Blood sampling devices

• US 7,972,349 B2
• Filed: 08/02/2004
• Issued: 07/05/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/06/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Owen Mumford
• Original Assignee: Owen Mumford
• Inventors: Crossman, David Danvers, Marshall, Jeremy
• Primary Examiner(s): Hindenburg; Max
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pani; John
• Application Number:
  US10/520,507
• Publication Number:
  US 20060129172A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,528 Days
• Field of Search: 606181-183, 215/231, 215/318, 600/583
• US Class Current: 606/182
• 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 housing;

a spring loaded needle-carrying lancet located within the housing;

a cap releasably attached to said lancet adjacent said needle; and

a trigger-releasable latch to hold the lancet within the housing such that an exposed needle cannot project through an opening at one end of the housing until the latch is released by the trigger,

the cap extending to project from an attachment to said lancet through the opening at one end of the housing and having at least one locating member fitting into at least one cooperating feature of an outer wall of the housing, and the cap holding the lancet against movement relative to the housing, the cap being twistable to release the at least one locating member from the at least one cooperating feature such that the cap can be detached from the housing and from the lancet, the lancet having a spring loading to urge the lancet in a direction towards the opening in the housing,

wherein said trigger releasable latch and said lancet have respective opposed latch surfaces engageable to retain said lancet in said housing until release of said latch, and said cap is adapted to hold the lancet in a position in which the lancet latch surface is spaced rearwardly of and out of engagement with the latch surface of said trigger-releasable latch until said cap is detached from the housing and from the lancet.

2. The blood sampling device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one locating member and the at least one cooperating feature are fitted together via a groove cooperating with a flange or a rib.

3. The 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. The blood sampling device according to claim 1, wherein a head of the cap can be rotated 90°

to release flanges from notches in two sides of the housing.

5. The blood sampling device according to claim 4, wherein the lancet can move forward until a ledge on the lancet locates against a flange on the trigger.

6. The blood sampling device according to claim 1, wherein the cap holds the lancet against at least forward movement relative to the housing.