Claims
- 1. A mechanical limiter device, comprising:
a housing having a slot passing at least partially therearound, the slot forming a plurality of teeth in a side of the housing; a plunger movable within the housing; a biasing mechanism configured to urge the plunger in a proximal direction within the housing; and a contact member extending through the slot in the side of the housing, the contact member being configured to advance past at least one of each of the plurality of teeth in the slot each time the plunger is moved back and forth within the housing.
- 2. The mechanical limiter device of claim 1, wherein the number of times the device can be activated equals the number of pairs of teeth in the slot in the side of the housing.
- 3. The mechanical limiter device of claim 1, wherein the biasing mechanism is a spring.
- 4. The mechanical limiter device of claim 3, wherein the contact member is an end of the spring.
- 5. The mechanical limiter device of claim 3, wherein the spring is receivable into the housing through a side channel in the housing.
- 6. The mechanical limiter device of claim 1, wherein the housing comprises:
separate first and second portions, and wherein the slot is formed in a space between the first and second portions of the housing.
- 7. The mechanical limiter device of claim 1, wherein the housing is made of a non-conducting material.
- 8. The mechanical limiter device of claim 6, wherein the first and second portions of the housing are off-set injection molded from one another.
- 9. The mechanical limiter device of claim 1, wherein the housing is received onto a pair of carrier pins.
- 10. The mechanical limiter device of claim 5, wherein the housing is received onto a pair of carrier pins, and wherein one of the contact pins is receivable over the side channel in the housing.
- 11. The mechanical limiter device of claim 9, wherein each of the pair of carrier pins are barbed.
- 12. The mechanical limiter device of claim 9, wherein each of the pair of carrier pins are mounted onto a printed circuit board.
- 13. The mechanical limiter device of claim 1, wherein a distal end of the plunger protrudes through an opening in the distal end of the housing, and wherein the distal end of the plunger is barbed.
- 14. The mechanical limiter device of claim 1, wherein the housing is made of plastic.
- 15. The mechanical limiter device of claim 1, wherein the teeth are coated with an electrically conducting material.
- 16. The mechanical limiter device of claim 1, further comprising:
a printed circuit board extending therefrom, wherein the housing of the device is formed integral to the printed circuit board.
- 17. The mechanical limiter device of claim 16, further comprising:
a flex circuit mounted onto the printed circuit board.
- 18. The mechanical limiter device of claim 1, wherein the housing comprises:
an inner portion made of an electrically non-conducting material; and an outer portion made of an electrically conducting material.
- 19. The mechanical limiter of claim 18, wherein the slot in the housing is formed by the outer portion of the housing.
- 20. The mechanical limiter device of claim 18, wherein the outer portion of the housing further comprises:
a tab disposed at the distal end of the housing, the tab being configured to hold the distal end of the biasing mechanism.
- 21. The mechanical limiter device of claim 18, further comprising:
a contact pin disposed within the housing, wherein the contact member touches the contact pin when the contact member has advanced past each of the plurality of teeth in the slot.
- 22. The mechanical limiter device of claim 21, wherein the contact pin is held in position by deformable tabs on the inner portion of the housing.
- 23. The mechanical limiter device of claim 18, further comprising:
a cut-out section near the distal end of the outer portion of the housing, the cut-out section dimensioned to receive a distal end of a spring therein, wherein the proximal end of the spring is the contact member.
- 24. The mechanical limiter device of claim 18, wherein a proximal end of the housing has a chamfered edge.
- 25. The mechanical limiter device of claim 1, further comprising:
a printed circuit board extending therefrom, wherein the proximal end of the plunger comprises an electrically conductive material, and wherein the proximal end of the plunger is in contact with the printed circuit board prior to distally advancing the plunger, and wherein the proximal end of the plunger is not in contact with the printed circuit board after the plunger has been distally advanced.
- 26. The mechanical limiter device of claim 1, further comprising: a contact pin disposed on the printed circuit board, wherein the contact member touches the contact pin when the contact member has advanced past all of the plurality of teeth in the slot.
- 27. A method of limiting the number of uses of an electrical device, comprising:
advancing a biased plunger into a housing of a mechanical limiter device each time the electrical device is activated, and allowing the biased plunger to retract from the housing each time the electrical device is de-activated, wherein the mechanical limiter device has a contact member extending through a slot in the side of the housing, the slot forming a series of teeth, and wherein the contact member is configured to advance past at least one of each of the plurality of teeth in the slot each time the plunger is moved back and forth within the housing.
- 28. The method of claim 27, wherein the electrical device is a medical device.
- 29. The method of claim 27, wherein movement of the plunger back and forth within the housing causes the contact member to advance into contact with a contact pin, thereby either completing or shorting out, or changing the inductance, resistance or capacitance of an electrical circuit.
- 30. A method of forming a mechanical limiter device, comprising:
forming a first portion of a housing; forming a second portion of the housing; assembling the first and second portions of the housing together; inserting a spring into the housing; and inserting a plunger into the housing, the plunger being received within the spring.
- 31. The method of claim 30, wherein the first and second portions of the housing are injection molded simultaneously in an offset injection molding process.
- 32. The method of claim 30, wherein assembling the first and second portions of the housing together comprises:
sliding the first and second portions of the housing onto a pair of carrier pins.
- 33. The method of claim 32, wherein the carrier pins extend from a printed circuit board.
- 34. The mechanical limiter device of claim 1, wherein movement of the contacting member is used to open a circuit.
- 35. The mechanical limiter device of claim 1, wherein movement of the contacting member is used to close a circuit.
- 36. The mechanical limiter device of claim 1, wherein movement of the contacting member is used to change the inductance, capacitance or resistance of an electrical circuit.
- 37. The mechanical limiter device of claim 3, wherein the spring is receivable into the proximal end of the housing.
- 38. The mechanical limiter device of claim 3, wherein the spring is receivable into the distal end of the housing.
- 39. The mechanical limiter device of claim 3, wherein the spring is receivable into the side of the housing.
- 40. The method of claim 30, wherein the inner portion of the housing is formed by injection molding, and wherein the outer portion of the device is formed from metal that is snap fit over the inner portion of the housing.
- 41. The method of claim 40, further comprising:
installing the mechanical limiter device onto a printed circuit board.
RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. Section 119 to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/434,297 entitled Mechanical Use Limitation Switch and filed on Dec. 17, 2002; and is a Continuation-in-Part of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/739,252, filed on Dec. 17, 2003, the full disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety for all purposes.
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60434297 |
Dec 2002 |
US |
Continuation in Parts (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
10739252 |
Dec 2003 |
US |
Child |
10819906 |
Apr 2004 |
US |