Detecting soft short circuit at charging interface of electronic device

Abstract

A computer-implemented method for detecting a soft short at a charging interface of an electronic device is provided. The method includes obtaining an initial voltage measurement of a voltage reference electrically coupled to the charging interface of the electronic device. The method includes obtaining a plurality of additional voltage measurements of the voltage reference. The method includes detecting a soft short circuit at the charging interface based at least in part on the initial voltage measurement and a temporally closest voltage measurement of the plurality of additional voltage measurements. The method further includes causing the electronic device to perform one or more control actions in response to detecting the soft short circuit at the charging interface.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure generally relates to electronic devices having energy storage devices (eg, rechargeable batteries) and more particularly to a method for detecting a virtual short circuit at a charging interface of an electronic device. Background Art

[0002] An electronic device (e.g., a smart phone, a smart watch, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, etc.) may include a rechargeable battery that provides DC power to its electronic components. For example, the rechargeable battery may be disposed within a housing of the electronic device. In addition, the electronic device may include a charging interface (e.g., a charging port) to facilitate coupling the rechargeable battery to an external power source (e.g., a wall socket) via a charging cable. In this manner, the electronic device may draw a charging current from the external power source to charge the rechargeable battery. Summary of the invention

[0003] Aspects and advantages of embodiments of the present disclosure will be set forth in part in the following description, or may be learned from the description, or may be learned through practice of the embodiments.

[0004] In one aspect, a computer-implemented method for detecting a soft short at a charging interface of an electronic device is provided. The method includes obtaining, via one or more processors, an initial voltage measurement of a voltage reference electrically coupled to a charging interface of the electronic device. The method includes obtaining, via one or more processors, additional voltage measurements of the voltage reference. The method includes detecting, via one or more processors, a soft short at the charging interface based at least in part on the initial voltage measurement and the additional voltage measurement. The method includes causing, via one or more processors, the electronic device to perform one or more control actions in response to detecting a soft short at the charging interface of the electronic device.

[0005] In some implementations, detecting the soft short includes determining, via one or more processors, that an additional voltage measurement of the voltage reference is less than the initial voltage measurement by a threshold amount, the threshold amount indicating the presence of a soft short at the charging interface. In some implementations, the threshold amount is at least 0.5 volts.

[0006] In some implementations, causing the electronic device to perform the one or more control actions includes automatically powering off the electronic device via the one or more processors.

[0007] In some implementations, causing the electronic device to perform one or more control actions includes causing a display screen of the electronic device to display a notification via one or more processors to prompt a user to perform a maintenance action on the electronic device. In some implementations, the maintenance action includes manually powering off the electronic device.

[0008] In some implementations, obtaining the initial voltage measurement and obtaining the additional voltage measurements occur while a rechargeable battery of the electronic device is not being charged by an external power source.

[0009] In some implementations, a soft short corresponds to a resistance ranging from 2 ohms to 100 ohms.

[0010] In some implementations, the method includes storing, via the one or more processors, the initial voltage measurements in one or more memory devices.

[0011] In some implementations, the electronic device is a wearable computing device.

[0012] On the other hand, an electronic device is provided. The electronic device includes an energy storage device and a charging interface, the charging interface being configured to electrically couple an external power source to the energy storage device. The electronic device further includes a power management circuit. The power management circuit includes a voltage reference that can be electrically coupled to the charging interface. The electronic device includes one or more processors, the one or more processors being configured to obtain an initial voltage measurement result of a voltage reference when the voltage reference is electrically coupled to the charging interface. The one or more processors are further configured to obtain additional voltage measurements of the voltage reference. The one or more processors are configured to detect a soft short circuit at the charging interface based at least in part on the initial voltage measurement result of the voltage reference and the additional voltage measurement result of the voltage reference. The one or more processors are configured to cause the electronic device to perform one or more control actions in response to detecting a soft short circuit at the charging interface of the electronic device.

[0013] In some implementations, the power management circuit includes a switching device electrically coupled between the voltage reference and the charging interface. The switching device is configured to selectively couple the voltage reference to the charging interface. In some implementations, the switching device is a transistor.

[0014] In some implementations, to detect a soft short at the charging interface, the one or more processors are configured to determine that an additional voltage measurement of the voltage reference is less than an initial voltage measurement of the voltage reference by a threshold amount, the threshold amount indicating the presence of a soft short.

[0015] In some implementations, the one or more control actions include automatically powering off the electronic device.

[0016] In some implementations, the electronic device further includes a display screen. In addition, in such implementations, the one or more control actions include causing the display screen to display a notification to prompt a user to perform a maintenance action on the electronic device. In some implementations, the maintenance action includes manually powering off the electronic device.

[0017] In some implementations, the one or more processors are configured to obtain the initial voltage measurement and the additional voltage measurement while the energy storage device is not being charged by the external power source.

[0018] In some implementations, the charging interface includes a universal serial bus (USB) charging port.

[0019] In some implementations, the energy storage device includes a rechargeable battery.

[0020] These and other features, aspects and advantages of various embodiments of the present disclosure will be better understood with reference to the following description and appended claims.The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate example embodiments of the present disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the relevant principles. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] A detailed discussion of the embodiments for those skilled in the art is set forth in this specification with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0022] Figure 1 An external power source coupled to an electronic device is depicted in accordance with some implementations of the present disclosure.

[0023] Figure 2 A schematic diagram depicting a power interface of an electronic device according to some implementations of the present disclosure is depicted.

[0024] Figure 3 A soft short circuit at a charging interface of an electronic device according to some implementations of the present disclosure is depicted.

[0025] Figure 4 A flow chart of a method for detecting a soft short at a charging interface of an electronic device according to some implementations of the present disclosure is depicted.

[0026] Figure 5 A perspective view of an electronic device according to some implementations of the present disclosure is depicted.

[0027] Figure 6 Depicted are cross-sectional views of a wearable computing device according to some implementations of the present disclosure.

[0028] Figure 7 Describes some implementations of the present disclosure Figure 5 Rear view of the electronic device.

[0029] Figure 8 Describes some implementations of the present disclosure Figure 5 A block diagram of components of an electronic device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the present disclosure, one or more examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Each example is provided by way of explanation of the present disclosure rather than by way of limitation. In fact, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations may be made in the present disclosure without departing from the scope or spirit of the present disclosure. For example, a feature shown or described as part of one embodiment may be used together with another embodiment to produce yet further embodiments. Therefore, the present invention is intended to encompass such modifications and variations within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

[0031] Example aspects of the present disclosure relate to an electronic device having an energy storage device (e.g., a rechargeable battery) that provides DC power to various electronic devices of the electronic device (e.g., sensors, processors, displays, etc.). For example, an electronic device according to the present disclosure may include a wearable computing device that can be worn, for example, on a user's arm. The wearable computing device may include a charging interface that can be coupled to an external power source (e.g., a wall charger, a laptop computer, etc.) via a conductor (e.g., a charging cable). In this way, the wearable computing device can draw a charging current from the external power source to charge the energy storage device.

[0032] The charging interface may include a voltage input (e.g., V BUS ) and electrical ground (e.g., GND). Over time, a soft short may develop between the voltage input and the electrical ground. For example, a soft short may occur due to water entering the interior of the housing of the electronic device at the opening for the charging interface. As another example, a soft short may be caused by a weld breakdown of a capacitor electrically coupled between the voltage input and the electrical ground. As used herein, a "soft short" refers to a non-zero resistance between the voltage input and the electrical ground. For example, in some implementations, the soft short may be in the range of 2 ohms to 100 ohms.

[0033] When the electronic device is coupled to an external power source, a soft short circuit at the charging interface of the electronic device may cause a high, uncontrolled current to flow through the electronic device. The high, uncontrolled current flowing through the electronic device may be problematic. For example, the high, uncontrolled current may cause the electronic device to heat to an unsafe temperature.

[0034] Example aspects of the present disclosure relate to detecting the presence of a soft short circuit at a charging interface of an electronic device. The electronic device may include a power management circuit configured to control the charging of an energy storage device. The power management circuit may include a voltage reference electrically coupled to the charging interface. The electronic device may include a processor configured to read the voltage reference. The processor may obtain an initial voltage measurement result of the voltage reference. For example, the processor may obtain an initial voltage measurement result of the voltage reference before the electronic device leaves the factory. At this time, the initial voltage measurement result should correspond to the voltage that the voltage reference is configured to provide because there is no soft short circuit at the charging interface. After the electronic device leaves the factory, the processor may obtain multiple additional voltage measurements of the voltage reference. In some implementations, the processor may be configured to obtain multiple additional voltage measurements at predetermined time intervals. For example, in some implementations, the processor may be configured to obtain additional voltage measurements once a day. In alternative implementations, the processor may be configured to obtain additional voltage measurements at a higher or lower frequency.

[0035] It should be understood that the voltage measurement results can be stored in one or more memory devices. For example, in some implementations, the electronic device may include one or more memory devices, and the processor may be configured to write the voltage measurement results to the one or more memory devices. In some implementations, the initial voltage measurement result may be stored in a first location (e.g., a memory cell) of one or more memory devices. In addition, the additional voltage measurement results may be stored in a second location (e.g., a memory cell) of one or more memory devices that is different from the first location. In some implementations, the processor may be configured to write each of the multiple additional voltage measurements to a different memory cell of the one or more memory devices. In an alternative implementation, the processor may overwrite the same memory cell with the latest voltage measurement result in the multiple additional voltage measurements. In this way, memory space on one or more memory devices of the electronic device can be saved.

[0036] The processor may be configured to detect a soft short at the charging interface based on the initial voltage measurement and the latest voltage measurement in the plurality of additional measurements. For example, the processor may be configured to detect a soft short when the latest voltage measurement is less than the initial voltage measurement by a threshold amount. In some implementations, the initial voltage measurement may be 1 volt and the threshold amount may be 0.5 volts. Thus, in such implementations, the processor may detect a soft short when the latest voltage measurement in the additional voltage measurements of the voltage reference is 0.5 volts or less.

[0037] The processor may be configured to perform one or more control actions in response to detecting a soft short at the charging interface. For example, in some implementations, the one or more control actions may include automatically powering off the electronic device. In an alternative implementation, the processor may be configured to cause a display screen of the electronic device to display a notification to prompt a user to perform a maintenance action on the electronic device. In some implementations, the maintenance action may include handing the electronic device to an authorized technician. In addition, the maintenance action may include manually powering off the electronic device.

[0038] An electronic device according to an example aspect of the present disclosure may provide many technical effects and benefits. For example, an electronic device may detect a soft short circuit at its charging interface and, in response to detecting the soft short circuit, perform one or more control actions to protect the electronic device from high, uncontrolled current that may occur when the electronic device is charged via an external power source.

[0039] Now referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 An electronic device 100 is depicted coupled to an external power source 110 via a conductor 120 according to some implementations of the present disclosure. In some implementations, the external power source 110 may be an alternating current (AC) wall outlet. In alternative implementations, the external power source 110 may include another electronic device (e.g., a laptop computer) configured to output direct current (DC) power.

[0040] It should be understood that the conductor 120 can provide an electrical path from the external power source 110 (e.g., an AC wall outlet, such as an approximately 120VAC wall outlet, a USB charging source, or other suitable power source) to the electronic device 100. In this way, the electronic device 100 can draw a charging current 122 from the external power source 110. In some implementations, the conductor 120 can be a charging cable. For example, in some implementations, the charging cable can include a universal serial bus (USB) charging cable. However, it should be understood that the charging cable can include any suitable type of charging cable.

[0041] The electronic device 100 may include a charging interface 130. The charging interface 130 may couple the electronic device 100 to the end of the conductor 120. In some implementations, the charging interface 130 may include a plurality of charging pins, each of which may be electrically coupled to a corresponding contact of the conductor 120. In alternative implementations, the charging interface 130 may include a charging port into which the end of the conductor 120 is inserted. Other suitable charging interfaces may be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0042] The electronic device 100 may include a power management circuit 140. The power management circuit 140 may be electrically coupled between the charging interface 130 and the energy storage device 150 of the electronic device 100. In some implementations, the energy storage device 150 may include a rechargeable battery. The power management circuit 140 may be configured to control the charging of the energy storage device 150. In some implementations, the power management circuit 140 may be implemented as an integrated circuit.

[0043] Reference now Figure 2 and Figure 3 , the power management circuit 140 can be positioned within the housing 160 of the electronic device 100. For example, the power management circuit 140 can be positioned within the interior 162 defined by the housing 160. As shown, the power management circuit 140 can include a voltage reference V REF For example, in some implementations, the voltage reference V REF can be a 1 volt reference. However, it should be understood that the voltage reference V REF May have any suitable voltage.

[0044] The power management circuit 140 may include a voltage reference V REF The power management circuit 140 may further include a switch device 142 electrically coupled between the switch device 142 and the voltage reference V REF In some implementations, resistor 144 can have a resistance ranging from about 800 ohms to about 2 kilo-ohms. However, it should be understood that resistor 144 can have any suitable resistance value.

[0045] The electronic device 100 may include a processor 170 communicatively coupled to the power management circuit 140 of the electronic device 100. In this manner, when the voltage reference V REF When electrically coupled to the charging interface 130 via the switch device 12, the processor 170 can obtain the voltage reference V REF For example, the processor 170 may provide a drive signal 172 to the switch device 142 to change the voltage reference V REF Electrically coupled to the charging interface 130 , specifically, coupled to a voltage input 132 of the charging interface 130 .

[0046] In some implementations, the power management circuit 140 may include a multiplexer 146 having multiple inputs and a single output. For example, one of the multiple inputs of the multiplexer 146 may include an analog signal 180 indicating when the voltage reference V REF The voltage reference V is electrically coupled to the voltage input 132 of the charging interface 130 via the switch device 142. REF Therefore, when the processor 170 provides the drive signal 172 to the switch device 142 to REF The voltage reference V is obtained when the voltage input 132 of the charging interface 130 is electrically coupled to the charging interface 130. REF When , the single output of multiplexer 146 can be analog signal 180.

[0047] In some implementations, the power management circuit 140 may include an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) 148 electrically coupled between a single output of the multiplexer 146 and the processor 170. In such implementations, the ADC 148 may be configured to convert an analog signal 180 output by the multiplexer 146 into a digital signal 182 that may be processed by the processor 170.

[0048] In some implementations, the processor 170 can be configured to REF The voltage reference V is obtained when the voltage input 132 of the charging interface 130 is electrically coupled to the charging interface 130. REF For example, the processor 170 may obtain the voltage reference V before the electronic device 100 leaves the factory. REF At this time, the initial voltage measurement result can be compared with the voltage reference V REF In some implementations, the processor 170 may be configured to store a voltage reference V REF For example, in some implementations, the processor 170 may store the initial voltage measurement result in one or more memory devices (not shown) of the electronic device 100.

[0049] After the electronic device 100 leaves the factory, the processor 170 may be configured to REF The voltage reference V is obtained when the voltage input 132 of the charging interface 130 is electrically coupled to the charging interface 130. REF In some implementations, the processor 170 may be configured to obtain multiple additional voltage measurements at predetermined time intervals. For example, in some implementations, the processor 170 may be configured to obtain additional voltage measurements once a day. In alternative implementations, the processor may be configured to obtain additional voltage measurements at a higher or lower frequency.

[0050] In some implementations, the processor 170 can be configured to store one or more of the plurality of additional voltage measurements in one or more memory devices of the electronic device 100. For example, in some implementations, the processor 170 can store each of the plurality of additional voltage measurements. In an alternative implementation, when the voltage reference V REF When electrically coupled to the voltage input 132 of the charging interface 130, the processor may store a voltage reference V REF For example, the processor 170 can use the voltage reference V REF The current voltage measurement result covers the voltage reference V REF In this way, one or more memory devices may be freed up to store other information regarding the operation of the electronic device 100.

[0051] In some implementations, the processor 170 can be configured to set the voltage reference V REF The processor 170 may be configured to transmit the plurality of additional voltage measurements to a remote computing device. For example, in some implementations, the processor 170 may be configured to transmit the plurality of additional voltage measurements to a cloud computing device (e.g., a server) configured to store the plurality of additional voltage measurements via one or more networks.

[0052] It should be understood that the processor 170 can be configured to discard any additional voltage measurements obtained while the electronic device 100 is being charged. More specifically, the processor 170 can be configured to discard any additional voltage measurements obtained while the electronic device 100 is being charged via the conductor 120 ( Figure 1 ) is electrically coupled to an external power source 110 ( Figure 1 ) is obtained when the voltage reference V REF The voltage measurement result can be different from the voltage reference V REF For example, the charging voltage may be greater than the voltage reference V REF .

[0053] Over time, a soft short 134 may occur between the voltage input 132 and the electrical ground 136 of the charging interface 130. In some implementations, the soft short 134 may occur at least in part due to the ingress of a fluid (e.g., water) into the interior 162 of the housing 160. More specifically, the fluid may enter the interior 162 via one or more openings defined for the charging interface 130. In an alternative implementation, the soft short 134 may occur at least in part due to degradation of the performance of a capacitor (not shown) electrically coupled between the voltage input 132 and the electrical ground 136 of the charging interface 130. For example, a connection (e.g., a solder joint) between the capacitor and the voltage input 132 or a connection (e.g., a solder joint) between the capacitor and the electrical ground 136 may degrade over time, which may cause the soft short 134.

[0054] The processor 170 may be configured to determine the voltage reference V based at least in part on the REF When the voltage reference V is electrically coupled to the voltage input 132 REF The initial voltage measurement result and when the voltage reference V REF When the voltage reference V is electrically coupled to the voltage input 132 REF The soft short circuit 134 is detected by the current voltage measurement result. For example, the processor 170 can be configured to detect the soft short circuit 134 when the voltage reference V REF A soft short 134 is detected when the current voltage measurement of is less than the initial voltage measurement by a threshold amount (eg, 0.5 volts).

[0055] The processor 170 may be configured to cause the electronic device 100 to perform one or more control actions in response to detecting a soft short 134 at the charging interface 130. For example, in some implementations, the one or more control actions may include automatically powering off the electronic device 100. In an alternative implementation, the processor may be configured to cause the display device 190 of the electronic device 100 to display a notification to prompt the user to perform a maintenance action on the electronic device 100. In some implementations, the maintenance action may include handing the electronic device 100 to an authorized technician. In addition, the maintenance action may include manually powering off the electronic device 100.

[0056] Reference now Figure 4 According to an implementation of the present disclosure, a flowchart of an exemplary method 200 for controlling charging of an electronic device is provided. The method 200 may be performed by, for example, Figure 1 The processor 170 of the electronic device 100 discussed is implemented. Figure 4The steps are depicted as being performed in a particular order for purposes of illustration and discussion. One of ordinary skill in the art, using the disclosure provided herein, will appreciate that the various steps of method 200 or any of the other methods disclosed herein may be adjusted, modified, rearranged, performed simultaneously, or modified in various ways without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0057] At (202), method 200 may include when a voltage reference V REF When the voltage input 132 of the charging interface 130 is electrically coupled to the switching device 142, the voltage reference V REF For example, in some implementations, the processor 170 of the electronic device 100 may provide a drive signal 172 to the switch device 142 to make the voltage reference V REF The processor 170 can be configured to stop providing the drive signal 172 to the switch device 142 to reduce the voltage reference V REF Decoupled from voltage input 132 of charging interface 130 .

[0058] At (204), method 200 may include when the voltage reference V REF When electrically coupled to the voltage input 132 of the charging interface 130, the voltage reference V REF For example, in some implementations, the processor 170 of the electronic device 100 may provide a drive signal 172 to the switch device 142 to make the voltage reference V REF The processor 170 can be configured to stop providing the drive signal 172 to the switch device 142 to reduce the voltage reference V REF Decoupled from voltage input 132 of charging interface 130 .

[0059] At (206), method 200 may include determining whether energy storage device 150 of electronic device 100 is being charged by external power source 110. For example, processor 170 may be configured to compare the additional voltage measurement obtained at (204) with the charging voltage (e.g., 5 volts) of electronic device 100. In some implementations, the charging voltage is greater than a voltage reference V REF When processor 170 determines that the additional voltage reference obtained at (204) corresponds to the charging voltage, method 200 may proceed to (212). Otherwise, method 200 may proceed to

[0060] At (208), method 200 may include comparing the additional voltage measurement obtained at (204) with the initial voltage measurement obtained at (202) to detect the presence of a soft short 134 at charging interface 130. For example, processor 170 may be configured to detect the presence of a soft short 134 when the additional voltage measurement is less than the initial voltage measurement by a threshold amount, the threshold amount indicating the presence of a soft short 134 between voltage input 132 and electrical ground 136. When processor 170 determines that voltage reference V obtained at (204) is REF The additional voltage measurement result is greater than the voltage reference V REF When the initial voltage measurement result is less than the threshold amount, method 200 may proceed to (210). Otherwise, method 200 may proceed to (212).

[0061] At (210), the method 200 may include causing the electronic device to perform one or more control actions in response to detecting the presence of a soft short 134 at the charging interface 130. In some implementations, the one or more control actions may include automatically powering off the electronic device 100. In an alternative implementation, the processor 170 may be configured to cause a display screen (not shown) of the electronic device 100 to display a notification to prompt a user to perform a maintenance action on the electronic device 100. In some implementations, the maintenance action may include handing the electronic device 100 to an authorized technician. In addition, the maintenance action may include manually powering off the electronic device 100.

[0062] At (212), method 200 may continue. For example, in some implementations, method 200 may continue based on the voltage reference V obtained at (204). REF After a predetermined amount of time has passed since the most recent voltage measurement, the process returns to (204). In some implementations, the predetermined amount of time may be one day (eg, 24 hours).

[0063] Reference now Figures 5 to 7 According to some implementations of the present disclosure, a wearable computing device 300 is provided. It should be understood that the wearable computing device 300 may be a wearable computing device such as the one described above. Figure 1 The electronic device 100 receives power from the external power source 110 discussed. As shown, the wearable computing device 300 can be worn, for example, on the arm (e.g., wrist) of a user. For example, the wearable computing device 300 can include a band 302 and a housing 310. In some implementations, the housing 310 can include a conductive material (e.g., metal). In alternative implementations, the housing 310 can include a non-conductive material (e.g., a plastic material, a ceramic material).

[0064] The housing 310 can be coupled to the band 302. In this manner, the band 302 can be fastened to the user's arm to secure the housing 310 to the user's arm. In addition, the housing 310 can define a cavity 311 for one or more electronic components (e.g., disposed on a printed circuit board) of the wearable computing device 300. For example, the one or more electronic components may include the components described above with reference to FIG. Figure 1 The power management circuit 140 is discussed.

[0065] In some implementations, the wearable computing device 300 may include a display screen 312. The display screen 312 may display content (e.g., time, date, biometrics, etc.) for a user to view. In some implementations, the display screen 312 may include an interactive display screen (e.g., a touch screen or a touch-free display screen). In such implementations, a user may interact with the wearable computing device 300 via the display screen 312 to control the operation of the wearable computing device 300.

[0066] In some implementations, the wearable computing device 300 can include one or more input devices 314 that can be manipulated (e.g., pressed) by a user to interact with the wearable computing device 300. For example, the one or more input devices 314 can include mechanical buttons that can be manipulated (e.g., pressed) to interact with the wearable computing device 300. In some implementations, the one or more input devices 314 can be manipulated to control the operation of a backlight (not shown) associated with the display screen 312. It should be understood that the one or more input devices 314 can be configured to allow a user to interact with the wearable computing device 300 in any suitable manner. For example, in some implementations, the one or more input devices 314 can be manipulated by a user to navigate through content (e.g., one or more menu screens) displayed on the display screen 312.

[0067] The wearable computing device 300 may include an energy storage device 316 positioned within a cavity 311 defined by the housing 310. The energy storage device 316 may be configured to provide DC power to one or more electronic devices of the wearable computing device 300. For example, in some implementations, the energy storage device 316 may be a rechargeable battery (e.g., lithium ion). It should be understood that the rechargeable battery may have any suitable rated voltage. For example, in some implementations, the rated voltage of the rechargeable battery may be in the range of about 1.2 volts to about 3 volts.

[0068] In some implementations, the wearable computing device 300 may include a first electrode 340 and a second electrode 342. It should be understood that in alternative implementations, the wearable computing device 300 may include more or fewer electrodes. As shown, the first electrode 340 and the second electrode 342 are positioned within corresponding holes (e.g., cutouts) defined by the housing 310. In addition, since the first electrode 340 and the second electrode 342 are both on the wrist-facing side of the wearable computing device 300, when the user is wearing the wearable computing device 300, the first electrode 340 and the second electrode 342 may each contact (e.g., touch) the user's wrist. In this way, the first electrode 340 and the second electrode 342 may obtain data indicating one or more biometric features (e.g., skin electrode activity, electrocardiogram) of the user.

[0069] The wearable computing device 300 may include a charging interface 350 configured to couple the wearable computing device 300 to an external power source (e.g., a wall socket) via a conductor (e.g., a charging cable). In some implementations, the charging interface 350 may include a plurality of charging pins positioned on a wrist-facing side of the wearable computing device 300. Each of the charging pins on the wrist-facing side may be electrically coupled to a corresponding contact of the conductor. In alternative implementations, the charging interface 350 may be configured as a charging port. For example, in some implementations, the charging interface 350 may be configured as a USB charging port.

[0070] It should be understood that the wearable computing device 300 may include the above reference Figure 1 For example, the power management circuit 140 of the wearable computing device can be coupled between the charging interface 350 and the energy storage device 316. It should also be understood that the power management circuit 140 can be configured to implement the above reference Figure 2 The method 200 is discussed to control the charging speed (eg, charging current) of the wearable computing device 300 to avoid causing an external power source (eg, a wall socket) to crash (eg, trip a circuit breaker).

[0071] Reference now Figure 6 , illustrates components of an example computing system 400 of a wearable computing device 300 that can be utilized according to various embodiments. Specifically, as shown in the figure, the computing system 400 may also include a computer system that is communicatively coupled to the above reference Figure 5At least one controller 402 for controlling the electrodes (e.g., the first electrode 340 and the second electrode 342) described herein. In addition, in embodiments, the controller 202 may be a central processing unit (CPU) or a graphics processing unit (GPU) for executing instructions that may be stored in a memory device 404 such as flash memory or DRAM, as well as other such options. For example, in embodiments, the memory device 404 may include a RAM, a ROM, a flash memory, or other non-transitory digital data storage device, and may include a control program that includes a sequence of instructions that, when loaded from the memory device 404 and executed using the controller 402, causes the controller 402 to perform the functions described herein.

[0072] The computing system 400 may include many types of memory, data storage, or computer-readable media, such as data storage for program instructions executed by a controller or any suitable processor. The same or separate storage may be used for images or data, removable memory may be used to share information with other devices, and any number of communication methods may be used to share with other devices. In addition, as shown, the computing system 400 includes a display 406, which may be a touch screen, an organic light emitting diode (OLED), or a liquid crystal display (LCD), but the device may communicate information via other means such as through an audio speaker, a projector, or project the display or streaming data onto another device such as a mobile phone, where an application on the mobile phone displays the data.

[0073] The computing system 400 may include one or more wireless networking components 412 that are operable to communicate with one or more electronic devices within the communication range of a particular wireless channel. The wireless channel may be any suitable channel for enabling devices to communicate wirelessly, such as a Bluetooth, cellular, NFC, ultra-wideband (UWB), or Wi-Fi channel. It should be understood that the computing system 400 may have one or more conventional wired communication connections known in the art.

[0074] The computing system 400 also includes one or more power components 408, such as an energy storage device 316 that can be operated to be recharged by conventional plug-in methods. In some implementations, the computing system 400 may also include at least one additional I / O device 410 capable of receiving conventional input from a user. The conventional input may include, for example, a button, a touch pad, a touch screen, a scroll wheel, a joystick, a keyboard, a mouse, a keypad, or any other such device or element, whereby a user can input commands to the computing system 400. In some implementations, the I / O device 410 may be connected via wireless infrared or Bluetooth or other links in some embodiments. In some implementations, the computing system 400 may include a microphone or other audio capture element that accepts voice or other audio commands. For example, in some implementations, the computing system 400 may not include any buttons at all, but may be controlled only by a combination of visual and audio commands, so that a user can control the wearable computing device without having to contact the wearable computing device 300. In some implementations, the I / O device 410 may include one or more of an electrode (eg, the first electrode 340 , the second electrode 342 ), an optical sensor, an air pressure sensor (eg, an altimeter, etc.), and the like.

[0075] The computing system 400 may include a driver 414, and at least some combination of one or more emitters 416 and one or more detectors 418 for measuring data of one or more metrics of a human body, such as a person wearing the wearable computing device 300. In some embodiments, for example, this may involve at least one imaging element, such as one or more cameras capable of capturing images of the surrounding environment and capable of imaging a user, person, or object near the device. The image capture element may include any appropriate technology, such as a CCD image capture element with sufficient resolution, focal range, and viewing area to capture images of the user while the user is operating the device. Further image capture elements may also include depth sensors. Methods of capturing images using camera elements with computing devices are well known in the art and will not be discussed in detail herein. It should be understood that image capture may be performed using a single image, multiple images, periodic imaging, continuous image capture, image streaming, etc. Further, the computing system 400 may include capabilities such as starting and / or stopping image capture when a command from a user, application, or other device is received.

[0076] In one example, the emitter 416 and the detector 418 may also be capable of being used to obtain an optical photoplethysmogram (PPG) measurement. Some PPG techniques rely on detecting light at a single spatial location, or adding signals acquired from two or more spatial locations. Both approaches produce a single spatial measurement from which a heart rate (HR) estimate (or other physiological indicator) can be determined. In some embodiments, the PPG device employs a single light source (i.e., a single light path) coupled to a single detector. Alternatively, the PPG device may employ multiple light sources (i.e., two or more light paths) coupled to a single detector or multiple detectors. In other embodiments, the PPG device employs multiple detectors coupled to a single light source or multiple light sources (i.e., two or more light paths). In some cases, the light source may be configured to emit one or more of green light, red light, infrared (IR) light, and any other suitable wavelength in the spectrum (such as long IR for metabolic monitoring). For example, the PPG device may employ a single light source and two or more light detectors, each of which is configured to detect a specific wavelength or wavelength range. In some cases, each detector is configured to detect a wavelength or wavelength range that is different from each other. In other cases, two or more detectors are configured to detect the same wavelength or wavelength range. In yet another case, one or more detectors are configured to detect a specific wavelength or wavelength range that is different from one or more other detectors. In embodiments employing multiple light paths, the PPG device can determine an average of the signals generated from the multiple light paths before determining an HR estimate or other physiological indicator.

[0077] In addition, in embodiments, the transmitter 416 and the detector 418 can be coupled to the controller 402 directly or indirectly using a driver circuit, through which the controller 402 can drive the transmitter 416 and obtain a signal from the detector 418. The host computer 422 can communicate with the wireless networking component 412 via one or more networks 420, which can include one or more local area networks, wide area networks, UWB, and / or the Internet using any terrestrial or satellite links. In some embodiments, the host computer 422 executes a control program and / or application configured to perform some of the functions described herein.

[0078] Although the present subject matter has been described in detail with respect to various specific example embodiments of the present subject matter, each example is provided by way of explanation rather than limitation of the present disclosure. After obtaining an understanding of the foregoing, those skilled in the art can easily produce changes, modifications, and equivalents to such embodiments. Therefore, the present disclosure does not exclude such modifications, changes, and / or additions to the present subject matter that will be readily understood by those of ordinary skill in the art. For example, a feature shown or described as a part of an embodiment can be used together with another embodiment to produce yet another embodiment. Therefore, the present disclosure is intended to cover such changes, changes, and equivalents.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for detecting a soft short circuit at a charging interface of an electronic device, the computer-implemented method comprising: obtaining, via one or more processors, an initial voltage measurement of a voltage reference of the charging interface electrically coupled to the electronic device; obtaining, via the one or more processors, additional voltage measurements of the voltage reference; detecting, via the one or more processors, the soft short at the charging interface based at least in part on the initial voltage measurement and the additional voltage measurement of the voltage reference; as well as The electronic device is caused, via the one or more processors, to perform one or more control actions in response to detecting the soft short circuit at the charging interface of the electronic device.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein detecting the soft short at the charging interface comprises determining, via the one or more processors, that the additional voltage measurement is less than the initial voltage measurement by a threshold amount, the threshold amount indicating that the soft short is present at the charging interface.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the threshold amount is at least 0.5 volts. 4 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein causing the electronic device to perform the one or more control actions comprises automatically, via the one or more processors, powering off the electronic device.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein causing the electronic device to perform the one or more control actions comprises causing a display screen of the electronic device to display a notification via the one or more processors to prompt a user to perform a maintenance action on the electronic device.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, wherein the maintenance action comprises manually powering off the electronic device.

7. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein obtaining the initial voltage measurement and obtaining the additional voltage measurements occur while a rechargeable battery of the electronic device is not being charged by an external power source.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the soft short at the charging interface corresponds to a resistance ranging from 2 ohms to 100 ohms.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: The initial voltage measurements are stored in one or more memory devices via the one or more processors.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the electronic device is a wearable computing device.

11. An electronic device comprising: Energy storage devices; a charging interface configured to electrically couple an external power source to the energy storage device; a power management circuit comprising a voltage reference electrically coupleable to the charging interface; as well as One or more processors configured to: obtaining an initial voltage measurement of the voltage reference when the voltage reference is electrically coupled to the charging interface of the electronic device; obtaining an additional voltage measurement of the voltage reference; detecting a soft short at the charging interface based at least in part on the initial voltage measurement and the additional voltage measurement; as well as The electronic device is caused to perform one or more control actions in response to detecting the soft short circuit at the charging interface of the electronic device.

12. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein the power management circuit comprises a switch device electrically coupled between the voltage reference and the charging interface, the switch device being configured to selectively couple the voltage reference to the charging interface.

13. The electronic device of claim 12, wherein the switching device is a transistor.

14. An electronic device as described in claim 11, wherein to detect the soft short circuit, the one or more processors are configured to determine that the additional voltage measurement result of the voltage reference is less than the initial voltage measurement result of the voltage reference by a threshold amount, and the threshold amount indicates that the soft short circuit exists at the charging interface.

15. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein the one or more control actions include automatically powering off the electronic device.

16. The electronic device of claim 11, further comprising: Display screen; and The one or more control actions include causing the display screen to display a notification to prompt a user to perform a maintenance action on the electronic device.

17. The electronic device of claim 16, wherein the maintenance action comprises manually powering off the electronic device.

18. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein the one or more processors are configured to obtain the initial voltage measurement and the additional voltage measurement while the energy storage device is not being charged by the external power source.

19. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein the charging interface comprises a universal serial bus (USB) charging port.

20. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein the energy storage device comprises a rechargeable battery.

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