Mechanisms for detecting exposure to water in an electronic device
First Claim
1. An electronic device comprising:
- a component carrier having formed therein a first water sensor, the first water sensor having a first patterned conductor piece formed in a metal layer of the component carrier and a bridge being an amount of water-soluble conductive glue filling an electrically insulating gap between the first patterned conductor piece and another conductor in the component carrier to form a conductive path between the first patterned conductor piece and the another conductor, wherein the conductive path dissolves and an open circuit forms between the first patterned conductor piece and the another conductor in response to exposure of the bridge to water; and
a sensing circuit coupled to the first patterned conductor piece and the another conductor to detect changes in impedance of the path.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A component carrier has formed therein a water sensor, having a first patterned conductor piece formed in a metal layer of the component carrier and a bridge being an amount of water-soluble conductive glue filling an electrically insulating gap between the patterned conductor piece and another conductor in the carrier. This forms a conductive path between the patterned conductor piece and the another conductor. A sensing circuit is coupled to detect changes in impedance of the path. In another embodiment, a discrete component has a pair of terminals with a bridge being an amount of water-soluble conductive glue filling the electrically insulating gap between the terminals to form a conductive path whose impedance changes in response to coming into contact with a sufficient amount of water. Other embodiments are also described and claimed.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. An electronic device comprising:
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a component carrier having formed therein a first water sensor, the first water sensor having a first patterned conductor piece formed in a metal layer of the component carrier and a bridge being an amount of water-soluble conductive glue filling an electrically insulating gap between the first patterned conductor piece and another conductor in the component carrier to form a conductive path between the first patterned conductor piece and the another conductor, wherein the conductive path dissolves and an open circuit forms between the first patterned conductor piece and the another conductor in response to exposure of the bridge to water; and a sensing circuit coupled to the first patterned conductor piece and the another conductor to detect changes in impedance of the path. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method for manufacturing an electronic device, comprising:
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depositing an amount of water-soluble conductive glue onto a component carrier of the device to fill an electrically insulating gap between a first patterned conductor piece and another conductor in the carrier to form a conductive bridge that connects the first patterned conductor piece and the another conductor, wherein the conductive bridge dissolves and an open circuit forms between the first patterned conductor piece and the another conductor in response to exposure of the bridge to water, thereby forming a water sensor; and installing a sensing circuit on the carrier coupled to the first patterned conductor piece and the another conductor, wherein the sensing circuit is to detect a change in impedance of the conductive bridge caused by immersion of the bridge in water. - View Dependent Claims (13)
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14. An electronic device comprising:
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a component carrier having a plurality of water sensors formed therein, each water sensor having a pair of patterned conductor pieces formed in the carrier and a bridge being an amount of water-soluble conductive glue filling an electrically insulating gap between the pair to form a respective conductive path that connects the pair, wherein the respective conductive path dissolves and an open circuit forms between the pair in response to exposure of the bridge to water, the respective conductive paths being connected as a randomly accessible sensor array; and a selection and sensing circuit coupled to the randomly accessible sensor array, to pass a current through any one of the respective conductive paths at a time and then detect a change in impedance therein, the selection and sensing circuit to, in response to detecting the change in impedance, signal an alert to a data processor that evaluates and logs water exposure events in the device. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. An electronic device comprising:
a component carrier having a plurality of components installed thereon including (1) a discrete water sensor component, the discrete water sensor component having a pair of terminals and a bridge being an amount of water-soluble conductive glue filling an electrically insulating gap between the pair to form a conductive path that connects the pair, wherein the respective conductive path dissolves and an open circuit forms between the pair in response to exposure of the bridge to water, and (2) a sensing circuit coupled to the terminals of the discrete water sensor component, to detect a change in impedance of the path and in response signal a water exposure alert. - View Dependent Claims (20)
Specification