Stand-alone water detector

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11486783-B2
Application number	US-202017033558-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 25, 2020
Priority date	Sep 25, 2020
Publication date	Nov 1, 2022
Grant date	Nov 1, 2022

Abstract

According to some aspects of the subject technology, an apparatus includes a first electrode, a second electrode and a dielectric membrane disposed between the first electrode and the second electrode. The first electrode and the second electrode include a number of pores within a region of an input port of the apparatus. The first electrode, the second electrode and the dielectric membrane form a capacitor that is configured to enable detection of occlusion of the input port by water.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus comprising:
a first electrode and a second electrode; and
a dielectric membrane disposed between the first electrode and the second electrode,
wherein:
the first electrode and the second electrode include a plurality of pores within a region of an input port of the apparatus, and
the first electrode, the second electrode and the dielectric membrane form a capacitor that is configured to enable detection of occlusion of the input port by water.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first electrode and the second electrode are made of stainless steel and are plated with a corrosion-resistant material.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the first electrode and the second electrode are made of titanium and are plated with a corrosion-resistant material.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the dielectric membrane comprises expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE).

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising layers of a sealing interface isolating the first electrode and the second electrode from a housing of a host system, wherein the sealing interface comprises one or more layers of a foam and a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA).

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first electrode and the second electrode are routed through conductive traces of a printed circuit board (PCB) to an electronic circuit.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the electronic circuit is configured to detect occlusion of the input port by water.

8. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the electronic circuit is configured to detect occlusion of the input port by water via measuring a value of a capacitance value of the capacitor.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the electronic circuit is configured to detect occlusion of the input port by water via detecting a change of the capacitance value from a dry capacitance (C-dry) value that is measured when the apparatus is dry.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the electronic circuit is configured to send a report of a wet condition to a processor of a host system when occlusion of the input port by water is detected.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the processor is configured to execute a mitigation process to remove the occlusion of the input port in response to receiving the report from the electronic circuit.

12. A system comprising:
an apparatus including a sensor disposed in a first housing; and
a water-detection device disposed on an input port of the apparatus, the water-detection device comprising:
a first metal plate and a second metal plate;
a membrane disposed between the first metal plate and the second metal plate,
wherein:
the first metal plate and the second metal plate include pores within a region of the input port of the apparatus, and
the first metal plate and the second metal plate and the membrane form a capacitor that is configured to enable detection of occlusion of the input port by water.

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the first metal plate and the second metal plate are made of one of stainless steel or titanium and plated with a corrosion-resistant material.

14. The system of claim 12 , wherein the membrane comprises a dielectric material including ePTFE.

15. The system of claim 12 , wherein the water-detection device further comprises layers of a sealing interface isolating the first metal plate and the second metal plate from the first housing and a second housing of the system, and wherein the sealing interface comprises one or more layers of a foam and a PSA.

16. The system of claim 12 , wherein the first metal plate and the second metal plate are routed through conductive traces of a PCB to an electronic circuit configured to detect occlusion of the input port by water.

17. The system of claim 16 , wherein the electronic circuit is configured to detect occlusion of the input port by water via measuring a value of a capacitance value of the capacitor by determining a change of the capacitance value from a dry capacitance (C-dry) value that is measured when the apparatus is dry.

18. The system of claim 16 , wherein the electronic circuit is configured to report a wet condition to a processor of a host system when occlusion of the input port by water is detected, and wherein the processor is configured to execute a mitigation process to remove the occlusion of the input port.

19. A wireless communication device, the device comprising:
a housing including a first port;
an apparatus including a sensor and second port; and
a water-detection device disposed between the first port and the second port, the water-detection device comprising:
a first and a second permeable electrode; and
a dielectric membrane disposed between the first and the second permeable electrodes,
wherein:
the first and the second permeable electrodes include pores within a region of the first port and the second port, and
the first and the second permeable electrodes and the dielectric membrane form a capacitor that is configured to enable detection of occlusion of the first port by water.

20. The device of claim 19 , wherein:
the first and the second permeable electrodes are routed through conductive traces of a PCB to an electronic circuit, and
the electronic circuit is configured to:
detect occlusion of the first port by water via measuring a value of a capacitance value of the capacitor and detecting a change of the capacitance value from a C-dry value that is measured when the apparatus is dry; and
report a wet condition to a processor of a host system when occlusion of the first port by water is detected.

Assignees

• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Balasubramanian Ashwin
• Macneil David
• Ribeiro Roberto M
• Wiles Brentley M

Classifications

• G01L19/0092 Primary

  Pressure sensor associated with other sensors, e.g. for measuring acceleration or temperature (G01L9/025, G01L9/045, G01L9/065, G01L9/085, G01L9/105, G01L9/125, G01L19/02, G01L19/04 take precedence; measuring two or more variable G01D21/02; temperature sensors with pressure compensation G01K1/26) · CPC title

• G01L27/007

  Malfunction diagnosis, i.e. diagnosing a sensor defect · CPC title

• G01L9/0042

  Constructional details associated with semiconductive diaphragm sensors, e.g. etching, or constructional details of non-semiconductive diaphragms (details about the integration or bonding of piezoresistor in or on the diaphragm G01L9/0052 and G01L9/0057 respectively) · CPC title

• G01L19/147

  Details about the mounting of the sensor to support or covering means · CPC title

• H04W4/80

  Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication · CPC title