TWI687702B - An electronic device capable of detecting battery expansion and a method for detecting battery expansion - Google Patents

Abstract

An electronic device capable of detecting battery expansion comprises a membrane switch assembly and a calculating assembly. The membrane switch assembly is adapted to be disposed above a surface of the battery and includes a first membrane switch. The first membrane switch includes a first electrode pair with a first actuating threshold. The first electrode pair forms a short circuit when the first electrode pair bears an external pressure larger than the first actuating threshold. The calculating assembly is electrically connected to the membrane switch assembly and generates an alarm signal once the short circuit is formed for a preset time period. This disclosure is also related to a method for detecting battery expansion.

Description

Electronic device capable of detecting battery expansion and method for detecting battery expansion

The invention relates to an electronic device capable of detecting battery expansion, and a method for detecting battery expansion performed by the electronic device, in particular to an electronic device and method for detecting battery expansion realized by a membrane switch.

With the diversified development of mobile electronic devices, currently rechargeable batteries have been widely used in daily life; for example, notebook computers, mobile phones and tablet computers have all used rechargeable batteries. Rechargeable battery devices can continue to be used as long as they are properly charged when the battery is low. When the charging method is improper, the volume of the rechargeable battery will expand excessively, causing the function to decline, and even squeeze to other hardware structures and explode.

In order to avoid excessive expansion of the rechargeable battery, the existing method uses a mechanical switch, which is attached to the surface of the battery. When the battery is squeezed to the mechanical switch due to excessive expansion, the mechanical switch will automatically power off the device. Protect the battery; but due to the large actuation force of the mechanical switch and the user's tendency to mispress the battery for a long time in daily life, this method has a certain chance to misjudge the degree of battery expansion; and, the device detects that the battery is excessively expanded Direct power off afterwards will also easily cause device damage and user inconvenience.

Therefore, there is still a need for a device that can accurately detect battery expansion, and before detecting excessive battery expansion and power failure, first alert the user to replace the battery with a warning message.

The present invention is to provide an electronic device capable of detecting battery expansion and a method for detecting battery expansion to detect the degree of battery expansion, so as to avoid false judgments caused by user's false pressure.

An electronic device capable of detecting battery expansion according to the present invention includes a membrane switch component and an arithmetic component. The membrane switch assembly is disposed above a surface of a battery. The membrane switch assembly includes a first membrane switch. The first membrane switch includes a first electrode group, and the first electrode group has a first actuation threshold. When the applied pressure on the first electrode group exceeds the first actuation threshold, the first electrode group exhibits a short circuit. The arithmetic component is electrically connected to the membrane switch component. The computing element generates a warning message when the first electrode group exhibits a short circuit for a preset period of time.

A battery expansion detection method disclosed according to the present invention includes the following steps: detecting an applied pressure with a first electrode group of a membrane switch assembly; when the applied pressure exceeds a first actuation threshold of the first electrode group When the first electrode group is short-circuited, an arithmetic component determines whether the first electrode group is short-circuited for a preset period of time; and when the arithmetic component determines that the first electrode group is short-circuited for a preset period of time, a warning message is generated.

The electronic device and the battery expansion detection method disclosed in the present invention can detect the battery expansion, and can avoid the misjudgment caused by the user's wrong pressure, and send a notification message according to the degree of battery expansion Or warning messages, while avoiding problems caused by severe battery expansion and direct power-off of the device.

The above description of the disclosure and the following description of the embodiments are used to demonstrate and explain the spirit and principle of the present invention, and provide a further explanation of the scope of the patent application of the present invention.

The following describes in detail the detailed features and advantages of the present invention in the embodiments. The content is sufficient for any person skilled in the relevant art to understand and implement the technical content of the present invention, and according to the contents disclosed in this specification, the scope of patent application and the drawings Anyone skilled in the relevant art can easily understand the purpose and advantages of the present invention. The following examples further illustrate the views of the present invention in detail, but do not limit the scope of the present invention in any way.

Please refer to FIG. 1, which is a top view of an electronic device 1 capable of detecting battery expansion according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the electronic device 1 may be, for example, a notebook computer, a tablet computer, a smart phone, an electronic paper, a handheld game machine, or a mobile power source, etc. that requires a battery, and may include a case C to A battery B is accommodated, and the battery B can be used as a power supply. The electronic device 1 may further include other necessary components, such as a circuit board, a processor, a screen, a key, or a keyboard, etc., depending on the needs of the device, which will not be repeated here.

The electronic device 1 includes a membrane switch assembly 10 and an arithmetic assembly 20. The membrane switch assembly 10 is disposed above a surface BS of the battery B, and includes a first membrane switch 101, and the first membrane switch 101 includes a first electrode group E1. It should be noted that the first electrode group E1 includes two electrodes, for example, two elements of conductive material, which are separated from each other to be electrically disconnected. The first electrode group E1 has a first actuation threshold, which can represent a critical pressure value (for example, 5 pounds), when the applied pressure of the first electrode group E1 exceeds the first actuation threshold (for example, greater than 5 pounds) The two electrodes of the first electrode group E1 will be electrically connected to exhibit a short circuit, for example, the two electrodes are in contact with each other, or the two electrodes are simultaneously contacted with other conductors. In this way, when the battery B expands to a certain extent and squeezes the membrane switch assembly 10, the first electrode group E1 will short-circuit.

In this embodiment, the computing component 20 includes a processor 201 and is electrically connected to the membrane switch component 10. The computing component 20 is used to detect the state of the first electrode group E1, such as an open circuit or a short circuit, and the duration of the short circuit state. When the first electrode group E1 exhibits a short circuit, in order to avoid that the short circuit is caused by the user's erroneous pressure and leads to misjudgment, the computing unit 20 will determine whether the short circuit state reaches a predetermined period, such as 24 hours. When the short-circuit state reaches a preset time period, the computing component 20 generates a warning message to alert the user that the battery has swelled. In addition, the processor 201 of the computing component 20 may be an embedded controller (Embedded Controller), a micro controller (Micro Controller) or other processors with computing functions. Of course, it may also be an existing one of the electronic device 1 itself Processor or arithmetic unit.

Please refer to FIGS. 2A and 2B. FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view of an electronic device 1 capable of detecting battery B expansion according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2B is an electronic device 1 capable of detecting battery B expansion according to an embodiment of the present invention. Another cross-sectional view. As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, generally speaking, the position of the maximum amplitude of the expansion of the battery B often occurs at the center of the surface BS, so the first membrane switch 101 can be disposed at the center of the surface BS (ie, as shown in FIG. 2A ), or may be provided on the side of the housing C facing the center of the surface BS (ie, as shown in FIG. 2B, the orthographic projection of the first membrane switch 101 will be located at the center of the surface BS). For further explanation, please refer to FIG. 3, which is a cross-sectional view of the battery B according to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B of the present invention when it is expanded. In this embodiment, the degree of battery B expansion is defined by the thickness variation of battery B at the center corresponding to the surface BS. For example, when battery B swells after use, its thickness increases by 7%-8% relative to the initial thickness (there is no need to replace battery B). The thickness increases by 8%-20% relative to the initial thickness. Slight expansion (consider replacing battery B), and when the thickness increases by more than 20% relative to the initial thickness, it is already a serious expansion (battery B must be replaced). In the case where battery B exhibits severe expansion, battery B may damage the cabinet or other structures, and may even explode. Therefore, it is necessary to inform the user with a warning message in advance by the aforementioned electronic device before the battery B is seriously inflated.

To describe this embodiment more specifically, please refer to FIG. 4, which is a flowchart of a method for detecting battery B expansion according to an embodiment of the present invention. As described in step S101: the first electrode group E1 of the membrane switch assembly 10 detects an applied pressure. In addition, the pressure may be caused by the expansion of the battery B, but it may also be caused by human or other factors. Therefore, please refer to step S103: when the applied pressure exceeds the first actuation threshold of the first electrode group E1, the first electrode group E1 exhibits a short circuit; conversely, if the applied pressure does not exceed the first actuation threshold, the first The electrode group E1 will not exhibit a short circuit. In the case where the applied pressure exceeds the first actuation threshold, step S105 follows: the computing component 20 determines whether the first electrode group E1 exhibits a short circuit for a preset period of time. If the first electrode group E1 exhibits a short circuit for a preset period of time, it can be judged that the additional pressure is caused by the expansion of the battery B, that is, step S107 is executed: the computing unit 20 generates a warning message to remind the user to replace the battery. Conversely, if the first electrode group E1 exhibits a short circuit for less than a preset period of time, it can be determined that the additional pressure is caused by other factors (such as human error), so it will be as described in step S109: the computing component 20 does not generate a warning Message to avoid unnecessary battery replacement.

According to the foregoing, the human error may be that the user leans on the electronic device 1 or places an object (such as a thick book or water bottle) on the electronic device 1, which is temporarily pressed, and the battery B Once inflated, it can be regarded as a permanent press before battery B is replaced. Therefore, with this characteristic, the preset time period can be set according to the frequency of use of the electronic device 1. For example, in general, the mobile phone will be used several times in a day, so the preset time period can be set to one day, that is, the first electrode group E1 is pressed to appear short-circuited for less than one day, and the computing unit 20 will not issue Warning message. On the other hand, after the laptop is turned off, other items may be placed on top of it. Therefore, the preset time period may be set to a longer time period, such as 30 hours.

Please refer to FIG. 5, which is a top view of an electronic device 2 capable of detecting the expansion of a battery B according to another embodiment of the present invention. Compared with the electronic device 1 shown in FIG. 1, the computing device 20 ′ of the electronic device 2 of this embodiment further includes a latch circuit 202, and the latch circuit 202 is electrically connected to the membrane switch component 10 ( That is, between the first membrane switch 101) and the processor 201. As described above, when the first electrode group E1 is subjected to an applied pressure exceeding the first actuation threshold and the first electrode group E1 is short-circuited, the latch circuit 202 assumes a triggered state, such as outputting a high voltage level Of course, it can also be a low voltage level, which is not limited here. In short, when the latch circuit 202 assumes a triggered state, it means that the first membrane switch 101 has been actuated by an external force. Moreover, when the processor 201 detects that the trigger state continues for a preset period of time, the processor 201 generates an alert message.

Please refer to FIG. 6, which is a flowchart of a method for detecting battery B swelling according to the architecture of the foregoing embodiment of the present invention. Step S301 is the same as step S101 in FIG. 4, so it will not be described in detail here. Please refer to step S303: when the first electrode group E1 exhibits a short circuit, the latch circuit 202 assumes a triggered state, wherein the first electrode group E1 exhibits a short circuit, which indicates that the first membrane switch 101 has been actuated by an external force. Please refer to step S305: the processor 201 detects whether the latch circuit 202 is in a triggered state for a preset period of time. If the latch circuit 202 assumes the trigger state for a preset period of time, the processor 201 determines that the battery B has expanded, and then proceeds to step S307: the processor 201 generates a warning message. On the contrary, if the latch circuit 202 assumes that the trigger state has not reached the preset period, as described in step S309: the processor 201 does not generate a warning message.

Compared with the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, since the electronic device 2 of this embodiment is provided with a latch circuit 202, the processor 201 can periodically detect the latch according to a longer cycle time (eg, 10 minutes) Whether the circuit 202 is in a triggered state, and then determine whether to issue a warning message according to its duration. Therefore, the calculation amount of the processor 201 can be reduced, effectively avoiding overheating caused by an excessive calculation amount, and further extending the service life of the processor 201.

Please refer to FIG. 7, which is a top view of an electronic device 3 capable of detecting the expansion of the battery B according to an embodiment of the present invention. The main difference between this embodiment and the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is that the membrane switch assembly 10' of this embodiment includes a second membrane switch 102 and a third membrane switch 102 in addition to the first membrane switch 101. Membrane switch 103, and the computing element 20" further includes a transmission module 203. Among them, the second membrane switch 102 includes a second electrode group E2, and the second electrode group E2 has a second actuation threshold; the third membrane switch 103 includes a third electrode group E3, which has a third actuation threshold. Same as the first membrane switch 101, the second actuation threshold and the third actuation threshold also correspond to a pressure value, The actuation thresholds can be the same or different, depending on the use requirements. When the applied pressure on the above electrode group exceeds its corresponding actuation threshold, the electrode group exhibits a short circuit. It should be noted that this embodiment is The implementation of the electronic device 3 with multiple membrane switches is based on the first membrane switch 101 and the second membrane switch 102, and the third membrane switch 103 is a non-essential component, which can be determined according to actual needs. The transmission module 203 of the embodiment is electrically connected to the processor 201, the first membrane switch 101, the second membrane switch 102 and the third membrane switch 103, and has at least one transmission condition built in. When the first electrode group E1 Both the second electrode group E2 and the third electrode group E3 are short-circuited and meet the transmission condition, and when it continues for a preset period of time, the transmission module 203 transmits a trigger signal to the processor 201, and the processor 201 generates a warning message accordingly Or notification message.

As mentioned above, the transmission conditions vary depending on the structure of the transmission module 203. For example, the transmission module 203 may be designed as a logic circuit composed of multiple OR gates. As long as the electrode group of one of the membrane switches exhibits a short circuit, the transmission conditions are met. Alternatively, the transmission module 203 can also be designed as a series circuit. Only when all the electrode groups of the membrane switch are short-circuited, the transmission conditions are met. The above technical means have common knowledge in the field, and can design the transmission module 203 according to different needs, so they will not be described in detail. Since the number of pins of the processor 201 is limited, in order not to cause the membrane switch to occupy too many pins of the processor 201 and to reduce the computing load of the processor 201, each membrane switch is connected through the transmission module 203 and the short circuit is judged first In the state and time, the trigger signal is sent to the processor 201 after the warning condition is met, and the processor 201 sends out a warning message to inform the user that the battery has expanded.

In addition, in another implementation aspect of this embodiment, the function of the transfer module 203 can also be implemented with a chip. When the electrode groups E1-E3 are short-circuited and meet the transmission condition, the transmission module 203 transmits a trigger signal to the processor 201, and the processor 201 generates a warning message or a notification message accordingly. The difference between the aforementioned notification message and the warning message is that the notification message appears when only some of the electrode groups of the membrane switch are short-circuited, and the warning message appears when all the electrode groups of the membrane switch are short-circuited. In detail, the notification message is used to remind the user that battery B is currently slightly swollen and has no serious impact on the electronic device. The user can arrange the maintenance time by himself; on the other hand, the warning message is used to remind the user The battery B has been seriously swollen. The electronic device needs to be powered off as soon as possible and sent for inspection immediately.

Please continue to refer to FIG. 7 and refer to FIGS. 8A and 8B at the same time. FIG. 8A is a cross-sectional view of the electronic device 3 that can detect the expansion of the battery B according to the above embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 8B is detectable according to the above embodiment of the present invention. A cross-sectional view of the electronic device 3 in which the battery B has expanded. The following is a specific example to explain the difference between the notification message and the warning message. The transmission module 203 is implemented by a chip, and this chip can transmit a trigger signal to the processor 201 when any electrode group E1-E3 exhibits a short circuit. According to this transmission condition, when the second electrode group E2 of the second membrane switch 102 located in the middle of the surface BS first exhibits a short circuit (as shown in FIG. 8A) and continues for more than a preset period, the processor 201 issues the first notification accordingly message. By analogy, when the first electrode group E1 or the third electrode group E2 exhibits a short circuit and continues for more than a preset time period, the processor 201 accordingly sends a second notification message. If the battery B continues to expand and causes all electrode groups E1, E2, and E3 to appear short-circuited (as shown in FIG. 8B) and continues to exceed the preset time period, the processor 201 issues a warning message. In the situation shown in FIG. 8B, since the battery B has been severely swollen, it is recommended to power off and replace the battery B immediately. Therefore, the processor 201 will only generate a warning message and will not issue a notification message.

In practice, the notification message and the warning message can be distinguished by different light numbers; for example, when the first notification message appears, the electronic device 3 lights a light or a yellow light, and when the second notification message appears, the electronic Device 3 lights two lights or lights orange. By analogy, when the warning message appears, the electronic device 3 lights all lights or lights red. In addition, if the electronic device 3 has a display screen, corresponding messages such as text, icons, or colors can also be displayed on the screen. It is worth mentioning that the warning message can be designed to remind the user in advance before the power is turned off, so that the user can choose to shut down first to avoid the inconvenience caused by the sudden power failure. In addition, it should be noted that the expansion range of the rechargeable battery is larger in the middle area of the surface BS and smaller in the surrounding area. Therefore, the second actuation threshold of the second electrode group E2 of the second membrane switch 102, which corresponds to It is smaller than the first actuation threshold and the third actuation threshold.

Please refer to FIG. 9, which is a flowchart of a method for detecting battery B expansion according to an embodiment of the present invention. First, please refer to step S501: the first electrode group E1 and the second electrode group E2 of the membrane switch assembly 10' detect an applied pressure, which may be caused by the expansion of the battery B or other factors. Please refer to step S503: when the applied pressure exceeds the first actuation threshold and the second actuation threshold, both the first electrode group E1 and the second electrode group E2 are short-circuited and meet the transmission conditions; at this time, the first membrane switch 101 Both the second membrane switch 102 and the second membrane switch 102 are actuated by the applied pressure, so step S505 follows: the processor 201 determines whether both the first electrode group E1 and the second electrode group E2 are short-circuited and continue for a preset period of time. When the electrode groups E1 and E2 exhibit a short circuit for a preset period of time and meet the transmission conditions of the transmission module 203, step S507 is executed: the processor 201 generates a warning message. If the electrode groups E1 and E2 exhibit a short circuit that does not last for a preset period of time, then in step S509: the processor 201 does not generate a warning message.

Please refer to FIG. 10, which is a top view of an electronic device 4 capable of detecting the expansion of a battery B according to an embodiment of the present invention. The main difference from the previous embodiment is that the membrane switch assembly 10" of this embodiment includes a first membrane switch 101', and the first membrane switch 101' includes a plurality of electrode groups E1', E2', E3', In addition, the electrode groups correspond to the actuation threshold. In addition, the number and position of the electrode groups can be designed according to different needs, which is not limited in the present invention. In this embodiment, the first membrane switch 101' has three electrodes Group as an example. As mentioned above, the second electrode group E2' located in the middle region of the surface BS can correspond to a larger actuation threshold, while the first electrode group E1' located in the surrounding region other than the middle region, the first The three-electrode group E3' can correspond to a smaller actuation threshold. Similarly, when the overall situation where some of these electrode groups are short-circuited meets the transmission conditions of the transmission module 203 and continues for a preset period of time, according to different types The transmission module 203 of the processor 201 can send out a notification message or a warning message. And when all the electrode groups E1', E2', E3' are short-circuited and continue for a preset period of time, the processor 201 sends a warning message. Compared with the previous embodiment, this embodiment can set multiple actuation thresholds for a single membrane switch, so the number of membrane switches used can be reduced, thereby simplifying related circuit design.

In summary, the electronic device and the battery expansion detection method disclosed in the present invention can detect the battery expansion, and can avoid the misjudgment caused by the user's wrong pressure, and according to the battery expansion Notification messages or warning messages, while avoiding problems caused by severe battery expansion and direct power failure of the device.

Although the present invention is disclosed as the foregoing embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, all modifications and retouching are within the scope of patent protection of the present invention. For the protection scope defined by the present invention, please refer to the attached patent application scope.

1, 2, 3, 4: electronic device B: battery BS: surface C: shell 10, 10’, 10”: membrane switch assembly 101, 101’: the first membrane switch 102: Second membrane switch 103: Third membrane switch E1, E1’: the first electrode group E2, E2’: Second electrode group E3, E3’: third electrode group 20, 20’, 20”: arithmetic components 201: processor 202: latch circuit 203: Transmission circuit

FIG. 1 is a top view of an electronic device capable of detecting battery expansion according to an embodiment of the invention. 2A is a cross-sectional view of an electronic device capable of detecting battery expansion according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2B is another cross-sectional view of an electronic device capable of detecting battery expansion according to an embodiment of the invention. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the battery according to the embodiment of FIGS. 2A and 2B of the present invention when it is expanded. 4 is a flowchart of a method for detecting battery swelling according to an embodiment of the invention. 5 is a top view of an electronic device capable of detecting battery expansion according to an embodiment of the invention. 6 is a flowchart of a method for detecting battery swelling according to an embodiment of the invention. 7 is a top view of an electronic device capable of detecting battery expansion according to an embodiment of the invention. 8A is a cross-sectional view of an electronic device capable of detecting battery expansion according to the embodiment of FIG. 7 of the present invention. 8B is another cross-sectional view of the electronic device capable of detecting battery expansion according to the embodiment of FIG. 7 of the present invention. 9 is a flowchart of a method for detecting battery swelling according to an embodiment of the invention. 10 is a top view of an electronic device capable of detecting battery expansion according to an embodiment of the invention.

C: shell

B: battery

BS: surface

1: Electronic device

10: Membrane switch assembly

20: computing component

201: processor

101: The first membrane switch

E1: First electrode group

Claims (10)

An electronic device capable of detecting battery expansion includes: a membrane switch assembly disposed above a surface of a battery, the membrane switch assembly including a first membrane switch, the first membrane switch including a first electrode group, and The first electrode group has a first actuation threshold. When the applied pressure on the first electrode group exceeds the first actuation threshold, the first electrode group exhibits a short circuit; and an arithmetic component electrically connected to the film The switch component, the computing component generates a warning message when the first electrode group exhibits a short circuit for a preset period of time. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the computing component includes a processor and a latch circuit, the latch circuit is electrically connected between the membrane switch component and the processor, and when the first electrode group When a short circuit occurs, the latch circuit assumes a trigger state, and the processor generates the warning message when detecting that the trigger state continues for the preset period of time. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the membrane switch assembly further includes a second membrane switch, the second membrane switch includes a second electrode group, and the second electrode group has a second actuation threshold when the The applied pressure on the second electrode group exceeds the second actuation threshold, and the second electrode group exhibits a short circuit. The electronic device according to claim 3, wherein the computing component includes a processor and a transmission module, the transmission module is electrically connected to the processor, the first membrane switch and the second membrane switch, when the When both the first electrode group and the second electrode group exhibit a short circuit and continue for the preset period of time, the transmission module transmits a trigger signal to the processor, and the processor generates the warning message accordingly. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the first membrane switch further includes a second electrode group, the second electrode group has a second actuation threshold, when the applied pressure on the second electrode group exceeds the first Two actuation thresholds, the second electrode group exhibits a short circuit. The electronic device according to claim 5, wherein the computing component includes a processor and a transmission module, the transmission module is electrically connected to the processor, the first electrode group and the second electrode group, when the When both the first electrode group and the second electrode group exhibit a short circuit and continue for the preset period of time, the transmission module transmits a trigger signal to the processor, and the processor generates the warning message accordingly. A battery expansion detection method includes: detecting an applied pressure with a first electrode group of a membrane switch assembly; when the applied pressure exceeds a first actuation threshold of the first electrode group, the first An electrode group exhibits a short circuit, and an arithmetic component determines whether the first electrode group exhibits a short circuit for a preset period of time; and when the arithmetic component determines that the first electrode group exhibits a short circuit for the preset period of time, a warning message is generated. The detection method according to claim 7, wherein the computing component includes a processor and a latch circuit, wherein in the step of determining whether the first electrode group is short-circuited for the preset period of time by the computing component, it is The method includes: when the first electrode group of the first membrane switch exhibits a short circuit, the latch circuit assumes a trigger state; and the processor detects that the latch circuit assumes the trigger state for the preset time period, and generates The warning message. The detection method according to claim 8, wherein the membrane switch assembly further includes a second electrode group, and the detection method further includes: determining whether the second electrode group exhibits a short circuit for the preset period of time with the arithmetic unit. The detection method according to claim 9, wherein the computing component includes a processor and a transmission module, the detection method further includes: when both the first electrode group and the second electrode group exhibit a short circuit and continue to reach At the preset time period, the transmission module transmits a trigger signal to the processor; and the processor generates the warning message accordingly.

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