Connector system

• US 7,497,731 B2
• Filed: 11/22/2006
• Issued: 03/03/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/23/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dragerwerk AG & Company KGaA (FPS Vermögensverwaltung GmbH)
• Original Assignee: Draeger Medical Systems Incorporated (Dragerwerk AG)
• Inventors: Rosenfeldt, Bernd, Richer-Kelly, Clifford
• Primary Examiner(s): Hammond; Briggitte R
• Application Number:
  US11/562,737
• Publication Number:
  US 20070123065A1
• Time in Patent Office: 832 Days
• Field of Search: 439/620, 439/181, 439/260, 439/630, 439/607
• US Class Current: 439/607.01
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 12/707 Soldering or welding
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 12/716 Coupling device provided on the PCB
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 12/721 cooperating directly with the edge of the rigid printed circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/64 Means for preventing incorrect coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/6581 Shield structure
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/6582 with resilient means for engaging mating connector
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 2107/00 Four or more poles
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 2201/12 for medicine and surgery

Abstract

A connector system conveys signals supporting patient medical parameter data acquisition and includes a connector body supporting a plurality of clusters of pins, e.g. at least first, second and third clusters. An individual cluster includes a plurality of pins. The first, second and third clusters are mutually isolated by a minimum electrical creepage distance. The connector body supports mating with a corresponding connector attached to an electrical cable. The connector system also includes a metal connector housing for at least partially electrically shielding the plurality of clusters of pins and is electrically connected to a shield potential.

Claims

1. A connector system for safely connecting and disconnecting medical monitoring/treatment devices, comprising:

a first connector with a connector housing and a plurality of contacts grouped in clusters, wherein the contacts in each cluster have substantially identical length and contacts are staggered between different clusters, said clusters being isolated from one another by a minimum electrical creepage distance, and

a second connector configured to mate with the first connector and having corresponding contacts grouped in mating clusters, with the contacts of different mating clusters configured to sequentially contact the corresponding contacts in response to mating with the first connector, said mated first and second connector maintaining the minimum electrical creepage distance, the second connector further comprising an electrically conductive housing or shell configured to make a relatively low resistance connection to a housing contact of the connector housing of the first connector, thereby ensuring sparkless connection and disconnection of the connector to/from the corresponding connector.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the electrically conductive housing or shell of the second connector makes a relatively low resistance connection to at least one of (a) a shield and (b) a shielding braid of an electrical cable attached to the second connector.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the electrically conducting housing or shell of the second connector at least partially electrically shields the clusters of mating contacts and is electrically connected to a shield potential.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the contacts of the first connector are implemented as pins or sockets, or a combination thereof, and the contacts of the second connector are implemented as sockets or pins mating with the pins or sockets of the first connector.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the connector housing of the first connector at least partially electrically shields the contacts grouped in the clusters and includes an integral contact for direct insertion into a PC board and low-resistance electrical connection to a shield potential.

6. The system according to claim 5, wherein said integral contact is directly solderable to said PC board.

7. The system according to claim 5, wherein said integral contact is a homogenous part of said connector housing.

8. The system according to claim 5, wherein the housing contact of the first connector comprises at least one of (a) spring contact and (b) a spring metal finger.

9. The system according to claim 5, wherein the housing contact of the first connector is a homogenous part of the connector housing.

10. The system according to claim 1, wherein contacts of different clusters convey separate electrical communication links.

11. The system according to claim 10, wherein at least one of the clusters conveys a ground signal.

12. The system according to claim 10, wherein at least one of the separate electrical communication links conveys a patient monitoring signal.

13. The system according to claim 12, wherein the patient monitoring signal is at least one of (a) an alarm signal and (b) a patient vital sign representative signal.