Destructive Battery Closure Mechanism for Single-Use Medical Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
Disposable devices, particularly medical ones, do not prevent battery recharging or replacement, allowing for potential reuse and posing environmental hazards due to batteries being discarded with the devices, which should be disposed of separately.
Innovation Solution
A battery closure mechanism that secures batteries to a support with lead wires, where removing a spring-loaded opposing support severs the lead wires, preventing reconnection and allowing batteries to be removed and disposed of separately from the device.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If batteries are secured to the battery support to ensure single-use enforcement, then device reliability is improved, but device complexity increases due to the destructive connection mechanism
Solution Approach 1:
The battery lead wires are pre-attached to the battery support in a secured state before the device is used. The destructive connection mechanism is pre-configured so that when the battery support is removed, the lead wires are automatically severed, preventing any future reconnection. This preliminary securing action ensures single-use enforcement without requiring complex active control systems during operation.
2Ease of operation
If the battery support is designed to be removable for environmental disposal, then ease of operation is improved, but reliability deteriorates due to potential reconnection risks
Solution Approach 1:
The removable battery support design, which initially seems to create a reconnection risk, is actually converted into a benefit through the destructive connection mechanism. When the battery support is removed for environmental disposal, the lead wires are automatically severed, ensuring that no reconnection is possible. The act of removal itself, rather than being a vulnerability, becomes the mechanism that guarantees single-use enforcement.
3Reliability
If a destructive connection mechanism is used to sever lead wires upon battery support removal, then reliability is improved by preventing reconnection, but device complexity increases due to the additional mechanism
Solution Approach 1:
The battery support and lead wire connection are segmented into separate functional components. The battery support holds the batteries and is designed to be removable, while the lead wires are attached to the battery support in such a way that removal of the support automatically severs the wires. This segmentation allows the destructive connection to occur passively through the act of removal itself, without requiring additional active control mechanisms.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Ensures single-use enforcement of disposable devices, enhances patient safety, and facilitates environmentally friendly battery recycling by disabling battery lead wires when the opposing battery support is removed, preventing electrical reconnection and allowing separate disposal of batteries.
Implementation Method 1
the one or more spring-loaded members provide a biasing force that biases the one or more terminals against the one or more activation tabs in place
Data Source
AI summary
An article including: a battery support containing battery lead wires attached to terminals; an opposing battery support attached to the battery support to create a battery closure; one or more batteries having battery contacts in the opposing battery support; and one or more activation tabs; wherein the terminals are attached to spring-loaded members; wherein the one or more activation tabs are spaced between the terminals and the battery contacts; wherein the spring-loaded members provide a biasing force that biases the terminals against the activation tabs keeping the one or more activation tabs in place in either a first position or a second position of the opposing battery support; wherein the opposing battery support is securely connected to the battery support in both the first position and the second position; and wherein the biasing force is greater in the second position than in the first position.