Patent ID: 7828773

Claim:
A needle assembly comprising: mounting structure; a needle mounted on the mounting structure and extending outwardly therefrom, the needle having a longitudinal axis, a sharp end and a central axial passageway; a safety shield associated with the needle comprising: a tubular housing adapted for movement relative to the needle between a stowed position in which the tubular housing is spaced from the sharp end of the needle and a deployed position in which the tubular housing covers the sharp end, a locking mechanism adapted to releasably lock the tubular housing in position covering the sharp end of the needle, the tubular housing having distal and proximal ends and at least one peripheral slot extending radially inward from the periphery and axially along the housing from the distal end of the housing; and a reset key adapted to actuate release of the locking mechanism to permit the shield to be moved relative to the needle, the reset key comprising: a support; and at least one rib on the support sized and arranged to be received in the peripheral slot of the tubular housing for entering the tubular housing to actuate release of the locking mechanism.