Single use lancet assembly

• US 20060079920A1
• Filed: 07/15/2005
• Published: 04/13/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 08/14/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Steven Schraga
• Original Assignee: Steven Schraga
• Inventors: Schraga, Steven
• Granted Patent: US 8,048,097 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 606/181
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/150022 for capillary blood or interstitial fluid
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/150412 Pointed piercing elements, e.g. needles, lancets for piercing the skin blade-like piercing elements A61B5/150442
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/150503 Single-ended needles hollow piercing element tip design A61B5/150396, needle sets for catheters A61M25/06, needles for bringing media into the body A61M5/32
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/150549 Protectors removed by rotational movement, e.g. torsion or screwing
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/150618 Integrally moulded protectors, e.g. protectors simultaneously moulded together with a further component, e.g. a hub, of the piercing element
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/150717 manually removed
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/150916 by blocking components, e.g. piston, driving device or fluid passageway
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/15113 Manually triggered, i.e. the triggering requires a deliberate action by the user such as pressing a drive button
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/15117 comprising biased elements, resilient elements or a spring, e.g. a helical spring, leaf spring, or elastic strap
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/15142 Devices intended for single use, i.e. disposable

Abstract

A single use lancet assembly having a housing, with an open interior and a piercing aperture defined therein, a lancet, with a body and a piercing tip positioned in the open interior of the housing and movable between a cocked orientation and a piercing orientation, a driving assembly structured to move the lancet into the piercing orientation, and a single use trigger assembly structured to actuate an actuating mechanism thereby allowing the lancet to move, at least temporarily, from its cocked orientation to its piercing orientation. The single use trigger assembly is structured such that it may not be positioned to actuate the actuating mechanism more than one time, thereby preventing inadvertent or intentional re-use of a contaminated piercing tip.

Claims

1. A single use lancet assembly comprising:

a housing, said housing including an at least partially open interior and a piercing aperture defined therein;

a lancet, said lancet including a body and a piercing tip;

said lancet disposed in said open interior of said housing and structured to move at least between a cocked orientation and a piercing orientation;

a trigger structured to position said lancet into said cocked orientation and to release said lancet from its cocked orientation; and

a driving assembly structured to move said lancet at least temporarily into said piercing orientation;

said trigger further including a trigger lock structured to at least partially immobilize said trigger within at least a portion of said housing after said lancet has been released one time, thereby preventing repositioning of said trigger to a pre-actuation orientation and preventing re-firing of said lancet; and

said trigger lock including at least one locking member connected to a cocking member of said trigger assembly and structured to engage a trigger track thereby preventing repositioning of said trigger to a pre-actuation orientation after said lancet has been affirmatively released one time.

2. A single use lancet as recited in claim 1 wherein said driving assembly includes a biasing element operatively disposed between said lancet and said housing.

3. A single use lancet as recited in claim 2 wherein said biasing element comprises a spring.

4. A single use lancet as recited in claim 1 wherein said trigger is structured to at least temporarily protrude from said housing when said lancet is disposed in said cocked orientation.

5. A single use lancet as recited in claim 1 further comprising an actuating mechanism structured to engage said lancet and abut an interior surface of said housing so as to retain said lancet in said cocked orientation until said lancet is affirmatively released.

6. A single use lancet as recited in claim 1 wherein said trigger lock comprises a pair of said locking members.

7. A single use lancet as recited in claim 1 further comprising an actuating mechanism disposed between said lancet and said housing and structured to prevent said lancet from moving out of said cocked orientation until affirmatively released.

8. A single use lancet as recited in claim 7 wherein said actuating mechanism comprises an actuating surface and is further structured to abut an interior surface of said housing thereby preventing said lancet from moving out of said cocked orientation until affirmatively released.

9. A single use lancet as recited in claim 8 wherein said actuating mechanism comprises a biasing portion extending from said lancet.

10. A single use lancet as recited in claim 9 wherein said trigger is structured to at least partially engage said actuating surface and push said actuating mechanism into said open interior of said housing thereby affirmatively releasing said lancet from said cocked orientation.

11. A single use lancet as recited in claim 1 further comprising a protective cover structured to at least partially and removably cover said piercing tip of said lancet at least prior to movement of said lancet into said cocked orientation.

12. A single use lancet as recited in claim 11 wherein said protective cover is structured to protrude through said piercing aperture of said housing and is further structured to be pushed into said housing by a user so as to position said lancet into said cocked orientation.

13. A single use lancet assembly comprising:

a housing, said housing including an at least partially open interior and a piercing aperture defined therein;

a lancet, said lancet including a body and a piercing tip;

said lancet disposed in said open interior of said housing and structured to move at least from a cocked orientation to a piercing orientation;

a trigger structured to at least position said lancet into said cocked orientation;

an actuating mechanism secured to said lancet and structured to abut an interior portion of said housing thereby retaining said lancet in said cocked orientation until affirmatively released;

said trigger further structured to at least partially engage an actuating surface on said actuating mechanism and push said actuating mechanism into said open interior of said housing thereby affirmatively releasing said lancet from said cocked orientation; and

a driving assembly structured to move said lancet at least temporarily into said piercing orientation;

said trigger including a trigger lock structured to at least partially immobilize said trigger assembly within at least a portion of said housing after said lancet has been affirmatively released one time thereby preventing repositioning of said trigger to a pre-actuation orientation; and

said trigger lock including at least one locking member connected to a cocking member of said trigger assembly structured to engage a trigger track thereby preventing repositioning of said trigger to a pre-actuation orientation after said lancet has been affirmatively released one time.

14. A single use lancet as recited in claim 13 wherein said trigger lock comprises a pair of locking members.

15. A single use lancet as recited in claim 13 further comprising a protective cover structured to at least partially and removably cover said piercing tip of said lancet at least prior to movement of said lancet into said cocked orientation.

16. A single use lancet as recited in claim 15 wherein

said protective cover is structured to protrude from said piercing aperture of said housing and is structured to be pushed by a user so as to position said lancet into said cocked orientation.