Lancing device for obtaining samples of body fluid

Abstract

The invention relates to a lancing device (1) for obtaining bodily fluid samples, comprising a base body (3), on one longitudinal-face end (6) of which a removable cap (12) is arranged which has a positioning face (8) with an outlet opening (7), a lancet magazine (4) for receiving at least one lancet (5), which is held replaceably in the base body (3), a drive device (14) for moving a lancet (5) arranged in the lancet magazine (4) back and forth in the direction of the longitudinal axis (2), said lancet being positioned therein in such a way that the tip thereof can exit the outlet opening (7) during the movement back and forth, wherein the lancet magazine (4) has a locking element (30) and the cap (12) has an unlocking element (31) formed to engage in the locking element (30).

Claims

1. A lancing device for obtaining bodily fluid samples, comprising a) a base body, which is rotationally symmetrical about the longitudinal axis thereof, on one longitudinal-face end of which a removable cap is arranged which has a positioning face with a first outlet opening, b) a lancet magazine for receiving at least one lancet, which is held replaceably in the base body, c) a drive device for moving a lancet arranged in the lancet magazine back and forth in the direction of the longitudinal axis, said lancet being positioned therein in such a way that the tip thereof can exit the first outlet opening during the movement back and forth, wherein the lancet magazine has a locking element and the cap has an unlocking element formed to engage in the locking element, wherein the locking element is positioned flat on a locking tab in a locking position, and two side regions of the locking element are braced on bracing elements of the drive device and of the lancet magazine, and wherein upon engaging in the locking element, the unlocking element transfers said locking element into an unlocked position, in which the locking element is raised from the locking tab and the side regions of the locking element are disengaged from at least one of the bracing elements of the drive device and of the lancet magazine.

2. The lancing device according to claim 1, wherein the locking element is in the form of a spring element and the unlocking element is in the form of a pin.

3. The lancing device according to claim 2, wherein the spring element and the pin comprise mutually adapted ramp slopes.

4. The lancing device according to claim 2, wherein the locking element is in the form of a leaf spring element.

5. The lancing device according to claim 1, wherein an outer magazine housing is provided for the lancet magazine, which comprises a second outlet opening corresponding to the first outlet opening.

6. The lancing device according to claim 5, wherein the outer magazine housing comprises an end face, which contains the second outlet opening and an opening for the unlocking element of the cap and forms the bracing element of the lancet magazine.

7. The lancing device according to claim 1, wherein the drive device comprises a drive plunger and a release plunger, which can be coupled to and decoupled from a needle of whichever lancet is positioned in such a way that the tip thereof can exit the first outlet opening during the movement back and forth.

8. The lancing device according to claim 1, wherein the base body has a tensioning element for tensioning the drive device and a trigger element for slackening the drive device.

9. The lancing device according to claim 1, wherein a clock device is provided, which is formed to move the lancet, which is positioned in such a way that the tip thereof can exit the first outlet opening during the movement back and forth, out of a position of the lancet in a guidance path of the lancet magazine and to move an adjacent lancet into a position in a guidance path of the lancet magazine.

10. The lancing device according to claim 9, wherein the clock device is formed to be manually operable by means of a clock trigger element or the clock device is formed in such a way that it repositions the lancets automatically.

11. The lancing device according to claim 10, wherein the clock device repositions the lancets by way of a spring mechanism or an electric motor.

Description

(1) Further aims, advantages, features and possible applications of the present invention may be seen from the following description of embodiments with reference to the drawings. In this context, all of the features which are described and/or shown in the drawings, in isolation or in any reasonable combination, form the subject matter of the present invention, also irrespective of how they are compiled in the claims or the dependencies thereof.

(2) In the drawings:

(3) FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a lancing device according to the invention when closed,

(4) FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the lancing device of FIG. 1,

(5) FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an outer magazine housing of the lancing device according to FIGS. 1 and 2,

(6) FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the outer magazine housing of FIG. 3, in which a drive unit comprising a drive plunger and a release plunger engages in the lancet magazine,

(7) FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a lancet magazine of a lancing device according to the invention comprising a locking element located in a first position, having an inserted lancet band,

(8) FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the lancet magazine of FIG. 5, having a locking element located in a second position,

(9) FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the lancet magazine of FIG. 5, the lancet magazine being placed in a magazine cover and being enclosed by an outer magazine housing and covered by a cap,

(10) FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the lancet magazine of FIG. 6, the lancet magazine being placed in a magazine cover and being enclosed by an outer magazine housing and covered by a cap,

(11) FIG. 9 is a cross-section of the lancet magazine of FIG. 5 from the front, perpendicular to a longitudinal axis, and

(12) FIG. 10 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a release plunger for a lancing device according to the invention.

(13) FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a lancing device 1 according to the invention. This lancing device 1 is formed substantially rotationally symmetrically about a longitudinal axis 2 of a base body 3 of the lancing device 1. On one end 6, the base body has a cap 12, by means of which a lancet magazine 4, arranged in the interior of the lancing device 1 or of the base body 3, can be covered. Further, this cap 12 also has means (not shown in the drawings) for adjusting the lancing depth of the needle 24.

(14) The lancing device 1 is provided with a drive device 14 (not shown in greater detail in the drawings), by means of which a needle 24 of a lancet 5 located in the lancet magazine 4 can be moved out through the outlet opening 7 and also moved back into the lancing device 1, by spring loading.

(15) For the drive device 14 to be able to move a needle 24 back and forth, a trigger element 19, by means of which a one-time movement back and forth of the needle 24 can be triggered, is provided on the base body 3 of the lancing device 1. However, a movement back and forth of this type of the needle 24 can only be initiated if the spring-loading of the drive device 14 has previously taken place. For this purpose, a tensioning element 18 is provided on the end of the lancing device 1 or base body 3 opposite the end 6, the drive device being loaded with a spring force when said tensioning element is actuated.

(16) Further, an additional clock trigger element 20 for a clock device (not shown in greater detail in the drawings) is arranged on the base body 3. This clock trigger element 20 serves to initiate a movement of a lancet 5, which has been used once, within the guidance path 11 of the lancet magazine 4 after the lancet 5 has been moved by means of the drive device 14, in such a way that the tip of the needle 24 has exited through the outlet opening 7 and subsequently the needle 24 has been pulled back completely into the lancing device 1. The movement initiated by the clock trigger element 20 takes place in such a way that the lancet 5 in the guidance path 11 is conveyed out of the original position thereof in the lancet magazine 4 and an adjacent lancet 5 is moved into this position, in such a way that this lancet 5 can now be displaced back and forth by the drive device 14.

(17) FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the lancing device 1 of FIG. 1, such that the parts in the interior of the lancing device can also be seen. The drive plunger 16 of a drive device 14, which is in an operative connection with the trigger element 19 and the tensioning element 18, projects out of the base body 3 of the lancing device 1, on which the tensioning element 18 as well as the trigger element 19 and the clock trigger element 20 are arranged. When the lancing device 1 is closed, this drive plunger 16 is in an operative connection with a release plunger 17 for a needle 24 or a lancet 5 respectively, which is positioned in the lancet magazine 4 in such a way that the tip thereof can exit through an outlet opening 7 on the positioning face 8. As is shown in particular in FIG. 2, both an outer magazine housing 13 and an outer magazine housing cover 15 are provided for the lancet magazine 4. The lancet magazine 4 can be received so as to be substantially encapsulated therein, in such a way that the lancets 5 located in the lancet magazine 4 are substantially protected from external influences and thus from soiling and contamination, even when the cap 12 is not applied to the lancing device 1. In this respect, an end face 44 of the outer magazine housing 13 comprises an outlet opening 7′, which is brought to coincide with the outlet opening 7 of the cap 12 when the cap 12 is placed on the lancing device 1 or on the base body 3 thereof respectively. A needle 24, correspondingly positioned inside a lancet magazine 4 arranged in the lancing device 1 or the lancet 5 respectively can thus be moved out through the two outlet openings 7 and 7′ and thus carry out a lancing process.

(18) This end face 44 further comprises a further opening 45, through which an unlocking element 31 arranged on the cap 12 can engage in the lancet magazine 4, so as to move a locking element 30 out of a locking position, in which the drive device 14 is prevented from moving the lancet 5 or the needle 24 respectively along or respectively parallel to the longitudinal axis 2, into an unlocked position, in which the drive device 14 can move the lancet 5 or the needle 24 respectively along the longitudinal axis 2 or parallel thereto.

(19) FIG. 3 is a detail of the outer housing 13, in which the end face 44 and the outlet opening 7′ formed therein for the needle 24 or the lancet 5 respectively and the opening 45 for the unlocking element 31 arranged on the cap 12 can be seen clearly.

(20) FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the outer magazine housing 13 of FIG. 3, in which a drive unit 14 comprising a drive plunger 16 and a release plunger 17 engages in the lancet magazine 4, the cap 12 being applied to the outer magazine housing 13 and the outer magazine housing being connected to a magazine cover 15. In this respect, within the lancet magazine 4, the locking element 30 in the form of a leaf spring element 40 can be seen, which is located in this case in the unlocked position. This can be seen from the fact that the cap 12 is placed on the outer magazine housing 13, and the unlocking element 31 thereof in the form of a pin 41 holds the locking element 30 or leaf spring element 40 respectively in the unlocked position.

(21) When the leaf spring element 40 is located in this unlocked position, a locking tab 32 and an unlocking tab 37 of the release plunger 17 of the drive device 14 can pass through under the leaf spring 40, as can be seen in particular in FIG. 8, in such a way that the tip of a needle 24 or lancet 5 respectively located in the lancet magazine 4 can be moved through the outlet openings 7, 7′ of the positioning face 8 of the cap 12 and the end face 44 of the lancet magazine 4, by means of the drive device 14 as well as the drive plunger 16 and release plunger 17.

(22) By contrast, FIG. 7 shows the locking position of the locking element 30 in the form of a leaf spring element 40. This element is positioned in this case on a support face of the locking tab 32 and the side regions 33 and 34 thereof are braced both on a bracing face 35 of the drive device 14 or the release plunger 17 respectively and on a bracing face 36 of the lancet magazine 4. In this respect, the bracing face 36 is formed by the end face 44 of the outer magazine housing 13 of the lancet magazine 4, and the bracing face 35 of the drive device 14 is formed by the step between the unlocking tab 37 and the locking tab 32. The leaf spring element 40 takes on this unlocked position precisely when the cap 12 is not placed or, as shown in FIG. 7, not completely placed on the outer magazine housing 13 of the lancet magazine 4.

(23) If the cap 12 is now transferred from the position shown in FIG. 7 to the position of FIG. 8, the unlocking element 31, arranged on the cap 12 and in the form of a pin 41, is consequently passed through the opening 45 in the end face 44 of the outer magazine housing 13. A ramp slope 43 of the pin 41 thus slides on a ramp slope 42 of the locking element 30 in the form of a leaf spring element 40, and thus moves the leaf spring element 40 from the locking position thereof in accordance with FIG. 7 into the unlocked position of FIG. 8.

(24) In the unlocked position, the side regions 33 and 34 of the leaf spring element 40 are no longer braced on the two bracing faces 35 and 36. Instead, only the side region 33 is still braced on the bracing face 36, whilst the side region 34 is positioned out of engagement with the bracing face 35. The drive device 14 can now pass the unlocking tab 32 of the release plunger 17 through under the leaf spring element 40 and thus carry out a lancing process.

(25) If the cap 12 is now removed from the lancing device 1 or the outer housing 13 of the lancet magazine 4 respectively again, the spring-loaded leaf spring element 40 falls back onto the support face of the locking tab 32, in such a way that the locking position is now taken on again, and movement of the drive device 14 along with the drive- and release plungers 16, 17 in the direction of the end face 44, and thus also movement of the tip of a lancet 5 or needle 24 correspondingly positioned in the lancet magazine 4 through the outlet openings 7, 7′, is not possible.

(26) FIGS. 5 and 6 show the positioning of a lancet magazine 4 on an outer magazine housing cover 15 according to FIGS. 7 and 8. In this view, snap-in hooks 27 can also be seen, by means of which the outer magazine housing 13 can be fixed to the outer magazine housing cover 15. These drawings further show the unlocking element 31 in the form of a pin 41, which is arranged on the cap 12 (not shown here), since the interior of the lancet magazine 4 is to be shown in the locking position of FIG. 5 and the unlocked position of FIG. 6. In these drawings, a lancet band 21 comprising a plurality of lancets 5 is inserted into the lancet magazine 4. For clarity, however, here only one respective lancet 5 is provided with a reference numeral. In this respect, the lancets 5 are held displaceably in lancet bodies 22, which are connected by means of a connecting band 23 or by means of connecting webs 25 respectively.

(27) FIG. 9 is a cross-section of the lancet magazine 4 according to FIG. 5 from the front, the locking element 30 in the form of a leaf spring element 40 again being located in the locking position thereof. An open lancet band 21 is inserted into the lancet magazine 4, which is guided in a guidance path 11. As a result of the guidance path, it is possible to position a lancet 5 of the lancet band 22 in such a way that the tip of the needle 24 or the lancet 5 respectively exits the outlet opening 7, 7′ and can take on the lancing position. Restricted guidance of the lancets 5 within the guidance path 11 can also be seen clearly in this drawing, as can the engagement of the drive plunger 16 and release plunger 17 of the drive device 14 in the lancet magazine 4.

(28) Finally, FIG. 10 shows the special configuration of the release plunger 17 with the unlocking tab 37 arranged thereon and the locking tab 32 on which the locking element 30 in the form of a leaf spring element 40 can be set down in the locking position thereof. Further, the bracing face 35 of the drive device 14 or of the release plunger 17 respectively for the side region 34 of the leaf spring element 40 can be seen clearly here.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

(29) 1 Lancing device

(30) 2 Longitudinal axis

(31) 3 Base body

(32) 4 Lancet magazine

(33) 5 Lancet

(34) 6 Longitudinal-face end

(35) 7 Outlet opening

(36) 7′ Outlet opening

(37) 8 Positioning face

(38) 11 Guidance path

(39) 12 Cap

(40) 13 Outer magazine housing

(41) 14 Drive device

(42) 15 Outer magazine housing cover

(43) 16 Drive plunger

(44) 17 Release plunger

(45) 18 Tensioning element

(46) 19 Trigger element

(47) 20 Clock trigger element

(48) 21 Lancet band

(49) 22 Lancet body

(50) 23 Connection band

(51) 24 Needle

(52) 25 Connecting webs

(53) 26 Lancet band end

(54) 27 Snap-in hooks

(55) 28 Needle end

(56) 30 Locking element

(57) 31 Unlocking element

(58) 32 Locking tab

(59) 33 Side region

(60) 34 Side region

(61) 35 Bracing element

(62) 36 Bracing element

(63) 37 Unlocking tab

(64) 40 Leaf spring

(65) 41 Pin

(66) 42 Ramp slope

(67) 43 Ramp slope

(68) 44 End face

(69) 45 Opening