Portable electronic device with an impact-detecting function

A portable electronic device includes a housing, and a fragment mechanism installed inside the housing. The fragment mechanism includes a first fragment, and a second fragment pressing against the first fragment. The first fragment is capable of being separated from the second fragment when an impulsive force greater than a critical impulsive force is applied to the portable electronic device.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a portable electronic device with an impact-detecting function, and more particularly, to a portable electronic device utilizing a fragment mechanism to detect impact level.

2. Description of the Prior Art

In highly developed information communication systems in the modem information society, electronic devices are widely utilized in every area. For instance, the utilization of a convenient and lightweight mobile phone device has become a way of communication in our daily life; users can easily exchange and share information, experiences, and opinions through the convenience of the mobile phone device. In regard to the impact protection or drop protection of consumer electronic products, most drop test standards follow real usage scenarios for the products to be tested. However it is not always easy to predict all usage patterns of products by consumers. For instance, a warranty does not cover damage caused by artificial factors, such as throwing down mobile phones. But for now it is difficult to determine if the impulsive force applied to the mobile phone is over the limited load, and it is therefore difficult to determine who is responsible for the repairs. There is a need to get information of usage status of a product from the product itself so that the responsibility for repairing can be decided according to whether the product has been under an over-loading situation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore a primary objective of the claimed invention to provide a portable electronic device with an impact-detecting function for solving the above-mentioned problem.

According to the claimed invention, a portable electronic device includes a housing, and a fragment mechanism installed inside the housing. The fragment mechanism includes a first fragment, and a second fragment pressing against the first fragment. The first fragment is capable of being separated from the second fragment when an impulsive force greater than a critical impulsive force is applied to the portable electronic device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Please refer toFIG. 1.FIG. 1is a diagram of a portable electronic device10falling according to the present invention. The portable electronic device10can be a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), and so on. The portable electronic device10includes a housing12for covering internal components of the portable electronic device10so as to prevent the internal components from damage when the portable electronic device10falls.

Please refer toFIG. 2.FIG. 2is a functional block diagram of the portable electronic device10according to the present invention. The portable electronic device10includes a fragment mechanism14installed inside the housing12, a control module16installed inside the housing12for controlling operation of the portable electronic device10, a detection circuit18installed inside the housing12and coupled to the control module16for outputting a detection signal to the control module16, and a warning interface20coupled to the control module16. The control module16controls the warning interface20to present a warning message when the control module16receives a separation detection signal from the detection circuit18. The warning interface20can be a display module, such as an LCD monitor.

Please refer toFIG. 3.FIG. 3is a diagram of the fragment mechanism14installed on an inner surface of the housing12according to the present invention. The location of the fragment mechanism14depends on the direction of the impact detection. For instance, when the fragment mechanism14ais positioned on the upper or lower side of the housing12, the fragment mechanism14acan be used for detecting impact level in Z direction of the portable electronic device10. When the fragment mechanism14bis positioned on the lateral side of the housing12, the fragment mechanism14bcan be used for detecting impact level in X direction of the portable electronic device10. When the fragment mechanism14cis positioned to the front or rear side of the housing12, the fragment mechanism14ccan be used for detecting impact level in Y direction of the portable electronic device10. The location and the number of the fragment mechanism14installed inside the housing12depends on the design demand, and is not limited to the examples mentioned above. The fragment mechanism14can be connected to the inner surface of the housing12with a surface mounting technique, as a monolithic structure, by wedging in the inner surface of the housing, or with a thermit welding method. The fragment mechanism14also can be connected to structures other than the housing12structure.

Please refer toFIG. 4andFIG. 5.FIG. 4is a diagram of the fragment mechanism14in an original state or under a situation where no impulsive force greater than a critical impulsive force applied to the portable electronic device10has occurred according to the present invention.FIG. 5is a diagram of the fragment mechanism14under a situation where an impulsive force greater than a critical impulsive force applied to the portable electronic device10has occurred according to the present invention. As shown inFIG. 4, the fragment mechanism14includes a first fragment22, and a second fragment24pressing against the first fragment22. The first fragment22and the second fragment24may be made of metal. When the portable electronic device10falls and hits the ground, the portable electronic device10experiences an sudden impulsive force due to the impact of the portable electronic device10with the ground. The impulsive force might cause damages to the portable electronic device10, such as appearance or structural breakage. The first fragment22and the second fragment24separate when the impulsive force is greater than a critical impulsive force. As shown inFIG. 5, the first fragment22is capable of being separated from the bottom of the second fragment24when a magnitude of an impulsive force applied to the portable electronic device10is greater than a critical impulsive value. That is, when the impulsive force applied to the portable electronic device10is too large, there would be a relative movement between the first fragment22and the second fragment24. Whether an over-loading impact is applied to the portable electronic device10can be determined according to the relative position between first fragment22and the second fragment24so that the manufacturer can determine the repair responsibility.

For example, during a drop test a mobile phone falls from a height of 1.5 meters to the ground, the period of the mobile phone contacting with the ground is about 0.1 second, and the coefficient of restitution of the mobile phone and the ground is 0.5. The transformation of the energy and the momentum change is as follows: (wherein Δt=0.1 (sec), the weight of the mobile phone, m,=0.1 (kg), Δh=1.5(m))
F*Δt=m*ΔV(V=(2gh)0.5, g=9.8 m/s2)
F*0.1=0.1 ((2gh)0.5*0.5+(2gh)0.5)
F*0.1=0.1 ((2*9.8*1.5)0.5*0.5+(2*9.8*1.5)0.5)
F≈8.13(N)

That is, under the above-mentioned condition the impulsive force of the mobile phone is about 8.13 nt. The separation force of the first fragment22and the second fragment24of the fragment mechanism14can be set to 8.13 nt (a critical impulsive value). When the falling height of the portable electronic device10increases and other conditions are the same, an impulsive force greater than the critical impulsive value (8.13 nt) is applied to the portable electronic device10so that the first fragment22separates from the bottom of the second fragment24. This provides evidence that the impulsive force due to falling down is greater than the standard value of the drop test so that the portable electronic device10is damaged due to artificial factors.

In addition, a circuit can be applied in the present invention to inform users whether the first fragment22and the second fragment24are separated. Please refer toFIG. 6andFIG. 7.FIG. 6is a diagram of the first fragment mechanism22being pressed by the second fragment24shown inFIG. 4so that the detection circuit18is closed.FIG. 7is a diagram of the first fragment22separated from the second fragment24shown inFIG. 5so that the detection circuit18is open. The first fragment22and the second fragment24are connected to the detection circuit18electrically. When no impulsive force greater than the critical impulsive force is applied to the portable electronic device10, that is, the first fragment22does not separate from the second fragment24, the first fragment22maintains contact with the second fragment24so that the detection circuit18is closed and the detection circuit18does not output any signal to the control module16. When an impulsive force greater than the critical impulsive force is applied to the portable electronic device10, the first fragment22separates from the second fragment24so that the detection circuit18is open and outputs a separation detection signal to the control module16. When the control module16receives the separation detection signal from the detection circuit18, the control module16controls the warning interface20to present a warning message. For instance, the warning interface20can be a display module, such as an LCD monitor, or a speaker to remind users that the portable electronic device10might be damaged and need to be repaired. In addition, when the control module16receives the separation detection signal from the detection circuit18, the control module16also can store the impulsive information in a storage module (not shown in figures) of the portable electronic device10to provide evidence for repair responsibility.

In contrast to the conventional portable electronic device, the portable electronic device according to present invention utilizes a fragment mechanism to detect impact levels. That is, when no impulsive force greater than the critical impulsive force is applied to the portable electronic device, the two fragments are not separated; and when there is an impulsive force greater than the critical impulsive force applied to the portable electronic device, the two fragments are separated. Hence whether an impulsive force greater than the critical impulsive force is applied to the portable electronic device can be determined by the relative position of two fragments or the conductivity of the circuit so that the responsibility for repairing can be decided.