Electrical connectors – Contact comprising cutter – Resiliently biased
Reexamination Certificate
2000-06-12
2001-07-24
Sircus, Brian (Department: 2839)
Electrical connectors
Contact comprising cutter
Resiliently biased
Reexamination Certificate
active
06264498
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a connector of a type suitable for connecting a lead to a housing of an implantable pacer.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A pacer system normally includes a pulse generator located in a pacer housing, one or more leads and each having an electrode at the distal end thereof. The proximal end of each lead is connected to the pacer housing by means of a releasable connector. The connector includes a female connector part in the pacer housing. The proximal end of the lead normally is designed as a standardized male connector part and the female connector part normally is standardized to such an extent that it will receive this standardized male connector part. The most common way of fixing or locking the male connector part in the female connector part is to use set screws, which are oriented in an orthogonal direction in relation to the male connector part and which are accessible from the outside of the pacer housing. The female connector part normally is located in a header molded on to the housing.
Although these set screws generally have a good fixing effect, the screws are somewhat difficult to handle, the screws being small and easily lost, both during transport and storage and during implantation. For this reason, attempts have been made to develop fixing means, which more or less automatically lock the male connector part upon insertion thereof.
One device in which the proximal end of the lead is locked automatically is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,252,090. This device includes two elastically resilient metal tongues in a female connector part. The tongues are situated in a common plane and have a common central line, with a respective free end, which are located oppositely to each other. The distance between the two free ends is smaller than the diameter of the male connector part. The tongues will be deflected into the direction of insertion when the male connector part is inserted into the female connector part and the tongues thus will engage and lock the sides of the male connector part. If the male connector part is pulled outwardly from the female connector part, the locking effect will increase. This is because the friction between the tongues and the male connector part will draw the tongues in closer contact with the male connector part. The two tongues are integrally connected to two wings extending through openings in a header molded onto the housing. The wings are angled in relation to the plane of the tongues. Pressure on the wings will move the tongues out of engagement with the male connector part, which then can be removed.
In similarity with the design using set screws, the locking means in the above design have to be accessed laterally from the outside. For this reason, the locking means are located in the header in order to avoid openings for manipulation in the parts of the housing in which the electronic parts of the pacer are located. Any openings for the connections in the housing or can into the interior of the housing from the header thus can be permanently sealed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
And object of the invention is to provide a connection of the kind described above, which can use standard male connector parts, which involves a positive locking effect and which does not need any lateral openings in the connector housing or the pacemaker housing. Lateral openings are relatively difficult to design and manufacture, particularly if the connection is placed in the pacemaker housing. At the same time, it should be possible to easily remove the male connector part without any need of manual operations. A further object is to provide a connector that is suitable for use in so called black holes. Black holes are connectors made directly in the pacer housing without any need for the commonly used molded-on connector parts in the form of headers. The black holes may or may not extend through the entire pacer housing. A black hole extending through the entire housing gives the possibility to access the release mechanism from the outside without any need of lateral openings, the mechanism in this case being accessible longitudinally from the end of the hole.
The above objects are achieved in accordance with the principles of the present invention in a female connector part for cooperation with an elongated male connector part, the female connector part being intended for use in a pacemaker housing and having a longitudinal bore adapted to receive the male connector part. An element carrying resilient tongues, disposed at a small inward angle, i.e. inward from the opening of the female connector part, relative to a plane orthogonal to the longitudinal axis of the bore. The tongues are movable between a first position at which the respective tips of the tongues can engage the male connector part in the bore, and a second position at which the tips of the tongues do not engage the male connector part in the bore. The female connector part also includes a sleeve which is movable between two positions respectively corresponding to the first and second positions of the tongues. In a first position of the sleeve, the tongues are free to engage the male connector part in the bore, and in a second position of the sleeve, the sleeve is located between the tongues and the male connector part, thereby precluding the tongues from engaging the male connector part.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3336916 (1967-08-01), Edlich
patent: 4428635 (1984-01-01), Hamsler, Jr. et al.
patent: 5252090 (1993-10-01), Giurtino et al.
patent: 5320558 (1994-06-01), von Roretz
patent: 6012944 (2000-01-01), Hatakeyama
Duverne J. F.
Pacesetter AB
Schiff & Hardin & Waite
Sircus Brian
LandOfFree
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