Test Strip Encoding via Segmented Contact Pairs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing test strip systems face challenges in cost-effectively encoding information such as calibration codes, regional coding, product identification, and customer information onto test strips after manufacture, while ensuring reliable and robust reading by the test meter, especially when strip port connector pins may be damaged.
Innovation Solution
The system includes a strip port connector with additional pins that read conductive patterns, conductive patterns designed for safe encoding, and meter device intelligence to check for damaged pins, along with notching and patterning methods to increase encoded configurations, allowing the meter to confirm contact integrity and read encoded information reliably.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional single-contact strip port connectors are used, then the device structure is simple, but the reliability of reading encoded information is poor when contacts are damaged
Solution Approach 1:
The strip port connector is segmented into multiple independent contact pairs (first pair for encoding information, second pair for quality control). Each pair operates independently, allowing the system to read encoded information reliably even when one pair is damaged, thus improving reliability without requiring a completely complex new structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The second pair of contacts acts as an intermediary quality control mechanism. By testing electrical continuity through this separate pair, the system can detect damaged contacts before they affect the primary encoding reading function, providing a protective intermediary layer that enhances overall reliability.
2Loss of information
If encoding information is added to test strips, then product information capability is improved, but the manufacturing process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of manufacturing complex physical features on the test strip to encode information, the system uses simple conductive patterns that can be easily printed or applied during standard manufacturing. The encoding is achieved through electrical connectivity patterns rather than complex physical structures, maintaining ease of manufacture while providing rich information capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The encoding system uses changes in electrical parameters (conductivity, connectivity patterns) rather than complex physical or chemical changes. This allows information to be encoded through simple variations in conductive trace patterns that can be easily manufactured using existing printing or deposition techniques, avoiding manufacturing complexity while maximizing information capability.
3Reliability
If multiple contact pairs are used in the strip port connector, then the robustness against damaged contacts is improved, but the connector complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The connector is divided into functionally independent contact pairs, each handling specific tasks (encoding reading vs. quality control). This segmentation allows the system to tolerate damage in one pair while maintaining functionality through the other, improving robustness without requiring a completely complex redesign of the entire connector.
Solution Approach 2:
Each contact pair is designed to be multi-functional, serving both as part of the electrical connection system and as a diagnostic element. The universal design allows the same basic contact structure to fulfill multiple roles, reducing overall complexity while achieving enhanced robustness through functional redundancy.
Data Source
AI summary
A test meter for receiving a test strip comprises:(a) a housing;(b) electronic circuitry disposed within the housing and(c) a strip port connector connected to the electronic circuitry and extending to an opening in the housing, said strip port connector connecting the electronic circuitry with a received test strip. The strip port connector contains a pair of top and bottom contacts, said top and bottom contacts having a proximal end and a distal end and a central contact portion, the top and bottom contacts of the pair are transversely aligned with one another; and the distal ends of the top and bottom contacts are separated or separable from one another by insertion of a test strip between the opposed contacts. The contacts and the meter are adapted to permit detection of faulty contacts and/or coding associated with an inserted test strip.