Fiber Optic Security Strap with Interlocking Links
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing body-worn tracking devices face challenges in creating a secure, yet comfortable and reusable strap that is resistant to accidental removal or tampering, particularly with household tools or in moments of force, while maintaining flexibility and avoiding damage.
Innovation Solution
A strap design incorporating thin elongated flexible sheets with interlocking links and a fiber optic cable, which forms a protected channel to enhance robustness and detect tampering, and is covered with a protective material to prevent damage and improve ergonomics.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the strap is made robust and rigid to prevent cutting and tampering, then security and resistance to removal are improved, but flexibility and comfort deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The strap is divided into multiple interconnected rigid segments or links that form a flexible chain-like structure. Each link provides cutting resistance while the connections between links enable the strap to bend and conform to the wearer's limb, resolving the contradiction between rigidity for security and flexibility for comfort.
Solution Approach 2:
The strap incorporates flexible protective coverings or sheaths over the rigid structural elements. These flexible outer layers maintain the structural integrity and cutting resistance of the internal rigid components while providing the necessary flexibility and comfort for wearable application.
2Reliability
If the strap is made robust and rigid to prevent accidental breaking, then reliability is improved, but weight and flexibility deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The strap structure applies reinforcement and rigidity only in specific local areas where cutting and breaking risks are highest, such as at the connection points and along the fiber optic cable path. The majority of the strap maintains a lighter, more flexible construction, achieving reliability without excessive weight.
Solution Approach 2:
The strap utilizes composite construction combining lightweight high-strength materials (such as aramid fibers or carbon fiber-reinforced polymers) that provide exceptional strength-to-weight ratio. This allows the strap to resist accidental breaking and cutting while maintaining low weight and flexibility.
3Reliability
If the fiber optic cable is exposed to detect tampering, then tamper detection capability is improved, but the strap becomes more vulnerable to damage and less flexible
Solution Approach 1:
The fiber optic cable is nested within a protected channel or conduit that is integrated into the strap structure. The cable is surrounded by flexible protective layers and positioned within the interlinked segments, allowing tamper detection while shielding the cable from physical damage and maintaining strap flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
A flexible protective sheath or coating acts as an intermediary layer between the fiber optic cable and the external environment. This intermediate layer protects the cable from cutting and physical damage while allowing the cable to function for tamper detection, and maintains the overall flexibility of the strap.
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
The strap is robust against cutting with common tools, maintains flexibility, and allows for easy reuse, while the fiber optic cable effectively detects tampering, ensuring secure attachment to the wearer's limb.
Implementation Method 1
The device also includes a fiber optic cable to detect tampering
Data Source
Figure 1A
Figure 1B~1C
Figure 1D~1E
AI summary
A tracking device, including a communication interface encased in a encasement with a receptacle on two opposite sides of the encasement, a strap, including one or more thin elongated flexible sheets, links coupled to one side of the one or more thin elongated flexible sheets, a fiber optic cable extending from a first end of the one or more thin elongated flexible sheets to a second end of the one or more thin elongated flexible sheets, a head connected to each end of the one or more thin elongated flexible sheets; wherein the heads are configured to fit into the receptacles and lock the strap in the receptacles thus preventing the strap from sliding out of the receptacles; and wherein the communication interface is configured to detect tampering with the strap by transmitting an optical signal through the fiber optic cable.