U.S. patent number 3,785,233 [Application Number 05/251,695] was granted by the patent office on 1974-01-15 for cutting punches for destroying hypodermic syringes.
Invention is credited to Murry M. Robinson.
United States Patent |
3,785,233 |
Robinson |
January 15, 1974 |
CUTTING PUNCHES FOR DESTROYING HYPODERMIC SYRINGES
Abstract
A cutting punch for destroying effectively the components of
hypodermic syringes, after their use, in order to prevent the
salvaging thereof from waste receptacles for eventual use as
essential paraphernalia in the illicit drug field. An annularly
shaped female cutter member is fitted with diametrally opposed
slots for supporting the cannular needle and the syringe elements
extending therefrom in horizontal position, and a cylindrical
cutting punch is brought downwardly into engagement with the cutter
member to sever the needle and another part of the syringe, to
destroy the assembly rapidly in a manner rendering impossible its
repeated use.
Inventors: |
Robinson; Murry M. (Washington,
DC) |
Family
ID: |
22953023 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/251,695 |
Filed: |
May 9, 1972 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
83/167; 83/633;
83/944; 241/606; 83/580; 83/648; 241/99 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61M
5/3278 (20130101); B26D 1/08 (20130101); Y10T
83/885 (20150401); Y10T 83/889 (20150401); Y10T
83/8772 (20150401); A61M 2005/3282 (20130101); Y10S
83/944 (20130101); Y10S 241/606 (20130101); Y10T
83/222 (20150401) |
Current International
Class: |
B26D
1/08 (20060101); A61M 5/32 (20060101); B26D
1/01 (20060101); B23d 015/04 () |
Field of
Search: |
;83/167,580,588,590,633,648,925R,622 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Meister; J. M.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Lebowitz; Samuel
Claims
I claim:
1. An apparatus for destroying spent single-use hypodermic syringes
for liquid medicaments each comprising a cannular needle having a
point at one end and an enlarged section at the opposite end
communicating with the barrel for the medicament, comprising
a. a base,
b. an annularly shaped cutter member mounted on said base provided
with aligned grooves of different depth along a medial line of said
cutter member adapted to support the syringe thereon along a line
coincident with the axis of said grooves, with the needle adapted
to rest in the shallower groove and the enlarged section in the
deeper groove,
c. a cylindrical cutting punch provided with cutting edges at the
lower end thereof for interengagement with the inner diameter of
said cutter member, and
d. means for moving said cutting punch into said cutter member with
great force to sever said needle resting in said first-mentioned
groove and said enlarged section resting in said deeper groove.
2. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said
last-mentioned means comprises a pivoted handle having an eccentric
portion overlying the top of said cylindrical cutting punch for
moving the bottom edge thereof into said cutter member.
3. An apparatus as set forth in claim 2, including a detachable
receptacle in said base below said cutter member for receiving the
parts of said syringe severed from the medicament barrels.
4. An apparatus as set forth in claim 4, including lateral walls
extending upwardly from said base to confine the scattering
movement of the several severed parts to any place other than said
receptacle.
5. An apparatus as set forth in claim 2, wherein the enlarged
section of the cannular needle is coincident with the hub of the
syringe which rests within the deeper groove and which is severed
by the forward edges of the cutter member and cutting punch.
6. An apparatus as set forth in claim 5, including an additional
groove in said base forwardly of said annular cutter and deeper
than both grooves in the latter for supporting the barrel of the
syringe in the course of the cutting operation.
7. An apparatus as set forth in claim 2, wherein the deeper groove
in said cutter member is of sufficient depth to accommodate the
barrel of hypodermic syringes of small capacity for severance by
the cutting punch.
8. An apparatus for destroying spent single-use hypodermic syringes
each comprising a cannular needle having a point at one end and a
hub at the opposite end connected to the barrel for the medicament,
comprising
a. a tool standard having a horizontal base extending forwardly
therefrom and an overhang portion spaced from and overlying said
base,
b. an annularly-shaped female die element seated on said base at
the forward portion thereof, provided with a cutting edge at the
top of the interior thereof, of an internal diameter to support the
hypodermic syringe for severance at the needle and hub portions
thereof,
c. a vertically reciprocable plunger in said overhang portion of
said standard terminating in cutting edge portions at the lower end
thereof spaced at least at diametrally opposed parts of said lower
end,
d. spring means connected with said plunger to bias said lower end
of said plunger into spaced relation with respect to said cutting
edge of the female die element,
e. manual means pivotally mounted on said overhang portion of said
standard above the upper end of said plunger and including
eccentric means cooperating with the latter to depress said
plunger, with great mechanical advantage, into cooperative cutting
engagement with said female die element, whereby the cutting edge
at the inner diametral part of said plunger is adapted to sever the
cannular needle while the cutting edge at the outer diametral part
of said plunger is adapted to sever a thicker portion of the
hypodermic syringe which is adapted to be disposed horizontally on
said female die element for destruction, with the barrel of the
syringe extending forwardly and the cannular needle extending
rearwardly beyond said female die element, and
f. a slidable drawer in said horizontal base below said female die
element for collecting the severed needle and hub portions for
ultimate disposal.
Description
This invention relates to an apparatus for rapidly and effectively
destroying single-use hypodermic syringes after their intended use,
in order to prevent the improper re-use of them or the diversion of
these devices into illegal channels.
It is the object of the present invention to provide a rugged and
reliable instrument of low cost, which is capable of destroying
hypodermic syringes of any type and capacity so that unauthorized
re-use of the syringes is reliably prevented.
The problem of illegal salvaging of hypodermic syringes used in
hospitals, clinics and doctors' offices for diversion to improper
uses of such syringes, for example, as essential paraphernalia in
the illicit drug field, or repeated use of the syringes in
non-sterile condition, is a prevalent one. Patents have been
granted for syringe destroying devices to cope with the problem, as
exemplified by U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,404,593, Oct. 8, 1968, 3,469,750,
Sept. 30, 1969, and 3,585,835, June 22, 1971, but these have failed
to meet commercial acceptance. The present invention seeks to
improve upon the expedients disclosed in these patents by providing
a simple instrument which occupies a minimum amount of space and
which may be placed upon a desk, table or other supporting surface
and which, by a simple manipulation, similar to that executed by an
office seal press, is capable of destroying the spent syringe in
multiple parts so that the re-use of any of such parts is rendered
impossible.
The invention contemplates the provision of a compact and
economical tool assembly resembling a corporation or notarial seal,
which is of sufficient weight to rest with stability on a
supporting surface, and which stability may be enhanced with
suction cups, magnetic discs, or frictional retainers, if desired.
The forepart of the base is fitted with an annularly shaped cutter
member fitted with grooves adjacent to its upper surface for
supporting, in a horizontal position, the cannular needle of the
hypodermic syringe and another part of the syringe spaced from the
needle, preferably along the longitudinal axis of the tool. A
cylindrical plunger, which is normally biased in a position spaced
from the annular cutter member, is provided with cutting edges at
the lower end thereof, and is reciprocably mounted in the tool in
overlying relation to the annular cutter member.
An arm or handle, provided with an eccentric portion, is pivotallly
mounted on the upper part of the tool. A simple rotary movement of
the arm moves the eccentric part against the upper end of the
plunger, to force the cutting edges into the interior of the
annular cutter, which severs the cannular needle and a larger
portion of the hypodermic syringe which is adapted to be positioned
within the grooves at the top of the cutter member. The larger
portion of the syringe may be either the hub of the needle, which
is mounted on the outlet end of the barrel, or may be the barrel
itself, depending upon the specific structure and size of the
hypodermic syringe.
A removable receptacle, which may be a sliding drawer or similar
device, is provided at the bottom of the base of the tool, and
confining lateral walls on the latter provide assurance that the
small severed portions of the syringe are received within the
receptacle, leaving only the severed barrel portion to be discarded
immediately. The waste receptacle may be emptied periodically as
the severed needles and hubs accumulate therein.
Other objects and purposes will appear from the detailed
description of the invention following hereinafter, taken in
conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of the tool in accordance
with the invention along the median plane thereof, with a spent
hypodermic syringe in position to be severed at multiple points,
taken along line 1--1 of FIG. 2;
FIG. 2 is a left end view of FIG. 1 with the hypodermic syringe
removed for the sake of clarity;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the drawer receptacle mounted in
the base of the tool; and
FIG. 4 is a horizontal sectional view along line 4--4 of FIG.
1.
In the drawing is shown a tool standard 1 of rugged construction,
resembling seal presses such as corporate or notarial seals which
are used for embossing impressions in paper. Such a press may be of
the type shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,605,869, Nov. 2, 1926. The tool
is generally fabricated of metal, such as cast iron, and its weight
imparts a high degree of stability for support on a desk, table or
other supporting surface.
The tool comprises a standard 1, a base 2 extending forwardly
therefrom and an overhang portion 3 above the base. The upper
surface of the forepart of the base is fitted with a die retainer 4
in which is seated an annularly-shaped female cutter member 6
provided with a groove 7 at the front of the latter and a groove 8
at the rear thereof. These grooves are preferably of substantially
semi-cylindrical outline and serve to support the hypodermic
syringe S in substantially horizontal position, so that the
cannular needle N is supported in groove 8 and extends rearwardly
therebeyond while the enlarged portion of the syringe which may be
either the hub H or the barrel B are supported by the wider groove
7. The latter is disposed in a truncated portion of the cutter
member 6, which permits the small thickness of latter between the
inner diameter of the member and front vertical face to fit between
the large end of the hub H and the inner end of the barrel B. The
device is capable of destroying hypodermic syringes of all
capacities and in order to accommodate barrels of large diameter,
the tool support 4 and the front of the base may be recessed to
provide a large groove 10 forwardly of the flattened face 9 of the
female cutter member 6.
The forepart of the overhang portion 3 is bored with a cylindrical
passage 12 to accommodate a cylindrical plunger 13 having cutting
edges 15 and 17 at the lower end thereof which cooperate with the
internal upper edge of the female die element 6 and which are
adapted to sever the parts of the hypodermic syringe which rest in
grooves 7 and 8 when the cylinder 13 is moved into the interior of
the female cutter member 6. The cutting edges 15 and 17 may be
ground separately, or these may constitute parts of a continuous
circular cutting edge. The cutting edge 17 may project further
since it encounters the needle first for the cutting operation.
The cylindrical plunger 13, with its cutting edges 15 and 17, is
normally biased in an upward direction into spaced relation with
respect to the annularly shaped cutter member and support for the
hypodermic syringe. This bias is effected by means of spiral spring
24 having the lower portion thereof seated within a cylindrical
recess 23 in the overhang portion 3 and with the upper portion
pressing upwardly against plate 25 extending rearwardly from the
plunger 13. An actuating arm 20 is pivotally mounted within the
tool on pin 21 and is provided adjacent the pivot point with an
eccentric portion 22 so that when the arm or handle 20 is rotated
in a clockwise direction, the eccentric portion 22 presses the
plunger 13 downwardly with great mechanical advantage against the
biasing force of spring 24, to effect the cutting operation between
the cooperating cutting edges 15 and 17 with the cutter member 6
adjacent to the supporting grooves 7 and 8.
The base is provided with channels 35 for the purpose of guiding a
drawer 30 into nested position below the base. An upstanding wall
33 at the front and wall 32 at the sides and rear 32 extend from
the bottom of the drawer 31, which serves to receive the severed
portions of the cannular needles N which drop through the opening
35 into the base as well as the larger portions of the syringes,
for example, the hubs H which drop into the drawer 30 through the
opening in the bottom of the annularly shaped cutter member 6. The
drawer may be emptied periodically. Lateral walls 36,36' extend
downwardly from the sides of the tool to enclose the latter, so
that the severed parts are confined to the interior of the tool and
drop into the drawer without scattering beyond the walls
thereof.
The tool is sufficiently heavy so that the base rests on the
supporting surface with stability. This stability may be increased
by providing suction cups 38 lateral brackets 39 affixed to the
lower end of the base. Two of these brackets on each side are
sufficient. Alternatively, magnetized elements may be provided for
magnetic attraction to a sheet metal support of iron or steel.
It is understood that the cylindrical cutting punch may be formed
of any desired metal and may be provided with hardened tool steel
adjacent to only the lower end thereof. Any desirable cutting tool
alloy may be used for the fabrication of the annularly-shaped
cutting member 6. The internal diameter of the latter may be
approximately three-fourth inches and an external diameter of about
one to one and one-half inches provides adequate radial support for
the cannular needle and the larger part of the syringe as it is
severed into three parts.
If desired, interchangeable cutter members may be mounted in the
die retainer. These may have the same internal diameter for
cooperation with the cutting punch at the lower end of the
reciprocating plunger.
* * * * *