How firmly the plug is held by the receptacle is referred to as retention force and is a controllable characteristic. Any looseness in the connection may cause intermittent contact, resulting in unwanted noise or poor signal quality which may make diagnosis or therapy difficult, if not impossible. Medical cables require a positive connection between the plug and receptacle. Above that load, the connector will disconnect without causing harm to the patient, device or cable assembly. By carefully designing the locking mechanism, the connector will be held securely in the connected condition until the specified axial force is applied. This design requires that a minimum retention force be established for the locked connector over which the plug will disconnect. The plug (red feature) which will allow safeĭisconnection above a pre-established load In some instances, it is equally desirable for the connector to safely disconnect if axial force is applied to the cable such as when it is caught in a moving bed. It is often desirable for a medical cable assembly, particularly those that connect between a patient and a stationary device, to lock to avoid unintended disconnection. The hood should allow the latch to be depressed but should also prevent the latch from being bent upwards and breaking off. One solution to improve the service life of an RJ connector is to overmold the body and include a flexible hood. Once the latch breaks, the plug is poorly retained by the receptacle and the cable requires replacement. While some RJ plugs are rated for up to 1,000 mating cycles, the latch is typically exposed and easily broken. Prevent the latch mechanism from breaking offĪn example of a locking connector used in medical devices is the Registered Jack, or more commonly called the “RJ” connector. While this type of connection met the requirement that the cable not be disconnected unintentionally, they were difficult for clinical users to connect and disconnect and provided no safety disconnect feature which is often desirable for medical applications.

Once screwed down to the receptacle, this connector would not come loose inadvertently. These “MS” (mil-spec) metal connectors had knurled threaded couplers. Each offers advantages and disadvantages and design and manufacturing challenges.Įarly medical cable assemblies used connectors adopted from military and industrial applications. Medical connectors can be divided into two broad groups based on how they are retained by the devices to which they are connected: locking – also referred to as latching – and non-locking.

Usb to molex connector