Patent ID: 8100127

Claim:
For coupling the inlet end of a tracheotomy tube inner cannula to an outlet port of an in-line catheter, a connector comprising: an elongated, flexible, accordion-like tubular body; means on a catheter entry end of said tubular body for serially coupling said body in pneumatic communication with the catheter outlet port; means on a catheter exit end of said tubular body for serially coupling said body in pneumatic communication with the inlet end of the tracheotomy tube inner cannula; and a gradual taper on said means on a catheter exit end, said taper having an inner diameter at its upstream end substantially equal to an outer diameter of the inlet end of the inner cannula, an inner diameter at its downstream end not greater than an inner diameter of the inlet end of the inner cannula and a flat wall about a downstream end of said gradual taper, said wall having a thickness substantially equal to a thickness of an entry end face of the inner cannula, whereby a downstream tip of the catheter is guided into the inlet end of the inner cannula in response to pushing the catheter at a location upstream of the catheter outlet port.