US20020029059A1 - Adjustable endcap for lancing device - Google Patents

Abstract

An adjustable endcap for a lancing device includes a basecap and a twistcap. The basecap includes a post with detents thereon. At least one finger is provided on the basecap adjacent the post. The twistcap includes at least one helical track on its outer surface into which the finger extends when the twistcap is mounted on the post. The twistcap also includes a plurality of grooves on an inner surface for engagement with the detents. As the twistcap is rotated on the post, the interaction of the finger and track causes the twistcap to move toward and away from the basecap and to adjust the penetration depth of a lance reciprocally mounted in the lancing device.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
• The present invention relates generally to blood monitoring devices, and, more particularly, to an adjustable endcap for lancing devices used to lance a finger or other areas of the body to harvest blood for monitoring.[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
• It is often necessary to quickly obtain a sample of blood and perform an analysis of the blood sample. One example of a need for painlessly obtaining a sample of blood is in connection with a blood glucose monitoring system where a user must frequently use the system to monitor the user's blood glucose level.[0002]
• Those who have irregular blood glucose concentration levels are medically required to regularly self-monitor their blood glucose concentration level. An irregular blood glucose level can be brought on by a variety of reasons including illness such as diabetes. The purpose of monitoring the blood glucose concentration level is to determine the blood glucose concentration level and then to take corrective action, based upon whether the level is too high or too low, to bring the level back within a normal range. The failure to take corrective action can have serious implications. When blood glucose levels drop too low—a condition known as hypoglycemia—a person can become nervous, shaky, and confused. That person's judgment may become impaired and they may eventually faint. A person can also become very ill if their blood glucose level becomes too high—a condition known as hyperglycemia. Both conditions, hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia, are potentially life-threatening emergencies.[0003]
• One method of monitoring a person's blood glucose level is with a portable, hand-held blood glucose testing device. In order to check the blood glucose level with the testing device, a drop of blood is obtained from the fingertip using a lancing device. A typical lancing device contains a needle lancet to puncture the skin. Some of these lancing devices have no means of adjusting the depth of penetration of the lancet. These lancing devices cannot accommodate different skin thicknesses which impacts the amount of blood that can be drawn. In addition, these devices cannot accommodate differences in pain tolerances of the person whose blood is being drawn.[0004]
• Although there are adjustable lancing devices, these devices typically adjust the position of a structural element that engages a lancet holder thereby limiting the travel of the lancet. These are cumbersome to adjust and are subject to rapid deterioration. Other adjustable lancing devices have multiple parts resulting in high costs, and complicated adjustment procedures.[0005]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
• The present invention is an endcap for a lancing device that adjusts the penetration depth of a lancet in a lancing device allowing the lancing device to be adjusted to accommodate skin thickness and pain tolerance of the person on whom the lancing device is used. The endcap contains adjustment structure and is adapted to fit on an existing lancing device thus reducing the cost.[0006]
• The endcap of the present invention consists of only two parts, a basecap and a twistcap. Because there are fewer parts than prior art adjustable lancing devices, the cost is reduced and the assembly and use of the endcap of the present invention are simplified. The basecap includes a central post on which the twistcap is mounted. The lancet of the lancing device when triggered, extends through the basecap, across the distance between the basecap and the twistcap, and through and beyond the twistcap. The end of the twistcap is the portion of the endcap that is pressed against the skin of the person from whom blood is to be drawn. The twistcap includes external helical tracks into which fingers on the basecap extend. To adjust the endcap, a user merely needs to twist or rotate the twistcap and the interaction of the fingers and helical tracks moves the twistcap relative to the basecap. The distance the lancet of the lancing device extends beyond the basecap is constant. Therefore, by adjusting the distance between the basecap and twistcap by twisting the basecap, the distance the lancet extends out of the twistcap and into a user's finger is adjusted. Consequently, the user of a lancing device that has an endcap of the present invention can easily adjust the depth of penetration of the lancet merely by rotating or twisting the endcap. There are stops that can be felt and heard by a user as the twistcap is rotated. These stops correspond to different penetration depths and are provided by detents on the central post of the basecap and detent slots on the inside of the twistcap.[0007]
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
• Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description in conjunction with the drawings in which:[0008]
• FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a prior art lancing device;[0009]
• FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the lancing device of the present invention;[0010]
• FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the endcap for the lancing device of the present invention;[0011]
• FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the endcap illustrated in FIG. 3 with the twistcap removed;[0012]
• FIG. 5 is a front plan view of the endcap illustrated in FIG. 4;[0013]
• FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of the twistcap; and[0014]
• FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross sectional view of the twistcap illustrated in FIG. 6[0015]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
• Many children and adults must draw their blood several times a day to perform an analysis of the blood sample drawn. Skin thickness and tolerance to pain differs among these people and a device for lancing a person's skin to draw blood preferably includes a mechanism that allows adjustment of the depth of penetration of the lance. An example of a known[0016]lancing device100 is shown in FIG. 1. The knownlancing device100 is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,954,738 and is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. The knownlancing device100 includes amain housing portion112, ahousing portion114 movable relative to themain housing portion112 and anendcap support116. Anend cap118 may be attached onto theendcap support116 by a pair of latching or supportarms120 which are part of theendcap support116.
• A lancing mechanism including a lance is mounted inside the[0017]main housing portion112. The lance is driven through an opening in theendcap118 by a driving mechanism that is cocked by pulling thehousing portion114 away frommain housing portion112. The driving mechanism is fired by pushing abutton122. The knownlancing device100 is provided with a number of different sizedendcaps118 to vary the penetration depth of the lance.
• The[0018]lancing device10 of the present invention is shown in FIGS.2-7. Thelancing device10 is the same as the knownlancing device100 in that it includes amain housing portion12, ahousing portion14 that is movable relative to the main housing portion, anendcap support16 and abutton22 for firing a driving mechanism and lancing mechanism housed in themain housing portion12. Thelancing device10 differs, however, from the knownlancing device100 in that it does not require a number of different sized endcaps to vary the penetration depth of a lance. Instead, thelancing device10 includes anadjustable endcap18 that can be adjusted quickly and easily for multiple lance penetration depths.
• The[0019]endcap18 is a two piece assembly consisting of abasecap24 and atwistcap26. Thetwistcap26 includes a top orface28 that is placed on the skin of the person whose blood is to be drawn. There is an opening30 in thetop28 through which a lance is driven when thebutton22 is depressed. By varying the position of the top28 relative to thebasecap24, the distance the lance extends out of thetwistcap26 and thus the penetration depth of the lance can be adjusted.
• To provide the lancing[0020]device10 with quick adjustment of the penetration depth, thebasecap24 may be snapped onto a pair of support arms (not shown) similar to thesupport arms120 on the known lancing device110. As best seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, thebasecap24 includes abody32 with a pair ofshoulders34 and36. Theshoulders34 and36 are hollow and fit over the support arms on the lancingdevice10.Indicia38 is provided on the top of thebody32 to indicate the different penetration depths of the lance. Thebasecap24 further includes a column or post40 located between and spaced from theshoulders34 and36. Thepost40 includes a top42 with acentral opening44 through which the lance extends. Thepost40 also includes first46 and second48 cantilevered detents. A pair of protrusions orfingers47 and49 are formed on the inside surfaces of theshoulders34 and36 and extend toward thepost40.
• The[0021]twistcap26 fits over and onto the column or post40. As best illustrated in FIGS. 3, 6 and7, thetwistcap26 includesseveral ribs50 that provide a gripping surface allowing a user to grip and rotate thetwistcap26 relative to thepost40 and thebasecap24. Thetwistcap26 also includes anindicator line52 that points to a different portion of theindicia38 as thetwistcap26 is rotated thereby indicating the depth of penetration of the lance at that position of thetwistcap26.
• A first[0022]helical groove54 and a secondhelical groove56 are formed in the lower outside surface of thetwistcap26. Thegrooves54 and56 are located on thetwistcap26 and aligned with a protrusion orfinger47 and49 extending into arespective groove54 and56 when thetwistcap26 is placed on and over thepost40.
• As best illustrated in FIG. 7,[0023]several slots58,60,62,64 and66 are formed in the innerperipheral surface68 of thetwistcap26. When thetwistcap26 is placed on the column or post40 and rotated, thedetents46 and48 snap into theslots58,60,62,64 and66 to indicate to the user a specific penetration depth of the lance. In the illustrated embodiment, theindicia38 includes afirst symbol38ain the form of a large drop and asecond symbol38bin the form of a smaller drop. Between thefirst symbol38aand thesecond symbol38bare fivedot indicia38c.These dotindicia38ccorrespond to specific penetration depths varying from shallow (thosedot indicia38cclosest to thesmall drop indicia38b) to deeper (thosedot indicia38cclosest to thelarge drop indicia38a). A person can select the depth of penetration by twisting the twistcap to align theindicator line52 with thedot indicia38cthat corresponds with the preferred depth of penetration.
• In addition to this visual selection of the lance penetration depth, a tactile and audible indication is also provided by the[0024]detents46 and48 and theslots58,60,62,64 and66. Eachslot58,60,62 and64 corresponds to one of thedot indicia38c.As a user rotates thetwistcap26 one of thedetents46 and48 is moved out of one of theslots58,60,62,64 and66 and the user feels a slight resistance to the rotating action. Further rotation moves theslot58,60,62,64 and66 past the detent and the smooth innerperipheral surface68 of thetwistcap26 passes over the detent. As thenext slot58,60,62,64 or66 passes over the detent, the detent snaps into the slot producing an audible clicking sound and the user feels a resistance to rotation. In this way the user knows when a specific penetration depth has been reached. As can be understood, adjustment of the penetration depth is easy and multiple penetration depths are possible without need to add or remove parts to the lancingdevice10 or to vary the pressure by which the lancingdevice10 is pressed against a user's skin.
• The penetration depth of the lance is shallower the greater the distance between the[0025]face28 of thetwistcap26 and the top42 of the column or post40. This distance is adjusted by the interaction of the protrusions orfingers47 and49 in the first andsecond grooves54 and56. As thetwistcap26 is rotated, the first andsecond grooves54 and56 are moved relative to the protrusions orfingers47 and49. Because the first andsecond grooves54 and56 are helical, the movement of thegrooves54 and56 relative to theprotrusions47 and49 causes thetwistcap26 to move longitudinally relative to the column or post40 thereby decreasing or increasing the distance between theface28 of thetwistcap28 and the top42 of the column or post40. Because the lance extends beyond the top42 a fixed distance, as the distance between the top42 and the top28 is increased, the distance the lance extends beyond the top28 is decreased, and as the distance between the top42 and top28 is decreased, the distance the lance extends beyond the top28 and thus, the penetration depth, is increased.
• While the present invention has been described with reference to one or more particular embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that many changes may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Each of these embodiments and obvious variations thereof is contemplated as falling within the spirit and scope of the claimed invention, which is set forth in the following claims.[0026]

Claims (10)

What is claimed is:

1. An adjustable endcap for a lancing device, comprising:

a basecap, and

a twistcap,

said basecap including a post member and at least one finger on said basecap adjacent said post member,

said twistcap adapted to fit over said post member, said twistcap including at least one generally helical track on an outer surface thereof, said finger extending into said track when said twistcap is on said post member.

2. The adjustable endcap claimed inclaim 1 comprising at least one cantilevered detent on said post member, and at least one detent receiving surface on an interior surface of said twistcap.

3. The adjustable endcap claimed inclaim 1 wherein said basecap is configured to fit on a lancing device.

4. The adjustable endcap claimed inclaim 1 wherein said post member is cylindrical.

5. The adjustable endcap claimed inclaim 1 wherein said basecap further comprises a second finger adjacent said post and said twistcap further comprises a second generally helical track on an outer surface thereof, said second finger extending into said second track when said twistcap is on said post member.

6. An adjustable endcap for a lancing device, comprising:

a basecap configured to be mounted on a lancing device, said basecap including a cylindrical post member with a first cantilevered detent thereon, said basecap further including a first finger adjacent to and extending radially toward said cylindrical post member; and

a twistcap configured to fit on said cylindrical post member, a first generally helical track on an outer surface of said twistcap oriented to be aligned with said first finger when said twistcap is on said cylindrical post member, a plurality of detent receiving surfaces on an interior surface of said twistcap.

7. The adjustable endcap for a lancing device claimed inclaim 6 wherein said basecap further includes a second cantilevered detent on said cylindrical post member.

8. The adjustable endcap for a lancing device claimed inclaim 6 wherein said basecap further includes a second finger adjacent to and extending radially toward said cylindrical post member.

9. The adjustable endcap for a lancing device claimed inclaim 6 wherein the twistcap further includes a second generally helical track on said outer surface of said twistcap.

10. An endcap for adjusting the penetration depth of a lance of a lancing device, comprising:

a basecap including a cylindrical mounting post, first and second cantilevered detents on diametrically opposed sides of said mounting post, first and second fingers on said basecap adjacent to and on opposite sides of said mounting post; and

a twistcap rotatably mounted on said mounting post, a plurality of detent receiving grooves on an interior surface of said twistcap, and first and second generally helical tracks formed on an outer surface of said twistcap aligned with said first and second fingers, respectively.

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