Patent ID: 7182734

Claim:
A retractable safety needle assembly comprising: a) a generally tubular outer body including a first end, a second end and a tubular wall extending along an axis from said first end to said second end to define an interior opening within said outer body, said outer body including a guide channel at least a portion of which is offset from said axis; b) a retraction assembly positioned within said interior opening of said outer body, said retraction assembly including a cannula having an intravenous puncture tip and a non-patient puncture tip and including a fin for corresponding engagement with said guide channel of said outer body, said retraction assembly adapted for movement within said interior opening of said outer body from a first position in which said intravenous puncture tip extends from said first end of said outer body to a second position in which said intravenous puncture tip and said non-patient puncture tip are contained entirely within said outer body and said cannula is offset from said axis of said outer body; c) a retaining element for preventing movement of said retraction assembly between said first position and said second position; d) a biasing element for applying a retraction force between said retraction assembly and said outer body to move said retraction assembly from said first position to said second position upon release of said retaining element; and e) a lock mechanism for locking said retraction assembly in said second position, wherein said guide channel includes a notch, wherein said notch forms a notch pocket located at an end of the guide channel, said guide channel end being located at said portion that is offset from said axis, and wherein said notch acts as the lock mechanism for preventing said fin from moving within said guide channel and thereby preventing said retraction assembly from moving from said second position to said first position.