LANCET EJECTION AND ADVANCEMENT MECHANISM FOR MULTI-LANCET CARTRIDGE
First Claim
1. A lancing device for use with a multi-lancet chain to lance skin, the multi-lancet chain including a series of lancing elements interconnected by breakaway connections, the lancing device comprising:
- a housing;
a lancet holder that is received in the housing and carries the multi-lancet chain, wherein a forward-most lancing element of the multi-lancet chain is carried by the lancet holder through a lancing stroke to an extended position relative to the housing for lancing the skin;
an advance-and-eject mechanism including a positioning member that is received in the housing, carries the lancet holder carrying the multi-lancet chain, and is operable to advance and eject the forward-most lancing element of the multi-lancet chain, wherein the advance-and-eject mechanism further includes an actuator, one or more control channels, a cam-and-follower mechanism, one or more axial-contact members, and one or more angular-contact members, wherein actuating the actuator relative to the control channels imparts rotational and axial forces on the positioning member, wherein the cam-and-follower mechanism selectively restricts rotational and axial motion of the positioning member to induce first-stage rotation, second-stage translation, and third-stage rotation, wherein the first-stage rotation rotates the axial-contact members from a non-interference position to an interference position relative to the forward-most lancing element, the second-stage translation advances the axial-contact members and the interfered-with forward-most lancing element, and the third-stage rotation rotates the angular-contact members and the forward-most lancing element to sever its breakaway connection to the multi-lancet chain to eject it from the lancing device.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A lancing device includes an advance-and-eject mechanism with a positioning member for manipulating a series of interconnected lancets. The advance-and-eject mechanism includes an actuator, a control channel, a cam-and-follower mechanism, one or more axial-contact members, and one or more angular-contact members. Actuating the actuator relative to the control channel imparts rotational and axial forces on the positioning member, and the cam-and-follower mechanism selectively restricts rotational and/or axial motion of the positioning member to induce first-stage rotation, second-stage translation, third-stage rotation, and fourth-stage translation. The first-stage rotation rotates the axial-contact members into an interference position, the second-stage translation advances the axial-contact members and the lancet, the third-stage rotation rotates the angular-contact members and the lancet to sever its rearside connection, and the fourth-stage translation advances the axial-contact members and the lancet to a position free of the serial-interconnected lancets thereby ejecting it from the lancing device.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A lancing device for use with a multi-lancet chain to lance skin, the multi-lancet chain including a series of lancing elements interconnected by breakaway connections, the lancing device comprising:
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a housing; a lancet holder that is received in the housing and carries the multi-lancet chain, wherein a forward-most lancing element of the multi-lancet chain is carried by the lancet holder through a lancing stroke to an extended position relative to the housing for lancing the skin; an advance-and-eject mechanism including a positioning member that is received in the housing, carries the lancet holder carrying the multi-lancet chain, and is operable to advance and eject the forward-most lancing element of the multi-lancet chain, wherein the advance-and-eject mechanism further includes an actuator, one or more control channels, a cam-and-follower mechanism, one or more axial-contact members, and one or more angular-contact members, wherein actuating the actuator relative to the control channels imparts rotational and axial forces on the positioning member, wherein the cam-and-follower mechanism selectively restricts rotational and axial motion of the positioning member to induce first-stage rotation, second-stage translation, and third-stage rotation, wherein the first-stage rotation rotates the axial-contact members from a non-interference position to an interference position relative to the forward-most lancing element, the second-stage translation advances the axial-contact members and the interfered-with forward-most lancing element, and the third-stage rotation rotates the angular-contact members and the forward-most lancing element to sever its breakaway connection to the multi-lancet chain to eject it from the lancing device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 19)
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16. A lancing device for use with a multi-lancet chain to lance skin, the multi-lancet chain including a series of lancing elements interconnected by breakaway connections, the lancing device comprising:
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a housing; a lancet holder that is received in the housing and carries the multi-lancet chain, wherein a forward-most lancing element of the multi-lancet chain is carried by the lancet holder through a lancing stroke to an extended position relative to the housing for lancing the skin; an advance-and-eject mechanism including a positioning member that is received in the housing, carries the lancet holder carrying the multi-lancet chain, and is operable to advance and eject the forward-most lancing element of the multi-lancet chain, wherein the advance-and-eject mechanism further includes an actuator, one or more control channels, a cam-and-follower mechanism, one or more axial-contact members, and one or more angular-contact members, wherein actuating the actuator relative to the control channels imparts rotational and axial forces on the positioning member, wherein the cam-and-follower mechanism includes one or more cams formed on the housing and one or more cam followers formed on the positioning member that contact and are guided by the cams as the actuator is actuated to selectively restrict rotational and axial motion of the positioning member to induce first-stage rotation, second-stage translation, and third-stage rotation, wherein the cams each include a first-stage segment that is generally circumferentially arranged and that restricts translation of the positioning member as the respective cam follower tracks along it to induce the first-stage rotation to rotate the axial-contact members from a non-interference position to an interference position relative to the forward-most lancing element, a second-stage segment that is generally axially arranged and that restricts rotation of the positioning member as the respective cam follower tracks along it to induce the second-stage translation to advance the axial-contact members and the interfered-with forward-most lancing element, and a third-stage segment that is generally circumferentially arranged and that restricts translation of the positioning member as the respective cam follower tracks along it to induce the third-stage rotation to rotate the angular-contact members and the forward-most lancing element to sever its breakaway connection to the multi-lancet chain to eject it from the lancing device. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18)
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20. A multi-lancet chain for use with a lancing device to lance skin, comprising:
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a series of lancing elements in the form of lancets and caps; and breakaway connections extending between and interconnecting the lancets and the caps, wherein the lancets each include a body, a flange, and a needle extending through the body and the flange, wherein the needle includes a sharp tip extending from a front of the lancet and a rear-connecting portion extending from a rear of the lancet, wherein the caps each include a body and a flange, wherein a rear of the cap receives the needle tip of a trailing one of the lancets and a front of the cap receives the needle rear of a preceding one of the lancets, wherein the flanges of the lancets and the caps have generally the same shape, and wherein the flanges include grooves that receive guide elements of the lancing device.
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Specification