “proximal end” is meant to refer to the end connected to the injection device.  
         [0044]    [0044]FIG. 1 shows a safety needle assembly comprising a housing  1  and a shield  2 , the housing  1  is made up from a hub  3  and a body  4 . The hub  3  and the body  4  is normally glued or welded together.  
         [0045]    The connecting surface  5  between the hub  3  and the body  4  is in the figures shown in a specific position, but could off cause be located as wanted. The hub  3  and the body  4  could even be moulded as one piece closed at the top surface  6  by a lit. The top surface  6  is provided with an opening  8  through which the shield  2  appears.  
         [0046]    The shield  2  is provided with a needle outlet  7  through which the needle cannula  30  can penetrate. The proximal end of the shield  2  is, as shown in FIG. 2, provided with eight outwardly projecting studs  10 , which studs  10  has a planar fore front  11  and an angled back front  12 .  
         [0047]    The housing  1  has a bottom surface  9  in the centre of which the needle cannula  30  is mounted. The needle cannula  30  can either be mounted such that a part of needle cannula  30  projects from the bottom surface  9  in the proximal direction, which is preferred for use with cartridges, or it can be mounted without this so called back needle, which is preferred for hypodermic syringes. Adjacent the bottom surface  9 , at the proximal end of the housing  1 , means are provided for mounting the safety needle assembly on to an injection device. These means would normally be a thread  35  such that the safety needle assembly can be screwed onto a pen syringe.  
         [0048]    [0048]FIG. 3 shows the shield  2  seen from the proximal end. The eight studs  10  are separated from each other by eight equally sized spaces  26 . The angular back front  12  of the studs  10  forms together with the shield  2  a toothed ring  13  where the centre of the studs  10  forms the tops and the shield  10  within the spaces  26  forms the valleys.  
         [0049]    The locking element  16  seen in FIG. 2 is on the proximal outside surface provided with four locking protrusions  17 . These locking protrusions  17  have, as shown in FIG. 4, an angled fore front  18  and a planar back front  19 .  
         [0050]    The body  4  of the housing  1  is in FIG. 5 shown in perspective and in FIG. 6 in a sectional view. The body  4  is provided with four windows  20  and one longitudinal rib  21  for each window  20 . The ribs  21  are provided on the inside surface of the body  4 . These longitudinal ribs  21  extend through the entire length of the body  4  although divided into two parts ( 21   a ,  21   b ) by the windows  20 . The distal part of this rib  21  is moulded uniform with a collar  24  provided at the distal end of the body  4  and terminates in a planar surface  14  at the distal end of the window  20 . The proximal part of the rib  21  terminates at the proximal end of the window in a blocking surface  15 , the use of which will be explained later. At the distal end of the body  4  there is provided four fins  22 . These fins  22  is moulded uniform with the collar  24  at the distal end of the body  4 , and has at the proximal end an angled surface  23  which terminates approximately in a position adjacent the middle of the windows  20 .  
         [0051]    Although the embodiment here described has eight studs  10 , four locking protrusions  17  and four windows  20 , these parts could be provided in a different number, as shown in FIG. 15.  
         [0052]    When the safety needle assembly shown in FIG. 2 is assembled, a spring  25  is cocked between the bottom surface  9  of the housing  1  and the locking element  16  urging the locking element  16  and the shield  2  in a distal direction. The planar forefront  11  on the studs  10  abuts the collar  24  such that the shield  2  is connected to the body  4  of the housing  1 .  
         [0053]    The assembled safety needle assembly is shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. FIG. 8 illustrates the inside of the safety needle assembly with the body  4  cut away.  
         [0054]    The shield  2  is located such within the body  4  of the housing  1  that each rib  21  and each fin  22  is located in the space  26  between two studs  10 . The upper part  21   a  of the ribs  21  are however not shown in FIG. 8, since this upper rib  21   a  is not entirely necessary. The locking element  16  is thereafter mounted such that the angular forefront  18  on each locking protrusion  17  abuts the angled back front  12  on four of the studs  10  of the shield  2 , whereby the side surface of the locking protrusion  17  and the side surface of the studs  10  forms a straight line which line abuts the side surface of the fins  22  of the body  4  of the housing  1 .  
         [0055]    Once the shield  2  and the locking element  16  is correctly mounted within the body  4  of the housing  1 , the spring  25  is located around the needle cannula  30  and the body  4  and the hub  3  are sealed together, rendering the safety needle assembly ready for use.  
         [0056]    The movement of the locking protrusion  17  is schematically shown in FIGS.  9 - 12 , showing the relative position of one of the locking protrusion  17  on the locking element  16 , two of the studs  10  on the shield  2 , one of the fins  22  on the inside surface of the body  4  of the housing  1  and one of the ribs  21  also located on the inside surface of the body  4  of the housing  1 .  
         [0057]    [0057]FIG. 9 illustrates the safety needle assembly in its initial position, as shown in FIG. 8, with the shield  2  in its distal position where the shield  2  covers the needle cannula  30 . When the shield  2  is pressed towards the skin of a user, the shield  2  and with it the studs  10 , are moved in a proximal direction as indicated with the arrow  27 . This movement also moves the locking protrusion  17  on the locking element  16  in the proximal direction against the force F of the spring  25 .  
         [0058]    Once the locking protrusions  17  is moved free of the fins  22 , as shown in FIG. 10, the angled fore front  18  of the locking protrusions  17  will slide along the angled back front  12  of the studs  10  and the angled fore front  23  of the fins  22  as indicated with the arrow  28 . This movement will move the locking protrusions  17  into contact with the valleys of the toothed ring  13 . Further movement of the shield  2  and thereby the studs  10  in the direction of the arrow  27  will only move the locking protrusions  17  further in the proximal direction. The injection is then executed with the shield  2  in its most proximal direction. The position of the fins  22  and the ribs  21  is such that the studs  10  are always guided either by the fins  22  or by the ribs  21 .  
         [0059]    When the injection is over, the needle cannula  30  is retracted from the skin of the user, which will cause the shield  2  with the studs  10  and the locking element  16  with the locking protrusion  17  to move in the distal direction due to the impact of the force F executed by the spring  25 . The arrow  29  in FIG. 11 indicates this movement.  
         [0060]    [0060]FIG. 12 illustrates how the force F of the spring  25  urges the locking element  16  with the locking protrusion  17  and the shield  2  with the studs  10  in the distal direction. When the angled fore front  23  on the fins  22  aligns the angled back front  12  of the studs  10 , such that the two angled fore fronts  23 ,  12  form a diagonal line, the angled fore front  18  of the locking protrusion  17  will slide along this line into a position where the locking protrusion  17  is located between the upper part  21   a  and the lower part  21   b  of the ribs  21  i.e. between the planar surface  14  of the upper part  21   a  of the ribs  21  and the blocking surface  15  of the lower part  21   b  of the ribs  21 . In this position the locking protrusion  17  and hence the locking element  16  and the shield  2  is irreversible locked.  
         [0061]    At the proximal end of the locking protrusion  17 , the planar back front  19  will abut or at least be blocked by the blocking surface  15  on the ribs  21  of the body  4  of the housing  1 , thereby rendering it impossible to move the shield  2  in the proximal direction. At the distal end, the angled fore front  18  of the locking protrusion  17  will abut the toothed ring  13  of the shield  2  and since the planar forefront  11  of the studs  10  on the shield  2  abuts the collar  24  of the body  4  of the housing  1  it will not be possible to move the shield  2  in the distal direction. Sideways the studs  10  of the shield  2  will be arrested between the upper part  21   a  of the ribs  21  and the fins  22 . As a result of this it will be impossible to move the shield  2  in any direction.  
         [0062]    Instead of having the angled fore front  18  of the locking protrusion  17  in abutment with the toothed ring  13  of the shield when the injection is over, the front end  36  of the locking element  16  can be design to abut the inner top end  37  of shield  2  once the locking protrusion  17  is in the locking position. This will make it virtually impossible to squeeze the angled fore front  18  of the locking protrusion  17  by pushing the shield  2  in the proximal direction.  
         [0063]    The body  4  of the housing  1  is provided with four windows  20  which windows  20  divides each of the four ribs  21  into an upper part  21   a  and a lower part  21   b . When the safety needle assembly has been used, the locking protrusion  17  on the locking element  16  will be located between the upper part  21   a  and the lower part  21   b  of the ribs  21 , and will thus be visible through the window  20 . The locking protrusion  17 , or a part of it, could be coloured in an inflammatory colour, or provided with another indication, which will render it very easy for a user to visibly inspect whether the safety needle assembly has been used or not just by glancing at the windows  20 . The windows  20  could e.g. be provided as openings in the wall of the body  4 .  
         [0064]    Prior to use, the safety needle assembly is delivered to the user sterilized and contained as is shown in FIG. 7. The container  31  is closed at the distal surface  32  and open at the proximal surface  33 . The proximal surface  33  is sealed by a not shown removable seal. The container  31  has on the inside surface not shown ribs that mates ribs  34  located on the outside surface of the housing  1  preferably on the hub  3 , such that the safety needle assembly can be screwed on and off a pen syringe without removing the container  32  from the safety needle assembly. Further the container could on the inside surface be provided with a number of not shown raised points supporting the safety needle assembly in a somewhat floating position making it easier for the steam or gas to fully surround the safety needle assembly during sterilization in case this type of sterilization is used.  
         [0065]    The spring  30  urging the locking element  16  and the shield  2  in the distal direction is preferably made from stainless non-corrosive steel such that the spring  30  will not be damaged during the steam sterilization process. A spring  30  particular suitable for this purpose is a 1.4462/SAF2205 spring.  
         [0066]    Another embodiment of the safety needle assembly according to the invention is disclosed in FIG. 13 and FIG. 14.  
         [0067]    [0067]FIG. 13 shows a housing  40  comprising of a hub  41  and body  42 . Mounted inside the housing  40  are a shield  43  and a locking element  44 . The shield  43  penetrates out of the housing  40  through an opening  45  located at the distal end of the housing  40   
         [0068]    The shield  43  is provided with four studs  46  and ends at the proximal end in a toothed ring  38 .  
         [0069]    This toothed ring  38  engages a second toothed ring  39  located on the locking element  44 . The locking element  44  is further provided with a locking protrusion  49  located at the proximal end thereof.  
         [0070]    The needle cannula  30  is in FIG. 13 mounted in the bottom surface  50 , which bottom surface  50  is provided in the housing  40 , preferably in the hub  41 .  
         [0071]    [0071]FIG. 13 shows the safety needle assembly with the shield  43  in the locked position, and FIG. 14 illustrates the inside surface of the housing  40  by showing the part of the housing  40  cut away in FIG. 13 seen from the backside.  
         [0072]    The four studs  46  on the shield  43  is guided in first horizontal tracks  51  provided on the inside surface of the housing  40 . The locking protrusion  49  on the locking element  44  abuts a planar surface  48  in its initiate position and is guided in a second horizontal track  52  as the shield  43  is moved in the proximal direction. Once the shield  43  has been moved all the way back to its most proximal position and the injection is executed, a not shown spring positioned between the bottom surface  50  and the locking element  44  will urge the locking element  44  and hence the shield  43  in the distal direction. During this movement, the angled fore front  47  of the locking protrusion  49  will engage a diagonal track  53  also provided in the inside surface of the housing  40 . While the shield  43  moves back to its initiate position, the locking element  44  and hence the locking protrusion  49  will rotate approximately 180 degrees in the diagonal track  53  and engage a locking chamber  54  provided at the distal end of the diagonal track  53 , which locking chamber  54  has a blocking surface  55  that a planar back front  56  of the locking protrusion  49  will abut rendering further movement of the shield  43  impossible. The first toothed ring  38  of the shield  43  and the second toothed ring  39  of the locking element  44  support this movement due to mutual engagement of the angled surfaces of the two rings  38 ,  39 .  
         [0073]    The shield  43  cannot be rotated relatively to the housing  40  due to the engagement of the studs  46  with the first horizontal tracks  51 . Since rotation of the shield  43  is inhibited it is impossible to rotate the locking protrusion  49  of the locking element  44  backwards in the diagonal track  53 , and the locking protrusion  49  will therefore remain in the locking chamber  54  thus rendering the safety needle assembly secured.  
         [0074]    A window could be provided in the housing  40  through which window the locking chamber  54  can be viewed, such that the user can get a visible indication whether the safety needle assembly has been used or not.  
         [0075]    An improved embodiment of the safety needle assembly disclosed in FIGS.  1  to  12  is shown in FIG. 15 and in FIG. 16.  
         [0076]    In the following the numbers referring to the same element as in the previous figures has been given the same number plus one hundred.  
         [0077]    The safety needle assembly shown in FIG. 15 comprises a housing made up from a needle hub  103  and a body  104  both preferably injection moulded from PP. Both the hub  103  itself and the tower of the hub  103  is somewhat higher than shown in FIG. 2, while the body  104  is somewhat shorter. The needle cannula  130  is inserted in the tower of the hub  103  and glued to the hub  103  by a blob of glue  160 .  
         [0078]    The body  104  is in this embodiment provided with three windows  120  and the locking element  116  is also provided with three locking protrusions  117 . When the locking element  116  locks the safety needle assembly from reuse, the three locking protrusions  117  will be visible in the three windows  120  as earlier explained.  
         [0079]    The shield  104  which is preferably made from TPX can be transparent such that the tip of needle cannula  130  is visible for inspection by the user prior to injection, has on its proximal end six studs  110 . The toothed ring  113  formed between these studs  110  is therefore in this embodiment only provided with six valleys.  
         [0080]    The locking element  116  which is preferably made from POM or PP is on the distal end surface provided with a serrated ring  161  which are used during the manufacturing process. When the safety needle assembly is being assembled a tool can enter the safety needle assembly through the needle outlet  107  in the shield  102  and engage this serrated ring  161  in order to rotate the locking element  116  to the correct position before the shield  102  and the locking element  116  is permanently encapsulated in the housing. For this purpose the needle outlet  107  needs to be large enough for the toll to pass through the needle outlet  107 .  
         [0081]    In the embodiment shown in FIG. 10 there exist a slight possibility of rotating the shield  2  when the studs  10  are longitudinal located between the fins  22  and the lower part  21   b  of the ribs  21 . In order to prevent such accidental rotation, the studs  110  of the embodiment shown in FIG. 15 is provided with an additional guiding rib  162  which are guided in a number of not shown guiding tracks provided on the inside surface of the body  104  of the housing. Due to this no rotation between the shield  102  and the body  104  is possible,  
         [0082]    When the safety needle assembly is assembled the whole unit is packed in a container  131  which container  131  is sealed with a removable seal  163  and sterilized. The removable seal  163  is preferably made from paper.  
         [0083]    The distal part of the container  131  can be formed as a cup  164  holding a predetermined volume as shown in FIG. 16. The dosage of an injection device to be used with the safety needle assembly can thus be controlled by ejecting a predetermined number of doses into the cup  164  and verifying the expelled volume. This can be done either by filling the entire cup or by having indications printed on the cup  164 .  
         [0084]    Some preferred embodiments have been shown in the foregoing, but it should be stressed that the invention is not limited to these, but may be embodied in other ways within the subject matter defined in the following claims.  
         [0085]    List of Parts:  
         [0086]    [0086] 1  Housing  
         [0087]    [0087] 2  Shield  
         [0088]    [0088] 3  Hub  
         [0089]    [0089] 4  Body  
         [0090]    [0090] 5  Connecting surface  
         [0091]    [0091] 6  Top surface  
         [0092]    [0092] 7  Needle outlet  
         [0093]    [0093] 8  Opening  
         [0094]    [0094] 9  Bottom surface  
         [0095]    [0095] 10  Stud  
         [0096]    [0096] 11  Planar ore front of studs  
         [0097]    [0097] 12  Angled back front of studs  
         [0098]    [0098] 13  Toothed ring  
         [0099]    [0099] 14  Planar surface  
         [0100]    [0100] 15  Blocking surface  
         [0101]    [0101] 16  Locking element  
         [0102]    [0102] 17  Locking protrusion  
         [0103]    [0103] 18  Angled front of locking protrusion  
         [0104]    [0104] 19  Planar back front of locking protrusion  
         [0105]    [0105] 20  Window  
         [0106]    [0106] 21  Rib  
         [0107]    [0107] 21   a  Upper part of rib  
         [0108]    [0108] 21   b  lower part of rib  
         [0109]    [0109] 22  Fin  
         [0110]    [0110] 23  Angled surface  
         [0111]    [0111] 24  Collar  
         [0112]    [0112] 25  Spring  
         [0113]    [0113] 26  Spaces on shield  
         [0114]    [0114] 27  Directional arrow  
         [0115]    [0115] 28  Directional arrow  
         [0116]    [0116] 29  Directional arrow  
         [0117]    [0117] 30  Needle cannula  
         [0118]    [0118] 31  Container  
         [0119]    [0119] 32  distal surface of container  
         [0120]    [0120] 33  proximal surface of container  
         [0121]    [0121] 34  Ribs on outside surface of housing  
         [0122]    [0122] 35  Thread  
         [0123]    [0123] 36  Front end of locking protrusion  
         [0124]    [0124] 37  Inner top end of shield  
         [0125]    [0125] 38  Toothed ring of shield  
         [0126]    [0126] 39  Second toothed ring of locking element  
         [0127]    [0127] 40  Housing  
         [0128]    [0128] 41  Hub  
         [0129]    [0129] 42  Body  
         [0130]    [0130] 43  Shield  
         [0131]    [0131] 44  Locking element  
         [0132]    [0132] 45  Opening  
         [0133]    [0133] 46  Studs  
         [0134]    [0134] 47  Angled fore front of locking protrusion  
         [0135]    [0135] 48  Planar surface  
         [0136]    [0136] 49  Locking protrusion  
         [0137]    [0137] 50  Bottom surface  
         [0138]    [0138] 51  First horizontal track  
         [0139]    [0139] 52  Second horizontal track  
         [0140]    [0140] 53  Diagonal track  
         [0141]    [0141] 54  Locking chamber  
         [0142]    [0142] 55  Blocking surface  
         [0143]    [0143] 56  Planar back front  
         [0144]    [0144] 102  Shield  
         [0145]    [0145] 103  Hub  
         [0146]    [0146] 104  Body  
         [0147]    [0147] 107  Needle outlet  
         [0148]    [0148] 110  Stud  
         [0149]    [0149] 113  Toothed ring  
         [0150]    [0150] 116  Locking element  
         [0151]    [0151] 117  Locking protrusion  
         [0152]    [0152] 120  Window  
         [0153]    [0153] 125  Spring  
         [0154]    [0154] 130  Needle cannula  
         [0155]    [0155] 131  Container  
         [0156]    [0156] 160  Glue  
         [0157]    [0157] 161  Serrated ring  
         [0158]    [0158] 162  Guiding rib  
         [0159]    [0159] 163  Seal  
         [0160]    [0160] 164  Cup