Patent ID: 8500690

Claim:
A safety needle device comprising: a hub including a passageway extending therethrough and a needle cannula having a puncture tip extending from a forward end thereof; a shield member in telescoping association with the hub, at least one of the hub and the shield member adapted for relative telescopic movement with respect to the other between a first position in which the puncture tip of the needle cannula is exposed from a forward end of the shield member and a second position in which the puncture tip of the needle cannula is encompassed within the shield member; a drive member disposed between the hub and the shield member and capable of biasing the hub and the shield member telescopically away from each other, and a releasable packaging cover disposed about the puncture tip of the needle cannula, the packaging cover adapted to apply pressure to at least one of the hub and the shield member to provide an engagement therebetween, thereby preventing the drive member from biasing the hub and the shield member telescopically away from each other, and wherein pressure applied by a user directly to at least one of the hub and the shield member establishes a frictional engagement therebetween, preventing the drive member from biasing the hub and the shield member axially away from each other.