Patent ID: 7998134

Claim:
A luer connector comprising: a rigid housing, a first end portion comprising a rigid tubular male member configured to be engageable with a female connector and positioned at a first end of the housing, a second end portion comprising a rigid tubular female member and positioned at a second end of the housing; the female member being configured to define at least a first arrangement wherein the female member is configured to allow a male connector to rotate substantially unimpeded in either a first direction or a second direction relative to the female member, the first direction being defined as the direction that permits the male connector to threadably engage the female member, and the second direction being defined as the direction that permits the male connector to threadably disengage the female member, and a second arrangement wherein the female member is configured to prevent or impede the male connector from rotating in the first direction or the second direction relative to the female member; and the female member being further configured to change from the first arrangement to the second arrangement when the male connector is further rotated in the first direction beyond a point at which the male connector is substantially fully engaged with the female member; wherein: the female member comprises an inner member supported by the housing so as to be substantially prevented from rotating relative to the housing in either the first or second arrangement and an outer member configured so as to be threadably engageable by the male connector; in the first arrangement, the outer member is substantially prevented from rotating relative to the inner member and, in the second arrangement, the outer member is substantially permitted to rotate in either the first direction or the second direction relative to the inner member; and the outer member comprises at least one protrusion and the inner member comprises at least one channel configured to receive the at least one protrusion, each protrusion being configured to break off when the male connector is rotated in the first direction beyond the point where the male connector is substantially fully engaged with the female member.