Patent ID: 8162881

Claim:
A safety catheter device comprising: a catheter hub and a catheter tube extending therefrom; a needle having a needle shaft terminating in a sharp tip; a clip having a first, rigid wall with an aperture adapted to slidably receive the needle shaft therethrough in a first state of the clip and to grip the needle shaft within the aperture in a second state of the clip, the clip having a second wall with a portion adapted to bear against the shaft in the first state and being adapted to confront a tip of the needle in the second state, and a strut connecting the first and second walls, the strut extending from the first wall of the clip at an included angle of less than 90 degrees relative to the first wall in which the included angle is substantially the same in both the first state and the second state of the clip; and a spring member coupled to the first wall biasing the clip toward the second state; the needle having a first position slidably received through the aperture of the clip first wall, in bearing relationship with the clip second wall portion, and extending through the catheter tube with the sharp tip exposed in the first state of the clip, the needle having a second position in which the needle tip has been pulled out of the catheter tube past the clip second wall such that the clip moves towards the second state and grips the needle shaft with the tip blocked by the clip second wall with the needle in the second position.