JP2001023850A - Electronic element with quality discriminated by change in color - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic element whose quality is discriminated by changes in color. SOLUTION: An electronic element body 10, whose surface is covered with an insulating layer 30, is provided with a temperature-sensing member 40. Since the temperature of the electronic element 10 increases abnormally due to deterioration of the electronic element 10, the color of the surface of the temperature sensing member 40 varies, to thereby enable finding a failed electronic element and to replace it at an early stage.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic device, and more particularly, to an electronic device which presents different colors according to pass / fail and determines pass / fail based on the color change.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Various kinds of electronic elements are mounted on electric circuit boards provided in various electric appliances. An electric appliance can exhibit its function when these electronic elements exhibit different characteristics. Examples of these electronic elements include a surge absorber, a transistor, an IC, a diode, an electric resistance, a capacitance, and the like.
Most of them generate heat during use, so they gradually deteriorate or burn out.

FIG. 4 is a three-dimensional sectional view showing a structure of an example of an electronic element which is commonly seen. As shown in FIG. 1, the main body 1 has both pins 2 joined in advance by welding, and is inserted into an electric circuit board by the both pins 2.

[0004]

In the electronic device shown in FIG. 4, the insulating layer 3 often covers the surface of the main body 1 to protect the main body 1. However, this electronic element is different from a mechanical member.
It is difficult to determine from its appearance whether it is broken or not, and the user always suffers from the following disadvantages.

[0005] 1. When assembling electronic elements on a circuit board and conducting a conductivity test on the entire circuit board, if there is an abnormality in the circuit because one of the electronic elements is defective, which of the many electronic elements has a problem? It is not easy to find out, and usually it has to be inspected one by one with a tester, which is troublesome and inefficient.

[0006] 2. During the operation of electrical appliances, it is often the case that abnormal electronic components are damaged due to abnormal voltage or abnormal current, or aging occurs naturally after long-term use. Continued use without knowing accelerates the deterioration of the entire electric appliance, and at the same time, the electric resistance of the electronic element is continuously increased, eventually causing electric leakage and heat generation, and in severe cases, burning out and burning out the surrounding elements. And security is threatened.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to further provide a temperature-sensitive member whose color changes in accordance with a change in temperature outside an insulating layer on the surface of an electronic element, thereby providing a temperature-sensitive member. It is an object of the present invention to provide an electronic element whose quality is determined based on a color change caused by an abnormality.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes an insulating layer covering a surface and a pin. The pin operates normally in a temperature within a predetermined range, and when a deterioration phenomenon occurs, the pin operates. In an electronic device having a characteristic in which an operating temperature rises above the predetermined range, a color changes to a different color in accordance with a change in the operating temperature, and a critical temperature at which a color change occurs differs according to a characteristic of the electronic device. A member is provided on the outer surface of the insulating layer, whereby the quality of the electronic element is determined based on a color change of the temperature-sensitive member.

The temperature-sensitive member may be formed by applying a liquid mixture of a thermochromic material to the surface of the insulating layer and attaching the liquid mixture, or applying the mixed solution to a substantially half area of the surface of the insulating layer and attaching the liquid mixture. It is more preferable that the thermosensitive member is formed of thermochromic liquid crystal pieces attached to the insulating layer.

According to the present invention having the above-described structure, a thermochromic material mixed liquid is applied to an outer surface of an insulating layer formed on the surface of an electronic element to form a temperature-sensitive member, or a side surface of the insulating layer is formed. A thermochromic liquid crystal piece is attached to form a temperature-sensitive member, which changes to a different color in response to a change in temperature. By quickly replacing the element, the normal operation of the entire circuit can be maintained and the service life can be extended.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Some embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings. However, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to these modes.

A first embodiment of an electronic element according to the present invention whose quality is determined based on a color change is shown in a three-dimensional sectional view of FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the electronic device of the present embodiment includes a main body 10,
It operates in a certain range of temperature in a normal state, and has a characteristic that when a deterioration phenomenon occurs, the operating temperature rises beyond the above range due to an increase in electric resistance or leakage. Specific examples of the electronic element body 10 include a surge absorber, a transistor, an IC,
Examples include a diode, an electric resistance, and a capacitance. In the present embodiment, a surge absorber is taken as the electronic element body 10. The electronic element body 10 is provided with a pair of pins 20 and the surface thereof is
0. Since these configurations belong to the prior art, their detailed description will be omitted, and the features improved in the present invention will be described below.

The electronic device shown in FIG. 1 further includes a temperature-sensitive member 40 provided in a predetermined region on the surface of the insulating layer 30. The temperature-sensitive member 40 changes to a different color in accordance with a change in the temperature of the electronic element body 10, and the critical temperature at which the color change occurs differs depending on the characteristics of the electronic element.
In this embodiment, since the normal operating temperature of the surge absorber is 30 ° C. to 40 ° C., the critical temperature at which the temperature-sensitive member 40 causes a color change is 40 ° C. or more.

In the present embodiment, the temperature-sensitive member 40
Is formed by mixing a powdery thermochromic material in a liquid and then adhering to the upper side of the insulating layer 30 in FIG. 1 by a coating method.

FIG. 2 is a three-dimensional sectional view showing a second embodiment of an electronic device according to the present invention. As shown in the figure, the feature of the present embodiment lies in the structure of the temperature sensing member 40 ′, which is formed by attaching a thermochromic liquid crystal piece 41 to the side surface of the insulating layer 30 by a sticking method. It is. Other configurations of the electronic device of the present embodiment are substantially the same as those of the electronic device shown in FIG.

As described above, the member structures and the installation positions related thereto in the two embodiments of the present invention have been described.
Next, the use of each embodiment will be described below to further clarify the structural features and advantages of the present invention.

The electronic device according to the present invention whose quality is determined by a change in color is most preferably the above-described two embodiments. As shown in FIG. 1, the insulating layer 30 applied to the surface of the electronic device body 10 is used. A thermochromic material mixed liquid is applied to the upper side of the insulating layer 30 by coating to form a thermosensitive member 40, or a thermochromic liquid crystal piece 41 is applied directly to the side surface of the insulating layer 30 as shown in FIG. Thus, the temperature sensing member 40 'is formed. All temperature sensing members have a sensitive temperature sensing function,
Different color changes occur as the temperature changes. The cause of this temperature change is an increase in electrical resistance or leakage due to deterioration of the electronic element.If a change occurs in the color, this means aging or abnormality of the electronic element. The normal operation of the entire circuit can be maintained, and the service life can be extended.

As shown in FIG. 3, if a transparent window 101 is provided at an appropriate place of a housing 100 of an electric appliance (for example, a housing of a computer main body) and the transparent window 101 is formed at a place close to an electronic element to be observed, It is possible to easily observe whether or not the color of the electronic element has changed, and to quickly replace the electronic element to cope with it in advance.

The advantages of the present invention will be summarized as follows.

1. Pre-shipment Prevention When completing the manufacture of an electronic device and performing a quality inspection, or when assembling the electronic device on a circuit board and performing a test, the inspection can be performed directly with the naked eye, and the temperature-sensitive member 40 (40 ′) can be inspected. )
If a color change occurs, it turns out that there is a problem with the electronic element or the electric circuit, and it is possible to quickly replace the element with a new element or find out the problem and prevent the defective product from being passed on to the user, Quality can be secured and good credit can be maintained.

2. Inspection and maintenance during use When the electronic element leaks due to abnormal voltage or abnormal current or aging due to long-term use during the use of the electronic element, and a heat generation phenomenon exceeding the normal operating temperature occurs, By alerting the user to discontinue continuous use from an abnormal color change, it is possible to prevent the electronic element from burning the surrounding products due to heat generation or harming the user in advance. .

[0022]

According to the present invention constructed as described above, it is possible to visually detect a color change in the temperature-sensitive member of an electronic element at the time of quality inspection or at the time of assembly and testing on a circuit board. The electronic component or circuit is defective, promptly replace the electronic component or locate and remedy the problem, prevent defective products from entering the market, and gain good confidence in the quality of the product. Can be kept. In addition, if the electronic element generates heat due to electric leakage during use of the electronic element, the color of the temperature-sensitive member of the electronic element changes, which calls for caution. It is possible to prevent in advance that harm is caused to the people around.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a two-dimensional sectional view showing a first embodiment of an electronic device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a three-dimensional sectional view showing an electronic device according to a second embodiment of the present invention in a two-part section;

FIG. 3 is a schematic three-dimensional view showing an application example of an electronic device according to the present invention and an enlarged view of a main part thereof.

FIG. 4 is a three-dimensional sectional view showing an example of an electronic device according to a conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Electronic element main body 20 Pin 30 Insulating layer 40, 40 'Temperature sensing member 41 Thermochromic liquid crystal piece 100 Housing 101 Transparent window

Claims (4)

[Claims] An electronic device comprising an insulating layer covering a surface and a pin, which operates at a temperature within a predetermined range in a normal state, and has a characteristic that when a deterioration phenomenon occurs, the operating temperature rises beyond the predetermined range. In the device, a temperature-sensitive member that changes color to a different color in accordance with a change in the operating temperature, and a critical temperature at which a color change occurs varies according to characteristics of the electronic device, is provided on an outer surface of the insulating layer; An electronic element whose quality is determined based on the change in color. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the temperature-sensitive member is formed of a liquid mixture of a thermochromic material applied to and adhered to the surface of the insulating layer. Electronic device. 3. The electronic device according to claim 2, wherein the mixed liquid of the thermochromic material is applied and adhered to a substantially half area of the surface of the insulating layer. element. 4. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein said temperature-sensitive member is a thermochromic liquid crystal piece attached to said insulating layer.