Ms. Nancy Cowles, the director of the Kids in Danger Organization, requested our team to create a proof of concept for a new button-battery casing—to replace those currently found in many household items—that is more secure and incorporates child-resistant features. Most, if not all, toys on the market must comply with strict regulatory guidelines regarding battery casings in order to prevent children from injuring themselves. However, current casings for button batteries on household items do not have to follow the same guidelines since they are not technically categorized as "toys". Examples of such items include remotes, calculators, and key fobs, and oftentimes their casings are flimsy and not secure from children, meaning the contained button batteries can be easily ingested by children. Ingested button batteries can cause a wide range of problems due to their toxicity and their risk as a choking hazard and electric shock hazard.
We interviewed three parents with children between the ages of three and seven to better understand how children interact with household items and toys. We then built two physical mockups and one CAD mockup of alternative design concepts. We tested the physical mockups with six adults users to assess the security and durability of the designs. We also performed Finite Mode and Effects Analysis on the CAD mockup. Based on the results of those tests, we further developed the CAD mockup as our final prototype and 3D printed the CAD mockup as a physical proof of concept.
The Pop-out Tray is a tray that can be installed in various household items to durably secure button batteries and prevent young children from interacting and potentially ingesting them. In this design, the Pop-out Tray is installed in a fairy light LED remote. However, this tray's design can be applied to other household items as well; the fairy light LED remote was simply selected as an example item in which the Pop-out Tray can be implemented. The Pop-out Tray opens by having the user insert a small, thin object, such as a paperclip, safety pin, or the like, into a small opening. This mechanism functions similarly to a SIM-card opener. The tray then pops out, allowing the user to change or remove the button battery as needed. The Pop-out Tray satisfies three needs that existing products do not: child-resistant, seamless, convenient.
Figure 1: Fairy Light LED Remote with Improved Casing
In the future, we hope to slim our design down to make it less expensive to manufacture, integrate metal components, incorporate different compartment types, and adapt our battery compartment to fit more than one button battery.