Panasonic Recalls 280,000 Tablet PC Battery Packs Due to Fire Risk

[Megalith]

If you’ve got a Toughpad FZ-G1 tablet, you may want to check out the SKU list Panasonic has set up to identify whether your unit has a flawed battery pack that can lead to fires. The company is recalling 28 thousand batteries after 12 in North America, one in Japan, and one in Australia combusted. It sounds like the cause is extreme temperature, resulting in short circuit.

Owners of systems featuring the battery packs are advised to download a firmware utility from Panasonic’s website that reduces charging from 4.2 to 4.0 volts and lowers the peak operating settings of the accumulator. After the new firmware is applied, customers are asked to contact Panasonic using a special email address or by phone, which will then arrange them a new battery (no need to return the old one). As makers of portable electronics are trying to make their products thinner and lighter while increasing capacity of their batteries to prolong their autonomous life, the number of problems with batteries has increased in the recent years.

 

[alamox]

lithium-ion batteries are pushed to the limit, everything is exploding, phone, e-cigarettes, segway, laptops, tablets, even cars.
they need to find something to replace it or at least cancels exploding risks

 

[Tweak42]

lithium-ion batteries are pushed to the limit, everything is exploding, phone, e-cigarettes, segway, laptops, tablets, even cars.
they need to find something to replace it or at least cancels exploding risks

There was a recent Nova special showing a working solid state lithium battery. They say it's liquid electrolyte in current lithium batteries that the "flaming explosive" part. I've seen nimh batteries explode, but they didn't have the flaming out gassing flames that lipos do.


The other potentially good news was the original inventor of the lithium battery had a break through on solid state design. The original lithium battery took like 10 years to reach market, so I hope it doesn't that long.

https://news.utexas.edu/2017/02/28/goodenough-introduces-new-battery-technology

 

[sir-gold]

It may not be entirely the fault of the battery in this case. Toshiba Toughbooks and Toughpads are frequently used in conditions where you wouldn't normally use a computer, like in a steel foundry, or a freezer-warehouse.

The other potentially good news was the original inventor of the lithium battery had a break through on solid state design. The original lithium battery took like 10 years to reach market, so I hope it doesn't that long.

Lithium batteries needed a newer and more complex charging system compared to the more-tolerant ni-cad batteries that we had before. Now that the advanced charging technology has become commonplace, switching to a different lithium battery should be easier (assuming it doesn't require a whole new system). Ideally it will be a drop-in replacement, which only leaves the task of bringing the price down, and the power density up, to match current lithium batteries.