Lancet needle with alignment and retention notch
Inventors
Assignees
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Publication Number
US-10631770-B2
Publication Date
2020-04-28
Expiration Date
Abstract
A lancet needle with an alignment and engagement notch, with material of the lancet body extending into the notch to more securely retain the needle to the lancet body, whereby a shorter needle can be utilized than with typical lancets. The notch optionally also provides a registration point for rotational and/or axial alignment of the needle during overmolding to form the lancet body, for example to maintain consistent positioning of the needle's beveled point.
Core Innovation
A lancet for a lancing device includes a lancet body having a head portion with a generally circular profile and a body portion with a generally oblong profile having first and second substantially flat sides. A lancing needle has a sharp tip with a beveled surface and an embedded portion within the head and body portions, and the needle has a notch formed at least partially on the embedded portion.
The beveled surface is aligned in a predetermined rotational orientation relative to the lancet body, and the notch is oriented substantially perpendicular to the needle body and the flat sides of the lancet body. The lancet needle length LN is no more than 75% of the lancet body length LB, and the embedded portion length LM is no more than 50% of the lancet body length LB.
In a molded lancet, a lancet body is molded over a portion of the lancet needle, where the notch is configured for alignment with cooperative mold tooling. The alignment provides consistent registration between the bevel, the notch, and the lancet body when the lancet body is molded over the embedded portion of the lancet needle.
In a multi-lancet strip, each lancet is removably coupled to form an array, the embedded needle is immovable relative to the lancet body, and every lancet comprises substantially identical and predefined registration between the bevel, the notch, and the lancet body.
Claims Coverage
The independent claims cover four inventive features: a lancet with predetermined rotational alignment between a bevel and a notch, an overmolded lancet with cooperative tooling alignment, a multi-lancet strip with predefined registration, and a manufacturing method for molding the lancet body around the needle.
Lancet with embedded needle notch for predetermined rotational alignment
A lancet for a lancing device with a lancet body having a head portion with a generally circular profile and a body portion with a generally oblong profile including first and second substantially flat sides, and a lancing needle having a sharp tip with a beveled surface and an embedded portion within the head and body portions, where a notch is formed at least partially on the embedded portion and the beveled surface is aligned in a predetermined rotational orientation relative to the lancet body while the notch is oriented substantially perpendicular to the needle body and the flat sides of the lancet body, with LN no more than 75% of LB and LM no more than 50% of LB.
Overmolded lancet with cooperative tooling alignment of bevel and notch
A lancet comprising a lancet needle and a lancet body molded over a portion of the lancet needle, where the lancet body has a head portion with a generally circular profile and a body portion with a generally oblong profile having first and second substantially flat sides, the lancet needle has LN no more than 75% of LB with an embedded portion LM no more than 50% of LB, the notch formed at least partially on the embedded portion engages a portion of the lancet body between the first and second ends, and the sharp lancing tip projecting from the end opposite the embedded portion comprises a bevel; the notch is configured for alignment with a cooperative mold tooling providing consistent registration between the bevel, the notch, and the lancet body when molded.
Multi-lancet strip with predefined registration between bevel and notch
A multi-lancet strip comprising at least two lancets removably coupled together forming an array, where each lancet has a lancet body with a generally circular head portion and a generally oblong body portion with first and second substantially flat sides, a lancet needle with a sharp lancing tip forming a bevel projecting from a first end of the lancet body and a semi-circumferential notch near a second end, with the second end embedded within the lancet body and immovable relative to the lancet body, the embedded portion length LM no more than 50% of the lancet body length LB, the notch at least partially engaging a portion of the lancet body between the first and second ends, and every lancet comprising substantially identical and predefined registration between the bevel, the notch and the lancet body.
Manufacturing method aligning notch orientation with molded rotational alignment
A method for manufacturing a lancet by providing a lancet needle of length LN with a bevel forming a sharp tip portion and a notch between first and second ends having a predetermined second orientation relative to a first orientation of the bevel, aligning the notch within a mold, and molding a lancet body of length LB within the mold and around the lancet needle including a head portion generally circular at a first end and a body portion generally oblong at a second end extending transversely from the head; a portion of the lancet needle at its second end is embedded with embedded portion length LM no more than 50% of LB, the needle length is no more than 50% of the lancet length LB, and the notch is at least partially embedded while the notch is aligned within the mold such that the notch is oriented substantially perpendicular to the needle body and the flat sides of the lancet body aligning the bevel in a predetermined rotational orientation relative to the lancet body.
The claims center on a lancet needle having a notch and a beveled sharp tip, with the notch oriented substantially perpendicular to the needle body and the flat sides of the lancet body and the bevel aligned in a predetermined rotational orientation relative to the lancet body. The claims also require length constraints between the needle, embedded portion, and lancet body, and include cooperative mold-tooling alignment and substantially identical and predefined registration across a multi-lancet strip.
Stated Advantages
Enables consistent registration between the bevel, the notch, and the lancet body when the lancet body is molded over the embedded portion of the lancet needle.
Provides substantially identical and predefined registration between the bevel, the notch and the lancet body for every lancet in a multi-lancet strip.
Documented Applications
Used as a lancet for a lancing device.
Removably coupled lancets forming a multi-lancet strip array.
Manufactured by aligning a notch within a mold and molding a lancet body around the lancet needle.
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