Patent ID: 7909842

Claim:
A lancing device for use with a lancet, comprising: a housing; a carriage slidably disposed within the housing; a lancet carrier having a mouth configured to directly receive and hold the lancet, the lancet carrier engaged within the carriage and movable relative to and independently of the carriage between a forward incision position and a rearward position; a drive member mounted to the carriage and configured to move to a cocked position in response to the lancet carrier moving to the rearward position; wherein the drive member urges the lancet carrier forward when in the cocked position; a trigger, at least a portion of the trigger is external the housing, the trigger mounted to at least one of the carriage and the housing and configured to directly engage the lancet carrier to restrain the lancet carrier from forward movement when the lancet carrier is in the rearward position and to release the lancet carrier to allow forward movement of the lancet carrier while the carriage remains stationary; and a depth adjustment mechanism directly engaging the carriage and operable to move the carriage and the lancet carrier together forward and rearward within the housing prior to lancing to a position associated with a selected depth setting in response to a movement by a user of the depth adjustment mechanism, wherein the drive member comprises a drive spring and a return spring, the drive spring having at least a portion movable forward and rearward relative to the housing, the portion of the drive spring directly engaging the lancet carrier to urge the lancet carrier forward when the drive spring is in the cocked position and the trigger releases the lancet carrier.