Needle module for a drive-controlled apparatus for repeatedly piercing human or animal skin, and handheld unit

Abstract

A needle module for a drive-controlled handheld unit for repeatedly piercing human or animal skin, comprising a housing; a needle holder, which can be moved back and forth in the housing in a longitudinal direction of the housing; a piercing device on the needle holder, which can be moved, on account of the movement of the needle holder, between a proximal and a distal position, in which a piercing tip of the piercing device is arranged outside the housing; a coupling component, which is coupled to the needle holder in such a way that a driving movement provided with a repetition frequency by a drive device that can be coupled to the coupling component can be introduced onto the needle holder; and a damping component, which is arranged between the needle holder and the coupling component and is configured to damp a transfer of force therebetween.

Claims

1. A needle module for a drive-controlled handheld unit for repeatedly piercing human or animal skin, comprising: a housing; a needle holder, which is arranged in the housing such that it can be moved back and forth in a longitudinal direction of the housing; a piercing device, which is arranged on the needle holder in such a way that the piercing device can be moved, on account of the movement of the needle holder, between a proximal and a distal position, in which a piercing tip of the piercing device is arranged outside the housing; a coupling component, which is coupled to the needle holder in such a way that a driving movement provided with a repetition frequency by a drive device that can be coupled to the coupling component can be introduced onto the needle holder; and a damping component, which is arranged between the needle holder and the coupling component and is configured to damp a transfer of force therebetween, wherein the damping component is secured on the coupling component against shifting transversely to the longitudinal direction of the housing, wherein the damping provided by the damping component can be adjusted by means of an adjustment device.

2. The needle module according to claim 1 wherein, the damping component is made of a resiliently yielding material.

3. The needle module according to claim 1, wherein opposite end portions of the damping component are directly coupled, respectively, one to the needle holder and one to the coupling component.

4. The needle module according to claim 1, wherein the needle holder and the coupling component are connected to one another by means of an associated component extension allowing a length reduction on account of the damping of the damping component.

5. The needle module according to claim 4, wherein the component extension extends along the damping component inside and/or outside said damping component.

6. The needle module according to claim 1, wherein the housing, the needle holder and the damping component are arranged in a piercing-side housing chamber and the coupling component is arranged in a drive-side housing chamber, wherein the piercing-side and the drive-side housing chambers are separated by means of a membrane.

7. The needle module according to claim 6, wherein the damping component is formed in one piece with the membrane.

8. The needle module according to claim 6, wherein a piercing-side end of the coupling component is arranged on a membrane opening.

9. The needle module according to claim 6, wherein the membrane extends in the longitudinal direction of the housing and in a manner encompassing the coupling component.

10. A needle module for a drive-controlled handheld unit for repeatedly piercing human or animal skin, comprising: a housing; a needle holder, which is arranged in the housing such that it can be moved back and forth in a longitudinal direction of the housing; a piercing device, which is arranged on the needle holder in such a way that the piercing device can be moved, on account of the movement of the needle holder, between a proximal and a distal position, in which a piercing tip of the piercing device is arranged outside the housing; a coupling component, which is coupled to the needle holder in such a way that a driving movement provided with a repetition frequency by a drive device that can be coupled to the coupling component can be introduced onto the needle holder; and a damping component, which is arranged between the needle holder and the coupling component and is configured to damp a transfer of force therebetween, wherein the damping provided by the damping component can be adjusted by means of an adjustment device.

11. The needle module according to claim 10, wherein the adjustment device has an adjustment component arranged movably on an inner wall of the housing, on the needle holder and/or on the coupling component.

12. The needle module according to claim 10, wherein the adjustment device is designed to adjust a damping path.

13. The needle module according to claim 10, wherein the adjustment device can be operated from outside the housing and has an adjustment portion, which is accessible for operation from outside through a substance opening of the housing.

14. A handheld unit for repeatedly piercing human or animal skin, comprising a drive module, which has a drive device, by means of which a driving movement with a repetition frequency is provided; and a needle module, the needle module comprising: a housing; a needle holder, which is arranged in the housing such that it can be moved back and forth in a longitudinal direction of the housing; a piercing device, which is arranged on the needle holder in such a way that the piercing device can be moved, on account of the movement of the needle holder, between a proximal and a distal position, in which a piercing tip of the piercing device is arranged outside the housing; a coupling component, which is coupled to the needle holder in such a way that the driving movement provided with the repetition frequency by the drive device that can be coupled to the coupling component can be introduced onto the needle holder; and a damping component, which is arranged between the needle holder and the coupling component and is configured to damp a transfer of force therebetween, the damping component is secured on the coupling component against shifting transversely to the longitudinal direction of the housing, wherein the needle module is connected to the drive module in such a way that the driving movement is coupled onto the needle holder with the piercing device, wherein the damping provided by the damping component can be adjusted by means of an adjustment device.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

(1) Further exemplary embodiments will be explained in greater detail hereinafter with reference to figures of a drawing, in which:

(2) FIG. 1 shows a schematic illustration of a handheld unit for repeatedly piercing human or animal skin, with a needle module and a drive module;

(3) FIG. 2 shows a perspective illustration of a needle module in section;

(4) FIG. 3 shows a perspective illustration of part of the needle module from FIG. 2;

(5) FIG. 4 shows a further schematic illustration of the needle module from FIG. 1 in section;

(6) FIG. 5 shows a further perspective illustration of the needle module from FIG. 1 in the state without any load on the piercing device;

(7) FIG. 6 shows a perspective illustration of the needle module from FIG. 1 in the state with a load on the piercing device;

(8) FIG. 7 shows a further perspective illustration of the needle module from FIG. 1 in the state with a load on the piercing device with harder damping adjustment;

(9) FIG. 8 shows a perspective illustration of another needle module;

(10) FIG. 9 shows a perspective illustration of a further needle module;

(11) FIG. 10 shows a perspective illustration of a further needle module with adjustable degree of damping;

(12) FIG. 11 shows a perspective illustration of another needle module with adjustable degree of damping; and

(13) FIG. 12 shows an illustration of the other needle module from FIG. 11 in section.

(14) FIG. 1 shows a schematic illustration of a handheld unit 1 for repeatedly piercing human or animal skin. The handheld unit 1 comprises a drive module 2 and a needle module 3 coupled thereto. A drive device 4, for example an electric motor, which is designed to provide a driving force or movement with a repetition frequency, which driving force or movement is transferred by means of a coupling mechanism 5 to functional components 6 in the needle module 3, is accommodated in the drive module 2.

(15) In response to the coupled driving movement, a piercing device 7 is moved back and forth, so that a piercing tip 8 of the piercing device 7 is arranged outside a housing 9 of the needle module 3, at least in a distal position (see FIG. 1).

(16) Hereinafter, embodiments for the needle module 3 will be further explained with reference to FIGS. 2 to 10. Here, the same reference signs are used for the same features.

(17) FIG. 2 shows a perspective illustration of an embodiment of the needle module 3 in cross-section. The housing 9 has a front-side or piercing-side housing part 9a and a rear-side or drive-side housing part 9b, which are connected to one another releasably or non-releasably. A housing interior 11 is divided with the aid of a resilient membrane 10 into a piercing-side housing chamber 11a and a drive-side housing chamber 11b. The resilient membrane 10 seals off the two housing chambers 11a, 11b relative to one another, so that a passage of liquids or substances from the piercing-side housing chamber 11a into the drive-side housing chamber 11b is prevented. In the shown embodiment, the resilient membrane 10 in cross-section has a pot shape and extends in portions in the longitudinal direction of the housing 9. The resilient membrane 10 is fixed peripherally in a sealing manner on a drive-side end 12 of the housing 9.

(18) In the shown embodiment, the resilient membrane 10 has a membrane opening 13, at the rear side of which there is arranged a coupling component 14, wherein, in the shown embodiment, an interlocking connection is produced by way of example. The coupling component 14 is used to introduce a driving movement, provided with a repetition frequency by the drive device 4 in the drive module 2, onto a needle holder 16, which is arranged movably in the longitudinal direction in the housing 9, via a damping component 15. For coupling to the drive device 4, the coupling component 14 has a holder 18 on a drive-side end 17.

(19) A front holder 19, into which a drive-side end 15a of the damping component 15 is inserted, for example so as to form an interlocking connection, is provided on the coupling component 14 on the piercing side. The drive-side end 15a of the damping component 15 passes through the membrane opening 13 in the shown exemplary embodiment. A piercing-side end 15b of the damping component 15 is supported in an interlocking manner on the needle holder 16.

(20) The piercing device 7, which can be an individual needle or a group of needles, is arranged on the needle holder 16.

(21) In a middle part 15c, the damping component 15 can be squeezed resiliently and in so doing can increase its diameter (see FIGS. 6 and 7 below).

(22) As a result of the driving movement or force introduced onto the needle holder 16, the piercing device 7 is moved back and forth through a front-side opening 20 on the housing 9, in such a way that the needle holder 16 and the piercing device 7 arranged thereon are moved between a proximal position (see FIG. 2) and a distal position (see FIGS. 5 to 7), in which the piercing tip 8 is arranged outside the housing 9 and protruding from the front-side opening 20.

(23) FIG. 3 shows a perspective illustration of elements of the needle module from FIG. 2, wherein the front and the rear housing part 9a, 9b are separated.

(24) FIGS. 4 to 7 show perspective illustrations of the needle module 2 from FIG. 1. The illustrations in FIGS. 4 and 5 relate to the state in which there is no load on the piercing device 7. FIG. 6 shows the state of a partially resiliently squeezed damping component 15, which is the result of a pressure or a load on the piercing tip 8, for example when this contacts the skin that is to be pierced. The damping component 15 then realises its damping effect.

(25) In the illustration in FIG. 7, a harder damping adjustment has been selected for the damping component 15 in that an adjustment component 21, which is arranged movably on the needle holder 16, has been displaced in the direction of the coupling component 14, in such a way that an overlap between the adjustment component 21 and the damping component 15 is increased. As a result, a resilient compression of the damping component 15 can be limited. The adjustment component 21 can be secured in the various positions, for example by means of a catch connection 16a or a screw. An embodiment with an adjustable catch connection is shown in FIG. 3.

(26) For displacement, the adjustment component 21 has an adjustment portion 22, which can be acted on for example by means of a screwdriver in order to move the adjustment element 21. The adjustment portion 22 can be actuated through a further housing opening 9c.

(27) According to FIG. 5, a guide 9d for the needle holder 16 is provided on the inside of the housing 9, wherein wings 16b are guided along the guide 9d.

(28) FIG. 8 shows a perspective illustration of a further needle module 2, in which the needle holder 16 and the coupling component 14 are connected to one another by means of a component extension 23, which extends through the damping component 15. The component extension 23 is shortened in the event of a load on the piercing tip 8 of the piercing device 7, whereby the needle holder 16 and coupling component 14 are brought closer to one another, wherein this is damped by the damping component 15.

(29) In the embodiment in FIG. 9, the damping component 15 is formed in one piece with the membrane 10. The damping component 15 is formed as a front-side extension of the membrane 10.

(30) In the exemplary embodiments from FIGS. 8 and 9 as well, an adjustability of the degree of damping can be provided, for example similar to the adjustment component 21.

(31) FIG. 10 shows a perspective illustration of a further needle module 2 with adjustable degree of damping. The adjustment component 21 overlaps with the damping component 15, which in this embodiment is formed in one piece with the membrane 10 and is integrally moulded in an interlocking manner on the coupling component 14, for example by means of 2-component injection moulding. The front region of the damping component 15 has an opening, into which the piercing device 7 is inserted. The needle holder 16 provided in alternative embodiments is spared as a result. This function is performed by the damping component 15.

(32) FIGS. 11 and 12 show a perspective illustration and a sectional illustration of another needle module 2 with adjustable degree of damping. An adjustment mechanism 30 that is to be actuated from outside is provided, in which the adjustment component 21 is coupled to a setting component 13, which is accessible from outside and is embodied as a control wheel, and to a further setting component 32, which is accommodated in the housing 9, by means of a thread 33 in such a way that, as the setting component 31 rotates, the adjustment component 21 is also rotated and on account of its coupling to the further setting component part 32 by means of the thread 33 is moved in the longitudinal direction, whereby an overlap with the damping component 15 is adjusted. The damping component 15 here is coupled at the rear side to the further setting component 32, which at the front side is coupled to the needle holder 16.

(33) It can be provided that the further setting component 32 is formed in one piece with the needle holder 16, so that in this case the thread 33 is arranged on the needle holder 16, to which the damping component 15 is coupled at the rear side.

(34) The setting component 31 can be actuated, in particular can be rotated, from outside via a housing opening 34.

(35) The features disclosed in the above description, the claims and the drawing can be of significance either individually or in any combination for the implementation of the various embodiments.