Patent ID: 7815614

Claim:
A medical connector comprising: a housing with a central axis and a hollow bore having a male end with a male luer tip and a female end; a rigid valve member configured to at least partially extend into an interior space of the male luer tip, the valve member comprising a first opened end, a second closed end, an internal passageway extending along the axis of the valve member, at least one opening near the closed end of the valve member extending through the valve member and into the passageway; a rigid conduit having a first opening in fluid communication with the female end and a second opening in fluid communication with the first opened end of the valve member; wherein: the rigid conduit and the first opened end of the valve member are moveable relative to each other along the central axis such that at least a portion of the valve member and the rigid conduit overlap, thereby producing a change in volume in an interior region of the housing between an end of the valve member and the female end as the valve member moves from a first position to a second position; the volume of the interior region is larger in the first position than in the second position; and a cross-sectional area of the second opening is smaller than a cross-sectional area of the internal passageway of the valve member; a resilient member configured to couple the valve member and the housing; and a sealing element disposed within the housing and configured to inhibit fluid communication through the hollow bore of the housing between the interior of the male luer tip of the housing and the exterior of the valve member.