MEDICAL DEVICE

• US 20090227854A1
• Filed: 02/27/2009
• Published: 09/10/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/29/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PHC Holdings Corporation
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Izumi, Eiichiro, OHAMA, Shinji
• Granted Patent: US 8,233,956 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/345
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/227 Sensors with electrical connectors
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1468 using chemical or electrochemical methods, e.g. by polarographic means A61B5/1486 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/4875 Details of handling test elements, e.g. dispensing or storage, not specific to a particular test method test-elements per se B01L, automatic analysers G01N35/00, in-vivo analysis on the human body for medical diagnosis A61B
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 436/144444 Glucose

Abstract

The present invention relates to a medical device for analyzing body fluid, and provides a medical device which suppresses jumping of a sensor when the sensor is discarded after measurement, thereby to enhance stability and safety. For this purpose, a medical device 20 includes a connector 2 which contacts a sensor 4 to electrically connect the sensor 4 with a measurement circuit in a medical device 20, a contact terminal 11 which constitutes the connector 2, and a slide pin 3 which ejects the sensor 4 out of the medical device 20. The slide pin 3 performs the operation of pushing up the contact terminal 1 contacting the sensor 4 as well as the operation of pushing the sensor 4 out of the medical device 20. Since the contact terminal 11 is completely lifted up by the inclined surface of the upper end part of the slide pin 3 before the sensor 4 is discarded, there occurs no reaction due to rebound of the contact terminal 11 which might occur at the moment when the contact terminal 11 of the connector 2 is separated from the sensor, and thereby the sensor 4 can be discarded so as to fall freely.

Claims

1. A medical device which performs measurement and inspection using a sensor for analyzing components of blood or body fluid, comprising:

a connector part which contacts the sensor to electrically connect the sensor with a measurement circuit in the medical device;

a contact terminal which constitutes the connector part; and

a discarding means which ejects the sensor out of the medical device;

wherein said discarding means pushes the sensor out of the medical device to make the contact terminal contacting the sensor apart from the sensor.

2. A medical device as defined in claim 1 further including

a slide pin which constitutes the discarding means,

a discarding lever which is provided outside the medical device, and

a joint plate which connects the slide pin and the discarding lever,

wherein said slide pin moves in conjunction with the discarding lever to discard the sensor.

3. A medical device as defined in claim 1 wherein

said connector part includes a sensor detection part which sandwiches or presses the sensor to hold the same, and detects that the sensor is inserted, and

said sensor detection part is formed of a metal or a resin.

4. A medical device as defined in claim 2 wherein

said slide pin has an inclined part which has an inclined surface at an upper end of the plane that pushes the sensor.

5. A medical device as defined in claim 2 wherein

said discarding lever has concavities and convexities formed at its surface.

6. A medical device as defined in claim 2 wherein

said discarding lever is configured such that an end portion thereof on the sensor ejection side is raised up.

7. A medical device as defined in claim 2 wherein part or entirety of said discarding lever is formed of a transparent or semi-transparent material.

8. A medical device as defined in claim 2 wherein

said slide pin moves in the connector part.

9. A medical device as defined in claim 1 wherein

said discarding means and said connector part perform mutually relative operations to hold or discard the sensor.

10. A medical device as defined in claim 9 wherein

said discarding means holds the sensor when it is moved to an end in the connector part, and

said discarding means discards the sensor when it is moved to the other end in the connector part.

11. A medical device having a measurement circuit which measures components of blood or body fluid using a sensor for analyzing the same, comprising:

a connector part which contacts the sensor to electrically connect the sensor with the measurement circuit;

a contact terminal which constitutes the connector part; and

a discarding means which ejects the sensor out of the medical device;

wherein a slide pin constituting the discarding means ejects the sensor that is held sandwiched or pressed by the connector part, to the outside of the medical device body after the contact terminal is made apart from the sensor.

12. A medical device as defined in claim 11 wherein

said connector part has a sensor detection part which sandwiches or presses the sensor to hold the same, and detects that the sensor is inserted, and

said sensor detection part is formed of a metal or a resin.

13. A medical device as defined in claim 11 wherein

said slide pin has an inclined part which has an inclined surface at an upper end of the plane that pushes the sensor.

14. A medical device as defined in claim 11 wherein

said slide pin moves in the connector part.

15. A medical device as defined in claim 11 wherein

said discarding means and said connector part perform mutually relative operations to hold or discard the sensor.