High voltage capacitor route with integrated failure point
AssigneeCardiac Pacemakers, Inc.
InventorsWilliam J. Linder, Ron A. Balczewski, Jacob M. Ludwig
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An implantable medical device may have a circuit failure mode. The disclosed circuit may have an integrated failure point designed to fail prior to those portions of the circuit. The integrated failure point may include a narrowed portion of a high voltage lead and a grounded lead having a narrow gap separating the grounded lead from the narrowed portion of the high voltage lead. During a high stress fault condition the narrowed portion of the high voltage lead acts as a fuse, forming a vaporized cloud of metal, which shorts current in the high voltage lead across the narrow gap to the grounded lead, thus protecting the remaining portion of the circuit from the high stress condition.
Claims34
An apparatus, comprising:
- an implantable medical device, the implantable medical device including:
- a printed circuit board having a wiring layer disposed on a dielectric board, the wiring layer coupled to:
- a voltage source, including first and second terminals coupled to the wiring layer;
- and
- a functional circuit, including first and second terminals adapted to be operatively coupled to the first and second terminals of the voltage source via the wiring layer;
- the wiring layer of the printed circuit board comprising:
- a fuse defined by the wiring layer, the fuse coupled in series with one of the first and second terminals of the voltage source and one of the first and second terminals of the functional circuit;
- and
- a plasma switch, adapted such that when power in the fuse exceeds a fault power threshold, an arcing current is conducted from the fuse to a node at an other one of the first and second terminals of the voltage source such that the current is directed away from the functional circuit,
- wherein the printed circuit board comprises an insulator layer overlying the fuse and the plasma switch of the wiring layer.
An apparatus, comprising:
- an implantable medical device, the implantable medical device including:
- a voltage source, including first and second terminals;
- a functional circuit, including first and second terminals adapted to be operatively coupled to the first and second terminals of the voltage source;
- a printed circuit board having a wiring layer, the printed circuit board including a fuse coupled in series with one of the first and second terminals of the voltage source and one of the first and second terminals of the functional circuit, the printed circuit board including a plasma switch, adapted such that when power in the fuse exceeds a fault power threshold, an arcing current is conducted from the fuse to a node at an other one of the first and second terminals of the voltage source such that the current is directed away from the functional circuit,
- wherein the printed circuit board includes a dielectric material covering portions of the wiring layer, the dielectric material including a hole in a region near the fuse and the plasma switch.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.