Personal portable blood glucose meter with replaceable cartridge of test strips
First Claim
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1. A portable meter system, comprising:
- a cartridge housing a test strip tape that includes a plurality of test elements, the cartridge defining a meter opening;
a meter configured to analyze a body fluid via the test strip tape, at least a portion of the meter being received in the meter opening of the cartridge, wherein the portion of the meter includes a projection received in the meter opening, wherein a stop flange extends from one end of the projection;
wherein the portion of the meter received in the meter opening of the cartridge includes a display that is visible;
wherein the cartridge encircles the display;
the cartridge having a sampling portion where the test elements are configured to receive the body fluid;
the test elements including electrochemical test strips with one or more contacts;
the meter including one or more contacts coupled to the portion of the meter received inside the meter opening;
the contacts of the meter being configured to contact the contacts of the electrochemical test strips when at the sampling portion of the cartridge;
the meter including an alignment key member to which the contacts of the meter are coupled, wherein the alignment key member extends from the projection; and
the cartridge including an alignment key opening in which the alignment key member is received for aligning the contacts of the meter with the contacts of the electrochemical test strips when positioned within the sampling portion.
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Abstract
A test meter system includes a cartridge that houses a test strip tape, which includes a plurality of test elements, and the cartridge defines a meter opening. The cartridge further incorporates an indexing mechanism for indexing the test strip tape. A meter is configured to analyze body fluid via the test strip tape, and the meter includes a display for displaying test results as well as other information. At least a portion of the meter is received in the meter opening of the cartridge to provide a compact configuration. In one form, the test strip system has a generally cylindrical outer shape to provide a pleasing handheld shape.
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Citations
31 Claims
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1. A portable meter system, comprising:
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a cartridge housing a test strip tape that includes a plurality of test elements, the cartridge defining a meter opening; a meter configured to analyze a body fluid via the test strip tape, at least a portion of the meter being received in the meter opening of the cartridge, wherein the portion of the meter includes a projection received in the meter opening, wherein a stop flange extends from one end of the projection; wherein the portion of the meter received in the meter opening of the cartridge includes a display that is visible; wherein the cartridge encircles the display; the cartridge having a sampling portion where the test elements are configured to receive the body fluid; the test elements including electrochemical test strips with one or more contacts; the meter including one or more contacts coupled to the portion of the meter received inside the meter opening; the contacts of the meter being configured to contact the contacts of the electrochemical test strips when at the sampling portion of the cartridge; the meter including an alignment key member to which the contacts of the meter are coupled, wherein the alignment key member extends from the projection; and the cartridge including an alignment key opening in which the alignment key member is received for aligning the contacts of the meter with the contacts of the electrochemical test strips when positioned within the sampling portion. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A portable meter system, comprising:
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a cartridge housing a test strip tape that includes a plurality of test elements, the cartridge defining a meter opening; a meter configured to analyze a body fluid via the test strip tape, at least a portion of the meter being received in the meter opening of the cartridge; wherein the portion of the meter received in the meter opening of the cartridge includes a display that is visible; wherein the cartridge encircles the display; wherein the cartridge includes an indexing mechanism configured to index the test strip tape; wherein the test strip tape has at least one indexing notch, the indexing mechanism being configured to engage the test strip tape at the indexing notch; wherein the indexing member includes a grip member configured to engage indexing notch; wherein the cartridge defines a groove for guiding the grip member during indexing; and wherein a cam groove is configured to guide the grip member in a direction that is transverse to the test strip tape for engaging the grip member with the indexing notch. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A portable meter system, comprising:
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a cartridge housing a test strip tape that includes a plurality of test elements, the test elements including electrochemical test strips with one or more contacts, the cartridge having a sampling portion where the test elements are exposed to receive body fluid, the cartridge having an overall ring shape that defines a meter opening with a cylindrical shape, the cartridge having an alignment notch at the meter opening that is aligned with the sampling portion; and a meter configured to analyze a body fluid via the test strip tape, the meter including a projection extending through the meter opening in the cartridge, a stop flange extending from one end of the projection, the stop flange abutting one side of the cartridge to locate the projection inside the meter opening of the cartridge, the projection having at the end opposite the stop flange a display to display test results, the cartridge housing encircling the display to reduce damage to the display, and an alignment key member extending from the projection, the alignment key member including one or more contacts, the alignment key member being received in an alignment notch to connect the contacts of the test elements with the contacts of the key member when the test elements are at the sampling portion of the cartridge. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31)
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Specification