Collection box for syringe needles

Abstract

A collection box has a cover plate provided with a multiplicity of square openings into which a needle is inserted detachably fastened at a one-way-syringe, whereby the head of the needle is caught behind the sharp-edged inside border of the opening and the syringe can be pulled off from the needle which is being held in position by a disinfectant filling into which the needle has been pierced.

Description

In hospitals more and more one-way-syringes are used consisting of a syringe and a detachably fastened needle. This invention relates to a safe collection of the needles after use in such way that no risk is entailed for others with a view to either injury or infection during collection and transport to a trash dump.

One object of the invention is to provide a box for collecting used needles of syringes, the needles having a head by which they can be detachably fastened on syringes the box having a housing at least one wall of which being provided with a multiplicity of openings through which a needle is insertable into the housing, the edges of the openings are shaped in such a way that an abutment is formed for the needle head preventing an outward movement of the needle when the syringe is pulled off.

Further objects consist in that the walls of the openings taper to the inside of the housing, that the openings have a square configuration and that the borders of the openings at the inner surface of the wall are sharp-edged.

After use the syringe with its needle is inserted in one of the openings and pressed slightly until the head of the needle is caught behind the sharp-edged inside border of the wall provided with the multiplicity of openings. The syringe then can be pulled off from the needle and thrown away. The needle has been pierced through a plastic foam wall arranged beneath the wall heaving the multiplicity of openings, so that the needle will be anchored. Within the housing there is a filling of disinfectant material enclosed by a tightly closed plastic foil which is also pierced through by the needle during its insertion. Within the filling is a slight vacuum so that any liquid rest within the needle will be sucked into the filling. Because of the square shape of the openings needle heads of different sizes and shapes can be used. Even needles provided with very small heads can be inserted and anchored when the corners of the square openings are used to strip off the needle from the syringe. Also heads of greater diameter can be pressed through the square openings as it would be possible if the openings would have a circular shape.

In the following detailed description two examples will be described.

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a storage box for syringe needles,

FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 show the way in which the needles are anchored within the box and stripped from the syringe,

FIG. 5 shows a longitudinal cross-section of the box according to FIG. 1, and

FIG. 6 shows a cross-section of a further embodiment of the storage box.

A box 10 consists of an upper portion 12 and a lower portion 14. Both of the portions 12, 14 have outer flanges contacting each other and being held together undetachably by rivets 16. The upper portion 12 has a wall 18 provided with a multiplicity of openings. This wall has the configuration of a grid plate. The openings 20 all are of equal square shape and the cross-section of which is greater at the outer surface than at the inner surface of each opening. That means that the openings taper to the inside of the box. Both of the walls are made of plastic material.

Within the box 10 immediately below the wall 18 an anchoring plate 22 is provided consisting of slightly piercable material as foamed plastics. The anchoring plate 22 has supporting walls 24 standing on the lower box portion 14. Below the anchoring plate 22 a filling 26 is provided within the box containing a disinfectant solution and which is tightly surrounded by an envelope 28 in form of a sealed plastic foil. Within the envelope 28 a low pressure exists.

When a needle 32 detachably fastened on a syringe 30 is inserted into an opening 20 in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 2 first the plastic foam anchoring plate 22 and then the envelope 24 is pierced. Because of the vacuum within the filling any liquid rest is sucked into the filling. When the syringe is pressed slightly into the box the head 34 of the needle 32 is deformed elastically by the shape of the opening inside edges and then is caught behind the wall 18 (FIG. 3). In this position the needle is securely anchored within the box by the resilient effect of the plastic foam plate holding the head of the needle against the wall 18 and by the filling 26 anchoring the front portion of the needle. Now the syringe 30 can be pulled off (FIG. 4) and the needle 32 remains in the box.

The supporting walls 24 of the plate 22 prevent the filling 26 from being pressed when a needle is inserted and a reaction force is created by the anchoring plate 22. Therefore no over pressure can be produced within the filling, which could result in pressing liquid rests through the needles outside of the box. The square configuration of each opening 20 permits the use of a larger number of different shaped and sized needle heads 34 as it would be the case with circular openings, because heads of circular cross-section can be elastically deformed at a greater extent by square openings and if there are especially small heads the corners of the edges can be used catching the heads. It is important that the lower border of the openings in the wall 18, that means the border at the inner surface of that wall is made sharp-edged.

FIG. 6 shows a cylindric box 40, the whole circumferential wall of which being provided with a multiplicity of openings. The box 40 is rotatably supported in a housing 42 substantially surrounding the box 40 leaving free only an axially extending slot 44 providing access for one row of openings into which needles can be inserted. After this row of openings has been filled the box is rotated for a small angle until the next row of openings is accessible. In the box 40 also anchoring means being provided in this embodiment having a cylindric shape, but made of slightly piercable material as the plate 22. Within the anchoring cylinder a filling is provided as the filling 26 of the embodiment of FIG. 1 - 5. Below the cylindric box 40 a sponge 46 is disposed within the housing absorbing any liquid from the box.

It is common to all embodiments that a one-hand-performance permits the secure anchoring of syringe needles in a storage box which having been filled with needles can be transported without danger for others with a view to either injury or infection.

Claims

What I claim is:

1. Storage box for used syringe needles, comprising a closed box; a grid-forming plurality of tapered inwardly-narrowing openings formed in at least one wall of said closed box for insertion of respectively one needle into each opening, said openings each having a generally square sharp-edged configuration facilitating insertion therethrough into the box of the needle only and forming a stop for the needle head upon withdrawing the syringe so as to separate the syringe from the needle and retain said needle within said storage box; and an anchoring plate for said needles located within said closed box proximate to and coextensive with the wall having said openings, said anchoring plate being constituted of a material readily piercable by said needles, whereby upon insertion of a used needle through said anchoring plate and subsequent withdrawal of the syringe will cause said needle to remain embedded in said anchoring plate with the point of the needle being located within the closed box and the needle head being positioned between anchoring plate and the wall having said openings.

2. Storage box as claimed in claim 1, comprising a filling in said closed box containing a disinfectant solution; and a liquid-impervious envelope of piercable material encompassing said filling.

3. Storage box as claimed in claim 2, said anchoring plate including supporting walls supported interiorly of the box for preventing compression of said filling.

4. Storage box as claimed in claim 2, comprising maintaining the interior of said envelope with the filling at a reduced pressure.

5. Storage box as claimed in claim 1, said closed box being made of two permanently fastened parts.

6. Storage box as claimed in claim 1, said closed box being substantially cylindrical and having the circumferential cylindrical wall thereof provided with said plurality of openings.

7. Storage box as claimed in claim 6, comprising a housing; said cylindrical box being rotatably supported within said housing so that the latter encompasses at least the cylindrical wall of the box; and a longitudinal slot extending parallel to the rows of openings of the box formed in said housing providing access from exteriorly to at least one of said rows at any time.