Patent ID: 7841581

Claim:
A connector providing a needleless connection for controllably permitting fluid communication through a passageway disposed therein, said connector comprising: an elongated hollow housing comprising a first part and a second part securely affixed together about a medially disposed longitudinal axis, the first part having an externally communicating port being adapted to receive a blunt cannula and the second part having a port adapted for communication from the passageway to a conduit externally affixed to the second port; a displaceable valved component disposed within the housing, said displaceable valved component comprising a valve disposed to be associated with the port of the first part, said valve being closed when the displaceable component is in a first position and forcibly opened by contact of the blunt cannula when the displaceable component is displaced to a second position; said second part further comprising a hollow post projected inwardly into the hollow housing from the port of the second part, said hollow post comprising a through hole which communicates with the port of the second part on one end and the passageway on the other end and further comprising an external surface which decreases in radial dimension relative to the medial axis along the inward projection; said displaceable valved component further comprising a hollow elongated tubular body which is substantially rigid lengthwise but radially elastic, said body having a length which extends, in the first position, from said first port on one end to an elastically expandable portion on the opposite end which sealingly embraces a proximally disposed portion of the post when said component is in the first position such that the passageway is closed and sealed when the component is in the first position, said expandable portion being further elastically expanded to embrace a greater proximally disposed portion of the post when the displaceable component is in the second position; and said external surface and said body comprising an associated coefficient of friction such that in combination with radial force exerted by the elastically expanded portion of the body causes the displaceable component to be displaced from the second position to the first position when the blunt cannula is displaced from contact against the displaceable component.