Patent attributes
The present invention is directed to a low cost shieldable safety needle assembly. The assembly includes a needle cannula and a tip guard axially movable along the needle cannula through a drive mechanism. The drive mechanism may be interconnected between the tip guard and the needle cannula through a hub. The tip guard is axially movable along the needle cannula from a proximal position substantially adjacent a proximal end of the needle cannula at the hub, to a distal position in which the tip guard protectively surrounds the distal end of the needle cannula, thus effectively shielding the puncture tip of the needle. The drive mechanism is a unitary structure which is capable of maintaining a first self-supporting shape for maintaining the tip guard in the proximal position and is deflectable from the first self-supporting shape to a second extended shape in which the tip guard is moved to the distal position. The drive mechanism may be a rigid flexible planar sheet material which includes a plurality of folds for defining the self-supporting shape. The needle assembly may include structure for mating with a hypodermic syringe, a blood collection set, or other medical device.
