Thermal protection circuits for electronic device cables
First Claim
1. A cable, comprising:
- at least a pair of conductive lines;
first and second connectors coupled to respective ends of the lines; and
thermal protection circuitry that includes;
a cutoff switch interposed in at least one of the lines;
a fuse, wherein the thermal protection circuitry is configured to close the switch when the fuse is intact; and
a thermistor configured to blow the fuse through increased current flow in the fuse when temperature of the thermistor has exceeded a threshold temperature.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Connectors for cables such as a 30-pin connector are provided. The connectors may have thermal protection circuits and may carry a power supply voltage and a ground voltage. The thermal protection circuits may disable the power supply voltage when the temperature of the connector exceeds a threshold value. The thermal protection circuits may disable the power supply voltage when liquid is detected in the connector. The thermal protection circuits may disable the power supply voltage permanently or temporarily. In one example, when a cable is reset, the thermal protection circuits may use a record of previous fault events and measurements from thermal and liquid sensors to determine whether to enable or disable the power supply voltage.
-
Citations
20 Claims
-
1. A cable, comprising:
-
at least a pair of conductive lines; first and second connectors coupled to respective ends of the lines; and thermal protection circuitry that includes; a cutoff switch interposed in at least one of the lines; a fuse, wherein the thermal protection circuitry is configured to close the switch when the fuse is intact; and a thermistor configured to blow the fuse through increased current flow in the fuse when temperature of the thermistor has exceeded a threshold temperature. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
-
-
10. A cable, comprising:
-
at least a pair of conductive lines; first and second connectors coupled to respective ends of the lines; a cutoff switch interposed in at least one of the lines; moisture sensor circuitry coupled to the cutoff switch and configured to monitor moisture intrusion into a component of the cable; heat detector configured to monitor temperature of the component of the cable; and control circuit configured to use moisture intrusion data from the moisture sensor circuitry and temperature data from the heat detector to determine whether the cutoff switch is to be permanently or temporarily opened, wherein the first and second connectors are electrically decoupled when the cutoff switch is opened. - View Dependent Claims (11, 14, 15, 16)
-
-
12. A cable, comprising:
-
at least a pair of conductive lines; first and second connectors coupled to respective ends of the lines; a cutoff switch interposed in at least one of the lines; moisture sensor circuitry coupled to the cutoff switch, wherein the moisture sensor circuitry comprises a pair of conductors separated by a gap; and a printed circuit board in the first connector, wherein the printed circuit board has a perimeter and wherein the pair of conductors are formed on at least part of the perimeter of the printed circuit board.
-
-
13. A cable, comprising:
-
at least a pair of conductive lines; first and second connectors coupled to respective ends of the lines; a cutoff switch interposed in at least one of the lines; moisture sensor circuitry coupled to the cutoff switch, wherein the moisture sensor circuitry comprises a pair of conductors separated by a gap; and a printed circuit board in the first connector, wherein the printed circuit board has a perimeter and wherein the pair of conductors are arranged in a ring that extends around a majority of the perimeter of the printed circuit board.
-
-
17. A method, comprising:
-
gathering real time sensor data with sensor circuitry in a cable that has at least a pair of lines with connectors at either end; retrieving information from storage indicative of previously stored sensor data; and determining to permanently or temporarily prevent power flow through at least one of the lines based at least partly on the retrieved information and at least partly on the real time sensor data. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
-
Specification