Abstract:
A blood collection device combining an elongated needle cannula and vial insertion cannula fixed to a rotatable reel. The rotatable reel is supported in an L-shaped bowl and hollow stem combination. A sloping needle cannula is injected into a body or vein inside of a body so blood or other fluid flows from the body into the needle cannula and into the vial insertion cannula. A vial is inserted into the bowl until the vial insertion cannula penetrates the soft vial plug and the vial then is filled with blood or other fluid. When sufficient blood or fluid is drawn into the vial, the vial is removed and a lever or button is pushed, releasing a biased coil spring which causes the reel to rotate, thus winding the needle cannula and the vial insertion cannula around the reel, destroying the needle cannula and the vial insertion cannula and further pulling the needle cannula into the hollow stem and the vial insertion cannula into the bowl, preventing a person from being accidentally pricked or otherwise injured by either contaminated cannula.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 
     There are several types of safety blood sampling designs available today. One such design is shown in a patent issued to Jagger et al on Jun. 3, 1986 U.S. Pat. No. 4,592,744. This is a safety blood sampling device that requires two hands to operate or to cover the needle cannula. 
     Blood samples are also taken with syringes and there are also many safety syringes available. Some of these designs have a sleeve or sheath that will cover the needle after it has been used. Some typical designs with sleeves or sheaths are Z. M. Roehr et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,008,570; Z. M. Roehr, U.S. Pat. No. 3,107,785; Bartner et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,895,633; G. K. Burke, U.S. Pat. No. 3,306,291; Gyure et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,300,678; Winstead Hall, U.S. Pat. No. 4,356,822; Sampson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,425,120; Larson, U.S. Pat. No. 4,639,249; Harbaugh, U.S. Pat. No. 4,655,751; Strauss, U.S. Pat. No. 4,664,654; Braginetz, U.S. Pat. No. 4,666,435; Spencer, U.S. Pat. No. 4,702,738; Milorad, U.S. Pat. No. 4,702,739; Spencer, U.S. Pat. No. 4,801,295; Poncy, U.S. Pat. No. 4,816,022; and Hughes, U.S. Pat. No. 4,840,619. 
     Other designs have a retractable needle such as Weltman, U.S. Pat. No. 3,306,290; and Dent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,392,859. These designs do not have a means whereby the needle is extended from the syringe and held in place in a positive and rigid position in order to first inject the needle prior to injecting the medication. Still other designs have methods of bending the needle to render it harmless after the medication has been injected. Most of these designs have one major purpose and that is to prevent the spread of infectious diseases such as aids, hepatitis, or other diseases from accidental injection with a contaminated needle after the needle of the syringe has been inserted into a patient with the above mentioned disease. These various designs all work well to a degree, but they all fall short of their intended purpose during the act of covering the needle, or removing the needle, which requires two hands. 
     All of these designs require at least two hands to operate. The use of two hands to cover the contaminated needle is most unsatisfactory in that during the act of placing a second hand on the blood sampling device or syringe, the person holding the blood sampling device or syringe in one hand may be bumped and accidentally inject the needle into their other hand before it can grasp the syringe. Other accidental jabbings or injections can happen in an ambulance where just as a person tries to grasp the contaminated blood sampling device or syringe, the ambulance can hit a bump in the road causing the person holding the blood sampling device or syringe to accidentally stick another person or themselves with the contaminated needle. The need has developed for a blood sampling device or syringe that will cover the contaminated needle with the use of only one hand. 
     SUMMARY 
     It is the object of this invention to provide a blood sampling device wherein the needle of the blood sampling device is retracted into the barrel of the blood sampling device to protect others from an accidental pricking after it has been used. The needle cannula can be retracted into the barrel with the use of only one hand; and that one hand being the hand that was used to inject the needle cannula into a patient. It is still another object of the present invention to further prevent the accidental release of the needle cannula after the needle cannula is in the barrel of the blood sampling device. It is still yet another object of the present invention to provide a blood sampling device wherein the needle cannula is sloped for ease of skin penetration. 
     The foregoing and other objects and advantages are attained by a blood sampling device. Another object of the present invention is to render the blood sampling device useless after the needle cannula is retracted into the barrel of the blood sampling device to prevent the accidental reuse of the contaminated device. This is accomplished using a hollow sloping cannula guide, a needle cannula, a reel, a biased spring and a vial guide tube in combination with a latching means, wherein when said blood sampling device is used to inject a needle cannula into a vein in the body or part of the body in order to withdraw blood for testing purposes, the latching means is released and the biased spring rotates the reel and further winds the needle cannula and the vial insertion cannula around said reel thereby rendering the needle cannula and the vial insertion cannula harmless and preventing the accidental pricking of others. 
     The features of the present invention can be best understood together with further objects and advantages by reference to the following descriptions taken in connection with accompanying drawing, wherein like numerals indicate like parts. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is an elevational view of the preferred embodiment. 
     FIG. 2 Is a plan view of the preferred embodiment. 
     FIG. 3 is a sectional elevational view as taken along line  3 — 3  of FIG.  2 . 
     FIG. 4 Is a sectional plan view as taken along line  4 — 4  of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 5 is another sectional elevational view as taken along line  5 — 5  of FIG.  2 . 
     FIG. 6 is a sectional elevational view showing the device drawing blood. 
     FIG. 7 is a sectional elevational view of the needle cannula destroyed. 
     FIG. 8 is another sectional elevational view of the needle cannula destroyed. 
     FIG. 9 is a plan view of the needle cannula destroyed. 
     FIG. 10 is an elevational view of the device with caps on both ends. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to FIG. 1 there is shown an exterior elevational view of the device  1  of the preferred embodiment. 
     The cannula  6  is shown comprised of three sections: the needle cannula  7  that is the section of the cannula  6  that is inserted into a body, the cannula bend  9  is the section that is suitably bent around the bend bar  11 , and the vial insertion cannula  8  or the part of the cannula  6  that is inserted into a blood collection vial. 
     The needle cannula guide  12  has a first end wherein the needle cannula  7  extends from the first end of the needle cannula guide  12 . The needle cannula  7  is shown extending from the needle cannula guide  12  at a slight declivity  13 . The declivity  13  allows the needle cannula  7  to be inserted into the flesh, veins, or arteries easier and to remain in the flesh with less stress on the flesh. The needle cannula guide has a second end that forms an elbow and a receptor  15  for the vial guide tube  14 . The third end of the needle cannula guide  12  rests on part of the flesh that is penetrated by the needle cannula  7 , and the fourth end is the area of the needle cannula guide  12  that forms the receptor  15  for the vial guide tube  14 . The first end of the receptor  15  is where the needle cannula guide  12  rests on the flesh of a body, the second end of the recepter receives the vial guide tube  14 . 
     The first end of the vial guide tube  14  is inserted into the fourth end of the needle cannula guide  12  and the second end of the vial guide tube  14  is open to receive the vial. The vial guide tube  14  covers the vial insertion cannula  8  to prevent an accidental pricking from the vial insertion cannula. 
     The guide tube indentation  16  is formed near the second end of the vial guide tube  14  to allow a guide tube cap to cover the second end of the vial guide tube  14  to maintain sterility. The needle cannula guide indentation  18  is for the needle cannula cap that will protect the needle cannula  7  during packaging storage and handling prior to use. 
     Referring to FIG. 2 there is shown a plan view of the device  1  with the needle cannula  6  inserted into a body  10 . The needle cannula guide  12  is shown supporting the needle cannula  7 . A guide tunnel  20  is formed within the needle cannula guide  12  that is slightly larger than the outside diameter of the needle cannula  7  to allow the needle cannula  7  to be pulled through the guide tunnel  20  and still be supported laterally by the guide tunnel  20 . 
     The second end of the needle cannula guide  12  is shown formed into a receptor  15  for the vial guide tube  14 . The third end of the needle cannula guide  12  is at the lower end of the receptor  15  and the fourth end of the needle cannula guide  12  and receptor  15  is open to receive the vial guide tube  14 . Three fingers  22  or two fingers and a thumb are shown holding the device  1 . 
     Inside the vial guide tube  14  there is shown the cannula reel  21  with a first rim  25  and a second rim  26 . An axle  27 , with a first end and a second end, is suitably fixed to the first rim  25  and the second rim  26 . The first end of the axle  27  is disposed in the first socket  28  and the second end of said axle  27  is disposed in said second socket  29 . The cannula reel  21 , the first axle  27  and a second axle  35 , each with a first end and a second end, rotate freely and in said first socket  28  in said second socket  29  and are held in place by the first socket  28  and the second socket  29  when the reel stop  30  releases the second rim  26 . The first socket  28  and the second socket  29  are hollow tubes formed on the inside wall of the vial guide tube  14  between the first end and the second end of the vial guide tube  14 . 
     The reel stop  30  is inserted into a notch not seen in this view that is formed in the second rim  26  and prevents the second rim  26 , the first rim  25 , and the cannula reel  21  from rotating. The reel stop  30  is rotatably fixed to the reel stop support  33  by a pivot pin  32 . The reel stop  30  is released from the second rim  26  by pressing on the finger tab  31  in the release direction  34 . The first rim  25  has a first side and a second side. The second rim  26  has a first side and a second side. 
     The vial insertion cannula  8  is shown suitably disposed in a hole  35  formed in the cannula reel  21 . The first end of the cannula reel  21  is fixed to the second side of the first rim  25  and the second end of the cannula reel  21  is fixed to the first side of the second rim  26 . The cannula reel  21  will rotate as will be seen in FIG.  7  and will bend the vial insertion cannula  8  about the cannula reel  21  thereby destroying the needle cannula  7  and the vial insertion cannula  8 . 
     Referring to FIG. 3 there is shown a sectional elevational view of the device  1  as taken through line  3 — 3  of FIG.  2 . 
     The first end of the cannula  6  referred to as the needle cannula  7  and the second end of the cannula  6  is the vial insertion cannula  8 . The cannula  6  extends into the needle cannula guide  12  and is further bent around the bend bar  1 I 1  wherein the second end of the cannula  6  becomes the vial insertion cannula  8  and is disposed in a hole formed in the cannula reel  21  wherein the vial insertion cannula  8  extends into and is disposed inside of the vial guide tube  14  and extends near the second end of the vial guide tube  14 . 
     The first end of the biased spring  24  is shown suitably fixed to the spring stop  4 . The second end of the biased spring  24  is suitably fixed to the axle  27 . As the first end of the needle cannula  7  is inserted into flesh, the needle cannula  7  may thrust back; to prevent this thrust, a cannula thrust stop  48  is shown backing up the cannula  6  at the cannula bend  9 . 
     Referring to FIG. 4 there is shown a sectional plan view of the device  1  as taken through line  4 — 4  of FIG.  1 . 
     The needle cannula  7  is shown extending into the needle cannula guide  12  and is disposed in the guide tunnel  20  wherein the needle cannula is bent around the bend bar  11  and turns into the vial guide tube  14 , wherein the second end of the cannula  6  is referred to as the vial insertion cannula  8 . The cannula thrust stop  48  is shown backing the cannula  6 . 
     Referring to FIG. 5 there is shown a sectional elevational view of the device  1  as taken through line  5 — 5  of FIG.  2 . 
     The needle cannula  7  is shown disposed in the guide tunnel  20  of the needle cannula guide  12 . The cannula  8  is further bent around the bend bar  1 I 1  and extends toward the vial guide tube  14  and is disposed in the hole  36  formed in the cannula reel  21 . The hole formed in the cannula reel  21  extends from the third side of the cannula reel  21  to the fourth side of the cannula reel  21 . The first end of the of the cannula  6  is shown with a first point  37 . The second end of the cannula  6  is shown with a second point  40 . 
     The second rim  26  is shown with a slot  38  formed that extends from the first side to the second side of the second rim  26 . The reel stop  30  is shown suitably inserted into the slot  38 , to prevent the cannula reel  21  from rotating. 
     Referring to FIG. 6 there is shown a sectional elevational view of the device  1  with the needle cannula  7  inserted into a body  10  and the vial insertion cannula  8  inserted into a vial  39 . 
     The first point  37  is inserted into the body  10  which could be an arm or another part of a body wherein the first point  37  penetrates the skin and the needle cannula  7  is injected further into the body  10 . The second point  40  is further inserted through the plug  41  of the vial  39  wherein blood  42  or other fluid flows from the body  10  into the cannula  6  and into the vial  39 . The third end  43  of the needle cannula guide  12  is shown resting on part of the body  10  to enable the vial  39  to be placed on the vial insertion cannula  8  so the plug  41  may be pressed onto the second point  40  of the cannula  8  without moving the needle cannula  7  that is inserted into the body  10 . 
     The cannula thrust stop  48  is shown formed on the inside of the receptor  15 . The reel stop slot  47  is shown extending from the inside of the vial guide tube  14  to the outside of the vial guide tube. 
     Referring to FIG. 7 there is shown a sectional elevational view of the device  1  as the cannula  6  has been wound around the cannula reel  21 . 
     The reel stop has been removed from the slot  38  and the biased spring  24  suitably fixed to the cannula reel  21  has caused the cannula reel  21  to rotate  44  thereby causing the cannula  6  to coil around the cannula reel  21  further pulling the first point  37  at the first end of the needle cannula  7  into the guide tunnel  20  wherein the first point cannot prick or otherwise injure a person. As the cannula  6  is coiled around the cannula reel  21 , the second point  40  at the second end of the cannula  6  is further pulled into the vial guide tube  14  wherein the second point  40  may even be bent thereby preventing the second point from accidentally pricking a person or otherwise injuring someone and further causing the spread of a disease. 
     Referring to FIG. 8 there is shown a section elevation view of the biased spring  24  as it releases its energy while coiling the cannula  6 . As the biased spring  24  releases its energy, the biased spring  24  uncoils. The first end of the biased spring  24  is shown suitably fixed to the spring stop  4  and the second end of the biased spring  24  is shown suitably fixed to the axle  27 . 
     Referring to FIG. 9 there is shown a plan view of the device  1  after the needle cannula has been drawn into the cannula guide. 
     The cannula  6  is shown coiled about the cannula reel  21 . The biased spring  24  is shown coiled in a greater diameter than FIG.  2 . The first point  37  at the first end of the needle cannula  7  is contained in the guide tunnel  20 . The reel stop  30  is shown withdrawn from the slot in the second rim  26  and the second point of the vial insertion cannula  8  is bent a deeper in the vial guide tube  14  where it cannot damage, prick, or otherwise injure someone. 
     Referring to FIG. 10 there is shown an elevational view of the device  1  with caps over the needle cannula  7  and the vial guide tube  14 . 
     The needle cannula cap  19  is shown snapped onto the needle cannula guide tube indention  18  of the needle cannula guide  12  thereby preventing the cannula  7  from being touched or otherwise contaminated in any way. Prior to use, the needle cannula cap  19  will be pulled off the needle cannula guide  12 . The guide tube cap  17  is shown suitably fixed to the outside of the vial guide tube  14  by the guide tube indentation  16 . The guide tube cap  17  prevents contamination of the second point  40  of the vial insertion cannula and also prevents accidental pricking of a person from the second point during handling prior to use. 
     Although the system described in detail supra has been found to be most satisfactory, many variations are possible. For example two biased strings may be raised rather than one biased spring, or a rubber tube may be placed over the vial insertion cannula. 
     Although the invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiment, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that additions, modifications, substitutions, deletions, and other changes not specifically described may be handled in the embodiments, and it should be understood that the details hereinabove are to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.