Mechanical mechanism for a blood glucose sensor dispensing instrument
First Claim
1. A sensor dispensing instrument adapted to handle a sensor pack containing a plurality of sensors, each of said plurality of sensors being disposed in a sensor cavity on said sensor pack and enclosed by a protective foil covering, said sensor dispensing instrument further adapted to perform a test using one of said plurality of sensors, and comprising:
- an outer housing having a front end and a rear end, said outer housing further comprising a sensor slot through which one of said sensors is disposed to conduct the test, said sensor slot being disposed at the front end of the outer housing; and
a mechanical mechanism generally disposed within the outer housing, said mechanical mechanism including an indexing disk for supporting and rotating said sensor pack, an indexing disk drive arm for rotating said indexing disk, a knife blade assembly for puncturing said foil covering and ejecting one of said sensors from said sensor cavity and through said sensor slot, and a disk drive pusher on which said indexing disk drive arm and said knife blade assembly are mounted, said disk drive pusher being movable with respect to said outer housing, wherein said sensor dispensing instrument is operated by first moving said disk drive pusher in a first direction so as to cause said indexing disk drive arm to rotate said indexing disk, and then moving said disk drive pusher in a second direction so as to cause said knife blade assembly to puncture the foil covering and eject one of said sensors from said sensor cavity and through said sensor slot.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A sensor dispensing instrument adapted to handle a sensor pack containing a plurality of sensors and to perform a test using one of the sensors. The sensor dispensing instrument includes an outer housing and a mechanical mechanism contained therein for rotating the sensor pack and ejecting one of the sensors from the sensor pack and through a sensor slot on the housing. The mechanical mechanism of the sensor dispensing instrument is operated by first moving a disk drive pusher in a first direction to rotate the sensor pack, and then moving the disk drive pusher in a second direction to eject a sensor from the sensor cavity and through the sensor slot.
87 Citations
29 Claims
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1. A sensor dispensing instrument adapted to handle a sensor pack containing a plurality of sensors, each of said plurality of sensors being disposed in a sensor cavity on said sensor pack and enclosed by a protective foil covering, said sensor dispensing instrument further adapted to perform a test using one of said plurality of sensors, and comprising:
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an outer housing having a front end and a rear end, said outer housing further comprising a sensor slot through which one of said sensors is disposed to conduct the test, said sensor slot being disposed at the front end of the outer housing; and
a mechanical mechanism generally disposed within the outer housing, said mechanical mechanism including an indexing disk for supporting and rotating said sensor pack, an indexing disk drive arm for rotating said indexing disk, a knife blade assembly for puncturing said foil covering and ejecting one of said sensors from said sensor cavity and through said sensor slot, and a disk drive pusher on which said indexing disk drive arm and said knife blade assembly are mounted, said disk drive pusher being movable with respect to said outer housing, wherein said sensor dispensing instrument is operated by first moving said disk drive pusher in a first direction so as to cause said indexing disk drive arm to rotate said indexing disk, and then moving said disk drive pusher in a second direction so as to cause said knife blade assembly to puncture the foil covering and eject one of said sensors from said sensor cavity and through said sensor slot. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A sensor dispensing instrument adapted to perform a test by using a fluid testing sensor, said fluid testing sensor being supplied by a disposable sensor pack inserted into said sensor dispensing instrument, said sensor pack having a plurality of sensor cavities covered by a protective foil, said fluid testing sensor being enclosed in one said sensor cavities prior to the performance of said test, said sensor dispensing instrument comprising:
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an outer housing having a front end and a rear end, said outer housing further comprising an upper case and a lower case, said upper case and said lower case being pivotally connected together near the rear end of the outer housing in a clam-like fashion to permit the outer housing to be opened to permit the insertion of the sensor pack;
a latch disposed near the front end of the outer housing and adapted to connect the upper case to the lower case so as to close said outer housing after the insertion of said sensor pack;
a sensor slot disposed at the front end of the outer housing, said sensor slot being adapted to receive said fluid testing sensor, said fluid testing sensor projecting outwardly through said sensor slot during the performance of said test;
an indexing disk for supporting and rotating said sensor pack, said indexing disk being rotatably mounted within said outer housing and comprising a first surface and a second surface, said first surface being configured to align and support said sensor pack, said second surface comprising a plurality of curvilinearly extending grooves and a plurality of radially extending grooves, each radially extending groove being disposed between an adjacent pair of curvilinearly extending grooves, said indexing disk further comprising a plurality of knife slots, each knife slot passing from the first surface to the second surface and aligned with one of the plurality of radially extending grooves;
a disk drive pusher generally disposed within said outer housing for rotating the indexing disk and ejecting the fluid testing sensor from said sensor pack, said disk drive pusher being laterally movable and comprising an indexing disk drive arm for rotating said indexing disk, said indexing disk drive arm having a cam button that is adapted to engage one of the curvilinearly extending grooves and the radially extending grooves, said disk drive pusher further comprising a knife blade assembly for ejecting the fluid testing sensor from the sensor pack, said knife blade assembly comprising a cam follower adapted to extend a knife blade through one of the knife slots in the indexing disk, said knife blade being adapted to puncture said protective foil and engage the fluid testing sensor so as to eject said fluid testing sensor from said sensor cavity and through said sensor slot when in the extended position;
a puller handle generally disposed at the rear end the outer housing for moving said dish drive pusher, said puller handle being affixed to a rear end of the disk drive pusher, said puller handle being moveable between a testing position adjacent to the rear end of the outer housing and an extended position spaced outwardly from the rear end of the outer housing;
an electronics assembly for performing the test and displaying test results, said electronics assembly comprising a printed circuit board, electrical components mounted on the printed circuit board for conducting electronic functions in response to electrical signals, a plurality of buttons mounted on the printed circuit board for supplying electrical signals to the electrical components, a liquid crystal display mounted on the printed circuit board for displaying said test results, battery terminals mounted on said printed circuit board for connecting to a battery to supply electrical power to said electronics assembly; and
a sensor actuator disposed within said outer housing adjacent to said sensor slot for connecting the fluid testing sensor to the electronics assembly, said sensor actuator having metal contacts adapted to connect to contacts on the fluid testing sensor when said fluid sensor testing sensor is disposed in said sensor slot so as to transmit electrical signals between said fluid testing sensor and the printed circuit board of said electronics assembly, said sensor actuator being engaged by a front end of said disk drive pusher when said puller handle is in the testing position, wherein said sensor dispensing instrument is operated by first pulling said puller handle from the testing position to the extended position so as to cause said indexing disk drive arm to travel along one of the curvilinearly extending grooves to rotate said indexing disk and align the sensor cavity containing the fluid testing sensor with the sensor slot, and then pushing said puller handle from the extended position to the testing position so as to cause said knife blade to extend through one of the knife slots in the indexing disk to puncture the foil covering and eject the fluid testing sensor from the sensor cavity and through said sensor slot. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A method of operating a sensor dispensing instrument adapted to handle a sensor pack containing a plurality of sensors, each of said plurality of sensors being disposed in a sensor cavity on said sensor pack and enclosed by a protective foil covering, said sensor dispensing instrument further adapted to perform a test using one of said plurality of sensors, said sensor dispensing instrument comprising an outer housing having a sensor slot through which one of said sensors is disposed to conduct the test, and said sensor dispensing instrument further comprising a mechanical mechanism having an indexing disk for supporting and rotating said sensor pack, an indexing disk drive arm for rotating said indexing disk, a knife blade assembly for puncturing said foil covering and ejecting one of said sensors from said sensor cavity and through said sensor slot, and a puller handle for moving said indexing disk drive arm and said knife blade assembly, wherein said method comprises the steps of:
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a) pulling said puller handle away from said outer housing to cause said indexing disk drive arm to rotate said indexing disk and align the sensor cavity with the sensor slot;
b) pushing said puller handle towards said outer housing to cause said knife blade assembly to puncture the foil covering and eject the sensor from the sensor cavity and through said sensor slot; and
c) performing the test by using the sensor disposed in said sensor slot. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28)
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29. A method of operating a sensor dispensing instrument adapted to handle a sensor pack containing a plurality of sensors, each of said plurality of sensors being disposed in a sensor cavity on said sensor pack and enclosed by a protective foil covering, said sensor dispensing instrument further adapted to perform a test using one of said plurality of sensors, said sensor dispensing instrument comprising an outer housing having a sensor slot disposed at a front end of the outer housing through which one of said sensors is disposed to conduct the test, and said sensor dispensing instrument further comprising a mechanical mechanism having an indexing disk for supporting and rotating said sensor pack, a movable disk drive pusher, an indexing disk drive arm mounted on the disk drive pusher for rotating said indexing disk, a knife blade assembly mounted on the disk drive pusher for puncturing said foil covering and ejecting one of said sensors from said sensor cavity and through said sensor slot, and a puller handle affixed to an end of the disk drive pusher for moving said disk drive pusher, said puller handle being moveable between a testing position adjacent to a rear end of the outer housing, an extended position spaced outwardly from the rear end of the outer housing, and a stand-by position located between the testing position and the extended position, wherein said method comprises the steps of:
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a) opening said outer housing and placing a sensor pack on the indexing disk, said sensor pack being placed on said indexing disk by engaging notches in a perimeter of the sensor pack with pins on the indexing disk;
b) closing the outer housing;
c) grasping said puller handle between a finger and a thumb of a user hand when said puller handle is in the stand-by position;
d) pulling said puller handle from the stand-by position to the extended position so as to move said disk drive pusher and cause said indexing disk drive arm to rotate said indexing disk, said indexing disk being rotated by the movement of a cam button on the indexing disk drive arm along a curvilinearly extending groove disposed on said indexing disk;
e) pushing said puller handle from the extended position to the testing position so as to move said disk drive pusher and cause said knife blade assembly to puncture the foil covering, engage the sensor in the sensor cavity, eject the sensor from said sensor cavity, and push said sensor through the sensor slot, said sensor being engaged by a knife blade on the knife blade assembly that is extended through a knife slot in the indexing disk by a cam follower on the knife bade assembly;
f) performing the test by using the sensor disposed in said sensor slot;
g) viewing test results generated by the test on a liquid crystal display disposed on the outer housing; and
f) moving said puller handle from the testing position to the standby position so as to cause the sensor to be released from the sensor slot.
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Specification