SENSING TECHNOLOGY FEATURE


IR sensors based on nanotechnology can prevent overheating in chargers


More and more mobiles, laptops and tablets need to be charged. In the wake of increasing electronic gadget sales, the overheating problem for battery chargers has become an increasingly common safety issue. But a Swedish company has come up with an innovative idea, using an IR sensor to prevent overheating in chargers. JonDeTech’sCEO, Robert Ekström, explains how it works


T


he number of mobiles, laptops and tablets that needs to be charged


continues to increase rapidly. Only in the first quarter of 2018 nearly 384 million smartphones were sold, according to research firm Gartner. Even though the batteries are getting more and more durable, our frequent use of these gadgets makes us charge them constantly, and more so when we are asleep. In the wake of increasing electronic gadget sales, the overheating problem for battery chargers has become an all to common safety issue. Overheating can be caused by substandard chargers, faulty batteries, or by misuse of the chargers. In worst-case scenarios the devices melt or catch fire. Unsurprisingly, electrical fires – commonly caused by overheated battery chargers – have increased in recent years. When charging a smartphone or a tablet you provide a big boost of power into a small size battery, this in turn adds to the risk of overheating since a considerable amount of energy is transferred into a smaller space (the battery).


Therefore it is imperative to find solutions that can tackle this big safety issue in our homes and offices, along with the increased number of battery powered electrical gadgets used by us on a daily basis. In May 2018 JonDeTech announced that


it had gained a so-called design win with the newly started Norwegian innovation company FireNanny AS. This agreement aims to integrate its new nanotech based


sensor into FireNanny's overheating alarm for chargers, including mobiles, laptops and tablets. The next step was to offer this new overheating sensor to Norwegian insurance companies and major electronics chains in 2018. Looking ahead, the plan is to launch this in the other Nordic countries and Europe.


“This new generation of thermopile generates a direct, proportional voltage response when subjected to infrared


radiation from the charger it is attached to”


SO HOW DOES THIS OVERHEATING SENSOR WORK AND WHAT MAKES IT SO SPECIAL? The overheating alarm consists of a small device that attaches to a charger and monitors the temperature using the JonDeTech IR sensor JIRS3. The JIRS3 is a so-called thermal radiation sensor. This new generation of thermopile generates a direct, proportional voltage response when subjected to infrared radiation from the charger it is attached to. In more technical terms the sensor registers wavelengths from 250nm – 22,5μm that is visual light reaching up to the mid infrared region. The unique geometrical configuration where the thermocouples are vertically arranged, enables the sensor to measure heat flux as well as temperature.


/ ELECTRONICS The sensor itself only measures


0.17millimetres in thickness and is almost entirely made of plastic. This is a very robust piece of plastic that can be used as is, without any metal casing – a protective housing – that is being used by many other manufacturers. To summarise, This IR sensor is extremely thin, bendable and can be manufactured in a cost efficient way in substantial volumes. This makes it suitable for all kinds of


applications that require small sensors where temperature or heat flow is measured, like in the case for FireNanny.


MULTIPLE USE CASES But protecting chargers from overheating is not the only area for the company’s IR Nano technology sensor. An increasing number of consumer electronics manufacturers have discovered the benefits of incorporating this small plastic IR sensor into their products. Due to the sensor’s innovative properties it opens up for entirely new types of applications using infrared sensors, such as buildings, smart homes, connected cities, environment and energy technology, consumer electronics, cars, clothing, MedTech and security solutions. Preventing overheating in chargers is just the beginning for this new IR technology.


JonDeTech


www.jondetech.se e: info@jondetech.se


ELECTRONICS | FEBRUARY 2019


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