Temperature-Triggered Fuse Device Using Wetting Force
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional power-protection fuses are inadequate in detecting and preventing thermal runaway conditions in electronic devices, as they rely solely on voltage and current monitoring, which can fail to detect gradual overheating leading to device meltdowns or explosions.
Innovation Solution
A temperature-triggered fuse device comprising a base substrate with metal pads separated by an insulating material, wetting material bays, and a solder bridge or ball that breaks at a specified ambient temperature, providing real-time protection against power surges and thermal runaways.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional power-protection fuses monitor only voltage and current, then the device complexity is low, but the reliability of detecting thermal runaway conditions deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines voltage monitoring, current monitoring, and temperature monitoring functions into a single integrated fuse device. The temperature-triggered fuse element is integrated with the electrical circuit protection function, allowing simultaneous monitoring of multiple parameters without requiring separate complex systems for each monitoring function.
Solution Approach 2:
The fuse device performs multiple functions: it acts as a conventional overcurrent/overvoltage protector while simultaneously serving as a temperature-triggered safety device. The single component provides both electrical circuit protection and thermal runaway detection, eliminating the need for separate monitoring systems.
2Reliability
If a temperature-triggered fuse device is added to provide thermal protection, then the reliability of thermal runaway detection is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The fuse element's physical properties are designed to change in response to temperature variations. The material composition and structural parameters of the fuse element are specifically engineered to undergo predictable changes at critical temperature thresholds, enabling temperature-triggered protection without adding complex sensing mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The fuse element utilizes phase transition or physical property changes at specific temperatures to trigger the protection mechanism. When the temperature reaches a critical threshold, the fuse element undergoes a physical change that causes it to open the circuit, providing automatic thermal protection through material behavior rather than complex electronic sensing.
3Manufacturing precision
If the solder bridge is designed to break at a specified temperature, then the temperature-triggered protection accuracy is improved, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The solder bridge is formulated with specific material parameters and compositional ratios that determine its melting or structural breakdown temperature. By carefully selecting and controlling the material parameters during manufacturing, the trigger temperature can be precisely set without requiring extremely tight tolerances on geometric dimensions, thus balancing manufacturing feasibility with trigger accuracy.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The device accurately disconnects electrical circuits when the ambient temperature exceeds a threshold, effectively preventing device damage from thermal runaway and power surges, offering enhanced protection beyond conventional voltage and current monitoring.
Implementation Method 1
the solder bridge or the solder ball is configured to break apart or melt due to a wetting force generated by the first wetting material bay and the second wetting material bay, when an ambient threshold temperature is reached in the temperature-triggered fuse device
Data Source
AI summary
A novel temperature-triggered fuse device is configured to be activated at a designer-specified ambient temperature by utilizing wetting force among a pair of wetting material bays and a solder bridge or a solder ball. The solder bridge or the solder ball is typically positioned on top of the pair of wetting material bays separated by an electrically-insulated gap. Preferably, the wetting material bays are at least partly made of gold, nickel, or other elements suitable for generating an increased wetting force to the solder bridge or the solder ball upon increases in ambient temperature. The novel temperature-triggered fuse device can be integrated into various types of integrated circuits (IC's), or can function as a discrete fuse connected to one or more electronic components for robust protection from power surges and/or thermal runaway-related device malfunctions, meltdowns, or explosions. Various methods of producing the temperature-triggered fuse device are also disclosed herein.