Patent ID: 7905857

Claim:
A needle assembly comprising: mounting structure; a tubular 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 and 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, and a locking mechanism adapted to releasably lock the tubular housing in position covering the sharp end of the needle; and an obturator including a shaft sized and shaped to be received in the central axial passageway of the needle, a reset member operatively connected to the shaft, disposed relative to the shaft so movement of the shaft in a direction into the central axial passageway can bring the reset member into engagement with the locking mechanism to release the locking mechanism, and selectively engageable with the locking mechanism of the safety shield for releasing the locking mechanism to permit the tubular housing to move away from the sharp end of the needle, and a grip for gripping the obturator, the shaft and reset member extending from the grip in the same direction, the reset member includes a tube extending from the grip and having an open end opposite the grip, the obturator shaft extending through the tube to the grip.