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US 2007/0178767 A1Published application
Electrical connector
OwnerE. Harshman, Donald Mastersinventors
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An electrical connector is described. In one implementation, the connector includes a female portion including one or more electrical contacts and a male portion including one or more electrical contacts. The female portion and the male portion each have a self-orientating geometry that allows the male portion to be mated with the female portion in any rotational position along 360 degrees of rotation. When mated, the electrical contacts of the female portion mate with corresponding one or more electrical contacts of the male portion to form one or more electrical connections between two electronic components.
Claims27
An apparatus comprising:
- a connector that electrically connects an electronic component with an imaging catheter, the connector including:
- a female portion including one or more electrical contacts;
- and
- a male portion including one or more electrical contacts,
- where the female portion and the male portion each has a self-orientating geometry that allows the male portion to be mated with the female portion in any rotational position along 360 degrees of rotation and when mated, the electrical contacts of the female portion mate with corresponding one or more electrical contacts of the male portion to form one or more electrical connections between the electronic component and the imaging catheter.
2 more elements
An imaging system, comprising:
- an imaging catheter comprising a rotator core, a drive shaft, and an imaging core, and configured to electrically connect to a motor drive unit by a connector, where a female or male portion of the connector is included within the rotator core;
- a motor drive unit configured to electrically connect to the imaging catheter by the connector and to provide rotational movement to the imaging core, where a female or male portion of the connector is included at a distal end of the motor drive unit;
- and
- a connector configured to electrically connect the imaging catheter to a motor drive unit, and comprising:
- a female portion including one or more electrical contacts;
- and
- a male portion including one or more electrical contacts;
- where the connector is rotatable and the male portion and the female portion each have a corresponding locking geometry that allows for transfer of rotational movement between the male and female portions when mated and where one of either the male or female portion of the connector is included at the distal end of the motor drive unit and the corresponding portion is included within the rotator core of the imaging catheter.
5 more elements
An apparatus comprising:
- a connector including:
- a female portion including one or more electrical contacts;
- and
- a male portion including one or more electrical contacts,
- where the female portion and the male portion each has a self-orientating geometry that allows the male portion to be mated with the female portion in any rotational position along 360 degrees of rotation and when mated, the electrical contacts of the female portion mate with corresponding one or more electrical contacts of the male portion to form one or more electrical connections.
2 more elements
An apparatus comprising:
- a connector that is configured to connect a motor drive unit to a catheter, the catheter being a tubular instrument that can be inserted into a body cavity or blood vessel, the connector including:
- a female portion, including one or more electrical contacts and a locking geometry, where the one or more electrical contacts are configured to mate to one or more electrical contacts of a male portion and the locking geometry is configured to mate to a corresponding locking geometry of the male portion;
- and
- a male portion, including one or more electrical contacts and a locking geometry, where the one or more electrical contacts are configured to mate to one or more electrical contacts of the female portion and the locking geometry is configured to mate to a corresponding locking geometry of the female portion,
- where the connector is configure to rotate such that when the female and male portions are mated, rotational movement from the motor drive unit is transferred to the catheter and an electrical connection is made between the motor drive unit and the catheter.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.