Patent Publication Number: US-2017361026-A1

Title: Syringe cover for Obscuring a Patient&#39;s Observation of Needle Insertions

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to a syringe cover. More specifically, the present invention relates to a syringe cover which obscures the insertion of a needle into a patient from the patient&#39;s vision. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Needles are commonly used in many healthcare procedures to promote and diagnose the health of the patient. Medical injections are administered for curative care, immunization, and blood transfusions, as well as many other procedures. Through the use of medicinal injections mankind has seen a drop in number of previously debilitating or deadly diseases over years, such as smallpox and polio. Blood is often drawn from patients through a needle for diagnostic purposes, administration of therapeutic treatments, monitoring levels of blood components, removing excess levels of iron or erythrocytes, or collecting blood for later uses. Although the benefits of medicinal injections and drawing blood are well known, there are some people who avoid watching or are afraid of needles being inserted into their bodies. 
     The present invention is a syringe cover which seeks to obscure the vision for the insertion of a needle into a patient&#39;s body, while allowing the doctor, nurse, or medical technician to view the level of fluid being injected into the patient or withdrawn from the patient. The present invention includes a collapsible sleeve which presses against the patient&#39;s body after the doctor, nurse or medical technician positions the needle for insertion. The collapsible sleeve deforms as the needle is inserted to allow the needle to be unhindered during insertion while preventing the patient from viewing the insertion of the needle. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view for an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the compressible sleeve includes a plurality of obscuring slats perpendicular to the mounting end. 
         FIG. 2  is a rear view for an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the compressible sleeve includes a plurality of obscuring slats perpendicular to the mounting end. 
         FIG. 3  is a front view for an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the compressible sleeve includes a plurality of obscuring slats perpendicular to the mounting end. 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view for an embodiment for the present invention, wherein the compressible sleeve includes a plurality of obscuring slats angled to the mounting end. 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view for an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the compressible sleeve includes a helical ribbon and a transparent transparent viewport cover across the viewport. 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view for an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the patient interfacing end is discontiguous. 
         FIG. 7  is a plan view for an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the patient interfacing end is discontiguous, as the present invention would be cut from a sheet of material. 
         FIG. 8  is a top view of the present invention, wherein an adhesive layer is superimposed onto the tubular lateral wall. 
         FIG. 9  is a rear view for an embodiment of the present invention, wherein the present invention is positioned onto a syringe. 
     
    
    
     DETAIL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE INVENTION 
     All illustrations of the drawings are for the purpose of describing selected versions of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. 
     As some patients have an aversion or fear of needles or exhibit some anxiety upon anticipating a shot or viewing a needle, the present invention is a syringe cover for obscuring a patient&#39;s observation of needle insertions. The present invention allows doctors, nurses, medical technicians, or other medical practitioners to effectively insert a needle into a patient&#39;s body without the patient viewing the procedure. By obscuring the vision of the insertion of the needle, patients should be less likely to wince, shy away, or tense the patient&#39;s muscles during the procedure. 
     In accordance to  FIG. 1  to  FIG. 7  and  FIG. 9 , the present invention comprises a tubular sleeve  1 . The tubular sleeve  1  allows the present invention to be secured about a fluid reservoir barrel of a syringe. The tubular sleeve  1  is preferred to be made of an elastic polymer. The elastic polymer allows for the tubular sleeve  1  to be fitted about the fluid reservoir barrel of the syringe. The tubular sleeve  1  comprises tubular lateral wall  7 , a collapsible lateral wall  8 , a patient interfacing end  9 , and a flange-adjacent end  10 . The tubular lateral wall  7  covers the fluid reservoir barrel in order to prevent the patient from seeing the fluid being injected into or removed from the patient&#39;s body. The collapsible lateral wall  8  allows for the ease of insertion for the needle by deforming as the needle is being inserted into the patient&#39;s skin, while obscuring the needle from the view of the patient. The collapsible lateral wall  8  is perimeterically connected to the tubular lateral wall  7 . The patient-interfacing end  9  presses against the patient&#39;s body during implementation. The patient-interfacing end  9  is adjacently connected to the collapsible lateral wall  8 . The patient-interfacing end  9  oppositely positioned to the tubular lateral wall  7  along the collapsible lateral wall  8 , such that the patient-interfacing end  9  is oriented to press against the patient during implementation of the present invention. The patient-interfacing end  9  is preferred to be offset from a terminal end of the needle, such that the terminal end of the needle extends past the patient-interfacing end  9 , as shown in  FIG. 9 . This configuration allows the medical practitioner to view the terminal end of the needle for insertion into the patient&#39;s body while covering a majority of the body of the needle from the patient&#39;s view. The flange-adjacent end  10  is adjacently connected to the tubular lateral wall  7 . The flange-adjacent end  10  is oppositely positioned to the collapsible lateral wall  8 , along the tubular lateral wall  7 . In implementation, the flange-adjacent end  10  is positioned adjacent to a plunger flange, the portion of the syringe the user places their fingers to prevent the movement of the syringe while actuating a plunger of the syringe. Therefore, the tubular lateral wall  7  fully covers the syringe barrel in order to completely obscure the contents of the syringe the patients view. 
     In accordance to some embodiments of the present invention, the present invention comprises a viewport opening  2 , as shown in  FIG. 1 ,  FIG. 2 ,  FIG. 4  to  FIG. 6  and  FIG. 9 . The viewport opening  2  allows the doctor, nurse, or other medical practitioner to view the level of fluid within the fluid reservoir barrel, as shown in  FIG. 9 . The viewport opening  2  perpendicularly traverses through the tubular lateral wall  7  in order to allow the fluid within the fluid reservoir barrel to be visible to the medical practitioner. In some embodiments of the present invention, the present invention comprises a transparent viewport cover  6 , in accordance to  FIG. 5 . The transparent viewport cover  6  prevents fluids from traversing through the viewport opening  2 . In addition, the transparent viewport cover  6  is transparent in order to allow the doctor, nurse, or medical practitioner to view the fluid contents during implementation of the invention. The transparent viewport cover  6  is sealably integrated across the viewport opening  2  in order to prevent fluids from traversing through the viewport opening  2 . 
     In accordance to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the present invention comprises an aesthetic fixture  3 , as detailed in  FIG. 1  to  FIG. 6  and  FIG. 9 . The aesthetic fixture  3  depicts an image which includes, but is not limited to, animals, faces, or otherwise distracting images to divert the attention of the patient from observing the insertion of a needle. The aesthetic fixture  3  is externally mounted on the tubular lateral wall  7  and is positioned between the flange-adjacent end  10  and the collapsible lateral wall  8  in order to prominently display the aesthetic fixture  3  to the patient. In some embodiments of the present invention which comprise the viewport opening  2 , the aesthetic fixture  3  is opposite to the viewport opening  2  about the tubular lateral wall  7  such that the aesthetic fixture  3  does not interfere with the medical practitioner&#39;s view of the viewport opening  2  to assess the level of fluid within the fluid reservoir barrel. 
     In one embodiment of the present invention, the collapsible lateral wall  8  comprises a plurality of flexible obscuring slats  11 , as shown in  FIG. 1  to  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 6  to  FIG. 9 . The plurality of flexible obscuring slats  11  deform as the needle is inserted into a patient&#39;s body and the patient-interfacing end  9  is forced towards the tubular lateral wall  7 . Each of the plurality of flexible obscuring slats  11  comprises a slat body  12 , a first slat end  13 , and a second slat end  14 . The first slat end  13  and the second slat end  14  are positioned opposite to each other along the slat body  12 . The first slat end  13  for each of the plurality of flexible obscuring slats  11  is connected to the tubular lateral wall  7 . The second slat end  14  for each of the plurality of flexible obscuring slats  11  is connected to the patient-interfacing end  9 . Some embodiments of the present invention for the collapsible lateral wall  8  allow the slat body  12  to deform between the first slat end  13  and the second slat end  14  to allow for the needle to be inserted unhindered by the present invention. The width of the slat body  12  is preferred to be thick enough to obscure the view of the needle from the patient&#39;s view but thin enough to allow the medical practitioner to view the depth of the needle insertion. In a perpendicular slat configuration, of the present invention, the slat body  12  is oriented perpendicular to the patient-interfacing end  9  and the tubular lateral wall  7  such that the slat body  12  bows outward at a midpoint of the slat body  12  as the patient-interfacing end  9  is forced towards the tubular lateral wall  7 , in accordance to  FIG. 1  to  FIG. 3 . In an angled slat configuration of the present invention, the slat body  12  is angled to the patient-interfacing end  9  and the tubular lateral wall  7 , as shown in  FIG. 4 , such that the slat body  12  twists and compresses as the patient-interfacing end  9  is forced towards the tubular lateral wall  7  to obscure the needle from the patient&#39;s view. 
     In some embodiments of the present invention, the patient-interfacing end  9  is discontiguous, in accordance to  FIG. 6  and  FIG. 7 . This embodiment of the patient-interfacing end  9  allows the plurality of flexible obscuring slats  11  to flair outward from the syringe, as shown in  FIG. 6 , as the syringe is inserted into the patient&#39;s skin during implementation. With the plurality of flexible obscuring slats  11  flaring outward and the discontiguous patient interfacing end  9 , the needle of the syringe is able to be fully inserted into the patient&#39;s skin. This configuration also increases the number of aesthetic deigns which the plurality of flexible obscuring slats  11  may take to provide a distraction to the insertion of the needle in a patient&#39;s skin. These aesthetic designs include, but not limited to: flower petals; animal jaws; and animal extremities, such as tentacles, legs, arms, etc. 
     In another embodiment of the present invention, the collapsible lateral wall  8  comprises a helical ribbon  15 , as shown in  FIG. 5 . The helical ribbon  15  compresses as the needle is inserted into the patient&#39;s body to conceal the insertion of the needle from the patient&#39;s view. The helical ribbon  15  is connected between the patient-interfacing end  9  and the tubular lateral wall  7 , such that when the patient-interfacing end  9  is forced toward the tubular lateral wall  7  the helical ribbon  15  collapses. The helical ribbon  15  compresses to be positioned concentrically within the patient-interfacing end  9  during implementation to conceal the needle. A curvature  16  of the helical ribbon  15  is preferred to be aligned coincident with a perimeter  17  of the patient-interfacing end  9 , such that the curvature  16  of the helical ribbon  15  obscures the needle, although not completely, from the patient&#39;s view. The perimeter  17  is defined by the lateral shape of the patient-interfacing end  9 , preferably circular. 
     In some embodiments of the present invention, the present invention comprises an adhesive layer  5 , as shown in  FIG. 7  and  FIG. 8 . The adhesive layer  5  secures the tubular sleeve  1  to the barrel of the syringe. The adhesive layer  5  is internally superimposed onto the tubular lateral wall  7  in order to secure the tubular lateral wall  7  to the fluid reservoir barrel of the syringe. The adhesive layer  5  prevents the present invention from being dislodged from the syringe and, subsequently, the patient&#39;s view of the needle being inserted into the patient&#39;s body, the fluid being injected into the patient&#39;s body or the fluid being drawn from the patient&#39;s body. In accordance to  FIG. 7 , the present invention is able to be cut from a single sheet of material. The present invention is able to be wrapped around the barrel of the syringe where the adhesive layer  5  secures the present invention to the barrel of the syringe. 
     Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.