US-20260123855-A1 - APPLICATOR AND APPLICATOR ASSEMBLY

US20260123855A1US 20260123855 A1US20260123855 A1US 20260123855A1US-20260123855-A1

Abstract

An applicator includes: a body housing having a movement space formed therein; a sensor unit carrier provided to be movable in the movement space; a bridge pressing portion disposed on one of the body housing and the sensor unit carrier; and a bridge provided on the other one of the body housing and the sensor unit carrier and disposed at a position corresponding to the bridge pressing portion. The bridge is configured to restrict movement of the sensor unit carrier from an initial position to an insertion position by contacting with the bridge pressing portion and blocking movement of the bridge pressing portion.

Inventors

Hyun Ho CHOI
Yul Min SEONG
Kyung Chul CHAE

Assignees

I-SENS, INC

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20251103
Priority Date: 20241107

Claims (16)

1 . An applicator, comprising: a body housing having a movement space formed therein; a sensor unit carrier provided to be movable in the movement space; a bridge pressing portion disposed on one of the body housing and the sensor unit carrier; and a bridge provided on the other one of the body housing and the sensor unit carrier and disposed at a position corresponding to the bridge pressing portion, wherein the bridge is configured to restrict movement of the sensor unit carrier from an initial position to an insertion position by contacting with the bridge pressing portion and blocking movement of the bridge pressing portion.
2 . The applicator of claim 1 , wherein the body housing comprises a column disposed to form the movement space in the interior of the body housing and provided with the bridge pressing portion at an end portion thereof, and wherein the sensor unit carrier comprises: a sensor unit carrier body of which at least a portion is accommodated in the movement space and is provided to move along the movement space; an extension arm extending from a side end of the sensor unit carrier body and disposed at an outside of the column; and the bridge having one end connected to the sensor unit carrier body and the other end connected to the extension arm, and disposed at a position facing the bridge pressing portion.
3 . The applicator of claim 1 , wherein when the sensor unit carrier is positioned at the initial position, the bridge is in contact with the bridge pressing portion or is positioned at a position spaced apart from the bridge pressing portion.
4 . The applicator of claim 1 , wherein the sensor unit carrier moves in the movement space along a first direction from the initial position to the insertion position, and when the sensor unit carrier is positioned at the insertion position, at least a portion of the bridge is positioned at a position overlapping at least a portion of the bridge pressing portion.
5 . An applicator, comprising: a body housing having an interior in which a movement space is formed along a first direction; a sensor unit carrier provided to be relatively movable with respect to the body housing in the movement space; a bridge pressing portion provided in one of the body housing or the sensor unit carrier; and a bridge configured to restrict movement of the bridge pressing portion and disposed at a position contactable with the bridge pressing portion in the other one of the body housing or the sensor unit carrier, wherein movement restriction of the sensor unit carrier in the first direction is released by shape deformation of the bridge due to pressing of the bridge pressing portion.
6 . The applicator of claim 5 , wherein the bridge comprises a vulnerable portion in which shape deformation is concentrated compared to other regions when pressure is applied by the bridge pressing portion.
7 . The applicator of claim 6 , wherein the body housing comprises a column disposed to form the movement space in the interior of the body housing and provided with the bridge pressing portion at an end portion thereof, wherein the sensor unit carrier comprises: a sensor unit carrier body of which at least a portion is accommodated in the movement space and is provided to move along the movement space; an extension arm extending from a side end of the sensor unit carrier body and disposed at an outside of the column; and the bridge having one end connected to the sensor unit carrier body and the other end connected to the extension arm, and disposed at a position facing the bridge pressing portion, and wherein the vulnerable portion is formed at a position closer to one surface of the sensor unit carrier body to which the bridge is connected compared to a leading end portion of the bridge pressing portion.
8 . The applicator of claim 7 , wherein a carrier slit formed by incision along the first direction is provided at a leading end portion of the column adjacent to the bridge pressing portion, wherein an extension arm guide groove is formed to be recessed along the first direction in a shape corresponding to the carrier slit on one surface of an extension arm connection portion disposed between the sensor unit carrier body and the extension arm, and wherein as the sensor unit carrier moves along the first direction, the extension arm guide groove is introduced into the carrier slit so that movement of the sensor unit carrier in the first direction is guided.
9 . The applicator of claim 6 , wherein the vulnerable portion is formed to have a smaller thickness compared to the bridge.
10 . The applicator of claim 7 , wherein the bridge pressing portion is provided with at least one inclined surface and is disposed at the end portion of the column in a shape in which a cross-section decreases toward the bridge.
11 . The applicator of claim 6 , wherein the bridge is disposed in a direction intersecting the first direction, and the bridge pressing portion is disposed along the first direction.
12 . The applicator of claim 11 , wherein the leading end portion of the bridge pressing portion has a shape in which a cross-section decreases in a direction opposite to the first direction.
13 . The applicator of claim 5 , wherein movement restriction of the sensor unit carrier in the first direction is released by cutting of the bridge.
14 . The applicator of claim 5 , further comprising: a handle housing connected to the body housing so that one end thereof is in contact with the sensor unit carrier and moves together with the sensor unit carrier, wherein movement restriction of the handle housing in the first direction is released only when the bridge is deformed by application of a pressure exceeding a reference pressure to the handle housing.
15 . An applicator assembly, comprising: a transmission unit intended to be delivered to a detection position on skin; a body housing having an interior in which a movement space is formed along a first direction, the transmission unit being separably fixed to one end thereof; a sensor unit carrier provided to move along the movement space; a sensor unit comprising a transcutaneous sensor member capable of detecting biometric information in a subcutaneous tissue of a human body, and provided to move together with the sensor unit carrier in the movement space along the first direction to be coupled to the transmission unit; a bridge pressing portion provided in one of the body housing or the sensor unit carrier; and a bridge configured to restrict movement of the sensor unit carrier and disposed at a position corresponding to the bridge pressing portion in the other one of the body housing or the sensor unit carrier, and provided to be cut only when a pressure applied from the bridge pressing portion exceeds a reference pressure, wherein movement restriction of the sensor unit carrier in the first direction is released by cutting of the bridge.
16 . The applicator assembly of claim 15 , wherein the bridge is provided in a shape extending along a direction intersecting the first direction, and wherein the bridge pressing portion is disposed along a direction parallel to the first direction.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION The present application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2024-0157183, filed Nov. 7, 2024, and Korean Patent Application No. 10-2025-0005205, filed Jan. 14, 2025, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an applicator and an applicator assembly, and more specifically, relates to an applicator and an applicator assembly for inserting a transcutaneous sensor that detects biometric information into subcutaneous tissue. Description of the Related Art Chronic diseases such as diabetes mellitus require continuous management. Diabetes mellitus is characterized by having almost no subjective symptoms in an early stage, but when diabetes mellitus progresses, characteristic symptoms such as polydipsia, polyphagia, polyuria, weight loss, general malaise, skin pruritus, cases in which wounds on hands and feet do not heal and last long appear, and the like. When diabetes mellitus progresses further, complications may occur which advance to visual impairment, hypertension, nephropathy, stroke, periodontal disease, muscle cramps and neuralgia, gangrene, and the like. In order to diagnose such diabetes mellitus and to manage such that progression to complications does not occur, systematic blood glucose measurement and treatment need to be performed in parallel. Patients with diabetes mellitus or persons in whom glucose levels at a reference value or more is detected in blood although progression to diabetes mellitus has not occurred, require continuous and periodic blood glucose measurement for management of diabetes mellitus or prevention of progression to diabetes mellitus. Currently, a blood sampling method in which blood is collected from a position such as a fingertip and the like, and blood glucose is measured in a unit of a single time constitutes a mainstream of blood glucose measurement methods. However, in the case of the blood sampling blood glucose measurement method, due to pain accompanied at the time of blood sampling, inconvenience generated therefrom, and the like, there is a limitation in continuous and periodic blood glucose measurement. Recently, in order to overcome the limitation of the blood sampling blood glucose measurement method, a blood glucose measurement system which measures blood glucose continuously and periodically by inserting a transcutaneous sensor into subcutaneous tissue has been developed and is being used. The blood glucose measurement system using the transcutaneous sensor is generally configured to include a wearable unit provided to be attachable to a human body including the transcutaneous sensor, an applicator which is provided to be coupled to the wearable unit in advance so as to attach the wearable unit to the human body at the same time as inserting the transcutaneous sensor into the subcutaneous tissue, and a receiving unit which processes information received from the wearable unit. Meanwhile, in terms of hygiene, infection prevention, and the like, the wearable unit is generally provided to be discarded after a single wearing, and the applicator is also generally provided to be discarded after a single firing. That is, when the transcutaneous sensor is not inserted into an accurate subcutaneous position or the wearable unit is not normally attached to the skin, the corresponding wearable unit and the applicator need to each be discarded regardless of their respective usage lifetimes. Therefore, in order to improve the convenience of use and economic efficiency of the blood glucose measurement system using the transcutaneous sensor, there is required an applicator which may insert the transcutaneous sensor into an accurate subcutaneous position and may also attach the wearable unit stably to the skin. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION One aspect of the present invention is to provide an applicator and an applicator assembly capable of stably attaching a wearable unit to skin while inserting a transcutaneous sensor into an accurate subcutaneous position. The object of the present invention is not limited to the above description. A person with ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains will have no difficulty in readily understanding additional objects of the present invention from the overall contents of the present specification. The present invention is defined by the independent claims. Further aspects of the present invention are outlined in the dependent claims. An applicator, according to one aspect of the present invention, may comprise: a body housing having an interior in which a movement space is formed; a sensor unit carrier provided to be movable in the movement space; a bridge pressing portion provided in one of the body housing or the sensor unit carrier; and a bridge provided in the other one of the body housing or the sensor unit carrier, and disposed at a posi