Abstract:
The invention discloses a biosensor monitor with a housing to accommodate a printed circuit board for data analysis from the electrochemical reaction on the test strip, a lancing device for blood inoculation which requires only one finger to activate the release of a lancet. This new monitor includes a biosensor monitor and the lancing device to make it more compact in size.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     (a) Field of the Invention 
     This invention discloses the design of a biosensor monitor with a built-in lancing device for the convenience of the diabetic patients. 
     (b) Description of the Prior Art 
     All diabetic patients generally require a glucose monitor and a lancing device. Although both are portable, however, it requires more box space to put in both the monitor and blood lancer, making it rather bulky and inconvenient to carry around. Sometimes the lancing device is not present or lost, when it is time to perform a glucose measurement. Furthermore, to use a conventional lancing device requires two hands, one hand for triggering the lancing device to prick onto the fingertip of the other hand. Such conventional design of the monitor and the lancing device means two separate individual items, resulting in higher costs and packaging space. Moreover, the blood collection process by such lancing device with both hands is rather in inconvenient. Therefore, a new monitor with built-in lancing device to reduce cost and space to pack will be great niche for diabetics so that they won&#39;t leave home without the lancing device. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is therefore the objective of this new design to provide a mechanism with the monitor and blood lancer in one piece, small in size and only one finger to operate, which will be free from the inconvenience and d drawbacks associated with the conventional biosensor device. 
     The mechanical structure of this monitor within which there is a circuit board with a receiver slot for the test strip to be inserted in. Signals received from the reaction of the reagent on the test strip with the applied blood will be analyzed via the built-in CPU (Central Processing Unit) and shown on the LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) screen and, or, be transmitted through the communication port (USB, Serial or Parallel Port) to the computer for data acquisition and analysis. This monitor also houses a lancing device, which composes of a number of parts and springs, to pierce the needle of the lancet into the skin for a tiny drop of blood. This lancing device can be installed a disposable lance. Replacing the used needle with a new one automatically reloads the lancing device ready to be triggered for blood inoculation, upon the touch one finger only. With this structural design, blood specimen can be easily collected with the touch of, say, a finger onto the lancing device to trigger the release of the lancet, and be applied onto the reagent of the test strip to determine the results of its electrochemical reaction through the measurement of electrical current or voltage which will then be processed via the built-in CPU to display on the LCD screen. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The structure of the present invention may be more readily understood by one skilled in the art with reference to the following detailed drawings, wherein like elements are designated by identical reference numbers throughout the several views, and in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic view of the biosensor monitor pursuant to the teachings of the present invention, illustrating the test strip to be inserted into the monitor. 
         FIG. 2  illustrates the top view of the positional relationship of the several components of the biosensor monitor. 
         FIG. 3  illustrates the side view of the positional relationship of the several components of the biosensor monitors. 
         FIG. 4  is the cross-sectional view of the components of the lancing device when the needle is in the free, unloaded state. 
         FIG. 5  is the cross-sectional view of the several components of the lancing device when the lancing device is loaded and ready to trigger for the release of the lancet. 
         FIG. 6  is the cross-sectional view of the components of the lancing device is triggered and the lancet is released to its most forward position. 
         FIG. 7  illustrates the exploded view of some of the components of the lancing device. 
         FIG. 8  illustrates the relative angular position of the two components of the lancing device. 
         FIG. 9  is the top view of the positional relationship of the components of the monitor with the protective cap and lancet cover. 
         FIG. 10  is the top sectional view of the relative position of the protective cap and the lancet cover, showing the mechanism for the adjustment of the protective cap for different depth of lancet inoculated into the skin for different amount of blood drop. 
         FIG. 11  is the side view of the protective cap, showing the way to fix the lancet cover in different position for different depth of penetration into the skin. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to the drawings in detail,  FIG. 1 , the schematic view of the biosensor monitor pursuant to teachings of the present invention, shows a test strip  20  into the opening  12  on the upper protective cover  11  under which an electronic circuit board  14  is placed to measure the electrochemical response of the test strip with the added drop of blood, and on which a LCD screen  15  displays the results of the processed signals from the circuit board  14 , and on which a communication port (USB, serial or parallel)  13  transmits the processed signals to the computer for data acquisition and analysis. Connected to this upper protective cover  11  is a protective cap  16  for the lancet, not shown, on which there sits a lancet cover  17 . To have more insight into the mechanism of the monitor  10 ,  FIG. 2  illustrates the positional relationship of the several components of the monitor. A number of components constitute the lancing device  30  situated inside the upper protective cover  11 . A lancet  40  sits on the holder  35  in the lancing device  30 . This  FIG. 2  gives a better view of the lancet cover  17  and a protective cover  16  and the lancing device  30 , while  FIG. 3  gives the side cross sectional view of the monitor  10 , the lancing device  30  and the protective cover  16  with the lancet cover  17 . 
       FIGS. 4 ,  5 , and  6  illustrate the cross-sectional view of the lancing device  30  with the lancet  40  in three different operational modes.  FIG. 4  shows the positional relationship of the components of the lancing device in the free relaxed state, wherein the spring  32  has neither compressive nor tensional stress. Whereas,  FIG. 5  gives the positional relationship of the components of the lancing device  30  when the spring  32  is fully compressed to its limit as a lancet  40  is installed on, ready to release the lancet  40 . As soon as the needle cover  17  is pressed by the slightly touch of a finger tip on the lancet cover  17 , the lancet cover  17  will further push the outer tube  36  to the left to trigger the rotation of the connecting rod  34  which in turn trigger the release of the lancet holder  35  and the lancet  40  and other connecting components such as the connecting rod  34  and the adaptor  33 , by the compressive force of the spring  32 . The inner tube  31  is stationary and sits onto the lower protective cover  18  by the two posts  39  which fits into the opening space next to the left rear end of the inner tube  31 , while the outer tube  36  slides along the inner tube  31 , guided by the teeth  363 , on the inner rim of the outer tube  36  which fits well into the opening slot  312  of the inner tube  31 . The outer tube  36  can slide to the left by the push of the neighboring needle cover  17  to the right and can slide to the right position by the compressive force in the large spring  38 . The sliding movement of the outer tube  36  only happens when the lancet  40  is ready for release. The inner tube  31  holds well to one end of the small spring  32 , while the adaptor  33  locks well the other end of the small spring  32 , and hence the adaptor  33  can not rotate. Although the adaptor  33  connects to the connecting rod  34 , nevertheless, a good tolerance between them allows the connecting rod  34  to rotate freely against the adaptor  33 . This connecting rod  34  engages with the lancet holder  35  and as they move to the left, the connecting rod  34  will rotate against the lancet holder  35  because the triangular protrusion  344  on the connection rod  34  will be guided to rotate by the teeth  313  of the inner tube  31 , which can better be understood by referring to  FIG. 7  and  FIG. 8 . The teeth  313  of the inner tube  31  will guide and force the triangular protrusion  344  of the connecting rod  34  to rotate relative to the inner tube  31 , as the connecting rod  34  moves toward the inner tube  31 , the teeth  362 , which lies inside the inner wall of the outer tube  36 , will further guide and force the triangular protrusion to rotate and stay either at the stop  364  or the extreme position  365 , depending upon the relative position of the triangular protrusion  344  with the teeth  313 . When the triangular protrusion stays at the location  364 , the lancet holder  35  and the lancet  40  and the connecting rod  34  combination are in the position ready for the lancet  40  to launch for inoculation for blood, just like the mode in  FIG. 5 . Furthermore, when the triangular protrusion  344  stays at the location  365 , the connecting rod  34  and the lancet  40  combinations are at the state of being after launch, just like the mode in  FIG. 6 .  FIGS. 9 ,  10  and  11  illustrate the mechanism of the lancet cover  17  and the protective cover  16 , with which the lancet cover  17  can rotate relative to the protective cover  16  to adjust the depth of the needle  40  piercing into the skin by the engaging slope  364  of the tube  36  with the slope  173  of the lancet cover  17 , which has a hole  171  for the needle in front of the lancet  40  to go through and a number of grooves  172  for the protrusion  161  on the inner wall of the protective cover  16 , as shown in  FIGS. 10 and 11 , to define the depth of lancet  40  into the skin, which then results in different amount of blood.