INTEGRATED HEADER CONNECTOR SYSTEM

• US 20080255631A1
• Filed: 04/10/2008
• Published: 10/16/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/11/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bal Seal Engineering Incorporated (Kaman Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Bal Seal Engineering Incorporated (Kaman Corporation)
• Inventors: Sjostedt, Robbie J., Dilmaghanian, Farshid, Naviaux, Jacques
• Granted Patent: US 8,091,226 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 607/37
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/3752 Details of casing-lead connections
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/111 co-operating with pins having a circular transverse section
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/187 with spring member in the socket
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 2105/00 Three poles
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 2201/12 for medicine and surgery
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 24/58 Contacts spaced along longitudinal axis of engagement
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49204 Contact or terminal manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49208 by assembling plural parts
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49217 by elastic joining

Abstract

Connector assemblies for use with implantable medical devices having easy to assemble contacts is disclosed. The connector assemblies are generally formed by coupling a plurality of contact rings, sealing rings, and spring contact elements together with at least one holding ring to form a connector having a common bore fore receiving a medical lead cable. Contact grooves for positioning the spring contact elements are formed in part by assembling multiple components together.

Claims

1. An implantable medical device comprising a header attached to a sealed housing;

a connector stack disposed in the header, said header comprising at least two header housing sections attached to one another along a seam;

a plurality of grooves disposed in the at least two header housing sections;

a plurality of dividing walls each separating two adjacent grooves from one another;

a conductive contact ring element having a spring contact element disposed therein positioned in a first groove;

a sealing ring positioned in a second groove adjacent the conductive contact ring element and having the dividing wall positioned therebetween for maintaining the conductive contact ring element and the sealing ring in a spaced apart relationship.

2. The implantable medical device of claim 1, further comprising a second conductive contact ring element positioned in a third groove, which is spaced apart from the second groove and the first groove.

3. The implantable medical device of claim 1, wherein the spring contact element is a radial canted coil spring.

4. The implantable medical device of claim 1, wherein the header housing, the conductive contact ring element, and the sealing ring have a common bore.

5. The implantable medical device of claim 1, wherein the sealed housing is part of a implantable pulse generator.

6. The implantable medical device of claim 1, further comprising a holding ring comprising a set screw positioned in one of the plurality of grooves.

7. The implantable medical device of claim 6, further comprising a cut-out on the header for accessing the set screw.

8. A method of assembling a connector assembly for use with an implantable medical device comprising:

providing a first header section comprising a plurality of grooves;

placing a conductive contact ring element into a first groove;

placing a sealing ring into a second groove;

separating the contact ring from the sealing ring with a dividing wall; and

attaching a second header section to the first header section.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising placing a second conductive contact ring element into a third groove, which is spaced apart from the second groove and the first groove before attaching the second header section to the first header section.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising placing a spring contact element in each of the conductive ring contact element and the second conductive contact ring element before attaching the second header section to the first header section.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising placing a second sealing ring into a fourth groove before attaching the second header section to the first header section.

12. The method of claim 8, further comprising placing an assembly rod in through the conductive ring contact element before placing the conductive ring contact element into the first groove.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein the header comprises an opening for accessing a common bore of the connector stack.

14. A method for forming a connector stack having reduced overall length comprising inserting a tubular ring into a groove of a header, said groove located between two seal ring elements, to form a ring groove;

providing a spring in said ring groove; and

maintaining a space between said tubular ring and said two seal ring elements.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein said tubular ring has a bottom wall and no side walls.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising placing a second tubular ring into a groove located adjacent one of the two seal ring elements.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the second tubular ring is separated from one of the two seal ring elements by a dividing wall.

18. The method of claim 14, further comprising placing a holding ring into a groove.

19. A method is provided for assembling an implantable medical connector stack comprising selecting a first stack component for assembly;

dropping the first stack component into a header section;

selecting a second stack component for assembly;

dropping the second stack component into the header section; and

providing a dividing wall, formed of a material different from the first stack component and the second component, in between the first stack component and the second stack component to maintain the first stack component and the second stack component in a spaced apart relationship.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising dropping a holding ring into a groove of the header section.

21. The method of claim 19, further comprising attaching a second header section to the header section.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising attaching the header section and the second header section to a sealed housing of an implantable medical device.