Patents
US 11464421 B2: Optical connector for optically connecting a proximal optical fiber to the distal optical fiber of a guidewire
- Granted
- 2022-10-11
- Filed
- 2019-07-26 application 16523121
- Type
- Utility · 20 claims
- Elsewhere
- Google Patents ↗ · USPTO patent document ↗ · USPTO Patent Center record ↗
Abstract
A guidewire system comprises a guidewire supporting a distal ferrule in the proximal end of a guidewire lumen. The distal ferrule has a ferrule opening that is sized to snuggly receive the proximal end of a distal optical fiber with a distal portion of the distal optical fiber extending into the guidewire lumen. However, the proximal end of the distal optical fiber only occupies a distal portion of the opening in the distal ferrule, leaving a proximal portion of that opening unoccupied. That way, the distal end of a proximal optical fiber can be received into the unoccupied proximal portion of the opening in the distal ferrule to optically connect to the distal optical fiber. Having the proximal and distal optical fibers coaxially aligned in a common opening in a ferrule received in a guidewire ensures that the optical fibers are optically connected to each other in a precise manner so that light can be transmitted along them with minimal losses.
Source: PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 (ipg221011.xml).
Assignees
| Assignee | Type | Place | Also on furp.org | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Region Manufacturing, Inc. 30 patents | US company or organization | Chaska, MN | LAKE REGION MANUFACTURING, INC. State business registration EXACT high confidence: identical full name and state | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
Inventors
| Inventor | Place | Patents | Person page | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Michael Hayes | Cork, IE | 14 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
CPC categories
| Subclass | Category | First group | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| A61B | Diagnosis; surgery; identification | A61B5/065 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
Cooperative Patent Classification, as currently assigned (one row per subclass).
Assignments and security interests
| Recorded | What | From | To | Reel/frame | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-09-10 | Security interest Security interest Security interest | GREATBATCH LTD. signed 2021-09-02 ELECTROCHEM SOLUTIONS, INC. signed 2021-09-02 LAKE REGION MEDICAL, INC. signed 2021-09-02 LAKE REGION MANUFACTURING, INC. signed 2021-09-02 | WELLS FARGO BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT ROANOKE, VA | 57468/56 | PASDL, file of 2026-10-15 |
| 2019-07-26 | Assignment Assignment of assignor's interest | HAYES, JOHN MICHAEL signed 2019-07-23 | LAKE REGION MANUFACTURING, INC. CHASKA, MN | 49871/137 | ECORSEXC, file of 2026-09-25 |
Documents recorded with the USPTO Assignment Recordation Branch that list this patent. A security interest is a lender’s claim on the patent as collateral; a release ends it.
USPTO bulk data: PatentsView granted patents, disambiguated (PVGPATDIS) for patents, assignees, inventors, places and CPC categories; the USPTO Patent Assignment Dataset (ECORSEXC) for assignments and security interests. Patents filed in the last 20 years. No claims or full text. Links to other records are by name (and state): EXACT means the identical full name and state; FUZZY means a looser name match, with the confidence shown.