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US-20260123861-A1 - SENSOR CONNECTOR

US20260123861A1US 20260123861 A1US20260123861 A1US 20260123861A1US-20260123861-A1

Abstract

A connector ( 20 ) for securing a sensor ( 32 ) to a circuit member ( 34 ). The connector includes a first member ( 22 ) have at least one first engagement surface ( 26 ) and a second member ( 24 ) having at least one second engagement surface ( 28 ). The first engagement surface engages the second engagement surface when the first member and the second member are secured together. A biasing member ( 30 ) is coupled with one of the first and second members and exerts a biasing force forcing the first engagement surface into contact with the second engagement surface and is also adapted to bias the sensor ( 32 ) into engagement with the circuit member ( 34 ). The engagement of the first and second engagement surfaces may conductively couple the first and second members whereby the sensor may be conductively coupled with the circuit member via the connector. A method of assembling a sensor assembly using the connector is also disclosed.

Inventors

  • Michel Alain Jean Cadio
  • Josemanuel Carlos Ramirez

Assignees

  • ROCHE DIABETES CARE, INC.

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20260105

Claims (20)

  1. 1 . A connector ( 20 ) for securing an analyte sensor ( 32 ) to an electrical circuit member ( 34 ), the connector comprising: a first member ( 22 ) having at least one first engagement surface ( 26 ); a second member ( 24 ) having at least one second engagement surface ( 28 ), the first member and the second member being securable together wherein the at least one first engagement surface engages the at least one second engagement surface when the first member and the second member are secured together; and a biasing member ( 30 ) coupled with one of the first member and the second member wherein, when the first member and the second member are secured together, the biasing member exerts a biasing force forcing the at least one first engagement surface into contact with the at least one second engagement surface and is also adapted to bias the analyte sensor ( 32 ) into engagement with the electrical circuit member ( 34 ).
  2. 2 . The connector of claim 1 wherein the first member is conductively coupled with the second member when the first member and the second member are secured together.
  3. 3 . The connector of claim 1 wherein contact between the at least one first engagement surface and the at least one second engagement surface conductively couples the first member and the second member.
  4. 4 . The connector of claim 1 wherein the first member has a first contact member ( 36 ) adapted to contact one of the electrical circuit member and the analyte sensor, the second member having a second contact member ( 38 ) adapted to contact the other one of the electrical circuit member and the analyte sensor.
  5. 5 . The connector of claim 4 wherein the first contact member ( 36 ) is adapted to conductively engage a first contact surface ( 40 ) on one of the analyte sensor and the electrical circuit member, the second contact member ( 38 ) is adapted to conductively engage a second contact surface ( 42 ) on the other one of the analyte sensor and the electrical circuit member, and the first member and the second member are conductively coupled when secured together whereby the connector ( 20 ) is adapted to conductively couple the first contact surface ( 40 ) with the second contact surface ( 42 ) when the first member and the second member are secured together.
  6. 6 . The connector of claim 5 wherein the biasing member ( 30 ) forms one of the first contact member ( 36 ) and the second contact member ( 38 ).
  7. 7 . The connector of claim 6 wherein the first member and the second member are each formed out of an electrically conductive metal.
  8. 8 . The connector of claim 6 wherein the first member and the second member each have an outer coating ( 50 ) wherein the outer coating is an electrically conductive material.
  9. 9 . The connector of claim 6 wherein the first member and the second member are each formed out of a metal material having an outer plating ( 50 ) of a conductive metal material.
  10. 10 . The connector of claim 1 wherein the first member ( 22 ) has a U-shaped cross-section with a first main section ( 52 ) and a pair of first sidewall sections ( 54 ), the first sidewall sections extending from opposite ends of the first main section in a first direction ( 74 ) and wherein the second member ( 24 ) has a U-shaped cross-section with a second main section ( 62 ) and a pair of second sidewall sections ( 64 ), the second sidewall sections extending from opposite ends of the second main section in a second direction ( 74 ); wherein, when the first member and the second member are secured together, the first main section is spaced from and positioned opposite the second main section whereby the first main section and the second main section define a partially enclosed volume ( 76 ) therebetween with the first pair of sidewall sections being respectively disposed proximate a first side ( 78 ) and an opposing second side ( 80 ) of the partially enclosed volume and the second pair of sidewall sections being disposed proximate the first side and the opposing second side of the partially enclosed volume and wherein a third side ( 82 ) and an opposing fourth side ( 84 ) of the partially enclosed volume each define openings ( 83 , 85 ) providing access to the partially enclosed volume; and wherein the connector is configured to secure the analyte sensor to the electrical circuit member within the partially enclosed volume when the first member and the second member are secured together and the analyte sensor extends through at least one of the openings in the third side and the fourth side of the partially enclosed volume and the electrical circuit member extends through at least one of the openings in the third side and the fourth side of the partially enclosed volume.
  11. 11 . The connector of claim 10 wherein the first member ( 22 ) has a first contact member ( 36 ) adapted to contact one of the electrical circuit member and the analyte sensor, the second member having a second contact member ( 38 ) adapted to contact the other one of the electrical circuit member and the analyte sensor and wherein the first contact member and the second contact member are disposed within the partially enclosed volume.
  12. 12 . The connector of claim 11 wherein the biasing member ( 30 ) forms one of the first contact member ( 36 ) and the second contact member ( 38 ).
  13. 13 . The connector of claim 12 wherein each of the first member ( 22 ) and the second member ( 24 ) is formed from a sheet material and the first contact member ( 36 ) extends from the first main section ( 52 ) and has a distal end ( 56 ) disposed in the partially enclosed volume and the second contact member ( 38 ) extends from the second main section ( 62 ) has a distal end ( 66 ) disposed in the partially enclosed volume.
  14. 14 . The connector of claim 11 wherein the biasing member ( 30 ) extends from one of the first main section and the second main section and has a flexing portion ( 58 ) and a free end ( 56 A) wherein the free end ( 56 A) forms one of the first contact member and the second contact member and has a first position ( 60 A) when the first member and the second member are unsecured and is moved to a second position ( 60 B) by securement of the first member with the second member, and wherein the flexing portion exerts a biasing force on the free end urging it towards the first position when the first member and second member are secured together.
  15. 15 . The connector of claim 10 wherein the first pair of sidewall sections ( 54 ) are disposed between the second pair of sidewall sections ( 62 ) when the first member and the second member are secured together.
  16. 16 . The connector of claim 10 wherein the at least one first engagement surface comprises a plurality of first engagement surfaces ( 26 ) and each one of the pair of first sidewall sections ( 54 ) has at least one of the plurality of first engagement surfaces ( 26 ) disposed thereon, and wherein the at least one second engagement surface comprises a plurality of second engagement surfaces ( 28 ), each of the second engagement surfaces being engageable with a respective one of the first engagement surfaces, and wherein each one of the pair of second sidewall sections ( 62 ) has at least one of the plurality of second engagement surfaces ( 28 ) disposed thereon.
  17. 17 . The connector of claim 16 wherein the plurality of first engagement surfaces defines at least four points of engagement ( 27 ) with the plurality of second engagement surfaces, and wherein, the four points of engagement are circumferentially distributed about the partially enclosed volume.
  18. 18 . The connector of claim 17 wherein each of the second pair of sidewall sections ( 64 ) comprises a pair of legs ( 68 ), each leg of the second pair of sidewall sections having at least one of the plurality of second engagement surfaces ( 28 ) disposed thereon.
  19. 19 . A connector assembly ( 120 ) comprising: the connector ( 20 ) of claim 1 ; and a patch base member ( 90 ); wherein the first member has at least one retention member ( 86 ) adapted to engage the patch base member and thereby secure the first member to the patch base member.
  20. 20 . The connector assembly of claim 19 wherein the patch base member comprises: at least one first guide element ( 92 ) which is engageable with the first member ( 22 ) to position the first member in a predefined position along a first axis ( 70 ) when the first member is secured to the patch base member; at least one second guide element ( 94 ) which is engageable with the analyte sensor ( 32 ) to position the analyte sensor in a predefined position along the first axis ( 70 ) and a second axis ( 72 ) perpendicular to the first axis, and at least one third guide element ( 96 ) which is engageable with a substrate ( 35 ) of the electrical circuit member ( 34 ) to position the electrical circuit member in a predefined position along the first and second axes ( 70 , 72 ).

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority to PCT application number PCT/US2023/069867 filed Jul. 10, 2023. The full disclosure of the PCT application number PCT/US2023/069867 is incorporated by reference herein. BACKGROUND The present disclosure relates to sensor connectors and, more particularly, to sensor connectors that can be used with a flexible electrical circuit member board (PCB). The use of a sensor system together with an electronics patch for monitoring an analyte concentration in a body fluid, such as for monitoring a blood glucose level or other analyte is known in the art. Such applications may be employed in both home health care and professional care settings. Such monitoring of analyte concentrations plays an important role in the prevention and treatment of various diseases. For example, blood glucose monitoring is valuable in the treatment and management of diabetes. Recently, continuous measurement of glucose in an interstitial fluid (often referred to as continuous glucose monitoring or CGM) has become increasingly popular. In such a CGM system, a transcutaneous sensor having an in vivo sensor region positioned in the tissue of a patient where it is exposed to interstitial fluid. Such sensors can be used to convert glucose into an electrical charge using an enzyme, e.g., glucose oxidase, to generate a measurable electrical charge that is related to the glucose concentration and used to determine the glucose concentration. While the in vivo sensor region of such a sensor is implanted below the surface of the skin, an ex vivo portion of the sensor typically extends to a position outside of the body of the patient where it can be connected to an electronics unit. Such an electronics unit can be used to control the operation of the sensor and evaluate or process the data received from the sensor. An external housing, often referred to as a body mount or patch, may be used to house and mount the electronics unit to the skin of the patient on the exterior of the body of the patient. Such systems may include flexible electrical circuit member. Examples of such flexible electrical circuit member or flexible electrical circuit boards are described in U.S. Pub. No. 2020/0029902 A1 and U.S. Pat. No. 11,103,166 B2, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. When assembling such systems, connections between the various components will generally need to be established. Examples of known methods for establishing such connections are described in U.S. Pat. No. 11,197,624 B2; U.S. Pub. No. 2020/0015749 A1; U.S. Pat. No. 10,413,183 B2; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,482,473; the disclosures of each of which are incorporated herein by reference. Further improvements in such systems remain desirable. SUMMARY The present disclosure describes a connector for an analyte sensor which facilitates a secure attachment to an electrical circuit member. In some embodiments the connector itself acts an electrical conductor to conductively couple the sensor with the electrical circuit member. A non-limiting list of several embodiments is provided below. Embodiment 1. A connector (20) for securing an analyte sensor (32) to an electrical circuit member (34), the connector comprising: a first member (22) having at least one first engagement surface (26); a second member (24) having at least one second engagement surface (28), the first member and the second member being securable together wherein the at least one first engagement surface engages the at least one second engagement surface when the first member and the second member are secured together; and a biasing member (30) coupled with one of the first member and the second member wherein, when the first member and the second member are secured together, the biasing member exerts a biasing force forcing the at least one first engagement surface into contact with the at least one second engagement surface and is also adapted to bias the analyte sensor (32) into engagement with the electrical circuit member (34). Embodiment 2. The connector of embodiment 1 wherein the first member is conductively coupled with the second member when the first member and the second member are secured together. Embodiment 3. The connector of embodiment 1 wherein contact between the at least one first engagement surface and the at least one second engagement surface conductively couples the first member and the second member. Embodiment 4. The connector of embodiment 1 wherein the first member has a first contact member (36) adapted to contact one of the electrical circuit member and the analyte sensor, the second member having a second contact member (38) adapted to contact the other one of the electrical circuit member and the analyte sensor. Embodiment 5. The connector of embodiment 4 wherein the first contact member (36) is adapted to conductively engage a first contact surface (40) on one of the analyte sensor and the electrical circuit member,