Patent ID: 7186240

Claim:
A safety needle assembly for use on a syringe, said assembly comprising: a tube being configured to receive an end of the syringe and being in fluid communication with the syringe; a hypodermic needle being fluidly coupled to and extending away from said tube; and a cap being selectively positioned over and covering said hypodermic needle, said cap being positioned in either a covered position or an exposed position, said covered position being defined by said cap being positioned over a portion of said tube and a free end of said hypodermic needle to inhibit access to said hypodermic needle, said exposed position being defined by said cap being positioned away from said hypodermic needle to expose said free end of said hypodermic needle; a hinge being coupled between said tube and said cap to permit pivoting of said cap with respect to said tube, said hinge including a stanchion being integrally coupled to said tube and extending substantially orthogonally outwardly from said tube; a pair of pivot plates extending outwardly from sides of said stanchion and extending substantially perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of said tube, said plates lying in a plane orientated approximately perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of said hypodermic needle, a pair of arms being integrally coupled to said cap, said arms being positioned in a spaced relationship to permit said stanchion to be positioned between said arms, each of said arms having an aperture extending therethrough, each of said pivot plates extending through one of said apertures to permit said arms to pivot around said pivot plates and thereby allow said cap to pivot with respect to said tube, each of said arms includes a locking slot extending therethrough, each of said locking slots extending into one of said apertures, each of said locking slots receiving one of said pivot plates when said cap is in said closed position to inhibit rotation of said cap and inadvertently exposing said hypodermic needle when said cap is in said covering position, said arms being moved toward said longitudinal axis of said hypodermic needle and toward said tube such that said plates align with and are received by an associated one of said locking slots.