JP2010020657A - Portable information processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a secondary failure resulting from breakage of a casing of a portable information processing device by detecting crack or fracture of the casing over the whole area of the casing including the degree thereof by a simple structure and a simple method, specifying a point where the crack or fracture occurs, and reporting information thereof to a user. <P>SOLUTION: Lengthy resistors R1-R4 are provided in the vicinity of the outer circumferential surfaces of a casing 1 and a casing 2 along the outer circumferential surfaces. Resistance values of the resistors are periodically measured by carrying current thereto. When a change in resistance value or disconnection of the resistors is detected based on the measurement, occurrence of a crack or fracture in the casings is determined, and that effect is displayed on an LED or a liquid crystal display and reported to the user. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a portable information processing device such as a notebook personal computer, and detects and notifies the user that the casing has been damaged by an external impact or being dropped, and the casing has been damaged. The present invention relates to a technique for preventing secondary failure due to the above.

  A portable information processing device such as a notebook personal computer (hereinafter abbreviated as “notebook personal computer”) is used not only on a table but also in a conference or on the go.

  Since the components are housed in a flat housing, there is a possibility that a heavy object can be placed on the upper part, or a hard object such as a coffee cup may fall and damage the housing. Moreover, there is a possibility that the housing may be deformed, cracked or cracked inadvertently during movement.

  If the case is deformed, cracked or cracked, the components other than the case may be damaged. At that time, even if the components are not damaged, the portable information processing device is continued. By using it, there is a high possibility that a failure will occur. Therefore, when the housing is damaged, it is desirable to detect this and notify the user, and to have the mobile information processing device manufacturer check for a failure.

  As a method for detecting the deformation of the casing of the portable information processing apparatus and notifying the user, a proposal as shown in Patent Document 1, for example, has been made.

  What is shown in Patent Document 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a deformation detection unit of the housing, in which FIG. 13A is a plan view and FIG. 13B is a side view.

  A flat plate-like conductive electrode 202 is provided in close contact with the housing 201, and a flat plate-like conductive electrode 203 is fixed to the housing 201 against this, and the electrodes 202 and 203 are arranged at the center in the width direction. A point-like electrically insulating spacer 204 is provided.

  Normally, in the state of FIG. 13, when deformation such as twisting occurs in the housing 201, the electrode 202 or 203 rotates around the spacer 204, and the electrodes 202 and 203 come into contact with each other. This contact is detected as a deformation of the housing, and an alarm is generated.

As a result, it can be configured at a lower cost compared to the case of using a strain stress detecting element that has been used in the past and whose resistance value changes due to stress.
JP 2001-174210 A

  However, in the method disclosed in Patent Document 1 described above, a plurality of methods need to be arranged when deformation is detected over the entire area of the housing. Further, it is not effective for cracks or cracks of the casing other than deformation.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and cracks and cracks of the casing are detected with a simple configuration and method over the entire casing including the extent thereof, and cracks and cracks have occurred. It is an object of the present invention to provide a portable information processing apparatus that can identify a location and inform the user of the information.

  In order to achieve the above object, a portable information processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a strip-shaped resistor laid along the outer peripheral surface of a housing and in the vicinity of the outer peripheral surface, and the resistor by energizing the resistor. The resistance value detecting means for detecting the resistance value, and when the resistance value detecting means detects that the resistance value of the resistor has exceeded the predetermined value, the user is informed that an impact or stress exceeding the predetermined value has been applied to the housing. Alarm generating means for issuing an alarm for informing the user, and a resistance value detecting means and a control means for controlling the alarm generating means.

  With such a configuration, when a crack or crack is generated due to an impact or stress applied to the housing, the user is encouraged to check, and secondary failures that may occur due to the crack or crack of the housing are avoided. Can be prevented.

  Further, in the portable information processing device of the present invention, the resistor is divided and laid in a plurality of parts near the outer peripheral surface of the housing, and the resistance value detecting means determines the resistance values of the resistors in the plurality of parts. When detecting and detecting a part where the resistance value of the resistor is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, the alarm generating means may issue an alarm together with information on the part where the resistance value is higher than the predetermined value.

  With such a configuration, the user can easily identify a location where a crack or crack has occurred, and can perform operations such as inspecting nearby components.

  In the portable information processing apparatus of the present invention, the control means may operate the resistance detection means when the main power source of the portable information processing apparatus is turned on.

  With such a configuration, it is not necessary to constantly pass a current for resistance value detection, so that power consumption can be saved, and the danger such as a short circuit can be reduced and used safely.

  In the portable information processing apparatus of the present invention, the control unit may turn on the main power after confirming that the resistance value of the resistor detected by the resistance value detection unit is equal to or less than a predetermined value. .

  With such a configuration, it is possible to avoid the risk of causing a secondary failure by turning on the main power supply in a state where the housing is damaged.

  In the portable information processing apparatus of the present invention, the resistor may be a resistor in which a plurality of resistors are connected in parallel in a row.

  With such a configuration, the degree of cracks and cracks can be grasped quantitatively in detail, so that an appropriate treatment for the user is possible.

  According to the present invention, when the user inadvertently drops the casing, the degree of damage to the casing can be recognized, and a fault check is requested to the manufacturer for inspection and repair. Can be prevented. In addition, the manufacturer can rationalize the inspection work by grasping the part of the failure inspection.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1)
This embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an appearance of a portable information processing apparatus (notebook personal computer) 100 according to the present embodiment.

  The portable information processing apparatus 100 includes a main body housing 1 and a lid housing 2, main components are housed in the main body housing 1, and a liquid crystal display 106 is attached to the lid housing 2. . An insertion slot 1a for an optical disk such as a CD or a DVD, a USB terminal 1b, or the like is provided on the side surface of the main body housing. Further, an LED (light emitting diode) 118 is provided on the front surface of the main body 1. In addition, although not shown, since a terminal of the AC adapter, a terminal for network connection, and the like are attached to the side surface of the main body housing 1, a large number of notches (holes) are provided on the side surface of the main body housing 1. Is provided. For this reason, this portion is weak in strength.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the portable information processing apparatus 100.

  The portable information processing apparatus 100 includes a CPU 101, a north bridge 102, a main memory 103, a graphic controller 104, a VRAM (video RAM) 105, an LCD (liquid crystal display) 106, a south bridge 107, a BIOS memory 108, an ODD (optical disk drive) 109, HDD (hard disk drive) 110, USB port 111, PCI bus 112, PCI devices 113 and 114, EC (embedded controller) 115, power switch 116, mouse / keyboard 117, LED 118, EEPROM (nonvolatile memory) 119 and cracks, cracks A resistance value sensor 120 for detection is provided.

  The CPU 101 is a processor that controls the entire processing of the portable information processing apparatus 100, and loads an operating system (OS) and various application programs stored in the HDD 110 into the main memory 103 and executes them.

  The north bridge 102 is one of the components of the chip set, and is connected to the CPU 101 to control data exchange with the main memory 103, the PCI Express bus (for graphics), and the south bridge 107.

  The graphic controller 104 converts the screen data written in the VRAM 105 by the OS / application program into a display signal and outputs it to the LCD 106.

  The BIOS memory 108 is a non-volatile flash memory, and stores BIOS (Basic Input Output System) that is system software for executing initialization and control of input / output hardware. It also has a partly writable area.

  The south bridge 107 is one of the components of the chip set, and incorporates an IDE controller and a SATA controller that control the ODD 109 and the HDD 110. Further, various external USB devices are controlled via the USB port 111, and communication is performed with the PCI devices 113 and 114 connected to the PCI bus 112.

  The EC 115 is a microcomputer, and controls ON / OFF of a main power supply (not shown) in response to an operation of the power switch 116 by the user. In addition to accepting an operation of the mouse / keyboard 117 and transmitting the operation content to the CPU 101, various states of the main body are displayed on the LED 118 to notify the user. The EC 115 operates by receiving power from an internal battery or an AC adapter as an external power source even when the main power supply of the main body is turned off.

  Further, an EEPROM (nonvolatile memory) 119 is connected to the EC 115, and various information is stored under the control of the EC 115.

  The EC 115 processes the information acquired from the resistance value sensor 120 that detects the resistance value of the resistor laid on the outer peripheral portion of the portable information processing device 100 and notifies the BIOS.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of laying resistors in the present embodiment.

  A resistor R1 is laid around the outer surface along the outer peripheral surface of the housing 1, and a resistor R2 is laid on the outer bottom surface.

  Similarly, a resistor R3 is laid around the outer surface of the housing 2, and a resistor R4 is laid on the outer bottom surface.

  4A and 4B are diagrams showing a detailed configuration of the resistor laying portion, in which FIG. 4A is a plan view and FIG. 4B is a side view.

  The resistor 3 (R1, R2) is configured by applying a conductive paint mixed with metal powder such as silver powder or carbon particles to the casing 1.

  A terminal 4 is attached to the resistor 3 and is connected to a terminal 5 inside the housing 1 via a terminal coupling portion 6. The current flowing from the terminal 5 to the resistor 3 is taken out and output to the resistance value sensor 120.

  Note that the housing 2 is not shown because it is the same as FIG.

  As described above, since the resistor 3 is laid on the outer peripheral surface of the housing 1 where a shock, stress, or the like is directly applied, if the housing 1 is cracked, the resistor 3 is also cracked. The resistance value increases or it becomes a disconnected state (resistance value is ∞).

  The resistor 3 is not directly applied to the housing surface, but may be another method. For example, a method may be used in which a conductive paint is applied to a sheet such as paper and the sheet is adhered to the housing 1 with an adhesive. Moreover, it can also be made by embedding near the surface of the housing by integral molding inside the housing 1 when the housing 1 is manufactured. Moreover, you may lay in close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the housing. In this way, it is desirable to lay the housing 1 in a place where it is easy to receive such a force when an impact or stress is applied.

  Next, a detection operation of the resistance value sensor 120 as a resistance value detection unit of the resistor 3 will be described with reference to FIG. 5, and a series of operations when a crack or a crack occurs in the housing will be described with reference to FIG. It explains using.

  FIG. 5 is an electric circuit diagram showing an example of the resistance value sensor 120.

  A resistance value sensor 120 connects resistors R1 to R4 and a reference resistor r to a transistor Q driven by an EC 115 to which power is supplied by a battery B (built-in battery or the like), and a voltage generated at the reference resistor r. In the EC 115 via the A / D converter 131. Since the electric power is always supplied from the battery B to the EC 115 and the resistance value sensor 120, the resistance value of the resistor can be detected even if the main power source of the portable information processing apparatus 100 is not turned on.

  The EC 115 periodically turns on the transistor Q for a predetermined time. At this time, if the resistors R1 to R4 are normal, a predetermined voltage is generated in the reference resistor r, so that it is determined that the casing is normal.

  When an impact or stress is applied to the housing and cracks or cracks are generated, there is a high possibility that any of the resistors R1 to R4 will crack or crack. In this case, the resistance value increases and the voltage of the reference resistor r decreases below a predetermined value. In addition, if any of the resistors R1 to R4 is disconnected, no voltage is generated in the reference resistor r, which can be easily detected.

  When the resistance value sensor 120 detects a crack or crack in the housing, the EC 115 as the control means transmits the information to the BIOS when the power of the portable information processing apparatus 100 is turned on. The BIOS starts up software for notifying the user, and displays a message indicating that there is a failure or a failure and a message for prompting a failure check on the LCD 105 as an alarm generation means to the user. Raise an alarm. At this time, the LED 118 as the alarm generation means may be turned on or blinked. Further, if a change in the resistance values of the resistors R1 to R4 is detected, the magnitude of the magnitude of impact or stress applied to the housing can be estimated based on the degree of the change. It is also possible to inform the situation of damage.

  When the power supply of the portable information processing apparatus 100 is OFF, the EC 115 temporarily stores information on the detection of cracks or cracks in the housing in the EEPROM 119. At this time, the LED 118 may be turned on or blinked to alert the user.

  Next, when the power of the portable information processing apparatus 100 is turned on, the BIOS acquires information from the EEPROM 119 and performs the above-described notification operation.

  Further, in order to detect the resistance value, it is necessary to flow a weak current to the outer peripheral portions of the casings 1 and 2, but it is not necessary to constantly flow this current. For example, if the user can recognize that an impact or stress has been applied to the portable information processing apparatus 100, the user may operate the resistance value sensor 120 by some operation immediately after that. Alternatively, the resistance value sensor 120 may be operated when the user operates the power switch 116 to turn on the main power supply of the portable information processing apparatus 100. In this way, power consumption can be saved, and the danger such as a short circuit can be reduced and it can be used safely. At this time, only when it is confirmed that the resistance value detected by the resistance value sensor 120 is equal to or less than the predetermined value, it is determined that the outer peripheral portion of the casing is not damaged, and the main power source of the portable information processing apparatus 100 is turned on. You may control to do. In this way, it is possible to avoid the risk of a secondary failure occurring when the main power supply is turned on with the casing damaged. These controls are performed by the EC 115.

  As described above, the portable information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment has a strip-shaped resistor laid along the outer peripheral surface of the housing, and the resistor is disconnected and the resistance value is changed by energizing the resistor. A resistance value detecting means for detecting the alarm, and an alarm generating means for generating an alarm when the resistance value detecting means detects that the resistance value of the resistor exceeds a predetermined value. When this occurs, the user can be inspected, and secondary failures that may occur due to cracks or cracks in the housing can be prevented.

(Embodiment 2)
This embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a laying example of the resistor according to the present embodiment.

  Resistor R11 is laid so as to substantially wrap around the outer surface of housing 1, and resistor R12 is laid on the other half. Resistors R13 and R14 are laid by dividing the outer bottom surface of the housing 1 into two.

  Similarly, a resistor R15 is laid around the outer surface of the housing 2, and a resistor R16 is laid on the outer bottom surface.

  FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of portable information processing apparatus 200 in the present embodiment. Since only the resistance value sensor 130 is different from the first embodiment, the remaining components are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIG.

  The resistors R11 to R16 have the same configuration as that shown in FIG.

  Next, the configuration and detection operation of the resistance value sensor 130 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 8, and then a series of operations when a crack or crack occurs in the housing will be described with reference to FIG. To do. In this embodiment, for simplification of description, the case where the resistor is disconnected will be described. However, the case where the resistor does not reach the disconnection and the resistance value is changed can be detected as in the first embodiment. Needless to say.

  FIG. 8 is an electric circuit diagram illustrating an example of the resistance value sensor 130.

  The resistance value sensor 130 connects resistors R11 to R16 and reference resistors r1 to r6 to a plurality of transistors Q1 to Q6 driven by an EC 115 to which power is supplied by the battery B, respectively, and the reference resistors r1 to r6. In this configuration, the generated voltage is taken into the EC 115 via the A / D converter 131.

  The EC 115 is periodically turned ON for a predetermined time by periodically switching the transistors Q1 to Q6 by the SW (switch) 132. In synchronization therewith, the voltages of the reference resistors r1 to r6 are switched by the SW (switch) 133 and are taken into the EC 115 via the A / D converter 131. At this time, if the resistors R11 to R16 are normal, voltages are generated in all of the reference resistors r1 to r6, so that the casings 1 and 2 are determined to be normal.

  When any of the resistors R11 to R16 is disconnected, for example, when R12 and R14 are disconnected, no voltage is generated in the reference resistors r2 and r4, and therefore the portion corresponding to the resistors R12 and R14 of the housing 1 ( It is determined that a crack or crack has occurred in the right half of the casing 1 in FIG.

  When the EC 115 detects cracks or cracks in the above-described R12 and R14, when the power of the portable information processing device 200 is turned on, the EC 115 transmits the information to the BIOS. When the BIOS records that R12 and R14 are disconnected, the BIOS starts up software for notifying the user, and displays a warning message on the LCD 106, including information on a part that may or may be faulty, and a fault. Display a reminder message for inspection. At this time, the LED 118 may be turned on or blinked.

  When the power of the portable information processing apparatus 100 is OFF, the EC 115 stores information on disconnection of R12 and R14 in the EEPROM 119. At this time, the LED 118 may be turned on or blinked.

  Next, when the power of the portable information processing apparatus 200 is turned on, the BIOS obtains information on disconnection of R12 and R14 from the EEPROM 119, stores the information in its own memory, and performs the above-described notification operation.

  As described above, in the portable information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment, the resistor is divided and laid in a plurality of parts on the outer peripheral surface, and the resistance value detecting means detects each disconnection of the resistors in the plurality of parts. Since the part where the disconnection is detected is stored in the memory of the portable information processing apparatus, the part where the disconnection occurs is called from the memory to identify the part where the crack or the crack has occurred on the side where the failure inspection is performed. It is possible to rationalize work such as inspecting nearby components.

(Embodiment 3)
This embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a laying example of the resistor according to the present embodiment. A plurality of conductive paints mixed with metal powder such as silver powder or carbon particles are applied to the casing 1 in substantially the same width in a row (comb shape) to form the resistor 8.

  The resistor 8 is laid along the outer peripheral surface of the housing 1 similarly to the example of FIG. 4 so that the resistors R21 to R25 are connected in parallel.

  FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of portable information processing apparatus 300 in the present embodiment. Since only the resistance value sensor 140 is different from the first embodiment, the remaining constituent elements are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIG.

  It goes without saying that the resistor 8 may be realized by various methods as described above, instead of being applied directly to the casing.

  Next, the detection operation of the resistance value sensor 140 will be described with reference to FIG. 11, and then, a series of operations when a crack or crack occurs in the housing will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 11 is an electric circuit diagram showing an example of the resistance value sensor 140.

  The resistance value sensor 140 connects the transistor Q driven by the EC 115 to which power is supplied by the battery B, the constant current circuit 9 and the resistor 8 in series, and when the resistor 8 is energized, the resistor 8 Is converted into a digital value by the A / D converter 131 and taken into the EC 115.

  The EC 115 periodically turns on the transistor Q for a predetermined time. At this time, the voltage across the resistor 8 is a value obtained by multiplying the current value of the constant current circuit by the resistance value of the resistor 8.

  The resistance value of the resistor 8 is a combined resistance of R21 to R25. For example, if the resistance values of R21 to R25 are equal and 5Ω, respectively, the combined resistance is 1Ω.

  Assuming that the current controlled by the constant current circuit is 1 A, the voltage across the resistor 8 is 1Ω × 1A and 5V.

  The combined resistance is 5 / 4Ω when one of the resistors breaks due to a crack in the housing, 5 / 3Ω when 2 breaks, 5 / 2Ω when 3 breaks, 4 / 2Ω when 4 breaks When it is disconnected, it becomes 5Ω, and when all 5 are disconnected, it becomes ∞.

  As described above, the voltage across the resistor 8 changes depending on the degree of disconnection, and thus the degree of cracks and cracks in the housing can be grasped by measuring the voltage value.

  Subsequent operations are the same as those in the first embodiment or the second embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

  As an application example of this embodiment, the resistor may be configured as shown in FIG. In this example, the width of the plurality of columnar resistors constituting the resistor 10 is changed. As shown in FIG. 12, the width of the three columnar resistors R31, R32, and R33 may be sequentially increased as R31 <R32 <R33. By adopting such a configuration, when the casing 1 is stressed, the columnar resistors that are disconnected change according to the degree of the stress, thereby detecting the magnitude of the stress applied to the casing. can do.

  As described above, the portable information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment has a plurality of resistors connected in parallel, and is provided with resistance value detection means for measuring the resistance value of the resistors. This information can be used as a reference for inspection parts and inspection parts.

  The present invention can be used not only for general portable information processing apparatuses typified by notebook personal computers, but also for portable audio-video devices in addition to cellular phones.

The figure which shows the external appearance of the portable information processing apparatus in Embodiment 1 of this invention. Block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the portable information processing apparatus The figure which shows the laying example of the resistor of the portable information processing apparatus The figure which shows the detailed structure of the resistor laying part of the portable information processing apparatus Electric circuit diagram showing an example of a resistance value sensor of the portable information processing apparatus The figure which shows the laying example of the resistor of the portable information processing apparatus in Embodiment 2 of this invention Block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the portable information processing apparatus Electric circuit diagram showing an example of a resistance value sensor of the portable information processing apparatus The figure which shows the laying example of the resistor of the portable information processing apparatus in Embodiment 3 of this invention Block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the portable information processing apparatus Electric circuit diagram showing an example of a resistance value sensor of the portable information processing apparatus The figure which shows the other example of a structure of the resistor of the portable information processing apparatus The figure for demonstrating the structure of the deformation | transformation detection part of the conventional housing | casing.

Explanation of symbols

1 Main unit housing (housing)
2 Lid case (housing)
3, 8, 10 Resistor (conductive paint)
4,5 terminal 6 terminal coupling part 9 constant current circuit 100,200,300 portable information processing apparatus 101 CPU
102 North Bridge 103 Main Memory 104 Graphic Controller 105 VRAM
106 LCD
107 South Bridge 108 BIOS Memory 109 ODD
110 HDD
111 USB
112 PCI bus 113, 114 Device 115 EC
116 Power switch 117 Mouse / keyboard 118 LED
119 EEPROM
120, 130, 140 Resistance sensor 131 A / D converter 132, 133 SW (switch)
B Battery Q, Q1-Qn Transistor (switching element)
R1-Rn resistor r, r1-rn reference resistor

Claims (5)

A strip-shaped resistor laid along the outer peripheral surface of the housing and in the vicinity of the outer peripheral surface;
Resistance value detecting means for detecting the resistance value of the resistor by energizing the resistor;
When the resistance value detecting means detects that the resistance value of the resistor has become a predetermined value or more,
An alarm generating means for issuing an alarm for notifying the user that a predetermined impact or stress has been applied to the housing;
Control means for controlling the resistance value detecting means and the alarm generating means;
A portable information processing apparatus. The resistor is laid and divided into a plurality of portions in the vicinity of the outer peripheral surface of the housing,
The resistance value detecting means detects each resistance value of the resistors of the plurality of parts, and when detecting a part where the resistance value of the resistor is a predetermined value or more,
The portable information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the alarm generation unit issues an alarm together with information on a part where the resistance value is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. The portable information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit operates the resistance value detection unit when a main power source of the portable information processing apparatus is turned on. The portable information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the control unit turns on the main power supply after confirming that the resistance value of the resistor detected by the resistance value detection unit is equal to or less than a predetermined value. The portable information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the resistor is a resistor in which a plurality of resistors are connected in parallel in a row.

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