US 12,015,221 B2
Electrical connectors for medical devices
Jami Matti Jormakka, Espoo (FI); and Joona Henrik Siivonen, Hyvinkää (FI)
Assigned to GE Precision Healthcare LLC, Wauwatosa, WI (US)
Filed by GE Precision Healthcare LLC, Wauwatosa, WI (US)
Filed on Mar. 16, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/203,169.
Prior Publication US 2022/0302624 A1, Sep. 22, 2022
Int. Cl. H01R 13/422 (2006.01); A61B 5/301 (2021.01); A61B 5/308 (2021.01); H01R 12/77 (2011.01)
CPC H01R 13/4223 (2013.01) [A61B 5/301 (2021.01); A61B 5/308 (2021.01); H01R 12/777 (2013.01)] 18 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An electrical connector for a medical device, the connector comprising:
a main support having a front and a back opposite the front, a top and a bottom opposite the top, and a left and a right opposite the left;
fingers that each extend forwardly from the front of the main support to a tip, wherein the fingers have a top and a bottom opposite the top, and wherein the fingers are arranged from the left to the right of the main support such that gaps are defined between the fingers; and
a flexible circuit board having an outer surface and an inner surface opposite the outer surface, wherein the flexible circuit board includes electrical leads on the outer surface thereof, wherein openings are defined through the flexible circuit board between the electrical leads, and wherein the flexible circuit board is wrapped around the fingers such that the outer surface of the flexible circuit board is supported on both the top and the bottom of the fingers and the openings in the flexible circuit board are aligned with the gaps between the fingers;
wherein a finger height is defined between the tops and bottoms of the fingers, further comprising walls that sandwich each of the fingers, wherein the walls each have a top and a bottom opposite the top that define a wall height therebetween, wherein the walls extend away from the main support to a front edge, and wherein at least one of the wall height of each of the walls is greater than the finger height of each of the fingers and the front edges of the walls extends farther than the tips of the fingers from the main support.