CN103134440A - Circuit board curvature detection device and method - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides a circuit board curvature detection device, comprising: a circuit board; a light conductor unit arranged on the circuit board and having a first light medium, a second light medium, a transmitting end and a receiving end; a light emitter for emitting a light beam at the emitting end; and a light receiver for detecting whether the receiving end receives the light, and generating a warning signal when the receiving end does not receive the light. The invention can detect whether the bending degree of the circuit board exceeds the critical bending angle.

Description

Circuit board curvature detection device and method

technical field

The invention mainly relates to a circuit board curvature detection device, in particular to a circuit board curvature detection device with a photoconductor unit.

Background technique

Currently, electronic devices such as smartphones, tablet computers or personal digital assistants can be charged by wireless charging devices. In general, wireless charging devices provide magnetic energy through inductive components (for example, coils) to perform the charging process, wherein the electronic equipment being charged receives the magnetic energy supplied by the wireless charging device through inductive components, and converts the magnetic energy into AC power, and then Furthermore, by means of a rectifying component and the like, power is provided to the electronic equipment to be charged.

In addition, when a wireless charging device charges an electronic device, it needs to use the electromagnetic induction generated by the inductive component, so the inductive component of the wireless charging device and the inductive component of the electronic device being charged must be as close and aligned as possible, so that Improve charging efficiency. However, if the electronic device being charged is a flexible circuit board device or a flexible circuit board such as electronic paper, it may be that some induction components on the circuit board may not be placed flat or bent. The relative distance from the wireless charging device changes, which reduces the charging efficiency, resulting in a longer charging time or even failure to charge.

Contents of the invention

In order to solve the above problems, a circuit board curvature detection device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a circuit board; a photoconductor unit, which is arranged on the above circuit board, and has a transmitting end and a receiving end; An optical transmitter, used to emit a light at the above-mentioned transmitting end; and an optical receiver, detecting whether the above-mentioned receiving end receives the above-mentioned light, and when the above-mentioned light is not received, a warning signal is generated, wherein when the circuit board When a bending degree exceeds a critical bending angle, the photoconductor unit cannot transmit the light.

A method for detecting curvature of a circuit board according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: setting a photoconductor unit to a circuit board; emitting a light at an emitting end of the photoconductor unit; and detecting the curvature of the photoconductor unit Whether a receiving end has received the above-mentioned light, and if it does not receive the above-mentioned light, it will generate a warning signal, wherein when a bending degree of the circuit board exceeds a critical bending angle, the above-mentioned photoconductor unit cannot transmit the above-mentioned light.

The invention can detect whether the bending degree of the circuit board exceeds the critical bending angle.

Description of drawings

By reading the following detailed description and examples with accompanying drawings, the disclosure of the present invention can be more fully understood, as follows:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a circuit board bending detection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2A is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the photoconductor unit 110-1.

FIG. 2B is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the photoconductor unit 110 - 1 when it is bent.

FIG. 3 shows a circuit board curvature detection device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a method embodiment of the circuit board curvature detection device shown in FIG. 3 according to the present invention.

Explanation of main reference signs:

100, 300～circuit board;

110-1, 110-2, 310～photoconductor unit;

120, 320～wireless charging unit;

130, 330～external wireless charging device;

L ~ light;

m1, m2～optical medium;

N, N'～dotted line, normal line;

Rx, Rx-1, Rx-2～optical receiver;

Tx, Tx-1, Tx-2～optical transmitter;

θ, θ ₁ ~ incident angle;

θ ₂ ～refraction angle;

Φ～curvature.

Detailed ways

The following description shows a number of embodiments that can be accomplished by means of the present invention. Its description is used to illustrate the basic concept of the present invention and does not have a limiting meaning. The scope of the invention is best defined in the appended claims.

FIG. 1 shows a circuit board curvature detection device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The circuit board curvature detection device includes a circuit board 100, a photoconductor unit 110-1, a phototransmitter Tx-1, a photoreceiver Rx-1, a photoconductor unit 110-2, a phototransmitter Tx-2, and a photoreceiver Rx -2 and a wireless charging unit 120. The circuit board 100 is usually a flexible circuit device, such as a flexible circuit board or electronic paper.

The photoconductor unit 110-1 is disposed on the circuit board 100 in the longitudinal direction (for example, the Y direction), and the photoconductor unit 110-2 is disposed on the circuit board 100 in the transverse direction (for example, the X direction), so as to respectively detect two different The curvature of the direction. The light transmitter Tx-1 is disposed at one end of the photoconductor unit 110-1, which may be referred to as a transmitting end. The light receiver Rx-1 is disposed at the other end of the photoconductor unit 110-1, which can be referred to as a receiving end. Similarly, the light transmitter Tx-2 is disposed at one end of the photoconductor unit 110-2, and the light receiver Rx-2 is disposed at the other end of the photoconductor unit 110-2. Since the photoconductor unit is too curved, the light cannot be transmitted from one end to the other (detailed reasons will be discussed later), so it can be based on whether the receiver Rx-1 receives the light emitted by the transmitter Tx-1 accordingly. Light, whether the receiver Rx-2 receives the light emitted by the transmitter Tx-2 accordingly to detect whether the curvature in each direction is too large, when the receiver Rx-1 or Rx-2 does not receive the corresponding light Generate a warning signal. In some embodiments, the circuit board 100 can also be provided with a display unit to display information that the bending degree is too large according to the warning signal, or a speaker unit can be provided to emit a warning sound according to the warning signal. According to the above method, the present invention can also detect whether the bending degree of the circuit board exceeds the critical bending angle by bending the photoconductor unit along with the circuit board.

The wireless charging unit 120 is used to receive the electromagnetic signal of the external wireless charging device 130 to provide power to the circuit board 100 , for example to charge the battery of the circuit board 100 or directly serve as power supply. Generally speaking, in order to make the charging more efficient during wireless charging, the wireless charging unit 120 and the wireless charging unit of the external wireless charging device 130 will be kept as close as possible, so they are placed in parallel. Therefore, if the circuit board 100 is bent, the distance between the wireless charging unit 120 and the wireless charging unit part of the external wireless charging device 130 may be relatively long, which may cause incomplete charging or waste power consumption. Therefore, when the receiver Rx-1 or Rx-2 of the present invention does not receive the corresponding light, the generated warning signal can also be a charging stop signal, which is transmitted to the external wireless charging device 130 through the signal transmitting unit. The signal receiving unit, the external charging device 130 then shuts down the charging mechanism according to the received stop charging signal, and no longer sends electromagnetic signals for charging, thereby reducing unnecessary power consumption. In some embodiments, the wireless charging unit 120 can modulate the electromagnetic signal according to the warning signal to transmit a charging stop signal, and the wireless charging unit of the external charging device 130 can shut down the charging mechanism according to the received modulated electromagnetic signal.

In order to understand the present invention more clearly, the following is used to explain the mechanism of the present invention to control the photoconductor to transmit light, and since the photoconductor unit 110-2 and 110-1 function in the same way, in order to simplify the following, only the photoconductor unit 110-1 is used as stands for explanation.

FIG. 2A is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the photoconductor unit 110 - 1 , and the dotted line N in the figure represents the normal line of the interface. The photoconductor unit 110-1 is usually composed of two different optical media, one of which is located inside the photoconductor unit 110-1, and the other optical medium m2 covers the optical medium m1 and is located in the photoconductor unit 110- 1 outer layer. When the light transmitter Tx-1 emits a light L (for example, infrared rays) at the emission end of the photoconductor unit 110-1, and in order to make the light L reflect between the optical medium m1 and the optical medium m2, the optical medium m1 The refractive index n1 of the optical medium needs to be greater than the refractive index n2 of the optical medium m2. By means of the formula critical angle θ _T =sin ^-1 (n2/n1) of total reflection, it can be understood that the light L enters the light when the incident angle θ is greater than the critical angle θ _T Total reflection occurs inside the conductor unit 110 - 1 , so the light L can be transmitted from the transmitting end to the receiving end of the photoconductor unit 110 - 1 . Therefore, the size of the critical angle θ _T can be changed by changing the refractive index n1 of the optical medium m1 and the refractive index n2 of the optical medium m2.

2B is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the photoconductor unit 110 - 1 when it is bent. The dotted line N in the figure represents the normal line of the unbent interface, and the dotted line N′ represents the normal line of the curved interface. As shown in FIG. 2B, when light L enters the interface between the optical medium m1 and the optical medium m2, the incident angle becomes smaller due to the bending of the light conductor unit 110-1 (the incident angle θ becomes the incident angle θ ₁ ). , at this time, if the incident angle θ ₁ is smaller than the critical angle θ _T , according to n ₁ sinθ ₁ =n ₂ sinθ ₂ , it can be known that a refraction with a refraction angle of θ ₂ will occur at the interface of the medium, and then light L will pass through the optical medium m2, and the light L cannot continue to reflect in the optical medium m1 and travel to the other end. It can be seen from this that if the receiving end of the photoconductor unit 110-1 cannot receive the light L emitted by the transmitting end, it may indicate that the curvature of at least one section of the photoconductor unit 110-1 is too large, wherein the degree of curvature is Φ is the angle between the dotted lines N and N′. In addition, it can be seen from the figure that the incident angle θ ₁ is equal to the original incident angle θ minus the curvature Φ (θ-Φ=θ ₁ ), so it can be concluded that when sin ^-1 (n2/n1) > θ-Φ, the light L will be refracted and cannot be transmitted to the receiving end. Therefore, the present invention can control the critical bending angle Φ _T by selecting the refractive index n1 of the optical medium m1 and the refractive index n2 of the optical medium m2 and the incident angle θ, and then according to whether the receiving end of the photoconductor unit 110-1 receives To the ray L determines whether the bending degree Φ exceeds a preset critical bending angle Φ _T . In addition, since the refractive index is inversely proportional to the light frequency, the critical bending angle Φ _T can also be determined by changing the frequency of the light L (for example, selecting light with different wavelengths).

Although the photoconductor unit shown in FIG. 1 is arranged on the circuit board, it can still be arranged on the other side of the circuit board or embedded in the circuit board (for example, the photoconductor unit is arranged on one of the circuit boards by the circuit board manufacturing process technology. layer). And in the above-mentioned embodiment, although the photoconductor units 110-1 and 110-2 are arranged on the circuit board 100 in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction respectively, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the direction of the curvature can still be detected according to the desired direction. Arrange photoconductor units in any direction, in any shape or quantity to suit your needs. In some embodiments of the present invention, the photoconductor units 110-1 and 110-2 can be a kind of optical fiber, and the light L can be a kind of infrared ray.

FIG. 3 shows a circuit board curvature detection device according to another embodiment of the present invention. The circuit board curvature detection device in this embodiment includes a circuit board 300 , a photoconductor unit 310 , a light transmitter Tx, a light receiver Rx and a wireless charging unit 320 . The circuit board 300 is usually a flexible circuit device, such as a flexible circuit board or electronic paper. Wherein the photoconductor unit 310 is also the same as the first embodiment. When the bending is too large, it will cause the light to be unable to be transmitted from one end to the other end, so it can be based on whether the receiver Rx receives the light emitted by the transmitter Tx accordingly. , to detect whether the curvature of the circuit board 300 is too large, and generate a warning signal when the receiver Rx does not receive corresponding light. In some embodiments, the circuit board 300 can also be provided with a display unit to display information that the bending degree is too large according to the warning signal, or a speaker unit can be provided to emit a warning sound according to the warning signal.

The wireless charging unit 320 is used to receive the electromagnetic signal of the external wireless charging device 330 to provide power to the circuit board 300 , for example to charge the battery of the circuit board 300 or directly serve as power supply. Generally speaking, in order to make the charging more efficient during wireless charging, the wireless charging unit 320 and the wireless charging unit of the external wireless charging device 330 will be kept as close as possible to be placed in parallel. Therefore, if the circuit board 300 is bent, the distance between the wireless charging unit 320 and the wireless charging unit part of the external wireless charging device 330 may be relatively long, which may cause incomplete charging or waste power consumption. Therefore, when the receiver Rx does not receive the corresponding light, the warning signal generated can also be a charging stop signal, which is transmitted to the external wireless charging device 330 through the signal transmitting unit, and the signal receiving unit of the external charging device 330 then receives the signal according to the received signal. The received stop charging signal turns off the charging mechanism, and no longer sends electromagnetic signals for charging, thereby reducing unnecessary power consumption. In some embodiments, the wireless charging unit 320 can modulate the electromagnetic signal according to the warning signal to transmit the stop charging signal, and the wireless charging unit of the external charging device 330 can shut down the charging mechanism according to the received modulated electromagnetic signal.

In this embodiment, the operation of each component is basically the same as that of the circuit board curvature detection device in the first embodiment, the difference is that only a single photoconductor unit 310 is used in this embodiment to complete the bending in two directions High-degree detection, thereby reducing the use of circuit components and reducing costs. As shown in the figure, the photoconductor units 310 are staggered in the center of the circuit board 300 to form a cross shape, so as to detect bending degrees in two different directions. Since the photoconductor unit is too curved, the light cannot be transmitted from one end to the other. Therefore, in this embodiment, the curved portion of the photoconductor unit 310 will be controlled so that the degree of curvature is less than the critical degree of curvature. Prevent light from being transmitted from the transmitter to the receiver. In other embodiments of the present invention, the photoconductor unit 310 can be composed of different optical media n1 and n2 in different sections, so that some sections have different sensitivities to bending, thereby making the photoconductor unit 310 bendable Sections and straight sections may still have the same critical bending angle Φ _{T as} . Under special circumstances, the optical medium of some sections of the photoconductor unit 310 can also be set so as not to be affected by the degree of curvature Φ, so that the section must undergo total reflection and guide the light forward, so as to avoid unnecessary detection. In this way, the arrangement of the photoconductor units 310 can be more flexible without affecting the section to be detected. In addition, the photoconductor unit 310 can also be composed of an optical medium that will break when used in a larger bending degree. When the circuit board 300 may be bent too much under the condition of no power, the photoconductor unit 310 may be broken accordingly. Therefore, after the power is turned on, the receiver Rx cannot receive light and can generate a warning signal, thereby notifying the user that the circuit board 300 has been bent too much, so as to notify the user that the circuit board may have been partially damaged or other related problems, or the application In the circuit board manufacturing process, it is used to eliminate damaged circuit boards due to excessive bending to improve product quality.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a method embodiment of the circuit board curvature detection device shown in FIG. 3 according to the present invention. In step S402 , the light emitter Tx injects a light at the emitting end of the photoconductor unit 310 . Then in step S404, the light receiver Rx continues to detect whether the light is received at the receiving end of the photoconductor unit 310. If the light is detected, it will maintain the status quo and not respond. If the light is not detected, it will enter step S406. . In step S406, the light receiver Rx can generate a warning signal to notify the user, for example, a display unit can be set to display the information that the bending degree is too large according to the warning signal, or a speaker unit can be set to send out a warning signal The warning sound informs the user, so as to avoid damage caused by excessive bending of the circuit board 300 . In addition, when charging with the external wireless charging device 330, the warning signal can also be used as a charging stop signal, which is transmitted to the external wireless charging device 330 through the signal transmitting unit, and the signal receiving unit of the external charging device 330 then according to the received The stop charging signal turns off the charging mechanism, and no longer sends electromagnetic signals for charging, thereby reducing unnecessary power consumption. In some embodiments, the wireless charging unit 320 can modulate the electromagnetic signal according to the warning signal to transmit the stop charging signal, and the wireless charging unit of the external charging device 330 can shut down the charging mechanism according to the received modulated electromagnetic signal. Similarly, the method flow of the circuit board curvature detection device shown in Figure 1 of the present invention is also the same as that of the circuit board curvature detection device shown in Figure 3, the difference is only that the circuit board curvature detection device shown in Figure 1 has two Each photoconductor unit that detects curvature in different directions performs the above-mentioned processes respectively, so details are not repeated here.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it should be understood that the above disclosure is not intended to limit the embodiments of the present invention. Rather, it encompasses numerous changes and similar arrangements (obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art). Furthermore, the appended claims should be read in their broadest sense to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements.

Claims (19)

1. circuit board curvature pick-up unit comprises:

One circuit board;

One optical conductor unit is arranged at the foregoing circuit plate, and has a transmitting terminal and a receiving end;

One optical transmitting set is used to above-mentioned transmitting terminal emission one light; And

One optical receiver detects above-mentioned receiving end and whether receives above-mentioned light, when not receiving above-mentioned light, produces an alarm signal;

Wherein when a flexibility of circuit board surpasses a critical bends angle, above-mentioned optical conductor unit can't transmit above-mentioned light.

2. circuit board curvature pick-up unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein above-mentioned optical conductor unit is along with the foregoing circuit plate is crooked.

3. circuit board curvature pick-up unit as claimed in claim 1, above-mentioned optical conductor unit wherein, has one first smooth medium, one second smooth medium, the above-mentioned first smooth medium, has one first optical index, and the second smooth medium, has one second optical index, and above-mentioned the first optical index is greater than above-mentioned the second optical index, when the above-mentioned flexibility of foregoing circuit plate during less than above-mentioned critical bends angle, above-mentioned light is in the above-mentioned first smooth medium, a boundary reflection by the above-mentioned first smooth medium and above-mentioned the second smooth medium advances, to conduct to above-mentioned receiving end from above-mentioned transmitting terminal, and when the above-mentioned flexibility of foregoing circuit plate during greater than above-mentioned critical bends angle, above-mentioned light is in above-mentioned interfacial refraction, to penetrate the above-mentioned second smooth medium.

4. circuit board curvature pick-up unit as claimed in claim 3, wherein above-mentioned critical bends angle determines according to above-mentioned the first optical index and above-mentioned the second optical index.

5. circuit board curvature pick-up unit as claimed in claim 3, above-mentioned optical conductor unit also comprises a curved section, have one the 3rd smooth medium and one the 4th smooth medium, when the above-mentioned flexibility of foregoing circuit plate during less than above-mentioned critical bends angle, above-mentioned light is in the above-mentioned the 3rd smooth medium, a crooked interface reflection by the above-mentioned the 3rd smooth medium and above-mentioned the 4th smooth medium is advanced, and when the above-mentioned flexibility of foregoing circuit plate during greater than above-mentioned critical bends angle, above-mentioned light reflects in above-mentioned curved interface, to penetrate the above-mentioned the 4th smooth medium.

6. circuit board curvature pick-up unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein above-mentioned critical bends angle determines according to a wavelength of above-mentioned light.

7. circuit board curvature pick-up unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein above-mentioned critical bends angle determines according to the incident angle of above-mentioned light with respect to above-mentioned interface.

8. circuit board curvature pick-up unit as claimed in claim 1, also comprise a wireless charging unit, receive an electromagnetic signal of an external wireless charging device to provide power supply to above-mentioned circuit board, wherein, above-mentioned wireless charging unit transmits one according to above-mentioned alarm signal and stops charging signals to above-mentioned external wireless charging device, when the said external charging device receives the above-mentioned charging signals that stops, stopping sending above-mentioned electromagnetic signal.

9. circuit board curvature pick-up unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein above-mentioned light is an infrared ray.

10. circuit board curvature pick-up unit as claimed in claim 1, also comprise a display unit, shows a warning message according to above-mentioned alarm signal.

11. a circuit board curvature detection method comprises:

One optical conductor unit to a circuit board is set;

Transmitting terminal emission one light in above-mentioned optical conductor unit; And

Whether a receiving end that detects above-mentioned optical conductor unit receives above-mentioned light, when not receiving above-mentioned light, produces an alarm signal;

Wherein when a flexibility of circuit board surpasses a critical bends angle, above-mentioned optical conductor unit can't transmit above-mentioned light.

12. circuit board curvature detection method as claimed in claim 11, wherein above-mentioned optical conductor unit is along with the foregoing circuit plate is crooked.

13. circuit board curvature detection method as claimed in claim 11, above-mentioned optical conductor unit wherein, has one first smooth medium, one second smooth medium, the above-mentioned first smooth medium, has one first optical index, and the second smooth medium, has one second optical index, and above-mentioned the first optical index is greater than above-mentioned the second optical index, when the above-mentioned flexibility of foregoing circuit plate during less than above-mentioned critical bends angle, above-mentioned light is in the above-mentioned first smooth medium, a boundary reflection by the above-mentioned first smooth medium and above-mentioned the second smooth medium advances, to conduct to above-mentioned receiving end from above-mentioned transmitting terminal, and when the above-mentioned flexibility of foregoing circuit plate during greater than above-mentioned critical bends angle, above-mentioned light is in above-mentioned interfacial refraction, to penetrate the above-mentioned second smooth medium.

14. circuit board curvature detection method as claimed in claim 13 comprises that also above-mentioned the first optical index of adjustment and above-mentioned the second optical index are to determine above-mentioned critical bends angle.

15. circuit board curvature detection method as claimed in claim 13, above-mentioned optical conductor unit also comprises a curved section, have one the 3rd smooth medium and one the 4th smooth medium, when the above-mentioned flexibility of foregoing circuit plate during less than above-mentioned critical bends angle, above-mentioned light is in the above-mentioned the 3rd smooth medium, a crooked interface reflection by the above-mentioned the 3rd smooth medium and above-mentioned the 4th smooth medium is advanced, and when the above-mentioned flexibility of foregoing circuit plate during greater than above-mentioned critical bends angle, above-mentioned light reflects in above-mentioned curved interface, to penetrate the above-mentioned the 4th smooth medium.

16. circuit board curvature detection method as claimed in claim 11 comprises that also a wavelength of adjusting above-mentioned light is to determine above-mentioned critical bends angle.

17. circuit board curvature detection method as claimed in claim 11, also comprise adjust above-mentioned light with respect to an incident angle of above-mentioned interface to determine above-mentioned critical bends angle.

18. circuit board curvature detection method as claimed in claim 11 also comprises:

Receive an electromagnetic signal of an external wireless charging device to provide power supply to above-mentioned circuit board; And

When above-mentioned receiving end does not receive above-mentioned light, transmit one and stop charging signals to above-mentioned external wireless charging device.

19. circuit board curvature detection method as claimed in claim 11 also comprises according to above-mentioned alarm signal showing that a warning message is in a display unit.

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