Implantable plug connector

The invention relates to an implantable plug connector, comprising: an inner portion comprising a number of contact surfaces which are embedded in at least one surface of a first substrate, an outer portion comprising a number of contact surfaces which are embedded in at least one surface of a second substrate, wherein the outer portion defines a space, in which the inner portion can be received in a mounting state, wherein, in a pre-mounting state, the contact surfaces are set back with respect to the surface of the respective substrate, and wherein, in a mounting state, the inner portion is pressed against the outer portion such that mutually corresponding contact surfaces come into contact with each other.

The abstract as published by the patent office, from US2017237199A1. It describes the invention; it is not a statement of what is protected.

• Interface and electrodes

  Electrodes and arrays

• Packaging

  Packaging and hermeticity · Connectors and feedthroughs

What the filing appears to be about, read by published rules from its title, abstract and classification codes (A61N1/05, A61N1/375, H01R13/22, H01R13/5224, H01R13/639). The claims define what a patent protects, and they are not read here.

Interface and electrodes

Everything downstream works with what the contacts pick up. Their number, size and distance from the neurons set the ceiling on the signal. The problem behind it: more contacts, closer to neurons, that still record after years in tissue that reacts to them.

Packaging

Body fluid destroys unprotected electronics. An implant meant to last has to stay sealed for years while passing every channel through its wall. The problem behind it: a seal that lasts as long as the patient needs it, at a size that leaves room for the channels.

Why the layer matters to the field, not a judgement of this filing. A patent family shows that protection was sought. It does not show that the technology was built, is used in a product, or works in people. The whole stack

One invention, published 10 times in 6 offices. Each publication opens in Espacenet.

• GermanyDE102014115859A14 May 2016
• International (PCT)a route to several countries, not a countryWO2016066815A16 May 2016
• AustraliaAU2015340498A115 Jun 2017AU2015340498B29 Apr 2020
• United StatesUS2017237199A117 Aug 2017US10218111B226 Feb 2019 · grant
• European Patent Officea route to several countries, not a countryEP3213376A16 Sep 2017EP3213376B126 Sep 2018 · grant
• ChinaCN107408776A28 Nov 2017CN107408776B15 Oct 2019 · grant

1. 30 Oct 2014First filingEarliest priority, at Germany. The family is counted in this year.
2. 30 Oct 2015ApplicationsFiled at International (PCT), Australia, European Patent Office, China.
3. 4 May 2016First publicationDE102014115859A1, Germany.
4. 28 Apr 2017ApplicationFiled at United States.
5. 22 Jun 2017Owner recordedAustralia, on AU2015340498A1: assignment before grant (sect. 113); owner named: CORTEC GMBH.
6. 25 Aug 2017Owner recordedUnited States, on US2017237199A1: assignment; owner named: CORTECH GMBH, GERMANY.
7. 20 Sep 2017Owner recordedUnited States, on US2017237199A1: assignment; owner named: CORTEC GMBH, GERMANY.
8. 20 Dec 2017Owner recordedEuropean Patent Office, on EP3213376A1: party data changed (applicant data changed or rights of an application transferred); owner named: CORTECH GMBH.
9. 3 Jan 2018Owner recordedEuropean Patent Office, on EP3213376A1: party data changed (applicant data changed or rights of an application transferred); owner named: CORTEC GMBH.
10. 26 Sep 2018Grant publishedEP3213376B1, European Patent Office.
11. 7 Nov 2018Office recordGermany, on DE102014115859A1: application withdrawn or ip right abandoned.
12. 26 Feb 2019Grant publishedUS10218111B2, United States.
13. 1 Apr 2019Owner recordedEuropean Patent Office, on EP3213376A1: reference to a national code; owner named: CORTEC GMBH, DE.
14. 15 Oct 2019Grant publishedCN107408776B, China.
15. 23 May 2024Office recordAustralia, on AU2015340498A1: patent ceased section 143(a) (annual fees not paid) or expired.
16. 31 Dec 2024Office recordEuropean Patent Office, on EP3213376A1: lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo] (AL, AT, BE, BG, CH, CY, CZ, DK, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HR, HU, IE, IS, IT, LT, LU, LV, MC, MK, MT, NL, NO, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SI, SK, SM, TR).

Dates as the offices published them. Office records are in the offices' own words and are a selection: refusals, lapses and withdrawals, and records that name an owner. Each concerns one member of the family, not the family as a whole, and another member in the same office may stand. Whether a patent is in force today is not assessed.

Organisation

CorTec · 27 families identified

• Bibliographic data, family members and office records: European Patent Office, Open Patent Services (the DOCDB and INPADOC databases), read 7 Oct 2026.
• The record itself, with its claims and description: US2017237199A1 in Espacenet
• Counted as a BCI patent family: classified A61N1/05 (implantable electrodes); filed by 柯泰克股份有限公司, an organisation already in the graph; a hardware layer of the stack, filed by a company that builds interfaces. How families are found and judged