Tamper-Proof Battery Enclosure for Disposable Neurostimulators
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Solution Overview
Problem
Disposable medical devices, such as electronic neurostimulators, lack effective tamper-proof mechanisms to prevent unauthorized access and reuse, necessitating a solution that ensures secure operation and easy disablement for disposal.
Innovation Solution
A tamper-proof battery enclosure with a plastic casing featuring an integral cover with weak portions that break upon sufficient force application, creating an aperture for access, and a metal retaining clip that deforms upon removal, ensuring the device cannot be reused, combined with a flexible insulative substrate that damages upon breakage to interrupt electrical pathways.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the casing is made fully intact and secure, then tamper-proof protection is improved, but access to interior components becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The casing is segmented into a main body and a removable cover connected by hinge portions. The cover can be separated from the main body to provide access to interior components while maintaining security during normal operation. This segmentation allows the device to transition between a secure closed state and an accessible open state.
Solution Approach 2:
The hinge portions are pre-designed with predetermined break points that will fail under excessive force or tampering attempts. This preliminary design ensures that any unauthorized opening attempt will permanently damage the hinge, preventing reuse and maintaining security through destructive failure modes.
2Ease of manufacture
If the device is designed for easy disposal, then regulatory compliance is improved, but reuse prevention becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The hinge portions are designed to permanently deform or break when the cover is removed, creating an irreversible state that prevents reuse. This preliminary anti-action is built into the hinge structure itself, which will fail in a controlled manner to ensure the device cannot be reassembled and reused after opening.
Solution Approach 2:
The overall device design incorporates disposable characteristics with an integrated casing that becomes permanently compromised upon opening. The electronic components and casing are designed as a single-use unit that is easily disposed of after use, with the broken hinge serving as a physical indicator that the device has been opened and should not be reused.
3Ease of repair
If the cover is made removable for access, then maintenance capability is improved, but security against unauthorized access deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The hinge portions are pre-engineered with weak points that will fail under tampering forces but allow legitimate opening. This preliminary design distinguishes between authorized maintenance (which uses proper tools and techniques) and unauthorized access attempts (which will break the hinge and permanently disable the device).
Solution Approach 2:
The hinge portions have non-uniform structural properties with predetermined weak points located at specific locations. These local variations in strength allow the hinge to flex during legitimate opening while breaking at specific points during forced entry attempts, providing different mechanical responses to different types of opening actions.
Data Source
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AI summary
A neuromuscular stimulator device is described having a plastic casing housing control electronics which are maintained in contact with a power source by a metal retaining clip. The casing includes an integral cover which may be opened by breaking lines of weakness formed in the cover. The cover and clip are of such relative sizes and shapes so that once the cover is open, the clip may only be removed from the casing by deforming the clip. This deformation will ensure that the clip and other components cannot be replaced back in the casing, such that the device cannot easily be reused. In addition, the cover is not replaceable, due to the broken portions of the casing.