Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US20020040230?dq=5,579,517
Timestamp: 2014-03-14 20:22:04
Document Index: 320348620

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 25', 'art 24', 'art 24', 'art 24', 'art 33', 'art 33']

Patent US20020040230 - Blood lancet system for blood withdrawal for diagnostic purposes - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inAdvanced Patent SearchPatentsBlood lancet system for blood withdrawal for diagnostic purposes with a housing, a lancet holder movable in the housing for holding an exchangeable lancet, and a lancet drive for driving the pricking movement of the lancet holder with the lancet contained herein. The housing has a cap at the front end...http://www.google.com/patents/US20020040230?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US20020040230 - Blood lancet system for blood withdrawal for diagnostic purposesAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS20020040230 A1Publication typeApplicationApplication numberUS 09/884,305Publication dateApr 4, 2002Filing dateJun 19, 2001Priority dateJun 21, 2000Also published asDE10030410C1, EP1166719A2, EP1166719A3, US6602268Publication number09884305, 884305, US 2002/0040230 A1, US 2002/040230 A1, US 20020040230 A1, US 20020040230A1, US 2002040230 A1, US 2002040230A1, US-A1-20020040230, US-A1-2002040230, US2002/0040230A1, US2002/040230A1, US20020040230 A1, US20020040230A1, US2002040230 A1, US2002040230A1InventorsRichard Forster, Hans-Jurgen KuhrOriginal AssigneeHans-Jurgen Kuhr, Richard ForsterExport CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManReferenced by (22), Classifications (6), Legal Events (5) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetBlood lancet system for blood withdrawal for diagnostic purposesUS 20020040230 A1Abstract Blood lancet system for blood withdrawal for diagnostic purposes with a housing, a lancet holder movable in the housing for holding an exchangeable lancet, and a lancet drive for driving the pricking movement of the lancet holder with the lancet contained herein. The housing has a cap at the front end in pricking direction which can be removed in order to remove a used lancet from the lancet holder. The lancet and the housing cap are coupled, during the attachment of the housing cap, by a coupling mechanism comprising coupling elements matched to each other and enabling the extraction of the lancet from the lancet holder simultaneously with removing the housing cap. Images(6) Claims(8)
[0028] The blood lancet system 1 represented in FIGS. 1 to 5 consists of a pricking apparatus 2 and exchangeable lancets 3, adapted to be used together with the pricking apparatus 2. The lancets 3 have a lancet body 4 made of plastic and a needle 5 fixed in the lancet body 4; the sharp tip 6 of the lancet needle 5 protrudes from the lancet body in the pricking direction symbolized by the arrow 7. For the unused lancet 3 represented in FIG. 1, the tip 6 is covered by a tip cover element 8, which is connected to the lancet body 4 via a breaking point 9 in a way that it can easily be removed by turning and pulling, thus exposing the tip 6. [0029] In the embodiment shown, the housing 10 of the pricking apparatus 2 is designed with an elongated shape, similar to a pencil (so-called pencil-design). The longitudinal axis 11 of the pricking apparatus 2 runs in the pricking direction 7. [0030] A lancet holder 12 is located in the housing 10. The lancet 3 is fixed in the lancet holder 12 by means of an appropriate clamping device in an exactly reproducible longitudinal position. In the represented case, the lancet holder 12 has two holder tongues 12 a, pretensioned radially towards the interior of the holder and engaging with corresponding recesses 4 a of the lancet body 4. Further characteristics of this fixing design can be taken from U.S. Pat. No. 5,318,584. The lancet holder is guided and arranged in a way that it can be moved forward, with as few vibrations as possible, in pricking direction 7 inside the housing 10, until the lancet tip 6 protrudes from an opening 13, thereby generating a prick wound in a body part 25 (FIG. 2) touching a contact surface 14 which is ring-shaped and surrounds the opening 13. [0031] The pricking movement of the lancet holder 12 and a lancet 3 held thereby is driven by a lancet drive, designated as a whole as 15. The lancet drive is preferably designed according to the principles described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,318,584. This includes use of a cam control. A control pivot 16 (FIG. 4) is arranged at the lancet holder; it meshes, acting as operating cam, into a recess of a drive rotor 17 (only partially visible in FIGS. 2 and 3). The drive rotor 12 performs a turn around the longitudinal axis 11 of the housing 10. The rotation of the drive rotor 17 with the operating cam located therein, leads to a corresponding longitudinal movement of the control pivot 16, and thus of the lancet holder 12 in pricking direction 7. Further characteristics of this preferred lancet drive 15 can be taken from the US patent mentioned before. [0032] The front end, in pricking direction, of the housing 10 is formed by a cap 20, covering the insertion end designed for inserting the lancet 3 into the lancet holder 12. The cap 20 is removeably fixed at the housing 10. To this end different fastening principles can be used, as long as a precise and reproducible definition of the longitudinal position of the housing cap 20 with respect to the lancet holder 12 is provided. For the design shown, a latch fastening is used, in which a bulge 22 provided at the cap 20 latches into a corresponding recess 23 of a housing part 24. Instead of such a latch fastening, a thread fastening can also be used. [0033] In the embodiment shown, the housing part 24 to which the cap 20 is fastened, is adjustable in its longitudinal position in relation to the rest of the housing 10 and thus in relation to the lancet holder 12 by means of a thread 26. This allows an adjustment of the pricking depth. The more the housing part 24, and thus the cap 20 where the contact surface 14 is located, are shifted forwardly, in pricking direction 7, the smaller becomes the pricking depth, for a given lowest position of the lancet holder 12 in pricking direction 7. [0034] A coupling mechanism 28, by which the lancet 3 and the housing cap 20 are coupled automatically to each other while the housing cap is attached the housing 10, includes an ejector 30 moveably arranged in pricking direction 7. It can best be seen in its entirety in FIG. 5. Generally, the ejector 30 may be formed by any constructive part comprising in its forwardly located section, with respect to the pricking direction, a coupling element 34 for coupling to the housing cap 20, and in its rearwardly located section a lancet contact element 31 which may contact the lancet 3 in such a way that movement of the lancet contact element 31 in pricking direction 7 causes ejection of the lancet 3 from the lancet holder 12. The part of the ejector 30 between the lancet contact element 31 and the coupling element 34 is designated intermediate part 33. [0035] In the embodiment shown, the lancet contact element 31 is formed by two ejector rods 32, pushing against the rear end of the lancet 3. A coupling element 34 of the ejector 30 and a corresponding coupling element 35 of the housing cap 2 are adapted to each other such that the cap 20 is coupled to the ejector 30, and thus indirectly to the lancet 3, during attachment of the housing cap 20 to the housing 10. In the represented case, the ejector-side coupling element 34 is embodied by three segments of a radial collar 37, protruding radially outwardly from a sleeve 38 surrounding the lancet holder. The sleeve 38 has recesses in the area of the collar 37, separating the segments of the radial collar 37 from each other and allowing an elastic deformation, radially to the inside, of the sleeve 38 in the area of the radial collar 37. [0036] In the embodiments shown, the coupling element 35 provided at the housing cap 20 is formed by a ring-shaped protrusion 41 located at the inside wall 40 of the housing, arranged and adapted in such a manner that during the attachment of the cap 20, the sleeve 38 is slightly compressed in the area of the radial collar 37, and the radial collar 37 latches, after passing the narrow formed by the ring-shaped protrusion 41, into a recess 43, which is located before the ring-shaped protrusion 41 in pricking direction 7. [0037] Numerous variations of the coupling mechanism 28 are possible, provided that, on one hand, the coupling between the housing cap 20 and the lancet 3 (preferably indirectly via an ejector 30) is effected during attaching of the housing cap 20 onto the housing 10 (after previously having inserted the lancet 3 as a separate part into the lancet holder 12), and, on the other hand, the lancet 3 is during the removal of the cap 20 simultaneously pulled out of the lancet holder 12. The represented coupling principle, in which at least one of the coupling elements 34,35 is biased elastically in such a manner that it latches into a corresponding recess (here, the recess 43) of the other coupling element 35, is preferred, because it allows a particularly simple handling. However, an appropriate coupling can also be obtained, e.g., by a bayonet joint. [0038] Furthermore, the contact between a lancet contact element 31 provided at the ejector 30 and the lancet, which is necessary for the removal of the lancet 3 from the lancet holder 12, must not necessarily be embodied by a push-out device, which pushes against the lancet from its rear end, as the ejector rod 32 does. A design which pulls the lancet 3 out of the lancet holder 12, is also possible in which case a lancet contact element provided at a correspondingly shaped ejector may latch into a corresponding recess of the lancet body, conveniently from the side. [0039] The embodiment shown, in which the intermediate part 33 of the ejector 30 which joins the ejector-side coupling element 34 with the lancet contact element 31, is at least partially sleeve-shaped, is particularly preferred, as the sleeve 38 allows a precise guiding of the lancet holder 12 contained therein. Other designs are also possible. For example, the ejector can be formed by two or more rods arranged preferably rotation-symmetrically in pricking direction. At the front section of these rods, coupling elements for coupling to the cap 20 may be provided, and at their rear section, a lancet contact element 31 may be present. [0040] FIGS. 6 to 9 show, complementary to the FIGS. 2 and 3, some more handling stages of the blood lancet system 1 according to the invention. [0041] The lancet is gripped at the tip cover element 9 and inserted into the holder 12 (FIG. 6) with the housing cap 20 removed. Thereafter, the tip cover element 9 is turned off and the housing cap 20 is attached, its protrusion 41 pressing against the radial collar 37 of the sleeve 38, thus pushing the ejector 30 backwards, until its axial backward movement is stopped by a thrust block (FIG. 7). [0042] If the housing cap (20) is further pushed backwards (into the position represented in FIG. 2), the ring-shaped protrusion 41 comes into an axial position behind the radial collar 37, so that the coupling elements 34,35 latch into each other. [0043] After the pricking process, which is not different from previously known blood lancet systems, the housing cap 20 is removed again. During removal it reaches the position represented in FIG. 8, where the ring-shaped protrusion 41 is in contact with the radial collar 37. Thus, if the housing cap 20 is moved further in forward direction (in pricking direction 7), the ejector 30 is moved forward, pushing by means of its lancet contact element 31 (ejector rod 32) the lancet 3 out of the holder in forward direction. The lancet then falls into the housing cap 20 or remains unattached in the lower section of the housing 10. After taking off the housing cap 20, the used lancet 3 can be disposed into a waste bin without having to touch it. [0018] The invention is explained in more detail with reference to an embodiment represented in the figures. The features described there can be applied single or in combination in order to create preferred embodiments of the invention. [0019]FIG. 1 shows a perspective exploded view of the front part of a blood lancet apparatus according to the invention, [0020]FIG. 2 shows a longitudinal section through the blood lancet apparatus in the state of utilization (lancet inserted, ejector retracted), [0021]FIG. 3 shows a longitudinal section according to FIG. 2 during the removal of the cap (lancet free, ejector pulled out) [0022]FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of the lancet holder, the lancet and the ejector in the position according to FIG. 2, [0023]FIG. 5 shows a perspective representation according to FIG. 4 without the lancet holder, [0024]FIG. 6 shows a longitudinal section according to FIG. 2 in reduced scale in a handling stage just after inserting a new lancet, [0025]FIG. 7 shows a longitudinal section according to FIG. 6 in a handling stage in which the housing cap is attached, [0026]FIG. 8 shows a longitudinal section according to FIG. 6 in a handling stage in which the housing cap is removed, [0027]FIG. 9 shows a longitudinal section according to FIG. 8 in a slightly later handling stage during removing of the housing cap.
Referenced byCiting PatentFiling datePublication dateApplicantTitleUS6866675Jan 22, 2002Mar 15, 2005Roche Diagnostics Operations, Inc.Lancet device having capillary actionUS7273484Aug 6, 2004Sep 25, 2007Roche Diagnostics Operations, Inc.Blood withdrawal systemUS7322942May 7, 2004Jan 29, 2008Roche Diagnostics Operations, Inc.Integrated disposable for automatic or manual blood dosingUS7322996May 30, 2003Jan 29, 2008Facet Technologies, LlcPrecisely guided lancetUS7374546Jan 29, 2004May 20, 2008Roche Diagnostics Operations, Inc.Integrated lancing test stripUS7670301Dec 5, 2007Mar 2, 2010Roche Diagnostics Operations, Inc.Integrated disposable for automatic or manual blood dosingUS7727166 *Jul 26, 2004Jun 1, 2010Nova Biomedical CorporationLancet, lancet assembly and lancet-sensor combinationUS7736322Dec 23, 2003Jun 15, 2010Roche Diagnostics Operations, Inc.Precision depth control lancing tipUS7896819 *Oct 20, 2005Mar 1, 2011Rebec Mihailo VMethod of determining the concentration of an analyte in a body fluid and system in thereforUS7972281 *Apr 12, 2010Jul 5, 2011Nova Biomedical CorporationLancet sensor assembly and meterUS7976477Feb 27, 2008Jul 12, 2011Roche Diagnostics Operations, Inc.Precision depth control lancing tipUS8038694 *Sep 6, 2005Oct 18, 2011Terumo Kabushiki KaishaLancet instrumentUS8048096Nov 9, 2005Nov 1, 2011Becton, Dickinson And CompanyLancet deviceUS8152740Aug 16, 2007Apr 10, 2012Roche Diagnostics Operations, Inc.Blood withdrawal systemUS8187295 *Apr 14, 2004May 29, 2012Arkray, Inc.Puncture deviceUS8323212 *Aug 2, 2002Dec 4, 2012Arkray, Inc.Attachment for body fluid sampling device and method of making the sameUS8636674Jan 13, 2010Jan 28, 2014Roche Diagnostics Operations, Inc.Integrated disposable for automatic or manual blood dosingUS20100274273 *Jun 18, 2008Oct 28, 2010Steven SchragaLancet device with depth adjustment and lancet removal system and methodEP1790287A1 *Sep 6, 2005May 30, 2007Terumo Kabushiki KaishaCentesis instrumentWO2003101297A2 *May 30, 2003Dec 11, 2003Facet Technologies LlcPrecisely guided lancetWO2006028096A1Sep 6, 2005Mar 16, 2006Masafumi TakemotoCentesis instrumentWO2009022131A2Aug 13, 2008Feb 19, 2009Owen Mumford LtdLancing devices* Cited by examinerClassifications U.S. Classification606/181International ClassificationA61B5/15Cooperative ClassificationA61B5/15186, A61B5/1411European ClassificationA61B5/14B2, A61B5/151SLegal EventsDateCodeEventDescriptionSep 25, 2007FPExpired due to failure to pay maintenance feeEffective date: 20070805Aug 5, 2007LAPSLapse for failure to pay maintenance feesFeb 21, 2007REMIMaintenance fee reminder mailedJan 29, 2002ASAssignmentOwner name: ROCHE DIAGNOSTICS CORPORATION, INDIANAFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:ROCHE DIAGNOSTICS GMBH;REEL/FRAME:012538/0766Effective date: 20010918Owner name: ROCHE DIAGNOSTICS CORPORATION 9115 HAGUE ROADINDIAFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:ROCHE DIAGNOSTICS GMBH /AR;REEL/FRAME:012538/0766Jan 17, 2002ASAssignmentOwner name: ROCHE DIAGNOSTICS GMBH, GERMANYFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:KUHR, HANS-JURGEN;FORSTER, RICHARD;REEL/FRAME:012488/0552;SIGNING DATES FROM 20010911 TO 20010917Owner name: ROCHE DIAGNOSTICS GMBH SANDHOFER STRASSE 116MANNHEFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:KUHR, HANS-JURGEN /AR;REEL/FRAME:012488/0552;SIGNING DATES FROM 20010911 TO 20010917RotateOriginal ImageGoogle Home - Sitemap - USPTO Bulk Downloads - Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - About Google Patents - Send FeedbackData provided by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services©2012 Google