LANCET EJECTION AND ADVANCEMENT MECHANISM FOR MULTI-LANCET CARTRIDGE

A lancing device includes an advance-and-eject mechanism with a positioning member for manipulating a series of interconnected lancets. The advance-and-eject mechanism includes an actuator, a control channel, a cam-and-follower mechanism, one or more axial-contact members, and one or more angular-contact members. Actuating the actuator relative to the control channel imparts rotational and axial forces on the positioning member, and the cam-and-follower mechanism selectively restricts rotational and/or axial motion of the positioning member to induce first-stage rotation, second-stage translation, third-stage rotation, and fourth-stage translation. The first-stage rotation rotates the axial-contact members into an interference position, the second-stage translation advances the axial-contact members and the lancet, the third-stage rotation rotates the angular-contact members and the lancet to sever its rearside connection, and the fourth-stage translation advances the axial-contact members and the lancet to a position free of the serial-interconnected lancets thereby ejecting it from the lancing device.