MODULAR DRIVELINE

• US 20120149229A1
• Filed: 12/08/2011
• Published: 06/14/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/08/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TC1 LLC (Abbott Laboratories)
• Original Assignee: Thoratec LLC
• Inventors: Cotter, Christopher James, Callaway, Justin Aron, Kulinski, Maria Dominika, Jayaraman, Ramesh Babu, Kearsley, Keith Hamilton, Layton, John C.
• Granted Patent: US 8,794,989 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 439/339
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/04 implanted
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 60/148 in line with a blood vessel using resection or like techniques, e.g. permanent endovascular heart assist devices
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 60/178 drawing blood from a ventricle and returning the blood to the arterial system via a cannula external to the ventricle, e.g. left or right ventricular assist devices
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 60/216 including a rotating member acting on the blood, e.g. impeller
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 60/878 Electrical connections within the patient's body
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 60/88 Percutaneous cables
• CPC Class Codes: H01B 7/048 for implantation into a human or animal body, e.g. pacemaker leads
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/622 Screw-ring or screw-casing H01R13/623 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 2201/12 for medicine and surgery

Abstract

A modular driveline includes a modular portion including a cable and a connector, the cable having terminations, and a percutaneous portion including a cable and a connector, the cable having terminations. The percutaneous portion connector couples to the modular portion connector, and cable terminations at the connectors are captured in the connectors by potting. The cable can include an inner member, conductors disposed about the inner member, a covering about the conductors, a layer extruded onto the covering, an armor braid over the extruded layer, and an outer jacket extruded over the armor braid.

Claims

1. A cable, comprising:

an inner member;

conductors disposed about the inner member;

a covering about the conductors;

a layer extruded onto the covering;

an armor braid over the extruded layer; and

an outer jacket extruded over the armor braid.

2. The cable of claim 1, wherein the covering includes a tape wrapped about the conductors, the tape comprising polytetrafluoroethylene.

3. The cable of claim 1, wherein the layer extruded onto the covering comprises thermoplastic polyurethane.

4. The cable of claim 1, wherein the armor braid comprises a fiber braided directly onto the extruded layer, wherein the fiber is selected from the group consisting of an aramid fiber and a para-aramid fiber.

5. The cable of claim 4, wherein the braid tension of the armor braid is between 0 and 200 g.

6. The cable of claim 4, wherein the armor braid has a number of carrier intersections between 5 and 12 carrier crossings per inch.

7. The cable of claim 1, wherein the cable has a percutaneous portion, and the outer jacket of the percutaneous portion comprises silicone.

8. The cable of claim 1, wherein the cable has a modular portion, and the outer jacket of the modular portion comprises thermoplastic polyurethane.

9. A connector comprising,

a housing that houses one or more electrical contacts;

and

a nut captured about the housing and non-threadedly, rotatably and axially movable relative to the housing, the nut including an element that engages an outer surface of the housing such that there is differential resistance to rotation of the nut depending on the direction of rotation,

the nut configured to affix the connector to a second connector, wherein axial movement of the nut relative to the housing permits electrical connection between the connector and the second connector prior to the nut affixing the connectors.

10. The connector of claim 9, wherein the element is configured to engage the outer surface such that the resistance is greater in a direction of rotation of the nut that detaches the nut from the second connector than in a direction of rotation of the nut that affixes the nut to the second connector.

11. The connector of claim 10, wherein the element includes a rounded surface, and wherein the outer surface of the housing includes a plurality of notches that receive the element.

12. The connector of claim 11, wherein the rounded surface engages the notches to transmit a circumferential force along the nut during rotation of the nut, the circumferential force being greater during rotation of the nut that detaches the nut from the second connector than during rotation of the nut that attaches the nut to the second connector.

13. The connector of claim 9, wherein the outer surface is configured to deflect the element away from the housing.

14. The connector of claim 9, wherein the housing defines a circumferential recess adjacent to the outer surface, the circumferential recess being configured to receive the element at a particular axial position of the nut relative to the housing.

15. A modular driveline, comprising

a modular portion including a cable and a connector, the cable having terminations;

and

a percutaneous portion including a cable and a connector, the cable having terminations, the percutaneous portion connector for coupling to the modular portion connector;

wherein all cable terminations at the connectors are captured in the connectors by potting.

16. The modular driveline of claim 15, wherein the modular portion comprises a cable core, an armor braid, and an outer jacket.

17. The modular driveline of claim 16, wherein the armor braid flares outward from the cable core within the modular portion connector such that potting is received between the armor braid and the cable core.

18. The modular driveline of claim 15, wherein the modular portion connector comprises a housing secured to a cap by a threaded connection.

19. The modular driveline of claim 18, wherein the cap defines openings through which potting can be introduced.

20. The modular driveline of claim 15, wherein a bend relief is overmolded onto a portion of the cable and a portion of the modular portion connector.