Blood sampling devices

• US 20060129172A1
• Filed: 08/02/2004
• Published: 06/15/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 08/06/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Owen Mumford
• Original Assignee: Owen Mumford
• Inventors: Marshall, Jeremy, Crossman, David Danvers
• Granted Patent: US 7,972,349 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 5/150519 Details of construction of hub, i.e. element used to attach the single-ended needle to a piercing device or sampling device
• 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 5/150885 Preventing re-use
• 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 housing retains a lancet body which encloses a needle whose tip is covered by a cap. The cap has a head provided with flanges. These flanges locate within notches at the end of the housing on only two sides of the housing. The location of the flanges within the notches holds the lancet within the body, before use, so as to compress a spring positioned between a head and a slotted portion of the housing. When the device is to be used, the head of the cap is rotated through 90° so as to detach the cap from the rest of the lancet body and release the flanges from the notches. This allows the lancet body to be actuated by a sprung-loaded trigger-release mechanism, when required, so that the tip of the needle projects momentarily through the opening at the end of the housing and then bounces back.

Claims

1. A blood sampling device comprising a needle-carrying lancet located within a housing and having a cap positioned over the needle, the cap extending to project through an opening at one end of the housing and having one or more locating members fitting into one or more cooperating features of the outer walls of the housing, the cap being twistable to release the locating members from the cooperating features such that the cap can be detached from the housing and from the needle.

2. A blood sampling device according to claim 1, wherein the or each locating member is a flange or rib and the or each cooperating feature is a groove, or vice versa.

3. A blood sampling device according to claim 2, wherein there are two flanges fitting into grooves in two opposed sides of the outer walls of the housing.

4. A blood sampling device according to claim 1, wherein the lancet is sprung-loaded to urge the lancet in the direction towards the opening in the housing.

5. A blood sampling device according to claim 4, including a trigger-releasable latch to hold the lancet within the housing such that an exposed needle cannot project through said opening until the latch is released by the trigger.

8. A blood sampling device according to claim 2, wherein the lancet is sprung-loaded to urge the lancet in the direction towards the opening in the housing.

9. A blood sampling device according to claim 3, wherein the lancet is sprung-loaded to urge the lancet in the direction towards the opening in the housing.

6-7. -7. (canceled)