Patent Publication Number: US-2016228687-A1

Title: Needleless connector module

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present disclosure relates to a needleless connector module; in particular, to a needleless connector module associated with the technical field of injector devices. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Needleless connector modules are produced mainly by ultrasonic welding so that components in the module can be connected with each other. However, the components are generally so small and some partial locations of the components are so fragile that abnormal transformation during manufacturing and defective fracture can both result. 
     The more quantity of the components, the more difficulty associated with welding connections by ultrasound. In particular, before the components undergo ultrasonic welding, a pre-assembling procedure among the components needs to be carried out to position the positions going to be welded among the components precisely and the ultrasonic welding can then performed. However, the components are so small as to make the pre-assembling more difficult. How to maintain the pre-assembling precision of the component moving along the processing line to achieve a good welding result is a tough issue that needs to be overcome. Especially when the needleless connector module includes too many components, not only does the number of times as well as the number of processes needed for ultrasonic welding becomes more and more complicated, but also the stability of pre-assembling is massively lowered leading to difficulty of ultrasonic welding and of improving good yield rate. During the ultrasonic welding procedure, heat could be generated to damage each of the components of the module. However, the more quantity of the components, the more frequency with which the ultrasonic welding needs to be performed. Thus, damages to each of the components by the ultrasonic welding can easily result during the process of the manufacture. More costs of molding will result due to the increase of the components needed. Hence, how to decrease the quantity of the needed components of the module to achieve the best pre-assembling effect, to decrease the frequency of the welding, reduce the difficulty of the welding, and raise the good yield rate and minimize the unnecessary cost, so as to enforce the competitive power of the product, is a big issue long to be improved. 
     Hence, the present inventors believe the above mentioned disadvantages can be overcome, and through devoted research combined with application of theory, finally proposes the present disclosure which has a reasonable design and effectively improves upon the above mentioned disadvantages. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The object of the present disclosure is to provide a needleless connector module capable of improving the problem of too many components within the module as well as the difficulties of pre-assembling and ultrasonic welding. 
     In order to achieve the aforementioned objects, the present disclosure provides a needleless connector module comprising: a flow guiding member having a flow guiding channel formed along a central axis of the flow guiding member, the flow guiding channel connecting to a upper portion and a lower portion of the flow guiding member, a flow guiding tube being disposed on the upper portion and connected to the flow guiding channel, an edge of the upper portion including an ultrasonic welding portion thereon; an elastic valve being disposed on the upper portion and sleeved on the flow guiding tube, a slit being formed on a top surface of the elastic valve, a receiving orifice being hidden inside of the slit of the elastic valve; and a sleeve tube having an inner annular bottom surface formed on an inner wall of a base portion of the sleeve tube, the inner annular bottom surface centripetally extending relative to the base portion to define a base inner bore, a base outer bore being defined by the base portion of the sleeve tube, the base outer bore being larger than the base inner bore, a limiting portion of annular wall being defined by the inner wall of the base portion, wherein the sleeve tube is sleeved on the elastic valve and assembled with the flow guiding member to allow the inner annular bottom surface to be able to contact with the ultrasonic welding portion and let the limiting portion of annular wall annularly cover a base side portion of the flow guiding member, so as to allow the sleeve tube to be stably disposed on the flow guiding member and improve success of ultrasonic welding between the ultrasonic welding portion and the limiting portion of the annular wall; wherein a main chamber is defined as the sleeve tube is assembled with the flow guiding member and the elastic valve is in the main chamber. 
     Through the abovementioned technical features, the present disclosure can achieve a good pre-assembling effect by means of using less components, so as to lower down the difficulty of ultrasonic welding, raise the good yield rate of the product and minimize unnecessary costs. 
     In order to further the understanding regarding the present disclosure, the following embodiments are provided along with illustrations to facilitate the disclosure of the present disclosure. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1A  shows a perspective view from above of the needleless connector module according to the first embodiment of the instant disclosure; 
         FIG. 1B  shows a perspective view from below of the needleless connector module according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 2A  shows an exploded view from above of the needleless connector module according to the first embodiment of the instant disclosure; 
         FIG. 2B  shows an exploded view from below of the needleless connector module according to the first embodiment of the instant disclosure; 
         FIG. 3A  shows a cross sectional view of the needleless connector module before being operated according to the first embodiment of the instant disclosure; 
         FIG. 3B  shows a cross sectional view of the needleless connector module after being operated according to the first embodiment of the instant disclosure; 
         FIG. 3C  shows a cross sectional view of the grasping inner wall of the needless connector module according to another embodiment of the instant disclosure; 
         FIG. 4A  shows a perspective view from above of the needleless connector module according to the second embodiment of the instant disclosure; 
         FIG. 4B  shows a perspective view from below of the needleless connector module according to the second embodiment of the instant disclosure; 
         FIG. 4C  shows a partially exploded view from above of the needleless connector module according to a preferred example of the second embodiment of the instant disclosure; 
         FIG. 4D  shows a partially exploded view from below of the needleless connector module according to a preferred example of the second embodiment of the instant disclosure; 
         FIG. 5A  shows a perspective view from above of the needleless connector module according to another preferred example of the second embodiment of the instant disclosure; 
         FIG. 5B  shows a perspective view from below of the needleless connector module according to another preferred example of the second embodiment of the instant disclosure; 
         FIG. 5C  shows a partially exploded view from above of the needleless connector module according to another preferred example of the second embodiment of the instant disclosure; 
         FIG. 5D  shows a partially exploded view from below of the needleless connector module according to another preferred example of the second embodiment of the instant disclosure; 
         FIG. 6A  shows a perspective view from above of the needleless connector module according to another preferred example of the second embodiment of the instant disclosure; 
         FIG. 6B  shows a perspective view from below of the needleless connector module according to another preferred example of the second embodiment of the instant disclosure; 
         FIG. 6C  shows a partially exploded view from above of the needleless connector module according to another preferred example of the second embodiment of the instant disclosure; and 
         FIG. 6D  shows a partially exploded view from below of the needleless connector module according to another preferred example of the second embodiment of the instant disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     First Embodiment 
     Please refer to  FIGS. 1A, 1B, 2A and 2B , the present disclosure provides a needleless connector module  1  of three pieces including a flow guiding member  10 , an elastic valve  20 , and a sleeve tube  30 . 
     Please refer to  FIGS. 2A, 2B and 3A . A flow guiding channel  13  is formed along a longitudinal axis Y of the flow guiding member  10 . The flow guiding channel  13  connects to an upper portion  11  and a lower portion  12  of the flow guiding member  10 , or preferably, the flow guiding channel  13  is formed along a central axis CA of the flow guiding member  10 . Basically, the direction of the central axis CA is parallel to the longitudinal axis Y. The flow guiding channel  13  connects with an upper portion  11  and a lower portion  12  of the flow guiding member  10 . A flow guiding tube  110  is disposed on the upper portion  11 . In other words, the flow guiding tube  110  is protruded from the upper portion  11  and connected to the flow guiding channel  13 . An edge of the upper portion  11  includes an ultrasonic welding portion  111  formed thereon. 
     As shown on  FIGS. 2A, 2B and 3A , the elastic valve  20  is disposed on the upper portion  11  and sleeves on the flow guiding tube  110 . A top surface of the elastic valve  20  is opened to form a slit  2011 . As the elastic valve  20  sleeves on the flow guiding tube  110 , a receiving orifice  1101  is opened on two relative side walls on a free end (label not shown) upwardly from the flow guiding tube  110  and is connected with the flow guiding tube  110  downwardly. The receiving orifice  1101  of the flow guiding tube  110  can be hidden inside of the elastic valve  20  and under the slit  2011 . Preferably, the receiving orifice  1101  also connects with the perforation of the two relative walls. 
     Please refer to  FIGS. 2A, 2B and 3A . An upper location of an inner wall of a base portion  310  of the sleeve tube  30  is extended toward the central axis CA to form an inner annular bottom surface  311 . The inner annular bottom surface  311  indents toward the central axis CA so that a base inner bore D 1  is defined. A base outer bore D 2  is also defined by the base portion  310  of the sleeve tube  30 . The diameter of the base outer bore D 2  is larger than that of the base inner bore D 1 . The inner wall of the base portion  310  also defines a limiting portion of annular wall  312 . As the elastic valve  20  is disposed on the flow guiding member  10  to undergo an assembling procedure, the sleeve tube  30  can be sleeved outside of the elastic valve  20  and assembled with the flow guiding member  10  so that the inner annular bottom surface  311  contacts with the ultrasonic welding portion  111 . The limiting portion of annular wall  312  can annularly cover the base side portion  14  of the flow guiding member  10 , so as to allow the sleeve tube  30  to be disposed on the flow guiding member  10  more stably. Furthermore, when the instant disclosure is undergoing the procedure of production, the limiting portion of annular wall  312  of the base portion  310  as well as the inner annular bottom surface  311  above the limiting portion of annular wall  312  can be viewed as being equivalent to a cap-form joint structure (label not shown), so as to be used to cap on and cover a part of the base side portion  14  of the flow guiding member  10 , helping the sleeve tube  30  to be located on the flow guiding member  10 , having been assembled with the elastic valve  20  more stably to form a stable pre-assembling structure. Hence, before the ultrasonic welding, it is necessary to make the pre-assembling of the sleeve tube  30  and the flow guiding member  10  more stable to effectively prevent the relative shifting between the sleeve tube  30  and the flow guiding member  10  from occurring during the producing process or movement in the production line. Thus, meaningful contact between the inner annular bottom surface  311  and the ultrasonic welding portion  111  can be also maintained and improved, helping to raise the success rate of ultrasonic welding between the ultrasonic welding portion  111  and the inner annular bottom surface  311 . When the sleeve tube  30  is assembled with the flow guiding member  10 , a main chamber  40  is defined and the elastic valve  20  having been assembled with the flow guiding tube  110  is in the main chamber  40 . 
     Please refer to  FIG. 2A , the edge of the upper portion  11  also includes a non-welding portion  112 . The non-welding portion  112  is formed on the ultrasonic welding portion  111  and intercepts the ultrasonic welding portion  111  so that the ultrasonic welding portion  111  forms two cross sections ( 111   a ,  111   b ) opposing to each other. The non-welding portion  112  is lower than the ultrasonic welding portion  111  so that a non-welding notch  113  is defined by the non-welding portion  112  and the two cross sections ( 111   a ,  111   b ) opposing to each other. The non-welding notch  113  is connected to the main chamber  40 . As shown in  FIG. 2A , if the upper portion  11  roughly defines a circle and the circle has a circle center (label not shown), the central axis CA basically passes through the circle center and another non-welding notch (label not shown), opposite to the location of the non-welding portion  113  on a diameter passing through the circle center and the non-welding portion  113 , can be found. In the instant embodiment, there can be two non-welding portions  113 , but it is not limited thereto. There can also be only one non-welding portion  113  or more than two non-welding portions  113 . The non-welding portions  113  can be spacedly disposed along the ultrasonic welding portion  111 , or the location of each of the non-welding portions  113  can be equally spaced along the ultrasonic welding portion  111 , but of course, it is not limited thereto. Please refer to  FIG. 3A . Shown in a diagram of a cross-section view, the non-welding notch  113  is able to connect to the main chamber  40 . 
     Please refer to  FIG. 2A . A side trench  140  is formed on the base side portion  14 . As shown in  FIG. 3A , when the assembling of the instant disclosure is completed so that the cap-form structure is formed by covering the outside of the base side portion  14  with the sleeve tube  30 , the formation of the cap-form structure is contributed to by the combination of the inner annular bottom surface  311  and the limiting portion of the annular wall  312 . The side trench  140  can downwardly connect to the outside of the needleless connector module  1  and upwardly connect to the non-welding notch  113 . The main chamber  40  of the needleless connector module  1  can connect to the outside of the needleless connector module  1  through the non-welding notch  113  and the side trench  140 . Once the instant disclosure is produced and is undergoing a sterilizing procedure for subsequent sale, the structure of the main chamber  40  capable of connecting to the outside is helpful for the entrance of high-temperature as well as high-pressure sterile vapor, so as to avoid the possible risks of incomplete sterilization when the needleless connector module  1  goes out from the factory. 
     Please refer to  FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 3A . The elastic valve  20  is hollow and respectively defines a valve head portion  210 , valve neck portion  220 , valve shoulder portion  230 , a valve waist portion  240  and a valve base portion  250  from the top surface  201  to the annular bottom surface  202  of the elastic valve  20 . Please refer to  FIGS. 2A and 3A . An insertion opening  350   a  is formed at a top terminal  350  of the sleeve tube  30 . As the sleeve tube  30  is sleeved on the elastic valve  20 , the valve head portion  210  is just located in the insertion opening  350   a  and blocks the insertion opening  350   a . Please refer to  FIGS. 2A and 3A . A tube head portion  340 , tube shoulder portion  330  and tube main portion  320  are respectively defined from the insertion opening  350   a  to the tube base portion  310 . Thus, it is known that the tube main portion  320  downwardly connects to the tube base portion  310 . An upper interspace  41  is defined in the main chamber  40  by inner walls of the tube head portion  340  and the tube shoulder portion  330 , and outer walls of the valve head portion  210  and valve neck portion  220 . A lower interspace  42  is defined in the main chamber  40  by inner walls of the tube shoulder portion  330  and the tube waist/main portion  320 , and outer walls of the valve shoulder portion  230 , the valve waist portion  240  and the valve base portion  250 . A part of the outer wall of the valve shoulder portion  230  is defined as a shoulder incline  230   a  and the shoulder incline  230   a  abuts the inner wall of the tube shoulder portion  330 . Another part of the outer wall of the valve shoulder portion  230  is recessed to form an air duct recess  230   b . The air duct recess  230   b  is more recessed than the shoulder incline  230   a  and connects with the upper interspace  41  and the lower interspace  42 . Preferably, the quantity of the air duct recess  230   b  is not limited to be only one. The quantity of the shoulder incline  230   a  is not limited to be only one, either. Preferably, the air duct recess  230   b  and the shoulder incline  230   a  can be tandem-repetitively formed on the valve shoulder portion  230  around the central axis CA so that the quantities of the shoulder incline  230   a  and the air duct recess  230   b  are not limited thereto. In other words, an air duct recess  230   b , a shoulder incline  230   a  adjacent to the air duct recess  230   b , another air duct recess (label not shown) adjacent to the shoulder incline  230   a  and another shoulder incline (label not shown) adjacent to the another air duct recess can be repeatedly formed on the valve shoulder portion  230  around the central axis CA till a cycle of a spire is completed by such one by one arrangement. The air duct recess  230   b  helps to form the interconnection between the upper interspace  41  and the lower interspace  42  so that the air duct recess  230   b  helps the high-temperature and high-pressure steam for sterilization to get to the upper interspace  41  all the way through the side trench  140  and the lower interspace  42  without being hindered and to accomplish a complete sterilization. As a result, dead space unable to be sterilized inside the main chamber  40  can be avoided. 
     As shown in  FIG. 3A , an upper surface of the tube shoulder portion  330  is defined as a shoulder upper surface  331 . The shoulder upper surface  331  is further defined as a weldable portion for being treated with ultrasonic welding, so as to allow the annular bottom surface  311  to be welded with the weldable portion. When the pre-assembling of the flow guiding member  10 , the elastic valve  20  and the sleeve tube  30  is completed, the advantage for manufacturing due to the stable pre-assembling structure results. Also, the ultrasound can efficiently reach the ultrasonic welding portion  111  (as shown in  FIG. 2A ) without causing bad influences on the stability of the pre-assembling structure of the instant disclosure so that the welding work between the inner annular bottom surface  311  and the ultrasonic welding portion  111  goes smoothly (as shown in  FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 3A ). 
     Please refer to  FIG. 2A . Several bumps  141  are protruded in a slight lateral direction from the base side portion  10 . The several bumps  141  are spacedly disposed on the base side portion  10  along a putative spire and/or circular path (not shown) on the flow guiding member  10 . The several bumps  141  are able to form a tight fit contact with the limiting portion of the annular wall  312 , which can also be viewed as the inner wall of the tube base portion  310 . Preferably, the quantity of the several bumps  141  could be at least three. Take the three bumps  141  for example, as the three bumps are spacedly arranged on the flow guiding member  10  along the spire path, any two of the three bumps  141  adjacent to each other form a 120 degree included angle with a center of the circular path. In other words, from a view of a bird&#39;s eye (not shown), the at least three bumps  141  are symmetrically arranged according to a symmetry axis, e.g. the central axis CA. In the instant embodiment, the bumps  141  belong to a part of the base side portion  14  and are elements of the base side portion  14 . Though the limiting portion of the annular wall  312  causes an engaging effect by the contact with the bumps  141 , from another viewpoint, even though the bumps  141  exist, it is equivalent in meaning to say the limiting portion of the annular wall  312  covers the base side portion  14 . 
     Please refer to  FIGS. 3A and 3B . A part of the inner wall of the valve waist portion  240  is extended and expanded along a direction toward the annular bottom surface  202 . This is to say that the valve waist portion  240  downwardly extends and laterally expands its wideness to form a slant expansion inner wall  241 . The outer wall of the flow guiding tube  110  includes a slant expansion slope  151 . The slant expansion slope  151  slantingly expands toward a direction of the upper portion  11  so that the slope (or called gradient of slope) of some parts of the slant expansion slope  151  belonging to the flow guiding tube  110  is smaller than the slope of the outer wall defined from some other parts of the flow guiding tube  110  from top to down of the flow guiding tube  110  and the gradient slope of the slant expansion slope  151  is larger than zero. As shown in  FIG. 3A , under a first usage condition, the receiving orifice  1101  is received in the valve neck portion  220  and the slant expansion slope  151  is under the slant expansion inner wall  241  with a predetermined distance L. As shown in  FIG. 3B , under a second usage condition, the top surface  201  is pressed by a syringe SY so that the valve head portion  210  is compressed downwardly and the elastic valve  20  is then compressed to bring the slant expansion inner wall  241  to move for the aforementioned predetermined distance to fittingly contact with the slant expansion slope  151 , allowing the receiving orifice  1101  to be exposed out of the slit  2011  and to be connected with an injection opening SY 1  of the syringe SY. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 3A . A grasping inner wall  231  is formed on the slant expansion inner wall  241  to an inner wall of the valve shoulder portion  230  and is protruded toward the flow guiding tube  110 . As the elastic valve  20  is assembled to the flow guiding tube  1 , the grasping inner wall  231  is under the receiving orifice  1101 . As the first usage condition shown in  FIG. 3A , the grasping inner wall  231  is under the receiving orifice  1101 . As the second usage condition shown in  FIG. 3B , the grasping inner wall  231  can be pushed downwardly to press the slant expansion slope  151  with an action force, and as it is turned back to the first usage condition from the second usage condition, in other words, as the syringe SY is drawn out from the insertion opening  350   a , a reaction force relative to the action force resulting from the slant expansion slope  151  is applied to the grasping inner wall  231 , so as to decompress the elastic valve  20  and make the elastic valve  20  recover to the condition shown in  FIG. 3A . In addition, another grasping inner wall  221  is protruded toward the flow guiding tube  110  from the inner wall of the valve neck portion  220 . This grasping inner wall  221  is located above the receiving orifice  1101 . It is different from the grasping inner wall  231  only due to the positions they are respectively located at, however the respective functions are similar to each other. Please refer to  FIG. 3C , another grasping inner wall  221  integrates with the grasping inner wall  231  and to form a grasping inner wall  231 ′. In other words, the grasping inner wall  231 ′ projects towards flow guiding tube  110  and is formed between the slant expansion inner wall  241  and the inner wall of the valve neck portion  220 . 
     Please refer to  FIG. 2A . The upper portion  11  includes an upper platform  114  and several ribs  115  protruded from the upper platform  114 . The several ribs  115  are arranged in a centric direction based on the central axis CA, and the terminals away from the central axis respectively on the several ribs  115  are spacedly separated along a circle. The annular bottom surface  202  of the elastic valve  20  is located on the several ribs  115 , rendering the main chamber  40  to connect with inside of the elastic valve  20 . Spacers  1140  are respectively defined between any two of the several ribs  115  among the several ribs  115 . It is revealed from  FIG. 2A  that as the elastic valve  20  is put on the flow guiding member  10  to sleeve on the flow guiding tube  110  and the sleeve tube  30  is assembled to the flow guiding member, the spacers  1140  shown in  FIG. 2A  are able to connect with the valve inner chamber  200  of the elastic valve  20  and the lower interspace  42  of the main chamber  40 . Once the elastic valve  20  is elevated by the ribs  115 , the vapor of high-temperature and high-pressure for sterilizing is assisted to enter the valve inner chamber  200  to avoid the risks of incomplete sterilization. 
     Second Embodiment 
     Please refer to  FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C and 4D . In a preferred embodiment, the flow guiding channel  13   a  of the flow guiding member  10   a  is the only element different from that of the aforementioned embodiment and other elements in this embodiment are basically the same to those of the aforementioned embodiments. The flow guiding channel  13   a  of the instant embodiment is connected with a branch channel  131   a . The branch channel  131   a  and the flow guiding channel  13   a  together form a Y shaped channel, or in other words, a Y shaped pipe. The flow guiding channel  13   a  can be a plug-type pipe. In addition, in another preferred embodiment shown in  FIGS. 5A, 5B, 5C and 5D , the flow guiding member  10   b  is the only element different from the aforementioned embodiments and other elements are the same to those of the aforementioned embodiments. The branch channel  131   b  can be perpendicular to the flow guiding channel  13   b  of the flow guiding member  10   b . Furthermore, in another preferred embodiment as shown in  FIGS. 6A, 6B, 6C, and 6D , the flow guiding member  10   c  is the only element different to that of the aforementioned embodiment and other elements are basically the same to those of the aforementioned embodiments. The flow guiding channel  13   c  of the flow guiding member  10  can be a simple plug-type pipe without any other branched channel and is different to the one disclosed in the first embodiment which has a bolted structure formed thereon. As shown in  FIGS. 1B, 4B, 5B and 5C , the aforementioned flow guiding channels ( 13 ,  13   a ,  13   b ,  13   c ) can be used for connecting with other downstream pipes (not shown), and such downstream pipes are mainly for in vivo connection for transferring liquid or medicine in liquid form to patients. The use of the branch channels ( 131   a  or  131   b ) depends on actual requirements. Thus, medical liquid or needed liquid, such as nutrition supplement or glucose solution etc., can be delivered through the branch channels ( 131   a  or  131   b ). 
     In sum, the needleless connector module of the instant disclosure overall includes three main components. Unnecessary components can be decreased, so as to simplify needed elements, reduce costs, and simplify assembling as well as welding work. 
     Due to the simplification and optimization of the needed components, the structure of pre-assembling of the instant disclosure can be more stable, raising the success of welding work and improving the yield quality. 
     The unique structure of the instant disclosure helps the entrance of high-temperature and high-pressure sterile vapor into the inside of the instant disclosure be easier. Blind spots unable to be sterilized are avoided and the public health as well as the medical security can be improved. 
     The descriptions illustrated supra set forth simply the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure; however, the characteristics of the present disclosure are by no means restricted thereto. All changes, alternations, or modifications conveniently considered by those skilled in the art are deemed to be encompassed within the scope of the present disclosure delineated by the following claims.