Stacked Glucose Sensor Storage and Dispensing Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing blood glucose monitoring devices are limited by the size of their packaging, which constrains the number of test strips they can store, making it difficult to increase the number of strips per package.
Innovation Solution
A portable, hand-held testing device with a housing configured to accommodate a plurality of test sensors in a stacked arrangement, using a drive slide and knife mechanism to extract and deploy individual test sensors from blister packages for sampling, allowing for a higher capacity without increasing the device's size.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If test strips are stored in traditional packaging, then the device can be kept compact, but the number of test strips that can be stored is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from storing test strips in a planar arrangement to a three-dimensional stacked configuration. Multiple test strips are arranged vertically in layers within the housing, utilizing the vertical dimension to increase storage capacity without expanding the device's horizontal footprint. This dimensional transformation allows significantly more test strips to be stored in a compact form factor.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a nested storage structure where test strips are stacked one inside another in a vertical arrangement. Each test strip is positioned within the housing such that multiple strips are contained within the same spatial envelope, similar to nested dolls. This nesting approach maximizes the use of internal volume while maintaining a compact external device size.
2Ease of operation
If more test strips are stored per package, then user convenience is improved, but the packaging size must increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent resolves the packaging area constraint by utilizing vertical stacking in the third dimension. Instead of expanding the packaging area horizontally to accommodate more test strips, the design stacks strips vertically within the same footprint, allowing increased capacity without increasing the packaging's horizontal dimensions.
3Quantity of substance
If test sensors are individually foiled and stacked, then storage capacity is increased, but the complexity of extraction mechanism is increased
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the stack of test strips into individually separable units, each enclosed in its own foil packaging. This segmentation allows the extraction mechanism to access and remove one strip at a time from the stack without disturbing the others, simplifying the extraction process despite the increased storage capacity enabled by stacking.
Solution Approach 2:
The individual foil packaging of each test strip serves a dual function: it protects the strip while stacked and facilitates easy extraction. The foil packaging acts as a self-contained unit that can be easily pierced or opened by a simple extraction mechanism, reducing the complexity required for accessing stored strips.
Data Source
AI summary
A portable, hand-held glucose testing device includes a housing configured to accommodate a plurality of test sensors in a stacked arrangement and having a wall with an opening defined therein. A plurality of packaged test sensors is stacked in alignment with one another within the housing. Each of the test sensors is packaged within a blister package. The blister package includes a blister package housing and a cover foil overlying a surface of the blister package housing and the test sensor. A drive slide is configured to displace one of the plurality of packaged test sensors out of alignment with other packaged test sensors. A knife mechanism is configured to pierce through the cover foil, and to engage and urge the test sensor to extend through the opening for receiving a sample. A meter contact is configured to engage the test sensor when the test sensor extends through the opening.