Patent ID: 8603126

Claim:
A skin pricking lancet comprising: a needle; a body comprising a distal end for holding the needle; a removable cap shielding a tip of the needle and maintaining sterility of the tip of the needle; a cap engagement formation formed on the distal end of the body comprising a first plurality of ribs, and a plurality of openings defined in the distal end of the body and disposed adjacent the first plurality of ribs; and a body engagement formation formed on the removable cap comprising a second plurality of ribs and a plurality of protrusions disposed adjacent to the second plurality of ribs, the body engagement formation configured to form a releasable mechanical interlock with the cap engagement formation, thereby securing the removable cap to the body in the shielded position, and configured to allow the removable cap to be removed from the body prior to use of the lancet, wherein the body engagement formation and the cap engagement formation are arranged to restrict rotation of the removable cap relative to the body about a main axis of the needle, the first and second plurality of ribs being in blocking engagement with one another when the removable cap is in place to substantially prevent the rotation of the cap relative to the body about the axis of the needle, the cap being united with the body by slidingly engaging the plurality of protrusions within the plurality of openings, the first plurality of ribs at least partially covering the second plurality of ribs in an engaged state of the cap and the body, a portion of each of the first and second plurality of ribs being exposed to an outside environment of the lancet.