Hypodermic needle unit with integral needle guard

Claim 1

A DISPOSABLE HYPODERMIC NEEDLE UNIT COMPRISING IN COMBINATION A HYPODERMIC NEEDLE AND A TUBULAR NEEDLE SHEATH, SAID NEEDLE HAVING AN ENLARGED DIAMETER HUB PORTION AND A CANNULA PORTION, A FIRST TERMINAL END OF SAID CANNULA BEING ATTACHED TO AND IN COMMUNICATION WITH SAID HUB PORTION, A SECOND TERMINAL END OF SAID CANNULA FORMING A PENETRATING POINT AT THE END THEREOF, SAID CANNULA HAVING A FIRST LENGTH FROM SAID FIRST TERMINAL END TO SAID SECOND TERMINAL END, SAID SHEATH BEING SEALED AT ONE END AND OPEN AT THE OPPOSITE END AND HAVING AN INTERNAL CONFIGURATION APPROXIMATELY MATING THE EXTERNAL CONFIGURATION OF SAID HYPODERMIC NEEDLE, SAID SHEATH BEING ADAPTED TO BE MANUALLY SEPARATED ALONG ITS MAJOR AXIS INTO A PLURALITY OF DETACHABLE SEGMENTS EACH SAID SEGMENT HAVING A PREDETERMINED LENGTH LESS THAN SAID FIRST LENGTH, SAID NEEDLE BEING POSITIONED WITHIN SAID SHEATH, WITH THE HUB AT THE OPEN END OF SAID SHEATH AND THE PENETRATING POINT ADJACENT TO THE CLOSED END OF SAID SHEATH, SAID SHEATH BEING SECURED TO SAID HUB PORTION, WHEREBY A HYPODERMIC NEEDLE UNIT HAVING AN INTEGRAL NEEDLE GUARD IS OBTAINED BY REMOVING ONE OR MORE SEGMENTS OF SAID SHEATH.