US Patent 7261698 Transfer needle safety apparatus

A transfer needle safety apparatus including a guide port adapted to fit a variety of body fluid receptacle sizes. A sleeve substantially fills the cavity inside a needle shield. The sleeve includes a robust external lead-in structure for aligning/assembling and centering the sleeve in the shield and a robust internal lead-in structure for aligning and centering a narrow body receptacle onto a needle. The sleeve engages a long section of the outer surface of a receptacle thereby preventing rocking or lateral motion of a receptacle septum relative to a needle tip. Streamlined gripping features allow removal of the sleeve from the shield.