Swabable valve with curvilinear valve stem

Abstract

A swabable valve having a collapsible valve stem with a concave curvilinear upper surface extending from rim-to-rim of the valve stem, the concave curvilinear upper surface comprising a radius that is sufficient to prevent the collapsed valve stem from becoming lodged within the valve body upon collapsing thereby assuring that the collapsed valve stem will return to its closed position with the concave curvilinear upper surface substantially flush with the end of the valve.

Claims

1. A swabable valve (10) comprising a valve stem (100) that collapses into a valve body (12), said valve body (12) including a cylindrical reduced diameter section (18) having a circular rim, said valve stem (100) having a cylindrical reduced diameter portion (38) that extends fully into said cylindrical reduced diameter section (18) of said valve body (12), said cylindrical reduced diameter portion (38) including a through-slit (52) that opens when said valve stem (100) collapses into said valve body (12), said valve stem (100) having a concave curvilinear upper surface (102) that is substantially flush with said circular rim of said cylindrical reduced diameter section (18) of said valve body when said valve stem (100) is not collapsed into said valve body (12); said concave curvilinear upper surface (102) of said valve stem (100) extending rim-to-rim within said cylindrical reduced diameter section (18) of said valve body (12).

2. The swabable valve (10) as set forth in claim 1, wherein said concave curvilinear upper surface (102) of said valve stem (100) comprises a radius that is sufficient to prevent said valve stem from becoming lodged within said valve body (12) upon collapsing thereby assuring that said valve stem (100) will return to non-collapsed position with said concave curvilinear upper surface (102) substantially flush with said circular rim of said cylindrical reduced diameter section (18) of said valve body (12).

3. The swabable valve (10) as set forth in claim 2, wherein said radius of said concave curvilinear upper surface (102) is not too great such that said concave curvilinear upper surface (102) of said valve stem (100) is too deep within said circular rim of said cylindrical reduced diameter section (18) of said valve body (12) and therefore too difficult to adequately swab.

4. The swabable valve (10) as set forth in claim 2, wherein said through-slit (52) formed in said valve stem (100) comprises a generally straight through-slit (52).

5. The swabable valve (10) as set forth in claim 4, wherein said through-slit (52) formed in said valve stem (100) is normally-closed when uncompressed but is forced tighter closed due to the compression of said valve stem (100) when inserted into said valve body (12).

6. The swabable valve (10) as set forth in claim 4, wherein said through-slit (52) formed in said valve stem (100) comprises a normally-open slit (52) which is then squeezed closed when said valve stem (100) is inserted into said valve body (12).

7. The swabable valve (10) as set forth in claim 1, wherein said valve stem (100) comprises a durometer of about 40.

8. The swabable valve (10) as set forth in claim 1, wherein said concave curvilinear upper surface (102) comprises a radius of about 0.208 inches.

9. The swabable valve (10) as set forth in claim 1, wherein said valve stem (100) comprises a durometer of about 40 and said concave curvilinear upper surface (102) comprises a radius of about 0.208 inches.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

(2) FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a prior art swabable valve;

(3) FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the prior art swabable valve of FIG. 1 upon being accessed by an access device;

(4) FIG. 3A is a top plan view of a prior art valve stem; FIG. 3B is a side plan view thereof; FIG. 3C is a longitudinal cross-sectional view thereof;

(5) FIG. 3D is a top plan view of another prior art valve stem; FIG. 3E is a longitudinal cross-sectional view thereof; FIG. 3F is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view of the prior art valve stem in a prior art valve body;

(6) FIG. 4A is a perspective view of the prior art swabable valve of FIG. 1 showing the valve stem lodged therein and FIG. 4B is a top plan view of the prior art swabable valve of FIG. 1 showing the valve stem partially lodged therein;

(7) FIG. 5A is a side plan view of the valve stem of the invention; FIG. 5B is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of FIG. 5A along lines A-A; FIG. 5C is an enlarged partial view of FIG. 5B; FIGS. 5D and 5E are perspective and top views of the swabable valve of the invention showing no lodging of the valve stem therein; and

(8) FIG. 6A is a side plan view of another embodiment of the valve stem of the invention; FIG. 6B is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of FIG. 6A along lines A-A; FIG. 6C is an enlarged partial view of FIG. 6B; FIGS. 6D and 6E are perspective and top views of the swabable valve of the invention showing no lodging of the valve stem therein.

(9) Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

(10) Referring to FIGS. 5A, 5B and 5C, the improved valve stem 100 of the invention comprises a concave curvilinear upper surface 102 that is preferably formed at a concave radius (e.g., 0.208 inches) taken from the center line 104 of the valve stem 32 and extending rim-to-rim of the relief portion 39. As shown in FIGS. 5D and 5E, repeated engagement by an access device at various acute angles fails to lodge the valve stem 32 within the valve body 12; thereby assuring that the valve stem 32 always naturally returns to its properly-closed position.

(11) It has been discovered that a curvilinear upper surface having a too long of a concave radius (e.g., 0.416 inches) extending rim-to-rim of the relief portion 39 (see FIGS. 6A, 6B and 6C) thereby defining a shallower concave surface, could result in lodging of the valve stem 32 within the valve body 12 when the access device engages the valve stem 32 at an acute angle (see FIGS. 6D and 6E).

(12) It is believed that there is a sweet spot of about a 0.208 inch radius for the concave curvilinear surface at which the valve stem 32 will no longer lodge within the valve body 12 after being collapsed. Radiuses of a lesser amount may likewise preclude lodging; however, too short of a radius will deepen the concave surface and will therefore increase the difficulty of swabbing the surface during cleaning and sterilizing.

(13) More specifically, experiments have been conducted using groups of 40 durometer stems at radiuses of 0.416, 0.208 and 0.125 inches. With valve stems at the industry standard 40 durometer, the slits of the 0.418 radius stems experienced partial lip collapses and some side collapses whereas the slits of 0.125 radius stems experienced some lip collapses. However, the slits of the 0.208 radius stems experienced no lip or side collapses. Hence, 40 durometer stems with 0.208 radiuses appear to achieve the optimal results.

(14) To determine the effect of changing the stem's durometer from the industry standard of 40 durometer, additional experiments have been conducted using groups of 30 and 50 durometer stems at the three radiuses of 0.416, 0.0.208 and 0.125 inches. The slits of the 30 durometer stems experienced lip or side collapses at each of the three radiuses whereas the 50 durometer stems experienced some recessed stems (i.e., stems that did not return fully after being accessed) and slits with lip or side collapses. Hence, the industry standard 40 durometer stems appear to achieve optimal results at the above-noted optimal radius of 0.208 inch radius.

(15) The present invention includes that contained in the appended claims as well as that of the foregoing description. Although this description has been described in its preferred form with a certain degree of particularity, it should be understood that the present disclosure of the preferred form has been made only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction, combination, or arrangement of parts thereof may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

(16) Now that the invention has been described,