Patent ID: 6902146

Claim:
A valve for placement inline on a catheter to allow a patient to control fluid flow through the catheter, comprising: a) a tubular forward assembly having a fluid passageway therethrough, said forward assembly having inner and outer surfaces, and outlet threads on said inner surface on a side of said forward assembly opposite said outlet; b) a centerpost centrally disposed in and connected to said forward assembly forming a fluid passageway around the centerpost; c) a tubular attachment assembly having a fluid passageway therethrough, said attachment assembly having inner and outer surfaces, wherein said fluid passageway provides a conduit therein, said conduit being centrally disposed and having an inlet therein for receiving fluid from the catheter, said conduit for receiving an end of said centerpost on a side opposite said catheter, threads disposed on said outer surface of said inlet for mating rotatable connection with said threads on said forward assembly so that the position of said centerpost can be varied with respect to said conduit to permit control of the flow of fluid through the conduit; and d) means for attaching said attachment assembly to the catheter whereby a leak proof attachment is provided for catheters of varying sizes; e) a knurled gripping surface disposed on said outer surface of said forward assembly to permit the patient to easily rotate the valve; f) a plurality of centerpost supports for connecting said centerpost to said forward assembly, said centerpost supports being radially spaced apart equally about said centerpost and connected between said centerpost and said inner surface of said forward assembly to permit fluid to pass between the supports.