Claims for Patent: 5,873,850

Summary for Patent: 5,873,850

Title:	Locking and disfiguring mechanism for an iontophoretic system
Abstract:	An iontophoretic system including a controller and a patch is provided. The controller has a receiving portion including an upper surface and a lower surface, and a member protruding from the lower surface in a ramp-like fashion toward the upper surface and terminating in a top edge near the upper surface. The patch has an interconnection tab including an opening for engaging the protruding member of the controller when the interconnection tab is inserted into the receiving portion of the controller and the opening falls over the top edge of the protruding member.
Inventor(s):	Flower; Ronald J. (Lawrenceville, GA), Huck; Charles M. (Somerville, NJ)
Assignee:	Becton Dickinson and Company (Franklin Lakes, NJ)
Application Number:	08/864,951
Patent Claims:	1. An iontophoretic system comprising: a current controller having an energy source, current regulation circuitry and a patch-receiving portion including an upper surface and a lower surface, and a first member protruding from said lower surface in a ramp-like fashion toward said upper surface and terminating in a top edge near said upper surface; a patch having an interconnection tab including an opening for engaging said first member when said interconnection tab is inserted into said patch-receiving portion of said current controller and said opening falls over said top edge of said first member; an active reservoir; a first electrode in the active reservoir; an electrical interconnector connecting the first electrode to current controller; a return reservoir; a second electrode in the return reservoir; and an electrical interconnector connecting the second electrode to the current controller. 2. The iontophoretic system according to claim 1, wherein said current controller further comprises a second member descending from said upper surface in a ramp-like fashion toward said lower surface and terminating in a bottom edge near said lower surface. 3. The iontophoretic system according to claim 1, wherein said current controller further comprises a plurality of second members, each second member descending from said upper surface in a ramp-like fashion toward said lower surface and terminating in a bottom edge near said lower surface, said second members located on each side of said first member. 4. The iontophoretic system according to claim 1, wherein said interconnection tab permanently deforms when a predetermined amount of force is applied to said interconnection tab to disengage said opening of said interconnection tab from said first member. 5. The iontophoretic system according to claim 1, wherein said first member of said current controller disfigures said interconnection tab of said patch upon removing said interconnection tab from said receiving portion. 6. The iontophoretic system according to claim 5, wherein the disfigurement of said interconnection tab comprises slicing through said opening of said interconnection tab. 7. The iontophoretic system according to claim 5, wherein said interconnection tab has a plurality of electrical connections to electrically connect said patch with said current controller, and the disfigurement of said interconnection tab comprises slicing through at least one of said electrical connections. 8. The iontophoretic system according to claim 1, wherein said first member of said current controller has a rear cutting edge. 9. A method for rendering an iontophoretic patch having an interconnection tab unreusable, said method comprising the steps of: inserting the interconnection tab into a patch-receiving portion of a current controller so an opening of the interconnection tab engages a member protruding from the patch-receiving portion of the current controller; and applying a predetermined amount of force to the sides of the interconnection tab to disengage the opening of the interconnection tab from the protruding member so as to permanently deform the interconnection tab. 10. A method for rendering an iontophoretic patch having an interconnection tab unreusable, said method comprising the steps of: inserting the interconnection tab into a patch-receiving portion of a current controller so an opening of the interconnection tab engages a member protruding from the patch-receiving portion of the current controller; and pulling the interconnection tab out from the patch-receiving portion so as to permanently disfigure the interconnection tab. 11. A method according to claim 10, wherein the protruding member has a rear cutting edge, and in the pulling step, the interconnection tab is pulled through the rear cutting edge.