Automatic retractable lancet assembly

Claim 1

An automatic retractable lancet assembly comprising: a housing having an aperture; a slidable plunger inside said housing; a lancet mounted on the distal end of said plunger with its point lying adjacent the interior side of said aperture; a coiled flat spring inside one end of said housing adapted to contact the proximal end of said plunger and become compressed, said flat spring adapted to decompress upon release to cause the movement of said lancet outward of said aperture for penetration of the skin of a patient, said flat spring adapted to become dissociated from further movement of said lancet after said lancet completes its outward movement; actuating means for retaining said flat spring in the compressed condition and for releasing same to cause the movement of said plunger; a pair of leaf springs mounted inside the other end of said housing substantially parallel to the axis of movement of said plunger when said leaf springs are in the relaxed condition, said leaf springs adapted to be contacted by said plunger after said flat spring is released whereby said leaf springs are adapted to deflect outwardly to become momentarily biased and thereafter return to their original position and automatically retract said lancet back inside said housing after the flat spring has become dissociated from further movement of said lancet.