U.S. patent application number 10/629577 was filed with the patent office on 2004-03-25 for lancet needle anchor and method.
This patent application is currently assigned to ViGroup, Inc.. Invention is credited to Abulhaj, Ramzi F., Celikoglu, Erol.
Application Number | 20040059365 10/629577 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 22835209 |
Filed Date | 2004-03-25 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040059365 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Abulhaj, Ramzi F. ; et
al. |
March 25, 2004 |
Lancet needle anchor and method
Abstract
A lancet body 15 is molded around a needle or blade, in which
the inner end of the needle body which is unsharpened has an
L-shape bend at the unsharpened end. The bend, when embedded in the
plastic which forms the body of the lancet, secures the needle
against removal. The method involves the bending substantially
perpendicularly of the unsharpened end of the lancet needle or
blade to be substantially perpendicular with the elongate body of
the blade. The needle or blade is placed within a jig interiorly of
the plastic mold. The jig includes spaced opposed clamps and a
single orienting support to the bent portion of the needle. The
body of the lancet is relieved in many areas to reduce material
cost and has a molded tab cover eliminating a loose part such as a
separate cover.
Inventors: |
Abulhaj, Ramzi F.; (Miramar,
FL) ; Celikoglu, Erol; (Aventura, FL) |
Correspondence
Address: |
H. JAY SPIEGEL
H. JAY SPIEGEL & ASSOCIATES
P.O. Box 444
Mount Vernon
VA
22121
US
|
Assignee: |
ViGroup, Inc.
|
Family ID: |
22835209 |
Appl. No.: |
10/629577 |
Filed: |
July 30, 2003 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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10629577 |
Jul 30, 2003 |
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10408285 |
Apr 9, 2003 |
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10408285 |
Apr 9, 2003 |
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10223141 |
Aug 19, 2002 |
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6589261 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
606/181 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61B 5/150282 20130101;
B29C 45/14065 20130101; A61B 5/150183 20130101; A61B 5/15105
20130101; A61B 5/150549 20130101; A61B 5/150519 20130101; A61B
5/150435 20130101; A61B 5/150022 20130101; B29C 45/14549 20130101;
A61B 5/15186 20130101; A61B 5/150618 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
606/181 |
International
Class: |
A61B 017/14 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A lancet for use with a lancing device having a body, a needle
or blade positioned therein, and a needle cover, the body and
needle cover being unitarily formed from plastic, characterized by:
said needle or blade having an elongate body portion, one end of
which is sharpened, and the other end of which is bent at an angle
substantially perpendicular to the body portion hereof; the body
portion of the plastic molded around the needle having opposed
recesses, said recesses being formed by the withdrawal of opposed
clamping members which secure the needle in place of the plastic
mold when the plastic is formed above the needle, each opposed
recesses revealing the needle body portion interiorly thereof as a
result of having been previously clamped in a jig interiorly of the
mold cavity from which the body of the lancet is formed.
2. A method of forming a lancet having a needle or blade within an
elongate lancet body, produced in accordance with the following
steps: bending one end of said needle or blade body, and sharpening
the other end to form a point; forming a mold for the lancet body
which forms a cavity complementary to the shape the lancet body
including forming a cap portion to encapsulate the sharp end of the
needle blade; providing opposed clamping members at an interior
portion of the mold in vise-like relationship to the lancet body of
the needle or blade; injecting plastic into the mold after the
lancet body has been positioned therein; and thereafter opening the
mold and removing the lancet; whereby the lancet is sanitarily
housed within the lancet body with the needle or blade point
encapsulated in the head and revealing, through the recesses in the
body left by the withdrawal of the jig, opposite sides of the body
on the needle or blade.
3. In the lancet according to claim 1, a plurality of four runners
extending along the body of the lancet; said runners being at
essentially perpendicular and dimensionally opposite distances from
each other; whereby the lancet body when secured in the lancing
device can be ensured of a direct linear movement when fired by
engagement of the lancing device.
4. In the lancet according to claim 3, a plurality of vise ports in
diametrically opposed relationship to each other and penetrating
oppose runners proportioned to accommodate a vise gripping device
interiorly of the mold from which the lancet is formed, said
vise-like members being also proportioned when removed to leave
inspection ports and weight reduction ports in the opposed runners
extending to the needle from the outer edges of the runners.
5. In the lancet according to claim 2, the plastic for forming said
lancet being selected from that type of plastic known as LDPE,
grades Q200, virgin or reclaimed.
6. In the lancet according to claim 3, the plastic for forming said
lancet being selected from that type of plastic known as LDPE,
grades Q200, virgin or reclaimed.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to lancets which are lancing
devices primarily used to obtain capillary blood samples for
various testing purposes, not the least of which is blood glucose
in the case of diabetics where such testing may be done on a daily
basis. The purpose of the lancet is to penetrate the epidermis to a
sufficient depth in order to draw the necessary amount of blood
needed for the test, and yet hold the penetration, scaring, and
injury to the epidermis to the irreducible minimum.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention has, by way of background, various
lancing devices which hold the lancet needle, cover, and carrier.
One such device is manufactured for ProCare LLC, and is submitted
separately in a prior art disclosure. Basically, however, the
lancing device contains a sliding barrel with a trigger button and
a base support for the lancet. A lancet cover is provided which
threadedly surrounds the lancet as it is positioned in the barrel.
At the outer end is an adjustable comfort tip with a lancet cover
having numerical indicia and an arrow which, by rotation of the
cover, determines the empirical depth to which the needle will
penetrate.
[0003] Virtually all hypodermic syringes have siliconized needles
to aid in insertion to reduce the pain of insertion and further
penetration. Therefore, it is desirable to siliconize the lancet
needle. This permits the needle to be easily dislodged from the
lancet body. In addition, a significant amount of plastic is
employed by the prior art for such devices to attempt to secure the
needle or blade against dislodgement, and protect against
dimensional irregularities.
[0004] Therefore, what is needed is a lancet in which the needle
portion is firmly embedded in the plastic body, secured against
rotation, secured against linear removal, and yet permits the
utilization of a minimal amount of plastic, which plastic may be of
an inferior grade and therefore less expensive than most lancet
bodies, while still providing the sanitary and dimensional support
necessary.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] The present invention derives from the molding of a lancet
body around a needle or blade, in which the inner end of the needle
body which is unsharpened has an L-shape bend. As a result of the
L-shape bend, when embedded in the plastic which forms the body of
the lancet, the needle can neither rotate nor be removed linearly.
In short, the needle is permanently immobilized against movement
within the body of the lancet, within the X, Y and Z directions.
The method of the present invention involves the bending
substantially perpendicularly of the unsharpened end of the needle
or blade to be substantially perpendicular with the elongate body
of the blade. The thus formed needle or blade is placed within a
jig interiorly of the plastic mold which is used to form the lancet
body and the cover, with the cover surrounding the entirety of the
sharpened portion of the needle or blade. The jig includes spaced
opposed clamps and a single orienting support to the bent portion
of the needle. Also, the body of the lancet is relieved in many
areas and has a molded tab cover thereby reducing the plastic used
and eliminating a loose part such as a separate cover.
[0006] In view of the foregoing it is a principal object of the
present invention to provide an apparatus and method for forming a
lancet in which the needle or blade is securely positioned against
any dislodgement, whether by rotation, or by linear movement within
the lancet body.
[0007] A further object of the present invention is to provide such
a lancet in which rotation and longitudinal dislodgement are
prevented, which can accommodate a relatively low grade form of
plastic and yet present in operation a dimensionally stable lancet,
fully sanitary, for use with the typical user's home care kit.
[0008] A further object of the present invention is addressed to a
method of forming a lancet body and needle or blade with a cover
head on a highly cost effective basis attributable to the lack of
necessity for special purpose jigs to control the position of the
needle or blade within the lancet body. As a result, a further
objective is achieved by providing the bent leg or L-shaped end
portion so that it can be precisely positioned interiorly in the
mold, and the plastic body of the lancet molded around the needle
or blade with the offset anchor resulting in a product which is
dimensionally accurate to tolerances which are acceptable and
heretofore unknown on the quantities produced for the disposable
lancet market. dr
DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS
[0009] Further objects and advantages of the present invention will
become apparent as the following description proceeds, taken in
conjunction with the accompanying illustrative drawings in
which:
[0010] FIG. 1 is an exploded partially perspective view of a
typical home lancing device showing the lancet in a mid-portion of
the figure;
[0011] FIGS. 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, 2E, 2F and 2G, show the utilization of
the device typically by the patient applying the lancet to his/her
own finger;
[0012] FIG. 3 is a perspective partially broken exploded view of
the subject lancet showing the needle or blade interiorly thereof
in its secured position;
[0013] FIGS. 4A and 4B are two views of the lancet needle which is
molded into the body portion of the lancet;
[0014] FIG. 5 is a front elevation of the lancet;
[0015] FIG. 6 is a side elevation of the lancet;
[0016] FIG. 7 is a transverse sectional view of the lancet taken at
7-7 of FIG. 5;
[0017] FIG. 8 is a plan view, partially diagrammatic and partially
broken, of the lower portion of the mold utilized to form the
subject lancet;
[0018] FIG. 9 is a transverse sectional partially diagrammatic
view, in enlarged scale, taken along section line 9-9 of FIG. 8;
and
[0019] FIG. 10 is yet another transverse sectional view taken from
FIG. 8 at section line 10-10 showing the support for the angled
base anchor 26 of the needle 25.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0020] In the preferred embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the
lancing device 10 is used to obtain a capillary blood sample needed
for blood glucose monitoring or for other tests requiring one or
two drops of blood. The adjustable comfort tip 11 on the lancing
device 10 permits choosing the best depth for skin penetration. As
shown, there are five discrete positions 12 which can be utilized
by the self-user.
[0021] As shown in FIGS. 2A through 2G, the needle cover 21 is
twisted off of the lancet device 10, the new lancet 20 is
thereafter inserted into the lancet carrier 15, the needle cover 21
is removed thereafter revealing the needle 25, the lancet lancing
device then has the comfort tip 11 placed in position. At this
point, rotation of the adjustable comfort tip 11 offers a plurality
of levels of skin penetration (see FIG. 2E). The user empirically
determines which of these is best for his use.
[0022] The lancing device 10 is cocked by slowly pulling the slide
barrel 14 away from the lancing device cover. A click indicates
audibly when the carrier is locked in position. Thereafter the end
of the adjustable comfort tip is pressed against the finger, the
trigger button 16 is engaged, and the lancing device needle tip
sharpened end 28 penetrates the epidermis to a point where the one
or two drops of blood needed can be drawn.
[0023] Turning now to FIG. 3. which is an exploded perspective
view, it can be seen that the two principle components of the
lancet itself are the body 22 and the needle cover 21 cap which are
the molded portions, and the needle or blade 25 which is the metal
portion.
[0024] Important to the invention, and particularly shown in FIGS.
3, 5 and 8, is the configuration of the needle or blade 25 in which
the end opposite the sharpened end 28 has been bent at an angle
with the needle body 29. Desirably the bend is perpendicular to the
main body 29. Such a bend to form an anchor 26 critical to the
present invention in that, by providing the offset, once the needle
is molded into the body of the lancet it cannot be mmoved
longitudinally, nor can it be rotated, nor can it be moved sideways
in any direction. By virture of the angled base anchor 26, the
needle or blade 25 is permanently, dimensionally and sanitarily
positioned inside the lancet body with the needle cover in place
but removable by twisiting to dislodge, basically as described in
FIG. 3 above. The method of the present invention will become more
apparent as the description of the body 22 of the lancet proceeds.
As can be seen in FIGS. 5 and 6, there are four runners 30 which,
in cross-section, give a cruciform appearance, as shown in FIG. 7.
There two uninterrupted runner 31, and two interrupted runners 32.
The interrupted runners 31 are formed when the opposed prongs of a
vise are positioned in place interiorly of the mold to securely
engage the needle prior to injecting the plastic. In this fashion
the position of the needle is ensured and when the vise elements
are withdrawn from the body 22, port are revealed which reduce the
amount of plastic employed, and simultaneously permit the user to
see and observe the needle interiorly of the body 22.
[0025] While dimensions and composition materials do not form a key
portion of the invention, those used in a commercial embodiment are
illustrative of successful dimensions. All dimensions are in
millimeters. As noticed particularly in FIGS. 5, and 6 the entire
lancet is 32 mm in length. The body portion is 20.7 mm, plus or
minus 2 mm. The thickness dimension, taken from the tips of the
runners, is 6.3 mm.
[0026] The needle, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, is 24.4 mm in
length, plus or minus 2 mm. The bent leg is 1.8 mm in length taken
from the far side of the body portion. As shown in FIG. 4A, there
is double-bevel at the sharpened end 28 of the needle. The material
ideally employed is stainless steel 1CR18NI9.
[0027] The material employed for the plastic body is LDPE, better
known as "low density polyethylene" blended with HDPE, better known
as "high density polyethylene". Virgin or reground may be used.
Runners and flashing are reground and may be used exclusively or
blended with virgin material.
[0028] While dimensions are not considered critical, they
illustrate the precision involved. The total overall length of the
lancet, including the cover, is 32 mm. The diameter at the largest
portion of the body across the top of opposed runners is 6 mm. The
total diameter of the tip or cap portion is 9.4 mm, and its
thickness is 3.5 mm.
THE METHOD
[0029] The method of the present invention involves developing a
mold 34 for a plurality of needles 25 in connection with a multiple
cavity mold in which the needle or blade are positioned so that the
same can be an interior portion of the completed lancet 20 when the
plastic is injected into the recess which surrounds the carrying
portion of the bent angle needle or blade. In this connection, it
will be seen in FIG. 5 that the needle body 22 actually shows
interiorly of the lancet body 20 because the support which holds
the needle is surrounded by plastic, when the support is removed
the needle appears. On the opposite side the needle is similarly
viewed through much smaller ports. The reason for the smaller ports
is that they contain a pin which clampling engages the needle on
the post support of the jig interiorly of the mold to thereby
firmly position the needle to be encapsulated in the plastic which
is thereafter molded around the needle or blade.
[0030] Specifically as shown in FIG. 8, a multiple cavity mold 34
is intended for forming the lancet 20. As shown here there are 20
cavities, ten on each side. Specific details of two cavities are
shown in the upper right corner of FIG. 8. Turning now to FIG. 9,
it will be seen that a clamping assembly 40 is used to engage the
main body 29 of the needle 25. The lower jaw 41 of the clamping
assembly 40 is somewhat larger than the upper jaw 42 of the same
clamping assembly. The needle 25 is positioned on top of the lower
jaw 41 prior to molding. At or about the same time, the angled base
anchor 26 of the needle 25 is positioned on top of the anchor
support 44. When the upper portion of the mold is placed over the
lower portion, and the plastic is injected, the needle 25 and its
components are securely held in place by the clamping assembly 40.
After the plastic has sufficiently cooled, the two mold supports
are removed and the lancets 20 removed from the mold. Specifically
as shown in FIG. 5, it will be seen that the interrupted runners 32
have ports which remain exposing needle body. The vise ports 35 are
large vise ports 36, and small vise ports 38. In addition, there is
an anchor support port 45, viewed particularly in FIG. 5, and in
which the angled base anchor 26 of the needle 25 is exposed. This
results from the withdrawal of the anchor support 44 when the upper
and lower portions of the mold are separated.
[0031] Summarizing the above, the method contemplates providing a
mold having a plurality of cavities which are the mirror image of
the lancet 20 to be molded. The next step in the process relates to
providing clamping means, which are opposed, and which clampingly
engage the needle body at spaced relationship. Finally, the step
includes providing an anchor support at one end whereby the needle
is not only supported on the anchor, but the anchor determines the
position of the point of the needle within the molded lancet body
cover. Thus, the sequencing, once the clamping means are provided
within the mold, and the support means exist for the angled base
anchor portion 26 of the needle 25, the needles are inserted in the
one portion of the mold on top of their respective supports, shown
here as three in number (two for the needle body 25 and one for the
angled base anchor 26). Thereafter the mold top is placed on the
mold bottom, the clamping members engage the needle 25 in fixed
relationship to the cavity to be filled with plastic. Once the
plastic is within the balance of the cavity, the needle is
positively oriented therein in relation to the base of the needle
and the runners which, in turn, control the spaced relationship of
the sharpened end 28 of the needle or blade 25 when positioned in a
typical lancing device 10, such as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2A through
2G.
[0032] It will be understood that various changes in the details,
materials and arrangements of parts, or method which have been
herein described and illustrated in order to explain the nature of
the invention, may be made by those skilled in the art within the
principle and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended
claims.
* * * * *