Lancing devices

Abstract

A lancing device includes a housing ( 10, 12 ) for receiving in use a replaceable lancet ( 34 ) introduced into said housing, a drive ( 58, 59 ) actuable to drive the lancet momentarily to project its tip from the housing, and a nose portion ( 14 ) having an aperture through which said lancet projects when fired. The nose portion is threadedly engaged ( 78, 81 ) with the forward end ( 10 ) of the housing to allow the penetration depth of said lancet tip to be pre-set, and is resiliently deformable between a position in which it is locked against rotation and a position in which it is free to rotate.

1 . A lancing device, comprising:
 a housing ( 10 ,  12 ) for receiving in use a replaceable lancet ( 34 ) introduced into said housing;   a drive ( 58 ,  59 ) actuable to drive said lancet momentarily to project a tip of the lancet tip from the housing; and   a nose portion assembly ( 98 ,  104 ) mounted on a forward end ( 10 ) of said housing, said nose portion assembly comprising a nose portion element ( 98 ) slideably and non-rotatably mounted on the forward end of said housing, the nose portion being captive on a rotary collar ( 104 ) which is threadedly engaged with the forward end portion of the housing to allow a penetration depth of the lancet tip to be pre-set.   
     
     
         2 . The lancing device according to  claim 1 , wherein the forward end portion of the housing includes a forward extension having anti-rotation elements which engage with the nose portion element to prevent relative rotation. 
     
     
         3 . The lancing device according to  claim 2 , wherein the anti-rotation elements are anti-rotation splines, and the nose portion element includes grooves which slide over and engage with the anti-rotation splines. 
     
     
         4 . The lancing device according to  claim 1 , wherein the collar is captively mounted to the nose portion, such that when the collar is rotated, an axial position of the collar is adjusted. 
     
     
         5 . The lancing device according to  claim 1 , wherein the nose portion is provided with a groove and the collar is provided with a pip which engages with the groove to captively mount the collar to the nose portion. 
     
     
         6 . The lancing device according to  claim 1 , wherein the collar includes a marker which indicates the penetration setting of the device using indicia provided on the forward housing. 
     
     
         7 . The lancing device according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a lancet release element ( 20 ) for effecting relative angular movement of a lancet holder and said lancet generally about the longitudinal axis of the lancet from a position in which said lancet ( 34 ) is retained by said holder ( 22 ) and a position in which said lancet is released from said retention.   
     
     
         8 . The lancing device according to  claim 7 , wherein said lancet holder ( 22 ) is mounted for rotational movement with respect to said housing. 
     
     
         9 . The lancing device according to  claim 7 , wherein said lancet holder ( 22 ) is adapted to receive said lancet in snap engagement ( 30 ) when pushed into said device 
     
     
         10 . The lancing device according to  claim 1 , intended for utilization with a lancet having a portion of non-circular cross-section, said housing having a non-circular cross-section passage through which said lancet is introduced into said housing. 
     
     
         11 . The lancing device according to  claim 1 , wherein the drive comprises a hammer moveable to a cocked position within the housing. 
     
     
         12 . The lancing device according to  claim 12 , wherein a lancet release element is adapted to latch said hammer in a cocked position. 
     
     
         13 . The lancing device according to  claim 7 , wherein the lancet holder has a cylindrical rear portion. 
     
     
         14 . The lancing device according to  claim 13 , wherein a forward end of the cylindrical rear portion comprises a circumferential guide flange. 
     
     
         15 . The lancing device according to  claim 14 , wherein the cylindrical rear portion has two resiliently deformable arms. 
     
     
         16 . The lancing device according to  claim 15 , wherein the two resiliently deformable arms terminate forwardly in inwardly directed barbs. 
     
     
         17 . The lancing device according to  claim 7 , wherein the lancet holder is urged rearwardly by a compression spring. 
     
     
         18 . The lancing device according to  claim 1 , wherein the lancet has a main body portion having a central cylindrical stem and diametrically opposed flanges. 
     
     
         19 . The lancing device according to  claim 18 , wherein the flanges are chamfered. 
     
     
         20 . The lancing device according to  claim 18 , wherein the flanges are cut away to form a latch recess.