Patent Publication Number: US-2021169385-A1

Title: Lancet

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates to the field of medical devices, more particularly, to a lancet. 
     BACKGROUND 
     For a lancet in the prior art, generally, a needle core is rotated to an emission position by pressing an inner sleeve, in this case, the inner sleeve is set to only slide axially within the housing of the lancet, while the needle core is set to rotate along an axis and move axially. However, because one end of a spring is connected with the needle core and the other end thereof is connected fixedly with a bottom cap of the lancet, the rotation of the needle core will cause the spring to twist, and the twisting in the course of tension of the spring results in loss of potential energy of the spring, which reduces elastic force applied to the needle core. 
     Besides, false emission should be avoided for the lancet. In the prior art, to prevent false emission, a cap is provided to the lancet to cover the inner sleeve which triggers the blood taking operation. However, the providing of the cap not only increases the number of components but also increases the manufacturing cost. 
     SUMMARY 
     The object of the present disclosure is to relieve or solve at least one of the above problems. 
     According to one aspect of the embodiment of the present disclosure, the present disclosure provides a lancet including: 
     a housing provided with an inner sleeve guiding portion for guiding movement of an inner sleeve and a first needle core guiding portion for guiding movement of a needle core;
         the inner sleeve provided inside the housing and adapted to move along the inner sleeve guiding portion, wherein the front end of the inner sleeve has an inner sleeve needle outlet and the inner sleeve is provided with a second needle core guiding portion to guide the movement  of the needle core;       

     the needle core, the body of which is adapted to move axially along the first needle core guiding portion, and which is provided with a needle body; 
     a spring provided inside the housing to drive the needle core to move axially towards the inner sleeve needle outlet, 
     wherein 
     the inner sleeve guiding portion has a radial rotation angle at a rotation guiding section thereof away from the inner sleeve needle outlet; 
     by pressing towards the inside of the housing, the inner sleeve is guided by the rotation guiding section to rotate such that the first needle core guiding portion is aligned with the second needle core guiding portion in the radial direction. 
     Alternatively, the end of the rotary guiding section has a limiting end face perpendicular to the axial direction. 
     Alternatively, the radial rotation angle of the rotary guiding section is between 25° and 35 ° . Further, the inner sleeve is axially displaced by 2.5 mm-3.5 mm based on the guidance of the entire rotary guiding section. 
     Alternatively, a rear end of the inner sleeve adjacent to the second needle core guiding portion is provided with an abutment end face perpendicular to the axial direction, the needle core body is adapted to abut against the abutment end face, and the rotational movement of the inner sleeve causes the needle core body to be out of contact with the abutment end face and to move axially along the second needle core guiding portion. 
     Alternatively, the rear end of the inner sleeve is provided with a guiding unit which cooperates with the inner sleeve guiding portion. 
     In a further embodiment, the guiding unit is a guiding protrusion, and the guiding portions are guiding grooves. 
     Alternatively the inner sleeve guiding portion is provided inside with an inner sleeve positioning member which cooperates with the guiding unit to allow the guiding unit to pass over the inner sleeve positioning member in a direction of moving towards the rotary guiding  section and to prevent the guide unit from passing through the inner sleeve positioning member in a direction of moving away from the rotary guiding section. 
     Alternatively, the guiding unit has a first guiding ramped surface and a first vertical blocking surface, wherein when the guiding unit moves towards the rotation guiding section, the first guiding ramped surface is adapted to be in contact with the inner sleeve positioning member, and after the guide unit passes over the inner sleeve positioning member, the first vertical blocking surface constitutes a blocking section that prevents the guiding unit from passing over the inner sleeve positioning member. 
     Alternatively, the inner sleeve positioning member has a second guiding ramped surface and a second vertical blocking surface, wherein the second guiding ramped surface cooperates with the first guiding ramped surface, and the second vertical blocking surface cooperates with the first vertical blocking surface. 
     Alternatively, the needle further includes a needle cap provided to the needle core body, wherein the needle cap passes through the inner sleeve through the inner sleeve needle outlet, the needle cap has a needle cap stopping member which abuts against an inner end face of the inner sleeve with the potential energy of the spring; the inner sleeve needle outlet is provided with an opening channel that allows the needle cap stopping member to pass through only in a specific orientation; the rear end of the inner sleeve is provided adjacent to the second needle core guiding portion with an abutment end face which is perpendicular to the axial direction, and the needle core body is adapted to abut against the abutment end face; in the case where the guiding unit passes over the inner sleeve positioning member and abuts against the inner sleeve positioning member, the distance between the needle core body and the abutment end face is in the range of 1 mm to 2 mm. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic structural drawing of a housing of a lancet according to one exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is end view of the housing shown in  FIG. 1 .  
         FIG. 3  is a schematic cross-sectional view of the housing shown in  FIG. 1 , and the position of the cross-section is illustrated on the right side. 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic cross-sectional view of the housing shown in  FIG. 1 , and the position of the cross-section is illustrated on the left side. 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic structural drawing of the inner sleeve of a lancet according to one exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 6  is an end view of the inner sleeve shown in  FIG. 5 . 
         FIG. 7  is a view of the inner sleeve shown in  FIG. 5 , wherein the left part shows a cross-sectional view. 
         FIG. 8  is a schematic structural drawing of a needle core of a lancet according to one exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 9  is a schematic view of the needle core with the needle cap shown in  FIG. 8  being removed. 
         FIG. 10  is a schematic structural view of a spring of the lancet according to one exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 11  is a schematic structural view of the lancet according to one exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure before use. 
         FIG. 12  is a schematic cross-sectional view of the lancet shown in  FIG. 11 , wherein the cross-sectional position is shown on the left side. 
         FIG. 13  is a schematic cross-sectional view of the lancet shown in  FIG. 11 , wherein the cross-sectional position is shown on the left side. 
         FIG. 14  is a schematic view of the lancet shown in  FIG. 11  with the needle cap being removed. 
         FIG. 15  is a schematic cross-sectional view of the lancet shown in  FIG. 14 , wherein the cross-sectional position is shown on the right side. 
         FIG. 16  is a schematic view of the lancet shown in  FIG. 11  after use. 
         FIG. 17  is an operation schematic drawing of the lancet shown in  FIG. 11  which is ready to be used.  
         FIG. 18  schematically shows the position of the needle core when it is ready to be emitted. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The technical solutions of the present disclosure will be described in detail below through embodiments in combination with the accompanied drawings. Throughout the specification, like reference numerals refer to like elements. The following description of the embodiments of the present disclosure with reference to the drawings is intended to explain the general inventive concept of the present disclosure and should not be understood as a limitation of the present disclosure. 
     First, refer to  FIGS. 1 to 18 , a lancet according to one exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail. It should be noted that, for the sake of clarity, some features or elements in the figures are not specifically illustrated. As shown in the figures, the lancet according to the present disclosure comprises: 
     a housing  1 , as shown in  FIG. 1 , which is provided with an inner sleeve guiding portion  13  for guiding movement of an inner sleeve  2  and a first needle core guiding portion  12  for guiding the movement of a needle core  3 , as shown in  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3 ; 
     the inner sleeve  2 , as shown in  FIG. 5 , which is provided inside the housing  1  and is adapted to move along the inner sleeve guiding portion  13 , and as shown in  FIG. 6 , the front end of the inner sleeve has an inner sleeve needle outlet  26 , and the inner sleeve  2  is provided with a second needle core guiding portion  24  to guide the movement of the needle core; 
     the needle core  3 , as shown in  FIG. 8 , the body of which is adapted to move axially along the first needle core guiding portion  12 , and which is provided with a needle core body  36 , as shown in  FIG. 9 ; 
     a spring  4 , as shown in  FIG. 10 , which is provided inside the housing  1  to drive the needle core  3  to move axially towards the inner sleeve needle outlet  26 , wherein the axial direction is the axis direction of the housing. 
     wherein as shown in  FIG. 4 , the inner sleeve guiding portion  13  has a radial rotation  angle at a rotation guiding section  15  thereof away from the inner sleeve needle outlet  26 ; 
     by pressing towards the inside of the housing, for instance, by applying a force F as shown in  FIG. 17 , the inner sleeve  2  is guided by the rotary guiding section  15  to rotate such that the first needle core guiding portion  12  aligns with the second needle core guiding portion  24  in the radial direction. 
     Based on the above, the present disclosure provides a solution in which axial emission of the needle core  3  is achieved by rotational movement of the inner sleeve  2 . Because the spring  4  is not twisted during pressing of the inner sleeve  2 , the potential energy of the spring  4  is not reduced due to the twisting. 
     As shown in  FIG. 4 , the end of the rotary guiding section  15  has a limiting end face  16  perpendicular to the axial direction. 
     As shown in  FIG. 7 , a rear end (lower end in the figure) of the inner sleeve  2  is provided with an abutment end face  25  perpendicular to the axial direction and adjacent to the second needle core guiding portion  24 , and the needle core body  36  is adapted to abut against the abutment end face  25 , as shown in  FIG. 15 . As it can be easily understood, the rotational movement of the inner sleeve  2  will cause the needle core body (more specifically contacting end face  35  thereof) to detach from the abutment end face  25  and move along the second needle core guiding portion  24  axially. 
     In the above-described lancet, as shown in  FIG. 7 , the rear end (lower end in the figure) of the inner sleeve  2  is provided with a guide unit  21  which is cooperated with the inner sleeve guiding portion  13 . A more specific embodiment of the guide unit  21  will be described later in detail. 
     In an alternative embodiment, the guide unit  21  is a guiding protrusion, and the above-mentioned guiding portions are guiding grooves. However, alternatively, the guide unit can also be a groove provided to the inner sleeve, while the guiding portion may be a guiding rib provided to the housing. 
     Alternatively, as shown in  FIG. 4 , the inner sleeve guiding portion  13  is provided inside with an inner sleeve positioning member  14 . The inner sleeve positioning member  14   cooperates with the guide unit  21  to allow the guide unit  21  to pass over the inner sleeve positioning member  14  in a direction of moving towards the rotary guiding section  15  and to prevent the guide unit  21  from passing through the inner sleeve positioning member  14  in a direction of moving away from the rotary guiding section  15 . 
     More specifically, as shown in  FIG. 7 , the guide unit  21  has a first guiding ramped surface  211  and a first vertical blocking surface  212 , wherein when the guide unit  21  moves towards the rotary guiding section  15  (that is, when the inner sleeve  2  is pressed inwards the housing  1 ), the first guiding ramped surface  211  is adapted to contact with the inner sleeve positioning member  14 , and after the guide unit  21  passes over the inner sleeve positioning member  14 , the first vertical blocking surface  212  constitutes a blocking portion to prevent the guide unit  21  from passing over the inner sleeve positioning member  14 . 
     More specifically, as shown in  FIG. 4 , the inner sleeve positioning member  14  has a second guiding ramped surface  141  and a second vertical blocking surface  142 , wherein the second guiding ramped surface cooperates with the first guiding ramped surface, and the second vertical blocking surface cooperates with the first vertical blocking surface. 
     In the lancet above, as shown in  FIG. 8 , the needle core  3  further includes a needle cap  34  provided to the needle core body. The needle cap  34  passes through the inner sleeve through the inner sleeve needle outlet  26  and the needle cap  34  has a cap stopping member  33  which abuts against an inner end face  22  of the front end of the inner sleeve  2  due to the potential energy of the spring  4 , as shown in  FIG. 12 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 6 , the inner sleeve needle outlet  26  is provided with an open channel that allows the needle cap stopping member  33  to pass through only in a specific orientation; only when the needle cap stopping member  33  aligns with upper and lower small channels of the inner sleeve needle outlet  26  shown in  FIG. 6 , the needle cap stopping member  33  can be removed from the inner sleeve needle outlet  26 , otherwise the needle cap stopping member  33  will abut against the inner surface of the front end of the inner sleeve. 
     As shown in  FIG. 13 , when the guide unit  21  has passed over the inner sleeve positioning member  14  and thus abuts against the inner sleeve positioning member  14 , the  distance between the needle core body (that is, the contacting end face  35  thereof) and the abutted end face  25  is within the range of 1 mm-2 mm. 
     It should be noted that in the present disclosure, the inner sleeve positioning member  14  is not necessary. In the case where the inner sleeve positioning member is not provided, the guide member  21  needs not to be provided with structures for engaging therewith to, as long as it can engage with the inner sleeve guiding portion  13 . A protrusion may be provided to the outer wall of the inner sleeve  2 , and the protrusion cooperates with a stopper which is adjacent to the outlet of the housing  1  and provided to the housing  1 . 
     It should be noted that the cooperation mode between the first needle core guiding portion and the guide on the needle (for example, the protrusion  31 ) is not limited to the manners mentioned in the embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     It should be pointed out that in the case where the rotary guiding section of the present disclosure is employed, the length of the inner sleeve  2  protruding out of the housing  1  before the operation should satisfy the requirement that the inner sleeve  2  can be rotated so that the first needle core guiding portion and the second needle core guiding section are aligned or centered in the radial direction. In a specific embodiment, by the rotary guiding section, the inner sleeve  2  is rotated by 25° to 35° (more specifically 30°) along the axis of the lancet, and simultaneously moves axially inwards by 2.5 mm to 3.5 mm (more specifically 3 mm). 
     It should be pointed out that the length of the abutment end face  25  of the inner sleeve  2  should also be adapted to the length of the inner sleeve  2  protruding out of the housing  1  before operation. In other words, before the inner sleeve  2  completely enters the housing  1 , the abutting end surface  25  of the inner sleeve  2  should be moved beyond the abutting end surface  35  of the needle  3 , or the circumferential distance that the abutting end surface  25  of the inner sleeve  2  contacts with the abutting end surface  35  of the needle  3  is smaller than the circumferential distance by which the inner sleeve rotates in the radial direction. In a specific embodiment, before operation, the distance between the abutting end surface  25  of the inner sleeve  2  and the limiting end face  16  is slightly 1-2 mm smaller than the length of the outer sleeve  2  extending out of the housing  1 . It should be noted that it is also feasible that the needle  core  3  is not provided with the protrusion  33 . In that case, the abutting end surface  35  of the needle core  3  can directly abut against the abutting end surface  25  of the inner sleeve  2 . 
     The assembly process of the lancet in the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the structures shown above. 
     First, the spring  4  is placed to a spring positioning post  11  of the housing  1 . Second, two symmetrical protrusions  31  on both sides of the needle core  3  are installed along the two symmetrical needle core guiding grooves  12  inside the housing, and a spring catch point  32  at the tail of the needle core is then inserted into the spring  4 . Third, the inner sleeve buckle or the guide unit  21  is aligned with and inserted into the inner sleeve guiding groove  13  of the housing and stops after passing over the inner sleeve positioning member  14  of the housing. The inner sleeve positioning member  14  of the housing  1  prevents the inner sleeve  2  from passing over it and thus moving axially towards outside the housing  1 . In this case, the stopping members  33  symmetrical on both sides of the needle cap abut against the inner sleeve abutting end surface  22  with the spring potential energy. 
     In this way, even if the inner sleeve  2  retracts upon the pressing force on the front end face  23  of the inner sleeve  2 , the potential energy of the spring  4  can still support the needle core and allow the inner sleeve  2  to get back when the pressing force on the inner sleeve  2  is withdrawn, which provides a protection mechanism to the lancet to avoid false emission when a special cap is not required. 
     The operation procedure of the lancet in the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the above-described structure. 
       FIG. 11  is a schematic structural view of a lancet in the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure before use. Prior to use, as shown in  FIG. 12 , the needle cap stopping members  33  of the needle  3  abut against the inner end surface  22  of the front end of the inner sleeve  2  (pushing the inner sleeve towards the outside of the housing), and at the same time, as shown in  FIG. 13 , the guide unit  21  of the inner sleeve  2  engages with the inner sleeve positioning member  14  of the housing  1  (preventing the inner sleeve  2  from being pushed towards the outside of the housing  1 ). At this time, there is a safety distance between the  contact end surface  35  of the needle core  3  and the abutting end surface  25  of the inner sleeve  2 , for example, 1 mm-2 mm, which can effectively prevent the failure of the false emission prevention structure. 
     When it is desired to remove the needle cap  34  to facilitate further use, first, the needle cap  34  is rotated, and then the needle cap  34  is removed via the inner sleeve needle outlet  26  to expose the needle tip of the needle core body  36  which is wrapped by the needle cap. The state of the lancet after removal of the needle cap  34  is shown in  FIGS. 14-15 . 
     After the removal of the needle cap  34 , the inner sleeve  2  shown in  FIG. 13  loses the support of the needle cap stopping members  33  on both sides of the needle cap, and correspondingly, the needle core  3  also loses support from the needle cap stopping members  33  on both sides of the needle cap. With the spring potential, the needle core  3  moves a certain distance along the needle guiding groove  12  axially towards the inner sleeve needle outlet  26  until the front end faces or contacting end surfaces  35  of the symmetrical protrusions  31  on both sides of the needle core abut against the inner sleeve abutting end surfaces  25 , as shown in  FIG. 15 . At this time, the needle core  3  cannot move axially. Because the protrusions  31  on both sides of the needle core  3  are pre-installed in the guiding grooves  12  of the housing  1 , the needle core  3  only moves along the guiding grooves  12  in the axial direction. 
     In the blood taking operation, as shown in  FIG. 17 , a pressing force F is applied to the front end surface  23  of the inner sleeve to move the inner sleeve  2  axially along the inner sleeve guiding groove  13  of the outer housing  1  towards the inside of the housing  1 , and the inner sleeve buckle or the guide unit  21  continues to slide along the inner sleeve guiding groove  13  of the housing  1  towards the inside of the housing. After passing through the rotary guiding section  15  of the housing, the inner sleeve buckle or the guide unit  21  not only moves in the axial direction but also rotates a certain angle radially along the rotary guiding section of the housing until the inner sleeve buckle or guide unit  21  contacts with the limiting end face  16  of the rotary guiding section  15  of the housing  1  and thus stops sliding. However, the symmetrical protrusions  31  on both sides of the needle core will be limited by the needle guiding grooves  12  of the housing  1  and thus will not rotate with the inner sleeve  2 . In this case, the needle guiding  groove  24  of the inner sleeve  2  is aligned with the needle guiding groove  12  of the housing (that is, they are aligned in the radial direction so that the protrusions  31  of the needle core can slide axially in the guiding grooves  24  and  12 ).  FIG. 18  schematically shows the positions of the needle core or the protrusions  31  on both sides of the needle core in emission. 
     The contact end surfaces  35  of the symmetrical protrusions  31  on both sides of the needle core then disengage with the inner sleeve abutment end faces  25  so that the needle core  3  without being controlled or blocked by the inner sleeve abutment end faces  25  is in an unconstrained state in the axial direction, and the needle core  3  can be emitted and strike along the needle guiding grooves  12  of the housing  1  and the needle guiding grooves  24  of the inner sleeve by the spring potential energy. The needle tip of the inner steel needle of the needle core  3  passes through the inner sleeve needle outlet  26  to puncture the skin of the patient and is then retracted into the housing  1  upon the spring tension, and the blood collection is completed. 
     The state of the lancet after use is shown in  FIG. 16 . The used needle cannot be restored to its original position to avoid secondary use. 
     Although embodiments of the present disclosure have been explained and described, it will be understood that changes may be made to these embodiments by those skilled in the art without departing from the principles and spirit of the present disclosure. The scope of the present disclosure is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.