Abstract:
The present disclosure is directed to an IV cap that has a large grasping area and defines opening to allow the cap to be hung on an IV pole or other mount. The IV cap, once opened from a sterile packaging will connect to a female threaded, luer lock IV component: most likely a form of IV tubing or syringe. The IV cap will plug the connected IV tubing or syringe, maintaining sterility within the tubing system. The feature of the perforated tab of the IV cap will allow the user to hang the cap loop on an IV pole wire or hook.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention is directed generally to intravenous tubing caps, and, more particularly, to intravenous tubing caps that have a large grasping area and a slot for hanging the intravenous tubing cap on an IV pole or other hanging implement. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    Intravenous (“IV”) therapy offers the fastest route to introduce fluid and medication into the body and thus has achieved near ubiquitous status in hospitals worldwide. All current IV systems employ the use of IV tubes which carry the medicine or fluid to a hypodermic needle or other implement for administering the medicine or fluid directly into the vein of a patient. To keep the IV tubes sterile between uses, current guidelines suggest placing a sterile cap in the end of the IV tube which protects the tip of the IV tube from potential contaminants. 
         [0003]    However, IV caps currently in circulation around hospitals and health clinics carry a significant risk of contamination in the course of ordinary use. Existing IV caps are small in size with minimal surface to grasp the product during connection to a syringe or IV tubing. The small grasping area on the caps creates a risk the user will touch the sterile connection threads thus potentially contaminating the IV cap and/or tubing. Additionally, once the cap is connected, there is no means to hang the tubing to prevent it from coming in contact with the floor. If the user attempts to lay the tubing over the infusion pump it will most likely fall to the floor if the IV pole is moved. Once on the ground, the tubing will likely be stepped on or run over by medical equipment that can result in contamination and/or perforation of the tubing. Although invisible to the naked eye, bacteria and microbes on the contaminated tubing will most likely be touched when the user attempts to disconnect or reconnect the IV tubing at a later time. 
         [0004]    Accordingly, there exists a need in the art for an IV cap that has a large grasping area to mitigate the risk that a user may touch the sterile plug, and that has an opening to allow the cap to be hung on an IV pole or other mount. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    The present disclosure is directed to an IV cap that has a large grasping area and an opening to allow the cap to be hung on an IV pole or other mount. The IV cap, once opened from a sterile packaging will connect to a female threaded, luer lock IV component: most likely a form of IV tubing or syringe. The IV cap will plug the connected IV tubing or syringe, maintaining sterility within the tubing system. The feature of the perforated tab of the IV cap will allow the user to hang the cap loop on an IV pole wire or hook. 
         [0006]    The ultimate purpose for the looped IV cap is to help reduce the risk of hospital-acquired infections related to central or peripheral IV line contamination. The long, flat tab of the IV cap distal end to the male connection end creates a surface to grasp the cap during the connection process. This will maintain an appropriate distance between the sterile cap threads and the gloved or ungloved fingers of the user. In addition, once the cap is secured, the hole of the IV cap can be looped onto any IV pole hanging-wire or hook. Securing the IV tubing by the loop will prevent the tubing from ever coming in contact with ground or sterile field, especially during movement of the IV pole. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]    The various embodiments of the invention will be better understood when read in conjunction with the following drawings: 
           [0008]      FIG. 1A  shows a front view of an IV tube cap according to an embodiment; 
           [0009]      FIG. 1B  shows a side view of an IV tube cap according to an embodiment; 
           [0010]      FIG. 2A  shows a front view of an IV tube cap according to an embodiment; 
           [0011]      FIG. 2B  shows a side view of an IV tube cap according to an embodiment; 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  shows a side view of an IV tube cap in use according to an embodiment; 
           [0013]      FIG. 4A  shows a front view of an IV tube cap according to an embodiment; and 
           [0014]      FIG. 4B  shows a front view of an IV tube cap according to an embodiment. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
       [0015]    Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout, there is seen in  FIG. 1A , a IV tube cap  10  according to an embodiment. As shown, IV tube cab  10  comprises a plug  16  that is dimensioned to insert into and seal an IV tube (not shown), syringe, or any other medical device having a female-threaded, luer lock IV component. IV tube cap  10  further comprises a tab  12  that is dimensioned to permit a user to easily hold and use the IV tube cap  10  without touching the plug  16 . Tab  12  may be perforated, or otherwise formed to define a hanging opening  14 . Hanging opening  14  is dimensioned to fit over a portion of an IV pole so that a user to may hang IV tube cap  10 , and an IV tube engaged with IV tube cap  10 , on an IV pole. Thus, the IV tube, when not in use, will be sealed with a sterile, untouched plug, and hung on an IV pole where it will not fall or otherwise be damaged or exposed to contaminants. While hanging opening  14  is shown to as a teardrop shape, a person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that opening  14  may be any shape (i.e., circular, oblong, triangular) that is suitable for hanging tab  12  on an IV pole. 
         [0016]      FIG. 1B  shows an alternate view of IV tube cap  10 . As shown, tab  12  may be narrower than the diameter of plug  16 , however one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that tab  12  may instead be thicker than the diameter of plug  16 , or alternately, tab  12  may vary in thickness. 
         [0017]      FIG. 2A  shows an alternate embodiment of IV tube cap  10 , shown here as IV tube cap  20 . IV tube cap  20  has a fully threaded plug  22  which may be engaged with IV tubes having a fully threaded female end, as will be appreciated by a person of ordinary skill in the art. One of ordinary skill will also appreciate that plug  16 ,  22 , may take on a variety of shapes and configurations. Plug  16 ,  22  may be fully threaded or partially threaded. In an alternate embodiment, plug  16 ,  22  may not be threaded at all, but may be dimensioned to tightly insert into an IV tube and form a seal therein. Alternately, plug  16 ,  22  may be have a sealing ring, such as an O-ring, to form a seal.  FIG. 2B  similarly shows a side view of IV tube cap  10  with fully threaded plug  22 . 
         [0018]      FIG. 3  depicts how tab  12  may be grasped by a user. As shown, the elongated tab  12  allows the user to grasp the IV tube cap  10  without risking contact with sterile plug  22  (or plug  16 ). 
         [0019]      FIG. 4A  shows an embodiment of plug  10  with exemplary dimensions. As shown, tab  12  may be 2.8 cm long and 1.6 cm wide. One of ordinary skill will recognize that tab  12  and plug  16  may have any number of dimensions and still fall within the scope and spirit of this disclosure. In particular, tab  12  may be any length sufficient to easily grasp tab  12  without touching plug  16 ,  22 . With this in mind, in an exemplary embodiment, tab  12  may be any length greater than 2 cm long. For ease of packing and handling, it may be advantageous to limit the length of the tab to 6 cm, however, some embodiments may extend beyond that length. 
         [0020]    Similarly, hanging opening may be  1 .3 cm long and 1 cm wide. In an alternate embodiment, hanging opening may be any dimension less than 1.5 cm long and 1 cm wide. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that opening  14  may be any dimension sufficient to hang IV tube cap  10  or  20  on an IV pole or other hanging implement, such as a hook. 
         [0021]    As shown in  FIG. 4A  plug  16  may be 0.7 cm long, and have a diameter of 0.8 cm. As shown in FIG. B, plug  22  may be, in an exemplary embodiment, 0.8 centimeters long and 0.8 centimeters wide. One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the dimensions of plug  16 ,  22  will depend upon the dimensions of IV tube, syringe, or other device that will receive and be sealed by plug  16 ,  22 . Therefore, plug  16 ,  22  may be any dimensions sufficient to plug and seal an IV tube, syringe, or other device. 
         [0022]    While various embodiments have been described and illustrated herein, those of ordinary skill in the art will readily envision a variety of other means and/or structures for performing the function and/or obtaining the results and/or one or more of the advantages described herein, and each of such variations and/or modifications is deemed to be within the scope of the embodiments described herein. More generally, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that all parameters, dimensions, materials, and configurations described herein are meant to be exemplary and that the actual parameters, dimensions, materials, and/or configurations will depend upon the specific application or applications for which the teachings is/are used. Those skilled in the art will recognize, or be able to ascertain using no more than routine experimentation, many equivalents to the specific embodiments described herein. It is, therefore, to be understood that the foregoing embodiments are presented by way of example only and that, within the scope of the appended claims and equivalents thereto, embodiments may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described and claimed. Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to each individual feature, system, article, material, kit, and/or method described herein. In addition, any combination of two or more such features, systems, articles, materials, kits, and/or methods, if such features, systems, articles, materials, kits, and/or methods are not mutually inconsistent, is included within the scope of the present disclosure. 
         [0023]    The above-described embodiments of the described subject matter can be implemented in any of numerous ways. For example, some embodiments may be implemented using hardware, software or a combination thereof. When any aspect of an embodiment is implemented at least in part in software, the software code can be executed on any suitable processor or collection of processors, whether provided in a single device or computer or distributed among multiple devices/computers. 
         [0024]    The claims should not be read as limited to the described order or elements unless stated to that effect. It should be understood that various changes in form and detail may be made by one of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims. All embodiments that come within the spirit and scope of the following claims and equivalents thereto are claimed.